Weekly Record

26 July 2009

At this time of the year Cathedral life tends to scale down during the weeks of August and the liturgies and daily routine takes on a welcome air of simplicity. It is in the nature of Cathedral life that events and services take place in a grand setting and often on a grand scale so details and planning are an important and necessary fact of life. But for a few weeks of the year it is good to have a quieter period when we can take things as they come. That being said it is not as though there is nothing happening at this time.

Our Cathedral Choir travel southwards on a short tour this week. They will sing evensong at Gloucester and Worcester Cathedrals, give an evening concert at Kingsland church and finish with sung Mass at St Chads Cathedral, Birmingham on Friday. In between singing duties the boys will enjoy visits to a Wetlands Trust, Cadbury World and a Safari Park. The success of a tour is normally gauged by the smiles on the boys faces and the look of sheer exhaustion on the face of the adult helpers and leaders on their return. I’m sure this year will be no different. Good luck!

Next Tuesday I have been invited to see the inside of the Greek temple lookalike building – ‘The Oratory’ - at the side of the entrance to Liverpool Cathedral and St James Gardens. Despite walking past it hundreds of times I have never had the opportunity to view inside. The Friends of St James Gardens, with the support of the Cathedral authorities, and others are attempting to draw up proposals for possible uses of the building with a view to attract grant and open the building up to the public. On the same day there is a meeting with various organisations on Hope Street to share information regarding developments in the area. We are also at the final consultative stage on plans for the public realm areas on Mount Pleasant. By the end of all this I should be a mine of information regarding the local area but the problem is these days I tend to get everything jumbled up making me a very unreliable source for the latest news.

On Thursday at 1pm there will be an informal concert in the Cathedral by the Royal School of Church Music Youth Choir. They are singing in Chester Cathedral all week and are taking the opportunity to visit Liverpool and sing at our Cathedral while they are in the area. They will be singing on BBC ‘Songs of Praise’ and at the Albert Hall later in the year.

Keeping on a musical theme the Cathedral Organists Conference takes place here next weekend and there will be an organ recital on Saturday between 2-3pm and on Sunday by our Director of Music, Timothy Noon, at 3pm.

During this period of risk of the spread of the flu virus we ask people to simply offer a verbal sign of peace during Mass and we have temporarily stopped the reception of communion from the chalice as well as removing Holy Water from the fonts as you enter the Cathedral or Crypt Chapel.

Canon Anthony O'Brien
Cathedral Dean