Alban News Alban News
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June - August 2024 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
Weekdays
7.30am Morning Prayer
8am Eucharist
12noon Eucharist at the Shrine 5pm Evensong (Evening Prayer on a Monday)
Saturdays
8.30am Morning Prayer
9am Eucharist
12noon Eucharist at the Shrine 5pm Evensong
Monthly Services
10am 4th Wednesday
Mothers’ Union Eucharist
2.30pm 5th Saturday
Diocesan Service for the Deaf
Ecumenical Services
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 9am - 5pm.
Special Services
Corpus Christi Sunday 2 June
The Alban Pilgrimage 2024 Saturday 22 June
12 noon - Pilgrimage Eucharist
4pm - Choral Evensong
Ordination of Priests Saturday 29 June, 2pm
Ordination of Deacons Sunday 30 June, 2pm
Highlight Events
Marcus Aurelius, a modern thinker? Thursday 13 June, 7pm
1381: The Peasants Revolt Exhibition Tuesday 2 July - Thursday 1 August
St Albans Bach Choir: Mozart - Cornation Mass and Requiem Saturday 6 July, 7.30pm
Crossing the Waters Concert Saturday 13 July, 7.30pm
Summer Camp 2024 Monday 29 July - Friday 2 August
Candlelight Concerts: Queen Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 August, 7.30pm
Candlelight Concerts: Queen Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August, 7.30pm
A Day Chaplain is available to talk most days.
Tickets for all our events are available through our website.
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Message from the Dean
Greetings and a warm welcome to this summer edition of Alban News. As this edition goes to print we have just had our Annual General Meeting on the great Feast of Pentecost. As we celebrated the gift of the Spirit at work within and between us, and in God’s world, we committed ourselves to our Cathedral’s new vision and priorities:
Following Christ in Alban’s footsteps
St Albans Cathedral is the United Kingdom’s oldest site of continuous Christian worship, inspired by Alban, Britain’s first saint and martyr. Our vision and work today is inspired by his story and the Gospel he lived and proclaimed, and so we are committed to:
Welcome and Compassion Worship and Witness
Courage and Justice Leadership and Service
Over the coming months our Chapter and its committees, our congregation, staff and volunteers will all be asking ‘What do we need to be doing to achieve these goals?’. We need to set smart goals, be specific about the actions and, over the next five years, keep ourselves under regular review as to how we are doing. Let us pray together as we set out on this journey that we will, like Alban, be faithful and courageous to go where God is leading us.
This summer we say farewell to Andrew Lucas, who has been the Master of the Music for over 26 years. What an amazing era that has been. I am delighted that the University of Hertfordshire has awarded Andrew an honorary doctorate in recognition of his service to music in this county and far beyond. Thank you Andrew and well done!
There is much to read about in this edition of Alban News, including other important comings and goings, and plenty of chances to get involved in the life of your Cathedral.
Jo Kelly-Moore | The Dean
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Still Cast Photography
Alban Interns
In the coming weeks we will be saying goodbye to Ewan Davies and Hollie Goodwin, our two Alban Interns for this year. So it seems to be a good moment to catch up with them and ask them how the year has been.
What did you hope to get out of being an Alban Intern?
ED: I was pleased to be offered the chance to come to deepen my faith and to continue to explore a possible vocation to ordained ministry. I also wanted the chance to work alongside people from a wide age range and from diverse backgrounds in a dynamic context.
HG: I didn’t grow up in a Christian household and came to faith whilst at university so I wanted the chance to immerse myself in a Christian community to grow in faith and confidence whilst being involved in a busy programme of services, activities and events.
What have you most enjoyed about the role?
ED: I’ve really enjoyed the weekly pastoral visits and services at Verulam House and working with the Learning Department. I also really valued the rich pattern of the way the Cathedral keeps Lent, Holy Week and Easter.
HG: Getting to know a wide range of people in a thriving and busy place. I have especially enjoyed Sundays where we get to see most people in a day and it always feels joyful and alive.
What comes next for you?
ED: I’m returning to South Wales to begin a PhD at Cardiff University exploring the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Father and Son in Christian thought during the 8th to 11th centuries.
HG: I’m going to be Chapel and Parish Intern at Keble College, Oxford for a year as I continue the discernment process for ministry in the Oxford Diocese.
Huge thanks to Ewan and Hollie and all that they have brought to us as a community and we wish them every blessing in all that lies ahead.
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SustFest24
The Cathedral’s Eco Team is taking part in this year’s SustFest Expo at the Alban Arena. This exciting new event will launch the St Albans Sustainability Festival (part of The Great Big Green Week) on Saturday 8 June 9am - 5pm and Sunday 9 June 10am - 4pm.
It will showcase sustainability in the St Albans District and will include talks, workshops, stalls and activities. The Eco Team’s stall will display the work we have been doing on our journey towards net zero, sustainability and the Gold Eco Church Award! Canon Will Gibbs will be chairing a panel discussion on ‘The role of Religion in Sustainability’ on Saturday 8 June, 3pm - 3.45pm. One of the panellists will be Canon Dr Tim Bull. The SustFest Expo is sure to be both informative and inspiring.
The SustFest24 week (Friday 7 JuneSunday 16 June will include a programme of community events across the district all about sustainable living. Find out what others are doing locally and how you can help to make our district more environmentally sustainable.
The Eco Team has organised a talk and discussion by Professor Thomas Tanner from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, who will explore ‘Are we really ready? Coping with and adapting to climate change.’ This thought-provoking event is on Wednesday 12 June at 7.30pm in the Cathedral’s Alban room. Tickets are free and available online or at the Cathedral.
The Sustainability Festival week coincides with the Big Help Out (7 - 9 June), part of volunteers week. Volunteers are needed to help in the Cathedral House Eco garden which is now really taking shape - the construction of paths continues and plants such as wild garlic, teasel, and rosemary have been planted.
A tadpole has been spotted in the pond! Activities planned for 7 June include building a wall for ferns and flowering plants, laying flagged path stones, and more. This is another great opportunity to help out with others and make a difference to our community.
Sarah Brooks | Eco Team
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The Abbey Women’s Group
Have you thought about joining the Abbey Women’s Group? A friendly bunch of women of all ages, who meet several times a term, enjoying a wide variety of activities to suit all tastes. A few examples include:
•Craft mornings
•House communions
•Visits to historic places
•Theatre and cinema trips
•Pilates morning
•Walk followed by a pub lunch
• Monthly coffee mornings in the Abbot’s Kitchen at the Cathedral
This is not the first time that the Cathedral has had a women’s group. However in the past the Abbey Wives Group had a different demographic, largely young mums, so meetings were child friendly and held in each others’ homes. A couple of years ago Anthea Cecil decided to see if there was an appetite for relaunching it and there was an amazing response from women of all ages, so here we are, up and running and growing!
Anthea is aided by Linda Collyer and Roz Foad, who together produce an interesting programme for each term. All suggestions of things you would like to do are warmly welcomed. Depending on the activity there may be a small charge to cover costs.
Roz Foad | Member of the Abbey Women’s Group
Northern Saints
April showers greeted a group of hardy travellers as we converged on Durham to begin our pilgrimage in search of the saints and holy places of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria. Led by Bishop Stephen Venner and Archdeacon Jonathan Smith, we embarked on a spiritual journey of discovery with an afternoon in the magnificent Durham Cathedral, visiting the shrine of St Cuthbert and the tomb of the Venerable Bede. Our first full day took us to Holy Island to reflect on St Aidan and the monastery he founded there. On a sunny, if chilly, morning, a few of us chose to walk across the sands, which was exhilarating, but left us rather wetter and colder than expected.
Joining the group on the island, we celebrated the Eucharist in the church, before heading to Bamburgh and St Aidan’s church, with its remarkable ossuary crypt.
The following day we followed St Cuthbert and St Wilfrid, with a visit to Chester-le Street, where Cuthbert’s remains lay for a century before his translation to Durham, and to Hexham Abbey, founded by St Wilfred in the 7th century. The route also took us by the Angel of the North.
Finally, our search for St Hilda (or Hild) led us to the unlikely destination of Hartlepool, with a lovely welcoming church where her first priory stood, and thence to Whitby for a (very wet!) visit to the Abbey which she founded and where she hosted the Synod of Whitby in 664. Woven into this patchwork of places were opportunities for worship, fellowship and learning, which gave a sense of togetherness and a deeper appreciation of these remarkable saints who did so much to establish Christianity in Northumbria.
Phil Waller | Pilgrim
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Bereavement Support Group
This group was set up some years ago under the leadership of Margaret Stratton, the Cathedral’s Lay Reader. The team offers support to members of the community following the death of someone close to them, whether a family member, friend or colleague. It consists of six lay people who have had formal training for the role, but are not bereavement counsellors.
Initial contact is by a card expressing condolences on behalf of the Cathedral. The assigned team member will follow up with an email or phone call offering support. This may be enough to let the bereaved person know that we care about them at a difficult time. Sometimes people may wish to talk about their loss and how it has affected them in a longer conversation and a meeting is then arranged.
Further conversations, either in person or by telephone, may follow for a period of months. It is known that often the impact of bereavement is not really felt until some considerable time after the death. In that case, support can be requested later.
The usual source of information for the team leader is from the office, when a name is placed on the RIP list.
However, any member of the Cathedral community may ask for support and a member of the team will be allocated to them. If it appears that more technical or professional involvement is required, we can signpost to other agencies.
If more general longer term pastoral support is needed, a lay pastoral assistant may be appointed to make regular home visits.
The Revd Clare Baynes, one of our associate priests and long-term member of the congregation, will shortly be taking over the leadership of the group and we thank Margaret for the time and great care she has brought to this role over the years.
Fr Will | Canon for Mission and Pastoral Care
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Children and Youth
Christmas to Easter to Summer all feels like it has happened very quickly with everything that’s been going on for our young people here! Our relaunched Good Friday’s Journey with Jesus was a great success, where we were completely immersed in the story of Jesus’ last three days. We are now looking ahead with great excitement to our first ever Summer Camp at the Cathedral, working with the Education Department.
We are really excited to be welcoming 70 young people to spend a week at the Cathedral during the first week of the school holiday. Supported by our amazing youth team, Head of Education Steve Clarke, and an array of volunteers, we are delighted to be able to offer a wide variety of activities. From bouncy castles to storytelling, from yoga to cooking, from drama workshops to samba drumming –there will be something for everyone.
For the whole week, we are thrilled to welcome children from around our Diocese and area for action-packed days from 29 July to 2 August, 9am - 3pm. We will also be including daily gatherings led by Fr Calum and Steve to reflect on our activities together. This promises to be the best value and most exciting summer camp around for young people!
Meanwhile, our other activities continue unabated, with record numbers signing up for Pilgrimage and weekly attendance at our groups thriving. We are also thrilled to be running for the first time a ‘Messy Communion’ in the garden outside Cathedral House on the first Sunday of September. This will be an ideal time to socialise and enjoy worshipping together for all our young people and leaders of the groups.
Fr Calum | Youth Chaplain
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Join our Pilgrimage to Walsingham
Tuesday 10 - Friday 13 September 2024
Walsingham – England’s Nazareth
Listeners to BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Programme once voted Walsingham ‘Our Nation’s Favourite Spiritual Place’, and those who have been on pilgrimage to this tiny village in North Norfolk can attest to the propensity of this extraordinary place to bring about healing, reconciliation, and a deepening of faith.
Pilgrimage has always been an important part of faith and human experience. It reflects the journey we take through life, with and towards God, and a journey with fellow pilgrims.
The roots of the Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham lie in Mary’s appearance to the Lady Richeldis at the time of Edward the Confessor. Mary directed that a chapel should be built after the model of the Holy House of Nazareth, the place of the Annunciation, where Mary said yes to God and conceived the Word of God. In this way, Walsingham encourages us, like Mary, to allow Christ to become truly part of our lives.
Like St Albans, the Shrine and surrounding buildings at Walsingham were destroyed under Henry VIII, though faithful pilgrims continued to return. More recently, like St Albans, the Shrine was restored and the place has become increasingly popular with pilgrims; it is a place of ecumenical importance for Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox Christians.
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Our Pilgrimage
We will be staying at the Anglican Shrine which offers accommodation for up to 200 people. Transport is by car, sharing where possible, setting out early Tuesday afternoon and leaving Walsingham on Friday morning.
The programme is a mixture of reflection, worship and relaxation, allowing each person to find their own balance. Some of it is organised by the Shrine for all pilgrims, some is just with our own group. Everything is optional but it includes:
• Eucharists - with all pilgrims and with our own group
• Evening Procession with sprinkling at the Well and healing
• Benediction
• Outdoor Stations of the Cross
• Opportunity to join Evening Prayer and the Rosary in the Shrine
• Walking the Holy Mile or transport to the Roman Catholic site
• Free afternoon to spend on site or trips in the locality
• Party on the final evening
The Shrine has a café and licensed bar and a well-stocked gift and book shop. The village contains other shops and pubs.
The cost is £280, including full board. Booking deadline is 30 June. To book a place fill in a form available in the Canon Chancellor’s pigeon hole in the Cathedral, or email (jo.clark@stalbanscathedral.org) for a form. For further details, please do speak to Fr Kevin who will be leading the Pilgrimage.
Fr Kevin | Canon Chancellor
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Choir Tour 2024
The stunning St Albans Psalter was produced in St Albans Abbey between 1123 and 1143 and is thought to have been given by the Abbot, Geoffrey de Gorham, to Christina of Markyate. A few years ago we were honoured to be presented with a beautiful facsimile of the psalter whilst the original is kept at the Church of St Godehard in Hildesheim, Germany.
Out of this generosity has emerged a growing friendship and connection and, as a result of this, our Cathedral Girls’ Choir is heading on a short tour to Hildesheim during May half-term to deepen this relationship further.
At the time of writing, the final preparations are being put in place for what will no doubt be a memorable and enjoyable experience.
The tour party is made up of the Girls’ Choir, Tom Winpenny Assistant Master of the Music, Organ Scholar Oliver Morrell, the Precentor and some parent chaperones accompanying them.
The choir will be singing concerts at The Basilica of St Clemens, Hanover and St Michael’s Church, Hildesheim, as well as the Sunday morning service at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. Amongst the tour repertoire the girls will be showcasing the music of Elizabeth Poston, which they recorded for their recent CD released late last year to favourable reviews.
They will also be singing Alec Roth’s Suscepimus Deus which was commissioned for them by the Dean and Chapter in 2015 to mark the 900th anniversary of the consecration of the Abbey Church in 1115.
The Revd Vanessa Jefferson | Precentor
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Cathedral Shop
The 3 Brewers of St Albans have been brewing beer locally for just 12 years but they have already established a loyal following and some prestigious regional Real Ale awards. The brewery takes its name from founders Mark Fanner and Pete Zivkovic and the head brewer Matt Sutton – they are the three brewers who founded the brewery which is based in a converted barn at Symonds Hyde Farm on the east side of St Albans.
They supplied two barrels of beer which were greatly enjoyed at our Barn Dance back in the Autumn and it was as a result of this that a conversation sprang up between Fr Will and Mark Fanner. Would the Cathedral consider selling their beer in the shop? Well, several months later we are pleased to have a gift box of three of their bottled beers on sale for a very reasonable £12.
I was delighted to take up this opportunity to stock a locally produced beer and it sits well with the honey, local gin and other products we sell.
In a busy shop but with a finite amount of space we have to be quite shrewd about what we sell but this is already proving to be a popular move and the box makes an excellent gift, especially with Father’s Day coming up!
The sale of locally-sourced items for the shop is all part of a wider commitment at the Cathedral to principles that can be summarised in the acronym LOAF. Wherever we can, we want to be using and selling goods that are Local – Organic – Animal Friendly – Fairtrade. Our Traidcraft stall, run by Linda Waller during Sunday Coffee once a month, is another expression of this commitment.
We’re open seven days a week so do come and visit the shop in the Welcome Centre soon, and see all the great things we have on offer.
Sharon Wood | Shop Manager
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Farewell
This month we say a fond farewell and offer heartfelt thanks to Tim Fleming, our Chief Operating Officer, as he takes up a similar and exciting, newly formed role at St George’s School, Harpenden.
Tim and his wife Caroline were volunteers at the Abbey, worshipping with us and serving as our Cathedral Stewardship Recorders. Tim became the Head of Finance in 2013 before being appointed as our COO in 2020. He has led the way for the Cathedral through the major capital project ABFS and the building of the Welcome Centre, navigating through Covid and post pandemic recovery, establishing a Senior Management Team and guiding us through the Cathedrals Measure 2021 to become a registered charity with a new constitution and statutes and Governance model.
We offer our sincere thanks and deep gratitude for his leadership and wish him every blessing in the exciting new role he begins later in June.
Tim will always have a special affection for the Cathedral and I know he will watch with interest as we build on his legacy and achievements, especially so as we are guided by our new vision and priorities in Following Christ in Alban’s footsteps.
The Cathedral Annual General Meeting took place on Sunday 19 May. At that meeting the Dean gave her annual report and the accounts were presented and received, along with other reports celebrating our Cathedral’s flourishing ministry and activities. At that meeting our three Cathedral Wardens were elected, who remain; Julian Bowrey, Anthea Cecil and Hilary Knight. Shev Algama was elected back on to Mission and Ministry Committee for a further three-year term.
We thank them all for their willingness to stand and the many gifts they bring to the life of our Cathedral.
Fr Will | Canon for Mission and Pastoral Care
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30 Books of the Bible?
This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much that he passed it on to some friends.
One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his John-boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it, she mentioned it in her weekly column.
Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving that she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That’s a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the books are not necessarily capitalised. Truthfully from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst.
Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in the paragraphs. During a recent fundraising event, which features this puzzle, the Alpha-DeltaPhi Lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, the Chronicle, surveyed over 50 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen.Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel appear without their numbers.
Punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mass exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in these paragraphs waiting to be found!
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Opening times
The Cathedral is open daily 9am – 5pm.
There is no charge to enter the Cathedral. Donations are welcome. It costs £6000 a day to keep this historic Cathedral open.
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
Registered Charity Number 1207312 www.stalbanscathedral.org
/StAlbansCathedralOfficial
@stalbanscathedral
@StAlbansCath @stalbanscathedral
“St Albans Cathedral exists to glorify God and, inspired by the witness of Alban, proclaim Christ’s message of love.”
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