Fourth Sunday of Advent

Welcome from Dr Anthony Cane

Dear Friends

According to Luke’s Gospel, the birth of Jesus took place with Mary and Joseph far from home, and separated from their wider family networks. This Christmas, most of us will likewise be distanced from at least some of our loved ones, just at the time when (after a really challenging year) it would have been lovely to have their company. Paradoxically, however, the very difficult deprivations of these times may help us to appreciate more fully the significance of the holy child, ‘God with us’, bringing light and hope. 

I invite you to pray with me for those desperately in need of hope, and for God to bring harmony where there is strife between nations, and where people are divided by suspicion and bitterness.  And to pray for those who, this Christmas, cannot feel joy or anticipation, whether through the burden of sickness, loneliness, poverty, bereavement or any other distress.

I am deeply grateful for the Cathedral’s worshipping community, volunteers, staff and clergy, who have showed so much fortitude, imagination and compassion in responding to the challenges of the year. We are well placed for all that 2021 might bring, as (we trust) the vaccination programme begins to make a positive difference. So, whether or not you are able to attend one of our Carol, Crib or other Christmas services, and whatever kind of year you have had, I wish you the peace and joy of the season.

With my prayers and best wishes,

Anthony Cane
Dean of Portsmouth

Watch Anthony’s welcome online here.

Covid-19: Portsmouth Tier 3 Status

Although Portsmouth has now been placed under tier 3 restrictions, I am pleased to say that, in accordance with government guidelines, all of our Carol, Crib and other Christmas services will proceed as planned.

We are sorry, though, that some will no longer be travelling to the Cathedral because they live in a lower tier area. Many of our Christmas services are live-streamed, and all are welcome to join us in worship in this way.

Anthony Cane

For further information and our latest updates regarding Coronavirus, visit our Covid-19 information page.

Visiting the Cathedral

The Cathedral is open daily: we welcome you to 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.

Christmas Week Opening Times

Mon 21 – Thu 24: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Fri 25: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sat 26 & Sun 27: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

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

This weekend marks the beginning of our Christmas services with ‘Carols on the Green’ on Saturday and our first Christmas Carol service on Sunday. Most carol services are now fully booked, and we have no ‘on the door’ availability. Our Crib Services and Christmas day services are being booked up quickly. To check availability and book, go online or call the Cathedral office on 023 9289 2962 (lines are open from 10:00 am-3:00 pm on weekdays).

Our regular services of midday Holy Communion, Monday to Saturday (booking is not required), and our Sunday Services at 8:00 am, 9:30 am and 11:00 am, will continue during the Christmas period. Please note there is no 9:30am service on Sunday 27 December. Booking for our regular Sunday services is available online or by calling 023 9289 2962. If you are unable to pre-book, a small number of spaces are also available on the door.book, a small number of spaces are also available on the door.

Upcoming Services this January

• Choral Evensong – Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays starting from Thursday 7 January, 5:30 pm

• Epiphany Eucharist – Wednesday 6 January, 5:30 pm

• #PompeySundays – A new service for the new year… our new weekly, informal service, #PompeySundays.  Held in relaxed, café style seating, great for young people, families and those new to church. See our website for further information – Sunday 31 January, 9:30 am

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

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.

Upcoming Online Worship

• Toddler Service - Back for the new year on Facebook Live, our theme is the Three Wise Men. Please dress up as a king or bring along a present if you wish! - Wednesday 6 January, 2:00 pm.

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

Sunday Refreshments at 5:15 pm via Zoom

Join us for our weekly Sunday Refreshments, hosted on Zoom at the earlier time of 5:15 pm. Catch up with other members of the congregation and members of our ministry team. This will be the last Sunday Refreshments before Christmas Day, and we will be resuming in the new year on 3 January 2021 at our regular time of 6:30 pm.

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, Michael, Jenny, Monty, Maurice, and all those in need.

We pray for those who have died recently: Micky Ball, and Louisa Taylor RIP.

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

In the notices this week:

Upcoming Services and Events

• Bible Discussion Group – resumes Thursday 7 January 2021

• Carols on the Green – Saturday 19 December, 5:30pm (fully booked)

• Annual Muslim-Christian Evening – Tuesday 21 January 2021, 7:15 pm

Community News

• Homemade Christmas Market – Thank you!

• Cathedral Gift Shop open for last minute gifts

• What’s your thoughts on Portsmouth Cathedral?

• Cathedral Offices closed over Christmas

• Portsmouth Cathedral welcomes lifeline funding from the Cathedral Choirs’ Emergency Fund 

• Portsmouth Cathedral joins Shaping Portsmouth

• Cathedral Clergy

Upcoming Services and Events

Bible Discussion Group – 7 January 2021

We’ll be resuming our Bible Discussion Group on 7 January 2021 at 7:00 pm. Please read the fifth chapter of John’s gospel. You will be able to find the Zoom link and invitation details in our New Year’s Notices.

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

This Saturday we will be holding Carols on the Green – this service is now fully booked, so for everyone’s safety please refrain from attending unless you have already pre-booked. 

Entry is from the High Street only; please remember to maintain social distancing guidelines.

Carol sheets will be provided and will also be available to download from our website.  Please wrap up warm.

Annual Muslim-Christian Evening – Tuesday 21 January 2021, 7:15 pm

This important celebration of our friendship will be held over Zoom at 7.15 pm, please save the date.

Further information will be available on our website in the new year.

Community News

Homemade Christmas Market – thank you!

Thank you again to all involved in running our ‘Homemade Christmas Market’ last Sunday, including all those who very kindly donated baked goods and produce. The market raised £465 and we hope to be able to do more for our Christmas Market next year.

Cathedral Gift Shop open for last minute gifts!

Still on the search for the perfect Christmas gift? Our Cathedral Shop remains open until Christmas Eve at 1:00 pm with wide selection of books, cards, and advent candles. 

Our Christmas gift collections, from artist collective ‘Arthouse Unlimited’ and local producers ‘Southsea Bathing Hut’ are newly available instore with some ideal stocking fillers including soaps and body scrubs, mugs and tote bags.

Featuring Arthouse Unlimited, 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 quirky style.

If you are looking for a gift from a little closer 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!

Our full opening times and further information can be found on our website.

Cathedral Shop Christmas Opening Times

Christmas Eve – 10:00 am -1:00 pm
Christmas Day – Closed
Boxing Day – Closed
Sunday 27 – Closed
Mon 28 – Closed
Tues 29 – 10:00 am-2:00 pm
Wed 30 – 10:00 am -2:00 pm
Thurs 31 – 10:00 am -1:00 pm

What’s your thoughts on Portsmouth Cathedral?

Portsmouth Cathedral is undertaking a project to better understand how the cathedral is perceived by the community, including our current and potential visitors. This survey will help us to ensure we meet their needs now and in the run-up to us celebrating our centenary in 2027.

You can complete the short survey online here.

Cathedral Offices closed over Christmas period

The office remains closed to outside visitors with only a few staff permitted in the office at any one time to comply with Covid-19 social distancing guidance.

After a very busy year the Cathedral Offices will be closed from lunchtime on the 24th of December until Monday, 4th January 2021.  However, when the offices reopen on the 4th of January there will be only a minimal number of staff in each workday until 11th January 2021 when normal operations will resume.

Portsmouth Cathedral welcomes lifeline funding from the Cathedral Choirs’ Emergency Fund 

Portsmouth Cathedral is delighted to welcome a grant from the Cathedral Choirs’ Emergency Fund. The Fund brings together support from the Cathedral Music Trust, The Ouseley Church Music Trust, and the Choir Schools’ Association together with donations from thousands of members of the public. The grant to Portsmouth Cathedral will provide a lifeline to over 70 musicians across all three of our choirs, safeguarding our choral tradition and regular pattern of sung services until summer 2021. 

Find out more 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.

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.