Encountering God

Much of my time recently has been taken up working on Portsmouth Cathedral's  Development Plan! Here is the consultation sermon I preached on our patronal festival recently:

In the story ALICE IN WONDERLAND, there is a conversation between Alice and the Cheshire cat, Alice asks, "Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the cat. "I don't much care where," said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the cat.

If we don’t much care where we want to get to then it doesn’t really matter which way we go. If we have no real sense of where we want to be in our lives then it doesn’t really matter how we live our lives or which decisions we make. If the church doesn’t really know what it is about or what it is trying to do then it doesn’t really matter what we do or how we do it.

Except actually we all have some sense of where we want to be. As individuals and as a Christian community in this place we all kind of know where we want to be and maybe even how we might get there. We are told by Christ to go and make disciples of all nations and that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves. The problem is for the church that with so many people a part of it we all interpret that a different way and all think we should be going in different ways to achieve it. If we all do that then pretty soon we pull it apart.  That might very well be what is happening at a national level over some of the contentious issue being debated at present. But that is not inevitable and it is incumbent upon us to find the areas which we agree on and then work together for the building of God’s kingdom, and the building of it specifically in this place, because ultimately that is what Christ has commanded us to do.

So why do I start my sermon on the day we remember our patronal saint, Thomas Becket, with Alice in Wonderland and a call to a working unity amongst this particular Christian community? Well I could have easily started with some history about Thomas and that is very tempting as I love history. I could have talked about Thomas being born in 1118 into a family of merchants, I could have gone into detail about his rise in society through working for the then Archbishop of Canterbury followed by Chancellor to King Henry II. There is the wonderful tale of how his personal service to and friendship with the King led to him being ordained a priest on 2^nd June 1161 and then as Archbishop of Canterbury the following day. Or how Thomas transformed himself from a luxurious living courtier to a faithful servant of Christ causing him to fall out with the king. I might have finished with the story of how words uttered in exasperation by the King “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?” are probably not accurate but whatever was said resulted in four Knights riding to Canterbury and martyring Thomas in the Cathedral in a particularly gruesome way. The schools who visit us love that part of the story when we tell it in St. Thomas’ chapel looking at the wonderful sculpture of Thomas with a sword through his head!

There is no denying it is a good story, full of political intrigue and gruesome tales of brains spilling out onto the floor of Canterbury Cathedral! Some say Thomas was killed because of his piety, others because his ego and ambition rivalled that of the King – a classic battle for power. But that is history, it is the past and it is interesting but only useful in that it informs the present and the future. That event all those years ago caused this place of worship to be established in 1185 and all that has happened here over many centuries stems from it.

It is our responsibility and privilege to build on this long tradition and, like many churches and cathedrals up and down the country, we have been considering how best to do this. The best way of moving forward with this and of ensuring that we are all pulling in the same direction rather than in different ones is a Cathedral Development Plan. Now any of you who work or have worked in any industry, business or educational establishment will be familiar with these documents. They are simply a statement of what we are about, where we want to be and how we think we might get there. They are considered good practice and indeed under the most recent legal Cathedral Measure it is a requirement that every Cathedral has one.

Cathedral Chapter and Council have been considering the plan which was written in 2012 and updating it in light of changes in both the local and national picture. The point we have got to is as printed in today’s order of service and I would encourage you to turn with me to it now – it is the pages after the Gospel reading. It is not necessarily the final version but a document for us to work on together and we began the process of consultation with those who attended meetings earlier this week.

Look with me first at the Statement of Purpose:

Encountering God through engaging worship, challenging discipleship, generous hospitality and prayerful service.

·         What we are about, what we do

·         Nothing new – offered here since 1185

·         But need to proclaim it afresh in this generation, in this place, in this city in our new context.

Engaging Worship

We will be a centre of excellence for liturgy and music. Our worship will be beautiful, relevant, creative and engaging. It will be transformative in that each act of worship offered and experienced will leave us changed and better prepared to serve God in the world.

·         Currently is all these things but cannot be complacent must always be looking to develop and improve

·         Try new things and not be afraid that they may not work!

·         Transformative – worship not just what happens here, serving God in the world is worship. “To worship is work and to work is worship” Benedictine – all that we do can be an offering of worship to God

Challenging Discipleship

We will provide a wide range of educational opportunties for children, young people and adults which will deepen our understanding of the Christian faith and how it relates to the world we live in. It will develop our spirituality and challenge us to model our lives after the example of Jesus Christ.

·         Need to share our experience and spirituality with each other

·         Need to challenge ourselves. Both long held beliefs and the way we live our lives

·         More like Christ

Generous Hospitality

We will be an inclusive Christian community where all are welcomed. We will model our life together so that we can offer not only an initial welcome but ongoing hospitality to regular members, ocassional visitors, concert goers, exhibition visitors, the local community, the city and the diocese of Portsmouth.

·         Inclusive – all are welcomed

·         Hospitality and welcome

Prayerful Service

Our pattern and rhythm of prayer and worship will equip us to serve our local community, the city of Portsmouth, the wider diocese and beyond in relevant practical ways which have a positive impact on the lives of others and help to build the kingdom of God.

·         Pattern, rhythm and community equips us to serve

·         Positive impact on the world

So if this is what we think we are about and where we want to be, how do we think we are going to get there? This is where our Goals and Key Actions come in. This is of course just an overview document. Underneath this document is a detailed action plan under the same four headings of Engaging Worship, Challenging Discipleship, Generous Hospitality and Prayerful Service. This goes into such detail under Challenging Discipleship as starting a Pilgrim Course in the autumn, who is responsible for making that happen (me!) and how much it will cost to make it happen. This document will be available to those who request it and of course on the new website, another item in the detailed action plan.

Goals and Key Actions

·         Maintain and develop our exceptional liturgy and music offering so that the Cathedral is seen as a centre of excellence for worship, draws people in and engages them.

·         Develop the excellent service offered through weddings, baptism, funerals and other special events to include additional follow up and support.

·         Explore new and innovative ways of worship in order to engage as many people as possible.

·         Improve all Cathedral buildings, including the landscape and fixtures and fittings, so we can offer a warm welcome and so that they can be used effectively and innovatively for worship and hospitality.

·         Improve both internal and external communications so that the Cathedral operation runs effectively and efficiently and everyone can access the information they require quickly and easily.

·         Improve the marketing and promotion of the Cathedral to highlight the excellent events happening here.

·         Establish the Cathedral as a recognised place for exploration and engagement with a wide range of faith and other issues.

·         Establish an annual theme which will provide a clear and dynamic focus for the Cathedral community.

·         Establish an ongoing and developing programme of both child and adult education in Christian spirituality and faith.

·         Develop the high quality pastoral care offered into a recognised and sustainable model.

 So what happens next? PRAY! At the end of the service please make your way to the Nave where you can grab a coffee, tea or sherry and then wander around the tables which are set up there. On each table is one of the parts of the statement of purpose and the goals and key actions stuck in the middle of a large sheet of paper. Have another look and then use the pens on the tables to write your thoughts and comments around them. This will then help myself, Peter the Chapter Clerk and two members of council who are meeting tomorrow afternoon to produce a final draft to go to Chapter for approval at the end of July and then we hope to have a launch event at the end of September when we can present it to the local and wider community, city and diocese.

As I have said, in once sense it is nothing new. The black monks who began the life and ministry of this place back in 1185 would have been very familiar with engaging worship, challenging discipleship, generous hospitality and prayerful service. We are simply continuing in that same tradition but in the context of today’s world. Who knows whether Thomas Becket’s motives were as pure as some would say or if his death was the result of a clash of egos and ambitions? What matters is that those events led to this wonderful place being here today, full of us, God’s people, willing and able to serve God here in this place, worshipping God, building God’s kingdom, sharing God’s love with everyone. May that continue and grow over many more centuries. Amen