The Dean’s Corner....

‘Events, dear boy.’

The Venerable David Sharples, Archdeacon of Salford

It was Harold MacMillan who allegedly said ‘Events, dear boy’ when asked by a journalist what governments most feared. ‘Events’ are certainly occurring at great speed and every week we seem to be heading for a crunch vote in Parliament or last ditch negotiations with the EU. As I write at the beginning of February who knows what the political landscape will look by the time this edition is published. So how does this volatility affect and inform our prayers as individuals and as a church?

GK Chesterton believed that it was a religious duty to know what was going on in the world though he wrote in the days before the 24-hour news cycle and social media. No doubt Chesterton enjoyed a leisurely read of the newspaper over breakfast, whereas we can easily feel overwhelmed by the latest reports on climate change, Brexit, nuclear proliferation, warnings of environmental disaster, wars and rumours of wars…

St Silouan was challenged by a fellow monk who declared that because they lived a secluded life it was necessary to read newspapers to see how it is with the world and how people suffer. St Silouan replied ‘Newspapers don’t write about people but about events’. Silouan added that ‘we cannot compass all creation with our minds’. For him the call to prayer was deeper than simply responding to the latest events of the day. Perhaps surprisingly, the parish priest and theologian Canon Bill Vanstone held a similar view and he himself rarely read a newspaper.

I do think it is important to be aware of ‘what is going on in the world’ but we must always be mindful of the deeper spiritual battle that lies at the root of all ills and that the battleground is the human heart. Prayer is not something we do but what we are letting God do in us.

Contactless Giving

John Atherden, Cathedral Accountant

Manchester Cathedral is due to receive a contactless donation terminal very shortly.

Contactless giving is a quick and easy way to donate.  The terminal has been set up to accept donations of £3, £5 and £10 from any contactless Visa or MasterCard credit/debit card.  Donations can also be accepted through Apple Pay, Samsung and Android Pay, as long as the donor’s bank account is linked to a Visa or MasterCard debit card.

We are only able to accept donations from Visa and MasterCard because these are the only schemes that have approved the terminal so far.

How is a donation made?
The default donation amount is £3 and by pressing the button (∆) the donation can be changed to £5 or £10.  After a donation has been made the button can be pressed twice to return to £3 or left to automatically return to £3.

The donor needs to tap their card on the contactless symbol in the middle of the terminal until the terminal registers the presence of the card.  This should take no longer than a few seconds.  A row of four lights light up will all light up once the donation is complete.  The terminal will also beep and a notification will appear on the screen to confirm that the donation has been accepted.  Once the donation is complete the supporter can remove their card.

Where does the money go?
All donations come to the Cathedral to help fund our work.

Will the Cathedral receive my personal data?
No –no data is transferred during the contactless donation.

Gift Aid
As no supporter details are captured the Cathedral has no opportunity to add Gift Aid to the donation.

Christianity and Global Capitalism: Ferguson Lecture
and Cathedral Event

Thursday 7 March 2019, 12pm (CVC) and 4.00pm (University of Manchester), FREE

David Holgate, Sub-Dean and Canon for Theology and Mission

Both workers and debtors within finance-dominated capitalism find their present action to be rigidly constrained by the past. How might the presumed inevitability of this way of relating to the past be undercut by Christian forms of self-repudiation in conversion and the ruptured narratives that go along with them? 

Capitalism today is dominated by global finance and is marked by economic inequality, structural under- and unemployment, and unstable boom/bust cycles?  The 2019 Ferguson lecturer Prof Kathryn Tanner of Yale University offers a Christian response to this problem in two presentations on 7 March 2019.

The first, Conversion and Capitalism: Breaking the Chains of the Past? will discuss the ‘person-shaping capacity of Christian conversion and its capacities for freedom in a capitalist context’ and will be held in the Cathedral Visitor Centre between 12 pm and 1.00pm, followed by a light lunch.

The Ferguson Lecture itself, Grace and the Temporalities of Capitalism, is on the same day, Thursday 7 March, at 4.00pm in the Ellen Wilkinson Building, Graduate School Conference Room, C1.18 at the University of Manchester, followed by a wine reception at 5.30pm. It will show how the Christian understanding of grace critiques capitalism by offering a different view of time in which past, present, and future are broken apart rather than collapsed.   In this reversal of the idea of the ‘Protestant work ethic,’ she will show how Christian beliefs and practices can challenge the largely uncontested growth of capitalism.   

Manchester Cathedral Children’s Choir Grows

Philip O’Connor, Chorister Recruitment Officer

The Children’s Choir has experienced an influx of children since the start of the term. With the new recruitment strategy which started in January we are now reaching more children over a much wider area. In numbers terms, we have hit double figures for the first time since I took over in September, and every few weeks new people join the choir.

We are delighted to be welcoming children from as far away as Hebden Bridge and Stockport. We are partners of the Manchester City Music Service (MyHub) and over the next few weeks we hope to be partners of the Greater Manchester Music Service. This has already paid dividends in terms of numbers as a few parents were made aware of the choir through the Music Hub.

This is a very exciting time for the choir, and I hope over the next few months we can increase the membership and further our outreach programme so that more children can enjoy learning to sing together.

Saint of the Month

24th March
Walter Hilton of Thurgarton, Augustinian Canon and Mystic, ca.1343-1396

Canon Albert Radcliffe

Walter Hilton is commemorated in our church not as a saint but as a mystic.  A Christian mystic is someone whose innermost being, their soul, heart and mind, is in communion with God, a mystical union, through prayer.  The danger today is that we tend to think that mystics were a medieval phenomenon, forgetting such famous 20th century mystics as Bede Griffiths (1903-93, Dag Hammarskjold (1905-61), Simone Weil 1909-42) and Thomas Merton (1915-68). 

The village of Thurgarton lies about 11 miles from Nottingham and has become a quiet place of pilgrimage for those paying tribute to Walter Hilton who was born there.  Hilton went on to study law at Cambridge, before becoming a hermit and then shortly before his death joining the Augustinian Canons in his home village.  

As a mystic, Hilton rapidly gained influence as a spiritual director writing in both English and Latin.  His major work, The Ladder of Perfection developed traditional spirituality, especially the prayer of contemplation, and in the following century became a major influence in those seeking to deepen their prayer life.

Hilton's helpful technique included giving spiritual exercises that would help rid the soul of 'the foul image of sin' and enable the three spiritual powers of Mind, Reason and Will to reflect the presence of God the Holy Trinity.  Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, who had significant connections with what later became Manchester Cathedral was instrumental in having the book republished in 1494.  The 20th century English mystic Evelyn Underhill also published an edition in 1923. In the Episcopal Church in America, Walter Hilton is remembered with two other English mystics Richard Rolle (1290-1349) and Margery Kempe (1373-c1448).

At a time when our church is too much shaped by modern management theory and practice it would be a great blessing to have a few more mystics to remind us of the importance of communion with God through prayer.

Coincidences

Mike Breaks, Volunteer Archivist

It’s not often that three requests sent to the Archives Dept. and received within a space of 9 days, turn out to be linked.

The first was a package of an ex-choirboy Eddie Thompson, for me to consider inclusion in the archives. The package contained photocopies of a photograph naming Eddie with dates of 1909-1916, and his school report for the summer term in class III. The original envelope addressed to Mrs Thompson in Moston is date stamped by the Post Office July 19th 1910, reporting on 7 school topics and 2 choir topics showing ‘excellent’ in 5 of them.

The second, from the Deputy Librarian (Research) at the Royal Northern College of Music, was a request for details on Manchester’s Tuesday mid-day concerts during the First World War. Two of the references could not be traced initially due to them being renumbered, but once found they refer to the Precentor record books of 1914 to 1919.

And, the third request was from the Cambridge University Pentacle Club (Conjurers) who will celebrate their centenary in 2019. They are compiling a history of the Club and were looking for information on Rev. Basil Dennis-Jones for many years their Treasurer and Senior Treasurer. There are no immediate references to a Rev Basil Dennis-Jones but the Rev. Basil D Jones was Precentor at Manchester Cathedral between 1910 and 1920.

So what links all three?

The photocopy of Eddie Thompson’s report is signed by the Headmaster – R M Tuke. However when we extracted the original report from the envelope the sheet is foolscap size and the folded part shows that the Organist is Sydney H Nicholson, and the Precentor is B Dennis Jones.

The Tuesday mid-day concerts started in 1910 and were organised by Sydney H Nicholson, Organist, taking place between October and January each year. The programs in the archives indicate they were given by visiting organists (e.g. York, Lichfield, Chester) and our own Sydney. Whilst the archive material ceased in 1913, the concerts continued as witnessed in the Precentor record books of 1914 to 1919.

The Precentor record books of 1914 to 1919 document the lack of any Precentor from November 1914 to October 1919. The position of Precentor during the absence of Rev B D Jones in 1914 to 1919 was undertaken by Sydney H Nicholson, always titled as Organist, never Precentor.

Military records refer to a Basil Dennis Jones who served in the Great War with the Royal Army Chaplains Department. He was posted to Gallipoli in November 1915 and applied for his war medals at the end of October 1920 giving his address as Trinity College, Cambridge.

Community Page

Marcia Wall, Canon Precentor

Cathedral Community Away Weekend

We had our second Cathedral Away Weekend at Whalley Abbey early this February. We were joined by a group from All Saints and Martyrs, Langley in Middleton and their vicar, the Revd Canon Philip Miller, led our retreat. We spend time reflecting on Rembrandt’s famous painting of Return of the Prodigal. The group got on really well together and we had a wonderful time. It was a cold but dry weekend which allowed us to go enjoy the Abbey grounds and as well walk around Whalley village. In the words of one of the participants, Jack Peacock, ‘it was truly inspirational, last year was good but this year was something else.  Amazing!’

We are returning to Whalley Abbey next year for our third away weekend, on 7-9 February 2020.  Why don’t you join us? Please feel free to talk to Canon Márcia Wall if you would like more information.

Cathedral Community Shared Lunch

Thank you to the Cathedral Community Committee for organising and planning our shared lunch on Sunday 17 February 2019. We had a really good turnout, new and not so new members of our congregation enjoyed time together and had the opportunity to talk and catch up with each other.

What's On

There are always lots of exciting events taking place at Manchester Cathedral. From our regular daily services sung by the Cathedral Choirs to Vintage Fairs, there is something for everyone.

Visit our ‘What's On’ page.

Contact Us

The Cathedral clergy and staff can be contacted via the Cathedral Office on 0161 833 2220 or via the Who's Who page on our website.