Welcome Back
We welcome back many of the former Cathedral Girl Choristers this weekend for the celebrations of the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the choir. Present and former choristers will sing together at Mass and Evening Prayer on Sunday.
Next Weekend we celebrate our Patronal Feast of Christ the King, the final Sunday of the Church Year. With the centenary anniversary of the end of the First World War we want this to be a special day of prayer for peace this year. Liverpool Hope University has arranged a special day conference next Saturday entitled ‘Women, Peace and the Church’. If you would like to take part attendance is free but you need to register online. Archbishop Malcolm will preside at the Solemn Mass in the morning and also at a special joint Choral Evening Prayer at 3pm for peace in the world, along with other church leaders on Merseyside with music sung by the combined choirs of the two Cathedrals. Members of the Cologne – Liverpool churches link group will join us for Mass and Evening Prayer, including the City Dean and Deacon from Cologne Cathedral. The link between the two cities which incorporate both a civic and church partnership is the oldest link between a German and English city following the Second World War and dates as far back as 1952.
Our Cathedral has a beautiful ornate and historic silver processional cross ‘The Metropolitan Cross’ which is used for services whenever the Archbishop of Liverpool is presiding at a service. Sadly the processional acolyte candles are made of brass, they do not match the cross and are in a poor state of repair. The normal Sunday processional cross is also in need of repair and is a mismatch with the acolyte candles.
With this in mind I have been intending for some years to try and resolve this by commissioning a new regular Sunday matching processional set designed specifically for our Cathedral with the acolytes suitable for use with the Metropolitan Cross. About six months ago, thanks to a kind donation I was able to approach a designer and silversmith based in Wales, Rauni Higson, to progress this and she has now reached the stage of finalising the designs before sourcing the final materials and making the final tweaks to satisfy both aesthetical and practical considerations.
I would like to set up a small display in the New Year to show some of the concept drawings and it is hoped that this new set will be accepted, signed off and ready for use for the Easter Season next year. The initial donation was enough to cover the design stage and the Friends of the Cathedral have kindly offered some financial support but there is still a shortfall if anyone else would like to make a donation.
Over the last few weeks I have written briefly regarding representation on the Diocesan Synod. The deadline for the names for Parish and Deanery representatives is early December and it’s not too late for any parishioners who may be interested in being considered as a coordinator or being a part of the parish support group for the Synod. If you could speak to one of the priests or there are forms available and leaflets which give some more information on what is involved.
Canon Anthony O’Brien
Cathedral Dean
