A reflection from Kitty Price, Cathedral Reader

It is the 77th anniversary of D-Day on Sunday. We know what happened, but the anticipation, agonising and planning that led up to the campaign, the delay because of the weather, and the eventual unfolding of events were uncertain. Having been brought up on a diet of war films and holding a lifelong fascination for survivors’ testimony, I still only have a tiny understanding of what it must have felt like to embark upon an unknown, important, and yet dangerous journey.

As with everything, life is lived forwards, grasping into the unknown, yet understood most effectively backwards. It is the nature of the human condition that we learn better from our own mistakes rather than those of others. Even though Jesus tried to explain to his disciples that his death was nearing, they listened to what he said but they did not listen to understand. It was only after his resurrection that these words started to make sense, that the Christian faith started to take shape. When we listen to Old Testament prophecies, we know that they refer to Jesus, but given how unpopular prophets were, very few would have grasped their messages. We cannot understand how it was to live with such uncertainty. Or can we?

Last year, a woman called Valerie was interviewed on radio, comparing a childhood in the Blitz with her experiences of Covid-19 lockdowns. Her rather surprising answer was that she thought life in a pandemic was much harder on children than living through the Blitz. Obviously, this won’t be the opinion of everyone, there may have been some nostalgia putting on some rose tinted spectacles, but it was a refreshingly honest opinion that emphasised how life with a pandemic has affected people physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. We are still in very uncertain times, and this takes a toll on all of us in different ways and at different moments. The ‘will we, won’t we?’ state of living is wearing, whether it is a considering a much-needed holiday, the likelihood of a summer wedding, or what will happen with exam results and university places.

I am mindful of the teaching about suffering from Romans: “…suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” We’ve been relying on hope a lot and I think the Holy Spirit is on overtime. The poet Emily Dickinson described hope as “the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops – at all.” Even though I am a hopeless gardener, I know that we have to feed plants to help them grow. And it is the same with our hope. How do you feed your hope? Perhaps we could have a recipe exchange some time?

Kitty Price
Cathedral Reader

Community News

And they’re off! Cathedral Cycle Route launches for UK Bike Week.

Cyclists from Portsmouth Cathedral join in the launch of the Cathedrals Cycle Route during Bike Week 2021, taking part in a nationwide relay ride of a new cycle route linking every Church of England cathedral. The route is launching on 30 May to coincide with the start of Bike Week, the annual celebration of cycling delivered by Cycling UK.

Cyclists from the Cathedral will ride between Portsmouth and Winchester, passing on a specially commissioned baton to the next group of riders in a unique event to launch the new 2,000-mile loop, which links all 42 English Cathedrals to promote greener travel and mental and physical wellbeing.

We are delighted to announce that Hannah Gunga, has agreed to take on the role of Cathedral Cycle Champion. Hannah will be helping organise and participate in the Portsmouth leg of the Cathedral Cycle Route Relay.

Read more on our website.

Community News

Introducing the Portsmouth Cathedral Institute…

Our lives have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, but has the turbulence brought out the best in us or exposed our weaknesses? We have encountered angels. We will remember acts of kindness, professional devotion, and a sense of common purpose in finding our way through the challenges.

Join us at Portsmouth Cathedral with Dame Clare Moriarty and Sir Jonathan Montgomery on Saturday, 10 July to discuss how we can create a fairer future from our Covid experiences in the first of our Portsmouth Cathedral Institute events. Chaired by the Dean, we welcome those from across our city to join us and help plan how we can create a fairer future from our experiences.

Speakers include...

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery - co-chair of the Moral and Ethical Advisory Group in the Department of Health and Social Care about the challenges we have faced up to.

Dame Clare Moriarty - Chief Executive of Citizens Advice and formerly the first Faith and Belief Champion for the Civil Service, on the opportunities for us to reshape society for the better.

This free event is open to all, book a ticket online and join us on 10 July 2021. Find out more about the new Portsmouth Cathedral Institute and more events as they are announced on our website.

Recognising the Cathedral’s work during the Coronavirus pandemic

We are delighted to share the news that Portsmouth Cathedral has received a Certificate of Recognition from Portsmouth City Council in thanks for our work and service during the coronavirus pandemic. We are one of a group of individuals and community organisations who were nominated by members of the public to receive this award.

We are truly humbled by this recognition and would like to extend our thanks to all the volunteers, staff and ministry team who have really gone above and beyond to support people over the past 15 months.

Celebrating our volunteers

This National Volunteer Week, we are saying a huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers for helping us to achieve so much over the past year.

Did you know that last year 132 volunteers gave over 7,000 hours of their time across a huge range of roles from Guiding and welcoming visitors, bell ringing, flower arranging, helping with our Learning workshops and so much more? Thank you to each and every person for your passion and dedication.

We are celebrating all our volunteers at a special Volunteers’ Evensong on Monday 7 June at 5.30pm. If you are a volunteer and haven’t yet replied to let us know if you plan to attend, please do so by 12noon on Monday. The service is open to all, everyone is welcome.

And they’re off! Cathedral Cycle Route launches for UK Bike Week.

Cyclists from Portsmouth Cathedral will join in the launch of the Cathedrals Cycle Route by taking part in a nationwide relay ride of a new route which links every Church of England cathedral. The route launched on 30 May to coincide with the start of Bike Week, the annual celebration of cycling delivered by Cycling UK.

Cyclists from the Cathedral will ride between Portsmouth and Winchester on Sunday 20 June, passing on a specially commissioned baton to the next group of riders in this unique event to launch the new 2,000-mile loop, which links all 42 English Cathedrals to promote greener travel and mental and physical wellbeing.

We are delighted to announce that Hannah Gunga has agreed to take on the role of Cathedral Cycle Champion. Hannah will be helping organise and participate in the Portsmouth leg of the Cathedral Cycle Route Relay.

Read more on our website.

Welcoming Cyclists from Chichester Cathedral - Saturday, 19 June 2021

We are looking for volunteers to help welcome these pilgrim cyclists to the Cathedral on Saturday evening from 4:30pm-5:30pm (time to be confirmed). We will have water bottles and high energy bars to give them along with a warm Portsmouth Cathedral welcome. If you are interested in volunteering to welcome these cyclists to our Cathedral, please email info@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk

Remember, Reimagine, Reset at Ports Fest 2021

From 2-4 July, Ports Fest will invite audiences to Remember, Reimagine, Reset with a festival of music, art, talks, and workshops, providing something for everyone.

Events at the Cathedral include ‘Portsmouth Our Place’ where using QR codes, visitors can interact with this giant 3D jigsaw model created by artisan Jen Evison and Portsmouth schoolchildren. Our Annual ‘Seafood on the Green’ returns on Saturday 3 July, with the proceeds supporting the Portsmouth Cathedral Choirs Association who help to fund our choir tours and other choir projects.
You can find out more on our website or visit the official Ports Fest website for more information and events.

Records And Information Governance Vacancy

Thanks to funding from the Cathedral Sustainability Fund (CSF), the Cathedral is recruiting for one-year Records and Information Governance Consultant.

The 2021 Cathedrals Measure was granted Royal Assent in April 2021 so our preparations for new governance requirements and oversight by a new regulator, the Charity Commission, begin to gain pace. This new one-year post, 100% funded by the CSF, will help the Cathedral to review how we capture, retain, use and delate records and data we hold. The post will help us to streamline how we manage records and data and become a “digital by default” organisation.

Recruitment for the post has been delayed because of Covid, but it is hoped that we will have this post filled by September 2021. We are looking for a records management professional who will join a busy and eager team as we work toward fulfilling the ambition of our new Strategy and Vision - Portsmouth Cathedral: A beacon and safe haven, anchored in Jesus Christ.

Visit our careers page to find out more, the deadline for applications is 27 June 2021.

Chapter meets on 9 June 2021

Chapter meets on Wednesday 9 June 2021 via Zoom. The agenda can be found online.

News from Cathedral Council

The Cathedral Council met on Monday 24 May 2021 and formally received the 2020 annual accounts which had been approved by Chapter earlier in the month. Whilst noting the progress that had been made in delivering a budget deficit of £5,576 in 2020 (in 2019 the deficit was £356,000) before unrealised gain on investments, Council is aware that the financial position of the Cathedral remains precarious. With Covid-related funding now coming to an end, the Cathedral’s funding gap (i.e. the deficit) will start to grow again reaching £215,000 by 2023 if we do not increase our income and continue to spend within our means.

The Dean and Chief Operating Officer also provided an update on the new 2021 Cathedrals Measure that was given Royal Assent in April. The new Measure will see several changes to Cathedral governance including that Cathedral Councils will be discontinued by 2023. Chapter is considering the best way forward and welcomes input from the Council and the wider Cathedral community on the shape of any successor body.

News from the Annual Parochial Church Meetings (APCM)

Tuesday evening saw the gathering of the Cathedral community via Zoom for the APCM.

Using the inaugural Annual Review, the Dean highlighted both the challenges of 2020 and the very positive way the Cathedral community met them. He paid tribute to the ministry team, staff and our marvellous volunteers. Together they have made it possible for us to innovate in response to the constraints of the pandemic and to keep the Cathedral open at all times that it was legally permissible to do so. He also thanked all who had responded so positively to the recent Season of Generosity.

In presenting the financial accounts, the Chief Operating Officer outlined the steps that had been taken to increase revenue and thanked all who have made that possible. He stressed, however, that the Cathedral still faced significant financial challenge to operate on a balanced budget in the future with deficits, at present, predicted for 2021 and beyond.

He highlighted the work being done to help grow future Cathedral income to support its mission. Work is nearing completion on: a review of how we use our limited property portfolio to generate funds for our mission; a new business plan to help focus our activities, diversify income streams and bring more people in to the Cathedral; and the development of a 10-year budget plan. Growing congregational giving will also be vital to support the ambitions of our Cathedral Vision and the mission of Portsmouth Cathedral.

Terry Ward, the Electoral Roll Officer, outlined that the Roll had risen from 270 in 2019 to 276 in 2020.

Your final chance to contribute to the SCIE Safeguarding Audit questionnaire

As part of the Church of England’s commitment to good safeguarding practice, it has commissioned the Social Care Institute for Excellence to carry out independent safeguarding audits of every diocese and cathedral. The diocesan audits were completed in 2019, but the cathedral audits were paused last year because of Covid-19. The process for cathedrals has now restarted, and Portsmouth Cathedral’s audit will be carried out over two and a half days on 22-24 June.

The audit will be a collaborative process, and we welcome it as an opportunity to review and improve our policies and provision in this vital area. Our audit will be a ‘hybrid’ as we start to emerge from Covid: the auditors will visit us, but all surveys will be conducted electronically, rather than face-to-face.

It is important that as many people as possible have an opportunity to provide safeguarding feedback. If you wish to complete a survey, please find it online here.

Please note that this survey is for completion by adults only. There is a separate survey for children which will be circulated to choristers and can be made available on request. The SCIE auditors will now accept completed surveys until next Monday, 7 June.

If you, a member of your family, or a friend, have ever had a safeguarding response from the Cathedral, and would like to speak to our auditors, you can be given the opportunity to do so during the audit. If you are a survivor of abuse or consider yourself to be at risk of abuse, you are also welcome to request a conversation with the auditors, which would be held in advance of the audit. For further information, please contact Canon Kathryn or email SCIE directly: learningtogether@scie.org.uk

A reminder that the Chapter Safeguarding Lead is Canon Kathryn, and the Lay Safeguarding Lead is Marian Pottinger. Further details on safeguarding at the Cathedral can be found on our website Safeguarding pages.

Christian Aid Collection 2021

We are pleased to let you know that over £1,400 has been raised for Christian Aid Week 2021. Thank you so much to everyone who helped with delivering envelopes to the parish, and to everyone who has so generously contributed. If you would like to donate, please drop your donation off in a Christian Aid envelope in the next week.

Sue Ward & Carole King

Our Cathedral Curate – Catherine Edenborough

After nearly a year as our curate, Catherine will be ordained priest in the Cathedral on Saturday, 26 June at 4 pm, alongside fellow deacons from around the Diocese. Attendance at the service will be limited to invited guests only, but it will be livestreamed.

If you would like to contribute towards a gift for Catherine at this significant moment in her ministry, please send your donation, clearly marked ‘Catherine’, by bank transfer to Portsmouth Cathedral Chapter, sort code 309304 account no 01088158 or send a cheque payable to Portsmouth Cathedral, in a clearly marked envelope, via the donation boxes by 21 June.

Pastoral Care and Chaplains

We recognise that coming out of lockdown may mean that a mixture of feelings come to the surface for visitors or for our regular congregation. Our chaplains will again be available in the Cathedral - usually from 11am onwards, and either side of the midday Communion service for anyone who would like to talk. The chaplains will include some of our assistant clergy and some of our lay pastoral assistants as well as members of the Ministry Team.

Please feel free to come and have a word if you wish - or just come for a pastoral chat and a catch-up!

Worship and Visiting the Cathedral

Portsmouth Cathedral is now fully re-open for prayer, services and visiting. Please continue to book for our Sunday Services online (limited spaces are available for those without a pre-booked space), regular weekday services do not need pre-booking. Most of our services are broadcast on our live page and Facebook. Find out more on our website and download orders of service.

We continue to take every precaution to reduce the spread of coronavirus, including the mandatory wearing of face masks, except for those with exemptions. Everyone visiting the Cathedral now needs to check in with the NHS Covid-19 app. Find out more on our Covid-19 information page.

Evensong restarts from Sunday

Our choirs return from their half term break on Sunday. Choral Evensong will restart from Sunday, do join us for this beautiful service of music and scripture on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 5.30pm.

Prayers and Intercessions

All those affected by COVID-19

We remember the following for whom prayer has been asked by members of the Cathedral Community: Trevor, Derek, Clare, Izzy, Michael, Stuart, Reuben, Linda, Mervyn, Beverley, Richard, Aaron, Muriel, Christopher, Jane, Phil, Alan and all those in need.

Long-term sick including: Alison, Graeme, Christopher, Clifford, Jane, Johnny, Melissa, Andrew, Jenny, Bishop Peter, Suzy, Sarah, Bob, Michael, and Rita.

We pray for those who have died recently: Graham and Norman Riches RIP.

Upcoming Services and Events

Sunday Refreshments via Zoom – Sunday, 6:30pm

Although restrictions for meeting each other are easing we continue to offer a weekly opportunity to catch up with other members of the congregation and ministry team.

Join us via Zoom

For security purposes Zoom links are sent out in our weekly email notices, sign up on our website here.

Lunchtime Live – returns 10 June, 1:10pm

Join us back in the Cathedral on Thursday 10 June where we welcome a group of talented young music scholars from The Portsmouth Grammar School, accompanied by Karen Kingsley.

The recital is free; donations are welcome. Please note that no refreshments will be served at Lunchtime Live this term. Find more information, and catch up online via theLunchtime Live page.

Bible Discussion Group – Thursdays, 7:00pm

This week the group will look at 1 Samuel 10-12. New members are always welcome: you do not need to have attended the group before.

Join us via Zoom

For security purposes Zoom links are sent out in our weekly email notices, sign up on our website here.