Welcome from Dr David Price,
Organist & Master of the Choristers

We are told Advent is the season of waiting. Well, I cannot wait for this year to be over and ended.

Like many I am sure, I have found 2020 to one of the most frustrating, stressful, and debilitating years of my working life. At times, due to the vagaries of governmental advice, we have not known from day to day what form of work we have been able to maintain with our choirs, let alone how we might do cathedral services.

Our cathedral staff and clergy have had to react quickly to an ever-changing landscape. A challenge that they have risen to each and every time – and it has been heart-warming to see how well and enthusiastically our cathedral congregations and community have willingly engaged too where they can.

Children’s choirs thrive and prosper only with regularity and consistency of rehearsals and service opportunities, and so it has been good to have as full a programme of choir activity this term as possible – only slightly curtailed in Lockdown 2. As ever, our choristers, their parents, scholars, and Lay Clerks have adapted to every change of circumstance with dedication and professionalism.

It goes without saying that even all this of course pales into insignificance set against to hardships and bereavement as a direct result of the pandemic, which is why we look forward to hosting ‘Pompey Heroes’ at one of our Christmas Carol Services later this month. And I hope we will see as many as possible at our sequence of services from 20th Dec through to Christmas Day! (see notices on how to book places) as we mark and celebrate the Incarnation.

Dr David Price,
Organist & Master of the Choristers

Visiting the Cathedral

The Cathedral has now reopened for visiting: come in and explore our wonderful building. As well as our daily public worship, you are welcome to come in and light a candle and take a moment of private prayer.

Please remember you will need to wear a face covering when attending the Cathedral unless you have a medical exemption. You will be asked to check-in using the NHS Covid-19 App; if you cannot use the app you will need to leave your details with one of our stewards.

Find the latest information on visiting the Cathedral here; you can also stay up to date with all our latest updates via Facebook and Twitter.

Services and Worship

Last Wednesday we were pleased to resume public worship at the Cathedral.  Our regular services take place throughout the week include midday Holy Communion, Monday to Saturday, and our 8:00 am, 9:30 am and 11:00 am Sunday Services which are now available to book online or by calling 023 9289 2962.  Please note that for all of our regular public services, a number of places are available on the door.

More information can be found on our worship pages, where you can also download our most recent service list.

Book here for our Sunday Services

Online Services

We continue to livestream daily online worship via Facebook Live, alongside several of our regular services within the Cathedral. Morning Prayer and Compline are livestreamed daily from the homes of our ministry team.

Find out more about our online services or download service lists and orders of services from our prayer resources page.

Sunday Refreshments at 6:30pm via Zoom

Join us for our weekly Sunday Refreshments, hosted on Zoom at 6:30pm. Catch up with other members of the congregation and members of our ministry team.

Please note to maintain security, information on how to join the Zoom call will be sent with our emailed notices. You can join our mailing list here.

Prayers and Intercessions

We pray for all those affected by COVID-19.

We remember the following for whom prayer has been asked by members of the Cathedral Community: Bob, Derek, Nigel, Trevor, Izzy, Clare, Bishop Peter Hancock, Laurence, Andy, Michael, Sarah, Sheila, Hector, Jean, Michael, Jenny, Monty, and all those in need.

We pray for those who have died recently: Elizabeth Robertson, Robert Keown, and Margaret Aylen.

To add someone to the prayer list, please email info@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk

In the notices this week:

Upcoming Services and Events

• Advent & Christmas at Portsmouth Cathedral

• ‘Leap of Faith’ A Retrospective by Vincent Gray – Now Open until 15 January

• Homemade Christmas Produce stalls – Sunday 13 December

• Bible Discussion Group – Thursday 17 December, 7:00pm

• Carols on the Green – Saturday 19 December, 5:30pm

Community News

• New gift range now available in the Cathedral Shop

• Livestreamed Services Survey

• Portsmouth Cathedral joins Shaping Portsmouth

• Cathedral Clergy

• Part-Time Cleaning Opportunity

• Church Homeless Action Christmas Voucher Scheme 2020

Upcoming Services and Events

Advent & Christmas at Portsmouth Cathedral

Christmas may be different this year, but Portsmouth Cathedral’s season of services, concerts and celebrations will bring comfort and joy however you choose to join us.

Portsmouth Cathedral will be shining a light in the darkness, with a range of beautiful services and seasonal concerts this December. Bringing families around the city together for celebration and worship, several of the Cathedral’s services continue to be streamed online for you to enjoy from the comfort of home.

Find out more about our Christmas services

Booking for our Christmas Services

Thank you for your patience as we review guidelines to ensure our services are as safe as possible. If you are signed up to our Weekly Notices, we are opening pre-booking exclusively to you ahead of Monday when general booking becomes available.

You can book a socially distanced ‘space’ with options available for groups of one and two people, as well as a limited number of spaces for groups of threes and fours.

Groups will be issued with one ticket for the booking, so please ensure you arrive together and that your group consists of only one household or bubble.

Booking by phone will be available from Monday, weekdays during office hours (09.00-17.00), though we encourage you to book online to secure your space.

 ‘Leap of Faith’ A Retrospective by Vincent Gray

This Christmas Portsmouth Cathedral will be bringing ‘comfort and joy’ wherever you celebrate, and alongside our their services -  including carols, eucharists and Midnight Mass – the Cathedral will be home to a retrospective by sculptor, Vincent Gray.

‘Leap of Faith’ will be open from Friday 4 December 2020, until Friday 15 January 2021. The exhibition (including the Cathedral) is free to enter, and open throughout the week during normal opening hours making a fantastic detour during Christmas shopping!

The exhibition includes a diverse range of work ranging from smaller maquettes through to life-size statues. Much of the work included in the exhibition is cast bronze resin, with the artist bringing together several techniques and skills to achieve a wide variety of finishes, showcasing the versatility of the medium.

Some of the works also have a direct correlation to Portsmouth’s ‘Cathedral of the Sea’, including the striking ‘Union’ which has been likened to a ship’s capstan, through to the wonderfully detailed ‘Nelson’ maquette.

Gray has a wide background of experience including television, theatre, and design, working alongside some notable names across arts and engineering sectors both in the UK and in Scandinavia.

More information about the exhibition can be found on our website.

This Sunday… Homemade Christmas Produce Stalls

Following the cancellation of the Christmas Market, this Sunday you will be able to buy homemade Christmas produce including cakes, preserves and lavender bags after each of the morning services.

There’s still time to make and donate homemade cakes and preserves. Please bring your produce to the Cathedral on Saturday 12 December between 10:00am and 12pm.

It would be very helpful to know what produce to expect; please email us if you intend to make something. For cakes please email Sheila Picton (sheila.picton15@gmail.com), or for preserves please email Sophie Henstridge-Brown.

Thank you to everyone who is helping to make this happen.

Bible Discussion Group - Thursday 17 December, 7:00pm

At the last Bible Discussion Group before Christmas, we will look at John 4.43-end. Christmas jumpers or other adornments welcome!

The Zoom link will be sent out with the email version of the notices. You can sign up to notices here. 

Carols on the Green – Saturday 19 December, 5:30pm

Come and sing!  On Saturday, 19th December at 5.30 pm we will be holding Carols on the Green – a chance to sing traditional Christmas carols outside on the Cathedral Green, in a ‘covid-safe’ environment. 

We will be able to listen to beautiful Christmas music at our eight carol services, and to join in from home, but this is our only chance to sing together.  Places for the carol singing must be booked in advance via Eventbrite – just go on to the Christmas page on the Cathedral website to find out more and book online.

General booking and phone booking will be opening this Monday (14 December).

You are welcome to come by yourself, or in a bubble of a maximum of four people.  Tickets will be checked, and because we need to practise social distancing.  It will unfortunately not be possible just to join in at the time without having booked. 

Carol sheets will be provided and will also be available to download from our website.  Please wrap up warm. Musical ability optional – volume essential! 

Find out more and book online here

Community News

New gift range available now in the Cathedral Shop

Still on the search for the perfect Christmas gift? Our Cathedral Shop has reopened with a wide selection of books, cards, and advent candles. 

This weekend we are pleased to be launching our new Christmas gift collections, from artist collective ‘Arthouse Unlimited’ and local producers ‘Southsea Bathing Hut’.

Arthouse Unlimited, is a project run by the Meath Epilepsy Trust. A collective of artists living with complex epilepsy and learning disabilities and difficulties work alongside instructors to create artworks which are developed into the products for sale.  Find confectionery, tea, biscuits, and candles, all with Arthouse Unlimited’s unique and quircky style.

If you are looking for a gift from a little close to home, ‘Southsea Bath Hut’ brings Portsmouth’s heritage for soap making and restorative bathing into the twenty-first century. With a range of natural skincare inspired by our costal surroundings, their artisan soap and bath and shower oils are great stocking-fillers for the whole family!

This week we also have several items on sale, pop into our Cathedral Shop, open throughout the week. Our full opening times and further information can be found on our website.

Livestreamed Services Survey

Since March we have been livestreaming our services and we are currently looking into several ways we can improve our output as we go into 2021. 

We would really appreciate you taking the time to complete a short survey that should take no more than a couple of minutes.

You can complete the survey anonymously here.

Portsmouth Cathedral joins Shaping Portsmouth as Associate Partners

We are delighted to share that we have joined Shaping Portsmouth as Associate Partners.  Shaping Portsmouth works in partnership with several organisations across the city, with a vision for Portsmouth to be the best city in the UK to live, work, visit and invest in.

Dean Anthony writes “I am delighted that Portsmouth Cathedral, the ‘Cathedral of the Sea’, is joining Shaping Portsmouth. We have been part of the Portsmouth community since the church was built in the 1180s, becoming a cathedral (and triggering Portsmouth becoming a city) in 1927.

Today in 2020, we are passionate about being part of what makes Portsmouth a great city to live, work, study, and visit.

Our new cathedral vision affirms that we want to play an even fuller role in Portsmouth’s society and economy. We already support people pastorally and spiritually, inspire over 2,000 children annually through school visits and our ‘Cathedral Sing’ project, welcome tourists and visitors, and offer a unique venue for events, weddings and cultural activities. But we want to do more.

Shaping Portsmouth is fantastic at bringing people and organisations together. We are proud to be their newest member and hope to develop many new relationships and partnerships with organisations and businesses in Portsmouth.”

Stef Nienaltowski, Chief Executive Officer of Shaping Portsmouth adds “There are many historic institutions in our City and to welcome one of them, Portsmouth Cathedral, as an Associate Partner of Shaping Portsmouth is a significant step in both our evolutions. We are delighted that they can see the significant benefits for being one of our Partners and we too are excited about how we can help them fulfil their community ambitions.

Between the two organisations we will be working hard to make the visions we both have for the City become a reality and I for one am positive about the working partnership I can see already forming with the Dean and his commercial and operational team.

Do look out for some positive ideas we both have for the City and its residents and join me in welcoming the Dean and the rest of the team that run the cathedral.”

Find out more about Shaping Portsmouth

Cathedral Clergy

The Cathedral clergy continue to be available to support parishes, especially those in vacancies. Canon Anthony is preaching and presiding at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake, Isle of Wight, on Sunday.

Part-time Cleaning Opportunity

We are looking for a part-time cleaner to work in the Cathedral, Cathedral House and Cathedral Offices as part of a small team of staff and volunteers.  The role will be for six hours per week worked Monday and Wednesday 9.00-11.00am and alternate Saturdays/Sundays 8.45-10.45am plus occasional overtime.

For further information and application details please see our website.

Church Homeless Action Christmas Voucher Scheme 2020

Churches from across Portsmouth will once again be joining to support those who are homeless. This year, inevitably, the project will be slightly different to meet the current needs.

This year the campaign will be working in partnership with The News, HIVE Portsmouth and the City Council to broaden the scheme and seek to increase the impact and benefit it can bring. The campaign encourages people in our city as individuals and as groups to share some love in Portsmouth this Christmas.

To support the campaign, people are being encouraged to either…

• Donate a gift card or voucher (In previous years we have suggested £5 cards)

• Donate a cheque (payable to St Mary’s Church) or cash

• ·Send a donation to St Mary’s Vicarage, Fratton Road Portsmouth PO1 5PA or hand in at St Mary’s Church any morning between 9am & Noon.

The deadline for receiving donations is Friday 18 December 2020

The campaign will ensure donations are passed on to the charities worked with in the past to reach those most in need.

Find out more about the campaign

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!

Dean: 023 9282 4400 or Anthony.Cane@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk

Canon Jo Spreadbury: 023 9275 2335 or Jo.Spreadbury@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk

Canon Kathryn Percival: 023 9289 2967 or Kathryn.Percival@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk

Cathedral Curate, Revd Catherine Edenborough: 023 9282 3300 extn 221 or Catherine.Edenborough@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk (Usual days at the Cathedral: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday)

Messages can also be left on the Cathedral phone system 023 9282 3300 or by email to info@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk or pastoral@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk.