Coronavirus: Peterborough Cathedral closes its doors

It is no longer open to members of the public for private prayer, nor even to clergy who will now be saying the daily services in their own homes.

Other churches and religious buildings have also closed.

The grounds of the Cathedral will remain open so that individuals or small household groups, arriving on foot, can take a walk for exercise whilst maintaining a safe distance from one another. This excludes the Cloisters, which are also closed.

The Cathedral Office has shut up shop, with staff working from home to maintain essential functions, or placed on furlough.

Following a successful live stream of the Mothering Sunday service last week, a form of digital worship, mainly using pre-recorded music and words, will continue on Sundays and perhaps on other occasions during Holy Week and Easter. Information about this will be posted in due course on the Cathedral’s social media and also on this webpage: https://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/services.aspx#livestreamsThe Cathedral has, until now, been acting as a drop off point for donations of food and other items for the homeless in isolation and the Food Bank. Discussions are taking place with the City Council, Light Project Peterborough and other agencies to determine how best to continue this work. Information will be added to this page on the website as soon as it becomes available: https://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/homeless-isolation.aspx.

The Very Revd Chris Dalliston, Dean of Peterborough, said: “Nothing has prepared us for this emergency, the situation is very fluid and we are having to adapt our way of working day by day as the situation unfolds.

“The only constant is God’s love for us and we need to do all we can to respond to that by a deep attentiveness to each other’s needs, keeping safe but maintaining contact by every other means possible.

“At the Cathedral we continue to pray, to communicate, to be here. Please keep in touch. With God’s help and an openness to his leading we shall emerge from this time with a new and deeper sense of community and a clearer vision of his call on our lives.”

The Very Reverend Adrian Dorber, Dean of Lichfield and Chair of Association of English Cathedrals said: “It is with a heavy heart that we close our cathedrals during this crisis as a necessary contribution to keeping all of us healthy and safe.

“This move goes against our established pattern of being open and available for everyone. It is this openness and accessibility that demonstrates the openness and generosity of God’s welcome and love for all people.

“Yet, when human touch and closeness have become risky and even toxic, it doesn’t mean that God is far away, but that the Church has to find new, creative, and imaginative ways of being available, enabling prayer and worship, and listening carefully to everyone’s needs and questions.

“Cathedrals and churches will be keeping their daily patterns of prayer going. They will be at the heart of local initiatives to serve and meet need. They stand, as they always have done, as silent, but permanent signs of God’s presence alongside us.

“We’ll be using every means to stay in touch with our communities and for people to feel they can access these places of assurance, delight and inspiration.” People are still encouraged to keep in touch with the Cathedral and can do so via email on [email protected], or via the Cathedral’s social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Cathedral’s phone number - 01733 355315 – will also be checked regularly for messages.

A prayer in lockdown

The doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked. (John 20.19)

Ever present God,

be with us in our isolation,

be close to us in our distancing,

be healing in our sickness,

be joy in our sadness,

be light in our darkness,

be wisdom in our confusion,

be all that is familiar when all is unfamiliar,

that when the doors reopen

we may with the zeal of Pentecost

inhabit our communities

and speak of your goodness

to an emerging world.

For Jesus’ sake.

Amen.