Alban News June - August 2023 Welcome | Updates| News
Worship
Regular Services
Sundays
8am Eucharist
9.30am Parish Eucharist
11.15am Choral Eucharist (1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays)
11.15am Matins (3rd Sunday)
12.30pm Eucharist (3rd Sunday)
6pm Choral Evensong
Saturdays
8.30am Morning Prayer
9am Eucharist
12noon Eucharist at the Shrine
5pm Evensong
Weekdays
7.30am Morning Prayer
8am Eucharist
12noon Eucharist at the Shrine
5pm Evensong
(Evening Prayer on a Monday)
Monthly Services
10am 4th Wednesday Mothers’ Union Eucharist
2.30pm 5th Saturday
djfksndfjkDiocesan Service for the Deaf
Ecumenical Services
The Cathedral also has a thriving Ecumenical Chaplaincy, regularly holding services for different Christian traditions.
Roman Catholic Mass is celebrated every Friday at 12noon.
German Lutheran
A service in German is held on the last Tuesday of every month at 7pm.
Free Church
First Wednesday of every month at 11am.
Orthodox Liturgy
A service is held once a month on a Tuesday at 10.30am.
Opening times
The Cathedral is open daily 8.30am –5.30pm.
Special Services
HMT Empire Windrush 75th Anniversary
Sunday 18 June, 6pm
The Alban Pilgrimage 2023
Saturday 24 June
12noon - Pilgrimage Eucharist
5pm - Choral Evensong
Ordination of Deacons
Saturday 1 July, 5pm
Highlight Events
Medieval Summer Events
Various dates throughout June - September
St Albans Community Showcase
Saturday 10 June, 11am - 3pm
Remember 1323: Rebuilding St Albans’ Nave
Wednesday 14 June, 7.30pm - 9pm
St Albans International Organ Festival
Monday 3 - Saturday 15 July
Botanical Shakespeare: A Cocktail-Making Workshop
Saturday 22 July
Gin and Rum Festival
Saturday 22 July, 12.30pm - 10.30pm
90s Silent Disco
Friday 4 August, 8pm - 11pm
Tickets for all our events are available through our website.
A Day Chaplain is available to talk most days.
Message from the Dean
Pentecost to Advent 2023 – Looking back, looking around and looking ahead
As we celebrate the great Feast of Pentecost it is a joy to be writing this article for the first edition of Alban News. It is timely also as together, from Pentecost to Advent this year, we enter a season of discernment of the mission and ministry priorities for our Cathedral and Abbey Church for the next five years.
Our current priorities, set by Chapter in 2018 for the period 2019 to 2024, have served this holy place so well in bringing to life the vision for the Welcome Centre, in the work that we are well into for the new Cathedrals Measure and for ensuring we continued to serve our community and diocese in the midst of the effects of a global pandemic. You can read in more detail about these current priorities on our website under ‘Our Vision’. Chapter, Abbey Assembly and Cathedral staff work to ensure that what we do is in line with these priorities.
With 2024 approaching, at a recent joint vision day Chapter and our Senior Management Team, in consultation with Abbey Assembly, agreed that it is time now for us together to review these priorities and to discern our way ahead.
Pentecost to Advent 2023 will offer us all in the Cathedral Parish the opportunity to be involved and, as the mother church of our diocese, we want to connect also with parishes, schools and chaplaincies. We will also invite community leaders and groups to join with us in this discernment. At the heart of this journey will be prayer for this holy place, for hearts and minds open to God’s Spirit, and that together we will be united in, and committed to, the way ahead.
In the coming weeks listen out for next steps and meanwhile, let us pray!
Jo Kelly-Moore, Dean
©
Still Cast Photography
Clergy Update
We want to make sure that there are some regular elements so that it has a rhythm and consistent house style. So you can expect a message from the Dean and a piece from another member of the clergy team, articles on the environment, social justice issues and about the charities we work with and support. There will also be articles about our worshipping life together and the many groups and activities we enjoy, our work with children and young people, the wonderful music offered here, news from the Cathedral wardens and events that can help us grow our faith.
Welcome to the first edition of Alban News. I hope you enjoy reading all the interesting pieces of news and the articles that feature. As this is the first edition, I thought it might be helpful to say a little about the thinking that lies behind this publication and what it is and isn’t. We are expecting it to be published four times a year and we hope that it will offer a really good mixture of news stories, articles and forthcoming events that expresses the vibrancy of congregational life. Our intended audience is both the regular worshippers at our services and those who are new to the area or to our Cathedral community so that they can catch a sense of all that is going on and find out about things that they might like to get involved in with us.
Copies will be printed in full colour with lots of pictures but with a limited print run to consider the environment, and also available online. We will be forming a small editorial group to review the most recent edition and to commission articles for the next publication. If you have any suggestions for improvements or things that you would like to see featured in a future edition, please get in touch.
Happy reading!
Father Will Gibbs | Editor and Canon for Mission and Pastoral Care Will.Gibbs@stalbanscathedral.org
Social Justice
St Albans Community Showcase
We have the longest nave in Britain and on Saturday 10 June, it will be filled with representatives of more than fifty groups which are active locally supporting people in need and the environment, as we hold our first St Albans Community Showcase.
In the last Environmental and Social Justice Newsletter we learned of the roles charities and community groups play in a strong community, and the many ways in which we can support them. The Showcase will help us discover more about how groups in our own community are active in meeting social justice and environmental issues, and how we can get more involved in this work ourselves. Many of the groups receive money from the Cathedral giving and now is an opportunity for us to see how they use it.
Not only will it inform us; it will also help those groups increase their visibility, attract volunteers and support, and network among themselves. Our city is named for St Alban, and we are called to stand with St Alban for truth and justice. St Albans Cathedral is a natural meeting place for all of us who are working to build a strong vibrant community.
The Showcase will run from 11am - 3pm. There will be stalls in the Nave, and panel discussions on homelessness, vulnerable people in the cost of living crisis, volunteering and climate and the environment.
In developing the event, we have become increasingly aware of – and overwhelmed by - just how many groups are active and achieving great results in the area. Do come and be overwhelmed as well!
Find out more about the showcase on our website under the event ‘St Albans Community Showcase’. Please share this with your friends and colleagues. The more of us who come and learn, the stronger our community will be.
#StAShowcase
Chris Lyal | Social Justice Group
Music
Choir Tour to Italy 2023
For over 20 years the Diocese of St Albans has enjoyed a close ecumenical link with the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Fano, Urbino and Pesaro in Italy. The city of St Albans is also twinned with Fano and there have been many reciprocal civic visits over the years. With this in mind, members of our Cathedral Choir toured Fano this spring for what was a memorable cultural and musical experience and a great opportunity to be ambassadors for our Cathedral. A total of 34 people went on the tour with 16 boys, 12 lay clerks, the Master of the Music and the Organ Scholar, the Dean and several choir chaperones.
We packed a lot into the tour, with two days of travel there and back plus three days of concerts and services all based around Fano in the beautiful Marche region of Italy on the Adriatic coast.
Our accommodation was a Diocesan retreat centre originally built by a Bishop of Fano in the late 18th century as a residence for a branch of the Knights of Jerusalem and recently refurbished as a conference centre and for holidays. We sung concerts in Fano (in the parish of our hosts, San Paulo) on the Saturday evening and in the Cathedral in Pesaro on the Monday evening.
On Sunday we sung a Mass for the Feast of Pentecost in the Basilica of the Holy House in Loreto and Evensong and a short recital in Fano’s Pastoral Centre for the Diocesan Assembly with the choir of Fano Cathedral.
We attended a Mayoral reception and visited a local school. In between this busy schedule of rehearsals and performances we enjoyed excellent local food, some gelato and a bit of sightseeing and fun. It was an excellent tour and we are grateful to all who have run and generously supported our fundraising events to make this trip possible.
Andrew Lucas | Master of the Music
© Still Cast Photography
Environment
O for the wings of a dove
The men and boys of the cathedral choir recently visited Italy (see previous page). Since their last overseas tour in 2019, the General Synod has mandated the Church of England to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. This is therefore an opportune moment to consider what overseas touring by liturgical choirs might look like in less than ten years’ time.
The Climate Stewards website calculates that a return flight from London to Bologna generates 390 kgCO2 per person, or 11.7 T for a group of 30, the equivalent of one average person’s annual carbon footprint in the UK. This can be offset at a cost of £9.75 per person, which Climate Stewards would invest directly in one of its zero carbon projects in the global south. Although some commentators view carbon offsetting as the twenty-first century equivalent of papal indulgences, this approach has the benefit of certainty that the offset payment will be used to benefit those who have done the least to cause global warming but will experience the worst of its effects. Including the cost of offsetting as part of future tours’ fundraising efforts might be a constructive way of increasing awareness of the issues in the cathedral community.
Genuine zero carbon flying will however only be possible when alternative fuels have been developed and are commercially available. For the medium-term future, many European countries are prioritising high-speed rail for journeys previously undertaken by short-haul airlines. By making an early start from St Pancras, changing stations in Paris and trains in Turin, it is possible to reach Bologna in just over twelve hours, with an onward journey from there to Fano. A return journey via this route scores only 13 kgCO2 per person, less than four per cent of the emissions caused by flying.
The net zero mandate does not mean that choirs will be forbidden from touring. However, in future we will need to plan carefully where and how they travel to minimise the carbon footprint, and be able to justify the choices made.
Whilst this article focuses on the example of the choir tour it would be worth us considering these important factors when it comes to other cathedral travel, and indeed with our travel both on business and for our holidays.
Geoff McMahon | Eco Team and Lay Clerk
Children and Youth
The last few months have been busy and joyous in our ministry with and for children and young people. We have commissioned a report, accepted by Chapter, on this crucial area of ministry, including a number of key recommendations. We have also re-established our Youth Group, which meets on a Sunday evening twice a month. Ministry to our Abbey Primary School, our toddler work, and our engagement with young adults are areas where we have seen significant growth.
Of the recommendations in our report to Chapter, the key one was the appointment of a Children and Families Worker, to work alongside the Alban Interns and the Youth Chaplain in delivering this ministry.
We are thrilled to announce that Anna Chambers has been appointed to this role, and will take it up in time for the new school year in September.
Anna is currently the Administrator of St John’s Church, Harpenden, and comments of the role here, ‘I am thrilled to be joining the team at the Cathedral and look forward to meeting all the families here and getting started in this new role with you all.’ Anna brings with her a wealth of experience from her training at Mountview as a musical theatre actor, working with children at Monkey Music, as well as much experience at St John’s. We look forward to Anna’s arrival over the summer, and pray for her as she joins us in this ministry.
As we head towards the Alban Pilgrimage, there’s much to get involved in here. I’ll be heading to six local school assemblies and will look to enlist young people to join the procession, and we eagerly await our central outreach event of the year. As ever, we are enormously grateful to our volunteer helpers and all those who assist in this ministry. If you would like to sign your child up for Children’s Alban Pilgrimage this year you can find a link to register on our website.
Please keep our young people and those who work with them in your prayers over the coming weeks and months.
Father Calum Zuckert | Youth Chaplain
Introducing our new Children and Families Worker – Anna Chambers
Visitors and Welcome
Record 500,000 visitors in 2022
2022 really was a truly special year for us here at the Cathedral as, for the first time ever, half a million people visited us. It’s no wonder, given how special this place is. But that was last year!
A welcome to all is at the heart of everything we do here, from the wonderful welcome that you get as you walk through the doors from Sharon and her team, to the engaging and varied events programme that you will see on our website and in our What’s On brochure, to the huge variety of services that take place every day that all are welcome to attend.
We love to hear people’s feedback on their visit to the cathedral, good and bad! We even have an annual
assessment from Visit England, which I can report we passed with flying colours!
For those of you who wonder who we are and what we do for the Cathedral and the community, let me introduce you to Kate and Will who look after our marketing with me. From the website, to our social media channels to all of our emails, we work non-stop to spread the word of the Cathedral. Carys has just joined the team and looks after the day to day running of the Cathedral floor and will be supported in managing the Vestry by Vanessa, when she joins as Precentor.
Carys also takes the lead on all of our large-scale events in the Cathedral.
Gemma Jones | Head of Marketing and Visitor Experience
© Toby Shepheard Photography
Upcoming News
A new organist
We are delighted that one of our former choristers, Sedona de Silva, played the voluntary at the end of Choral Evensong recently. Sedona is in Year 9 at school and alongside her school studies is learning the organ. She has played several times now at the Cathedral and we hope that this will be the start of great and exciting things to come!
Windrush Evensong
Sunday 18 June at 6pm
People coming to this country from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1971 became known as the Windrush generation, whether they had travelled on that original HMS Windrush crossing or not. They came at the invitation of this country with the promise of jobs to help fill a post-war labour shortage. We mark with lament the way that many have been treated and also celebrate the positive impact so many of the Windrush generation have made to our society. We mark this theme in a special Choral Evensong and we are delighted to welcome the Revd Azariah FranceWilliams as our guest preacher for this service. He is the author of the book ‘Ghost Ship’ which explore themes of institutional racism, welcome and acceptance and we are delighted that he will share his passion with us as he preaches here at the Cathedral.
Alban Pilgrimage
Saturday 24 June
We celebrate the Alban Pilgrimage, with a colourful procession setting off from St Peter’s Church through the city centre and telling the story of Alban, Britain’s first Saint and Martyr. We are delighted that our guest preacher for the 12noon Pilgrimage Eucharist service is the Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin. She is the first black woman to be a Bishop in the Church of England and is a passionate preacher and speaker on immigration and social justice issues. Bishop Rose’s sermon will one to remember, for sure and we look forward to the celebration together.
The Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover
Learning
A Medieval Summer
The medieval abbey was a centre of learning and scholarship and continuing in this tradition we offer a full programme of adult learning events designed to explore faith, history and culture from many angles. Join us this summer to explore medieval architecture, astronomy and art, create gilded illuminated letters, witness a dramatised debate with two early Christian theologians, and much more – there is something for all to enjoy! To see what’s in store and to book tickets for our upcoming events, please visit the website or take a look at some of the highlight events in our What’s On Brochure located in the Cathedral.
Talk and Event Highlights for Medieval Summer
Remembering 1323: Rebuilding St
Albans’ Nave
Wednesday 14 June, 7.30pm - 9pm
The Influence of Astronomy and Cosmology on Medieval Art
Wednesday 19 July, 7.30pm - 9pm
Gilded Illumination Workshop
Saturday 22 July, 10am - 3.30pm
Born Sinful? A Dramatised Debate
Thursday 27 July, 7.30pm - 9pm
For more information for our events, or to book your place, please visit our website.
Chancellor
Father Kevin Walton | Canon
Wardens
A view from the Wardens’ bench
When Dean Jeffrey tapped me on the shoulder in summer 2017 to complete the first Warden ‘triumfeminate’, the Cathedral was in glorious Alban Britain’s First Saint building project disarray. Yet the service pattern continued. Whilst under no illusion that this was a somewhat demanding and time-greedy role, the dual opportunity of supporting the Cathedral’s wideranging community and contributing to running a complex organisation had to be grasped. My plan was to take on the role for as long as Jeffrey was Dean, cover the vacancy and support the next Dean in their early ministry here. Mission accomplished! So I stepped down at the Annual Meeting on 21 May.
My particular interest in the worship and musical life of the cathedral has been amply rewarded, assisting with service planning and delivery, coordinating sidesmen and being duty Warden for the range of Sunday and special services, offering a welcome to all who come. A highlight of my first term of office was the opening of the new Welcome Centre in June 2019. My second three-year stint has been clouded and shaped, as for so many, by the challenges of a global pandemic, alongside senior clergy vacancies and staffing changes.
Trying to keep abreast of oftencontradictory guidance on often ridiculously-tight timescales has tested the resilience of all those involved in offering worship and supporting congregations. The future now looks bright. I pay heartfelt tribute to my wise fellow Wardens, past and present, our dedicated team of sidesmen with their cheerful adaptability, and the virger team for their camaraderie and support as we paddled furiously together on so many occasions. As a Warden once said, “The only thing we can be sure of is that something will change at the last minute …” The collective noun for a group of Wardens in deep conversation, at least at St Albans, is a ‘Worry’! I look forward to joining the Alumni Wardens; less worry but always ready to play a part in the cathedral’s flourishing.
Moira Dean | Cathedral Warden 2017-2023
People
Do you have a favourite hymn or anthem?
My ordination stole has images from Psalm 42 of the Hertfordshire stags looking up to the waters so my favourite anthem, which reflects this theme, has to be ‘Like as the hart, desireth the water brooks’ by Herbert Howells. For a hymn, there are lots I love but if I had to choose one, then it would be ‘Jerusalem, the golden’.
What, if anything, are you daunted about with this new role?
Canon Will Gibbs interviews our new Precentor, Vanessa Jefferson
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I grew up in Hertfordshire and come from Hemel Hempstead. I came to faith singing in the church choir at St John’s Church, Boxmoor. Whilst there, a growing sense of vocation emerged and I went off to train for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge. I have recently been the curate at Christ Church, Waltham Cross and I am delighted to be able to stay in the Diocese.
What attracted you to the post of precentor? Why did you apply?
My first love was choral music and it is how I came to faith. I’m passionate about nurturing the rich choral tradition and heritage. I enjoy liturgy, worship and playing a part in worshipping God alongside others.
I’m really excited about coming. It will be a change contextually with where I’ve been previously, and I’m a bit daunted by the scale of everything here in terms of the building and the big services, but hopefully I’ll quickly enjoy those too.
What do you like to do when you are off duty?
You might well find me outdoors. I’m married to Mark who runs outdoor activity centres for cubs and scouts so you might find me on the end of an abseiling rope or running an archery range with lots of young people having fun.
We look forward to welcoming Vanessa who will be licensed at Choral Evensong at 5pm on Saturday 17 June. Her usual day off will be a Wednesday.
Governance
Farewells and Welcomes
At our recent Cathedral AGM, we said farewell and thank you to various people stepping down and said a hello and welcome to others being elected. Elsewhere in this edition we hear of Moira Dean stepping down as Cathedral Warden and we record our huge thanks for her years of faithful service. We are delighted to welcome Anthea Cecil as our new Cathedral warden who will work alongside the other Wardens, Hilary Knight and Julian Bowrey.
Anthea Cecil has been a member of the congregation for the last 25 years, and currently attends a mixture of the Sunday services as her son Ollie is a chorister. She has been involved in a wide range of activities including the secretary to the Pastoral team, the administrator and chaperone of the Children’s Church, and was until recently, Stewardship Recorder. She helps to run the revitalised Abbey Women’s Group, is a member of the Flower Guild and a chalice assistant. She has been a member of Cathedral Council and Abbey Assembly and served on the interview panel for several clergy appointments.
Anthea works as a GP in Welwyn Garden City and in the breast cancer clinic at QEII Hospital. She has a lifelong interest in choral singing and in her spare time enjoys swimming, gardening & walking their dog.
We also said thank you to Phil Waller who has served on Chapter since 2009. But happily, Phil will continue to chair our Social Justice group.
At the AGM we said goodbye to Lis Cummins, Michael Jameson, Quentin Keeling and Delbert Sandiford who chose not to stand again for Deanery Synod. Kathryn Beecroft, Paul Jellings and David Roberts were re-elected to Deanery Synod and are joined by Shev Algama, Beccy Baird, Clive Dolphin and Linda Waller. These four were also elected to Abbey Assembly, which will become known as Mission and Ministry Committee when the Cathedrals Measure takes effect.
Last, but certainly not least, we say a huge heartfelt thank you to Victoria Pullar and Cress Rayner for their time, gifts and years of service on Abbey Assembly. Thank you.
Anthea Cecil | Cathedral Warden
What’s On
A fresh perspective on events
Before I started at the Cathedral this March I was an Events Manager at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. I’m passionate about creating new ways to engage visitors with historic sites. I moved to St Albans four years ago and have always enjoyed visiting the Cathedral. I’m excited to help share all that this place has to offer with a wider audience.
Since starting at the Cathedral back in March I’ve been looking at new and future events that can be held here, really trying to diversify what we bring in. We recently held our first ever Candlelight Concerts. It was an incredible atmosphere in the Nave with people singing along to the music of Queen and George Michael.
On the night of the concerts we took polls to find out who visited the Cathedral for the first time and it has been really interesting looking at the data on how many new people came to the Cathedral and even stayed to light candles. We’ll be hosting them again in August and we look forward to bringing lots of new people to the Cathedral.
From our Gin and Rum Festival in July, a Silent Disco in August and future filming projects on the horizon, I cannot wait for everything to come this summer; it promises to be a good one.
Carys Duggan-Rees | Events and Visitor Experience Manager
© Toby Shepheard Photography
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Queen by Candlelight
Opening times
The Cathedral is open daily 8.30am – 5.30pm.
Entry is free
All donations are gratefully received.
Tickets
Book online at www.stalbanscathedral.org, in-person at our Box Office, located in the Cathedral Shop, or call 01727 890290.
For the latest information visit our website and sign up for our What’s On newsletter.
St Albans Cathedral
Sumpter Yard, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 1BY Cathedral Office: 01727 890210
Email: mail@stalbanscathedral.org
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“St Albans Cathedral exists to glorify God and, inspired by the witness of Alban, proclaim Christ’s message of love.”
CBP018023
