Cathedral celebrates centennial over four years

By Catherine Ferguson SNJM

On Sept. 20, 1925, the site for what is now the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist at 127 E. 12th Ave. was dedicated as a "Beacon on the Hill" and a "Light for Christ" in a troubled world.

Today, 100 years later, its centennial committee, co-chaired by Nina Beegle and Darryl Gurecky, desires for St. John's to be not just "a beacon on the hill" but also "a cathedral for the city."

As an example, Nina said St. John's hosted with others the Hope for Creation Conference to showcase local caretakers of air, water and land and affirm Spokane's leadership in environmental care and renewal.

What is the cathedral? It has three interwoven functions.

• It is the official seat of the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, currently the Right Rev. Gretchen Rehberg, and the center of its many diocesan activities.

• St. John's is the largest parish in the diocese whose current dean is The Very Rev. Heather VanDeventer.

• Its role is as a center for public gatherings and respectful engagement, as well as cultural activities emphasized by its physical location overlooking downtown Spokane.

The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist was the fulfillment of the dream of the Right Rev. Edward Makin Cross, the third bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Spokane. He served the diocese from 1924 to 1954.

This Cathedral was the successor of All Saints Cathedral (1889 to1929) and two other episcopal parishes of Spokane, St. Peter's and St. James' Mission.

Construction began in the middle of the roaring twenties and Spokane's population had increased rapidly with the railroads connecting Spokane to major commerce centers on the East and West Coasts, as well as in Canada.

The bishop envisioned a grand cathedral like the magnificent Gothic cathedrals of Europe. To accomplish this, he engaged Spokane architect Harold Whitehouse, who designed the building in the English Gothic style with French influence. Between 1925 and 1929, the main part of the cathedral, the nave, was completed before the Great Depression halted construction.

"The architect's attention to detail was amazing," commented Nina, as she pointed out elements in the construction of the solid masonry of the nave, which used sandstone quarried in Tacoma and Boise. "His plans and notes are such a resource to have in our archives, and we hope to share this in one of the several exhibitions planned during our four years of anniversary celebrations."

Jennifer Ogden, secretary of the centennial committee, explained, "The centennial celebrations occurring from 2025 to 2029 are being planned around four key anniversaries in the cathedral's history: its site dedication on Sept. 20, 1925, the groundbreaking on Nov. 17, 1926, the laying of the cornerstone on June 10, 1928, and its consecration on Oct. 10, 1929."

In this first year of celebration, the committee is planning at least three special activities.

• The first is an outdoor service to be held on Sunday, Sept. 21, commemorating the land dedication.

• In the fall is a gala event, featuring a dinner, followed by dancing in the aisles of the Cathedral.

• The third opportunity this fall will be to display an interactive handwritten, hand-illuminated Gospel of St. John from the St. John's Bible Project.

"It is magnificent, done in the medieval tradition with illuminations for our time," Nina said.

In 1998, Saint John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn., commissioned calligrapher Donald Jackson to produce a hand-written, hand-illuminated Bible with the technology and vision of today.

The goal of The Saint John's Bible Project was to ignite the spiritual imagination of peoples throughout the world by presenting the Bible as a work of art that illuminates the Word of God for a new millennium in a way that is relevant to the 21st century.

Various special aspects of the cathedral will be featured throughout the centennial celebration.

"Our stained-glass windows were done by two of the premier studios in the United States—Connick Associates and Willett of Philadelphia—and many years apart but even with their differences in style and color they blend in beautifully," Nina explained.

Whitehouse and Bishop Cross worked closely with the stained-glass artist of the era, Charles Connick and his studio in Boston, to design and craft the windows, following the medieval tradition for them to be a tool to educate the faithful. The windows on the south side of the nave feature important figures in the Old Testament, while the north side features those from the New Testament.

In 1933, the central portion of the Rose Window was put in place, but it was not completed until 1955, well after the end of World War II.

The second phase of construction began in 1948 after the end of the war. At that time, the north and south transepts and the tower were completed.

Sometime prior to 1980, the Connick Studio closed, and future windows were put in place following the design of Whitehouse and Connick but crafted by the Willet Hauser Architectural Glass Company of Philadelphia. Some of the more recent windows also feature local Spokane history including the faith journey of Spokane Chief Garry, which was installed in 1958.

The most recent addition to the cathedral was a Columbarium built in 2000 just outside of the passageway between the Welcome Center and the cathedral proper where there are stained glass windows honoring the women of St. John's and a former bishop.

"The original architect determined that, unlike many of the cathedrals in Europe, no person would be interred in St. John's itself," Nina said, explaining why they needed to have a Columbarium—a structure to hold urns with cremated remains of the dead—on the cathedral grounds.

Not just the building but also parishioners of St. John's through the years will be featured in the celebrations.

"Cathedral member Evan Olson is putting together a set of oral history videos of parishioners that we hope to feature on our website. He started with some of our long-time members, but I don't think they will be posted until the third phase of our celebration," said Nina.

"I know he has done videos of Joan Degerstrom who had been coming to St. John's as a child since the first stages of construction, of Kay Rafferty, the granddaughter of the architect, of Cate Moye, who is the daughter of Dean Richard Coombs and grew up in the deanery across the street, and of Stan Fergin, who contributed to Expo 74 and was active in the parish most of his life," she added.

Events planned for the next three years have not been developed in as much detail yet, but in 2026 there will be an exhibition focused on the pre-history of the cathedral from Sept. 17 to Nov. 15, and an outdoor service commemorating the groundbreaking on Sunday, Nov. 8.

For the third phase in 2028, they have planned a service commemorating the laying of the cornerstone on Sunday June 11, and an exhibition focused on the art and architecture of the cathedral from Sept. 14 to Nov. 12, in collaboration with the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture and feature particularly the Native American presence in the windows.

Finally, in 2029 to commemorate the consecration of St. John's, they plan a week of services from Sunday to Saturday, Oct. 21 to 27.

Nina affirmed, "All are welcome at these events—civic, nonprofit, faith, business leaders and engaged citizens. All points of view are needed in a cathedral for the city. The dignity of each person will be respected. Sessions, except for fundraisers, are free with no registration."

For information, visit stjohns-cathedral.org.