The Right Reverend Lawrence Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island, seated four Honorary Canons during a special evensong liturgy on April 7th at 4 pm. The Rev. Adam Bucko, Ms. Kris Vieira Coleman, The Rev. Morgan Ladd, and The Very Rev. Michael Sniffenwere recognized with the cathedral’s highest honor for their transformative leadership as co-founders of the Community of the Incarnation and the Center for Spiritual Imagination.
The Community of the Incarnation is a new monastic community which embodies and teaches engaged contemplative spirituality in response to what Father Bede Griffiths called “the universal call to contemplation.” The community affirms that intimacy with God does not belong to a special group of religious professionals but is available to all. Founded and rooted at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, the community is now dispersed and includes members from across North America. The Community of the Incarnation is one of the fastest growing New Monastic communities in the Anglican Communion.
The Center for Spiritual Imagination is a public ministry of the community, which introduces diverse groups of people to the gifts of Christian contemplative practice. It has engaged thousands of people in contemplative formation and practice since 2020.
Richard Rohr, the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, said, “The Center for Spiritual Imagination is re-envisioning an inclusive and engaged spirituality for the 21st century, where the gifts of monastic spirituality are translated into a form that can be practiced in everyday life and where one’s commitment to contemplative practice leads to justice-making.”
Evensong also featured the installation of eighteen vergers from across the diocese into the Long Island Chapter of the Vergers Guild of the Episcopal Church (VGEC). The VGEC is a national service organization that supports the ministry of vergers, sacristans, worship leaders, and altar guild members through professional development opportunities and fellowship events throughout the country. Cathedral vergers initiated the formation of this newest chapter of the VGEC and offered several workshops over the last year which featured participation by vergers from nine dioceses throughout the church and resulted in the formation of new verger ministries in ten parishes in the Diocese of Long Island.
Kyle Sabo was installed as the Dean's Verger of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, a member of the professional staff at the cathedral focusing on coordinating cathedral liturgies. The Dean's Verger serves as a liaison between the Dean's office and the Bishop's office regarding episcopal liturgies and is also tasked with assisting the Dean on special projects related to the cathedral's sacred spaces.
For more information about Canons Bucko, Vieira Coleman, Ladd, and Sniffen, click here.
For more information about the Community of the Incarnation and the Center for Spiritual Imagination, click here.
For more information about the Long Island Chapter of the Vergers Guild of the Episcopal Church, click here.