Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Whenever we think of the term church building, we should always think of building as a verb as well as a noun, for the building of a church is much more than just the physical, architectural result. When St. Paul spoke of building up the church, he meant living in such a way that the body of Christ would grow in faith, grace, strength, wisdom and love. For the past century and a half, the people of Grace Cathedral have been building up the church in just this way, and along the way we have built and rebuilt structures to support our ministry, worship and fellowship. Now, God has presented us with the need, opportunity and challenge to build up the church again through the expansion of our facilities. This will include a new, larger main-floor parish hall; a new choir room; remodeled space for the Common Room, nurseries, acolytes and choristers; and additional storage and parking, including handicap parking near the Polk Street door; all of this to increase our ever-widening circle of fellowship through new growth in membership and the pastoral care and provision of all our members. We also believe that through new construction and the remodeling of our facility, the Cathedral will be able to extend and deepen its mission to Topeka, the diocese and the world. This is ultimately the only acceptable reason for building a church facility. A church building is not an end in itself. It is simply a tool though a very important tool for evangelism, outreach, worship, fellowship, learning and ministry that will help us respond faithfully to the call and mission of Christ. So, on behalf of God and this Cathedral parish, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas and God s one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, we now extend an invitation to each of you to help forge this tool. Building up the church (spiritually and architecturally) requires the support and prayers of the entire congregation as well as the many friends of our Cathedral. Please give this matter your prayerful consideration, and know that whatever support you are able to give will be received with joy and gratitude. In faithfulness, Steve Lipscomb+
Yesterday Around 1888, when Grace Cathedral moved from its location at 7 th and Jackson Streets to the present site, worship services took place in Guild Hall auditorium, a stone and wooden frame building housing offices, classrooms, meeting rooms and a parish hall. It would be 22 years (1910) before the cornerstone was laid for the Cathedral proper and another seven before construction was complete (minus the towers) and the dedication service held. Many of the people who dreamed the dream of a great cathedral in Topeka did not live to see that dream fulfilled. In fact, they knew that they were working and giving to build a church in which they themselves would never worship. Still, they labored and gave and sacrificed to ensure the building would be built to serve the next generation. One great example was Cathedral member and Topeka founder Frye Giles. He and Mrs. Giles, along with others, advocated for and financially supported the building of the Cathedral for many years. After his death, his home was rented as a cigar store to support his wife until her death. At that time, the house, along with the rest of his estate, was sold and the money directed to construct the stone walls of the Cathedral. It is said that a man begins to understand the meaning of life when he plants shade trees under which he knows he will never sit. On April 13, 1874, the vestry decided to enlarge and improve the original Grace Church at 7 th and Jackson by adding a steeple and increasing the seating capacity. During construction, services were held at Union Hall downtown. The congregation had grown to 86 communicants. In June 1879, Grace Church of Topeka was designated the Cathedral of the diocese at the Diocesan Convention, and the Rev. Richard Ellerby became the first dean on August 1, 1880. Grace Cathedral, 7th and Jackson Guild Hall 2
The Cathedral moved to the 8 th and Polk location in 1888. Worship took place in the parish hall until 1917 when the new Cathedral worship space was completed. In 1950 a new parish hall (now the Cloister Building) was added to the Cathedral, and in 1955 the Cathedral towers were completed. Successful capital campaigns in the early 1960s procured a new pipe organ and provided funds for the demolition of Guild Hall and the construction of Cathedral Hall (the office building) on the same site. In 1975, The Great Fire destroyed the Cathedral. A 1976 capital campaign helped rebuild the grand structure, which was reopened in 1978. In 1993-94, a capital campaign raised funds to enclose the cloister between the Cathedral and Cathedral Hall, as well as install an elevator. In 2001, a $2 million campaign restored the exterior of the Cathedral and allowed for the completion of the church s interior (unfinished from the time of the fire). Excluding reconstruction after the fire, no new construction or additional space has been added for 60 years. This brief history of Cathedral campaigns, of course, does not include the many individual gifts through the years: the tower chimes, the stained glass windows, the Bubb Room, Sloan Hall, the reworking of the organ, the Chapel of the Resurrection columbarium, McClintock and then St. Mary s Chapel, Crosby Chapel and so many more. The Cathedral Parish has a history of present generations building on what past generations have done to provide for today and for future generations to come. That is a noble legacy. The call to carry on that legacy now has come to us. The Cathedral prior to 1955 and the completion of the towers. The aftermath of The Great Fire (1975) 3
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Today The present campaign will provide for our people today and will prepare us for continued growth and service in the years to come. The plan calls for a new main floor parish hall that will be easily accessible to all and much closer to the worship space to encourage fellowship. The new hall s 350-seat capacity will accommodate about twice the number of our current downstairs space. This will not only allow for comfortable seating at all our parish fellowship events, but will also allow us to be a more hospitable Cathedral, with the capacity to host all large diocesan gatherings as well as special community events. The new hall will be outfitted to serve double duty as a recreational area for our youth. Though connected to the Cathedral, the building will also have entrances on the south, facing the Bethany Place grounds, and landscaping will be done to create a beautiful courtyard between the parish hall and the surrounding diocesan buildings. (see pages 9-10) New parish hall Our goal is to create and enhance opportunities for fellowship as a main part of our life together. It answers a pastoral concern for our elderly and physically challenged parishioners through the new hall s main floor setting and close proximity to the worship space, as well as encouraging others to participate in after church and other fellowship events. In addition, the Cloister Building will be renovated to allow for an impressive two-story entrance hall or gathering room (left). This Cathedral Central will serve as a place for coffee and conversation before church, a greeting place before entering parish hall functions and a friendly transition space for newcomers. From this new central location, the church is only one room away, the parish hall only one room away, the elevator, nursery and restroom doors are visible, and the office just down a short hallway. In the room is an open stairwell an architectural focal point that will be clearly marked to let people know that it leads to classrooms, choir and acolyte rooms, and children s chapel. New gathering room The goal is to create an aesthetically pleasing central foyer for the entire facility; to eliminate unnecessary, narrow hallways; to add main floor storage (of which we currently have none) and to make Grace Cathedral a more user friendly place. 5
OFFICES BUBB ROOM 8th Avenue Bethany Place CATHEDRAL Proposed Great Hall - Main Level 6
Second floor A new choir room will be constructed above the kitchen in the new parish hall building, and the old choir room will be divided to provide rooms for the choristers (youth choir) and acolytes. The women s choir dressing room, lost to make a two-story entrance hall, will be relocated to the south end of Sloan Hall. New storage areas on the main floor and basement level will allow us to convert two former classrooms, presently used for storage rooms, back to classrooms. Music is an incredibly important program and ministry at Grace. When the opportunity to create more space on the second floor presented itself, a new choir room seemed the logical choice. The new room will be larger than the choir s current space. Increased ceiling height will better mimic the fine acoustics of the Cathedral and decrease the singers auditory fatigue. Increased space will allow both the Choristers and Cathedral Choir to rehearse together without overcrowding. 7
Basement We would like to add a partial basement under the new parish hall. This would allow access to plumbing and electrical elements as well as creating new storage. There is no other construction planned in the basement at this time. The current space still can be used for gatherings and Sunday school. Many ideas have been suggested for future use of this area. One idea, a preschool, is shown just as an example of possible future use. Two huge classrooms would be possible while still allowing for a 20-foot buffer or hallway around the room to maintain a reverent and respectful space for our columbarium. Also shown as an example is an office and kitchen area for a preschool, while the rest is reserved for storage of which we currently have precious little. With the exception of a basement under the new construction, no new work will be undertaken in this space at this time. Future possibilities are classrooms, a preschool, a bookstore and a gift shop. The possibilities for future ministry are endless. Some of the old kitchen space will be converted immediately to storage. Columbariam Porch Boiler Room 8
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The Diocesan Project On some of our elevation drawings, like the one opposite, you will see a building to the southeast of the proposed parish hall. This is a planned new building for the diocese to be known as the Leadership Center. It will contain the bishop s offices as well as classroom space for the Kansas School for Ministry (KSM), a continuing education facility for clergy and lay people as well as a training center for persons who will be ordained as deacons and priests. The Bethany Place Conference Center (formerly the bishop s house), bordering the west side of the courtyard in the elevation drawings and which is now used for KSM classes, will be converted to a dormitory to house out-of-town KSM students. Parking Plans for the Cathedral s additional handicap parking near the Polk Street door are still in place, with the same number of spaces (10) and in the same location as originally planned. Additional parking has been moved further south to accommodate the construction of the diocesan building. The walk is a little farther but, with the added courtyard, more pleasant. And the walkway is covered, which will be nice on rainy and snowy days. There are also more total parking spaces than in our original plan 46 vs 40 with the possibility of adding 16 more spaces later. Goal: It is a pastoral need to provide for our elderly and physically challenged parishioners. The additional spaces near the Polk Street door will allow them immediate, unobstructed entrance to the Cathedral. The additional south-side parking spaces not only will provide relief for our congested west side parking lot but will encourage continued growth by providing additional spaces for new worshipers. Courtyard view looking from the south toward new Parish Hall. 10
Tomorrow Generations past, even back to the Cathedral s founders, worked, gave and sacrificed to build a cathedral that would serve in their day and for future generations to come. The words of Bishop Goodrich Fenner remind us of our predecessors spirit and commitment as well as our own responsibilities today: Succeeding generations have adorned Grace Cathedral and built mightily into its spiritual fabric. What is here today is vastly more extensive than our founders could have dreamed. But dreams do become realities in the hearts of earnest [people].... Now it is time to dream new dreams. Please help us see that this new dream becomes reality. Give as generously as you can. Sacrifice if you will. Let this be our time to build up Grace Cathedral for the building up of God s kingdom for growth, for ministry, for today and for tomorrow. ANOTHER GENERATION OF GENEROSITY AT GRACE CATHEDRAL 11
13 Aerial view from the South