A message from the Dean - 24 April 2020
Dear Friends,
Did you watch 'The Big Night In' on BBC 1 last night (Thursday 23 April)? It was an amazing show. I suppose we've all got used to the television programme formula, but the light-hearted treatment of our lockdown gave plenty of laughs and smiles and excited our generosity for some wonderful causes. Keeping our sense of joy (and enjoyment) intact is a healthy ambition just now.
The former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky was held prisoner in a gulag for nine years from 1977 to 1986, half of it in solitary confinement. (No, I'm not comparing the lockdown with political imprisonment!) But he released a YouTube video to explain how he stayed stable, cheekily cheerful and himself when the system that had held him captive wanted to grind him into insanity or despair. He had a five-point plan and it fits our situation really well.
- See yourself as part of the fight; the struggle is worthwhile and depends on each one of us.
- Put your focus not on speculation but on getting something done that's in your power to do (have you read War and Peace yet?)
- Keep your sense of humour. Sharansky used to tell anti-Soviet jokes to his prison guards and enjoyed the mischief enormously.
- Practise hobbies really hard - Sharansky played many games of chess in his head. So, if it's only pulling weeds from your path, grooming your pet or polishing your tool kit, it's good therapy.
- Realise that none of us is an island 'entire in itself'. It's good to make a map of all the things you're part of, the things and people we rely on and who rely on us.
I've wanted to share this theme because during Lent I read a moving and delightful book called 'The Joy of God', the collected writings of Sister Mary David Totah. It was published posthumously. She had been Novice Guardian at St. Cecilia's Abbey on the Isle of Wight, responsible for educating and encouraging her young sisters to live the religious life and follow Christ's call. By all accounts Mary David was intellectually brilliant, deeply happy and merry in her personality and one of life's great befrienders. Sadly, she got cancer and died at a relatively young age. But her talks and letters brim with an energy and passion that is hard to resist.
I think Sister Mary David would have approved of our Cathedral motto 'in servi deo et lactare' - serve God and be joyful. She quotes a great monastic teacher: 'it is a duty for each one of us to be joyful. It is a remarkable religion in which joy is a precept, in which the command is to be happy, in which cheerfulness is a duty.' (Dom Delatte)
Savour her words: 'joy is not something determined by our state of mind or situation; it lies deeper than happiness or unhappiness, consolation or desolation, pleasure or pain. It is not something we feel but something we do. It is something to be chosen, a choice God calls us to. In calling us to himself, he calls us to joy, for he is our joy.'
If we think of the Christian life as a journey towards sharing in a profound joy it puts all our experience into a new framework and gives us courage to stand up for the people and causes we want to befriend. The message of 'The Big Night In' was that we could help lift burdens that so many carry. That's good practical Christianity. To go one step further is to commit to the way of Jesus's cross and resurrection. During the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost, the Church turns over the meaning of the joy of the risen Christ, what it means for us personally, communally and for the life of the world.
I guess most of us are asking what life will be like once the Covid-19 virus is contained. The disease is so devastating no one wants any gambles with our health. But it doesn't stop us wondering when we can pick up our lives again in the ways we used to live them. Naturally, the Cathedral Chapter and the Executive Management Team are working hard on some scenario planning. We know from tourist authorities that it could take between two and three years for visitor attractions to get back their audiences. The country will be facing an economic recession from which, we are warned, there won't be a quick bounce back. Unemployment will rise and we are likely to have to pay more tax, not only for an improved health and social care system, but to pay off the national debt. Where does that leave the Cathedral?
Reasons to be cheerful first: we've discovered a big online audience and we're having to minister in new ways to more people. Alleluia! Many of the Cathedral community are ministering unfussily and imaginatively to one another and the wider community. Alleluia!
Reasons to be cautious: the Christian faith is about face-to-face encounters. Worship is essentially communal, and although we've made do and experimented with online worship, it's no long-term substitute, but probably a very desirable adjunct for the future. Given the age profile of all churches, many of our congregation will be cautious about coming back to church. There might be another spike in virus infections in the autumn. That could tear a hole in all we're planning for autumn, Advent and Christmas. It will also cause us, alongside everyone else, severe financial difficulty. Where do we find joy in that? 1. To recognise that our Cathedral has been through war, devastation and rebuilding before. 2. that tradition sometimes has to turn sharp corners and follow winding roads for it to stay faithful to its foundation and purpose. 3. that God is faithful and even if we come out of this crisis remodelled, a bit pruned, and doing fewer things, we will be shown ways to love, honour and serve God as valid and as beautiful as ever before.
The present moment is a time for prayer. Pray to be spared anxiety (self, Church and nation), for anxiety is a spiritual and moral killer and shuts down hope. Pray to be shown a path to profound joy (if you're looking for Biblical cues, read 1 Corinthians 13 or the Beatitudes in St. Matthew 5:1-11). Pray for everyone to have a vision of the good that we've seen in this crisis change our Church and society now and in the future.
Alongside prayer there are practical acts of generosity. Here is an invitation for Helen Geary, our Director of Fundraising, to support (and perhaps imitate) what she is planning to do. This coming Sunday 26 April, the London Marathon would have taken place, raising millions of pounds for UK charities. Instead, people across the country will now be taking part in the 2.6 Challenge – doing something active for 26 minutes, or 2.6 miles, or anything involving the number 26, and raising funds for the charity of their choice. Several people in the Cathedral community have already taken up the challenge to raise money for us – could you join them, either by taking up your own challenge or donating to spur on others? It all starts this Sunday but you don’t have to finish you activity the same day, the timeframe is up to you. You can find out more about it here or call Ollie in the Development team on 01543 622460.
You will also want to know that in order to let our social media public come inside Lichfield Cathedral, Vicky Osborn, our resourceful and hard-working Marketing and Communications Manager, has devised a virtual tour (with commentary) of the Cathedral.
The 3D Virtual Tour will allow visitors from all over the world to explore the Cathedral at their own pace, to virtually walk down the aisles, gaze at the architecture and exquisite craftmanship from the comfort of their own homes. Whether visitors have been before in person, or have never set foot in the Cathedral, the tour is sure to delight and amaze. Lichfield-based UK Surveyors have digitally mapped both the internal and external areas of the Cathedral from multiple angles to create a Fully Interactive 3D Tour that offers visitors an experience like nothing they have ever seen before.
What can visitors expect on their virtual tour?
- 360-degree views of the exterior and interior of Lichfield Cathedral
- Key points of interest and facts highlighted
- Opportunity to explore St Chad’s Head Chapel
- 360-degree view of the stunning Herkenrode stained glass in the Lady Chapel
- Space to pray, meditate and light a candle
- A sneak peek into the 12th-century Library above the Chapter House
- St Chad’s Gospel and The Lichfield Angel on display
- Listen to an excerpt from Choral Evensong
- Hear a piece of organ music and see what the organ loft looks like
- Plus information on live-streamed services and Children’s Church
You can access the 3D Virtual Tour of Lichfield Cathedral on our website where you will find a guide on getting the most out of your virtual visit.
Please have a look at it and share with all your family and friends. Although physically closed, we have a lot to share. May the next week bring us all joy and blessings.
With my love and prayers,
Adrian