If you have not had a chance to pop into the cathedral and experience Eyes Wide Open yet, then you should get yourself down there this weekend as, sadly, it all comes to an end on Sunday 31st. This is a great exhibition put on with Kent Association of the Blind.
There is something special about having this ‘new’ art on display in an ancient cathedral. It’s a special place and a collection of special art. It’s all free so get yourself there over the next few days.
This opens today and looks like it is well worth a visit … I’m lucky in that I can see it a few times.
If you visit why not look me up!
The Textus Roffensis is on display in the cathedral crypt over these 3 days until Wednesday. To be honest I’m not really into history and old documents but it’s an important document, written a long time ago (1123) and is the erliest example we have of the written English language. Apparantly it is also the first laws to be written and is said to have influenced those who penned the Magna Carta.
So …. its free and if you are in the area why not pop into the cathedral to have a look. Even history- aversions like me will pop in for a look! More details of the exhibition here. I blogged about this here a little while ago as well.
Today, my boss, the Very Revd Adrian Newman, the Dean of Rochester, and all round pretty top bloke starts the ridiculously mad feat of cycling from Lands End to John o’Groats – a total of 1050 miles! I have printed his schedule below which looks amazingly tough. We shall all be praying for his safety and endurance as he does this to raise money for the cathedral.
Adrian is hoping that 1000 people will sponsor him £10 each. A number of us have sponsored him and it would be great if you could consider this – you can do so here very easily or by popping into the cathedral office.
The schedule:
Wed 21st Land’s End to Mawgan Porth (gentle start but very hilly along the northern Cornwall coast)
Thu 22nd Mawgan Porth to Great Torrington (again, fairly short distances but people say to take these early days more slowly than you might want to)
Fri 23rd Great Torrington to Bawdrip (getting longer)
Sat 24th Bawdrip to Pandy (now the longer rides really begin)
Sun 25th Pandy to Whittington
Mon 26th Whittington to Burscough (today and tomorrow I’m carrying my stuff as Gill will travel back Monday and Jack travel out Tuesday)
Tue 27th Burscough to Grasmere
Wed 28th Grasmere to Traquair (over the border…….)
Thu 29th Traquair to Auchterarder
Fri 30th Auchterarder to Tomintoul (possibly the hardest day – very remote, very long climbing day)
Sat 31st Tomintoul to Dornoch
Sun 1st Dornoch to Thurso (stopping just short of Lands End so that I can guarantee arriving in the light the next day!)
Mon 2nd Thurso to John O’Groats (just a short hop – 20 miles – down the coast)
Go well Adrian and we look forward to welcoming you back!
everyone at the cathedral is warming up for the display of the textus roffensis.
This 900 year old volume is the first written law of this country as well as being the first written record of the English language – so pretty amazing really!
It will be on display later this month as the picture of the flyer says so why not come and have a look – when you are here why not catch up over a beer or coffee too …. 2 good reasons to come to Rochester! (although the Textus is the far better one!)
At 5.30 this evening instead of Choral Evensong we are holding a Eucharist to mark Corpus Christi which is a service to give thanks for Holy Communion. Roman Catholics today will be proclaiming the ‘truth’ of transubstantiation; obviously this will not be the case in the cathedral where we celebrate more the opportunity that we regularly have to join with Christ is some mysterious way that it more than mere symbolism but is not the ‘repugnance’ of transubstantiation (article 28 of the 39 articles).
On a day like today, though, where many people are waking in the area of Cumbria in sadness and confusion after yesterday’s horrible and devastating events, I wonder whether this ‘feast’ of Corpus Christi has anything to say to all of us in our confusion and/or grief?
I don’t want to write anything blase or trite today and I guess one thing that we can say is that having a day to give thanks for the opportunity to share in Holy Communion reminds us that there is a God that is mysteriously here, sharing in our anguish and joining us in our tears. Christ still exists in the reality of our humanity which allows us to be understood in our pain. That pain exists and will not disappear.
Today we pray for those who have died
and for all those who are bereaved
for those who are confused
and for those that feel guilty …
Lord ..
in time
bring peace
to these hearts
which are lost, desperate, confused, angry,
and overcome with grief.
Comfort all those
who have been affected by this tragedy
bring hope to their confusion
and give grace and courage to free them
to offer their wounded hearts for healing
Amen
The weather today was rubbish and so we moved the Dekhomai stand into the south transept of the cathedral. Initially I was feeling a bit disappointed about this but it seemed to work quite well and by the end of the day we were talking about carrying on inside the cathedral tomorrow whatever happens with the weather.
Inside the cathedral, with access to power, the stand looked more inviting and welcoming due to the use of light. The atmosphere was calmer and conversations with people seemed to flow easier. People came into the cathedral because they were looking for ‘something’ and finding Dekhomai was like finding ‘an oasis’ according to many that I spoke and prayed with today.
Today I have had the honour of praying with people, laughing with people and even shedding a few tears with people as they have shared things which they would welcome prayer for. That may not sound that unusual to some – but as 90% of those I listened to today would not call themselves a person of any faith in particular I find that pretty mind blowing.
What started as a day with me feeling sad at the ‘lost opportunity’ of being outside and available to the masses ended as a day where I felt very excited by what had happened throughout the day. I was reminded that it is God who draws people and that it does not matter where we are – people who are searching will be drawn to those places where they might be able to make one more step on their journey.
Towards the end of the day Ross, one of the team, looked above our stand to the stained glass windows of the south transept. There above us, unnoticed was a stained glass window of St. Florian, the patron saint of Sweeps. Is this God telling us we are in the right place for this festival. we are giving out the prayer of St Florian and praying the blessing of St Florian with people; where better to do that than at the feet of the window of St Florian himself? Or … is that just coincidence?
We needs as many people as possible to sign the petition to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme – please click on the link and follow the simple instructions to add your voice to the petition. This is currently the ONLY bit of financial support that the Government gives to Cathedrals, so it’s vital that we try to persuade them to retain it. Rochester Cathedral has received £49,000 of support from this scheme since 2007, so it’s vital for us.
Petition to save the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme
This major source of funding is due to end on 31st March 2011. The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS) enables listed places of worship to claim back 100% of VAT incurred on repairs and maintenance to the building, professional fees and repair works to fixtures such as bells and organs.
To support the campaign to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, beyond March 2011 sign the petition. It will only take you a minute and could help us massively!
There is an amazing art installation in the cathedral at the moment, which if you are around you might like to make the effort to pop in and see. Actually, if you are not around, plan to come see Mother and then meet me for coffee or lunch afterward (your shout!! lol)!
Mother is an exhibition of Vaughan Grylls, who is one of the lay members of chapter. The images are gripping and provide a real presence in the lady chapel.
I have put some pictures taken yesterday on Flickr here; but they do the exhibition no justice at all, so come see! We have the exhibition here until 26th march.
There is a great news report here from BBC South East which includes an interview with Vaughan outlining the exhibition and his inspiration for the work.
Tonight I had the opportunity to speak the homily at the COTA Eucharist. I enjoyed the experience and some people gave some good feedback which is always nice to receive. Afterwards we had a great meal (thanks Jana, Julie and Rachel) while we had a COTA family business meeting. Here we looked at the strengths and weaknesses of COTA and what the community needed to do to address these.
Following this Ned and I shot off to St. Mark’s Cathedral for the 9.30 compline service. I was amazed and surprised at the 500 or so people of all ages that were in attendance. It’s fair to say though, that the majority age group was under 30. Some brought blankets and pillows so they could sit or lay around the altar as the choir led us through compline.
This was a service where people just needed to turn up and enter into the worship. I wondered what so many people came to a 30 minute service for at such a time on a Sunday evening. Has it become a way to end the weekend with God? Are people attracted by the opportunity just to immerse themselves in God’s company inwhat is otherwise a very busy life? Without asking some of them I can’t find out, but it was quite amazing to be part of.
Apparantly this has been happening every Sunday night for the last 50 years! The service is even broadcast live on one of the local radio stations. It is even more surprising when you consider that Seattle is one of the most ‘unchurched’ cities in the USA!
Compline was a special experience. I included one photo here but others (only 2 this time … i’m tired!!!) are in the album.
The Shiny Headed Prophet 