The stately Washington National Cathedral has been home to some of our nation’s most significant events–from state funerals to the last Sunday sermon delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. The neo-Gothic cathedral defines itself as “a trusted voice of moral leadership and a sacred space where the country gathers during moments of national significance.”
But what happens when a pandemic prevents the country from gathering for religious services? If you’re Reverend Canon Jan Naylor Cope ‘78, you improvise. Over the years, it’s been a strategy that has served her well.
Jan Naylor Cope '73 sprinkles holy water on bikes of the Rolling Thunder. Photo credit: Danielle Thomas, Washington National Cathedral.
Cope began her professional career in the field of financial development, 1989年, she served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of presidential personnel in the George H.W. 布什白宫. In 2007, after a breast cancer scare, she switched careers and became an ordained Episcopal priest. By 2015, she was appointed provost of National Cathedral in Washington D.C. The church’s doors have been shut since the early days of the pandemic, but Cope and her team have been busier than ever.
“We have some state-of-the-art video cameras and equipment that allow us to produce a pretty high-quality, 视觉服务,她解释道. “以前COVID-19, we would have maybe 800 people physically in the building for a Sunday service and a few hundred live streaming. 今天, 我们有10个,000-15,000 people streaming live, 另外30个,000-40,000 will tune in after the fact.”
Jan Naylor Cope ’73 records a religious service at the Washington National Cathedral for a live stream.
The response has been so strong that they’ve added a daily morning prayer service that is viewed globally–a couple from New Zealand are regulars.
“It tells me that people are yearning for a connection, particularly in these incredibly difficult times. They want some sense of rootedness and some sense of hope that it's not always going to be like this,柯普说. “One of the things that I have noticed in this Zoom world is that people are sharing much more deeply, 就我个人而言, and intuitively than they would ever do before.”
Jan Naylor Cope '78 preaches in the Canterbury Pulpit, where Martin Luther King Jr. preached his last Sunday sermon. Photo credit: Danielle Thomas, Washington National Cathedral
Another important but poignant new tradition at the National Cathedral is reading the names of COVID-19 victims that have been submitted by friends and family. Each individual is prayed for, and a card bearing their name is placed upon the walls of the Chapel of St. 约瑟夫.
“We’ll be doing that for as long as we need to,” she says. “We’ve seen a huge uptick In pastoral care requests. And because we're the National Cathedral, all these people have found us. We’re stretched to be responsive to our own congregation and also be there for others.”
Cope says her time at 赌博娱乐平台网址大全 helped her hone two of the main traits she has called on during this time: adaptation and compassion.
“It was at 赌博娱乐平台网址大全 that I was encouraged to look outside of myself at the social context that might not be my own, to better understand what was going on in the world around me,她解释道. “I think that part of the challenge is, people get so overwhelmed by the enormity of the issues and the challenges that we forget it starts with one person just reaching out to another.”
Editor’s Note: All photos in this story are credited to Danielle Thomas, Washington National Cathedral
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