Weekly Record

16th March 2008

It looks like Liverpool’s Cathedrals will be monopolising the airwaves for religious programming this Easter. The Anglican Cathedral have an early morning service to be broadcast on Radio 4 and an evening service on Radio 2. Here, as you know, we have the televised Easter morning Mass and ‘Songs of Praise’ recording the next day. They used to say that the previous Archbishop and Bishop of Liverpool were never out of the papers (fish and chips) now they seem to have taken over the airwaves – for Easter at least!
At the time of writing I am hoping for calmer weather this weekend so that for the Solemn Mass and the Crypt Family Mass we can have some form of External Blessing of Palms and Procession. Hopefully utilising the new Cathedral Garden Area and the Crypt Entrance. That is the plan but who knows what the weather will do.

The preparations for Holy Week this year have made considerable demands on many of our Cathedral staff and volunteers. The mounds of paper that have had to be poured over and proofed for the various days service sheets have seemed never ending. The planning of the various liturgies and ceremonials is so important but very time consuming for those involved and responsibility for a lot of these things falls on the shoulders of a few. Items such as an Easter Garden may seem just a welcome symbol for Easter but may have taken weeks in the design and planning to create. The hope is that all the planning and preparations are complete and next week, apart from some fine tuning and rehearsals, we can all relax and participate in the services throughout the week without too much distraction. That is the theory but I have discounted the fact that we will also have workmen and TV engineers on site as well which is not a good mix when you are trying to create an atmosphere of calm and reflection. I’m sure God understands and He will have the final word regarding the weather etc.

The fund raising continues for the Crypt project and for charitable causes. I am grateful to those who are giving up part of their Saturday to ‘Bag Pack’ at Marks and Spencers and to all who have donated eggs for the Easter Tombola. The Easter Egg Tombola was displayed on a table in Cathedral House and after the first night one disappeared. Fortunately it was my day off so I was not considered a suspect. So far no evidence has turned up – such as silver paper in a bin or signs of chocolate on someone’s lips – but investigations are proceeding in the capable hands of Claire Hanlon( ex police) and all the others have now been data tagged.

All that is left for me to say this week is to encourage you to take part in the various Holy Week services as much as possible. A great deal is asked of us this week but we receive much more back in return. Through the services of Holy Week our faith is renewed and deepened and we enter into the life giving mystery of the Lords Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Canon Anthony O'Brien
Cathedral Dean