CATHEDRAL NOTES (June - August 2014)

Dear Friends

Pentecost – Whitsunday – is the birthday of the church; marking the day when the Apostles received the Holy Spirit and were transformed from a motley group of bewildered and fearful followers of the Lord to confident evangelists who were prepared to risk their lives (and indeed lose them) for the sake of the One they had known as a friend and teacher and now knew as the risen Lord. We live in an age which prizes self reliance and independence but as Christians we are called to recognise and acknowledge our need for God and to value inter-dependence – “we being many are one body for we all we share in the one bread”.

On Pentecost we shall be welcoming visitors from Winchester Cathedral (our link Cathedral) and offering hospitality at a shared lunch after the Eucharist. That will be a very visible expression of our interdependence both with the wider church and with each other. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes this a reality – drawing us close to God, empowering us in His service and drawing us close to each other strengthening us through our shared identity as the Body of Christ in the world.

The feast of Pentecost is thus a good moment not just to celebrate our Christian vocation and renew our commitment to service but also to reflect on the values and aspirations that guide our thinking as a community here at St Nicholas. Over the past few months we have

been reviewing our mission statement and asking ourselves what our guiding principles should be.

The process began with a Chapter away day in September last year which led us to consider revising our core vision statement (“A Place of Discovery, Celebration and Challenge”) which has been in place for almost a decade and various consultations ensued: with the Cathedral staff, with the congregation (at our last Bring and Share lunch) and most recently with the College of Canons.

Some common themes have emerged from this process, among them a recognition of the requirement to change, an affirmation of the importance of welcome and the need to be inclusive, a desire that our worship should be rich and engaging and a concern to be outward looking. The word joy featured prominently in all our discussions.

A possible new headline statement Three words emerged early in the process and have been in some cases reaffirmed, in others challenged, in the consultations we have undertaken. They were generosity (generous), joy (joyful) and transformation(ing). The clear aspiration to be warm in our welcome and inclusive in our outreach is perhaps reflected in the word generosity which itself reflects one of the key words of the diocese’s mission statement (Generous, Engaged, Open). The word joy or joyful has emerged time and again in every discussion we have had. The desire for change or renewal has been articulated in many different words. We began with “transformation” but others have challenged that suggesting “life changing” and one critic suggesting that the whole idea might sound too directive and top down.

It is important that such words can be widely owned and also they should be well grounded theologically. Canon Steven has been developing some theological reflections on these concepts on behalf of Chapter but we would value everyone’s thoughts on and reactions to the words themselves. We have felt that these ideas should be expressed as aspirations rather than givens for we know we are very long way from perfection!

In the light of all this we suggested the following statement:

Seeking to follow a Generous, Joyful and Transforming God.

Comments on that have led to a number of alternative versions such as the somewhat less tentative:

Following a God who is Generous, Joyful and Life Changing(which also puts God “at the centre” of the statement) or, in response to someone who suggested we had overlooked a key element of God’s nature:

Following a Loving God who is Generous, Joyful and Life Changing.

We might continue to play with these words and see how they make engage us in thinking carefully about our mission. At one level the exercise might seem a superficial one (one thinks of some fairly trite strap lines devised, often at great expense by companies seeking to promote their products and project their company image) and yet the exercise does challenge us to reflect on what kind of community we really are or would like to be, what sort of God we believe in and how what we say about ourselves might impact on the communities and individuals we are called to serve.

From vision to strategyIf these do indeed become the values we wish to live and work by, then they must be explored within the realities of our daily life and mission. How, for example, is our worship to be joyful, in what ways can our welcome be generous, what will lead our educational programmes to be transforming or life changing? We believe that there are four key areas through which our mission is expressed. These are:

Prayer and WorshipEducation and learning

Welcome and hospitalityMission and evangelism

It is possible to view these themes as part of a cycle of engagement with the life of the Cathedral as follows:

In the next month or so we shall try and tie down some words and phrases that as many as possible of us can support; more importantly we shall begin to spell out in more detail the actions that will (God willing) help to make those a aspirations a reality. When we have a draft of a new Mission Plan we shall invite as many as possible from our community to work with us in ensuring it really is “owned” by as many of us as possible. In that process we shall need to wait upon the Holy Spirit and pray for the Spirit to shape our thinking not according to our own preferences and prejudices but according to the values of Christ’s Kingdom as Paul puts it in Philippians: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 2:5). Or in the words of a prayer by James Atwell Dean of Winchester: O Holy Spirit, wind of God, gift of the Father, flame of love, create in our hearts a place where Christ may dwell. Alleluia! Amen.

Christopher Dalliston

Farewell to Bishop MartinAfter seventeen years as our Bishop, Bishop Martin has announced his retirement from the autumn. Over the years we have had the special privilege of his teaching ministry here at the Cathedral not least at the great festivals of Christmas and Easter. His preaching has a special quality of wisdom which grows out of a deep spirituality of loving service in the Church and in society and he has never ceased to remind us of the special vocation of the Church of England to serve the not just our “members” but the whole community. There will be a special service of farewell at the Cathedral on Sunday 21st September at 4pm. Meanwhile please pray for him and for Marlene as they prepare for retirement, and for the diocese and the national church as together we begin the (lengthy) process of finding a successor.

Welcome

WorshipLearning

Mission

Sunday School in the City Centre

We were a Sunday School that was an extension of weekday school life. The children who were scholars at St Nicholas School, Hanover Square, attended St Nicholas Sunday School. We went along, all dressed up in our Sunday best together grandchildren of parishioners whenever they visited their grandparents.

Reverend Peter Karney who was a curate at the Cathedral was one of our leaders. The teachers that I can recall were Mrs. Foster, Mr. Baker, Misses Amy Gent, Olive Gibbons and Eleanor Taylor along with helpers Jenny Spence and Dolly Rankin, the latter being an aunt of Hank Marvin, guitarist of “The Shadows” fame.

We heard the teachings of Jesus. I remember when we were very young, poster pictures of Bible stories, also drawing pictures of sheet and angels using chalk on black sugar paper. When we were older we would paint pictures and make models. We were taught our prayers and hymns. “Hills of the North Rejoice” was a great favourite of mine.

On Mothering Sunday we were always given primroses to give to our mothers. Primroses were not a protected flower then.

We always went to Whitley Bay by electric train for summer outings, getting out at Monkseaton Station and walking in an orderly procession to Whitley Bay beach. We would play games, build sandcastles and in general have lots of fun. Then we would be off to the Empress Café for tea after which we went home tired and happy. If it rained I don’t remember.

At Harvest Festival we always had a splendid show. What impressed me was seeing sheaves of corn. As a child of the city I thought it very grant and cheerful. After the service the young people distributed the flowers, fruit and vegetables to the elderly and sick of the parish.

Christmas was a magic time. We sham carols, made cards, had tea parties and received presents from under the tree.

I feel I must mention the ewer that is used to carry the water to the font whenever there is a baptism in the Cathedral. It is inscribed as follows:

The gift of St Nicholas Sunday School and their parents.

Of those of us that are left, on the occasions that we have seen each other, we recall the happy times that we spent at St Nicholas Sunday School. We have every reason to be grateful to the teachers, who we believe not only taught us well, but also generously gave us children their time and attention. We remember them with affection.

Betty Archibald.C athedral Flower Fellowship

24th June: Summer outing to Bede’s World Jarrow.

29th July: Practical – Members own table decorations

26th August: Holiday

Dates for your diarySome forthcoming events; look out for further details

Mothers’ Union Open MeetingThis will be held on Saturday 12th July 2014 10.03am for 11.00am start in the Cathedral Café. Women, Men and Children are all welcome – your Mothers’ Union needs you!

The meeting will give thanks for and build on all that has been established through devotion, dedication and hard work. What is God saying to you about the Mothers’ Union for today and tomorrow!

If you want a chat or to know more before 12th July please speak with Yvonne Hall any Sunday morning or e-mail her on yonh1@hotmail.co.uk

Extraordinary – Art Exhibition : Friday 15th to Sunday 17th AugustThe exhibition will take place in the Cathedral. Each exhibitor is being asked to donate a piece of art to be auctioned during the exhibition.

Commemoration of the start of World War I : Saturday 20th September

There will be a special service in the Cathedral, and a week-long exhibition prepared by students from local schools to commemorate the Centenary of the Outbreak of WW1. Service at 2.00pm on 20th September.

Flower Festival : Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th OctoberThe theme of the festival will be A Celebration of Music. The floral displays will tell the story of music from pre-historic times to Rock ‘n’ Roll. There will be concerts on the Friday evening (by the Durham Singers and the Durham Singers Ensemble) and the Saturday evening (by the Cobweb Orchestra, a regional community orchestra), and music in the nave by students from local schools throughout the Friday and the Saturday. There will be an Orchestral Mass on the Sunday morning, at which our guest preacher will be Fr Peter Allan of the

Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield.

Newcastle Cathedral Choirs Association‘I am delighted that the Choirs Association is funding a new lease of life. I am very grateful for the hard work and enthusiasm of the newly formed committee.” Michael, Stoddart, Chair of the NCCA.

The Newcastle Cathedral Choirs Association (NCCA) purpose is to safeguard and promote the musical heritage of our Cathedral. We aim to do this by raising the public profile of the choirs, aiding the development of the choirs as a cohesive social group, raising funds to support the choirs’ activities and encouraging the integration of the choirs and their activities within the whole Cathedral community.

Choristers, parents of Choristers, Lay Clerks and Choral Scholars have automatic membership, but anyone from the wider community who shares in the aims of the Association is very welcome to join. We hold regular meetings for all members throughout the year for the discussion and exchange of information.

To achieve our objectives we rely on family, friends, the community, the congregation and others connected to the choirs of St Nicholas Cathedral. Whether you dedicate time, money or ideas, we will always be grateful for any support you can give us.

Have you thought about joining the Choirs Association?NCCA is dedicated to supporting music in the Cathedral and beyond, thus helping to ensure that its tradition is maintained and developed for the future. By joining the NCCA, you are making a valuable contribution to this important work.

In recent years the NCCA has assisted in a number of different ways:

By providing funds to support choir tours to Parish and Winchester, for the purchase of new vestments and in the production of the acclaimed Girls’ Choir CD.

By providing time and effort to support recruitment and social activities.

To join, either download the membership form from the Cathedral website(www.stnicholascathedral.co.uk/choirs-association.aspx) or request a hard copy from Hannah Davidson (music@stnicholascathedral.co.uk) or 0191 232 1939).

NCCA Events coming upWe organise a number of social and fundraising events across the year. A date for your diary:

CA Concert – Sunday 15th June 2014, 3.30pm.

Come and hear our choir members perform music that you wouldn’t normally find in a service!

FundraisingOur first big social event of this year was a Ceilidh held on 1st March. Over 100 people came along to support us and danced their socks off across the evening. It was a hugely enjoyable event and, what’s more, we raised £640 in the evening which will go towards supporting our

Choirs. Thank you to all who came along that night and provided raffle prizes and cake. And particular thanks to Gillian Stewart and Friends (our band) and Peter Cass (our caller) who gave their services for free.

We have also just launched our bespoke choir hooded tops, in a range of colours, sporting the Cathedral logo on the front and “Friend of Newcastle Cathedral Choirs” on the back, with the option to have your name included too. Retailing at £24 for adult sizes and £18 for junior sizes, orders can be placed by contacting Hannah Davidson on (0191) 232 1939 or via music@stnicholascathedral.co.uk

We are very fortunate that Sunlight Dry Cleaners (a well-known laundry and dry-cleaning service throughout the NE) responded to our request for help in laundering our Choristers’ robes, so our vestments now look their best at all times.

Music is at the heart of all the Cathedral does and, with your help, we can make sure it stays there.

Marion PeuthererVice Chair, Cathedral Choirs Association.

RESULTS OF ELECTIONS

At the Meeting for the Election of Churchwardens and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, held on 27th April 2014

Elec t e d a s C hu rc h w ar d e ns: T. Wigglesworth, E. Jubb, G. Graham, S. Hood

Elec t e d a s Deputy C hu rc h w ar d e ns : V. BilotKach, P. Udeze

Elec t e d as the representatives to the Community Forum: R. Lunn, R. Watson

Elected as the representatives to the Deanery Synod: K. Govier, E. Jubb, G. Graham

Elected as the representatives to the City Centre Churches

Together: K. Govier

Chair of the meetings

Here are some modern ‘insights’ on an age-old psalm

The Lord is my Shepherd – that’s relationshipI shall not want – that’s supply,He makes me lie down in green pastures – that’s rest. He leads me beside the still waters – that’s refreshment.He restores my soul – that’s healing.He leads me in the paths of righteousness – that’s guidance.For his name’s sake – that’s protection.Yea thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death – that’s testingI will fear no evil – that’s protection.For you are with me – that’s faithfulness.Your rod and your staff, they comfort me – that’s discipline.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies – that’s hopeYou anoint my head with oil – that’s consecration.My cup runs over – that’s abundance.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life – that’s blessing.And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever – that’s security!

A letter from Uncle to NephewMy Dear Nephew Darren,

I am not in the least surprised you have got yourself into trouble; innovation is never to be encouraged. New ideas tend to cause revolutions. The move from incandescent light-bulbs to energy saving ones may ultimately change the Church of England.

Change is something everyone claims to be in favour of – provided it

has no measurable effect on their own lives. I remember as a young curate once suggesting that at the Harvest Supper, tables might be enlarged so that eight people could sit together rather than the traditional six, thus helping more people to get to know one another. The response would have been similar if I had suggested we travel to London to murder the Prime Minister. I was firmly told that tables for six had been perfectly adequate for parishioners in Queen Victoria’s day. For the rest of my curacy, I was regarded as a revolutionary, to be watched carefully.

So at your last visit to our Church, to suggest that our 11.00am Mattins may be moved to 10.30am, in order to encourage those who wanted to have more of the day free to themselves, certainly lobbed a hand grenade among the post-Service coffee cups. The only person who was mildly in favour was Colonel Wainwright, who quickly realized that it would give him an extra half-hour at the gin and tonics before lunch.

Should you ever feel that people lack imagination, you should watch them in action when they find reasons for resisting an unwelcome suggestion. One said that the time couldn’t be moved, since it would then be too early for the local bus – omitting to mention that none of our congregation travel to church by bus and that the service doesn’t run on Sundays anyway. Another pointed out that it would confuse those who didn’t attend church – not explaining why if they never attended, it mattered what time the Service was. A third, rather touchingly mentioned that it wouldn’t give the Rector time to enjoy his breakfast after the rigors of the 8.00am service.

You suggestion, did, however, serve one useful purpose; it brought our congregation together in united opposition. They may not necessarily always know what they are for, but they certainly know what they are against. For that, I thank you.

Your loving uncle,Eustace.

Woodbine Willie – Bringing Love with Cigarettes and the Bible

Here’s a ‘saint’ that the Church of England

remembers from the First World War – the Reverend Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, MC, or ‘Woodbine Willie’, as everyone knew this popular, much loved army Chaplain on the Western Front.

Studdert Kennedy (27th June 1883 – 8th March 1929) had been born in Leeds as the seventh of nine children. After reading divinity and classics at Trinity College Dublin, he’d studied for ordination at Ripon Clergy College, and served his curacy at Rugby. By the time war broke out in 1914, Studdert Kennedy was Vicar of St Paul’s Worcester. He soon volunteered to go to the Western Front as a Chaplain in the army. Life on the front line in the trenches was a desperate affair, but soon Studdert Kennedy had hit on a way of bringing a few moments of relief to the stressed out soldiers: as well as good cheer he gave out copious amounts of Woodbines, the most popular cheap cigarette of its time.

One colleague remembered Kennedy: “He’d come down into the trenches and say prayers with the men, have a cuppa out of a dirty tin mug and tell a joke as good as any of us. He was a chain smoker and always carried a packet of Woodbine cigarettes that he would give out in handfuls to us lads. That’s how he got his nickname. He came down the trench one day to cheer us up. Had his Bible with him as usual Well, I’d been there for weeks, unable to write home, of course, we were going over the top later that day. I asked him if he would write to my sweetheart at home, tell her I was still alive and, so far, in one piece… years later, after the war, she showed me the letter he’d sent, very nice it was. A lovely letter. My wife kept it until she died.”

Kennedy was devoted to his men, so much so that in 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross at Messines Ridge, after running into no man’s land in order to help the wounded during an attack on the German frontline.

During the war, Kennedy supported the British military effort with enthusiasm, but soon after the war, he turned to Christian socialism and pacifism. He was given charge of St Edmunds in Lonbard St, London and took to writing a number of poems about his war experiences: Rough Thymes of a Padre (1918) and More Rough Rhymes (1919). He went on to work for the Industrial Christian Fellowship, for whom he did speaking tours. It was on one of these tours that he was taken ill, and died in Liverpool in 1929. He was only 46. His compassion and generosity in the face of the horrors of the Western Front was immortalized on the song ‘Absent Friends’:

“Woodbine Willie wouldn’t rest until he’d/given every bloke a final smoke/before the killing.” He himself had once described his chaplain’s ministry as taking “a box of fags in your haversack, and a great deal of love in your heart.”

The Great War: The TrenchesThe trenches are the defining visual image of the Great War. Both sides created them when it became obvious that for all the ‘pushes’ and counter-attacks not much was happening geographically. A hilly ridge would be taken, at enormous human cost. A month later it would be recaptured. The trenches stretched for hundreds of miles across northern France, once the earlier ones in southern Belgium were abandoned, and they became ‘home’ to hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

The trench was a narrow but deep ditch, designed to shield the men who were on lookout duty from enemy fire. Behind the trenches were the living quarters – dug out of the earth, usually with roofs of corrugated iron, where there were bunks for sleeping and rudimentary facilities for washing and eating. Hot food came from the Company cookhouse behind the lines. ‘Too much bully beef’, my father complained – corned beef, to us. Very nice as an occasional choice, but a bit unexciting as a regular diet. Surprisingly, perhaps, to those of us who only know of the War from films and books, in between major outbreaks of fighting the trench provided an adequate if modest degree of normality. Every day, my father told me, the newspaper seller would visit with copies of the Daily Mail. No escaping from the football results and news from home.

The trouble was that periodically the senior officers would decide that it was time for another desperate attempt to dislodge the enemy. Bayonets would be fixed, ashen faced young men would line up in the trenches awaiting the signal – usually a blast on a whistle – which would summon them to climb the steps out into the open, there to face, inevitable, the devastating fire of the German machine guns. It was some time into the War before the Allies were equipped with these deadly weapons, and it was the multiple, sustained rain of bullets that

caused most of the casualties.

Above all this was the constant barrage of the big guns, firing from both sides but well behind the lines. Their thunderous roar could be heard at times far away across the Channel in Kent. Most of the shells simply exploded in the soft soil of Flanders or the Somme – they are still being ploughed up by farmers today, a century later. But some were what became known as ‘direct hits’, and those could be devastating.

In the midst of all this – the mud, the stench, the noise and the imminent possibility of death – were the soldiers themselves. Among them moved the medics, the nurses, the chaplains – agents of care and compassion in a world which seemed to have gone mad. Some soldiers simply couldn’t stand it. ‘Shell-shocked’ was the diagnosis in those days. The wonder is that anybody could.

For those Women who DriveHow about a bit of Poetry?

I have a little Satnav, it sits there in my carA Satnav is a driver’s friend; it tells you where you are.I have a little Satnav, I’ve had it all my lifeIt’ better than the normal ones, my Satnav is my wife.It gives me full instructions, especially how to drive“It’s thirty miles an hour”, it says, “you’re doing thirty-five!”It tell me when to stop and start, and when to use the brake,And tells me that it’s never ever, safe to overtake.

It tells me when a light is red, and when it goes to greenIt seems to know instinctively just when to intervene,It lists the vehicles just in front and all those to the rearAnd taking this into account it specified my gear.I’m sure no other driver has so helpful a deviceFor when we leave and lock the car it still gives its advice.

It fills me up with counseling each journey’s pretty fraughtSo why don’t I exchange it and get a quieter sort?Ah well, you see, it cleans the house, makes sure I’m properly fed,It washes all my shirts and things, and keeps me warm in bed!Despite all these advantages and my tendency to scoff,

I only wish that now and then I could turn it off.Anon.

Meet the Team

Name: Dave Dawe

Job title: Finance Manager

When did you join the team?: February 2012

Tell us a little bit about your job:Every month I have fun in paying our staff and our choirs; every day suppliers keep sending me invoices to pay for goods and services, but I also get the chance to send invoices to people who have used the Cathedral’s facilities.

Flowing from all that, like a true account, I do Debits and Credits and lo and behold I get to produce a statement of the Cathedral’s Income and Expenditure, then I get a shock as I compare that to the budgets that I have produced in liaison with all our budget managers. The fun gets even better when January dawns and it’s time to produce the statutory accounts and satisfy our auditors.

What is your favourite thing about your job?I love spreadsheets – the bigger the better: they are the backbone to much of my work.

Tell us a random fact that isn’t work related?Although I do not know one end of a horse from another, I help run the annual Lanchester Agricultural Show (always the first Sunday in July – come along, bring the family and have a good day).

Name: Neringa Baguckiene

Job title: Finance Assistant

When did you join the team?: July 2013

Tell us a little bit about your job: Cashiering and Banking, Accounts Payable and Receivable, Processing Payroll.

What is your favourite thing about your job? I love a lot of things about my job. I like that I am very busy, the people I work with. I like that my boss brings some chocolates for me. When I hear people talk about their awful colleagues and nightmare bosses, I say a little prayer of thanks.

Tell us a random fact that isn’t work related: Did you know that the city of Venice stands on about 120 small islands?

Reflections from Mirfield

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares

the Lord” Isaiah 55:8

Over recent months I have come to appreciate this text from the Prophecy of Isaiah in a deeply personal way. It is only through living in community that this particular verse and it’s prophetic implication has been discernible. I say this because it has occurred to me that, as a relatively young Ordinand living the Mirfield experience, I have been consistently asking a two-fold question of myself. That is; what does God really ask me to be, and what does God ask of me in a community context?

On the one hand it has been so very tempting to ‘fit the mould’, so to speak. On the other it has been vital that I venture beyond that safety net and take a trek through some wild terrain. One of the ways in which this has been possible at theological college is in living in such close quarters that mean no getting away from each other, both at the best of times and during times of tension and hurt. The very nature of being in community is that experience is shared in common, and that must also include elements of tension. A close look at Christian history reveals that tension and conflict have always been fundamental to the

Church’s quest to reflect the love and purpose of God in an integral and truthful way. The Jerusalem Council as attested in the Acts of the Apostles, the early schisms, the Reformation and indeed current debates within the Anglican Communion over headship and human sexuality serve to reflect that very image of a Church in tension.

It is according to my own reflections only really possible to gain deeper insight into our own selves and that of our community is we too are willing to challenge our preconceptions ask; am I right in what I hold to be true? Do I listen enough to God and to other people? Is the way that I have sought to live out the Christian truth reflective of God’s will or my own sense of what really matters? To be Christian, is indeed to be able to ask of God; What are Your ways? What are Your thoughts? More so, we are each from time to time asked to say with confidence as did Christ; “Not my will, but yours be done”. Luke 22:42.

It is fair to argue that community now means something very different to what it might have meant say one hundred years ago. For one, we travel more and are more exposed to different cultures and customs, which are aided by the rapid developments in communication technology. This leads to the ever reshaping of community, society and dare I say it- even Church congregation! And with such ‘reshaping’

we are required to engage with ‘the other’ more and more, and this I feel is vital to the Gospel imperative to love God and neighbour, if we sincerely believe God to dwell in each person.

The Psalmist celebrates the notion of an intimate relationship with the God who has made them; “O Lord, you have searched me and known me” (Psalm 139). The late Harry Williams CR in “The True Wilderness” wrote of the great need to be at one with the person that God has created us so lovingly to be. This of course also means that we must be able to recognise all that is flawed, hurt and fragile. I have mentioned

already that there is no getting away from one another in a community, and it is true that this means being exposed in all of our weakness and fear. Such exposure then leaves us open to uphold and

affirm one another, whilst being equally willing to be held and to be cared for. This is not an easy barrier to overcome.

We turn on the television and we are bombarded with advertisements claiming to have the solution to gaining that ‘perfect body’. In other words, we are not good enough as we are, and we must at all cost modify until we have the pearly white teeth, the perfect 10 or the latest mobile phone. Imperfection must be ironed out- completely or altogether ignored. Our striving for total self perfection can almost be Babel-like and leave no room for real growth in God, and when we do realise that God has not been attended to or heard we feel confounded, exhausted and alone.

This, I believe is in part why the Eucharist is pivotal to the Christian community, for together we gather at the altar and surrender all that we are in the name of Christ. It is not through our own desire that the creatures of bread and wine become for us that most precious Body and Blood of Christ, but through the mysterious and divine outworking of the Holy Spirit.

I do wish to state at this point that, in no way am I saying that that we are totally inept and incapable of acting as agents for God’s good work in the World. What I do reiterate though, is that we must be true to ourselves and committed to living out the ‘true-self’ in amidst the complexities of a shared life with one another.

Forgive me as I indulge in some more Holy Week talk. I wrote about Holy Week last year in a similar reflection which was published on the Cathedral’s website. This year Bishop Gordon Murcell gave our Holy Week talks and he emphasised the importance that must be placed on the “in-dwelling” of the Christian community. The Holy Week liturgies at Mirfield certainly demanded this of our College community.

The Palm Sunday procession marks the way in which we walk together and ponder Jesus’ glorious entry into

Jerusalem. Yet, we know that this glory is not without pain, for the Cross is inevitable. Never the less, both glory and anguish are held in common by the community who sojourn together as pilgrims with Christ. Maundy Thursday and the liturgy of the Washing of Feet reflect our need to be servant to each other, but also to accept that like St Peter, unless we allow for ourselves to washed by He who came to serve, then we have no dwelling with Him. Anyone who has ever had their feet washed during this liturgy may well know that sense of embarrassment and awkwardness. Because we depend so much on pride we struggle so intrinsically with being served so publically. Any clergy reading this might know only too well what fun it can be to encourage someone to offer their feet for the evening!

We can only serve fully if we can be willing to give fully of ourselves, and the Good Friday preaching and veneration of the Cross demand of us all that we are. Here at Mirfield, the tradition is to hear the preaching at noon, then to remain for the Good Friday liturgy. The very length of time that we share together in the starkness of the stripped chapel force us to accept all that remains for us to observe- the “Wood of the Cross on which hung the salvation of the world”. As we approach the cross, we are invited by God to lay all that pains us, all that makes us guilty and indeed- our hopes and loves at the feet of Jesus Christ.

I would also like to argue the case for Holy Saturday and church cleaning at this point. Many parish church’s, including the Cathedral have a gathering on this day to attend to cleaning and restoring the sanctuary. I reflected this year that this shared activity in some ways reflects the gradual re-ordering action of God. That is to say, that the process is not immediate and takes time, attention and commitment. Our healing and growth as God’s children is a timeless act, and we are free to be true to God in who we are. We are called by name as Baptised children of God, to then go forth and celebrate the ‘light of the world’ on Easter Sunday.

At the Cathedral some people were of course Baptised and Confirmed. That inextricable link between the resurrection of Christ and our Baptismal vocation is where I seek to conclude my reflections on this occasion. To live in the light of the risen Christ means for us to be renewed. I am left wondering if my own sense of renewal this now depends on my understanding that God loves the very person that He made us to be, not who we necessarily desire to become. So too must we love God for who God is, not who we believe God should be.

Amen.Anthony O’Grady

Please Note:

The September edition of Cathedral Notes will not be available untilSunday 14th September 2014

Year’s MindJune August 2 Kieron Richardson 1 Hugh Clelland

Steven Robson (Pr) 3 Elizabeth Watt 5 Leslie Gane 5 Mary Chalmers 8 Anthony Hunter (Bp) 6 Rosanna Donaldson

Eric Pocklington (Pr) 12 Arthur Bardgett10 Barry Canham 19 Kenneth Malcolmson11 Mary Walton Rognvald Strange13 Roy Stewart 23 Paul Chapman15 Arthur Davies 25 Alan Porteus (Pr)17 David Collinson 26 Elizabeth Burn22 John Little (Pr) 28 Barbara Knaggs29 Dorothy Chapman 29 Malcolm Truman (Pr)

30 Cyril Hind

July 8 Jane Highnam 9 Ethel Forbes19 Timoleon Masarachi23 Reginald Cornwell (Pr)

William MarkMillie CahillJim Gledhill (Pr)

29 Lydia Chipchase30 Olive Greenhalgh