Moon replica — 20 foot wide — coming to Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City

The moon is coming to a cathedral in Garden City.

For the first time, a 20-foot-wide detailed replica of the moon based on NASA images and created by a British artist will be displayed in a house of worship in the United States. The replica, shown in countries from France to India to Japan over the past decade, will arrive on Long Island in April just in time for Holy Week at the Cathedral of the Incarnation and serve as inspiration for reflection on the connection between science and spirituality, organizers said.

Activities during the monthlong "Moon as Sacred Mirror" event will include a sleepover for young people under the illuminated moon as it hangs from the cathedral ceiling, a craft beer tasting party and concert by a Pink Floyd cover band, and an astronomy class by an Adelphi University professor. And, of course, ministers will use the moon during services to discuss spiritual themes such as darkness and light.

"I think it is going to be really spectacular," said the Rev. Canon Kate Salisbury, canon for Christian formation and education at the cathedral, which is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island.

The moon was created by artist Luke Jerram as a touring "Museum of the Moon" exhibit and has hung in museums, above indoor swimming pools, in churches, concert halls and train stations, and even in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank. It has been used for scientific study, spiritual exploration and just plain fun — it once was hung above a dance floor during a BBC television program called "Strictly Come Dancing."

It will be in Garden City from April 11 to May 4. Activities will include yoga classes, meditation sessions, organ recitals, guided tours, Star Wars-themed events for kids and a "Moondance" gala dinner dance. Teachers are invited to bring their classes, leading their own lesson or just laying on the floor to admire the moon, Salisbury said. Most events are open to the public.

The Very Rev. Michael Sniffen, dean of the cathedral, said he hoped the exhibit would serve to both bring together the community on Long Island and give people some unforgettable spiritual experiences.

Community welcome

The Episcopal Church is "inviting the whole community to enter a sacred space and to think about their connection to the natural world, their connection to the cosmos, their connection to God and what it means to be a community," Sniffen said.

"Sometimes people feel like they are more spiritually connected in nature than they are in the church or a building. And this is bringing both together," he said. "To be inspired by one of our celestial neighbors but inside a sacred space rather than outside."

The moon will be hung in the center of the towering, Gothic Revival-style cathedral, which will have plenty of space because its permanent pews were removed during the pandemic, returning the cathedral to its original state of 1885, Sniffen said.

One highlight will be the Holy Week sleepover for young people grades 6 through 12, Salisbury said. Besides sleeping under the moon, they will also climb the cathedral’s 210-foot tower, the tallest religious structure on Long Island including Queens and Brooklyn, she said. From the top, they will get a stunning nighttime view of Manhattan’s skyline, if the weather is clear.

Lesson for students

Adelphi University associate professor Ed Reno, chair of the history department, said he would be bringing his students to the cathedral on April 21 to hold a class on Galileo. The Italian astronomer was famously censured by the Roman Catholic Church in part for advancing the idea that the earth rotates around the sun and not vice versa. His notion contradicted accepted Biblical interpretations. Much of his research was based on his study of the moon, including his discovery through a new instrument called a telescope that the moon is not a perfect smooth sphere as was believed up until the Renaissance. Instead, Galileo declared, the moon is like Earth with a varied topography of mountains and valleys.

"We are going to have a vivid illustration of that underneath this sculpture," Reno said.

The timing is perfect for his "Science vs. Religion: The Trial of Galileo & The Heliocentric Universe" class. "I could not have planned it better," he said. The class at the cathedral will be open to the public for free.

On April 26 will be a far different event: a half-dozen local breweries will stage a nighttime beer tasting event inside as the band "Us and Pink Floyd" plays songs such as "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here." There also will be a laser show.

Although a beer tasting social event inside a cathedral might seem unusual, Sniffen said, it is a first for the cathedral and a way to bring into a church people who might not ordinarily go there. Tickets are $50.

Dr. Manny Fajardo, an internist who also owns Somerset Brewing Company in West Hempstead and is a main organizer of the event, said the cathedral grounds had become a gathering point for many locals, including at its adjacent dog park.

"There’s a first time for everything," Fajardo said. "I’ll never say no to Pink Floyd and beer. That’s right up my alley."

But the main point of the exhibit will be to explore the connection between the heavens and sacred space, church leaders said.

"Our experience of God isn’t always uniformly clear and bright," Salisbury said. "There are things to be learned even when we are in periods of relative darkness."