The Dean`s Annual Report

The Dean’s
Annual Report
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
19th April 2015
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Map
Step free
The Queen
Elizabeth Room
Lancelot’s Link
Lift
Song
School
Sacristy
Step free
South Churchyard
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Tutu
Room
Contents
Dean’s Report
pages 4–29
REPORTS
Summary of Annual Accounts 2014
pages 32–36
Southwark Cathedral Enterprises
pages 37–41
Fundraising Update
page 41
Education Centre
pages 43–45
Cathedral School
pages 45–49
Deanery Synod
page 49–50
Unity Group
pages 50–52
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I don’t know how many people come through the doors of the
Cathedral each year, how many have come over the last year, but I
suspect that if we knew the number it would be staggering. As large
as the number would be the reasons that people come to us would
be interesting to know as well. We can imagine why people come
into the Cathedral but we will never know, because we don’t ask
people that question. Perhaps you think we should, that we should
have someone at the door asking: “Why are you here?” “What have
you come for?” “What do you want?” I think that feels too intrusive
and anyway, we want the place to be open and available, accessible
and welcoming, for it is God’s house and God’s welcome is for all.
That, after all, is the Southwark way.
I suppose I could ask those who look after the doors of the Cathedral
for their ideas. One of the blessings that we enjoy – and there are
many – is the team of people who look after those who do come
through the doors. Every day we have members of the two teams of
volunteers who look after our visitors.
The Welcomers have a particular job to do. At present they are
looked after by Ann Gardner but during the year we said goodbye
to David Payne, who had been Visitors’ Officer at the Cathedral for
the last 15 years. David had decided that it was time to retire. He
had seen the number of visitors grow exponentially over the years
and it was due to his hard work and commitment to the task that
they have been looked after so well. The Welcomers do just what
you would imagine them to do: they make people feel welcome in
what for many is a strange environment. Those of us who attend
church regularly are very familiar with the set of ‘unwritten rules’ that
govern behaviour in sacred places: men not wearing hats; no eating
or drinking; no shouting, no taking phone calls – that kind of thing.
So when we see someone doing something that we think doesn’t fit
in with expected behaviour, even the most inclusive of us can find
ourselves looking askance. For people who do not know about
church, getting over the threshold can be a massive achievement and
our Welcomers do a fantastic job at helping them to do that and feel
comfortable. Using welcome leaflets in many languages, they give
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them the information they need and try to ensure that they enjoy the
experience of being in the building, whether they have faith or not.
It is invidious to pick out individuals for special praise but I do
want to pay tribute to the work of Judy Bracewell. Like many of
the Welcomers, Judy goes the extra mile with people on so many
occasions in so many ways. Her ‘shifts’ seem to extend beyond what
is expected and she does everything in the same gentle unobtrusive
way. Judy simply represents all the team of Welcomers who
David Payne has enabled to perform what is a relatively simple task
with grace and care.
The Welcomers work alongside the Day Chaplains. You can tell the
difference just by looking; the Day Chaplains wear cassocks and the
Welcomers don’t. It is the Chaplains’ task to be alongside people
who visit us, to pray with them, listen to them, simply support them
in a genuinely pastoral way and that means bringing the love of God
to them. The team is looked after by Christine Jenkins and they
meet regularly to discuss their ministry and the issues they face while
they are on the floor of the Cathedral. A great many people in real
need come through the doors, some are homeless, some are facing
illness in their own lives or in the lives of someone they love, they
face loneliness, or trying to cope with the stress of work or family,
or having no work or no family. Sometimes we can help; sometimes
we have to re-direct people to those who can help, such as our very
good friends at the Manna Centre. Sometimes the help we can give is
to pray and listen, and sometimes that is exactly what is needed.
So if I were to ask the Welcomers and the Day Chaplains who comes
through the doors, they would describe a wide variety of people
from all over the world, curious to see what is inside, some with faith,
some without, happy, sad, unsure, young and old, tourists, pilgrims,
the world in Southwark.
Some will of course come because they’re interested in history. We
have a very good team of Cathedral Guides who are looked after
by Sophie Wheeler. Again, this is an area in which David Payne gave
such good and strong encouragement and training. In recent weeks
we have seen another group of potential Guides begin their training.
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Helping people understand the rich and complex history of the
church and of the area is a really important task and enables people
to understand that we are not a heritage site but a living place in
which God continues to be worshipped and the people of God gather
as they have done for over 1,400 years.
Telling the history is, of course, really important. One of the practical
things that I was delighted we managed to get done during the year
was to bring up-to-date the plaques in the nave. I arrived as ViceProvost in 1999 and neither my arrival nor my predecessor Canon
Roy White’s departure had been recorded and nothing since then
that had happened to bishops or deans had been carved into the stone.
There was a great deal to up-date. Bishop Tom had retired and
Bishop Christopher had been enthroned. Colin Slee had become a
dean rather than a provost and then in 2010 had died. Roy White had
retired, I had arrived, become Sub Dean, then Dean; Bruce Saunders
had become Sub Dean and retired and Michael Rawson had arrived.
All that had to be carefully recorded, not least on the Vice-Provosts’
(now Sub Deans’) plaque close to the Sacristy door. I’m delighted
with the work and it is good that it tells the tale of some wonderful
servants of the gospel in our community.
The retirement of Canon Bruce Saunders and his subsequent move
with his wife Ros from Southwark to Bristol was a big change for
us all. Bruce had been at the Cathedral since 1997 when he was
appointed as Canon Missioner. In 2003 he became Canon Pastor and
Minister-in-Charge of St Hugh’s, Bermondsey. When I became Dean
in 2012 he then became Sub Dean.
Bruce was a priest with huge experience and invaluable wisdom. His
skills were amazingly diverse. As a listener he was highly skilled and I
know that many members of the congregation looked to him for this
ministry. He was a superb and challenging preacher and in later years
his preaching simply got better and better. He understood process,
strategy and vision and did all he could to hold me and others to that.
He was a teacher, a theologian and a real pastor.
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Seeing through the re-opening of St Hugh’s, their move into their new
church and settling in there was the task that Bruce wanted to see
completed before he moved into retirement. We are all grateful for
the way in which he did this and enabled St Hugh’s to feel at home. His
move and the subsequent move of the Reverend Jessie Anand at the
end of 2014 left the congregation feeling bereft. I can understand that
entirely. I want to take this opportunity to thank Canon Wendy Robins,
who is Assistant Priest at the Cathedral and in her day job Director
of Communications and Resources for the Diocese, who stepped
in to help St Hugh’s during the vacancy, chairing a number of regular
meetings and looking after those in the Ministry Team at the church:
the Reverend Linda Scott-Garnett, the Readers, Mary O’Neill and
Iris Tomlins and the new Youth Minister, Becky Hardie.
Becky Hardie was appointed during 2014 to replace Andreas Schoeler
who had worked at both St Hugh’s and the Cathedral looking after
our Youth Work. Last year Andreas was awarded his PhD and then
had to enter the world of work, so that meant leaving the ministry he
had performed so well with us. We thank Andreas for all he did with
the young people at St Hugh’s and especially in their Youth Council
and with YouthXpress at the Cathedral. He hasn’t left us completely
but this report is a great opportunity to pay tribute to his work.
Bruce had built a strong team around him and we are grateful for that.
Nevertheless, as always, there is much to do in all the areas of work
that come under the Canon Pastor but I will return to that shortly.
One of the tremendous gifts that Bruce, his wife and members of his
family have is the ability to make beautiful music. We miss Bruce’s
singing voice, his raised eyebrow at some choices of hymns and music,
and his passion for Renaissance music (not shared by everyone,
so even more special). Our prayers are for him and Ros in their
retirement – may it be long and happy.
Bruce’s retirement meant that we had another vacancy in the clergy
stalls. This has been a feature of our life as a Cathedral over the past
four years, since the devastating death of our former and still muchmissed Dean, Colin Slee. Clergy move on, it seems, regularly. In four
years every clergy position has become vacant and filled.
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In 2014 we welcomed, first, Canon Mandy Ford. Canon Mandy was
installed as Canon Chancellor, a canonry that had been occupied by
Jane Steen who had been appointed Archdeacon of Southwark. The
day job of that canon is to look after, shape and direct training in the
Diocese; the ongoing professional training and development of all
clergy at all stages of their ministry, but especially in the first years
after ordination; and the training of the laity. It is a huge task in a very
large diocese and like many job descriptions, the expectations placed
on the Canon Chancellor were unrealistic. After an initial round of
advertising and interviews it became very clear to Bishop Christopher
and others of us involved in the process that we needed a complete
review of the role before an appointment could be made.
Following that review, which was carried out by our good friend
Dr Paula Gooder, fresh interviews were held and Mandy Ford, at
that time a priest in Leicester Diocese and an Honorary Canon of
Leicester Cathedral, was appointed. Mandy brings a huge wealth
of skills with her. She is an experienced educationalist, has a very
clear and strategic way of working, is a gifted preacher and a fantastic
chef. A number of years ago Mandy was a semi-finalist on the BBC’s
Masterchef and the biscuits she brings to Staff Meetings are delicious.
Mandy, as Chair of the Fabric Advisory Committee at Leicester
Cathedral has also been heavily involved with the re-ordering of the
Cathedral in preparation for the re-burial of Richard III. With the
Dean of Leicester she has achieved something that will be worthy
of the last Plantagenet king and will help to put Leicester even more
clearly on the map (and I say that as a Leicester boy). Mandy was
installed in September and is already making a huge contribution to
our life.
Canon Mandy Ford is one of three ‘Diocesan Canons’. This means
that whereas the Dean, Sub Dean and Precentor are paid for by the
Church Commissioners from a central and historic pot of money,
the Chancellor, Treasurer and Missioner are paid for by the Diocese.
So the focus of their ministry is the Diocese and not principally the
Cathedral. The Cathedral is their ‘home’, the place where they pray
with their colleagues and a regular place for preaching and ministry
but their jobs are based at Trinity House.
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Canon Leanne Roberts has been with us since 2011 and is the Canon
Treasurer but she has nothing to do with money. In fact in this regard
she is much more like St Lawrence who, when asked by the Prefect
of Rome for the treasures of the church presented the poor, the
crippled, the blind and the suffering and is said to have said “These are
the true treasures of the church”. In a similar way Leanne looks after
all those people who are seeking to discern a vocation to ministry in
her role as Diocesan Director of Ordinands. Supported by a team of
Vocational Advisors and particularly by the Reverend Andrew Zihni
(who we welcomed this year as an Honorary Minor Canon of the
Cathedral), she looks after a huge number of people at various stages
of discernment and training.
Canon Stephen Hance was installed as Canon Missioner in 2013.
Stephen’s role is exactly what it says: encouraging the Diocese in
mission. That is a vital task for the church, a response to the great
Commission delivered by Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 28 to
‘go and make disciples’. Stephen has a heart for mission and a track
record in growing the church and is encouraging parishes (including
St Hugh’s) in Mission Action Planning, in discussing growth, church
planting, grafting, Fresh Expressions and all the initiatives that are
around at the moment. We are grateful to him for the amount of
time that he has given within this to our project at All Hallows.
All Hallows is the third church in our parish, located on the western
edge between Southwark Street and Southwark Bridge Road. It was a
huge Victorian ultra-High Church barn of a building until it took a direct
hit in WWII. One aisle survived and became the parish church. The
bombed nave was turned into a community garden and in 1970 when
it ceased to operate as a church, was absorbed into the Cathedral
parish. As part of the development of our social mission we are looking
at how to bring the building back into use for the community and as a
worship space. That is taking longer than we had initially planned but
the good thing is that the church is now providing a wonderful home
for a group from the Westminster Housing Co-operative. The garden
continues to be maintained by the team of loyal volunteers led by
Kevin Jones and George Nicholson and provides a wonderful resource
for the community. Our finger may be on the pause button as far as
development is concerned but life goes on at All Hallows.
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The future All Hallows will, of course, come under the care of the
Canon Pastor who in many ways is effectively the ‘vicar’ of the
parish. With Bruce’s retirement another vacancy opened up and the
process began to appoint his successor. In a very good, open process
we saw a number of excellent candidates but in the end Bishop
Christopher appointed Canon Michael Rawson as the new Sub Dean
& Canon Pastor.
Michael had served all his ordained ministry in the Diocese of
Wakefield, the diocese in which he had was born and grew up.
Latterly he had been Sub Dean & Canon Pastor at Wakefield
Cathedral, so coming to Southwark was something of a sideways
move, but into a very different environment ‘down south’ rather
than ‘up north’! As with the Chancellor’s post, the Job Description
revealed just how much Bruce had been doing and how unrealistic
it was to ask someone to simply pick it all up. That has meant that
the clergy team have had to do a lot of thinking about how we hold
our roles and responsibilities. Canon Michael has embraced the
opportunities for ministry at St Hugh’s and the Cathedral with great
joy, however. He is helping us to face up to a number of areas in our
life where we need to do substantial work.
Not least among these is our ministry to children, young people
and their families. When the ‘Living God’ process came to its end
in November we held a morning conference for the congregation.
A great deal came out of that about discipleship, worship and
spirituality and we have been feeding all that into our thinking (such
as experimenting this Lent with doing more in terms of study on
Sundays rather than on a weekday as in the past). The greatest
challenge, however, came from the group talking about children and
young people.
To be honest, this is an area of our life that we have not yet got right.
The theme of this Annual Report is ‘Who comes to the Cathedral’?
Well, amongst those who do come are a good number of parents,
children and young people but are they seen as central to our life as
other groups who we have championed? Are our children and young
people properly catered for, nurtured, fed, are they visible? We say
with pride that we are ‘inclusive’ but that is not just about LGBT
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or ethnic minority people. Inclusion as a way of being the Church
embraces all people of all ages and for the children who come, it is as
much their cathedral as it is the oldest and longest attending member
of the congregation’s. Saying that and meaning it and enabling it are
very different things, however.
We have a great team of parents and others who look after JX1 and
JX2 (what we call our Sunday School) but they are too few in number
and consequently feel the pressure. We haven’t been resourcing
the children’s work well enough; the support of the clergy has not
always been as evident as it could be. We are therefore determined
to address this properly and Canon Michael with Becky, our Youth
Worker, have taken on this task for which we are grateful.
Canon Michael is also responsible for our link with our primary
school, Cathedral School and that is a really important part of
his work. Though we have three schools who are linked to the
Cathedral historically: St Olave’s Grammar School, now in Orpington,
St Saviour’s & St Olave’s Girls’ School on the New Kent Road and
they are both tremendous places of education of which we are
justifiably proud, our parish school is enormously important. Led
by Headteacher Filiz Scott, the school is the jewel in the crown of
the parish. The results and achievements of the children are always
amazing. More than this, I believe, is the atmosphere of care, learning
and maturity that exists in the place. All the clergy love going there to
lead assemblies and to see how much fun the children have, whatever
they are doing. The Chair of the Governing Body, Kate Wauchope,
has assembled a good team of which Canon Michael is part and we
thank the Staff, the Governors, the parents and the children for all
they do to make Cathedral School so special.
These are only some of the many areas of Canon Michael’s
responsibilities. We are already enjoying and benefiting from him
being part of the team and we look forward to all he has to give us.
The arrival of Canon Michael in December meant that after four
years all the canons’ stalls were full. It was hard to believe it had taken
so long to get to this point. It felt, for all of us, like a new beginning
and to take advantage of that, since Christmas we have been away
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twice as a clergy team. In January three days were spent at St
Cuthman’s Retreat House in West Sussex with a psychotherapist
skilled at working with teams. It was challenging and demanding
but really great to be able to learn more about each other and do
some team building. This was followed in February by four days at
the same retreat house with a facilitator who has helped us begin
some strategic planning and vision setting for the next period of our
lives. As you can imagine, this has been costly in terms of time and
money and the energy that is demanded by such intense working, but
we believe that it has been worth it already and we look forward to
now developing that work with the other members of the Chapter;
with the various committees who look after areas of our work;
with the directors of the various Cathedral departments and, very
importantly, with the congregation of the Cathedral.
I began this report by talking about who comes into the Cathedral
and so far I’ve talked about the visitors, the tourists and the curious
and those who look after them. One other group who have been
coming are those who are interested in installation art.
Over the last five years the Cathedral has begun to make a name for
itself in welcoming large scale installation art. We began tentatively
with the Four Evangelists back in 2011, slightly brooding pieces by
Sophie Dickens that stood in the nave and The Thornflower by
Charlotte Meyer in Lent of that year. Die Harder by David Mach
followed in Lent 2012; Christ Rests by Nic Fiddian Green in Lent 2013;
Forty days by Angela Wright and at the same time Another Day, 2014 by
Edmund de Waal in Lent 2014. This year we have Within the light by
Angela Glajcar, an intriguing installation which hangs over the chancel
and invites the viewer to look in and through the material.
All these have enabled us to do some imaginative thinking, liturgy,
theology and praying. Over the past few years we have had the
Christmas Constellation by Andrew Logan as part of the Christmas
decorations. In 2014, however, we invited the artist Emilie Voirin
to bring her Minimal Nativity to the Cathedral. That was certainly a
challenge to the way in which we have traditionally thought about the
crib and created a lot of interest as it subverted so much of what we
expect of a baby in a crib.
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During the year we also welcomed back Angela Wright who installed
another work in wool, but this time along Lancelot’s Link as part of
our hosting of Wool Week. This was a showcase week for those
who produce woollen materials and artists who work in wool. It was
an amazing week; the quality of the whole event was stunning and
certainly showed us exactly what a marquee can be like!
Two pieces by Angela Wright did mean two holidays for the
Cathedral cat, Doorkins. The temptation that wool would have
presented to our cat was too great and so she had two holidays at
‘Happy Cats’ in Blackheath and on both occasions she came happily
back to the Cathedral and settled into her routine. I’m sure she
was delighted that the Shop stocked a Christmas card in 2014 which
showed her proudly sitting in front of a snow covered Cathedral. We
are delighted that she adopted us as her family and are grateful to
those who, week by week, bring food and other gifts for her. If she
could speak she would thank you but she can’t, so I will!
These forays into the exciting world of contemporary art have
been masterminded by our Development Director, Rose Harding.
Rose has sourced the works, arranged the installations, secured the
funding and the publicity and has shown a real instinct for getting
the right piece for us. Alongside this she works at developing the
commercial side of Cathedral activity with her team securing business
for the Cathedral Conference Centre and with Alice Willington, the
Development Officer, in furthering the fundraising initiatives that we
have in terms of fabric, music and social mission.
Rose and Alice both work with the Fundraising Executive Group and
the Fundraising Council in continuing to secure support from outside
the Cathedral for the work we want to do. We are grateful to
those who serve voluntarily on both these bodies and give such time,
energy and imagination to the task. In particular we must record
our thanks to Dame Mary Archer who last year raised £36,000 to
support the girl probationers in the choir and established the St Mary
Overie Probationers. Lady Chantler and a team from the Harvard
Club of the UK are busy arranging a fundraising dinner to take place
later this year at the Mansion House.
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In February we took advantage of the anniversary of the marriage of
King James I of Scotland to Lady Joan Beaufort in the Priory in 1424,
to launch the appeal for the re-hanging and re-conditioning of the
bells. The Cathedral bells are core to the function of the Cathedral
as the Mother Church of the Diocese of Southwark. Their primary
purpose is to call people to worship, and to send them out when
worship is completed. Public celebrations are unimaginable without
the ringing of the bells.
Our ring of bells are part of the history of London, being re-cast in 1424
to celebrate the marriage of James I of Scotland and Lady Joan Beaufort;
rung in 1607 when William Shakespeare paid for them to be rung at
the funeral of his brother Edmund; and in 1869 Charles Dickens visited
ringing practice and wrote an account in his weekly literary magazine
All The Year Round.
A recent report on the frame indicates that it perhaps dates from
the second half of the 17th century, and was adapted in 1734 to
accommodate twelve bells. It is an exceptional and important frame:
the only other frames of similar standing, both for lighter rings, are at
Hereford and Lichfield cathedrals.
The current ring of twelve was re-cast again in 1734. They were only
the sixth ever ring of twelve, and one of the first complete rings cast
as one set. They still rank among the eight heaviest change-ringing
peals in the world, and as such are a sought after venue for bellringers.
The Southwark Cathedral Society of Bellringers has a tradition of
nurturing young ringers and guiding those with talent to the top
echelons of ringing, with some moving to Westminster Abbey and
St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Southwark Cathedral Society of Bellringers and the Cathedral
are creating an appropriate programme of repairs and improvements.
The intentions are to safeguard the historic fabric, improve the ‘go’
of the bells and leave them in good condition for several decades to
come. The initial estimate for the cost of the work is £200,000, and
of this we have so far raised c. £19,000.
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I am grateful to the work of our Ringers, and not least Jonathan Slack
who is standing down as Ringing Master, for all their ringing to bring
people through the doors and we wish them every success with
their fundraising.
All these initiatives, and there are more, enable us to continue and
build on what we do.
Other funding and support regularly comes from the Friends of
Southwark Cathedral. The Friends are chaired by Sarah King and
looked after day to day by their Secretary, Kate Dean. This year, in
addition to providing flowers for the Cathedral twice in the year and
Easter eggs for distribution at the Easter Eucharists, the Friends paid
for the up-dating of the Bishops’, Deans’ and Sub Deans’ plaques and
are financing the design of a scheme for the re-lighting of the exterior
of the Cathedral. I would hate you to imagine that I as Dean simply
have to go to the Friends to ask for help and they give it. As with
most things in the Cathedral, the Trustees have strong views and take
their trusteeship very seriously. With regard to floodlighting of the
Cathedral, serious questions were asked about why we would want
to do this and why the lighting only installed before the Millennium
now needs replacing. The answer to the last question is that in 16
years, lighting has changed enormously, is much ‘greener’ than it was
then and in fact the fittings that were installed are in the main, no
longer working. As to why we should illuminate the building, the
alternative is that it is a black hole at night against all the buildings that
surround us. I want the beauty of the building to be seen. I am very
proud of the Cathedral and it needs to be able to hold its head high
as the oldest building in the borough and the most significant in this
neighbourhood. When the design has been approved, we will need
to fundraise for this, as even the Friends are unable to fund the entire
project but their support will get us going.
Please do consider joining the Friends – they really are friends.
Of course we are not an art gallery or a conference centre, we are
not a heritage site or a visitor attraction – we are a bit of all of those,
it is true – principally we are a place of worship. Worshipping God
is our ‘core business’, it is what we are called to do as Christians; it is
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what we are called to do as a Cathedral. The regular round of at least
five services a day is the lifeblood and the breath of the place.
The Cathedral has had a regular stall in the Borough Market, looked
after by Kenneth Robbie and a valiant team of volunteers since the
‘Encountering God’ mission back in 2004. The stall has encouraged
people to come into the Cathedral and experience all the dimensions
of who we are and not least as a place in which worship is offered to
God. It had become more difficult to staff the stall over the years
and so we are now looking for new ways of doing this outreach. We
thank the volunteers as well as our friends in the Borough Market for
making this possible for so many years.
If people do accept the invitation to join us for worship, they will be
met by another group of volunteers who are not Welcomers, Guides
or Day Chaplains. These are the members of the Guild of Stewards.
Led by Jim Skinner, our 50 Stewards look after those who arrive for
the services. They can be the ‘normal’ services or one of the many
extra special ones that we host each year. For many of those we have
the help of a team of paid Event Stewards who pick up the stewarding
for services that take place during working hours when most of our
voluntary Stewards are at work.
Memorial services are some of the ‘extra’ services that we do. Looking
at a list of them reminds us of the variety of people who come to the
Cathedral and the organisations with whom we are in touch. In the
last year we have hosted services for Mr Thomas Young, formerly
of Young’s Brewery; Michael Cox, past Master of the Worshipful
Company of Vintners; Mr John Taylor, renal consultant at Guy’s
Hospital; Mr Jonathan Peck, former chairman of the Killgerm Group
and a member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health;
Mr Mark Donegan, founding partner and CEO of Altima in the City
and Mr Murray Simpson, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company
of Launderers.
Sometimes services are for those we know very well such the service
held as we remembered Mary Stapleton. Her memorial service, led
with me by Canon Roger Royle was a lovely occasion. Mary was a
regular member of the 9.00am Sunday congregation and a great friend
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to many. She was truly multi-talented and for many years I used
her notelets which she had printed for the Friends of the Cathedral
showing lamp posts along the Thames.
We have lost a good number of friends over this last year and we pray
for them all and remember them with much love:
David Oosterman, Mary Stapleton, the Venerable Douglas Bartles-Smith,
Willis Walker, John Harman, the Right Reverend Mark Wood,
Joan Worker, Canon Francis Makambwe, Bruce Carver, Rupert Wilkinson,
Jo Smith, Sybil Edwards, Hilary Hulme, Jacob Knudsen, John Stuart,
Canon Barbara Wollaston, Wynne Simpson, Canon Graham Corneck
and John Trevor Williams
may they rest in peace and rise in glory.
Amongst these I must mention two people in particular. Just as
we were about to print this report we received the news that
John Trevor Williams had died. In the Dean’s Annual Report 2007
Colin Slee, who was then Dean, wrote of the work that John did
at the Cathedral for 23 years as Comptroller. The stories of John’s
generosity towards the Cathedral are humbling and we remain
extremely grateful for everything that he did and gave to us over so
many years. It was a mark of our respect and thanks for John that the
basement room in Montague Chambers was named ‘The John Trevor
Williams Room’. Most people get this kind of accolade after death
but John received it while he could enjoy it. May he rest in peace and
receive his eternal reward.
Jacob Knudsen was Sub Dean at Bergen Cathedral and instrumental,
with his wife Karen, in developing and deepening the commitment
to each other of our two cathedrals. In 2014 a revised Constitution
and Statutes was brought in for the Cathedral. These allowed for
the creation of more Honorary Canons and Honorary Lay Canons
and, for the first time, Honorary Ecumenical Canons. Some time
ago Jacob was diagnosed with cancer and his treatment came to an
end in the second half of 2014. Bishop Christopher suggested that
he appoint Jacob the very first Ecumenical Canon in recognition of
all that he gave to our joint relationship. Jacob was too ill to come
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to Southwark to be installed and so I went to him in January 2015.
In a display of huge strength and determination, Jacob got to Bergen
Cathedral for their Sunday Mass and within that I made him a canon.
It was deeply moving and not least because I knew that would be the
last time we would be together this side of the grave. Jacob died less
than a month later and, having asked me to preach at his funeral, I
returned to Bergen at the beginning of March to fulfil that duty, with
deep sadness but joy at having been able to call Jacob a friend.
Our ecumenical links are very important to us and this year has also
seen us re-commit to our agreement with Rouen Cathedral, sharing in
the celebrations there of the 1,000th anniversary of the baptism of
St Olav in Rouen Cathedral; saying farewell to Canon John O’Toole,
Dean of St George’s Cathedral, Southwark and welcoming his
successor Father Richard Hearn. In addition we have taken part in an
ecumenical pilgrimage to Windsor and Eton, a Walk of Witness on
Good Friday and a Prayer Walk around the Borough as part of the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
All these are very important but the most effective ecumenical work
is being part of the ROBES Project. This year the Cathedral team, led
by George Martin and Matthew Hall, looked after an extended period
of the Sunday night shelter at Christ Church, Blackfriars. The team
worked so hard and so well and I know, because they told me, that our
guests really enjoyed the hospitality they received. All this was made
possible because of the ‘Sleep Out’ held at the end of November.
Over 100 people slept in the churchyard overnight to raise money
for the project. £62,000 has so far been raised by those people, who
included the Bishop of Southwark and, for the first time, the Master
of the Worshipful Company of Innholders.
The Innholders were with us in 2014 because they celebrated 500 years
of their foundation as a Livery Company of the City of London in a
fantastic service in the Cathedral attended by many members of the other
Worshipful Companies which took place on the day after the Sleep Out.
Because Innholders offer hospitality, the Master and other members of the
Court decided to join in the fundraising which was a tremendous act of
solidarity with us and shows what good friends we have.
PAGE • 18
That was a very special celebratory service and in addition we have
also welcomed the Service of Commemoration for The Princess of
Wales’ Royal Regiment ‘Operation TELIC’ 10th anniversary to mark
cessation of activities in Afghanistan and Iraq and the VC awarded to a
member of the Regiment. This presented an opportunity for a March
Past at the newly restored war memorial in Borough High Street and
marching onwards to the Cathedral - a really spectacular sight. There
was a service marking the anniversary of the Japanese Tsunami; one for
the closing of the London Probation Trust; another to mark the 120th
anniversary of Welcare in the Diocese and the another for the 15th
anniversary of Demelza Hospice Care’s work and very recently the
Civic Service to mark the 1,000th anniversary of the Borough Market
and the 50th of the London Borough of Southwark. There were annual
services for the London School of Anatomy; the Palliative Care Service
for Guy’s and the annual Memorial Service for London Bridge Hospital,
as well as school services for our own Cathedral and Foundation
Schools, Bacon’s College, Trinity Lewisham, St Cecilia’s Wandsworth,
ARK All Saints Academy, Camberwell and St Dunstan’s College.
Other events are held outside the context of worship such as the
Mayor Making and the Civic Awards for Southwark, the former
being the first occasion when this has been held outside the council
chamber; the City of London Festival concert for three choirs
(the girls of Guildford, St Albans and Southwark); graduations for
King’s Medical and Dental students; and the Cantata Dramatica
performance of Perpetua in October.
Perhaps the most unusual and unrepeatable event was the hosting of
the first night party for the West End production of Shakespeare in
Love. The nave was cleared of chairs and Disney took over to create
a magical – and respectful – venue for this great party. The collected
actors and ‘luvvies’ were bussed over from the West End and were
amazed to be in such a special place, known by Shakespeare and the
neighbourhood for so much of the play and the film.
For the most part, our Stewards are welcoming people to the
Eucharist or Evensong. Many of those who come will be attracted by
the music and as in previous years tribute has to be paid to
Peter Wright, Stephen Disley and from September our new Organ
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Scholar, Alexander Binns who succeeded Martyn Noble who is now
Sub-Organist at Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. I
have already mentioned the fundraising that has been taking place to
support the Girls’ Choir. This and other money that has been given
to help create the beginning of a choir endowment has enabled us
to bring the Lay Clerks in to sing Choral Evensong each Monday.
On alternate weeks they sing with the girls and this has been a
tremendous development in enabling Stephen Disley as Director of
the Girls’ Choir to continue extending their repertoire. The boys
have also been well supported and they are looking forward to a
tour to Iceland after Easter. Such tours are very important for the
development of an esprit de corps in a situation in which we do not
have a choir school and where the children arrive, rehearse, sing in
a service and then leave. Peter Wright, who last year celebrated 25
years as Director of Music and was made an Honorary Lay Canon
in recognition of his great work at Southwark, somehow continually
makes music happen and creates a choir that contributes to music
making in London in a way that makes us immensely proud.
Music making is not restricted to the Cathedral Choir, however. In
addition we have the Merbecke Choir and the Thursday Singers.
The Thursday Singers, a turn-up-and-sing choir, generously sing for
midweek Red Letter days in the church calendar. The Merbecke
Choir directed by Huw Morgan (congratulations to him and Emma on
their marriage in the Cathedral this year), sing on the fourth Sunday of
each month for Compline and Eucharistic Devotions.
We are blessed with music which is supplemented each year by
numerous concerts and services sung and performed by visiting
choirs and orchestras including this year the Crouch End Festival
Chorus, the Royal British Legion Band, the London Dockland Singers,
Wimbledon Choral Society, the City of London Sinfonia, All Saints
1885 as well as a couple of less traditional formats, the concert to
celebrate Azerbaijani culture, the 2nd BUTA Festival of Azerbaijani
Arts Mugham Night and Legal Harmony in head-to-head competition
welcoming law firms, particularly our neighbours Wragge Lawe
Grahame who were the winners on this occasion. Employees of
Winckworth Sherwood entertained family and friends and work
colleagues at a concert here in July and the London Concertante,
PAGE • 20
a small ensemble of nine string musicians, held concerts at the
Cathedral on four occasions through the year.
Liturgical music is of course our prime concern, as is the liturgy itself.
That is all looked after by Canon Gilly Myers as Canon Precentor,
assisted by the Reverend Stephen Stavrou, our Succentor (who
looked after things on his own whilst Gilly was recovering after
surgery). Canon Gilly has been looking after a huge number of special
services over the year as well as the regular liturgies. One piece of
work in particular has been looking at the Sunday 6:30pm services.
These take place on a regular rota pattern which has been working
for the last 15 years. We are all agreed that each needs re-visiting.
Gilly began with the service of Wholeness and Healing, which takes
place on the third Sunday of each month and the result has been a
renewed service that has much greater focus. The Service of Light
on the second Sunday depended heavily upon Canon Bruce Saunders,
especially for the music. We have been experimenting with more
seasonal emphasis in these services whilst trying to maintain the
Taizé-Iona feeling of reflection.
I know from my own experience that there is always a huge amount
for liturgists to do and Gilly and Stephen consequently work
with a huge team of people in addition to the musicians, readers,
intercessors, servers, eucharistic ministers, bellringers and flower
arrangers. To all those who contribute to the liturgy in any way
we owe a great debt of gratitude. Southwark has a reputation for
good, modern, accessible and dignified liturgy that owes much to the
catholic tradition. The reason we have that reputation is due to the
quality and commitment of all those involved.
Particular mention should be made of Pat Ellis and her team of flower
arrangers. Pat (who has not been well herself this year), succeeded
Wynne Simpson who for 40 years was the head of our Flower Guild.
Sadly, Wynne died during Lent 2015 aged 93. She was a lovely woman
and a great flower arranger and we give thanks and pray for her.
No Precentor can function without Vergers, however. As ever, the
Vergers have had a busy year, made even busier when David Fox-Branch
was recommended for training for ordained ministry and had, as a
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consequence to leave. That enabled us to think about how we manage
the demands laid upon the verging team who can be asked to work
incredibly long hours. In consequence 1.5 vergers were appointed
after David left. We were delighted to welcome Robert Biden as Choir
Verger, a full-time position and Tom Griffiths as a half-time Verger.
Tom looks after the evening slot, which fits in well with his day job
as a professional trumpeter. We were also delighted to welcome
Charlotte Hunter who was with us to gain experience of verging so
that she could apply for permanent posts. We were really pleased for
her when she was recently appointed to a post at Westminster Abbey.
Paul Timms, Simon Gutwein, Jamie Collins with Robert and Tom and
assisted by volunteer vergers, make a great team in the Sacristy and
play a very important part in making everyone who comes through
the Cathedral doors very welcome.
Whatever it is that people arrive for, whatever the reason, the
Cathedral needs to be a safe and secure environment, well kept and
maintained. That work principally falls to Robert Darling and his
maintenance and cleaning team of James Calthrop, Martin Smith,
Gyorgy Szabo and Norette Sakir. Robert is the Works Manager and
with the Cathedral Architect, Kelley Christ, sees that all is well with
the building. This year we have been able to continue the works on
the roofs which has been made possible because of a grant from the
First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund made available
by the Government for cathedrals to mark the centenary of WWI.
The Fund was intended to make sure cathedrals were in a good state
to welcome people for the various acts of commemoration taking
place over the years 2014-2018. We made an application for work to
the high level gutters on the nave and replacing the lead on the south
side of the roof. This work has been fully funded.
That was a real encouragement as we began, with the nation, these
four years of commemoration. The Borough of Southwark paid for
the restoration of our parish War Memorial on Borough High Street.
‘Tommy’ now cuts a fine figure as people approach London Bridge
and it was good to be part of the re-dedication of that memorial. A
special service was held to mark the beginning of the war with the
theme of the lights going off across Europe. The names of those who
PAGE • 22
died from parishes across the Diocese are being read out each day in
the Cathedral and as the various anniversaries in the commemoration
come along they will be marked. We saw many people coming to the
Cathedral after having visited the amazing Blood Swept Lands and Seas
of Red installation of poppies at the Tower of London in the autumn of
2014. It shows how powerfully the nation picks up on these symbolic
acts that then take on a spiritual dimension.
As well as the nave roof, work was undertaken to stop the leaks in
Lancelot’s Link. As anyone with a conservatory knows, roofs like the
one to the Link are notoriously difficult to maintain – beautiful but
problematic! However, the work seems to have done the trick for
the time being. There have been lots of bits of ongoing repair and
maintenance but the big one has been the renewal of the lavatories at
the end of the Link.
The debate about whether the ladies or the gents should be done
first was intense (passions ran high). The men on the Chapter won,
however, because our loo was the most disgusting! The renewal
of the gents has made a huge improvement but is not to the same
standard as the work being done to the ladies. That is deliberate as
we are not convinced that the best place for the gents loos to be
situated is next to the doors of the Cathedral but it isn’t obvious to us
yet where they should go.
The other major piece of refurbishment was to the Vergers’ kitchen.
It may be their kitchen but it is used by everyone: Welcomers,
Day Chaplains, choristers, Lay Clerks, clergy and on Sunday by the
Hospitality Team. Regarding the latter, Comfort Omotosho, assisted
by Christine Bird, looks after the rota and administers coffee and
kisses in the Sacristy to the clergy and choir before the services and
to the congregation afterwards. We need both – coffee and kisses!
This kind of strategic work about the building as a whole is being done
with the Chapter, the staff and of course with the members of the
Fabric Advisory Committee. Chaired by Canon Charles Pickstone,
the FAC brings together people with expert knowledge in buildings,
heritage and the decorative arts to advise the Chapter and to allow
work to proceed. For many years Patrick Stables served as Secretary
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to the FAC and did this work with his customary care and attention
to detail and we were well served by him, for which I and the
Chapter are very grateful. He retired from this role last year and was
succeeded by Richard Malins.
One of the experts on the FAC has also retired. Alfred Fisher, a Past
Master of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass,
and himself a stained glass artist, had served for a long time as the
adviser in glass. Alf was a huge help in so many ways, not least with the
project to install the Diamond Jubilee window in the Retrochoir. We
thank him for his work with us and thank all the members of the FAC
for the generous gift of their time and expertise.
Many of our visitors arrive not through the churchyard and the southwest doors but from the north side and through the Millennium
Courtyard. When the ‘new’ buildings were conceived in the late
1990s it was thought that the footfall on the north side would
increase tremendously and as a consequence, that would become the
main entrance. It didn’t prove to be the case but with all the work
now being done to London Bridge station and the fact that travellers
will enter and leave from street level on Tooley and St Thomas
streets, this may change.
In anticipation of this we have been experimenting with re-routing
visitors and welcoming them on the north side in the Link. The first
experiment worked well and we will try this again. It does help that
most of the facilities, the Refectory (so ably run by Edson de Oliveira
and Mares Valente and their team); our wonderful Shop led by
Jon Dollin with Angela Lacey and Richard Baker and their volunteers;
and the conference rooms sold and managed by Helen Caruth and
Chris Crentsil are on that side and so it is good when people arrive
and encounter these.
The ‘business’ elements of the Cathedral are managed by Southwark
Cathedral Enterprises. Derek Bartlett served for 12 years as a
director and six as Chairman and brought experience from the
business and investment worlds and was wise and thoughtful in the
way he led Enterprises. As I mention him I must record my thanks
to him for enabling Southwark Cathedral crests to be on one of the
PAGE • 24
floats, decked out as a Viking longboat to mark the centenary of
St Olav’s saving of London, in last year’s Lord Mayor’s Show. It was
thoughtful and generous and you will have seen the shields on the
hoarding covering the scaffolding at the end of the Link continuing to
proclaim that this is a church that knows the Living God. Last year
Derek decided it was time to retire and Barbara Lane was appointed
to succeed him. Barbara is well known to us as she was a Cathedral
Warden, worships at the Cathedral with her husband Mark and
recently retired as Diocesan Director of Education.
Barbara has taken on the role with typical energy and enthusiasm. It
is good therefore, given this time of transition in the Company, that in
the Annual Accounts you will see a tremendous increase in the income
of Enterprises. Each part of the business has done extremely well.
The Refectory was able to pay us more than their agreed rent (if their
takings go up above a certain level so does what they pay us); the Shop
delivered a profit (almost unheard of for cathedral shops – it must be
the Doorkins cards and Cathedral honey!); and the Conference Centre
and Events exceeded all expectations. All that is down to constant hard
work by our staff and the income they give to the Cathedral enables
ministry to take place.
On that north side of the Cathedral you will often find crowds of
school children entering or leaving and they will usually be heading
to or from the Education Centre. Last year the Centre welcomed
10,793 children who undertook trails and courses on many aspects
of faith, history and experience. Special events such as those
pre-Christmas or Easter are tremendous and very moving. Last year
I knelt amongst a large group of schoolchildren as I sang In the Bleak
Midwinter for them. It was very powerful (the experience, not my
singing). Alex Carton and Karen Greaves look after the Centre with,
once more, a large number of volunteers. Archdeacon Jane Steen
chairs the Management Committee and I chair the Trustees. We need
more financial support from you, however. The Education Centre is
an independent charity and funding from the Local Authority has been
reduced. Please ask me about joining the ‘Circle of Support’ so that
we can keep the Education Centre functioning. Its task is educational
but it is one of the most effective forms of witness to young people
that we give.
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There is one more door to consider through which people arrive
and that is through the door to Montague Chambers. Having no
Cathedral Close has the advantage of the clergy and staff working
together in the same offices so we get a huge number of visitors
arriving for meetings. They are welcomed by a team of volunteer
receptionists who have been helping us while we haven’t had a paid
receptionist in post. We were delighted when we were joined by
Julie Dyg in early March 2015 as Receptionist but because of the
nature of her job, which involves providing administrative support to
the Canon Precentor, we will continue to benefit from volunteer help
on the Reception desk, for which we are very grateful.
Susanna Bloomfield and Bridget Abbott both work as administrative
assistants within the offices. I am looked after in so many ways by
my PA, Marie Tims. Marie has the unenviable task of managing my
diary as well as my correspondence. She makes sure that I am in the
right place at the right time with the right papers, which is support I
really need. Also based in the offices are the Comptroller (formerly
known as the Administrator), Matthew Knight, who does the vast
majority of the administrative and managerial work and Toyin Tukasi
the Cathedral Accountant. Last but not least, sitting amongst it all
usually with a queue of people at his desk, is Martin Gwilliams who
is the Publications Administrator (he designed this Annual Report)
and through his hands pass almost every printed and online piece
of material. With the publicity work we are supported by Canon
Wendy Robins and Steve Harris at Trinity House and with HR issues
by David Loft, the Diocesan Personnel Manager.
Who have I forgotten? The problem with these reports – or is it the
challenge? – is that one can forget important people and groups. I
haven’t forgotten our Cathedral Wardens, Jill Tilley and Matthew Hall
with their deputies Gill Walley and Nick Grenside. Matthew and Jill
do so much for the congregation and the Chapter that it is hard to
tell you what they do do. However, I know that they are always
honest, reliable, dedicated and professional in every aspect of their
work and they invariably bring to our meetings the needs and
opinions of the congregation.
PAGE • 26
The Cathedral Chapter and Cathedral Council are our main
instruments of governance and to all the members of Chapter I say a
very heartfelt thank you. Thanks also to Jennie Page who chairs the
Cathedral Council and does so much for us, and the other members
of the Council. The great work of the Council in the last couple of
years was the revision of the Constitution and Statutes and as I have
already said, we are already reaping the benefits of that in being able
to expand the College of Canons and include those who previously
could not be honoured.
The Finance Committee chaired by Richard Cornwell makes sure that
we are financially sound and secure. The members of that Committee
meet regularly and have helped us see our way through choppy
financial waters to a much better position, although there is no room
for complacency.
So many visitors, so many people arriving into the Cathedral from
the south, from the north, from the east and from the west. So
many people and for so many reasons, the tourists, the children, the
worshippers, delegates, people wanting to shop, people wanting to
eat, here for a meeting, here for a conference, here to work, here
to volunteer, here for the ‘facilities’, here to rest and amongst them
the curious.
It’s the curious that I’m especially interested in, however. I’ve
mentioned the response to the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red
installation at the Tower. It felt as though something similar to the
aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales was happening:
a search for a spiritual response to something for which most people
had no language. The experience at All Hallows-by-the-Tower was
that many people went from seeing the sea of poppies into that
church to light a candle. Our society has so many searchers, so many
of the spiritually curious and cathedrals and Southwark Cathedral in
particular, is well placed to be open to them.
Whilst the clergy team has been away we have been asking ourselves
what it is that is so special about Southwark Cathedral, why it is that
people come to us in such numbers. You will have an answer to that
and we will be doing more thinking about it. In commercial terms
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we would probably ask what our USP (Unique Selling Point) is. My
own hope, my own prayer, is that we re-discover something of the
confidence in the faith, in God, in Jesus Christ, in the Church, in each
other, in ourselves as the people that God created us to be, that has
characterised us in the past.
It is not just that we have a new team at Southwark, the church is new
as well. Last year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ordination
of women to the priesthood and the General Synod finally approved
the Measure that has enabled women to be ordained to the episcopate.
I made sure that I was at the consecration of Libby Lane as Bishop of
Stockport. Seeing Bishop Libby after the service was a moment I will
never forget. Of course, there are those unable to welcome women’s
ordained ministry, and they need to be able to flourish just as we who
do support women’s ordained ministry need to flourish. It was good
therefore to see Father Philip North consecrated the week after
Bishop Libby to serve as Bishop of Burnley. Flourishing should never
be at the expense of the other and the flourishing of the church,
which now does have women and men at all levels of ministry, is vital
so that the church is viable and available and welcoming in the next
generation and for generations to come.
Part of that flourishing now depends on good, open and honest
conversations around sexuality. This is an issue which touches every
person and community in different but always passionately held ways.
The Diocese of Southwark, with the rest of the Church of England,
is embarking on a series of facilitated conversations and we need, all
of us, whatever views we hold now, to enter those conversations
with love and openness and a willingness to listen in a way which will
genuinely move us forward and expose us to the love of God. That
is the only way forward to achieve ‘Living Reconciliation’ and after
our conversations we need, I believe, to commit ourselves to living
confidently in God and for God.
The curious who come into our churches may not understand the
language of religion but they are hungry for God. They may not
understand all the internal debates that the Church engages in, but
they want to see God. We need to satisfy their hunger with doors
PAGE • 28
open to all who wish to come and hear the Gospel proclaimed and
Christ made known.
‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Hebrews 13.8).
That is the Jesus we know and serve, that is the God we adore and
glorify, the unfussy God we encountered in the Minimal Nativity, the
mysterious God of Within the Light, the generous and loving God who
created you and me and loved us from that moment and wants us to
flourish and bear fruit. ‘The Lord is here; his Spirit is with us’.
Andrew Nunn, Dean
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Bernard Mzeki Vigil
20th anniversary of
the ordination of
women priests
Wool Week
Commemorating
‘A Royal Wedding’
PAGE • 30
Commemorating the
outbreak of the
First World War
Diocesan Pentecost Service
Minimal Nativity
Installation of Canon Michael Rawson
Blessing the Bees
Within the Light
Civic Service
Blessing the River Thames
PAGE • 31
Summary of
Annual Accounts
Summary of Annual Accounts 2014
This summary of the Annual Accounts provides a brief overview of
the Cathedral’s finances in the year to 31st December 2014, some
general information on the sources of the Cathedral’s income and
details of its expenditure. It is not intended to be a comprehensive
guide and those requiring more detail should refer to the audited
Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements, copies of
which can be obtained from the Cathedral Office (open Monday to
Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm or telephone: 020 7367 6700) or from the
Cathedral’s website at www.southwarkcathedral.org.uk
The figures used in this summary are all taken from the audited
Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements.
In 2014, there was a net increase in unrestricted funds of £337,621
compared with an increase of £179,289 in 2013. This is largely
attributable to a large legacy (£48,000) and much better than
expected results from Southwark Cathedral Enterprises resulting in
gift-aided profits of nearly £55,000 above expectations. It should be
noted that £150,000 of the increase in unrestricted funds is due to
a revaluation of All Hallows Hall. This formed part of a revaluation
of all Cathedral properties during 2014. Prior to this, we have been
carrying forward valuations from 1996 and 1999 in our accounts
but the opportunity arose to bring up-to-date valuations onto our
balance sheet. The unrealised gain on our functional property was
£11,826,907 which led to an overall increase in funds of £12,052,460
during 2014. Stripping out this exceptional item, there was a surplus
on normal activities of £201,527 compared to a surplus in 2013 of
£168,737. This is very much higher than expected and has allowed us
to continue to build up a very necessary cash reserve which has been
lacking in recent years and, occasionally, necessitated borrowing from
the Diocese of Southwark to meet our everyday expenditure.
PAGE • 32
Summary of
Annual Accounts
Our level of indebtedness to the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF)
is continuing to reduce. The amount owed to the DBF reduced
from £140,000 at the end of 2013 to £110,000 by 31st December
2014. Since the end of 2009, when our indebtedness reached a peak,
we have paid off almost £485,000 of debt. The Chapter now has a
programme in place to repay all outstanding loans by 2018.
Income explained:
The total income for the Cathedral (including Enterprises and
investments) was £2,390,239 in 2013 compared with £2,253,916 in 2013.
The proportion of income coming from Stewardship (16%) was
similar to that in 2013. This represents £388,073 of income (including
£60,848 tax recoverable under Gift Aid) which is up nearly £30,000
on the previous year. Stewardship giving has remained remarkably
resilient in recent years and the Chapter is enormously grateful for
this financial commitment by the congregation to supporting the
ministry of the Cathedral.
The profit transferred from Southwark Cathedral Enterprises Ltd to
the Cathedral, after the deduction of costs, increased considerably in
2014 beyond that in 2013: £255,767 (compared to £193,543 last year).
This is largely due to the great improvement in conference and events
business during 2014 following the appointment of an additional
salesperson in the team. The Refectory and Shop once again delivered
good profits in line with expectations.
PAGE • 33
Summary of
Annual Accounts
The chart below shows the sources of the Cathedral’s income:
The grants income shown above includes £185,956 from the Church
Commissioners that pays the stipends for the Dean, Sub Dean
and Canon Precentor as well as contributing to the salaries of lay
staff. Other voluntary income includes grants of £375,479 from the
Development Trust.
The chart below shows the sources of voluntary income in 2014 and 2013.
As mentioned earlier, there were significant increases in income from
fundraising and local trusts. The Development Trust is raising money
for fabric repairs, to endow the music and the new mission work at
All Hallows.
PAGE • 34
Expenditure explained:
The total expenditure by the Cathedral (including Enterprises) was
£2,176,646 in 2014 compared with £2,085,179 in 2013. This increase
was largely due to the expenditure on fabric repairs on residential
properties and Cathedral fabric following receipt of grants from the
Development Trust and Rectory Trustees. All departments continue
to manage their budgets extremely carefully to minimise waste. The
chart below shows how the money was spent:
Major areas of expenditure are Clergy Costs (£307,233), the cost of
maintaining the Cathedral and its precincts together with major repair
and restoration works (£846,357) and the cost of conference and
shop sales (£389,219), the largest part of which covers staff costs and
purchasing stock for the Shop. 10% of income from the planned giving
scheme is given away for a variety of local, national and international
charitable purposes. In 2014, this amounted to £23,676 and is included
within the Charitable Giving total in the chart above.
The Balance Sheet explained:
The balance sheet contained within the full annual report and
accounts (on page 26) summarises the total assets of the Cathedral
(including Southwark Cathedral Enterprises) at £17,106,939 following
the revaluation of the property portfolio. This figure is made up of the
total of endowment, restricted and unrestricted funds.
PAGE • 35
Summary of
Annual Accounts
Summary of
Annual Accounts
It is important to note that the Cathedral and Millennium Buildings
(potentially worth a great deal of money and insured for £40million)
are not included in these accounts and are therefore excluded from
the Endowment Funds shown in the chart above and in the balance
sheet. The reason they are not included is because we follow the
Church Commissioners guidelines for annual accounts that require
buildings forming part of the Cathedral precinct to be specifically
excluded from the balance sheet.
Conclusion:
2014 continued the trend of the year before with the Cathedral’s
financial fortunes slowly improving. We continued to reduce our
debts to the Diocese and voluntary income was helped by further
legacies. The cash flow position, that in the past has been so much a
cause for concern, is now more stable although we are still some way
from having the size of cash reserves that an organisation of our size
should have built up to cover emergencies and the unexpected.
Matthew Knight
Comptroller
April 2015
PAGE • 36
Southwark Cathedral Enterprises
The goal of Southwark Cathedral Enterprises continues to be to
enable the Cathedral to function and work as a place of Christian
worship by:
• Generating income whilst providing services to Visitors
• Increasing visitor numbers whilst maintaining the calm
• Promoting the Cathedral’s image and reputation.
The Board of Southwark Cathedral Enterprises Ltd is responsible for
five business streams: the Cathedral Shop, conferences, concerts and
special events, the Refectory, income from fees paid for group visits
and car parking.
2014 continued the upward trend in company profits which began in
2013 with a substantial increase in turnover from our conference and
events business reflecting the wider improvement in the UK economy.
Turnover for 2014 was £644,167 which is 17% up on 2013 (£550,169).
This enabled the company to make a gift aided donation of their
profits of £255,767 (up from £193,543 in 2013) which was the best
result since 2008 and of considerable to help to the Cathedral
Chapter in contributing to Cathedral running costs.
The company’s contribution to the Cathedral is set out above.
PAGE • 37
Southwark
Cathedral
Enterprises
Southwark
Cathedral
Enterprises
Southwark Cathedral Enterprises has contributed over £2.8 million
towards the running costs of the Cathedral since 2001. The fact
that the company has continued to make a significant financial
contribution to the work of the Cathedral during some very difficult
economic times is a tribute to all the staff and volunteers who work
so hard to generate as much profit as possible.
The chart below shows the contribution to overall turnover made
by each business stream. The contribution from the Refectory shows
only the rental payable based on a percentage of sales.
Conference and event business continued to do extremely well in
2014. In March 2014, a new conference salesperson, Chris Crentsil
was recruited and this has had a significant impact on our ability
to win business. Having three people in the team, headed by
Rose Harding, Development Director, has made a huge difference
and meant that we can now capture every phone and email enquiry
and convert many more of them into firm bookings. Both the range
and number of conference bookers increased substantially with a
consequential increase in income. Helen Caruth has continued in
her role as Conference Co-ordinator and has been able to focus on
delivering an excellent customer experience for conference delegates.
PAGE • 38
Special events business also had a very successful year with two highlights
being the first-night party after the West End opening of the play
Shakespeare in Love in July and the Campaign for Wool’s Wool Week
in October. These and many other events throughout the year helped
to bring in over £100,000 in income. Overall, conferences and events
delivered £149,851 in profit compared to a budget of £92,431. Turnover
increased by 34% and profit by 52% on the figures achieved in 2013.
The shop had another successful year, too, delivering an increased
profit of £11,382 compared to £6,580 in 2013. This is the best result
for 8 years. Jon Dollin, Shop Manager, and his team of paid and
voluntary staff have worked extremely hard to develop a popular
range of goods that sell well with visitors and congregation members
alike. The Doorkins Cat range continues to be phenomenally
successful and Jon has proved to be very adept at thinking up new
lines that tie in with uniquely Southwark features. Turnover in 2014
was £178,997, down very slightly on 2013 (£179,205).
Catering in the Refectory is provided by Elior UK under a contract
that runs until 2019. The general manager, Edson de Oliviera, and his
team have delivered consistently high quality food and service during
the year, notably for our special events. The kiosk in the churchyard
is open on a regular basis but it has not so far been possible to find
the right catering offer to attract consistent trade while trying to be
distinctive from the many food outlets in Borough Market. The results
for the branch as a whole were, for the second year running, good
enough to deliver 18% more in rental than the minimum guaranteed
in our contract with them – rent is calculated as a percentage of
Refectory sales. Behind the headline figure of £89,089 which Elior UK
delivered to the company in the form of concession rent, it should be
borne in mind that the Refectory is a business with a turnover of nearly
£750,000 in 2014 providing employment for eight full-time and two
part-time staff from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds plus many
additional casual staff brought in for special events.
The number of tourists and the amount of income generated by
tours remained steady in 2014 when compared to the previous year.
The post-Olympic effect continues to encourage larger numbers
of tourists in London and consequently visitors to the Cathedral.
PAGE • 39
Southwark
Cathedral
Enterprises
Southwark
Cathedral
Enterprises
Particular mention should be made of David Payne, our Visitors’
Officer since 2000, who retired in December 2014. David had
worked extremely hard to attract tourists and also sells a range of
innovative packages to tour companies including catering and guided
walks of the local area which were very popular. We hope that his
successor will continue this work when appointed.
Most of the limited car parking available in Montague Close is let on
contract to neighbouring businesses plus occasional fees for access to
the roadway for work on adjacent buildings.
The profit made by each business stream is set out in the chart below:
The contribution made by Enterprises to the Cathedral is not
just financial; there is a very important unseen contribution in the
welcome offered, the information provided and the friendliness and
helpfulness of Enterprises staff and volunteers to visitors. There are
also many more less-visible benefits to the Cathedral arising out of
SCE activities. The conference rooms are redecorated every year
at the company’s expense and the equipment available for use for
Cathedral and Diocesan events is purchased and maintained; the
salaries of nine cathedral staff are partly or wholly paid for; and the
infrastructure to cope with major services and events, in terms of
staff resources and equipment, are largely provided by the company.
PAGE • 40
In 2014, Derek Bartlett retired as Chairman of the Board after
serving for 12 years as a director and six as Chairman. Derek oversaw
the continued success of the company during a period of financial
turbulence and recession and steered the Board through some very
difficult decisions. The Board expressed their heartfelt thanks for all
that he had contributed to the work of the directors and wished
him a long and healthy retirement. Barbara Lane was elected the
new Chair at the AGM in May and we look forward to an exciting
new chapter in the life of Southwark Cathedral Enterprises under
her stewardship.
The Board also wish to express their thanks to all the staff and
volunteers who have contributed to a really successful year for
the company,
Matthew Knight, Company Secretary, April 2015
PAGE • 41
Southwark
Cathedral
Enterprises
Fundraising
Up-date
Fundraising Up-date
The Development Office, together with the Fundraising Executive
Group and Fundraising Council, has continued to raise funds for the
costs of the Cathedral music and the repair of the Cathedral fabric.
We are enormously grateful to Dame Mary Archer, who led the St
Mary Overie Appeal on behalf of the Girls’ Choir. Over £36,000 was
raised, and two special Choral Evensongs were held in May 2014 for the
donors to the Appeal. The Choir Probationers are now named the St
Mary Overie Probationers. We were also delighted to receive a grant
for the Boys’ Choir from the Saddlers’ Company Charitable Fund, and
our neighbour London Bridge Hospital gave us a grant to replace the
Choir hymnbooks, which were in considerable disrepair.
In May 2014 the Cathedral submitted an application to the First World
War Centenary Cathedral Fabric Repairs Fund for the replacement of
the gutters on the name and north nave aisle, leaks from which were
causing significant rain ingress and damage to the Cathedral building,
and the replacement of the lead roofing on the South Choir Aisle. The
Cathedral heard in July that it had been successful in gaining a grant of
£325,000, which meant that the scaffolding went up (again!) in
September 2014, with the works completed in March 2015. Other
grants received for the Cathedral fabric included a grant from the
Barbara Whatmore Trust for research into the medieval staircase in
the Tower, which has given us more knowledge about the Tower’s
construction, and a grant from the Friends of Southwark Cathedral to
commission a re-design of the Cathedral floodlighting.
A fundraising project to raise money for the re-conditioning of the
Cathedral bells was launched in February 2015 with a commemorative
Choral Evensong, which was attended by the Primus of the Scottish
Episcopalian Church and the Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland.
Speeches were given at the Reception by the Dean and Hannah Wilby,
Deputy Ringing Master for the Southwark Cathedral Society of
Bellringers. The current fundraising target for this project is £200,000,
which is the initial estimate of the costs of the works, and so far around
23,000 has been raised.
Rose Harding, Development Director and
Alice Willington, Development Officer
PAGE • 42
Education Centre
Education
Centre
We continue to deliver high quality learning experiences to schools
from across London with teachers consistently rating our service
very good to outstanding. Our visitor numbers continue to be high
with more visits from secondary schools this year. 69% of our young
people come from inner London schools – we are giving these pupils
the chance to experience the world beyond the classroom as an
essential part of their learning and personal and spiritual development
by participating in hands-on, experiential activities that stimulate
engagement and learning by doing.
This year we have introduced several new activities to our
programme: an RE and art day in the summer saw Year 7 from St
Gabriel’s College work together to produce a stunning collage of
our east window made entirely from fabric. The pupils learnt about
Christian worship, how art is used to express faith and learnt about
their role as part of the Diocesan family. The day culminated in an act
of reflection and celebration in the Choir.
In June we launched our first Maths and Science day for Key Stage 2
pupils. Children learnt how to build a Cathedral by using the tools
of a medieval mason to draw shapes and measure objects at height.
The children learnt about strong structures by exploring the arches
and pillars then built their own towers against the clock and designed
and carried out a fair test to explore the effects of weathering on the
building’s fabric.
In November we hosted our fifth post-16 conference – another lively
debate between 250 16-18 year olds and a panel of speakers from
the world of politics, education and the Church. In December we
built on the success of our 2013 ‘Experience Christmas’ days and
ran a one-day event for KS1 which saw children from our Diocesan
primary schools join together to learn about the Christmas message
through art and story. Children made advent wreaths, peg doll angels,
stained glass windows, clay labyrinths and peace doves and gathered
together at the end of the day to present their gifts to Jesus in a
moving act of reflection led by the Dean.
PAGE • 43
Education
Centre
Other new activities include: God’s World, a cross-curricular session
for children in Nursery and Reception, The Life of Jesus and Prayer
and Worship trails both aimed at Key Stage 2 and 3. We have been
developing online resources for teachers to enhance class-based work
or to use as pre or post-visit tools. These include a virtual tour of the
building aimed at children and six short films about different aspects of
Cathedral life made in partnership with Cathedral School and London
Connected Learning Centre. During March we ran several Experience
Easter sessions for schools and we are working on Experience
Pentecost and Experience Harvest sessions plus an Archaeology day for
A-Level students investigating our medieval graffiti.
Volunteers
Our work would not be possible without the dedication and
support of our volunteers. They bring with them a range of skills and
experiences; some are retired head teachers and RE specialists and all
are enthusiastic and passionate about giving children the best possible
experience at the Cathedral
Circle of Support
We have a small group of individual funders who support our work
each year by pledging £120. As a thank you we invite them to a
summer event in The Garry Weston Library. This year The Times
journalist Michael Binyon gave a fascinating insight into his career
and answered questions from the audience. We would be unable to
continue to support the Cathedral’s mission and outreach without
our members and funders. If you would like to support our work by
joining please contact the administrator Karen Greaves: edcentre@
southwark.anglican.org for more details.
Funding
The generation of funds to run the Education Centre is facilitated
by the Education Officer, Hon Treasurer and Volunteer Fundraiser.
In the financial year 2014/15 we received support from: Southwark
Cathedral, Culham St Gabriel’s Trust, Westhill Endowment Fund,
Wates Foundation, All Saints Education Trust, Newcomen Collet,
Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and our Circle of Support
PAGE • 44
Teachers’ feedback
• We had a wonderful day and the children learnt a lot through role
play, art and child friendly explanations to their questions.
Education
Centre
• I thought the staff were fantastic
• It was wonderful for all of the children to experience the beauty,
history and calm of the cathedral
• Some children will not have visited a church before … so it is
important to provide the opportunity for all children from all or
no religions to visit buildings of religious (and historical)
importance. This ensures they understand the history and
cultural and religious diversity of the UK.
• You offered exceptional value for money. Other providers would
charge hundreds. Wonderful experience for our children, thank
you so much… I will certainly book again.
Cathedral School
Cathedral
School
As ever life at Cathedral School has been wonderful and very
busy. There is such an incredible amount of pride surrounding
the children and their achievements at school. At the end of 2014
the results for the National KS2 tests, which were taken at the
last academic year, were published for all primary schools in the
country. The average score achieved by Cathedral School pupils in
the examinations (maths, writing, reading and grammar) was the
highest in the borough. This news is excellent for the school and
was on the back of being included in The Sunday Times ‘Top 600
Schools’ report published in November. Obviously, these tests
of the ‘core’ curriculum are one part of the school’s success and
we are very aware there are countless other ways to measure
children’s successes in the school’s broad and balanced curriculum.
Nevertheless, these results are a testament to the hard work,
dedication and talents of the pupils and staff of the school.
In December Cathedral School was visited by Pauline Roberts, as
assessor from the Inclusion Quality Mark.
PAGE • 45
Cathedral
School
Inclusion Quality Mark Report
The Cathedral School is a Church of England, inclusive primary school serving
an inner city community near London Bridge in the borough of Southwark. The
catchment area is very diverse in terms of ethnicity and languages and also
socio-economically and, as a result, children have a broad range of abilities and
levels of development on entry. The school is very much a part of the community it
serves and its motto, “Life in all its fullness” reflects the inclusive, family atmosphere
of the school. There are currently 235 pupils on roll from Nursery to year 6. The
school is above the 80th percentile for pupils with EAL and also for the percentage
of pupils from ethnic minority groups. There are pupils from Asian, Caribbean,
African, Eastern European as well as white British backgrounds and there are
around 40 languages spoken by pupils. Approximately 12% of pupils are eligible
for FSM and almost 24% qualify for pupil premium. Around 10% of pupils have
SEND, with 16 pupils on SA+ and one pupil with a statement. Despite the varied
starting points, attainment at the end of KS1 and 2 is consistently outstanding
and the school is one of the highest achieving state primary schools in the country.
Attendance is also exceptional and for the last two years rates have been over
96.5%.
The positive, family ethos of the school is immediately evident as children arrive
happily and are greeted outside the school by the head teacher and other senior
staff. It is further revealed during the Friday assembly, which is organised and led,
with calm self-confidence, by year 6 pupils. All pupils’ behaviour is impeccable and
the caring, supportive lead from older pupils further emphasizes the strong sense of
a big family atmosphere. The head teacher sets the tone for this supportive ethos
and it is lived and breathed by the staff and pupils. The school’s excellent website
further explains the school’s values. The central focus is on the children, for whom
the school has very high ambitions and they are encouraged to do their best in
everything they do.
The head teacher and the senior team are ‘very hands on’ and approachable and
are highly respected by staff and pupils with the result that everyone works hard to
achieve the best possible outcomes for pupils. The SENCO works in a purposeful
and strategic way to ensure that all learners’ needs are met and that the school
provides a wide range of different types of support, which is targeted carefully at
individual learners. As a result all pupils are challenged and supported and there is
no achievement gap between those on pupil premium and other pupils.
Teaching and support staff in the school work extremely hard and strive to do their
very best for all pupils. They spend a lot of time in planning thoroughly to meet their
pupils’ individual needs and in the detailed marking of pupils’ work. Staff are positive
and energetic and are fully committed to the pupils and to the school. They speak very
PAGE • 46
highly of inclusive practices in the school. They share the common values, and they feel
they have excellent support and resources to enable them to do their work.
Staff are encouraged and enabled to develop their skills through a range of CPD
opportunities and regular staff meetings have a strong focus on teaching and
learning. Lessons are interesting and challenging and there are many imaginative
and exciting activities planned for pupils.
There is excellent support for pupils with special educational needs and the SENCO
provides advice and resources to help teachers and teaching assistants to meet the
diverse range of pupil needs. There are booster groups that pupils can opt in to
according to their needs, as well as pre-teaching of topics in small groups for pupils
who need extra help. A small group of pupils with SEN are taught for part of the
week outside of the mainstream class to give extra support on Literacy and Maths.
Pupils are very calm, happy, articulate, positive and self-confident and behave
very well around the school, in their lessons and in the playground. They speak
very highly of their school and its staff, for whom they have great respect and they
know that they are listened to. They are very strong in terms of their awareness of
the rights of the child and this is a core focus of the work of the school. The pupil
council is an important forum in the school and pupils are able to explain with
enthusiasm the many different ways in which they influence the life and work of
the school. There are many responsibilities for pupils and they enjoy their roles as
school captains, eco monitors, digital leaders and rights’ champions. It comes across
from all pupils spoken to that they love finding ways of helping each other and the
numbers of pupils taking up monitor roles with pride is a sign of the school’s success
in this area. “Like the school motto, we really do live life to the full”, explained one
pupil, while another commented, “Teachers teach you very well and help you a lot
and they really care for you.”
Pupils achieve extremely well at the school and the school works very hard to ensure
they are continually improving. Progress is rigorously monitored half termly and
individual targets are set for all pupils. A bespoke, thorough tracking system ensures
that pupils who are not progressing are targeted for a range of different interventions
according to need. There are weekly celebration assemblies where rewards involve the
whole school in celebrating together through various agreed actions.
All staff, parents, governors and pupils spoken to were extremely positive about the
school’s work and there is a very genuine sense of team effort, of mutual support,
of listening and of including everyone, whether they are adults or children. The
school has fostered excellent relationships with parents and it finds many ways to
communicate with them and to involve them in the life of the school. Parents are
very positive about the school and speak very highly of the staff and the excellent
PAGE • 47
Cathedral
School
Cathedral
School
communication they have with them. They mention the excellent transition
arrangements and the support for children with SEN. Parents are also actively
involved in the Parent Forum, which supports the work of the school in a variety of
ways, including fundraising activities and volunteering in the classroom.
The role of the school in the community is also excellent and pupils make a very
positive contribution to it, thus enhancing the school’s reputation in the local area.
The school works closely and positively with the local authority, especially on issues
concerning special educational needs and the SENCO works for one day per week
for the LA, developing a SEN hub and ensuring that all schools are aware of the
requirements of the new SEND code of practice. The school also supports a local
school which requires improvement as well as with a local hub of schools to share
ideas and good practice.
The governing body is also fully committed to the school’s vision and they play a
very positive, active and supportive role in the school. They are aware of all aspects
of the inclusion agenda and are active participants in the school’s efforts to include
and to care for all pupils. Governors explained how they work very positively with
the school to provide challenge and support and how the varied skills of governors
are put to good use in the school. All governors are assigned to different classes
and/or subjects, which they visit half termly and they stay with these classes as they
move up the school, thus ensuring very good on-going links with staff and pupils.
I am of the opinion that the school fully meets the standard required by the
Inclusion Quality Mark. I also recommend that the school considers becoming a
Centre of Excellence for the IQM so that its excellent work on inclusion can be
shared with other schools.
Pauline Roberts
Inclusion Quality Mark Assessor
As a school community we are so pleased with the report especially
because it vividly reflects Cathedral School’s values and ethos. In
December the Parent Forum organised wonderful Christmas Fair
in the marquee at the Cathedral. We are very grateful to The Very
Reverend Andrew Nunn for agreeing to let the school use the
marquee as it meant that not only was there more room for stalls but
there was also more floor space to allow for socialising, which was
a very important part of the event. As well as a range of stalls selling
Christmas gifts, there were lots of free activities (including a colouring
PAGE • 48
competition judged by The Dean), which meant that the whole
school community could enjoy the fair. Activities included decorating
Christmas biscuits and making decorations. The Christmas Fair raised
£3000 for the school; this will be put towards the refurbishment of
the peace garden in the spring term. We are so thankful to have such
a pro-active and supportive group of parents.
Cathedral
School
The staff, children and governors are all thrilled to welcome Canon
Michael Rawson to Cathedral School. The Very Reverend Andrew Nunn
introduced Canon Michael to the children during an the children
spent time talking to Canon Michael, asking him about his job, hobbies
and interests; including which dance he likes best! Canon Michael also
led the Rededication Service for staff at the beginning of January in the
John Harvard Chapel.
I would like to conclude my report by thanking the Cathedral
community for their continued support.
Mrs Filiz Scott, Headteacher, Cathedral School
Southwark and Newington Deanery Synod
Over the past year, the Cathedral has been represented on the
Deanery Synod by the Sub Dean (when in post) on behalf of the
clergy and for the laity by Mark Charlton, Peter Edwards,
Sophie Henstridge, Marion Marples, David Powell and Morag Todd.
We have met three times: at St Michael, Camberwell,
St Agnes, Kennington and St Christopher, Walworth, with fellow
representatives from the parishes of the Deanery – which stretches
down from the Cathedral to Kennington Park and Camberwell.
The main discussions have been to do with encouraging Credit
Unions as well as domestic elections to the Deanery Mission and
Pastoral and other subcommittees. The Diocesan Credit Union
champion spoke to Synod and is working to support churches
wanting to develop this work. A leaflet Financial Well-Being for you and
PAGE • 49
Deanery
Synod
Deanery
Synod
Your Community has been produced and distributed to all parishes.
There has been an information stall at the Borough and Bankside and
Walworth Community Council and also a campaign in Walworth Road
for a shop base for a local credit union and against pay-day
loan shops.
As well as members elected in April 2014, the new Synod has a new
Area Dean, the Reverend Andrew Moughtin-Mumby of St Peter,
Walworth, new Lay Chair Keith Potter of St Agnes, Kennington, the
Reverend Jonathan Coore of Christ Church, Blackfriars, the Reverend
Jonathan Sedgwick of St George the Martyr and our own Canon
Michael Rawson as Sub Dean.
The meetings are an opportunity to hear of and to encourage new
projects in the varied churches of the area.
Marion Marples
Unity
Group
Unity Group
The Cathedral Unity Group continues to organise and encourage
participation in various ecumenical activities, maintaining active
relationships with our ecumenical neighbours in the Borough, with
St George’s RC Cathedral and St Olav’s Norwegian Church in
Rotherhithe, and fostering our long-standing twinning arrangements
with the cathedrals in Rouen and Bergen.
Local Ecumenical Activity
Regular activities and recent events in 2014 included:
• organising the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Walk which
includes visiting different local churches along the route . Those
participating in January had a warm welcome at all churches. This
year’s walk took place on 24th January through The Borough from
St George the Martyr to St John, Waterloo;
PAGE • 50
• organising the annual Procession of Witness for local churches on
Good Friday from the Cathedral to Our Lady of La Salette;
• termly Forum meetings with representatives from St George’s
RC Cathedral and St Olav’s Norwegian Church in Rotherhithe, to
share information about our current activities and priorities.
Events of mutual interest are periodically advertised on our
weekly service sheet;
• organising an enjoyable joint day pilgrimage with members of St
George’s Cathedral to Windsor Castle, Eton College and the
RC Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows in November. We enjoyed
sharing our witness with Canon O’Toole at St George’s and were
sorry to see him move on, but we look forward to working with
his successor, Father Richard Hearn on similar events in the future;
• although not our direct responsibility, a report from the Robes
Project is a regular agenda item at our meetings, given by
members directly involved. Robes is an ecumenical initiative and
has been enormously successful in positively changing people’s lives.
The creation of a ‘Churches Together in North Southwark’
continues to be under discussion although sadly, little progress has
been made in the past year. This is undoubtedly due to a change
of clergy in the various churches concerned during this time, and
we look forward to forging more positive links towards the goal of
establishing this new grouping now that the new persons responsible
are in place
Bergen Link
The relationship with Bergen continues to grow and we have been
encouraged through our formal and informal meetings with clergy
and members of the congregation there over the past year.
Jacob Knudsen was appointed the first Ecumenical Canon of
Southwark by the Bishop of Southwark in December 2014. Sadly, by
that time, Jacob was too ill to travel to Southwark for a ceremony to
mark this, so the Dean went to Norway for a special commemorative
PAGE • 51
Unity
Group
Unity
Group
service in Bergen Cathedral. We were all very sorry to learn of
Jacob’s death in February 2015. The Dean and a representative of the
congregation at Southwark attended his funeral in Bergen in early March.
A joint pilgrimage with Bergen to St Olav’s shrine in Trondheim will
take place at Pentecost in 2015.
Rouen Link
The link was 20 years old in 2014 and both cathedrals marked
this occasion by renewing and revising our written agreement
Representatives from Rouen visited Southwark in February to
discuss the new wording. In October we were invited back to Rouen
Cathedral to a service to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of
the baptism of St Olav. That service was also attended by our friends
from Norway, some of whom participated in the service.
In February 2015, a group of fourteen from Southwark, including
the Dean, visited Rouen where we signed the new version of the
agreement. A return visit to Southwark from Rouen will be made on
the weekend of 17–20 April and Southwark’s copies of the agreement
will be signed at the Eucharist on 19 April 2015.
The Unity Group comprises: Canon Michael Rawson, Marlene Collins,
Frances Goodchild, Sarah Malins, Marion Marples, George Martin,
Odette Penwarden, Elizabeth Peasley, Guy Rowston and Andrew Viner.
The Group is chaired by Andrew Viner.
Andrew Viner
PAGE • 52
DESIGN
Martin Gwilliams
EDITOR
Marie Tims
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Please note that all photographs in this Annual Report are copyright
Southwark Diocesan Communications and Southwark Cathedral
PAGE • 53
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m
Humphreys
Yard
Garden
South Churchyard
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