Portsmouth Cathedral Notices Sunday 19 July Sixth Sunday after Trinity
Welcome from the Canon Precentor
I vividly remember as a teenager watching enthralled, in October 1982, as the Mary Rose was slowly, painstakingly lifted from the seabed of the Solent and brought to the surface nearly 450 years after she sank. The first glimpse as the timbers broke the surface in their huge lifting cradle. The gasp as one of the hoisting chains slipped. The amazement as a project that had taken so many years finally was realised.
Little did I know then that Portsmouth would be a place where I would live or minister. Or that the funeral of the Mary Rose archivist Margaret Rule would take place soon after I first came to the Cathedral. She taught herself to scuba dive – at quite an advanced age - so that she could go down to explore the Mary Rose wreck site first hand.
The Mary Rose sank on July 19th 1545, and this year is the 475th anniversary this year of that sinking. Each year, normally, we would have a Commemoration within our main Sunday service on the Sunday nearest to the 19th. This has taken place ever since the burial in 1984 of the unknown member of the ship’s company here in the South aisle of the Quire, just one of more than 450 who lost their lives when the ship sank.
A wreath will be laid here on the grave this weekend by a representative of the Mary Rose Trust. Some things still continue, albeit in changed circumstances, in these current times. Some traditions live on and will endure. And the raising of the Mary Rose is perhaps a metaphor and a reassurance we can appreciate today: after sudden shock and loss, after disappointed hopes, after long uncertainty, there are new possibilities that await us, new achievements that lie ahead. The Mary Rose grave here in the Cathedral is a reminder that faith endures, through weeks and through centuries of change. God is faithful, who has promised to lift out of darkness, to hold us close and keep us safe, and to raise us up with Christ to fullness of life.
The Reverend Canon Dr Jo Spreadbury
Canon Precentor
Visiting the Cathedral
The Cathedral is now open daily from 10.00am to 2.00pm and on Sundays from 11.45pm to 2.00pm. A huge thank you to all the volunteers who have offered their time to enable us to open. You can find more information about what to expect when you visit, including the safety measures we are taking here.
Public Worship
Sunday 19 July
We look forward to welcoming you in person to the Cathedral on Sunday morning, when we will be holding four services of Holy Communion. It is still possible (at time of sending) to pre-book a place at the 8.00am, 9.00am, 10.00am and 11.00am services through Eventbrite.
Tickets for next Sunday 26 July will be available through Eventbrite from 10.00am on Wednesday or call 023 9289 2962.
Weekdays
There will be a Holy Communion (in one kind only) in the Nave at 12 noon each weekday. The Cathedral will remain open at this time and numbers in the Cathedral will be limited to 30 in total.
Online Worship
We know that not everyone will be able to visit the Cathedral. We will be continuing our online services as normal on Facebook (see below for details), including a live-streamed service of Holy Communion every Sunday morning at 8.00am (Book of Common Prayer) and 9.00am.
“Good to Go” Covid-19 accreditation
The Cathedral is pleased to have been awarded the “Good to Go” accretion from Visit Britain. Acquiring this Industry Standard mark means that the Cathedral has followed government and Church of England COVID-19 guidelines, and has a Risk Assessment in place and a process to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.
We will continue to review our current practice and take into account any updates in Government and Church of England advice. The clergy, staff and our volunteers will continue to work to ensure the Cathedral is as safe a place as possible to visit.
Thank you
Anne, Frances and Simon Wright would like to convey their heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support they received while Peter was in hospital, and for the kind condolences sent by friends from the Cathedral when he died. Their thoughtfulness and concern has been a great comfort to the family.
In the notices this week:
Chapter Meeting News
Cathedral Repair Works
Video to ‘Diocesan School Leavers’
End of the Choir Year 2019/2020
Cathedral Bells
Icon of St Thomas of Canterbury
Friends of the Cathedral
IDWAL (Inter-Diocesan West Africa Link) Newsletter)
Weekly reflection from the Portsmouth Cathedral Ministry Team
Online Resources
Supporting Portsmouth Cathedral
Online worship including the order of service for Sunday 12 July
Regular details of prayers and intercessions and ways to contact the Cathedral.
Chapter Meeting News
Chapter met on 15 July 2020 and reviewed progress on a number of fronts including:
New Vision and Strategy to be launched at the APCM in September Unanimous approval was given by Chapter to the new Vision and Strategy designed to lead our actions over the period leading up to our Centenary in 2027. The Vision and Strategy will be launched at the APCM on Sunday 13 September. The Dean and Chapter noted their thanks for the input from all parts of the Cathedral community in bringing together this new vision for our collective future.
Financial Performance Chapter reviewed the Cathedral’s financial performance and were pleased to note that the projected deficit is decreasing and is now expected to be under the projected circa £220,000 budgeted. It was recognised that there continue to be challenges ahead as income from events was likely to decrease still further and our costs including Covid-19 related expenses were rising. The Chief Operating Officer noted that there are still very significant challenges associated with our structural deficit that will need to be addressed in terms of expenditure control and increased revenue including congregational giving.
Increased congregational giving The generous increase in both regular and one-off congregational giving since 1 April 2020 was noted with thanks. The Chief Operating Officer noted some comparative research with other English Cathedrals that still shows total planned giving at Portsmouth at or near the bottom of all cathedrals
Grants and awards Since the last meeting of Chapter, the Cathedral has been grateful to receive additional Covid-19 related grants from the Church Commissioners and the City of Portsmouth.
Cathedral Sustainability Funding (CSF) - “Digital Cathedral.” Chapter also noted our successful application for three years of funding from CSF to support our marketing and communications function. This successful bid led by Sophie Henstridge-Brown our Head of Fundraising and Events, will enhance our marketing and digital offer including the hiring of a new digital marketing lead.
Cathedral Repair Works
The scaffolding on the south side of the Cathedral is to enable repairs to the windows on the Quire roof to be carried out. This is part of the planned preventative maintenance programme. With lockdown easing other delayed scheduled works will now be restarted. It is hoped that the refurbishment of the South-West door, made possible solely through the generous donations of members of the congregation and charitable trusts including the Limoges Trust and Portsmouth Cathedral Development Trust, will be completed by the autumn.
Video to ‘Diocesan School Leavers’ Service
Our Diocesan School Leavers’ Services for children in Year 6 have gone online this year, in the form of a video, which is designed to be watched in both schools and homes. The annual theme this year is ‘Standing Together’. Although this seems ironic in the circumstances, its implications of hope and solidarity seem more important than ever, and the schools have found many creative ways of exploring it. As well as wonderful input from the children themselves, the video contains contributions from our Cathedral clergy and organist. You can find it here
End of the Choir Year 2019/2020
We have had to mark the end of this year in a very different way to normal of course. We bid au revoir to a super set of senior boys and girls who have been excellent role models to their younger cohorts as well as being great singers and soloists in their own right. We have also been blessed with a great team of Gap Years including Sam Jones as Organ Scholar. They have brought huge energy and commitment to their year, and it is matter of huge sadness that their year has been curtailed by Covid. We hope to see them on visits to Portsmouth and wish them well for their next adventure! https://youtu.be/3oLCYME7zdo
We also thank Lay Clerk Tim Burtt for his sterling service of 14 years to our music programme. Tim has been a linchpin of our choir in so many ways and has we shall miss his dedication and experience beyond measure. We wish him good luck as he begins a teacher training course in Reading next term.
Cathedral Bells
We are delighted to welcome our bell ringers, a small number of whom will be ringing a limited number of bells before our 9.00am, 10.00am and 11.00am services from this week. We are particularly grateful to the Tower Captain, Ben, and Steeple Keeper, Peter the Tower Secretary an Stephen for working with us on Risk Assessments and practical solutions to make ringing possible again.
Icon of St Thomas of Canterbury
If you have visited the Cathedral recently or joined previous online Choral Evensong, you will have seen the new icon of St Thomas of Canterbury, written for us by Rev’d Dr Ruth Tuschling. Ruth has generously gifted the icon to the Cathedral and it will now be a new focal point for prayer and pilgrims visiting Portsmouth Cathedral. Do take a look when you are next able to visit (due to its fragile nature, please do not touch the icon).
Friends of the Cathedral
The Friends’ Yearbook 2020 will be posted to members this week . If you would like to know more about membership please contact the Friends’ Office
The IDWAL (Inter-Diocesan West Africa Link) Newsletter
The IDWAL July 2020 newsletter is available on the Cathedral’s website.
Weekly reflection from the Portsmouth Cathedral Ministry Team
For the past few weeks we have been sharing a short reflection from members of the Ministry Team. You can see all of the previous videos on our YouTube channel here.
Online Resources
A reminder that resources for prayer, worship, and family activities at home can be found on our website here
Supporting Portsmouth Cathedral
Over past weeks we have been sharing some of the profound financial challenges that Portsmouth Cathedral faces. The Cathedral team has done everything possible to reduce expenditure and Chapter has approved revised budgets for 2020 and 2021 which see deep cuts of almost 40%. Even with such drastic measures, we will be unable to achieve balanced budgets and to continue our ministry in the way we aspire to without the support of our congregation.
We know many people are facing financially challenging circumstances. If you are able to, please consider making a new or increased regular or one-off donation to support our work. Every gift is hugely valued and very gratefully received. If you are a UK taxpayer, signing up for Gift Aid will enable us to claim an additional 25% of your donation from HMRC.
Ways to make a regular donation:
By Direct Debit – via the Parish Giving Scheme by calling 0333 002 1271. Lines are open Monday-Friday between 9.00am and 5.00pm. You will need your bank details ready as well as this reference information: Church name: Portsmouth Cathedral, Parish Giving Scheme parish code: 290629001
By Standing Order – please contact sophie.henstridge-brown@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk for our bank details and reference number
Ways to make a one-off donation:
By bank transfer – please contact sophie.henstridge-brown@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk for our bank details
By cheque – payable to ‘Portsmouth Cathedral Chapter’ and sent to the Cathedral Offices
Online here. Please note that online donations incur a fee from the online provider, if you wish us to receive all of your donation and Gift Aid, please use bank transfer or cheque.
Thank you to everyone who has generously increased their giving recently, we are hugely grateful.
If you would like to talk about how your gift can make a difference, please contact our Head of Fundraising Sophie Henstridge-Brown on sophie.henstrdge-brown@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk.
Online worship
Monday-Saturday
8.15am Morning Prayer
5.30pm Evening Prayer
8.30pm Compline
Plus Toddler Group on Wednesdays at 2.00pm via Facebook. (Please note that 22 July will be the last Toddlers of term. We will provide autumn term details as soon as we can.)
Sunday
9.00am Holy Communion, followed by online coffee at 10.00am
5.30pm Evensong
8.30pm Compline
How to join the services
You do not need to be a member of Facebook to join the services. Please use this link. when the service is about to begin. You will see a prompt asking you to join Facebook; just click ‘not now’. Orders of service for our Sunday Eucharist’s, Compline, and special services, can be found on the Resources Section of our website here
Order of Service for Sunday 19 July
The order of service for Eucharist on Sunday 19 July can be found here.
How to join the online Sunday Coffee Hour via Zoom
Coffee Hour will be hosted on Zoom at 10.00am. In order to maintain security details will be sent with our emailed notices.
Prayers and Intercessions
Cathedral Prayers
All those affected by COVID-19
We remember the following for whom prayer has been asked by members of the Cathedral Community: Christopher, Clare, Philippa, Terry, Sally, David, John, Bob, Derek, Nigel, Trevor, Reuben, (Jonathan), Melissa, Izzy, Jenifer, Jenny, Benji, Andrew and all those in need.
All those who have died: Peter Wright (priest), Gerald Reddington (priest), Mary Dunning and John Carpenter RIP..
Requesting an addition to the prayer list
To add someone to the prayer list, please email info@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk
Getting in touch
We know that this is a lonely and anxious time for many people. Please feel free to get in touch if we can help in any way, or if you just want to hear another voice!
By phone:
The Dean: 023 9282 4400
Canon Kathryn Percival: 023 9289 2967
Canon Jo Spreadbury: 023 9275 2335
Cathedral Curate, Catherine Edenborough: 023 9282 3300 extn 221 (Usual days at the Cathedral: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday)
Messages can also be left on the cathedral phone system 023 9282 3300 and will be responded to as necessary.
By email:
The Dean Anthony.Cane@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk
Canon Kathryn Percival Kathryn.Percival@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk
Canon Jo Spreadbury Jo.Spreadbury@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk
Cathedral Curate, Catherine Edenborough: Catherine.Edenborough@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk
For pastoral matters pastoral@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk
General matters info@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk