Attend the gala opening weekend. Cathedral Day Open House is Saturday, September 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free music festival, demonstrations by cathedral artisans, food, children's activities, puppet shows, tower climbs, garden walks, a hymn sing, an organ recital, special tours and a birthday cake with 100 candles. The Festival Worship Service is Sunday, Sept. 30, 11:15 a.m., with music, dance and praise.

Pray for peace. A peace concert on Tuesday, Oct. 16, will begin at 6 p.m. with a prayer service. The concert at 7:30 will feature Graham Nash, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Keb Mo and Emily Saliers. For tickets, call the cathedral, 202-537-6200.

Honor Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Centennial Gala, a black-tie, candlelit dinner in the cathedral nave on Friday evening, Nov. 9, will commemorate the 100th anniversary and inaugurate the Cathedral Prize for Advancement in Religious Understanding. The first recipient will be Nobel Prize-winner Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu. Guests will include philanthropic, social, civic and political leaders. For tickets ($1,000), call 703-714-2363.

Hear Desmond Tutu. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and primary architect of post-apartheid South Africa makes the Centennial Address, "The Spirituality of Reconciliation," Tuesday, November 13, in the cathedral. All are welcome.

Recommit to reconciliation. Racial Reconciliation and Justice Week, March 30-April 6, 2008, will honor the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He preached the last sermon before his assassination at the cathedral on March 31, 1968. In commemoration, U.S. Rep. John L. Lewis (D-Georgia), a civil rights movement leader and King's friend, will preach a special Sunday sermon March 30. A week of activities will follow.

Celebrate the spirit. A spirited service of celebration and commitment on May 11, 2008, will offer "diverse music, elaborate instrumentation and lively liturgical dance" to celebrate the cathedral's commitment to help transform the world.

Join the audience. Centennial Summer Festival 2008, June 13 to July 4, will bring artists and musicians from all over the world to Washington, D.C., to commemorate 100 years of cathedral music and five decades of summer music festivals.

Learn more. Dozens of events and concerts, forums, films, festivals and lectures are scheduled during the next year. To see a complete listing, visit the cathedral's website and click on "Centennial Celebration."

Documentary to examine cathedral's role: past, present and future
[Episcopal Life] Journey Films is in production on a one-hour documentary called Cathedral Today. Shot in high definition, the film examines the role of the Washington National Cathedral 100 years after its founding and at the dawn of the third millennium. Much of the filming is complete.

The documentary will include an interview with Cathedral Dean Samuel Lloyd about what the centennial milestone means and what he foresees for the cathedral's future. Further information is available here.

Washington National Cathedral by the numbers…
100 years since first stone laid (September 29, 1907)
83 years to build (cathedral completed in 1990)
$291,427 -- cost of land
$65 million -- cost of construction (all from private donations)
30 stories -- height of central tower
150,000 tons -- weight of the structure
200 -- number of current staff
1,100-plus current volunteers
700,000 visitors every year
288 angels adorn the two west towers
150 people interred in cathedral (including Helen Keller)
215 stained-glass windows
10,500 pieces of stained glass in the west rose window
1,500 separate pieces of needlepoint
10,650 pipes in the great organ
2 football fields -- length of the exterior
53 bells in the carillon
24,000 pounds -- weight of the carillon's largest bell
110 gargoyles on the cathedral

Adapted from "Facts and Figures" on the website of the Washington National Cathedral (http://www.cathedral.org/).