​Cathedrals and Deans in Places of Loss and Hope​.

OVERVIEW

All places (and all lives) are places of loss and hope. In the post industrial cities of the Rust Belt, where many of our cathedrals are located, loss and hope are visible and unavoidable in the landscape and in the soul. This will be the setting for the 2016 Deans Conference in Erie, Pennsylvania on the southern shore of Lake Erie, along the border of the US and Canada. We will meet under the theme, "Cathedrals and Deans in Places of Loss and Hope." Speakers will include Sister Joan Chittister, whose spirituality has been forged by a lifetime based in Erie; Tom Noyes, whose short stories portray life in the Rust Belt; and Dean John Witcombe of Coventry Cathedral, a site and setting of loss, hope, and reconciliation. These speakers will help us consider realism and resilience in the ministries of cathedrals and deans.