Cathy Brall to Leave Trinity Cathedral

The rumors I had heard that Cathy Brall will be leaving Trinity Cathedral were confirmed in a letter I received today in the mail.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Catherine M. Brall, Provost of Trinity Cathedral—Trinity has not had a dean for many years—has spent nearly ten years at the downtown Pittsburgh cathedral. Those years have been turbulent ones during which Bishop Robert Duncan consolidated his control of the diocese and prepared to remove it from the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and The Episcopal Church. Under Cathy’s leadership, the cathedral sought to avoid taking sides in the 2008 schism, serving courageously, if improbably, as cathedral for both the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. Also under Cathy, the cathedral later returned to its formal legal status as the Episcopal cathedral, an equally courageous move that cheered Episcopalians while it seriously depleted Trinity worshipers. Cathy leaves the cathedral’s physical plant in better shape than she found it, but, as a parish church, Trinity is struggling, and its future is uncertain.

So, where is Cathy going? The answer is: not very far. She will become Canon Missioner for the diocese, beginning July 1. The Rev. Timothy Hushion, who is currently Priest-in-Residence at Trinity, will assume leadership of the cathedral as Priest-in-Charge.

What is a canon missioner? I have no idea. Presumably, it involves the mission of the diocese somehow. It will be up to Bishop Dorsey McConnell to determine exactly what he wants his canon missioner to do and where she will have an office.

Cathy’s letter, addressed to “Members and Friends of Trinity Cathedral,” can be read here.