Five Brothers praying
© Julia Hedgecoe
                 


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What does Norwich Cathedral do?

NORWICH CATHEDRAL

STATEMENT OF MISSION AND PURPOSE

The Cathedral is committed to proclaiming the Christian faith at all times and to all ages.

The Chapter of Norwich Cathedral sees the Cathedral's ministry as providing a focus for the Christian Gospel and as a way to encourage a living faith in God, as these relate to the people of Norwich and of Norfolk, the nation as a whole and countries abroad. These four 'constituencies' are all important to the Cathedral and, while not all are served equally, the Chapter seeks to fulfil each role as fully as its resources allow.

A key part of this ministry derives from the symbolic role of the cathedra as the seat from which the Bishop undertakes his 'oversight' (episcope) of the Diocese. This means that the building is the tangible focus whereby both Bishop and Chapter strive to proclaim the faith.

It is against this background that the Chapter seeks to:

1 Place worship of God at the centre of Cathedral life: offering a full cycle of daily and weekly worship through the year and responding to the need for special services.
2 Engage in a dialogue with the public, the private and the voluntary sectors in Norwich and Norfolk.
3 Manifest an openness to and where possible an involvement with, the life of the church at a national level
4 Establish and maintain links with Cathedrals and Christian denominations in other countries.

The way this focus is nurtured and provided is various:

  Worship of God This is the raison d'être of the Cathedral, the size and beauty of which offer particular opportunities for those attending services to experience the transcendent in worship.
  Sharing Faith in God All Christians are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ. The Cathedral is committed to proclaiming the Christian faith at all times and to all ages. It does this through preaching, teaching and public worship; through the quality of its welcome to all who come; through the quality of its fellowship; and through the building itself and the opportunities for conveying its use and purpose.
 

Music From its foundation, the pursuit of high standards of liturgical music has been closely linked to the performing of the daily office in the Cathedral. The Chapter sees it as vitally important that this tradition is maintained and enhanced, not just because of the way it aids worship, but because those performing it experience a special kind of Christian nurture.

  Visitors The reasons why so many people come to see our great Cathedrals are very various. They are both obvious, in as much as they are drawn by their witness to God and their beauty and history, and also much less visible: they come because the building is there, they come to learn about faith, they come out of curiosity, they are looking for a spiritual experience of some kind and believe it might be found in the Cathedral. The Chapter believes that the welcome given to visitors cannot be narrowly focussed. It may mean giving them the opportunity to get food and drink, of buying a souvenir or gift, or of just learning the facts about the building and about Anglicanism, but it also must allow people to find quite non-material goods as well: peace, quiet, beauty.
  Education One of the reasons behind people visiting the Cathedral is because a building such as this makes history real for them, whether it be the history of architecture, an understanding of the Norman contribution to civilisation, or to learn about Anglican history and doctrine. All these educational purposes are valid. Crucially, an additional one is to give children and young people the opportunity to learn and understand why this building is as it is.

Because of its role as the Bishop's seat, the Cathedral has a special role to play in contributing to education in the Diocese. This can take place at all levels: with children and young people through schools, through informal adult education, and through validated courses for adults, where the Chapter's partnership with the University of East Anglia is particularly important.

  Heritage The building itself is a national treasure, and it also contains within its walls particular treasures. These derive both from the distant and the recent past. The Chapter believes it is important to be open to finding ways of enhancing the building liturgically and artistically in the 21st century.
  The Estate The Chapter is fortunate in having a substantial Close, income from which helps run the Cathedral to a proper standard and to allow new initiatives to take place. The Close estate is not just remarkable as a collection of buildings from all periods, but also because the businesses and residents have a relationship of some kind to the life of the Cathedral and offer a version of community, much more dispersed than in previous centuries, but still managing to focus on Cathedral life in various ways.
  Society With modern communications, the notion of community needs to be widened to include not just the local in the Close and Norwich/Norfolk but in relation to the nation as a whole and countries abroad. There is therefore a strategic purpose to maintaining the Cathedral as one particular example from the sum of magnificent religious buildings throughout Europe and the world. How the Chapter understands its role locally must be informed by understanding how other countries and other cathedrals relate to their communities both near and far.

- The Dean and Chapter of Norwich 2003
 









The Cathedral Nave



The Passion Play Service













The Cathedral Consort - Concert


An Artist's War - Exhibition


Cathedral Creative Day - Event





School children on the Animal Trail



Visitors enjoying a guided tour

  

What does Norwich Cathedral do?

In 2004 Norwich Cathedral welcomed approx. 475, 165 visitors.

Given the huge amount of events, concerts, exhibitions and of course services that we offer here, it is understandable that so many people come to visit the Cathedral each year.

People come to this important building for many reasons, but primarily for the three ancient Benedictine principles upon which this cathedral is founded, being;

Worship

Hospitality

Education

The Cathedral works hard to meet the needs of its visitors; below are some examples of the range of services, events and activities that we offer here.

The Cathedral relies on donations in order to remain open

Worship at the Cathedral

Weekly Services - Around 30 regular services are held here each week; in 2004 Norwich Cathedral held 1, 512 regular weekly services. These include Morning and Evening Prayer (or Evensong) and at least one Eucharist service per day.

Special Services - In addition to regular services, the Cathedral hosted 72 special services during 2004; these were for community groups such as the Norfolk Constabulary or the Justice services, Diocesan ordinations and confirmations, Taize and Iona services. There are also many supplementary choral services, to mark special occasions in the Church year, such as Lent, Easter and Christmas, as well as many Saints Days.

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Weekly Services

Music and Choirs

Hospitality at the Cathedral

Special Events and Exhibitions - In 2004, Norwich Cathedral was the venue for approx. 58 different special events and exhibitions.

Concerts - There has been 24 concerts; we are a venue for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and a favourite for notable ensembles including The Sixteen, The London Sinfonietta and the Tallis Scholars. Other concerts come from local groups, including the Norwich Cathedral Consort, the UEA Philharmonic and the Keswick Hall Choir, or are in aid of National or local charities, such as Christian Aid. Several school and community groups also perform here each year.

Exhibitions - The Cathedral encourages a frequent turnover of exhibitions. Exhibitions are organised by artists, charities, and academic and community groups, with many working alongside the Cathedral Education and Outreach departments. Highlights this year have included exhibitions from; The Symposium of Silver in East Anglia, The Anne Frank Foundation, Afghan Aid, Christian Aid, Norwich School of Art and Design as well as other local artists and art groups.

The Community Outreach Project - The community outreach project is an important part of the Cathedral's work to engage new audiences, make this building more accessible to a wider range of people, and offer opportunities for all kinds of learning and development. Our Community Outreach is in its third year; we are the first Cathedral to pioneer this type of project. Event highlights include The Big Draw, The Find Out Fair and the Presence Exhibition (with Norwich School of Art and Design)

Other events at the Cathedral in 2004 include: 9 Organ Recitals, 2 dramatic performances, 2 Fleming Lectures, 4 conferences, 2 poetry events, City College Graduation Ceremony, 7 school spirituality days, school 'Living History' days and 1 public 'Living History' open day, 1 Christmas activity day.

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Services and Events

Community Outreach Project

Education and Learning at the Cathedral

The Education Department - Each year we welcome 15, 000 school pupils here; schools take part in a range of education trails, learning workshops and activity sessions. We also provide trails for children who visit with their families and a range of activities and events throughout the year (see Hospitality )

The Community Outreach Project - We provide many learning opportunities for adult groups, especially those who volunteer for work experience at the cathedral; this initiative is to be broadened throughout 2005

The Norwich Cathedral Library - Anyone is welcome to visit our newly opened reading room, which is a recently built extension of the Cathedral's ancient library which brings together a number of previously disparate collections, the two principal elements of which are the Modern Theological collection, and the Dean & Chapter's Library. Both collections continue to grow through purchases and gifts.

Guided Tours - There are approx. 60 volunteer guides working for the cathedral, enabling us to provide three guided tours for the public each day (except Sundays) at 10.45 am, 12 noon and 2.15 pm. These tours are free of charge but donations are welcome. We also take bookings for tour groups and visiting parties. In 2004 we received 132 bookings for these tours.

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Education

Community Outreach Project

Norwich Cathedral Library

Guided Tours

Links beyond the Cathedral

The Norwich Cathedral International Links group - Establishes links with Christian churches in different countries and of different traditions.

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Norwich Cathedral International Links Group

Donations and fundraising for Norwich Cathedral

It costs £2, 500 per day to keep this wonderful building open and in use; this figure goes towards the cost of maintaining the building's historic fabric, cleaning, heating and insuring the cathedral, paying its staff and funding its Worship, Hospitality and Education work listed in this document. We rely on the visiting public to give us at least £4 when visiting the cathedral

The Friends of Norwich Cathedral is due to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2005 having been in existence since 1930. The Friends have always strived to take on responsibility for the maintenance of the fabric of the Cathedral, which can cost thousands of pounds each year. As well as raising literally millions of pounds over the years, the Friends arrange many events for their members, such as talks, outings and social events. To be a part of this, contact The Secretary at the Friends' Office, 12 The Close, Norwich NR1 4DH or telephone 01603 218318.

The Inspiration for the Future fundraising campaign was launched in 1999 with the aim of raising £ 10 million to fund the construction of two new buildings. So far £ 8.3 million has been raised and this has allowed Phase 1, the Refectory to be completed. This new restaurant, library and toilet facility was finished at the beginning of 2004 and opened to the public early April. Efforts are continuing in order to raise the rest of the money so that Phase 2, the 'Hostry' can be built. This second building will include two new education classrooms, a new song school, a community room, a new Cathedral shop and space for visitor welcome and interpretation.

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Make a donation

The Friends of Norwich Cathedral

The Cathedral Campaign