Christchurch Cathedral

One of my duties as the Support Force Antarctica Chaplain (sounds impressive, doesn't it?) is to care for the Erebus Chalice. This ornate silver chalice was given to the Antarctic program in 1987 by a descendent of Admiral Richard Byrd and is housed at the Cathedral in Christchurch during the austral winter months. In October as the Antarctic seasons gets underway, the first chaplain of the season goes to the Cathedral for a special worship service, accepts the chalice, and carries it to McMurdo Station for the summer. A friend of mine, Ch Mark Smith, got to do that last fall.

The end of the season is less fancy. They don't always make a show of returning the chalice to the cathedral at the end of the season, some years we just bring it by the office before we fly home. This year, however, we managed to do a brief ceremony at the beginning of worship. Just a few hours ago, I addressed the congregation and thanked them for their role in sending the good news even to the end of the Earth (I took the chalice to the South Pole and celebrated the Lord's Supper there with it).

I don't have much for pictures of the event. In case you missed the entry a few weeks ago, here I am with the Chalice at the Pole, just after we celebrated the Eucharist there.

And here is today, returning it to Dean Peter Beck at the Cathedral (I'm the shadow on the right). Unless a better picture appears (PLEASE SILENCE YOUR CELLPHONES AND REFRAIN FROM FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY), this is my only record of this morning.


The cathedral is gorgeous and was a wonderful place to worship. It reminds me of something out a Patrick O'Brian novel. Dean Peter Beck was a gracious host and I especially enjoyed his invitation to the season of Lent. It was a tough sell for him to extoll the virtue of simplicity in such an elaborate location and service, but his sincerity was authentic.