MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL is set to become one of the first to run
its own TV channel.
It is producing a series of programmes, which will be shown on
YouTube in the coming months, that will explain and promote events
and the workings of the Church.
The first, The Guide, is already available to view on
the cathedral's website. It is a 15-minute report on events, music,
art, and the cathedral's staff. More items will be uploaded to
The Guide in the coming weeks.
A subsequent programme, Meditations, will show music
from the cathedral's services and regular concerts.
The Dean of Manchester, the Very Revd Rogers Govender, said: "We
want to remove all walls and barriers of a church which can date
its origins back to the 11th century. People across the city,
across all our communities, and even the country, can hear our
inclusive message, share our history, legacy, and the beauty of art
and music.
"Our message of peace and justice in a world torn apart by
division, as well as military and natural disasters, will resonate
with all those who seek to build the common good in a society and
world where all can thrive and flourish.
"Television and the internet are powerful ways to communicate
with people of all faiths or none. These new programmes on our own
YouTube channel will test the water as we explore the production of
regular high-quality broadcasts, on our own website and social
media channels; so those who know this building can join a new
generation in sharing in the historic legacy and inspiration which
this iconic building brings to a bustling post-industrial city"
In The Guide, Dean Govender said: "TV is a great medium
to share the story. Television is very accessible, people can
switch on and take in what we are all about."
The communications expert Chris Bird, who is developing the
channel, said: "The Established Church has been slow to embrace the
real opportunities presented by social media, but now Manchester
wishes to be a world leader and become one of the first cathedrals
in England to regularly broadcast from its breathtaking
surroundings, and share the gift which the people of past centuries
have left the people of this era."
www.manchestercathedral.org/manchester-cathedral-tv