A Verger’s-Eye View of the Installation of the 27th Presiding Bishop
By Margaret H. Gordon, National ECW Board
The beautiful and majestic Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. was the setting for Holy Eucharist with the installation of The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry as the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and primate, the first African American to serve in this capacity.
The prep work for the event began long before that historic day, Nov. 1, 2015. Most of the vergers arrived for rehearsal on Saturday, Oct. 31. It was a day filled with bright sunshine, and the cathedral was abuzz with excitement as we gathered to do a walk-through of the highly anticipated occasion. Even the “keepers of the castle,” the greeters at the entrance doors, were excited. They recognized some of us and greeted everyone warmly.
On hand were the cathedral’s three full-time vergers and ten volunteer vergers who were going to be responsible for shepherding over 300 participants into the cathedral, including guests from ecumenical and interfaith communities as well as representatives of the Anglican Communion. We met for a general briefing, received our assignments, and then were off to find our briefing and staging areas for the next day. We also worked through any logistical issues we thought might arise. The day ended on a pleasant note and we left feeling confident we could help pull this off!
Sunday morning came with a dreary, chilly mist and the beginning of lines starting to form as early as our arrival time of 9:30 a.m. for a service that was scheduled to begin at 12 noon.
There was a short meeting of the group for any last-minute updates, then we again dispersed to our assigned staging areas, which for me was the visitors lounge in the crypt level.
The vergers’ briefing document consisted of 80 pages. Such attention to detail paid off when some 3,000 people filed into that holy place to witness this holy man taking his vows to be the next leader of The Episcopal Church.
In addition, technology was used to share the magnificent service with those not in the cathedral or even the nation’s capital. For instance, an unprecedented 11 video cameras positioned throughout the cathedral filmed the service for live webcasting.
Due to the number of participants, the procession was done in stages, by numbered procession groups. I was assigned to group four, specifically The Episcopal Church, which included staff from the church center in New York and three committees whose work had to do with getting a presiding bishop in place: the joint nominating committee, and the transition and installation committees. Altogether, group four had approximately 75 people. They knew each other and they were happy to be where they were.
We were the last group to process in before all the bishops, who preceded the liturgical procession. Although we were standing for a long time, the excitement kept the adrenaline flowing and we all made it up the stairs with energy to spare. We had a long walk ahead and we were ready and eager to go.
Overall it was a glorious day, a little long, but well worth the effort expended to be part of that particular All Saints’ Day.