Thanks to all who contributed to our retirement gift – the lovely bronze sculpture by Simon Manby ‘Susannah’. We are grateful for the generosity that will help us add some nice touches to our new home. Thanks also for many personal gifts. Should I die in the next year my cellar can stand a good party or I can be embalmed in single malt whisky. What a dilemma! I write all this because we will be continuing to live in Lichfield and I hope people will get used to us as neighbours and fellow citizens. (Although we have had our offer accepted for the house, we are going through all the stages of purchase and, very helpful, the Chapter has granted us a licence to stay in the Deanery until 30 th June.) That’s enough personal stuff – permit me a ‘Moses moment’. Moses ended his days by pointing the children of Israel towards the promised land. He reminded them to live as God’s people, to face up to the challenges they would face, always to have God’s priorities as their priorities; to be joyful in the blessings they had received and the blessing they were meant to be in the sight of all nations, never to forget God. (see Deuteronomy 30: 11-20) Let me share some thoughts. Cathedrals are complex places with many people to serve and many roles to fulfil. Lichfield Cathedral has an international, national, regional and local profile. (Look at the people who join us for online worship – we stretch from Gaia Lane to Toronto and Lahore). We receive (in good years) 200,000 visitors. It could be double. Ah! If only our colleagues in the Local and National Government could wake up to that fact, work with us closely and provide a bit more infrastructure for signage, way-marking, marketing and good constructive planning. It just needs intention and will. It would have knock-on effects on employment and business. Equally, some guaranteed national support for the repair and conservation of Cathedral buildings will safeguard a precious heritage and cultural asset. In my view, this is a ‘no brainer’, but I admit my brain doesn’t work as others do! At the beginning of my time in Lichfield, the Cathedral Chapter and community discerned five roles played by the Cathedral. These were and are:
- Cathedra – the name for the Bishop’s seat. (We’re a ‘Cathedral’ because we house the ‘Cathedra’). This comprises our set of responsibilities to the territory our Bishop oversees; it is the place to gather the Church, where the Bishop ordains and sends forth ministry, a place for him to teach and to send us all out in mission.
- The Cathedral is an Icon – it speaks of the love and glory of God. It is also a deeply emotional way-mark for many people – it captures a sense of home, place and memory, pointing us all to our home in God.
- A Cathedral is a place of tradition – it sums up a part of national history, but it bears the faith from generation to generation, every age making its mark and contribution, the faith being proclaimed afresh in every generation.
- A Cathedral is a community. Just as Jesus Christ called and gathered and sent disciples out to teach, preach, pray and heal, we’re called by him to be a community of missionary disciples, not simply a conventicle of the like-minded or the same class, age group or outlook. Loving and bearing with one another, getting our faults and blind spots corrected and healed is an essential work of the Church as a community.
- A Cathedral is a borderland. We’re a place of dialogue, innovation, hospitality and solemnity. Through our events and activities we’re here to help dialogue about things of lasting importance, to widen vision, to help society understand itself and face up to challenges and needs. Because a Cathedral is open and accessible, many people feel able to touch the Sacred because they know the place is common ground.
Now, this bit of discernment is, of course, up for refinement, revision or reworking. Tradition always demands a serious coming to terms with the needs of the hour and the signs of the times. Without that essential awareness, we become a preservation society, not the Church. We’re a mission, not a club. Looking around us at the moment, I think that in the short, medium and long term every Cathedral, and Lichfield can be no exception, has to address some big challenges (1) the environment and the climate emergency; (2) how racially and socially inclusive we must become; (3) how we have to nurture children and young people; (4) how we help society to re-discover a sense of justice and opportunity for all people; (5) how we keep and develop our buildings so that they are appropriate for our mission and role.
How to start?
First, ensure people of faith are glad of their faith and have confidence and joy in it.
Secondly, remember small steps on a mass scale bring about big changes – looking after the environment, cutting back waste, and nurturing bio-diversity can all be revolutionary. Life is not at its best if viewed as a Darwinian struggle, it becomes Christian when we live fruitfully and fraternally, humbly and hopefully with one another and the land.
Thirdly, we have to keep a view of the Church being trans-generational and inter-generational. We have a responsibility to understand what every age group has to go through. How can we serve one another? We need to devote more resources to children and young people, make room for young families in our worship and activities and help the young with their life decisions, in their growing sense of self and personhood. Equally, as we freshly re-claim the legacy of St. Chad, helping one another to health, and giving support in sickness, disability and times of pain, bereavement or isolation, becomes vital ‘Kingdom of God’s work. We might need to train and learn a bit more to be of help or learn to make ourselves available.
Fourthly, we are living at a time when the ground is shifting. What kind of wisdom can we bring to the sense that not many work – a health service rapidly unravelling, social care and ageing left unaddressed, sluggish responses to the climate crisis, and a housing crisis for all to see? Living a good Christian life cannot be abstracted from the concerns of so many. We have masses of Christian social teaching on these questions. Don’t be dismayed by the Press when it lampoons those Christian concerns – they are the ignorant ones, knowing neither the Bible nor the Christian tradition. Be aware of press bias and whose interests they serve.
Fifthly, people need beauty. Our Cathedral and Close refresh the parts other places don’t. Treasure this gem of a place. To make it even more user-friendly we still need an ancillary building to the Cathedral to bring together our welcome and hospitality, cloakrooms, loos, café, shop, storage and exhibition space. Let’s keep exploring the options.
As I take my leave, please accept my huge thanks and appreciation for all the interest, support and prayer you and so many others give and have given to the Cathedral. Please go on giving it! There’s a splendid team of Clergy, Staff and Volunteers doing extraordinary work: please encourage them. Give the Interim Dean, Bishop (and Canon) Jan McFarlane the backing and help she needs (although in one so competent, you’ll have the assurance that it is business as usual and probably better!)
I am aware of all of those who have gone to glory during the past seventeen years and I thank God for so many lives of Christian faithfulness, generosity and service. This memory can encourage us to stay joyful in hope, steadfast in trouble, and persistent in prayer. All God’s saints cheer us on our way, be glad in their company.
As we soon enter the special time of Holy Week and Easter I pray that you will always live deeply in the mystery of Jesus Christ’s dying and rising. It is the source of our salvation and the best news the world has ever heard.
Please pray for Caroline, our grown-up children (who have had a great time in Lichfield) and for me. I’m sure retirement will be lovely – but it will take some getting used to. All advice is welcome, but I plan to have a good rest and not take on too much too soon, thereby correcting the bad habits of a lifetime.
With my thanks, prayers, love and blessing,
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