CATHEDRALS have been the flavour of the past decade, to such an
extent that parish churches cannot be blamed for finding them a
touch irritating. Attendance at cathedral services began rising at
the turn of the millennium, and those working in C of E public
relations have been more than happy to quote figures that buck the
downward trend. Viewed as a whole, cathedrals have become much more
professional in welcoming visitors and nurturing the spiritual
yearning that lurks in many. Government grants have contributed to
this, and new statistics - that more than a quarter of the adult
population of England visited a cathedral in the past year,
including one fifth of those who said that they belonged to no
religion - will support the present level of funding, however
inadequately it meets the demand.
There are elements of this week's report by the Grubb Institute
and Theos, Spiritual Capital: The present and future of English
cathedrals, which have the potential to irritate further,
however. The report talks, for example, about a cathedral's being
"a beacon of faith", "a space where people can get in touch with
the spiritual and the sacred", and "a hub to engage the life of the
wider community". It would be a poor parish church that could not
lay claim to these attributes. Furthermore, the report describes
the cathedrals' "unique ability to bring together members of the
community in response to local distress". St Peter's, Machynlleth,
could have done with being bigger when it held a service of prayer
for the missing five-year-old, April Jones, a fortnight ago; but
could a service in a cathedral in a distant town have better served
the grieving community in any other respect?
It is unfair, however, to criticise a report too much for what
it does not say. Further research is needed to question those who,
for example, choose never to attend worship in a cathedral even
when they live near by. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
discouraging factors include the very things that attract what the
report calls "peripheral" visitors: size, architectural grandeur,
services that are less participative, and a respect for personal
space that borders on neglect. The fact that most Chapters are
aware of such hazards to belief and fellowship, and have taken
steps to counter them, is a key reason for congregational growth.
Closer examination is needed, however, to discover whether a
pattern exists for the conversion of people from visitors to
pilgrims to believers. Much, too, can be learnt from the
parish-church cathedrals - more diocesan centres than tourist
attractions - and from the greater churches, such as Bath Abbey and
Beverley Minster, which have also experienced growth.
Parish churches can learn many lessons from the success of
cathedrals, not least the need to be open, well maintained, and
provide excellent worship; but cathedrals need to remember, too,
that they work best in partnership with the parishes of the
diocese.