New Year Message from the Dean

I’m writing to wish you a very happy, creative, and fulfilling new year!

I quoted from the recent film ‘Conclave’ in my Christmas sermon that, ‘the Church is what it does next’. At a time when it feels that so much scaffolding in society seems to be dismantling, and when there is a brooding turbulence in nations and in the relationship between many of them, the Christian community is called to attentiveness, discernment, and courage in witnessing to the truths that lie at the heart of our faith. We do this because of our commitment to human dignity, to the common good, social cohesion, and to justice. We are also committed to hope. Southwark Cathedral renews this commitment as a resolution for 2025.

We have an exciting year ahead of us. This month there are a few things to look out for:

On Sunday 5 January, at 9.45am in the Library, I will explore the spiritual discipline of making a ‘rule of life’ as the new year begins. All are welcome, especially if you don’t know what a rule of life is!

On Tuesday 7 January at 3.15pm there will be a concert of song and verse given by Cathedral Lay-Clerks Francis Bamford (alto), James Gant (tenor), and Peter Brooks (bass). I’ll be adding a reflection or two on the poets whose words are set to music, George Herbert, William Blake, and TS Eliot.

On Sunday 19 January, at 12.30pm, in the Cathedral, The Rev’d Dr Ayla Lepine will give an illustrated talk: ‘Seeing the Spirit: Liberation and Justice in Art by Women’. She will explore the work of Claudette Johnson, Corita Kent, and Barbara Walker, and the relationship of their art with social justice. There will be an opportunity for questions, and the event will be finished at 1.30pm. This is the first of our ‘Visual Theology on a Sunday’ series of talks and all are very welcome! Ayla is Associate Rector of St James’, Piccadilly, and her book ‘Women, Art, God’ comes out later this year.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is kept from the 18^th to 25^th January, the octave of St Peter and St Paul. This year we will pray with our brothers and sisters from St George’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. On Sunday 19 at 3pm St George’s Choir and clergy will come to us to sing Vespers, and on Sunday 26 our Choir and clergy will go to St George’s to sing Evensong. I hope you’ll be able to join us for these important occasions to celebrate the Christian faith we share.

For the diary, you may want to make a note of some theological book talks we will be hosting in the Retrochoir, in the Cathedral, on Wednesdays after Evening Prayer. On February 19^th I’ll be talking about ‘The Splash of Words’, on 9^th April Chine MacDonald will explore her new ‘Unmasking Mary’, Claire Gilbert comes on 7 May to discuss here ‘I, Julian’, and Giles Goddard tells us about ‘Generous Faith’ on 25 June. On 8 October, Ben Ryan addresses ‘Modern Slavery – Theology and the Church’.

Talking of the evil of modern slavery, this year we are focusing on raising awareness of it, training, and have planned events for survivors. We have a number of events planned for the congregation and friends, so please keep your eye out and come and join the movement against exploitation. We begin on 9 January with a training event for the Cathedral staff.

Over the coming year, please pray for me as I do for you. Please hold the cathedral in your prayers. We have much to celebrate and much to do!

Mark