The petition
Dear Right Reverend Chane and Dean Lloyd,
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that you reconsider your decision to close the Washington National Cathedral Greenhouse on June 29, 2008. It is our wish to keep the Greenhouse open as it is a vibrant spiritual, historic, ecological and educational resource for all who visit the Cathedral.
The Cathedral Greenhouse serves six key functions
1. Liturgical and Educational: The Cathedral Greenhouse provides spiritual, historical and contextual education and enjoyment for the relationships of plants and growing cycles to the seasonal celebrations of the liturgical cycle of the church year. For example-the annual advent wreath workshops, herbs and greens, etc.
2. Financial: The Cathedral Greenhouse is a commercially viable resource of healthy indigenous plants at competitive prices which are not otherwise available and supports the gardens of the Cathedral grounds. The expense of shutting down operations and then, inevitably, restoring a greenhouse function to the Cathedral property has not been analyzed and any precipitate action would be inefficient and wasteful.
3. Historical and Authentic: Cathedral herb gardens and related greenhouses have been an integral part of the cathedral complex since the middle ages.
4. Stewardship and Global: In an era of awareness of global warming and mankind’s stewardship of the Earth it is critical to maintain every opportunity to make connections with nature and to plant and extend healthy flowers, vegetables and herbs available at the Cathedral Greenhouse. This is not only a meaningful and useful physical and scientific expression, but a spiritual one as well.
5. Educational and Local: The Cathedral Greenhouse is a place where experienced staff and gardeners come together to exchange useful information on how to make lively plants thrive in our local environment-no less important that the macro environment of the planet.
6. Poetical: “One is nearer God’s heart in a garden than anyplace else on Earth.”
If the Cathedral Greenhouse is indeed not sustainable, we ask that you provide
• evidence of its profit and losses for the past 3 years, and
• a cost-benefit analysis for shutting down the Greenhouse.
With the far reaching support for the Greenhouse demonstrated by this outpouring of support, innovative financing solutions such as seeking private funds, or securing a corporate partner to operate the Greenhouse should be explored. We trust that these requests will be fully and openly investigated prior to June 29, 2008.
We thank you for your stewardship of the Cathedral, its grounds and resources and for taking the time to consider this request.
Yours sincerely,
Save the Greenhouse Coalition
** PLEASE NOTE: NO FUNDS ARE BEING SOLICITED BY SAVE THE GREENHOUSE COALITION AT THIS TIME.**
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