CHAIRMAN S e BULLETIN JUNE 2014

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1 CHAIRMAN S e BULLETIN JUNE 2014 TOASTING THE NEXT 80 YEARS The Bishop and Mrs. Charlotte Cocksworth, the Dean and the Reverend Ricarda Witcombe, joined more than 60 Members of the Friends at a Dinner, last month, to celebrate the Friends 80th Anniversary. The Bishop, in wishing the Friends, A Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns, said that he hoped the Friends would be as successful in increasing and broadening their Membership in 2015, as they had been raising money to support the Cathedral Choir and Music in It was an excellent occasion, said the Dean, full of good humour, and a real sense of celebration and thanksgiving Thanks to Mike and Pat Stansbie s excellent organisation, the Dinner raised over for the Archbishop s Challenge. We thank Martin Williams, a long-standing Member of the Friends, for his photographs. 1

2 A WORD FROM LAMBETH Message for the 80th Anniversary dinner on 10 May 2014 Both Caroline and I are very sorry not to be able to join you at this evening s 80 th Anniversary Dinner of the Friends of Coventry Cathedral. Although we are not able to be with you, I am pleased to have the opportunity to send you a message in recognition of the excellent work you do to draw people together, to contribute to the fabric of the cathedral, to facilitate various projects, and for your efforts to support the reconciliation ministry. I am delighted to hear that The Archbishop s Challenge which I set is going so well. Finally, thank you for your efforts towards maintaining Coventry Cathedral as an icon of hope. Justin Cantuar FRIENDS RECEIVE LARGEST EVER GIFT An anonymous gift of 25,000 (including Gift Aid) from a Member of the Friends, towards the Archbishop s Challenge, takes the total to just over 40,000. This is the largest single gift ever given to the Friends, said Chairman, Andrew Paine. It s breathtaking and quite remarkably generous. Through gifts large and small we are now able to fulfill our pledge, made in faith and with some apprehension, to sponsor the Cathedral Choir and Music in 2014 and The Archbishop s Anniversary Challenge, for each Member of the Friends to raise 80.00, has just passed the halfway point. Every week new donations continue to arrive, says Andrew Paine. We now very much want to help the Cathedral with one of the urgent restoration projects, where receipt of a grant requires matching funding. The Cathedral is currently seeking to raise: 37,500 for the first phase of the cleaning and restoration of the Sutherland Tapestry (total cost 85,000 with 44,500 already pledged) 43,000 to repair the external drains below the Baptistry Window 83,000 to carry out an overhaul of the Heating System 395,000 for refurbishment of the great Organ HILLS TO HEAD RECONCILIATION The Reverend Dr Sarah Hills is to be the new Canon for Reconciliation, and will be installed as a Residentiary Canon in the autumn. She will be a member of the senior management team of the Cathedral and responsible for the peace and reconciliation ministry, including the Community of the Cross of Nails and the network of ICONS (International Cross of Nails Schools) across the world. She is currently the Bishop of Sheffield s Adviser in Pastoral Care, and Reconciliation and succeeds Canon David Porter, who has been seconded to the Archbishop of Canterbury s personal staff as his Director for Reconciliation. Sarah was born in South Africa, brought up in Northern Ireland years, and has lived in Sheffield since the mid 1980 s. She is married to Richard, a GP, and they have two boys, Matthew and Jack. Sarah qualified in medicine and worked as a psychiatrist, specialising in psychotherapy. She was ordained in 2007 and holds an MA in Theology and Pastoral Studies, based on the theology and psychology of reconciliation in South Africa. Sarah and is about to submit her PhD to Durham University. 2

3 DEAN S LEADERSHIP TEAM The appointment of the Canon for Reconciliation, leaves just one remaining vacancy, that of General Manager, on the five strong Dean s Leadership Team (DLT). For several months the Dean and the Precentor have been jointly holding the fort. The new Canon Pastor, the Reverend Canon Kathryn Fleming will be installed by the Bishop, at a Eucharist in the Cathedral, on Saturday 31st May at 4.00 pm. CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF WOMENS MINISTRY On Saturday 10 th May, a service was held in the Cathedral to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the ordination of women to the priesthood. The photograph shows a group of the priests who attended the service, representing by the date they were respectively ordained, every year since

4 During the last 20 years 98 women have been ordained in Coventry Cathedral and at least 15 women priests are still serving who were ordained as priests in The proportion of women to men in the Coventry Diocese is about 30%, in line with the national statistics. DIOCESES YES VOTE FOR WOMEN BISHOPS The Church of England s dioceses have now all voted in favour of the current draft legislation to enable women to be bishops. In 2011 both London and Chichester diocesan synods voted against the legislation. The vote in the Coventry Diocese was House of Bishops 2 in favour, House of Clergy 21 in favour (with 1 abstention) and House of Laity 33 in favour. WELCOME TO THE LARGEST DIOCESE History was made on Easter Day, with the creation of the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales, the first new diocese in the Church of England since Covering 2,425 square miles, it will be the largest diocese in England by area, and will retain three cathedrals - Bradford, Wakefield and Ripon. SING JOYFULLY The choirs of Coventry Cathedral will be raising the roof on Saturday 7 June at 7.30pm performing a selection of pieces by some of the most popular composers of choral music, including Handel s Zadok the Priest, Parry s I was glad and Mozart s Ave verum corpus. Doyen organist, Paul Leddington Wright will put the organ through its paces on the including performing the Star Wars theme. The whole evening will be an inspiring mix of old and new pieces of music, says the Reverend Canon Dr David Stone, Canon Precentor. All of the Cathedral s choirs will be taking part - the Girl and Boy Choristers, the Choral Scholars, the Choral Clerks and the Coventry Cathedral Chamber Choir - under the direction of Kerry Beaumont, the Cathedral s Director of Music. Tickets are 10 (with 5 concessions) on the door 4

5 THE CHOIR GOES DUTCH Last month, seventeen of the Girl Choristers, the Choral Clerks, the Choral Scholars, and four guest singers, plus two Schools Department interns travelled to the Netherlands for six days to sing two and three concerts in various locations. Their schedule included performances in Haarlem, Doesburg, Breda and Kampen. (Not all the Choir Members, shown above, were included in the tour). FROM PURGATORY TO PARADISE Member of the Friends, and former Vicar of St. Barbara s, Earlsdon, the Reverend Tim Brooke, will be leading a half-day workshop on Dante s Divine Comedy, at St John's Church, Berkswell, on Saturday 7 June from 9.30am-3.30pm It s intended as an introduction, for those who know little about Dante, and also an opportunity for others to share, how Dante has changed their view of this world and the next! Details: berkswell.org/church. PENTECOST GIANT BAKE-OFF The 2014 Pentecost Big Birthday Bash in Broadgate on Saturday, 7 June, will feature a giant birthday cake made up from lots of individual cakes. Hope Coventry is asking cake bakers from Coventry Churches to produce an 8" or 12" square victoria sponge, with a jam filling only. Cakes will be decorated to represent the life of each local church. Joining up the cakes will be a visual demonstration of unity amongst Coventry Churches. The event will start at 11am in Broadgate, Coventry with a BBQ, drinks and activity tents. QUEEN S AND POWER Dr Helen Castor, Lecturer at Cambridge University and acclaimed presenter of the BBC Series She-Wolves: the lives of the early Queens of England will speak for the Warwickshire and Coventry Historic Churches Trust, at Astley Church, near Nuneaton on Saturday 5th July at 7.00 pm. Tickets Her subject will be Queens and Power in Medieval and Tudor England: the case of Lady Jane Grey. Astley is the perfect setting, being adjacent to the newly restored RIBA award winning Astley Castle, the Grey family home during the 15th and 16th centuries. Visit the website, or contact Claire Ragg: Claire@everythingbutthetea.com THE BUDGET WAS GOOD FOR CATHEDRALS The Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England has warmly welcomed the Government s announcement of a new two-year 20 million fund for repairs to cathedrals. The Cathedral has worked hard to submit bids from the first tranche of the Chancellor s new money. The Church of England s 42 cathedrals welcome more than 11m visitors a year (with 6,000 staff supported by more than 15,000 dedicated volunteers) and generate some 350 million annually for the economy. However, upkeep and restoration costs often fall disproportionately on small, dedicated local group, such as the Friends. An 87m funding shortfall is predicted, over the next five years, for Cathedral repairs. AN INVITATION TO AN OPEN GARDEN An exclusive invitation from Meg Bowen to fellow Friends, to visit her garden at 61 Dudley Road, Kenilworth, CV8 1 GR on Wednesday 18 June, between noon for morning coffee, and between pm for tea and cake. All proceeds will be given to the Archbishop s Challenge. There is limited on road parking and the Stagecoach X16 bus, stops nearby in Beauchamp Road. 5

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he above striking, and patriotic, photograph is taken from one of the Cathedral s five Swedish Windows, by Einar Forseth. The images include the red rose of England, the Welsh daffodil, and the lion and the thistle of Scotland, together with the Royal coat-of-arms. 6

7 A FRESH OFFER Vice-Chairman Mike Stansbie will be busy on his allotment during the summer and offers surplus vegetables and fruit for sale in aid of the Archbishop s Challenge. Rhubarb is now in season and available along with a selection of jams (summer currant; blackberry and apple; rhubarb and ginger rhubarb and blackcurrant) and jellies (summer currant; redcurrant) made with fruit frozen after last year`s harvest. All are cheaper, and tastier than supermarket equivalents! Contact Mike or Pat at a Cathedral Service, or on or just mstansbie@doctors.org.uk. OUT AND ABOUT Congratulations to Alastair Stone, who was proudly admitted as Deputy Head Chorister last month, by his Father, the Reverend Canon Dr. David Stone, the Sub-Dean and Precentor. Archbishop Justin joined the Archbishops and Bishops attending the 5th Consultation of Bishops in Dialogue at St Michael s House on Friday 23 May, led the litany in the ruins and then presided at the Reconciliation Eucharist. The theme for the four-day consultation was Reconciliation in the Anglican Communion and delegates came from North America and Africa. Sunday, 25th May was the anniversary of the sinking of HMS Coventry, during the 1982 Falklands conflict, with the loss of 20 lives plus 32 seriously injured. Cathedral Associate Minister, the Reverend Martin Kirkbride, was in Portsmouth leading the Falklands Veterans Remembrance Service. He is involved in facilitating moves towards reconciliation between HMS Coventry veterans and the Argentinian aircrew who attacked the ship and who also suffered fatalities. NOT TO BE MISSED Our next Friendly Monday will be on 23 June at am, when Anthony Cleary, long-standing Member of the Choir, and of the Friends, will be recounting the moving story of how he found, and eventually successfully adopted, an abandoned child in postrevolutionary Romania. The true story, Nobody Comes, is now available from Amazon in either e-book format, or paperback. Anthony Cleary will be donating the proceeds from his talk to the Archbishop s Challenge. Andrew L Paine Chairman The Friends of Coventry Cathedral Charity Number chairman@friendsofcoventrycathedral.org.uk 7