Washington National Cathedral

WASHINGTON – They started at the beginning of the year, from scratch. But by June the Vigo County schools had assembled a student choir so polished that its one-time performance at Washington National Cathedral caused eyes to mist.

Invited to sing at a special worship service celebrating the Hoosier State’s long and strong ties to the landmark cathedral, music directors at middle schools and high schools in and around Terre Haute held auditions to shape more than 100 applicants into a 45-voice choir. They rehearsed twice a week to start, then added a third weekly rehearsal as their performance neared.

On June 15, minutes before they took their places in front of almost 1,500 worshipers, the students received last minute instructions from choir co-director Steve McDaniel of Terre Haute North High and a pep talk from Mytron Lisby, Vigo County director of secondary education.

“You have rehearsed long and hard. We are so proud of you,” Lisby said.

The students then proceeded successfully through a 25-minute program of sacred music, performed a cappella. For an encore at a reception afterwards, the choir sang a new arrangement of “Back Home Again in Indiana” that had some of the 500 Hoosiers in attendance dabbing their eyes.

“They did exactly what we rehearsed and asked them to do,” said Kathy Anderson, the choir co-director who teaches at Terre Haute South. “We could not have asked them to do better. It was the perfect culmination of everything that we had worked together.”

The choir was formed expressly for the cathedral performance. It may never sing again, which made their accomplishment all the more satisfying, students said.

During the performance, “I tried focusing not so much on singing, I tried looking around and taking in the moment because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Nick Utterback, who will be a senior at Terre Haute North in the fall.

The student choir was one of the Hoosier groups that played key roles at the Cathedral’s 11:15 a.m. service marking Indiana State Day. Prior to the service, the Cathedral’s Sunday Forum program featured Lee Hamilton, a former Indiana congressman who led blue ribbon commissions on U.S. policy in Iraq and the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Washington National Cathedral sets aside one Sunday each month, dedicating it to a state and inviting political leaders and clergy and worshipers of all faiths to celebrate. Hoosiers from around the state made the pilgrimage to Washington, where they were joined by natives who live and work in the nation’s capital.

The Right Rev. Catherine M. Waynick, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, presided at the service. The Right Rev. Edward S. Little II, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana, was concelebrant.

The Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys from Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis performed service music during the worship.

“It was just overwhelming how many people made this trip,” Little said.

The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of Washington National Cathedral, welcomed the visitors and remarked: “The Hoosiers are taking very good care of us today,”

Indiana holds a special place in the history of Washington National Cathedral as it supplied 150,000 tons of limestone during construction that lasted from 1907 to 1990.

But Craig M. McKee of Terre Haute, Cathedral Chapter member and President of the National Cathedral Association, said it is important to remember “that despite its overwhelming beauty we are not here to worship the Cathedral. We are here to worship the God who inspired its construction.”

At the reception, McKee read a statement from Gov. Mitch Daniels saluting the ties between Indiana and Washington National Cathedral, and asking for prayers as Indiana rebuilds homes and communities damaged in recent flooding.

“The Indiana limestone that serves as the foundation for this magnificent house of worship is a testament to the core strength of Hoosiers everywhere,” Daniels wrote.

Dean Lloyd delivered the sermon that focused on the power of laughter, an emotion that plays a seemingly small role in Scripture but that is significant upon closer examination.

Laughter is a healing emotion, Dean Lloyd said.

“To be able to laugh is to trust that there is something bigger going on, that there is a grace and mercy in the world that is deeper by far than we can imagine,” he said.

Prior to the service, Dean Lloyd moderated a conversation with Lee Hamilton, the guest for “The Sunday Forum at Washington National Cathedral: Critical Issues in the Light of Faith,” a program that provides dialogue about the major issues of the day as seen from the Christian perspective.

Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and director of The Center on Congress at Indiana University, represented Indiana’s 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House for 34 years beginning in 1965.

A former chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hamilton also served as co-chair of the Iraq Study Group and vice-chairman of the 9/11 Commission.

Discussing the interplay between politics and religion, Hamilton said politicians face tensions in balancing the needs of interest groups and the common good of all people. He recalled his test for legislation is what impact it might have on ordinary people in the country.

“A politician is better if he or she is reminded occasionally of the Christian point of view,” he said.

While Hamilton said Congress is an institution under stress and it may be easy to criticize politicians and lobbyists, there are honorable people in both professions.

“This is a very big, very complicated country,” he said. “I don’t think people understand that. It is hugely difficult to make this country work. It is not as easy as it looks.

“What the political game is really about is the search for remedies,” he said. “Underlying it all on Capitol Hill and the White House are men and women, most of whom are of good will and are good people, struggling with immensely difficult problems and what they are fundamentally doing is searching for remedies.

“You may not like the way they are doing it or you make like it, but that is what is going on. I think it misses the point to think of politics as pursuit of ego,” he said, even as there are plenty of egos loose in Washington.

“The right way to approach politics, and I think it is true for most politicians, is they really want to find a remedy to problems,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said the best leaders are those who can acknowledge disagreement but still forge on to seek consensus on tricky problems.

Bishop Waynick said events such as the Indiana worship service can encourage people with diverse interests to seek common ground.

“There are times we have to decide we are not going to agree on anything but identify things that are more important than our disagreement,” she said. “Anytime the church gathers like it did today there is a better chance of staying focused on the things that are more important.”

Indiana guests filled a number of roles at the service.

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Columbus read Scripture. Christine Chillington of Terre Haute carried the state flag in the service-opening procession.

Rep. Pence, his wife Karen and their children Michael, Charlotte and Audrey carried offertory gifts to the altar. Wyatt Mick of Mishawaka, a longtime National Cathedral Association volunteer leader in Indiana, also delivered oblations.

Former U.S. House member Ed Pease led attendees from the Indiana Society of Washington. The organization of Hoosiers who live and work in Washington helped organize events surrounding the worship along with the Indiana State University Foundation led by Gene Crume.

Also attending were the Lloyd Benjamin, President of Indiana State University, and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie.

Other parishioners represented Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis, St. George’s Episcopal Church in West Terre Haute, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Terre Haute and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond.

 

 

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SOURCE: Washington National Cathedral