Chapter Update: People's Warden Reports

As the People’s Warden of St. Paul’s Cathedral, I am on the Cathedral’s Chapter (Board of Directors, if you will) which primarily oversees the finances as well as the buildings and grounds of the Cathedral. I serve on the Endowment and Finance Committees. Yet as the People’s Warden, I envision myself primarily as representing the interests of the people of our congregation and as such I will continue to keep you up to date on what the Chapter is doing.

And I do have a bit of “up to date” work here, don’t I? I apologize that some personal issues have kept me out of the communication loop. So here goes:

Ken Tranbarger, Jack Lenz, Kendall Squires and Tom Delaney of the LLC came to our July meeting to give Chapter an update on development. As you all probably know by now, the Nutmeg property was sold to Colrich Communities on February 25th. A concrete, seven story building will be constructed on this parcel with 45 condominiums and underground parking. Construction is scheduled to begin this Fall. The sale netted the Cathedral $2,175,000. Although further expenses are expected from this sale, monies will be used to repurpose the Diocesan office and to perform necessary maintenance on the Park Chateau building on Olive. Additionally, portions of the net proceeds have repaid the debts incurred in connection with obtaining development rights on both the Nutmeg and the Olive properties (one permit covered both).

While nothing is concrete, an idea being considered in the future for the Olive property is 65 units and l5 floors. Up to 142 units are possible – some space to be allocated for Cathedral use on the first two floors. Underground parking could cover 111 residential spaces, 70 spaces for the Cathedral and 2 retail spaces. I should say, again, this is just one possibility for development of the Olive property. The operative words in this paragraph being “in the future!”

Along the above lines, the Chapter has formed a committee called “LLC Committee of Chapter.” Its members include TVR Dean Penny, Don Pellioni, Pat Kreder, Susan Hulbert, George Kuhrts, Erin Sacco-Pineda, Guin Kerstetter and Andrew Brooks. Their initial meeting was to scope and identify items for future research.

Our Very Reverend Dean Penny has made it through four months with insightful changes – experimenting with the chancel configurations, bringing the Sunday morning choir into the chancel, moving the altar, relocating the clergy and altar party seats. Penny reports she has received welcoming comments regarding the choir placement; she plans to “tweak” other arrangements for the chancel. The Dean has been distressed by the recent shootings in public spaces around our nation and is reaching out to other faith leaders in the city to explore the possibility of a public conversation about this alarming issue.

Also on the Dean’s plate is getting the congregation involved in the celebrations for Balboa Park next year. Being sited on the park offers a variety of ideas: participate in the kickoff of this event; adopt some space in the park, beautify and maintain it for a year; light up the cathedral with colored and patterned slides at intervals during the year; improve our visibility to park visitors. Dean Penny has also been meeting with the artist James Hubbell to learn if he and his studio might assist the Cathedral in completing the chapel. Possibilities include a Holy Family mosaic on the east wall, a Living Water glass panel, seasonal banners on the walls, and coordinating chairs and sanctuary lighting.

Chris Harris has put together a new committee, tentatively called the Evangelism/Cathedral for the City, whose goal is to raise the visibility of the cathedral’s profile in the wider community through planned participation in community events, signage, and a program of Forums for the City where we would invite panelists to discuss topics of common interest. A small group consisting of Don Pellioni, Helena Chan, Mark Patzman and Dean Penny is planning the Chapter retreat scheduled for August 22-23. This only begins Dean Penny’s myriad activities; just ask me her number of meetings, committees, etc. (I could do a Forum….)

Bart Smoot has been giving the Chapter updates on improvements in the Cathedral budget. Cathedral expenses are generally as budgeted and there is approximately $29,000 remaining in the Dean Search and Moving Special Fund. The Finance Committee recommended that each of four current seminarians (Jackey Bray, Chris Harris, Richard Lee, Christi Fleming) receive $1,000 from the Chapter Reserve Fund for education expenses and Chapter gave its approval.

Chris Harris reported a $350,000 gift to the Cathedral was received recently; $250,000 was unrestricted and the remainder was designated for Dorcas House. Chris reports the new directory is very close to completion. It will be printable and downloadable as a PDF file, and it will be updated regularly as new members join Our website is more than six years old and due for a refresh. Chris is talking to a number of companies and getting bids to make the site mobile-friendly and to give it a more modern, simpler and dynamic interface with increased functionality for visitors as well as ministry leaders.

As always, please feel free to talk to me before or after the 10:30 p.m. service coffee hour or by email (jmoore405@att.net) with any and all thoughts or concerns.

Blessings and joy to each and every one of you!

Judy Moore People’s Warden