Rededication Covenant between Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception—June 2, 1999
Read the Original Covenant from 1974
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Whereas, it is the express will of Jesus Christ “that they all may be one;” and
Whereas, on the second day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seventy-four the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri, and the congregations of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception entered into a Covenant; and
Whereas, that Covenant expressed the will of the people of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral to embody through worship, ministry, and education the vision of the reunion of the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches; and
Whereas, for twenty-five years these Sister Churches have sought unity through theological understanding, prayer, worship, education and joint ministries for social justice and the common good;
Now,
Therefore, to celebrate our shared baptismal covenant, and having experienced a grace-filled recognition of the practical and real possibilities of mutuality, we solemnly and reverentially reaffirm our historic Covenant and hereby pledge:
1. To support each other in celebrating the traditions which we each revere as the legacy of our understanding of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. To promote efforts to renew and revitalize the City in which God has placed us so we may be at the spiritual heart of the metropolitan area.
3. To feed the needs of God’s people spiritually, physically and culturally, especially the needs of persons without the comfort of spiritual or material homes.
4. To share our physical facilities and resources through programs and activities which build community, minister to social needs, and foster educational and spiritual development.
5. To celebrate in our liturgies a frequent prayer to God for each other and for the unity of the Church.
6. To pray for the work of scholars who strive to resolve the theological ambiguities involved in reconciliation.
7. To create opportunities for mutual worship, celebration, study and social activities.
8. To dedicate ourselves to meetings for prayer, study and the furtherance of our unity.
We commit ourselves to these objectives and petition the blessing of Almighty God on this Covenant.
In Witness Whereof, we set our hands this second day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, the twenty-fifth anniversary of our first Covenant.
Signed by:
The Right Reverend Barry R. Howe, D.Min.
Diocese of West Missouri
The Most Reverend Raymond J. Boland, D.D.
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
The Very Reverend Dennis J.J. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Dean, Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
Monsignor Ernest J. Fiedler
Rector/Pastor, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Mr. Albert P. Mauro
Senior Warden, Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
Mr. Stephen W. Livingston
Parish Representative, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception