Weekly Record 3 - 22 January 2012
20 Jan, 2012
THE WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY HAS BEGUN
Having just returned from the Choir trip to Cologne, a meeting in Rome, and visiting some of the grandest Cathedrals and Churches in Europe it was a bit of a come down to return home to a wave of criticism regarding the architecture of our own building. I suppose my reaction to these negative comments is to just let people have their chance to air their architectural and aesthetic views. When all these varying opinions are exhausted it won’t make the slightest difference as this is the Cathedral and building that has been passed down to us and the facts are that it more than caters for our prayer and Catholic worship because those who worship here find it inspirational and uplifting, and we have more than 400,000 visitors a year passing through our doors. The only thing that makes me grind my teeth is when people start to refer to the building as ‘The Wigwam’ ! Grrrrr- I think it deserves a bit more respect than that !
The week of prayer for Christian Unity began last Wednesday and concludes with the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul this Wednesday. This Sunday at 3.00pm we have a joint Choral Evening Prayer held in our Cathedral involving both Cathedral Choirs and Congregations and Canon Jules Gomes from Liverpool Cathedral will be the guest preacher. During Lent we will make a return visit for a shared Evensong at Liverpool Cathedral and then at Pentecost the Churches together on Merseyside will take part in the Two Cathedrals Service and Walk of Witness along Hope Street.
This week we have a number of meetings planning ahead for the next few months. February looks to be a particularly busy month this year and as part of this there is quite a party atmosphere in the run up to Ash Wednesday and Lent with wine tasting, then the beer festival and then the Archbishop’s Golden Jubilee. We will probably need the rigours of Lent after all this. Lent this year will have a particular focus on ‘the New Evangelisation’ as our Diocese and Cathedral have been chosen as one of twelve Archdioceses across Europe to take part in a special initiative termed ‘Missio Metropolis’. The reason I was in Rome was to attend a meeting to hear more about this. Unfortunately it was mainly in Italian which was rather frustrating and I even found myself being grateful when someone spoke in French a language which I am slightly more familiar with. Anyway from what I managed to understand we are being asked to organise liturgies, devotions and talks during this season to deepen our own faith, and to invite and encourage those who may not practise their faith often, to join us on our Lenten Pilgrimage. More on this in the lead up to Lent.
On Tuesday the Chapter of Canons meet for Mass and a belated Christmas Lunch. No doubt some of the conversations will focus on the recent news that the Benedictine Abbey at Ampleforth will be withdrawing its priests serving in a number of parishes throughout the Diocese and also that the Salesian Order is no longer able to provide priests to serve the parish of St Dominic in Huyton. Much food for thought and challenges ahead for the Diocese and a number of Pastoral Areas this year.
Canon Anthony O’Brien Dean