A landmark occasion: St. John’s celebrates a century since site dedicated

Among the most recognizable sights in the Spokane area is the 180-foot Gothic sandstone structure of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist located on the South Hill.

The construction of such an edifice was no mean feat, and the Episcopal congregation it houses has not failed to commemorate that process.

“We know that we have this real treasure in terms of the neo-Gothic architecture constructed by hand with masonry techniques,” said Dean Heather VanDeventer, who presided over a Sept. 21 service celebrating the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the land on which St. John is now built. “There’s a great gift done by those human hands in placing stone on stone.”

Not built in a day

The service, which began outdoors, included a recreation of a cross that was planted in the ground at the 1925 dedication; prayers from the 1892 common book that would have been in use at the time; a liturgical song called a Venite based on Psalm 95 (“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation …”) meant to reflect the style of the early 20th century; and a special musical offering of a piece called Sunset from a group known as the Mendelssohn Club, among other things.

VanDeventer is quick to note that this was only the first in a series of such remembrances.

“The cathedral certainly was not built in a day,” she said. “… The big centennial (100 years since the venue’s first Eucharistic service) will be in 2029, end of October.”

St. John’s tower and sanctuary were still not finished as of that inaugural 1929 service, which took place just before the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression. The resulting financial fallout stalled the construction process so badly that the structure – designed by parishioner Harold Whitehouse – was not fully completed until the 1950s.

A global attraction

VanDeventer came to St. John the Evangelist in 2018, leaving behind a post at Alexandria, Virginia’s historic Christ Church (unrelated to the Moscow, Idaho, congregation), where George Washington once served on the vestry. Her experience at the colonial church, which also “had a lot of visitors who came because of its architecture and history,” helped prepare her for her current position.

“I had not expected that this cathedral here was going to have as many visitors – both local, from across the state and around the world – who come,” she said.

St. John’s offers community engagements like guided tours with exhibits including a rare Saint John’s Bible, a handmade manuscript of the Gospels and Book of Acts which is described on the cathedral’s website as “the first such manuscript commissioned by monks since the invention of the printing press.” Planned future exhibits will cover topics like the history of the diocese’s missionary efforts with area tribes, which are depicted on the cathedral’s stained glass windows.

“When that was put in in the 1950s, we weren’t listening to the tribes in the same way,” VanDeventer said. “We have stories to tell in a different way that shares what we have learned and what we have actually listened to from our siblings in the tribes.”

A vision for a new century

“The cathedral was always intended to be for the broader community, and not just for the Episcopal church,” said VanDeventer, who hopes that St. John can offer society at large “a sign of hope in troubled times.”

In the end, she also emphasizes that any fascination with the structure and its history must not overshadow the core message of the church.

“We’re more than a building,” she said. “We are really looking to not just look to the past and our tradition, to the historic ways and construction and the like – but in terms of our way of seeking to be Christian here in the Spokane community, to be drawing people into a faith tradition that takes the Bible seriously but not literally, to respond to the needs of the world with a heavy emphasis on loving the Lord our God with our heart, soul and strength and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

“That’s the vision we have as we look into the second century of the cathedral.”

This story was written in partnership with FāVS News, a nonprofit newsroom covering faith and religion in the Inland Northwest.