The Cathedral: Chronology
1973
Tennessee Williams is honored with an evensong service incorporating
readings from his dramatic works and other writings. A special
performance of Godspell draws thousands. The show's creator,
John-Michael Tebelak, later becomes the Cathedral's dramaturge.
Solemn requiem for poet W.H. Auden. The Cathedral School becomes
co-educational. Creation of the Urban Homesteading Assistance
Board to support innovative solutions to New York's housing
crisis. UHAB promotes the idea of "sweat equity" whereby
residents of run-down, city-owned apartment buildings become
owners and operators by rehabilitating them. Now operating independently
of the Cathedral, UHAB has participated in the rehabilitation
of 1,300 buildings which are home to 27,000 families.
1974
Duke Ellington's funeral is attended by jazz luminaries and
12,500 mourners. A community recycling center is opened on the
Cathedral Close, in the spirit of "think globally, act locally."
1975
Omega Dance Company, a pioneer in liturgical dance, becomes an
artist-in-residence. The multicultural Symphony for the United
Nations debuts under the baton of Joseph Eger.
1976
Bishop Moore preaches a headline-making Easter sermon in which
he challenges corporations to keep their operations in New York
rather than join others who have fled to other states, thus worsening
the city's fiscal crisis. In this context, the decision is
made to resume construction of the Cathedral as an outward and
visible sign of the church's commitment to the city's future.
Dedication of the clerestory window in the Sports Bay completes
the installation of the Cathedral's stained glass. Poet Muriel
Rukeyser creates a Poetry Wall. The wall still accepts and exhibits
any and all poems that are submitted. Sitarist Ravi Shankar performs
an all-night concert of ragas.
1977
The fledgling Big Apple Circus takes up residence at the Cathedral,
rehearsing in Synod House. The Ensemble for Early Music becomes
an artist-in-residence. Firefighters Memorial dedicated and installed
in the Labor Bay of the nave. James Earl Jones performs the title
role in Sophocles' Oedipus the King, presented in the Crossing.
1978
Dedication of the memorial to victims of the Holocaust by Elliott
Offner. Dean Morton announces plans to revive construction of
the Cathedral as a community-based project. Local youth are recruited
as apprentice stonecutters for the newly-opened stoneyard on
the north field. First ordination of female priests at the Cathedral
takes place several months after the General Convention of the
Episcopal Church approves the ordination of women. One ordinand,
Mary Michael Simpson, later becomes a canon of the Cathedral,
the first female cathedral canon in the history of Christianity.
Based on information from the Cathedral's Web Page