Wakefield Cathedral

Change and continuity

(Updated Wednesday 18 March 2020, 16.15)

COVID-19 has brought huge changes to our national way of life in a very short time. The deans of the three cathedrals of the Diocese of Leeds met with the Bishop this week and reaffirmed our determination to continue to respond to the latest national advice of the government and our archbishops in a constructive and creative way.

From Thursday 19 March Wakefield Cathedral (though not our café or shop) will be open every day from 10.00 – 15.00. However all our daily public liturgical services will be suspended, including on Sundays. Morning Prayer and Holy Communion will be celebrated by the clergy before the cathedral opens and Evening Prayer will be celebrated after the cathedral closes. We are hoping to be able to livestream some of these services: please keep an eye on our website and social media platforms for updates about this.

All are welcome to come into the cathedral while it is open, and there will be public prayers said regularly at set times. We politely request that all our visitors familiarise themselves with the latest government guidance about the virus and ensure that they sit or stand at least the recommended two metres away from anyone else.

Prayer will be at the heart of all we do during the conavirus epidemic. Through prayer, we believe that we are making space for God to work in us and through us as we respond in practical ways to meet the needs of those who are especially vulnerable at this time.

We will continue to use the following prayer regularly in the cathedral during these troubled times. We hope you will find it helpful too:

Keep us, good Lord,

under the shadow of your mercy

in this time of uncertainty and distress.

Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,

and lift up all who are brought low;

that we may rejoice in your comfort

knowing that nothing can separate us from your love

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

With prayers and best wishes

Dean Simon

Wakefield Cathedral

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Covid-19