Unlike an "ordinary" church and parish, the Cathedral and its custodians play
several roles in the life of the Diocese.
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For the Diocese.
The Cathedral is the mother church of the diocese and as such seeks be a place
where, as far as possible, all Anglicans within the diocese, regardless of
language and style of worship, should feel at home. The Dean, together with
the Executive Committee of the Cathedral parish, is the custodian of the
Cathedral, on behalf of the Bishop, and must be sensitive to the
responsibilities involved. The Cathedral plays host to several major diocesan
services and other events - including ordinations, consecrations, synods,
electoral assemblies, as well as to smaller gatherings such a Chapter and
Diocesan Council meetings which may utilise other Cathedral parish buildings.
These require substantial planning both for the events themselves and for
peripheral matters such as hospitality and parking, with financial and other
support implications for the Cathedral parish. The Dean is ex officio, the
Senior Priest of the Diocese and as such a member of a wide range of diocesan
and provincial committees. He is usually chosen for the office of Vicar
General during interregna and in the absence of the Bishop.
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For the Municipality.
As is immediately apparent to the most casual visitor, the Cathedral is
the dominant
building in the centre of Grahamstown. It is hence the obvious venue for civic
functions involving worship, and for gatherings of a largely secular nature
which involve important communal and moral issues. Thanksgiving for the safe
return of soldiers engaged in peacekeeping missions beyond our borders;
services seeking God's blessing and His will for Makana Municipal Council;
prayers for the victims of sexual violence, people with HIV/AIDS and for those
who minister to them, are some recent examples. Services with a more personal
focus, such as weddings and funerals of prominent people from all sections of
the community are also held in what is the largest place of worship in the
municipality. The Dean and the Parish Council are pro-active as well as
reactive in responding to civic needs.
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For the Archdeaconry.
The Cathedral parish, as the dominant, if not the most numerous parish in the
Albany Archdeaconry, is expected to provide leadership and to be a role model
for the other parishes. Traditionally, the Cathedral parish was deemed to be
an archdeaconry in its own right, with the Dean as Archdeacon, ex officio, but
today, while some of the responsibility for Archdeaconry matters have been
taken over by the Rural Dean, many still remain as the Rural Dean is not
automatically a member of Chapter (the body which serves as the advisory
committee to the Bishop).
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The Cathedral Parish.
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The Cathedral parish is made up of the Cathedral itself, together with
outstations at Sidbury, Alicedale and Highlands (up to 50 km from the
Cathedral itself), where services are held regularly. While the outstations
are essentially self-supporting and managed by their own councils, they have
often depended on the Cathedral parish for priestly and sacramental services.
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Also, within the parish there are the Anglican chapels at the College of
the Transfiguration (the residential theological college for the Province);
Rhodes University (St Mary & All Angels); St Andrews College (St Andrew);
Diocesan School for Girls; The Community of the Resurrection of Our Lord; The
Order of the Holy Cross (Anglican Benedictines). Regular services are also
held St Andrews Prep; Brookshaw (Old Age Home); Somerset Place (Old Age
Village); Settlers' Hospital and Fort England Psychiatric Hospital's
non-denominational chapel. The Cathedral parish is largely or wholly
responsible for the Anglican students at Rhodes, and for the pastoral care of
those in the hospitals and old age institutions.The other schools which
accommodate boarders make their own arrangements for the pastoral care of
their pupils which tend to vary according to the initiatives taken by the
diverse clergy of several denominations, including the Cathedral staff and the
staff of the schools.
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Within the broader urban catchment area of the Cathedral are the
Anglican churches of Christchurch (established from a bequest, and
traditionally a strict adherent to the 1662 prayerbook); St Bartholemew's (at
one time seen as the church for the white working class as against the
Cathedral with its military officers, professionals and gentry); St Clement's
(originally a "Coloured" chapelry); St Philip's - the Xhosa medium church in
Fingo Village, the earliest black settlement in Grahamstown; and St
Augustine's - built to accommodate the expanding black settlement to the East
of Grahamstown. While these churches were, at their foundation, regrettable
physical manifestations of the diversity of churchmanship, social class and
racist attitudes, each has now its own identity and makes its own distinctive
contributions to the Diocese. With all these congregations, the Cathedral is
in a relationship of dynamic tension. As the mother church for the City and
the Diocese, the Cathedral welcomes worshippers from all parts and
communities, and through its liturgies and music seeks to accommodate the wide
range of languages and Anglican cultural traditions. The largest Sunday
service, at 9.30 am, is supported by a truly "rainbow" congregation, with much
liturgical, linguistic and musical diversity. On the other hand, each of the
congregations seeks the wholehearted support of Anglicans within its own
"traditional" linguistic and ethnic catchment areas.
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Staff
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Paid Staff.
The Dean; the sub-dean (currently subvented by her
diocese in the USA). Secretary/bookkeeper (not full time); verger;
messenger/cleaner; organist/director of music (currently honorary); steeple
keeper (part time).
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Lay ministers.
There are currently sixteen lay ministers. Most assist at
the Sunday eucharists, a few lead the Sunday evensong, a few preach, some have
additional ministries in the institutions indicated in 4.b above and in
visiting those unable to get to the Cathedral for worship, including sick
communions. They have quarterly meetings to discuss their work.
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Executive Committee.
Dean and sub-dean; the two wardens; one alternate
warden; treasurer. Deals mainly with Finance and Maintenance. Meets monthly
and at other times when necessary.
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Parish Council.
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The executive, plus nine other members. Representation is allowed for by the
Theological College, the Anglican Students (at Rhodes) and the Community of
the Resurrection..
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Standing Committees of Council
are for Worship, Mission, and Pastoral
Care.
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The Vestry.
Additional to its Canonical functions, the annual Vestry
receives reports from the standing committees listed above and from about
twenty other bodies within the Parish e.g. sacristans; choir; steeple bells;
handbells; AWF (including a school feeding scheme, hospital visits, catering
for parochial, diocesan and fundraising functions; regular meetings for
worship, fellowship and study); Rhini Garments (employment initiative);
cathedral shop; lay ministers; servers; hospital visitors; National Arts
Festival committee (Spiritfest); audio-sound unit; Sunday schools; youth
group; book shop; the prayer chain etc.
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The Congregation.
The 200 or so people on the Parish Roll or, perhaps more reliably, the 130 on
the Pledging list, represent the core of the worshipping community in the
parish. Attendance at services reflects their liturgical preferences.
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The Sunday 7.30 am service
uses the APB once a month and the SAPB
on the other three or four Sundays, with hymns. It is supported by 30-50
people, depending on the season and the weather, mainly elderly,
traditional
in their liturgical and musical preferences and very faithful to "their"
church.
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The Sunday 9.30 am service
uses the APB, with a sung setting, greater
diversity in language (albeit largely symbolic) and in music (frequently
marimbas, occasionally led by the choir, with classical choral settings at
some festivals). There is a sense of informality, enhanced by the presence of
children from the Sunday school for the latter part of the service, and by
boys from the Street Children's Home some of whom play in the marimba band. It
is seen as "the main service of the day" and is the one most likely to be
attended by University students, visitors to the City (who are many, as they
bring, visit and fetch their children to and from the schools and university,
and include people attending the National Arts Festival and university
conferences ), tourists and occasional local worshippers.
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The Sunday 7 pm service,
preceded for up to an hour by change-ringing
from the Cathedral belfry with its full peal of ten bells, was traditionally a
SAPB evensong with full choir, anthem, sermon and organ voluntary. In keeping
with modern trends towards diversity in worship, during term time, on the
first and third Sundays of the month are "Youth Services" participatory and
evangelical in style; the second Sunday, a Taize meditation service; on the
fourth Sunday the traditional sung evensong with choir and sermon; on the
fifth Sunday "Words and Music" in which individuals are interviewed about
their "journeys in faith" and select their own hymns
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Daily Services
are held at 7 am (eucharist) and 5 pm (evening
prayer -
usually led by a lay minister) from Monday to Friday, with a eucharist and
healing service on Tuesday at 5pm. Congregations tend to be very small except
for the Tuesday healing service.
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Passiontide and major feasts
which fall on weekdays e.g. The Ascension, are
celebrated with the eucharist and liturgies, at the high and nave altars as
are appropriate to the day. Reference has been made (see 1. above) to other
major services at which the servers are required.
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House churches or prayer meetings
take place in several homes in the
parish on a regular basis throughout the year, and are augmented with other
members during the Lent season, involving fifty or more people participating
in planned courses.
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Properties.
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The Cathedral.
The oldest parts of the cathedral date from the 1820s and
the building was finally completed in the 1950s to a design by Gilbert Scott.
It is Victorian neo-gothic in style, with a granite and sandstone exterior,
plastered interior walls with marble pillars. It can accommodate about 500
people. It has not been formally valued, as a rough estimate of its
replacement value for insurance purposes would probably be no less than R80m -
for which the annual premium would amount to about a quarter of the gross
income of the parish. Only the moveable contents are insured.
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The Cathedral Hall and Offices.
The Cathedral Hall, with stage and
kitchen, will seat about 200 people. There is an office for the Secretary, and
for the Dean or sub-dean, and a large committee room which also accommodates
the occasional bookshop and is used for the Sunday school. The Hall is hired
out for functions when not required by the Parish and contributes up to R12
000 pa to Parish funds.
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The Deanery and sub-deanery.
The Deanery is a large Victorian house, set
in its own grounds adjacent to the Cathedral Hall, with adequate reception
rooms and a study for the Dean on the ground floor and completely private
quarters above. There is an additional "bed-sit" attached, which is suitable
for short term guests of the parish, or of the Dean. There is covered parking
for three vehicles and secure space for more. The sub-deanery is a modern
four- bedroom house with adequate reception rooms, a very small study, a
garage and its own entrance, backing on to the Deanery. Each house has its own
substantial garden.
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The Advocates' Chambers.
Built as an investment, the "Advocates' Chambers" accommodate the Diocesan
Offices and most of the members of the Grahamstown Bar. It currently yields
about R130 000 net to the Cathedral parish, which should rise to over R200 000
over the next few years when the mortgage (to the Diocese) is paid off.
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Finances.
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Income.
The total income from all sources is budgetted at about R1m
per annum, of which nearly R350 000 comes from the Planned Giving
"pledging" scheme, supported by about 130 parishioners. Normal collections are
about R50 000; the Parish Fair and other fundraising functions about R25 000;
hire of the Cathedral (for weddings and funerals etc) and the Hall about R12
000; receipts (gross) from the Advocates' Chambers (see 6.d. above) R330 000.
The balance comes from a number of lesser sources.
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Expenditure.
Major items of expenditure are the Diocesan assessment of
about R250 000, costs associated with the Advocates' Chambers (rates, mortgage
repayments, maintenance, audit and agents) of about R200 000. Allowances to
clergy (stipends being paid by the Diocese from the assessments); insurance;
staff costs; maintenance of some elderly buildings; office and communication
costs; municipal services are among other substantial items of expenditure.
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Investments and reserves.
These are very modest, rarely exceeding R100 000, and held in a short-term
deposit, available to level out seasonal fluctuations in income and
expenditure.
Despite the apparent size of the budget and the income which supports it,
there is very little excess and parsimony is the rule of the day in the
Executive Committee. While it may be argued that the Cathedral parish "gives
very little away", it may also be noted that the Cathedral contributes very
much more to the Diocesan assessment than in receives back in clergy salaries
etc., and there are substantial contributions made in time, energy and kind to
the Diocese. This is as it should be from a relatively privileged congregation
in a Diocese characterised by massive unemployment and grinding poverty, not
least among members of our own church.
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Communications.
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Attenders are provided with a service sheet and parish diary,
including
lists of those for whom prayers are asked at each of the Sunday services.
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The parish magazine, "The Spire", is published monthly (with the exception of
January) with the diary of services and other events for the month ahead,
prayer lists, parish council notes, personalia, together with original
contributions from clergy, historians, scholars and poets in the parish.
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Good relations are maintained with the local newspapers which advertise
services and carry "church" articles from time to time.
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Conclusion.
While the Cathedral is the mother church of the diocese, and the Dean its
senior priest, it should be abundantly clear from the foregoing that the
services which are provided to the diocese, the community and the archdeaconry
are based squarely on what is, for the most part, an urban parish church.
Whether one considers the personnel who fulfil the many roles essential to the
smooth running of the cathedral (servers, lay ministers, musicians, sidesmen,
caterers, cleaners, floral decorators etc) or the sources and management of
the finances, it is the faithful parishioners who provide. While the calls
upon the energy and gifts of the Dean are many, sustaining and drawing support
from the parish, and leading the congregation in its life of worship, witness
and service, is at the heart of the ministry.
Michael G. Whisson.
(for the Executive Committee)
Feast of the Finding of St Stephen, commemorating Lucian's discovery of the
saint's relics in Palestine, AD 145. 3rd August 2006.
Updated, Feast of St Philip & St James (recently usurped by St Joseph the
Worker) 1st May 2008