A Letter from NAAL President Driscoll
Thanksgiving 2002
Friends,
In just a little over one month, we will gather in Indianapolis, Indiana's capital city and renowned as America's Second Monument City. The registration response has been tremendous. We have already met 130% of our contractual agreement with the Hyatt Corporation and the turnout should be great. Now, pray for clement winter weather!
During our stay we will visit several sites for our prayer services. On the
opening evening, the gathering and memorial service along with the Berakah
citation and address will be a few blocks from the Hyatt on Monument Circle at
Christ Church Cathedral.
This is the home church and ceremonial seat of the
Episcopal Bishop of Indianapolis, who oversees 51 congregations in central and
southern Indiana. The church was founded in 1837 and the present building
constructed in 1857. It is the oldest structure on the Circle and is listed on
the National Register of Historic Places. We are very pleased to be able to
begin our meeting in such an auspicious building and we look forward to the
words of Hoyt Hickman, our Berakah recipient. His address is
entitled "Making the Eucharist Speak Middle American: Liturgical Enculturation
in a WASP Setting"
A
fterwards
we will return to the Hyatt hotel for complimentary reception sponsored by the
Hyatt Corporation. We are still hoping that the Oblates of Blues will make an
appearance at our gathering.
On Friday we will gather for morning prayer organized by the former Triune God Seminar followed by a continental style breakfast and address Ruth Myers. The vice-presidential address is entitled "It Really Does Matter." The day is dedicated to work in seminars. In the evening we are invited to the Christian Theological Seminary for a Taizé-style “Prayer at the Cross” and reception.
This complex, particularly the chapel, is very noteworthy from an architectural
perspective. Dedicated in September 1987, Sweeney Chapel is a dominant element
on the seminary's campus. The chapel, as well as the architectural style of
the seminary, is described as pre-Gothic by its architect, Edward Larrabee
Barnes. Its interior, from the north wall to the balcony, is a 50-foot cube
that uses light, space and texture to create a sense of quiet mystery.
The radiant west windows of dichroic glass were designed by New York artist
James Carpenter. The dichroic glass, reflecting gold and transmitting blue,
links horizontal sections of clear glass that form a latticework of cubes 27
feet high and 15 feet square. As the sun moves in the afternoon, it paints
ever-changing crisscrossing patterns on the wall.
CTS is the home institution of Frank Burch Brown who will address us the next
morning on the subject of liturgy and aesthetics. His address is entitled "Religious
Music and Secular Music: What Is the Difference?" There will be bus service
to get us to and from the CTS, so plan to attend the evening prayer on Friday
before going out for dinner.
Finally, on Sunday there will be numerous possibilities for worship according to the many traditions represented in the academy. A list of churches not far from the hotel is provided on our website and in the conference booklet. The Catholic Academy of Liturgy is happy to sponsor an Eucharistic Liturgy at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul on North Meridian.
The parish has graciously offered to host us at the regular Sunday liturgy
at 10:30 to celebrate Epiphany. Before Mass at 10:00 we will inaugurate the
Godfrey Diekmann OSB Award with a brief response from Edward Anders Sövik
who renovated the building in 1986.
This space holds great liturgical interest and the building is important for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
A
diocese for Indiana was first established in Vincennes in 1892, but was transferred
to Indianapolis two years later. The Parish of SS. Peter and Paul was formally "erected" and
was on its way to becoming the Cathedral Parish. Situated in a growing professional
area of the city, the Cathedral Parish soon grew in prominence. The cornerstone
for the Cathedral Church itself was laid in 1905, and construction of the Church
was completed in 1907. Buses will bring us to and from the Hyatt Hotel; plan
to be back at the hotel by noon. For further information and directions to get
to the cathedral see:
http://www.sspeterandpaulcathedral.org/otherpages/driveins.html
Let me say a few words about the competition that NAAL launched for a new Table Prayer. The committee comprised of Judith Kubicki (chair), Ron Anderson and Marie Kremer, received many fine entries which made their job all the more difficult. Finally, after great deliberation they choose two winners -- actually two sets of teams: John Foley and Don Saliers, and Tony Alonso and Gabe Huck, with the recommendation that we begin this year by using the Foley/Saliers piece, and next year the Alonso/Huck version. How fortunate we are to add two more table prayer settings to our time-honored composition by Jan Michael Joncas! We will show our gratitude to our winners at the business meeting on Saturday and enjoy one of the new Table Prayers at the banquet that evening.
If you remember in my vice-presidential address last year, I raised the question about the dates when we gather, noting the difficulties that this poses for our Orthodox and Eastern Christian members and our Jewish members. Although we are locked into a contract with Hyatt for the next several years, it is not too early to think about this matter. I took the initiative to canvas our Jewish and Orthodox and Eastern Christian members (as best I could determine from the academy roster). Many members have already responded.
In summary, there is consensus from Eastern and Orthodox Christian academy members that meetings over the Epiphany weekend exclude many for whom this is a major ecclesial feast — akin to Christmas. Many thought that if we could meet one weekend later, more members would be able to attend. Our Jewish members who responded thus far acknowledge the difficulty of meeting and/or traveling on Sabbath, but in general they recognize that the Saturday night stay-over is important for good airfares. The next step is to see if Hyatt can offer such advantageous hotel rates if we were to meet a week later, then to discuss this matter at our academy business meeting. If we receive a green light from the Hyatt Corporation, plan on this topic under new business at our Saturday meeting.
There you have it! At this point there is nothing more to say than to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and to tell you how much I look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis in the New Year.
Sincerely,
Michael S. Driscoll
2002 President, NAAL
Theology Department
University of Notre Dame
