My favorite spot to visit in Washington, D.C., is the National Cathedral.
The beauty of the Gothic architecture and the stillness of the sanctuary make a great escape from the noise of the political machine whirring around it.
I try to visit every time I’m in the city. I stopped by for a bit between the end of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Leadership Summit and Lobby Day and my flight home on Wednesday, Sept. 14.
The time before that was when I was in town for work. I had the opportunity to visit the United States Holocaust Museum. I needed to reset my mind after experiencing the all-too-present propaganda exhibits, and the shoes. If you’ve been to the museum, you know about the pile of shoes that smells like old leather, mold and misery.
I have been intrigued by cathedrals since reading Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, a fictional story about cathedral building in 12th century feudal England.
What intrigues me most is this: cathedral architects don’t often live to see their visions realized.
Follett’s Kingsbridge cathedral took hundreds of years to build. Even the National Cathedral took 83 years from the laying of the foundation stone to the completion of the west towers.
The vision was left for tradesmen and apprentices to complete.
I talked about my love of cathedrals and National Cathedral in particular during Lights of Hope – Knoxville on Thursday night.
I didn’t intend to speak at all. I tell my story all the time.
To lawmakers.
To the media.
To community groups.
On social media.
Wherever I have an audience.
On Thursday night, though, I wanted to make sure the assembled guests understood that on that night 400 people’s stories were being shared with all of us.
Those stories deserved to be heard.
Needed to be heard.
Each light represented someone who faced cancer. Someone whose loved one sought to honor or remember that fact.
It was a beautiful evening. Ancient Lore Village, a place that embodies a story of life in community, was the perfect venue for the event.
Stories on stories on stories.
Lights of Hope is a labor of love for me, as is all of the volunteer work I do in cancer land. And, if you’ll forgive the metaphor, cancer advocacy is like building a cathedral.
It’s part of a vision I may never get to see: the end of cancer as we know it. I may not live to see that vision realized, but for as long as I live I will do everything I can to make it come true.
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