When a Cathedral becomes a cathedral
On February 2, 2012, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, California purchased the iconic Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. Robert Schuller, who successfully built this megachurch and its magnetic structure, appears to also have superintended its demise and impending dissolution. The platform of his "Possibility Thinking" for a half century, the Protestant Crystal Cathedral ran out of financial possibilities and sold its assets to the Catholics who will make it the seat of the Bishop of Orange and, hence, a true cathedral.
It's worship services which are part variety show, part feature celebrity interview will give way to the ancient liturgy of the Eucharist. Where Schuller pranced and preened across his marble stage will stand a high altar where priests will offer Mass with bread and wine and incense. No doubt a crucifix will occupy a significant visual space somewhere near the altar where the huge organ pipes now dominate. I am really curious how the diocesan architects will solve the problem of turning an essentially Calvinist worship space into a sanctuary fit for Catholic worship. Will they keep the enormous moving walls that open into the parking lot for the drive-in worshipers? And what about the long fountains that run up and down the center aisle reducing the impact of the processions that usually open and close liturgical ceremonies?
Most of all, I see the change in a way differently from many of my colleagues in the Reformed Church. For over thirty years, I have been one of the naysayers concerning Schuller's ministry. I view his Possibility Thinking and pop psychology of self-esteem as theologically bankrupt. These schemes have little or nothing to do with authentic Christianity and more to do with an all-American self-actualization movement. Under the guise of sophistication, Schuller's preaching claims to have founded a "New Reformation" of religious thought that is no more original than such self-help classics as Think and Grow Rich or The Power of Positive Thinking, the latter by Schuller's mentor Norman Vincent Peale.
Now at the end of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries as we've known it, it is possible to see that this kind of religion appeals largely to the geriatric set. Most of the remaining worshipers in the eponymous sanctuary are likely to be AARP card holders who still thrill to an inspiring tale or to a success story--usually financial--of some poor individual struggling against looming odds. Nice middle class people from midwestern towns who take well to the easy listening style of the man in the gray robe are the staple of the much-reduced congregation. And now, Schuller and his family have fled the place like angry children leaving the playground because the other kids won't do what they say.
I welcome the Catholics to the Crystal Cathedral. May their transformation of the building into a cathedral reflect not only some dramatic architectural challenges, but also create a space where the drama of redemption will play out, where the dealings between God and a sinful humanity will perhaps become plainer than ever before.
It's worship services which are part variety show, part feature celebrity interview will give way to the ancient liturgy of the Eucharist. Where Schuller pranced and preened across his marble stage will stand a high altar where priests will offer Mass with bread and wine and incense. No doubt a crucifix will occupy a significant visual space somewhere near the altar where the huge organ pipes now dominate. I am really curious how the diocesan architects will solve the problem of turning an essentially Calvinist worship space into a sanctuary fit for Catholic worship. Will they keep the enormous moving walls that open into the parking lot for the drive-in worshipers? And what about the long fountains that run up and down the center aisle reducing the impact of the processions that usually open and close liturgical ceremonies?
Most of all, I see the change in a way differently from many of my colleagues in the Reformed Church. For over thirty years, I have been one of the naysayers concerning Schuller's ministry. I view his Possibility Thinking and pop psychology of self-esteem as theologically bankrupt. These schemes have little or nothing to do with authentic Christianity and more to do with an all-American self-actualization movement. Under the guise of sophistication, Schuller's preaching claims to have founded a "New Reformation" of religious thought that is no more original than such self-help classics as Think and Grow Rich or The Power of Positive Thinking, the latter by Schuller's mentor Norman Vincent Peale.
Now at the end of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries as we've known it, it is possible to see that this kind of religion appeals largely to the geriatric set. Most of the remaining worshipers in the eponymous sanctuary are likely to be AARP card holders who still thrill to an inspiring tale or to a success story--usually financial--of some poor individual struggling against looming odds. Nice middle class people from midwestern towns who take well to the easy listening style of the man in the gray robe are the staple of the much-reduced congregation. And now, Schuller and his family have fled the place like angry children leaving the playground because the other kids won't do what they say.
I welcome the Catholics to the Crystal Cathedral. May their transformation of the building into a cathedral reflect not only some dramatic architectural challenges, but also create a space where the drama of redemption will play out, where the dealings between God and a sinful humanity will perhaps become plainer than ever before.
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