Arundel Cathedral Outreach and Education Project

by Paul Walker

Arundel Cathedral Outreach and Education Project

In the summer of 2019 after Mass at St John’s in Horsham, Canon Tim asked me if I would join ‘The Friends of Arundel Cathedral’. I was asked again that summer by two members of The Friends and finally, in October 2019 before the diocesan Patronal Mass for St Philip Howard, Bishop Richard also asked me to become a Trustee of The Friends of Arundel Cathedral. I was very honoured to be asked and subsequently was voted onto the committee at the A.G.M. At my first meeting of The Friends, I brought several suggestions for discussion and the one closest to my heart is that of education and outreach to our Catholic Schools having spent thirty years in Catholic Education teaching R.E. I was also mindful to strengthen local community relationships and provide something for the children of tourists and visitors to our beautiful Mother Church. Our Anglican Friends across the country have been running all kinds of programmes with schools and the wider community for many years and I felt that we were missing a vital element in bringing a similar kind of cathedral engagement to our young people as part of our Catholic Mission. Thankfully, we are of course blessed with the annual Diocesan primary and secondary schools’ celebrations of the Eucharist, alongside the walk lead by Bishop Richard and a well-deserved picnic afterwards. I also believe that it adds another layer to the excellent Catholic education provision the children already receive in our Catholic schools across the diocese. Philosophy and Aims Building on a well-established programme of the

Church’s year, alongside concerts, tours, visits, talks and fund raising, ‘The Friends of Arundel Cathedral,’ in the first instance, were seeking to develop and increase opportunities, specifically for young people who are in formal primary and/or secondary education and in the wider local community, to visit, explore and experience the beauty, history and heritage of Arundel Cathedral. Through a diverse and relevant range of learning activities and engagement opportunities we are striving to enable children of primary age and above, with their teachers and parents, to have access to learning by exploring the Cathedral and its precincts regardless of physical, cultural, financial, or intellectual boundaries. We aim to highlight its significance for the local and wider community from the time the cathedral was built, opened, and dedicated in 1873. Indeed, next July 2023 will be the 150th anniversary of the opening and consecration of the Cathedral. Process and Planning I knew that Chichester Cathedral had a very well established and successful Education Department with a broad

reach across Sussex and beyond, so I asked to visit their Education Officer in February 2020 to find out how they managed to achieve it. My visit was very fruitful; so, I was very much looking forward to planning and organising this tentative pilot ‘Outreach and Cathedral Exploration Project’ for and with The Friends of Arundel Cathedral and I bet you know where this is heading! The Global Pandemic struck, and the world went into ‘lock down’ in March 2020. It is a fact that

since March 2020, due to the global Covid Pandemic, until very recently, no young person in education had the opportunity to take part in trips, visits, or experience residentials in any part of the British Isles. This lack of freedom to explore, play and mix socially has had a detrimental impact on the physical and mental health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of children and young people: recent NHS research has shown that a great many young people are suffering from anxiety and feeling lonely due to those two years of social isolation. The Friends of Arundel Cathedral believed that we needed to seize this opportunity to foster this new initiative in a place of awe, wonder and beauty so that young people can emerge from a Covid environment to re-engage, develop, and deepen their individual responses to their experience in a

sacred and peaceful space.

For many young people in our locality this will be the largest building they may have entered, and this has such a deep and lasting impact on the emotional and psychological well-being of those who cross the threshold of the cathedral doors and step into the serenity and beauty of this historic building which is at the centre of Arundel. We want to deepen the knowledge and understanding of those who visit the cathedral and broaden their horizons. We want the children to benefit and increase their curiosity, enjoyment, knowledge, understanding and interest so that they leave with a sense of purpose and meaning of their place in the wider locality. We seek to bring young people together to engender an appreciation of the importance of the cultural heritage and link between the cathedral and the people within the local community. For many young people, the realisation of belonging to an historic and faith community following almost two years of a global pandemic will provide hope for the future; stimulate their imagination, investigation, and release creativity. I believe that there are several areas of interest within the spiritual life and journey of the children and of course visitors. We would like the emphasis of this outreach to focus on the many aspects of how the cathedral functions and how it impacts on

the parish, the local community, and the diocese. The current programme provides class groups with a Cathedral Explorers Quiz Trail so that they can wonder freely to find many areas of religious, spiritual, artistic, and historic significance but they are also learning about the Catholic Faith. On a personal note, we also brought our thirty seven Confirmandi from St John’s Parish in Horsham to complete the more challenging version of

the trail last June and we were delighted to have the company of Bishop Richard during our entire visit. The Friends are hoping that eventually, there might be workshopbased activities and visits based on the heritage and history of the Cathedral and the links with Dukes of Norfolk, past and present. Pilgrimage is a major theme which includes walks to improve well-being and fitness now that we have emerged from the Covid Pandemic, and it is also the Holy Year of the Camino to Santiago (until the end of 2022). Other themes suited to our schools and visitors may include Saints (St Philip Howard, St Philip Neri, Our Lady and St Joseph) faith, music, architecture and design, arts, stained glass and creativity, icon making and other relevant activities. It might be that the children can visit to experience some of these areas and

then return to school to organise projects within each of their primaries. So far, we have welcomed five groups of primary children form our two local deaneries and sixty Year 6 children from St Philip Howard Primary in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. It has been and still is a joy to work with and for the young people of our diocese. In conclusion, The Friends of Arundel Cathedral have now begun this venture and we believe it is a great opportunity to foster this new initiative in a place of awe, wonder and beauty so that our young people can emerge from a Covid environment to re-engage, develop, and deepen their individual responses to their experience of the sacred in our beautiful and prayerful cathedral. I hope and pray that you will find this a worthy venture. November 2022