Saturday, June 24, 2006 This morning we boarded buses after breakfast for a short trip to Christ Church Cathedral in downtown St. Louis, located at 13th & Locust Streets. It appears to be three distinct buildings, the original dating from the mid-19th Century. Inside the cathedral proper, the reredos – the ornamental stone wall behind the altar was carved 1909 – 1911 and weighs 160 tons. It is made of Beer Stone, “an oolite of light cream color obtained from the quarries situated near the town of Beer, close to the city of Exeter, England. There are over 52 statues on the reredos. The St. Louis version was patterned after the smaller original, located at St. Albans in England. It was destroyed by Cromwell’s men in the 1600s and restored in the 1800s. The kids worked hard during two hours of practice, while the chaperones met in an adjacent chapel that had been glowingly modernized in the late 20th Century. After that, a handful of chaperones walked the short distance to the General Assembly location at the convention center and met friends from their congregations and others. Once the rehearsal was concluded, everyone boarded one of two buses again, a bagged lunch in hand, for the short ride on the interstate to the St. Louis Zoo. For three hours the group roamed throughout the park. The Main Attraction was the baby giraffe, but there was plenty of wildlife to go ‘round. Need I say, the souvenir and ice cream stands were nearly as popular as the baby giraffe. A bus ride brought everyone back to De Mat for a short rest before tonight’s concert at the Cathedral.

Photography: Wendi Winters from UUC Annapolis,
Neal Watzman from Heritage UU Church
Web Site: Neal Watzman

Email Contact: Neal Watzman