Weekly Record

Last week we received delivery of a box of goodies from Carmel Convent, West Derby. The Sisters must have heard that Archbishop Kelly was seeing the Cathedral Staff to thank them for their hard work during the visit of the Relics of St Therese and sent us all home made cakes and home made wine from the fruits grown in the Carmel Garden. There was no indication of alcoholic content on the bottle the only instruction being ‘best kept upright’. I’m not sure if that was referring to the bottle or the consumer. Anyway we toasted the Sisters and enjoyed their cakes and were very blessed to welcome them here at the Cathedral for their overnight vigil. Just before anyone gets the bright idea I’m not going to start brewing wine for the Car Boot sale.

The ‘Pause for Hope’ service takes place this Sunday afternoon at 3pm. It is an ecumenical service of prayer for all affected by cancer. This year Archbishop Kelly will lead the service with Monsignor Cookson, Canon Myles Davies and Rev Ian Smith. Professor Ray Donnelly will give an introduction and the reflection given by Mike McCartney. Some of the presenters of Radio Merseyside, Roger Phillips and Linda McDermott, will read and the service is to be recorded live for broadcasting throughout the region. Quite a line-up for one service!

On Wednesday the Cathedral liturgy group have an evening meeting with Archbishop Kelly to finalise plans for Advent and Christmas. I’m learning from experience of these gatherings that the best approach is to feed people well and then keep the meeting moving along so that there isn’t time for any more than one or two bright new ideas or innovations, so that we are not re-inventing the wheel each year – at least that is the theory. Thankfully there have not been any approaches from TV or Radio to broadcast any of the Christmas services this year. However we have already been approached by the Radio regarding Ash Wednesday 2010!  

Next Sunday the Cathedral will be filled to capacity for 11am Solemn Mass as we will be joined by staff, pupils and their families of St Edward’s College for their annual Cathedral Mass on the nearest Sunday to the Feast of St Edward. Both the girls and boy choristers will be singing together in the Cathedral for the first time and many of our teenage altar servers who also attend the College will be serving that day and with Monsignor Cookson, an old boy of the college, concelebrating the College will be represented in every ministry and role.

The Minister for Health – Andy Burnham – will be giving a talk at our Cathedral next Sunday afternoon to those who work in healthcare on Merseyside. This will be followed by Mass at 4.30pm celebrated by Bishop Tom Williams.

Apparently the ‘Lamb Banana’ is now so last year and out of fashion and taking its place are the rather more cuddly ‘Go Penguins’. At least that is what the blurb says. Anyway you should soon see an outbreak of penguins around the City and we are due to have two on the Cathedral Piazza. One sponsored by St Sebastian’s School and another by a Primary Care Trust. We could do with a few more so that they could huddle together to survive the cold winter winds blowing down from the Cathedral.

Canon Anthony O’Brien
Dean of the Cathedral