It’s Transformation Time: Crystal Cathedral Closed for Major Renovations

November 30, 2013 By 11 Comments

Two years ago, in November 2011, I told the story of the iconic Crystal Cathedral, facing bankruptcy and forced dissolution, and the last-minute decision to accept the bid of the Diocese of Orange, rather than from competing bidder Chapman University.

At the time, I interviewed Tim Busch, corporate counsel for the Diocese of Orange who had helped to broker the deal.   Tim told me that as the deal drew to a close, one member of the Crystal Cathedral’s board told him as the court proceedings drew to an end, “I like the way you guys have handled this, and I’m going to convert to Catholicism.”  A few days later in the courtroom, she walked up to the bishop and repeated that.

I asked Tim whether he had any personal thoughts about the sale, or about the long road that had brought the Diocese of Orange to this point.  He answered easily:  “Highlight that the Holy Spirit was involved, and that He changed hearts.”

It’s really such a good story, with an unlikely ending.  Go back and check it out!

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One year later—on November 3, 2012—the Diocese opened the doors of the worship space, now renamed Christ Cathedral, for the Magnificat Day of Faith.  It was the first major Catholic prayer service to be held in the building, and it was broadcast nationally.

The day-long get-together of the faithful included liturgical prayer, outstanding presentations by leading Catholic thinkers, magnificent renderings of sacred music, and much more.

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Now, finally, the Diocese is closing the building for the extensive remodeling which is needed if the space is to be used for Catholic liturgies.

In my original article, I talked about what renovations would be necessary.

Well, of course, Catholic worship requires an altar on which to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  In addition, Bishop Brown will be outfitting the church—built in the tradition of the Reformed Church of America—with an ambo, a presidential chair, a tabernacle, candles, and a baptismal font.  The current seating will be replaced with more typical pews (and kneelers).

Only the organ—with 273 rank, five manual pipes—will remain and will be used in worship.  The grand organ incorporates both the Aeolian-Skinner organ built in 1962 for New York’s Avery Fisher Hall, and the Ruffatti organ which had been installed in the church’s earlier sanctuary.

And now the time has come.  The California Catholic Daily reported on November 28 that the edifice would close on December 1:

Beginning Sunday, the newly named Christ Cathedral will be closed for construction as crews launch a $29-million effort to restore the more than 75,000-square-foot space.

The diocese has been working with liturgical consultants and architects to modify the cathedral built in the vision of the Rev. Robert Schuller into one that meets the requirements to serve as the headquarters for Orange County’s Catholic community of more than 1.2 million people.

“The beauty and inspiration evoked by the cathedral grounds and its architecture are only surpassed by the extraordinary communities of faith that now call this campus home,” Bishop Kevin Vann said in a statement.

“The cathedral will be an international center of faith and evangelization, a vessel for the love of God, a beacon of faith, a home for neighbor and traveler, and a sanctuary for the human spirit.”

The bishop announced in September that two architectural firms, Johnson Fain and Rios Clementi Hale Studios, were selected to lead the design process.

One of the first steps in the renovation will be to remove the pipe organ — said to be one of the largest in the world — so it can be shipped to Italy and refurbished in time for the cathedral’s reopening, set for 2016.

 

Filed Under: Advent, Catholic, Churches 11 Comments

THE GARGOYLE AND THE STEEPLE: On the Outside, Looking In

November 30, 2013 By 1 Comment

Look up, look around. 

That’s what we do, really, we Christians, during this Advent season.  We look up to our heavenly Father, and to the Son Who came to us in Bethlehem as a tiny baby, and Who comes to us still today.  And we look around at the world in which we live—at the still, expectant winter nights, rich with promise; and at the people whose love shapes us, and whom we celebrate later this month with gifts from the heart.

Malcolm Muggeridge, the British journalist and satirist, wrote of this two-directional focus, comparing it to the steeple and the gargoyle which top a great cathedral.

“The steeple,” he asserted, “is this beautiful thing reaching up into the sky admitting, as it were, its own inadequacy.”  The steeple attempts something utterly impossible—to climb up to heaven.

The gargoyle, meanwhile, looks down, grinning and laughing at the absurd behavior, the vain strivings, of men on earth.

Both of these structures—one aspiring to the heavens, and one drawn inexorably toward mankind here at ground level—are integral to the design of the cathedral; hence, both are intended for the glory of God.

Muggeridge saw, in the analogy of the steeple and the gargoyle, his own life in a mirror.  An avowed atheist for most of his life, he examined religion and faith with the eyes of a journalist, from the outside—looking down, like the gargoyle, without venturing in to meet the faithful on their own terms.

Although he did finally come to the Catholic Faith in his later years, the steeple and the gargoyle exemplified his own life, and the great gulf he found between his heavenly vision and his earthly attainment.  He tried to be faithful to the reality of Christ; but like the rest of us, Muggeridge was a sinner whose attempts fell short.  He needed the Babe of Bethlehem.

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If you ever visit Rome, you may want to drive up to the Priory of the Knights of Malta, situated on the Aventine Hill, on the left side of the Tiber River near the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.  The Knights of Malta maintain a private garden which is protected by a massive wooden gate; and in that gate is a keyhole which has become known as the “Magic Keyhole.”  Through the Magic Keyhole one can see into the garden, where a long gravel path runs between two rows of carefully pruned hedges.  Beyond the hedges one can gaze across the hillside, across tops of buildings, until—several miles away—there lies the great Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, perfectly centered in view.  It looks like an artist’s impressionistic image, or perhaps like a well-framed souvenir postcard.

Malcolm Muggeridge might have smiled at this mysterious image, echoing his “gargoyle on the steeple.”  From the Aventine Hill you can see the Vatican, the locus of the Catholic Church; but you can’t go in, you can’t approach and join in the prayer and adoration which are ongoing there.

I have a friend who speaks of the “Christmas and Easter Catholics”—those people who count themselves among the faithful, but whose absence through eleven months of the year belies any real interest in encountering the living Christ in the Eucharist, which occurs inside their local church each Sunday morning.

Advent is an excellent time to change all that.  You’ve been busy—but He’s been waiting.  Come home.

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If you are a Catholic who has been away for a while, or if you are interested in learning more about the Catholic faith, I encourage you to check out Catholics Come Home, a website designed to help you begin or continue your faith journey so you can find true peace, happiness and purpose in life.  Go to www.catholicscomehome.org.

Filed Under: Advent, Faith 1 Comment

Chimp/Pig Hybrids? Scientist Claims We’ve Got Porcine Roots

November 30, 2013 By 4 Comments

There is a most excellent book titled A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy.  Authored by Wesley J. Smith, it warns of the deleterious consequences of the animal rights movement.  The title is evocative of a worldview which assigns moral equivalency to humans and animals; but everyone understands that it’s not true—that boys may OWN dogs and EAT pigs and KILL rats, but we’re not all the same.

That is, until now.

Now a geneticist who taught at the University of Georgia, one of the world’s leading authorities on hybridization in animals, has offered a new theory as to how man evolved.  Man, according to Dr. Eugene McCarthy, is the product of a close encounter between a male pig and a female chimpanzee.

The Odd Couple

McCarthy presents his startling hypothesis on Macroevolution.net, a website he curates.

In his research, McCarthy noted that humans have many features in common with chimps, but we have a large number of features not found in any other primates.  He says that features such as hairless skin, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, light-coloured eyes, protruding noses and heavy eyelashes are definitely porcine.  McCarthy notes that pig skin tissues and heart valves can be used in medicine because of their similarity and compatibility with the human body.

But as sexy as McCarthy’s theory may be, the scientific community isn’t buying it.  The Daily Mail quotes from one of McCarthy’s critics:

One important criticism, which dubs his theory the ‘Monkey-F******-A-Pig hypothesis’, is that there is little chance that pigs and chimps could be interfertile. The two orders of creatures, according to evolutionary theory, diverged roughly 80 million years ago, a ScienceBlogs post points out.

‘[J]ust the gradual accumulation of molecular differences in sperm and egg recognition proteins would mean that pig sperm wouldn’t recognize a chimpanzee egg as a reasonable target for fusion,’ PZ Myers writes.

Furthermore, the blogger explains, while chimps have 48 chromosomes, pigs have just 38.

He adds: ‘Hybridizing a pig and a chimp is like taking half the dancers from a performance of Swan Lake and the other half from a performance of Giselle and throwing them together on stage to assemble something. It’s going to be a catastrophe.

McCarthy’s proposition is so far-fetched, he’s had trouble finding a publisher; so he’s resorted to publishing his research on his website.  In his conclusion, he explains his own initial repugnance toward the pig/chimp coupling theory, and his gradual acceptance of the idea:

‘I must admit that I initially felt a certain amount of repugnance at the idea of being a hybrid. The image of a pig mating with an ape is not a pretty one, nor is that of a horde of monstrous half-humans breeding in a hybrid swarm.

‘But the way we came to be is not so important as the fact that we now exist. As every Machiavellian knows, good things can emerge from ugly processes, and I think the human race is a very good thing. Moreover, there is something to be said for the idea of having the pig as a relative.

‘My opinion of this animal has much improved during the course of my research. Where once I thought of filth and greed, I now think of intelligence, affection, loyalty, and adaptability, with an added touch of joyous sensuality — qualities without which humans would not be human.’

 

 

Filed Under: Evolution 4 Comments
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