I had a kind of taster day and started my induction at the cathedral today.

I joined others at Morning Prayer at 8.00am in the Quire.
I then joined others for Eucharist in the Crypt at 8.30am.
By 9.10am I was sat in a cafe with a coffee thinking I could get used to this life.
I joined staff meeting at 10am and then met with the Dean for a couple of hours at 11 top have a tour around the cathedral and meet some people.

This was quite an exciting time for me. As we wandered I became more and more aware of not only how privileged I am to have this role, but also how many others have walked around this building in the many centuries that have gone before.

There were not many people at the services, but that is not really what it is about. As I chatted with the dean we were looking at some of the statues around the cathedral. This statues have been carefully crafted hundreds of years ago by stone masons who took every bit of care with the back of the statue that lies against the wall and is never seen as they did with the front of statues that is continually on display.

Why make so much effort on something that will never be seen? The only answer is that it was done for the glory of God, not for the praise or notice of man.

I think there is something in that about daily cathedral worship – it is not about numbers, nor is it about style – it is about God.