Opening Hours:

Cathedral (for visitors)
Mon-Sat       0900 - 1700 hrs
Sun               1300 - 1600 hrs

Cathedral Shop:
Mon-Sat       0930 -1700 hrs
Sun               1100 - 1600 hrs

Refectory:
Mon-Sat       0930 -1630 hrs

 

 

April 2008 Newsletter

GOING DUTCH?

Recently I visited Holland, where I worked at one time.  On Ash Wednesday, I went to the central and major Roman Catholic church in Amsterdam to worship at the main liturgy of the day.  The priest was Spanish, and could speak no Dutch, so the liturgy, the hymns, and the homily were all in Spanish.  A Dutch Deacon provided translations of what was going on!  Also, there was no choir and no organist.  The Spanish priest, who sang flat, very flat, led the chants and hymns.

The next day, I went to visit Haarlem, which right at its centre has an ancient major church, the size and age of Chester Cathedral.  I was astounded to discover that the church was closed for worship between October and May because the  costs of its upkeep were too great!

Why am I telling you all this? 

Quite simply because we in England have a very precious tradition in our Church, which has already been lost in continental Europe.  We still have good choirs, and available organists, maintaining high standards of liturgy.  We still have churches which are able to open every day of the year, for worship and visitors, and nowhere more significantly than in our Cathedrals.  If we do nothing, however, the Dutch experience will become the English experience, with no music and closed buildings!  In each Cathedral in England we must make sure that the tradition is maintained and handed on - and that means raising money!

What’s our situation in this Cathedral?
It costs around £1.5m to run Chester Cathedral for a year, and we get almost no money from either the Church or the State!  The one exception is that the Church Commissioners pay the majority of the costs of the clergy at the Cathedral, although not their houses!  This is in stark contrast to congregations of parish churches who have to pay for their clergy through the Parish Share system, which would mean an average weekly gift of about £8 per person.

What’s the cost of our Mission here?
The direct Mission of the Cathedral is centred on Music, Liturgy and Education.  Direct costs of Music are around £190,000.  Direct costs of Liturgy are around £45,000, excluding any clergy costs.  Direct costs of Education are around £35,000, and thankfully generous donors have ensured the survival of this service for the immediate future, although fundraising remains a priority. 

Direct costs are those costs immediately generated by these activities, and it is worth noting that this does not include any contribution to heating, lighting, cleaning, building maintenance, Song School costs, management, financing costs or any allocation of costs generated by other activities or other overheads. Neither does this include any allocation of costs relating to our Civic, Diocesan, Community or special services.

Our Commercial income
We have a range of commercial ventures established to generate income to cover some of the core running costs of the Cathedral. These ventures are charged with covering their own costs, and all associated overheads, and in addition to generate further funds to help us pay for the costs of keeping the building open, including heating, lighting, cleaning and helping to pay the majority of verging costs. These activities include the Shop, Refectory, Cathedral events and productions, and visitor charging.

Our Estate income
The Cathedral Estate provides vital income for us. We have a programme of improvement in various aspects of the management of the Estate already underway, which is reaping dividends, and have plans to improve and develop still further.  We are challenged by the significant under-investment in the Estate over past decades, and some restrictions over what we can do, but we are working hard to unlock some of the tremendous potential of the Estate.  Again, the costs of all those involved in this area have to be covered by the income they generate, and they are charged with generating further funds to pay for the maintenance and governance of the Cathedral itself.

What can you and I do?

So let us be pro-active in saving the English Cathedral tradition in this place! I urge you to review the level of your regular giving to the Cathedral, with the target (quite simply) of paying  £200,000 a year towards the cost of Music and Liturgy.  Otherwise sooner or later, we’ll go Dutch!
The Very Revd Prof Gordon McPhate

 

 

In Residence:

  1-5      Dean Gordon McPhate
 6-19     Canon Dr Trevor Dennis
20-30    Canon Chris Humphries

Saints Windows in the Cloisters

St George was a Soldier and a Martyr and that's all we know for sure. Several stories have been attached to Saint George, the best known of which is the Golden Legend.  In it, a dragon lived in a lake near Silena, Libya. Whole armies had gone up against this fierce creature, and had gone down in painful defeat. The monster ate two sheep each day; when mutton was scarce, lots were drawn in local villages, and maidens were substituted for sheep. Into this country came Saint George. Hearing the story on a day when a princess was to be eaten, he crossed himself, rode to battle against the serpent, and killed it with a single blow with his lance. George then held forth with a magnificent sermon, and converted the locals. Given a large reward by the king, George distributed it to the poor, then rode away.

Due to his chivalrous behaviour (protecting women, fighting evil, dependence on faith and might of arms, largesse to the poor), devotion to Saint George became popular in the Europe after the 10th century. In the 15th century his feast day was as popular and important as Christmas. Many of his areas of patronage have to do with life as a knight on horseback. The celebrated Knights of the Garter are actually Knights of the Order of Saint George. The shrine built for his relics at Lydda, Palestine was a popular point of pilgrimage for centuries.
Saints Day:  23 April
Died:                              tortured and beheaded c.304 at Lydda, Palestine
Patronage:  agricultural workers, archers, boy scouts, butchers, equestrians, farmers, knights, lepers,                                            plague, skin diseases, skin rashes, soldiers, syphilis

 

 

Vacancy for Saturday Warden 

Wesley Methodist Church are looking for someone to supervise the coffee bar on Saturdays. Duties include opening and closing the building, food preparation, serving customers plus managing volunteers and paid assistants. Hours of work 9am-4.30pm; rate of pay £6.50/hr. Minimum age 18. Call Andrew on 07930 639246 for more information.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE REFECTORY

We arrive at 8.00 am to start the preparations for the day.  Since all the food is prepared in the Refectory kitchen, there is always lots of fresh food to peel and chop, as well as soup to make.  The Refectory offers five main courses for lunch each day as well as breakfast snacks and afternoon teas so a lot of work needs to take place well in advance.  And on this particular day there are also starters, main courses and desserts  to prepare for a group of thirty five from a parish church who are visiting for dinner, a tour of the Cathedral and a special candlelight service this evening.

The rest of the staff start to arrive from 9.00 am and we have a run through of who will be responsible for what and what needs doing during the day. Everyone needs to know exactly what they will be doing for the day ahead.

Once the food preparation is underway, then the main counter can  be prepared for opening with cakes, sandwiches and snacks. Everything has to be checked -  fridges filled and coffee machines cleaned and if necessary, filled. At 9.30 am we can turn the main lights on, and open the door to the public, ready for business. The Cathedral is very busy today because  the Quaker Tapestry Exhibition is coming to an end, so lots of groups are coming to the Cathedral for the display and then joining us for morning coffee.

Final preparations for lunch are then made and at 11.30 am, the lunch service starts; first in the queue are some of the groups who came to see the Tapestry first thing in the morning. It’s so good to see all the tables used again and again over the lunch period with everyone enjoying their visit to Chester Cathedral. Lunch is always a busy time for us, especially when something is happening in the Cathedral. Customers include our loyal clients who come in regularly once or twice a week as well as many visitors to the City. Lunch is usually finished by about 3.00 pm but then the afternoon tea crowd starts to join us, and by 4.00 pm all the tables are full again!

By 5 o’clock we have closed to the public – we then have to clear down after a very busy day. Most of the Refectory staff can then get home, leaving just a few of us to concentrate on preparations for the parish group which will be arriving at 6.45 pm. This will be the first time we’ve arranged an event like this so everyone is a bit apprehensive as well as determined to ensure that the Refectory gives a good account of itself. The group arrives on time and dinner is served. All the guests are very appreciative of both the food as well as the professional and friendly way it’s served and give the staff a round of applause!  A frequently expressed view is how enjoyable it is to be in the Refectory when all is peace and quiet! As the guests enjoy their coffee, the tour commences with an overview of the Cathedral as well as specific information about the Refectory. By 8.15 pm the group leaves the Refectory to set off around the Cathedral on their tour and we crack on with the clear up operation, which takes about 45 minutes. By 9.00 pm we leave the Refectory after a hectic day – and tomorrow, it will all happen again!

 

David Mayer  - Refectory Manager

The Friends of Chester Cathedral
Plant Sale
Fri 2—Sat 3 May
10.00am—4.00pm
In the Cloisters
Entrance to Plant Sale free of charge

 

BBC    Antiques
Roadshow

Chester Cathedral
Thursday 3 April
9.30am—4.30pm
Admission Free

Bring your treasures to the experts on the day.