Dear members of St. Paul’s Cathedral:

As most of you know by this time, two steps have been taken toward making St. Paul’s into a full Diocesan Cathedral. The proposed plan was adopted unanimously by your Vestry, and then presented to the Executive Council of the Diocese where it was likewise approved unanimously. The next and final step in our democratic tradition is to bring it before a Parish Meeting.

It is the judgment of all of us who have had to deal with the matter so far that this move toward full Cathedral status is beneficial both to St. Paul’s and to the Diocese.  In order that we may with some vision, plan for the future, and build for the centuries, we would like to suggest to you the importance for St. Paul’s, the Diocese, and the City, of what we are doing.

(a) The Cathedral is a symbol of tradition and continuity. It is a visible link with the Christian ages, and binds us symbolically to the Cathedrals and traditions of the Old World. If some of the small Cities of England have Cathedrals, if Cathedrals are now being built in England and American Cities, it is clear that the great City of Detroit should do the same.

(b) The Cathedral is a symbol of unity, not only with the past but for the present. Every member of our growing Diocese, which comprises the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula, should look to St. Paul’s as the central Church, the mother Church, of our area. There the great Services should take place. As the Cathedral now stands, it is incomplete, and in some ways a poor symbol of that unity. It is not now a true Cathedral, but a Parish Church named as the Cathedral. If we move it to full Cathedral status, complete it, and place here our Diocesan headquarters, it will truly express the unity of the Diocese. A Parish Church belongs to a particular congregation and locality. A Cathedral belongs to us all. People in Hillman, and Otter Lake, and Flint, and Saginaw, should speak of “our Cathedral”. I mention this to stress again its centrality and strengthening influence. This total participation of all of us in our Cathedral is expressed in the structure of the Cathedral Chapter which will be explained to you in due course by Mr. Donald N Sweeny, your Senior Warden.

(c) We have also a responsibility to our City to raise up in beauty a great Cathedral center. We are located in a position which is a blessing and a responsibility. St. Paul’s is on the main street, in Detroit. It is just below the developing cultural center, and if the Cathedral is developed it will become an obvious part of it. Just to the west is the developing beauty of Wayne University, and just to the east the developing Medical Center. It is also centrally located as far as the great expressway system is concerned.

If we plan wisely, and in a big manner, St. Paul’s can become a central Church for the whole City, and a great House of Prayer for all people. A magnificent tower has been promised, with a peal of bells, and this, plus the plans which we have for a new Parish Hall and Diocesan Office, can give us some glimpse of the greatness of what we together will build.

We can assure the congregation of the Cathedral that its completion physically now will absorb a great deal of our time. During the past ten years many new Missions and Church buildings have been added to the Diocese. This growth was our most pressing problem, and it still remains a great problem, but thanks to the generosity of many, we have done well in this building of new Churches in growing areas. The next great step forward must be to raise up, before this Diocese and City, St. Paul’s Church as a full Cathedral and Diocesan center.

We have gone into no detail in this message to you, because that will be explained to you technically at your Parish meeting. We have simply held before you a vision, and we ask your support, your prayers, and your financial gifts.

The Cathedral News, May 1956
Cathedral Church of St. Paul’s records, 1824-1995, Box 0623 Ba 2
Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor