When one thinks of a church making radical changes in the role it plays in people’s lives, it’s pretty rare that it has the name “cathedral” attached to their name. Normally for a denomination, or even laypeople, the name “cathedral” is associated with the institutional core of those faiths; a venue where the most sacred services are held and, more often than not, where the administrative offices are for those dioceses.
So when the Spy was tipped off the other day that Trinity Cathedral Easton, the home of the Disease of Easton, was in the process of rewriting the rules of worship and fellowship at one of Mid-Shore’s most historic churches, we reached out to The Very Rev. Gregory Powell, to understand more about his congregation’s plans to comprehensively change its concept of what a Sunday service looks like and more importantly, feels that experience.
A native of the deep South, Rev. Powell would not have been considered a “game-changer” when he came out of divinity school nor in his first decade of church leadership. In fact, after moving to Pocomoke City to serve as St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, he would be the first to call his ministry in those days evangelical.
But as Greg became more exposed to some of the more progressive leaders of the Episcopal Church, including the work of Bishop John Shelby Spong, his own spiritual journey, and his ideas on what a church needs to be in the 21st Century, started to take a new direction. And that included speaking out against racism and other serious social issues facing his community.
In his interview with the Spy, Rev. Powell talks about this transition and how he envisions Trinity in the next few years as he and his church become a safe and accessible place of worship for all.
This video is approximately nine minutes in length. For more information about Trinity Cathedral Easton please go here.
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Deirdre LaMotte says
How utterly refreshing! My deceased father in law, an Episcopal Rector, had said the church will die without activism and appreciation of change. Keep up the great work!