Cathedral House at its Deconsecration Liturgy
It is with gratitude and hope that I announce the Cathedral Chapter’s determination to demolish Cathedral House (our building closest to the railroad tracks on Cathedral Avenue) while proceeding with our Cathedral of the Incarnation master plan. The building has provided many years of support for ministry. We give thanks for those who built it, maintained it and participated in ministry there over many years.
Following extensive study, it is clear that the current building cannot be reasonably or suitably repurposed in service to the Cathedral’s mission. Since I closed the building in 2017, the Cathedral Chapter has explored numerous possibilities for refitting the structure. Due to catastrophic failure of the internal steel structure and related issues, it has been decided that the building cannot remain in whole or in part. This is a decision I support. Although there are aspects of the building that many in our congregation and village community will miss, demolition is the right course of action given all the information.
The building suffered design flaws and materials failure dating all the way back to the Great Depression. Since the mid-1970s the internal guttering system was a constant source of problems which no re-design ever successfully solved. The Cathedral Nursery School (which became independent from the Cathedral) made the decision to move out of Cathedral House in large part due to the flooding of the lower level of Cathedral House on a regular basis. In the 2000s the Cathedral moved its own Sunday School to the Mercer School of Theology. The Cathedral spent considerable sums of money on repair and maintenance, and yet additional sections of the building continued to fail. It became clear that another strategy was needed.
The ongoing spiritual mission of the Cathedral is our first priority. Cathedral House was an important part of this mission for many years. For this we continue to give thanks as we let the building go and move on in service to God.
Over the past five years, the Cathedral congregation has more than doubled in size. We have added public services six days a week and opened our Cathedral chapels for prayer every day. Our outreach ministries have expanded to support local non-profits as well as students, homeless and hungry neighbors and those in search of spiritual practices that will root their lives in God’s loving presence. Our Cathedral for Kids service and Fellowship in Faith program are revitalizing intergenerational Christian formation on Long Island, not only at the Cathedral but in the many parishes which are adopting our worship recommendations and Christian Education programs. The Neighborhood Mass on the Cathedral grounds (which welcomes all, including pets) has quickly become a place for neighbors to be fed sacramentally as they enjoy the beauty of our sacred space at the heart of the village every summer Sunday morning at 9:15am. These ministries, and many more, require different spaces and support than the ministries developed here between the 1930s and 1950s. It is support for these ministries and our landmark sacred spaces to which the Cathedral Chapter is whole-heartedly committed.
In 2017, the Cathedral Chapter began a master planning process for the Cathedral Close. This process gathered feedback from the congregation and community in identifying priorities for projects to be undertaken over the next 5-10 years. It was clear that the Stewart legacy buildings connected to our mission are a significant priority for all our stakeholders. These buildings include the monumental Cathedral building itself, where the founders of the village are interred, See House, the historic 14-bedroom mansion belonging to the Bishops of Long Island, and the Bishop’s Carriage House at 84 4th Street. In my time as Dean, the Cathedral Chapter has expended many millions of dollars on the restoration of these buildings, and we have only just begun.
We have been busy. To name just a few of the projects undertaken recently: In 2018, we restored the north and south entrances of the Cathedral replacing ornamental details re-created by the same firm which installed them originally in 1885. In 2019, we restored the slate roof, copperwork and guttering on the whole of the Carriage House. In 2020, the Cathedral was completely re-seated. Removing the third set of Cathedral pews dating from the WWII era, new pews which are movable and stackable were designed and built in London by furniture architect, Luke Hughes. Mr. Hughes and his firm recently designed the seating for Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral among other historic cathedrals. Our Cathedral in Garden City represents the first such major project for Luke Hughes in the United States. The project was a great success, and we now have the ability to fully seat the building to capacity, clear it completely, and everything in between. This fulfills the original vision of Cornelia Stewart and her architect Henry Harrison who designed the Cathedral in the European style with no fixed seats and a sumptuous marble herringbone floor visible throughout the building.
This summer we will begin construction on a new gothic tower on the south side of the Cathedral which will house an elevator to bring visitors to the lower level, the undercroft, which is being completely renovated with new accessible bathrooms and hospitality space. This long-awaited accessibility project will provide the infrastructure for increased activities in our sacred spaces allowing more neighbors to enjoy visiting the crown jewel of the village for worship, lectures, concerts, tours and events.
Many neighbors do not know that when the Cathedral of the Incarnation was completed in 1885 it made Garden City the first Cathedral Town in America. Prior to that, only cities had cathedrals. The developing vision for Garden City included a sacred heart that would enable the village to grow and develop into a significant place in Queens (now Nassau) County. Garden City was known throughout the country and the world as “America’s Cathedral Town”. This distinction has not been forgotten by the Stewards of the Cathedral.
Garden City, America’s Cathedral Town, is a place that continues to cherish community, character and commerce as integral aspects of village life. For many of us, life continues to revolve around the Cathedral, a symbol of God’s care and protection at the center of all we do. I encourage all neighbors in the village to come and enjoy the Cathedral and her beautiful grounds as we continue to maintain and develop this vibrant spiritual center in a town we deeply love. The Cathedral of the Incarnation is not everyone’s church, but it is a place for all. You will be welcomed here with a sense of warmth and hospitality that opens minds and hearts to the possibility of a more meaningful life in God’s care. Please pardon our appearance as we grow. Buildings rise and fall, but the love of God endures.
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