Weekly Record

6th January 2008

Happy New Year to all our readers and let’s hope for a spectacular year ahead of us as we embark on our Year of Culture. If the attendance at the New Year’s Eve Service at Liverpool Cathedral is anything to go by it has the makings of bringing many people together and focussing on celebrating the life of our City and hopefully creating a real feel-good factor.

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany focussing on the journey of the Magi. The Epiphany is also celebrated later in the week at the children’s Three Kings service on Thursday afternoon. I love the sense of mystery surrounding the account of the wise men and the symbols of the star, the gifts and the journey offer food for thought as we start the New Year. For the children’s service I have had our maintenance team experimenting with a method of moving a hanging star within the Cathedral so that it comes to rest over the ‘stable at Bethlehem’. This probably comes from having too much spare time around the New Year- but I thought it might either help to keep the children’s attention to the story or who knows it may even distract them completely. But worth a try I think! If you see guide ropes from the galleries to the baldachino don’t worry they are to control the star.

The New Year has got off to a slow start with a considerable number of staff suffering the affects of flu bugs and cold- it will take a few days more before we are back to full strength. On 2nd January I had to wander over to the A & E at the Royal Hospital after having a fall (in case you were thinking it was not alcohol related)! It felt as though I was acting in a bit part for ‘Casualty’. I was waiting in the initial treatment area and a couple of rough looking blokes and a female came to sit by me – one was seemingly waiting for treatment. People on trolleys and walking wounded were coming and going as well as visitors. In the midst of all the comings and goings the gang alongside me had lifted a coat that someone had left lying around and made a quick getaway out of the building. I was the only witness to the theft and ended up thronged by security and then by police. I think everyone passing by must have thought I was a high security criminal as the police hardly left my side for the rest of my time there. I was hoping that one of the hospital chaplains didn’t see me like this. The one thing that was obvious was the hard work and commitment of the A&E staff and emergency services- they have a difficult time particularly over the holiday period.

Next weekend is the official launch of the Capital of Culture Year – why it is half way through January is a mystery to me – maybe the first two weeks of the year didn’t count. Anyway there will be a recording of two songs written for this culture year sung by school choirs at the Cathedral on Wednesday afternoon. Then on Friday approximately 300 children from different Liverpool schools will meet on the Cathedral steps for a photograph of them holding up a placard to announce ‘European Capital of Culture 2008’. And so the year begins………

Canon Anthony O'Brien
Cathedral Dean