Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Dissertations Department of Communication Spring 4-18-2013 The Last Stone is Just the Beginning: A Rhetorical Biography of Washington National Cathedral Teresa F. Morales Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_diss Recommended Citation Morales, Teresa F., "The Last Stone is Just the Beginning: A Rhetorical Biography of Washington National Cathedral." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2013. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_diss/42 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE LAST STONE IS JUST THE BEGINNING: A RHETORICAL BIOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL by TERESA FEDERICO MORALES Under the Direction of James F. Darsey ABSTRACT Washington National Cathedral sits atop Mt. St. Alban’s hill in Washington, D.C. declar- ing itself the nation’s cathedral and spiritual home for the nation. The idea of a national church serving national purposes was first envisioned by L’Enfant in the District’s original plan. Left aside in the times of nation building, the idea of a national church slumbered until 1893 when a group of Episcopalians petitioned and received a Congressional charter to begin a church and school in Washington, D.C. The first bishop of Washington, Henry Y. Satterlee, began his bish- opric with the understanding that this cathedral being built by the Protestant Episcopal Church Foundation was to be a house of prayer for all people. Using Jasinksi’s constructivist orienta- tion to reveal the one hundred year rhetorical history defining what constitutes a “national ca- thedral” within the narrative paradigm first established by Walter Fisher, this work utilizes a rhetorical biographical approach to uncover the various discourses of those speaking of and about the Cathedral. This biographical approach claims that Washington National Cathedral possesses an ethos that differentiates the national cathedral from the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul even though the two names refer to the same building. The WNC ethos is one that allows a constant “becoming” of a national cathedral, and this ability to “become” allows for a rhetorical voice of the entity we call Washington National Cathedral. Four loci of rhetorical construction weave through this dissertation in the guiding question of how the Cathedral rhe- torically created and how it sustains itself as Washington National Cathedral: rhetoric about the Cathedral, the Cathedral as rhetoric, the Cathedral as context, and Cathedral Dean Francis Sayre, Jr. as synecdoche with the Cathedral. This dissertation is divided into eight rhetorical moments of change that take the idea of a national church from L’Enfant’s 1791 plan of the City through the January 2013 announcement allowing same-sex weddings at the Cathedral and Obama’s second inaugural prayer service. The result of this rhetorical exploration is a more nu- anced understanding of the place and how it functions in an otherwise secular society for which there is no precedent for the establishment of a national cathedral completely separated from the national government. The narrative strains that wind through Cathedral discourse create a braid of text, context, and moral imperative that ultimately allows for the unique construction of Washington National Cathedral, a construction of what defines “national” created entirely by the Cathedral. INDEX WORDS: Washington National Cathedral, Narrative paradigm, Contextual construction, Henry Y. Satterlee, Francis B. Sayre, Jr., Rhetorical history, Rhetorical biography, State funerals, Inaugural prayer service, House of prayer for all people, Spiritual home of the nation, Generous-spirited Christianity, The Episcopal Church, America’s Westminster Abbey THE LAST STONE IS JUST THE BEGINNING: A RHETORICAL BIOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL by TERESA FEDERICO MORALES A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2013 Copyright by Teresa Federico Morales 2013 THE LAST STONE IS JUST THE BEGINNING: A RHETORICAL BIOGRAPHYY OF WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL by TERESA FEDERICO MORALES Committee Chair: James F. Darsey Committee: Isaac A. Weiner Nathan S. Atkinson Elizabeth Burmester Martin J. Medhurst Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2013 iv DEDICATION As a work of love, I dedicate the writing of this dissertation to Washington National Ca- thedral and my husband, Frank Morales, Ph.D. If one had been to the 1907 Foundation Stone ceremony, one would have seen the in- scription carved into the Jerusalem stone that lies embedded in the Indiana limestone: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. I find this prayer speaks to the Ca- thedral’s true purpose in the nation’s capital; it is a purpose the Cathedral has always under- stood, believed, and followed. There is no way any of this work could have been done, much less actually completed, without the absolute love, trust, and care of my husband. The loneliness of dissertation writing was always lightened by the love in this man’s voice and in his eyes. He believes in me. PATER noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my sincere thanks to the many individuals who gave of their time, tal- ent, and energies to make this study possible. First, I must bow to my incredible adviser, Dr. James Darsey, who calmly led me to the Cathedral as a dissertation topic and then led me through the writing of this magnificent place. Time is different for Dr. Darsey, and although he frustrates many time-sensitive graduate students with his Martian conception, his patience with time has always led to better work. Perhaps this is his way of following Horace’s word of advice that once the writing has been done, let it sit before sending it out into the world. Hor- ace advised that wait be nine years; thank goodness Dr. Darsey does not. It is wise to remem- ber Horace, though, and his admonition that “you can always destroy what you have not pub- lished, but once you have let your words go, they cannot be taken back.” I am mindful of this and I absolutely trust Dr. Darsey’s word that this dissertation is now ready to brought to the public. I thank also the other members of my dissertation committee for not only taking the time to read the work but also for patiently waiting to receive it: Dr. Isaac Weiner (Religious Studies Department at GSU), Dr. Nathan Atkinson (Communication Studies at GSU), Dr. Eliza- beth Burmester, (English Department at GSU), and Dr. Martin Medhurst (Communication at Baylor University). I wish to also thank our department chair, Dr. David Cheshier, who keeps his email address available to graduate students going through the dissertation process. There was no way to complete a work of this nature without the help of those who have the great fortune of working at WNC. Diane Ney, Cathedral archivist, is here acknowledged as vi simply amazing in her knowledge of what the Cathedral archives hold. Diane’s help kept my trips to D.C. brief and inexpensive, and for that I am truly grateful. Her staff of archive volun- teers must also be acknowledged here, especially David, who knew the Sayre files so well even though they have not yet been archivally classified. I thank my discussions with Cathedral vic- ars, Steve Huber and Jane Cope. The Rev. Huber spent almost two hours with me in the au- tumn of 2009, giving me a personalized and extensive tour. He hooked me in. The Rev. Cannon Cope spent a gracious hour with me in February 2013 and gave her blessing for this work. Addi- tionally, the final product benefitted from the timely advice offered by Mr. Richard Weinberg, WNC Director of Communications. My ability to finish resided with Rev. Cope’s blessing and Mr. Weinberg’s invaluable input. A dissertation that relies on out-of-town travel, with airplane fares, hotel stays, trans- portation, and food is an expensive adventure and one that, no doubt, slows and sometimes stops many. I have the gracious good fortune to have a gracious good sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Mike, living in Alexandria, VA, who more than once paid my airfare, lent me their car, always let me stay at their home, and fed me really well. Their adoption of my sweet niece, Katherine, gave me added reason to continually return to D.C. (ostensibly to research, of course). I am humbly thankful for their continuous love and support. Finally, I wish to acknowledge here my family. When my husband and I decided that this adventure sounded like a good idea, it was especially meant to bring pride to my parents, Delma Barron and Joe and Barbara Federico. They think I am brilliant and, if I am, it is only be- cause I come from such great genetic stock. My siblings, Linda, Tony, and Mary, all provided the necessary love and support that helped me on my journey. Linda single-handedly cared for vii our mother so that I could selfishly pursue my dream. Tony selflessly housed me and my hus- band all summer and each Christmas break as I made return treks back to Texas during my breaks. My brother Joey, may he rest in peace, sadly did not live to see me enter graduate school; but my sojourn here happened with his eternal love tucked inside my heart— manifested by his lovely daughter, Karley, whom we found soon after her 18th birthday during the second year of my doctoral program.