Cathedral Centenary & Convocation Revival Weekend

Through wars and occupations, celebrations and crises, the spire of the Cathedral has served as a beacon inspiring the word and witness of the Episcopal Church throughout Europe. From the moment of construction of the soaring Neo-Gothic Holy Trinity church, there was a vision of it as a cathedral. On March 18th, 1923, Holy Trinity was consecrated as a cathedral and became the seat of the Bishop-in-Charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, which counts nine parishes and a dozen missions and congregations.

The Cathedral commemorates its centenary this year, looking at the past through a theme of its journey towards inclusion, and leaning into a future of faith, love, and charity. Thank you to all who joined us this March—let’s keep the celebration going!

Thank you to Lynette Wilson of the Episcopal News Service, Matthieu Lasserre of La Croix, and Laurence Moachon of Le Magazine Anglican and Fréquence Protestante, who covered the weekend. Click on the images below to discover their stories.

By Lynette Wilson, *Episcopal News Service*.

By Laurence Moachon, *Le Magazine Anglican* and *Fréquence Protestante*

Photos by Kate French.

Welcome Gathering & Open House

Friday, March 24th

Thank you to all who joined us for an exciting night of music, fellowship, and cake to celebrate our Cathedral’s Centenary. The evening featured our ministries and outreach, and entertainment from our community. We all added our hopes and dreams for the next 100 years to our Tapestry of the Future, and made 500 dignity kits to distribute to those in need. We had a demonstration on our historic Cavaillé-Coll organ, a birthday cake, and a dance party to close out the night.

Jazz Vespers Musicians Bethany Clearfield (soprano) and Hermon Mehari (trumpet), accompanied by Emanuele Filippi (piano).

Left to right: Annual Appeal Co-Chair Chris Barnes, Lector Head Jocelyn Phelps, and Friends of the Cathedral Robbin and Kyle Ahrold.

Playing "Happy Birthday" on old organ pipes! Left to right: Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, Bishop in Charge Mark Edington, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Senior Warden Ann Dushane, Interim Dean Tim Safford, former Canon for Youth Simon Asquith, Facilities Manager Dennis Mana-Ay, Organ Scholar George Nicholls; with Canon for Music Zach Ullery conducting, and parishioner Seth Hinkley assisting.

Interim Dean Tim Safford and Senior Warden Ann Dushane thank everyone for coming.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry sings along!

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry with his new purple beret, a gift from Bishop in Charge Mark Edington.

Dignity kits including soap, sardines, laundry detergent, and a card reminding people they are loved (in the languages of the Convocation).

The clergy say hello! Front row, left to right: The Rev. Sunny Hallanan (All Saint's Waterloo, Belgium), Interim Dean Tim Safford, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Bishop in Charge Mark Edington, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation Stephanie Spellers, The Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer. Back row, left to right: Archdeacon Walter Baer, Cathedral Canon Nat Katz, Head of the Mission Francophone Jean Dumond Chavanne, The Rev. Dr. Francisco Alberca (St. Paul's Within the Walls, Rome), The Rev. Katie Osweiler (All Saint's Waterloo, Belgium), The Rev. Clair Ullmann (Church of the Ascension, Munich), The Rev. Dr. Peter Lindvall, The Very Rev. Dr. Christopher Meakin, The Rev. Gregory Stark, former Cathedral Dean Zachary Fleetwood, Deacon Richard Cole.

Convocation Revival!

Saturday, March 25th

God is calling us into the future. Let’s gather! For years, we’ve been saying “we’re not an expatriate church anymore.” But now we are discerning a new identity, and a new call in mission: we are a migrant church, an expression of the Anglican idea shaped by our American roots and our European context. And as a migrant church, we are a church on the move.

Thanks to Lynette Wilson, who covered the Revival!

Bishop in Charge Mark Edington welcomed us in the morning, then turned it over to Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who spoke about Evangelism in Our Age. Then we broke into ministry workshops—David Case and Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation Stephanie Spellers on Beloved Community; The Rev. Dan Morrow on Congregational Development; Giulia Bonoldi on Welcoming Refugees in Our Communities; and Caireen Warren and Madeline Hennig on Seeking & Responding to Human Trafficking.

In the afternoon, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry led us in a Revival, urging us to imagine the future God is calling us into. The Rev. Dr. Lisa Allen-McLaurin led us in song, members of our community shared testimonials, and we prayed with our Youth from across the Convocation. We ended the day with a reception catered by Meet my Mama, and took dignity kits out into the world.

Fun fact: Presiding Bishop Michael Curry filmed his 2023 Easter message at the Revival!

Bishop in Charge Mark Edington welcomes us to the Revival, with a terrific view of the Parisian skyline.

Friends say hi as the Revival gets started.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell on Evangelism in Our Age.

The crowd listens to Archbishop Cottrell.

Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation Stephanie Spellers and chair of the Convocation’s Racial Justice and Beloved Community initiative David Case lead a workshop on Becoming Beloved Community.

The Reverend Dan Morrow leads a workshop on Congregational Development.

The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers kicks off our Revival!

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry speaks about God's Hope for a Church on the Move.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Bishop in Charge Mark Edington embrace.

Patricia Solomon, of Emmanuel Church Geneva, testifies.

Thoma Lipartiani, of the Mission St Nino, Tbilisi (left), and the Rev. Dr. Edda Wolff (right) lead our multi-lingual prayers of the people.

Joris Bürmann (left) testifies, translated by Sroda Bedarida-Gaveh (right), of Emmanuel Church, Geneva.

The Bishops Banter! Left to right: The Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Bishop in Charge Mark Edington, Archbishop of Uppsala Dr Martin Modéus, and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell.

The dignity kits, ready to go out into the world!

Holy Eucharist for our Centenary

Sunday, March 26th

We continued the Centenary celebrations with a pancake breakfast for the Youth from across the Convocation, who were joined by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

We joined together with a Holy Eucharist on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. The American Ambassador to France, Denise Bauer, joined us as a special guest, as did our siblings from the Swedish Church, led by Archbishop of Uppsala Dr. Martin Modéus.

At coffee hour, we lit the candles on another birthday cake, made by our incredible Cathedral parishioners.

The Mission Épiscopale Francophone de la Résurrection presented Presiding Bishop Michael Curry with a portrait of Saint Élie Neau and a gorgeous green stole.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry speaks to the Youth of the Convocation at a pancake breakfast.

Bishop in Charge Mark Edington greets American Ambassador to France Denise Bauer before the service.

Interim Dean Tim Safford chats with American Ambassador to France Denise Bauer and her husband, Steven Bauer.

Thanks be to God! The service continues in our beautiful nave.

The Mission Épiscopale Francophone de la Résurrection presents Presiding Bishop Michael Curry with a portrait of Saint Élie Neau.

Archbishop of Uppsala Dr. Martin Modéus chats at coffee hour.

Parishioners adding their hopes for the next century to our Tapestry of the Future.

The Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Swedish Church and the Episcopal Church

Monday, March 27th

Thanks to Lynette Wilson for covering the service!

The memorandum of understanding is an official recognition of the centuries-old ecumenical relationship between the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden. It was ratified in 2022 by both the Episcopal General Convention and the Swedish General Synod.

The service brought together clergy, friends, and family from both sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the North Sea, to what felt like a wedding, according to the Rev. Margaret Rose.

Discussing the Memorandum of Understanding before the signing. Left to right, at the table: Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Episcopal Church Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Collaboration the Rev. Margaret Rose, former Bishop in Charge Pierre Whalon, Bishop in Charge Mark Edington, The Very Rev. Dr. Christopher Meakin, Archbishop of Uppsala Dr. Martin Modéus.

Priests from across the Convocation and from the Church of Sweden gather for a moment of prayer before the service.

Priests from the Church of Sweden (black robes) and the Convocation (white robes) worshiping together.

A memorable sermon from Archbishop of Uppsala Dr. Martin Modéus.

Cathedral Choir mezzo-soprano Åsa Junesjö serenades us during the service.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop of Uppsala Dr. Martin Modéus embrace after the signing.

Signing the Memorandum of Understanding! Left to right, front: Deputy to the Presiding Bishop for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations the Rev. Margaret Rose, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Archbishop of Uppsala Dr. Martin Modéus, The Very Rev. Dr. Christopher Meakin. Back, left to right: former Bishop in Charge Pierre Whalon, Bishop in Charge Mark Edington. Photo: Jeremy Tackett.

The Memorandum of understanding, Swedish version.

Signatures on the Memorandum of Understanding.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop of Uppsala Dr. Martin Modéus share a joke after the service.

The clergy gather in the Parish Hall for a celebratory lunch!

Thank you!

This weekend was made possible by incredible volunteers from the Cathedral, from our Friends, from across the Convocation, from the Episcopal Church, from the Swedish Church, and from our Parisian neighborhood. We are grateful for all the hard work, long hours, and financial support that made this celebration unforgettable.

Questions, comments, requests? Email communications@americancathedral.org.