116th Flower Festival
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Calendar
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Events Calendar |
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Name of Event |
116th Flower Festival |
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Date Started |
05/03/2008 11:00 AM |
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Date Ended |
05/04/2008 4:00 PM |
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Location |
Christ Church Cathedral |
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Summary |
"The Green Church: Ecclesiastic Environmentalism"
Is Theme of 116th Flower Festival, Founded by Henry Shaw
Making our churches more earth-friendly is the theme of the 2008 Flower Festival May 3-4 at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown St. Louis.
Sponsored by the Diocese of Missouri, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Cathedral, the Flower Festival traces its roots to 1890, celebrating the blessings of nature's abundance and beauty and our responsibility as stewards of the earth.
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Missouri Botanical Garden founder Henry Shaw stipulated in his will that after his death an annual sermon be preached "on the wisdom and goodness of God as shown in the growth of flowers, fruits and other products of the vegetable kingdom."
That sermon blossomed into an accompanying street festival. During Flower Festival, the Cathedral's medieval splendor is transformed by the hundreds of flowers from the Garden.
During the street festival portion of the weekend, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, there's good music, good food and good fun for children and adults. Exhibits will focus on environmental themes for application at church and at home, and how churches can become resources for green activism by parishioners.
This year's Flower Festival coincides with two other major downtown events, the annual Downtown Living Tour and a world folk festival at the Central Library, across 13th Street from the Cathedral. The folk festival - called "Central Goes International!" - features live music, dance, and crafts from many countries. The Library and Flower Festival committee agreed to cooperate and coordinate, sharing promotion and resources.
This year's guest preacher is Bonnie Anderson from the Diocese of Michigan. In the southeast Michigan community where she lives, Anderson designed, coordinated and implemented a citizen-sponsored river clean-up involving 22 local governments and over 2,000 volunteers. Michigan's governor appointed her to the state's Environmental Review Board. She has been an adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan in the School of Natural Resources and the Women's Studies Department. Among her published works is "Spirituality and the Earth; Exploring Connections" and "A Citizen's Guidebook to the Great Lakes Ecosystem."
Ms. Anderson will preach in a service at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 3, then at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday, May 4. The festival concludes with a classical music concert at the Cathedral at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, please call 314/231-3454.
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