Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

I’m looking forward so much to this Sunday when we will be having baptisms at both the 11 am and 6 pm services. For two thousand years, we have welcomed new people into the church in this way.

One of the things that surprised me during our summer tour of English cathedrals was the chapter rooms. Often they seemed like mini cathedrals with high vaulted ceilings and stained glass. For centuries conversations about cathedral ministry have taken place in these spaces.

This week during our chapter meeting, Jack Fagan, our Canon for Operations, talked about the sadness he felt in connection with reports from the Lambeth Conference in England about Anglican bishops who opposed same-sex marriages. The look on his face and his tone of voice echoed the same feeling that I had felt as I read about this.

Neither the archbishop of Canterbury nor bishops from any other Anglican nation have any official authority on the policies and practices of the Episcopal Church in the United States. I’m very proud that, in particular, our bishop Marc Andrus is a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ people.

At Grace Cathedral, we will continue to marry same-sex couples. I hope and pray that the church in England and everywhere else will one day genuinely recognize every person as a child of God and see the holiness I have experienced in same-sex marriages.

Before closing, I want to share some sad news with you. We recently learned that Everett Davis has died. Everett worshiped at Grace Cathedral for over forty years and used to tell amazing stories about San Francisco over the years when he would take me to lunch at the Fairmont Hotel.

Everett was one of many friends that I hadn’t seen since before the pandemic. Every week I look for these friends of mine. Each week we have a little family reunion at Grace Cathedral. See you soon.

Love
Malcolm

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young
Dean of Grace Cathedral

P.S. At Grace, we have long been a supporter of racial justice, women’s liberation, environmental stewardship, LGBTQ rights, and marriage equality. In this week’s #MoreGoodNews, Dean Malcolm Clemens Young explores what same-sex weddings are like at Grace.