DEAN OF EXETER
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE DIOCESE AND
CATHEDRAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
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The Diocese
General Description
The Diocese and the Cathedral
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Brief History
Mission Statement
Organisational Structure and Management of the Cathedral
The Cathedral Council
The College of Canons
The Community Committee
Dean and Chapter
The Senior Management Team
Liturgy and Music
Visitors
Pastoral Care
Mission and Evangelism including Fresh Expressions
Faith Development
Education, Library and Archives
Finance and Trusts
Financial Summary
Exeter Cathedral Enterprises
The Third Millenium Campaign
Maintenance and Conservation
Exeter Cathedral School
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The Cathedral
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INTRODUCTION
This document is intended to paint a picture of life in Exeter Diocese and at Exeter
Cathedral. The document is divided into sections: first, there is a brief history of the
diocese and an overview of its activities; secondly, there is a very brief history of the
Cathedral which concludes with its Mission Statement; and thirdly, information from the
various departments and groups that help make up the many diverse communities of the
Cathedral has been pulled together by the Cathedral Chapter to provide a picture of
Cathedral life for candidates.
This document will need to be read in conjunction with the Annual Report and Accounts
(2009, 2010), the Cathedral Development Plan and candidates will also wish to look at the
Diocesan Website.
Useful sites
www.exeter.anglican.org
www.exeter-cathedral.org.uk
http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=10063
http://www.exeterandeastdevon.gov.uk/
Much of this material is also in the Annual Report and Accounts
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THE DIOCESE
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DIOCESE
Devon is the largest county in England and the Diocese is almost coterminous with the
county boundary, covering 2,700 square miles. Broadly speaking there are three main areas
in the county with Dartmoor at the centre; i.e., North Devon, East Devon and a broad
coastal band in the south from Exeter to Plymouth.
The Diocese has a population of c. 1,100,000 with three main centres of population - Exeter
126,000 (although having a significant travel to work area with a population double that
size); Torbay 135,000; and Plymouth 260,000. There are a few towns of over 10,000 and a
very large number of smaller towns and villages, frequently divided from each other by steep
hills and valleys. Parts of north Devon are remote with scattered small villages and hamlets.
Tourism provides more employment than any other industry in Devon and it brings
seasonal employment to both the north and south coasts. There are over 10,000 farms,
few of which are more than 1000 acres. The farming community has suffered very severely
in recent years and it is now trying to cope with the re-shaping of the whole agricultural
industry. The modern economy focuses on the development of the service and
manufacturing industries.
The Bishop of Exeter has overall responsibility for the diocese, which has four
Archdeaconries - Exeter, Totnes, Plymouth and Barnstaple. There is in operation an
informal area scheme with the Suffragan Bishop of Crediton having devolved episcopal
responsibilities for the Archdeaconries of Exeter and Barnstaple, and the Bishop of
Plymouth for Totnes and Plymouth. There are 25 deaneries (Exeter 8, Totnes 6, Barnstaple
6 and Plymouth 5). The Dean, particularly as the incumbent matures in the role, has a
distinctive role in being able to share with the Bishop, albeit from a particular perspective, a
view of the whole Diocese rather than one part of it.
In March 2004 the Diocesan Synod adopted the report of a working party set up by the
Bishop to propose patterns of ministry for future working in the Diocese. The report,
entitled ‘Moving On in Mission and Ministry’, has the overarching objective that every local
community should experience a full expression of what it means to be the Church. This
also has the benefit that it will remove the need for continual on-going pastoral
reorganisation throughout the diocese. The report particularly recommended that Mission
Communities should be encouraged to work together with the Bishops and their Diocesan
Officers to encourage and plan for an increase in vocations to self-supporting ministry. It
was also clear that those who are appointed to stipendiary posts within the Diocese will be
people who are willing to assist in working through the proposals contained within the
report and who will look forward to putting them into practice. There was also a
recognition that this would often mean working in new ways.
More recently, the report ‘Moving On in Growth’ has set targets for an overall 25%
increase in all-age Average Sunday Attendance across the diocese between 2009 and 2013
and the vocational discernment and training of 150 new Readers and Ordained Ministers by
the end of 2013. These are both underpinned by new programmes of education for
discipleship, pioneer ministry, wider vocational discernment and a foundation course in
theology.
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A third key policy area focuses on a commitment to shrink our Carbon footprint, and the
Diocese has been recognised as a leader in the field in this respect. The Cathedral has
signed up to this agenda but there is much to do to turn this into concrete action.
In recent years the Bishop’s Diocesan Council (comprising the Bishop’s Council and
Standing Committee, the directors of the Diocesan Board of Finance and the Diocesan
Mission and Pastoral Committee) together with Diocesan Synod have exercised a robust
and coherent management of finance and other resources. The key priority for all
members of the Bishop’s Staff is to cooperate together with all those involved in Ministry to
foster vibrant expressions of God’s Mission in local settings (parishes, benefices and mission
communities), in order to make new disciples of Christ and to both nurture and challenge
existing disciples.
THE DIOCESE AND THE CATHEDRAL
Exeter is unusual, if not unique, in having the Bishop’s palace (and residence) physically
attached to the Cathedral. The Bishop and his personal staff and the Dean and Chapter to a
large extent share a common space and common life, and there is still a sense of the
Chapter as part of ‘the Bishop’s household’. Since 1950 there has been no separate chapel
within the Bishop’s house (although there is a small room chapel or oratory for private
prayer). The Bishop joins the Dean and Chapter for Morning Prayer each day when in
Exeter, and Bishop’s Staff Eucharists and the Licensing of Ministers frequently take place in
the Lady Chapel or the Chapel of St Gabriel. Currently the Bishop habitually presides at the
daily Eucharist on Mondays with an intention for the clergy of the Diocese and their families.
The Diocese of Exeter has a strong commitment to the diversity of the Church of England
which is reflected in the Bishop of Exeter’s staff team. It will be important that new Dean is
also committed to this vision and with the Chapter, to the modelling of the Cathedral as a
place where difference is held together in unity, assisting the Chapter and the College to be
places of safety and integrity for dialogue and engagement, working to achieve the greatest
possible degree of communion, not least within its own corporate life and across the
diocese, but also having a constant concern for the good of the whole Church
THE CATHEDRAL
BRIEF HISTORY
The Cathedral was founded in 1050 by St Edward the Confessor who moved the see from
Crediton. Shortly afterwards he re-founded Westminster Abbey. Although the original
Saxon Church in Exeter, dedicated to St Mary and St Peter, was a monastic community, the
new Cathedral, like London, Lincoln, Salisbury and York was soon re-established with a
group of secular canons who formed part of the Bishop’s household and had become the
favoured Norman way of staffing Cathedrals; Exeter is, therefore, a Cathedral of the old
Foundation. Interestingly, Exeter did not have a Dean for its first 175years; the only
dignitaries were four Archdeacons, the Precentor and Treasurer and an Archdeacon
presided over the Chapter. The first Dean was Serlo, formerly Archdeacon of Exeter,
elected to chair the Chapter in 1225 under the episcopate of Bishop Brewer who also
created the dignitary of Chancellor and provided land for a Chapter House, thus bringing
Exeter in line with the administration of other Cathedrals at that time. At this time, Exeter
had 24 canons (including the dignitaries and 4 Archdeacons, 24 vicars choral, 12 secondaries
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and 14 choristers. In addition there were the chantry priests who were known as annuellars
and lived in a separate college. It is thought that some of the misericords in the Quire, the
oldest set in England, date from this period.
The first Norman Cathedral was built on the site of the Saxon monastery under the
oversight of Bishop William Warelwast, nephew to William the Conqueror, and we will be
able to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the re-building of the Norman Cathedral in 2014.
But in 1258, Bishop Walter Bronescombe attended the consecration of the re-built
Salisbury cathedral and began a massive re-building programme at Exeter, beginning with the
Lady Chapel, resulting in the present church considered to be among the finest examples of
Decorated Gothic Architecture in Western Europe. The High Altar of the ‘new work’ at the
Eastern end was consecrated on 18th December 1328 by Bishop John Grandisson and the
Nave was completed towards the end of his episcopate shortly before he died in 1369. A
significant feature of the re-building was the retention of the two Norman towers and the
footprint of much of the original Cathedral, resulting in a unique design with the towers
straddling either side of the centre of the building (forming the transepts) and providing the
longest single span of uninterrupted gothic vaulting in the world. The building contains
many medieval images and much medieval polychrome; Exeter clearly corrects the
misconceived notion that English Christians liked things plain. The accompanying guidebook or Cathedral website will give you an insight into this beautiful building.
The Cathedral did not suffer as badly as some in the destruction brought about by the
Reformation and, like many churches, suffered more damage during the Commonwealth
period at the hands of Puritans. Apart from the Commonwealth period, the daily singing of
services has been uninterrupted from the formation of the choir at the beginning of the
Cathedral’s history. The Cathedral School is over 850 years old and possibly older and the
Cathedral played a part in the establishment of the first teacher-training college in the
country, St Luke’s College, now part of the University of Exeter.
In 1942, during the first so-called Baedeker raid in retaliation to the bombing of Lubeck, the
Cathedral was hit by a high-explosive bomb which destroyed St James’ Chapel and narrowly
missed bringing down the vaulting of the Quire. The Sacristies, the Choir School, the Hall
of the Vicars’ Choral, the Headmaster’s House, several Canons’ Houses and the College of
the Annuellars were all destroyed. This has had a profound effect on the life of the
Cathedral; the chapel was re-built and the school inhabited two former Archdeacon’s
houses but provision for the school, the sacristy and other vestries has remained poor and
their replacement is currently part of several projects underway. The occupation of several
buildings by the Cathedral School also means that those buildings are unable to be
developed or used for any other Chapter purpose.
The Cathedral still receives large numbers of visitors but, because of limitations in historical
endowment and the high cost of maintaining a medieval cathedral, there is now a charge for
tourists to enter the Cathedral (administered similar to schemes found at York or Ely).
The Cathedral is not a parish Church but, like most English cathedrals, has bucked the trend
of decline in church attendance, seeing a slow but steady growth in worshippers over the
past 15 years. Currently the Community Roll stands at nearly 1000 and there are 35 fulltime and part-time paid staff and up to 40 choristers and their families. On a normal Sunday,
average attendance across the four services is around 450 with around 250 communicants
at the 09.45am Eucharist. Christmas Communicants in 2010 were 616 and Easter
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Communicants 2011 646; Attendances at all the services at Christmas was approx 3650 and
at Easter approx. 1350
MISSION STATEMENT
The Dean and Chapter are responsible, on behalf of the Bishop, for caring for the
Cathedral, both the building and its communities, and for maintaining the corporate life and
Christian witness. Their mission is to seek to follow Jesus’ central command “to love God
and to love all people”
Their guiding principles are as follows
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“We will worship God, revealed in the Christian traditions, as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit
We will tell the Christian story in what we say and what we do, through the glories
of the building and through the treasures of the past to both friend and stranger
We will work with the Bishop and diocese of Exeter; its parishes and its mission
communities and also those of other Christian traditions, in furthering the growth of
God’s kingdom in Devon
As a governing body, the Chapter will work together collaboratively, ensuring that all
strategic decisions have consensus support
We will be accessible and inclusive and we will reach out to all
We will welcome and seek to inspire all who visit the Cathedral, whether they come
to us for sacred or secular purposes and regardless of their age or way of life
We will make sensory experience(music, architecture, art, literature, environment,
food and drink) a central tenet of Cathedral life and in so doing, we will forge a link
between the spirit and the senses
We will preserve our heritage and our facilities
We will always value our staff and our volunteers and will work hard to support
them, both personally and professionally
We will make the reduction of our impact on the environment a key requirement in
any future enhancement to the Cathedral. We will work to reduce our carbon
footprint wherever we can by using energy efficient, sustainable technology and
power source”
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE
CATHEDRAL
The life of the Cathedral is governed by its Constitution and Statutes enacted under an
Instrument, which came into force on 24 November 2001 under the terms of The
Cathedrals Measure 1999. The Constitution and Statutes were amended, and the revision
came into force on 18 May 2007.
Under the Constitution and Statutes the Body Corporate of the Cathedral must have a
Council, a Chapter, a College of Canons and a Finance Committee. The first three bodies
together make up the body corporate known as ‘The Cathedral Church of St Peter in
Exeter’ with perpetual succession and a common seal. The Chapter has the legal
responsibility to direct and manage the life and mission of the Cathedral. In addition, the
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Cathedral has a Fabric Advisory Committee with statutory authority to consider all matters
relating to the fabric and in prescribed cases to make determinations allowing or refusing
permission to undertake works that alter the historic fabric or appearance of the building.
This operates under the provisions of The Care of Cathedrals Measure 1990 as amended
and revised in 2006. A Community Committee provides a forum for the Cathedral’s
worshipping community to comment on aspects of Cathedral ministry and to deal with
delegated responsibilities. Drawing these bodies together in a common purpose and
connecting them and their different responsibilities will be a key theme of the ministry of
the next Dean.
THE CATHEDRAL COUNCIL
Exeter Cathedral’s Constitution and Statutes make provision for a Council of twenty
members. The Chairman, currently Geoffrey Bush CB DL, is appointed by the Bishop; the
Dean is an ex officio member; eight members are chosen or elected by the Chapter, the
College of Canons and from among those on the Cathedral Community Roll; and ten are
also appointed by the Bishop to reflect a wide range of relevant experience and interests.
The Council has statutory rights and responsibilities under The Measure. In the words of
the Constitution, the Council has a duty ‘to further and support the work of the Cathedral,
spiritual, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical, reviewing and advising upon the
direction and oversight of that work by the Chapter and in particular, without prejudice to
the generality of the foregoing, to:
i.
consider proposals submitted by the Chapter in connection with the general
direction and mission of the Cathedral and to give advice on them to the Chapter,
ii. receive and consider the annual budget of the Cathedral,
iii. receive and consider the annual report and audited accounts, and
iv. consider proposals submitted by the Chapter in connection with this Constitution
and Statutes of the Cathedral with a view to their review under Part II of ‘The
Measure.’
The Council has powers to:
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request reports from the Chapter on any matter concerning the Cathedral,
discuss and declare its opinion on any such matter, and
draw any matter to the attention of the Visitor (the Bishop) or the Church
Commissioners.
The Council meets every quarter to review and consider, in addition to the Cathedral’s
formal accounts and budgets, progress with specific projects or other matters of current
importance as well as, periodically, progress with the Cathedral’s rolling Development Plan
which reflects the Chapter’s priorities for the short and medium term.
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THE COLLEGE OF CANONS
The College is, by constitution and statutes, a part of the Cathedral’s essential foundation.
It provides a breadth of diocesan involvement in the life of the Cathedral. It consists of up
to 26 Prebendaries (drawn from the clergy of the diocese, appointed by the Bishop), four
Lay Canons, two Canons Theologian, the two Suffragan Bishops of the diocese, the four
Archdeacons and all members of the Chapter. The Dean is the College’s president, and the
Bishop of Exeter has a standing invitation to be present when the College meets.
The College meets formally twice a year, with an optional third meeting if the Bishop
requests consideration by the College of any particular matter.
THE COMMUNTY COMMITTEE
The Committee meets three times a year. They hear reports from the Chapter, the
Cathedral Council, Deanery, Diocesan and General Synods, the Fellowship and Christians
Together in Central Exeter among others. They have a policy of maintaining reports from
these groups on a regular basis, as these are the ones which most clearly relate to the
business of the community. They have a Collections Committee who organise the monthly
collections which are given away, whose plans are ratified by the whole Committee and
have also given away the 10% monies to nominated charities, thus maintaining the outreach
policy of giving to registered charities from the Cathedral Community as a whole. In 2010
these have included monies to Shelterbox for Haiti, the Anglican Centre in Rome (annual
donation), the Society of Mary and Martha for the Long Barn Appeal, NightChurch, the DEC
for Pakistan, Soup on a Run (SOAR) and the Peninsula Initiative for discharged prisoners.
There is an ongoing programme of new work which picks up topical issues and does a piece
of work to help in a specific situation; last year it was supporting the Environment and Social
Justice Group as they seek Fair Trade Status for the Cathedral. The committee also keeps
the Cathedral up to date with news of Thika and the building of the Cathedral there.
An AGM is held in July on the Sunday in Petertide after the Orchestral Mass, followed by a
buffet lunch in the Chapter House.
DEAN AND CHAPTER
The Dean is Chair of the Chapter, which, with him or her, contains up to nine members.
There are four Residentiary Canons and four Chapter Canons. Of the four Residentiary
Canons, two, the Canon Pastor and the Canon Precentor, are ‘Commissioners’ Canons’
working full time in the Cathedral with stipends paid by the Church Commissioners. The
Canon Chancellor and Canon Missioner are employed for most of their working time within
the Diocese. The Chapter contribute in proportion to their stipends and housing costs –
currently 20% and 10% respectively. The Canon Missioner spends up to a further 10% of
her time on diocesan mission projects within the Cathedral.
There are four further members of the Chapter known as Chapter Canons, at least three of
whom must be lay people and the fourth may be lay or ordained. The Cathedral does not
remunerate these but they are entitled to expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.
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Chapter had ten business meetings through the year with a two-day residential meeting in
2010.
At end of 2010, Chapter portfolio responsibilities were as follows:
The Dean – Fabric of the Cathedral; Third Millennium Campaign
The Canon Precentor – Liturgy and Music; Safeguarding of Children & Vulnerable Adults
The Canon Pastor – Pastoral Care; Visitor Services
The Canon Missioner – Mission and Outreach
The Canon Chancellor – Theological Nurture; Minor Trusts; Library and Archives
Chapter Canon Hannah Foster – Personnel; Communications
Chapter Canon Jonathan Harris – Finance
Chapter Canon Elsa Wakefield – Education & Learning
The Administrator – Cathedral Enterprises
Chapter Canon Clive Cohen, recently retired Archdeacon of Bodmin, was installed on 19th
June.
The Chapter continued to value its Priest Vicars and Cathedral Readers, who assist in the
leading of worship both on Sundays and mid-week. For some years the Cathedral has had a
place for part-time and full-time priests acting as Succentor or Sacrist and School Chaplain
but has also become a spiritual home for a number of self-supporting ministers. The
Cathedral has two readers and from 2012 will have a permanent deacon on the staff.
Members of Chapter are fully involved in the life of the diocese. The Dean is a member of
the Bishop’s Staff Meeting, Bishop’s Diocesan Council and Diocesan Synod; the Canon
Chancellors works as Director of the Council for Worship and Ministry and the Canon
Missioners has a role in the Council for Mission and Unity.
THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
The specific purpose of the SMT is to implement the Chapter’s policies and to report on the
progress of their implementation, in addition to monitoring day-to-day operational issues.
Chaired by the Administrator, the SMT normally meets fortnightly and both reports to and
offers advice to the Chapter on a broad remit of management and operational matters. The
SMT comprises department heads and executives with operational responsibilities and
includes both Commissioners’ Canons and the Dean. The Shop and Café Managers also
have the opportunity of input to the SMT’s business
LITURGY AND MUSIC
The mission of the Cathedral is to bring together the sacred and secular, the spirit and the
senses. Although the liturgical and spiritual life of the Cathedral is broadly within the
Catholic tradition of the Church of England, its mission is to welcome all and in no way is
the Cathedral monochrome in its usage; the liturgical life of the Cathedral is varied and
sometimes exploratory. Having a staple diet that is centred on the daily office and the
Eucharist, the Cathedral is open to finding new ways of praying and engaging with the
various communities that belong to the Cathedral and visitors to the Cathedral.
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The Cathedral is also a place where City and County find a place to gather, to pray and to
worship; the regular civic services, legal Sunday, regimental services, the agricultural
community and gatherings for Devon-wide organizations such as the Women’s Institute,
Young Farmers’ Clubs, the RNLI, Hospiscare, charities and schools bring colour and vitality
into our worship and also make connections deep into the heart of Devon.
Although worship can use much traditional ceremonial (vestments, lights, incense, images
etc) equally there are opportunities for much simpler worship and gatherings including
regular periods of worship concerned with peace and justice, family life and the Cathedral’s
own Fresh Expression ‘Nightchurch’ which has run every Friday evening from 8-10pm (except
in August) by a group of Pioneer Disciples and is soon to be re-launched on a Sunday
evening. The ministry of healing is offered most Mondays, the Mothers’ Union meet
monthly and there are prayer groups and bible study groups that meet regularly including
the Julian (Silent Prayer) group.
More overtly Evangelical and Charismatic worship happens infrequently but groups of all
church styles are welcomed at the Cathedral; this year saw a major gathering of Evangelical
Christians from all denominations gather for a celebration. The image of Our Lady of
Walsingham was brought for a day of pilgrimage ending in Benediction. From these
extremes to the daily round, the Cathedral attempts to reach out to all.
The Cathedral School has been commended by OFSTED in its provision of worship for
children who engage readily with liturgical and non-liturgical forms; the children’s learning to
pray teaches the adults in the Cathedral how to be more open to the promptings of the
Spirit.
The Cathedral keeps a full observance of Holy Week with addresses offered each day by a
conductor, often a member of the Chapter but sometimes from outside the Cathedral
community. The Easter Triduum is celebrated with full ceremonial and is attracting large
numbers at the moment – the Good Friday Liturgy has had to move into the Nave because
of numbers attending and the Ecumenical service and Walk of Witness prior to it has grown
equally exponentially, with the cathedral filled to capacity. The Easter Vigil is a Diocesan
celebration of initiation and involves the Diocesan Choir and a Music Group. There are 20
sung services in Holy Week.
Special events in the life of the Cathedral include Petertide (with a mix of worship and
concerts), Ordinations, Readers’ day, Trafalgar anniversary day, the legal service, the Lord
Mayor’s Service, a children’s day, a diocesan Corpus Christi festival, and many Christmas
carol services and concerts including many visits from schools and colleges. Links with the
armed services are strong and there are regular regimental services and commemorations.
The Cathedral also is a place for baptisms, confirmations, marriages and funerals. The
number of these pastoral liturgy is growing as the Cathedral congregations continue to
expand.
Music is also varied and there is a place for informal music groups as well as more creative
ways of making music, for example, this year there will be a Jazz Vespers, a Jazz Mass, a
celebration of Gospel music, Taizé, Iona, four Bach Cantatas, an Orchestral Mass and four
school outreach concerts. The development of participative music and especially
responsorial singing is growing. The Cathedral sees music as part of its mission and
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outreach and not simply for its worship. Whilst it is true to say that a large number of
regular worshipers prefer more traditional music and hymnody, the congregations have
entered readily over the past few years into new territory and have tried new things. The
American musician Marty Haugen spent a weekend with us recently exploring how the
congregation and the choir can interact in worship. The Cathedral does not have a regular
‘worship band’ but is able to provide one from its membership when needed and, indeed,
has been able to provide a Jazz ensemble and instrumental ensembles also.
The choir of the Cathedral consists of up to 18 boy choristers and 18 girl choristers,
currently 7 Lay Vicars and 6 choral scholars (university or gap-year students). During the
singing term, the choir sings Evensong every evening at 5.30pm except for Wednesdays (the
exception being when Wednesday is an eve of a feast day or is a feast day itself), Evensong
on Saturdays at 3pm, and three services on a Sunday (09.45am Sung Eucharist, 11.15am
Mattins, 3pm Evensong). There are occasional sung services on Sundays sung by the St
Peter’s Singers and using a variety of liturgical styles and music. On feast days there is a
Solemn Eucharist at 5.30pm with Evensong on the previous day being ‘of the eve’. If a feast
day falls on a Saturday, the Solemn Eucharist is offered on the Friday evening.
The Virgers department is part of the department of Liturgy and Music.
The Cathedral’s Musical Outreach Project is one of the gems of the Cathedral and seen
nationally as exemplary. The project was trialled before the Government’s Sing Up! initiative
and was, thus, able to receive funding for several years directly from Government Sources.
Currently we visit 6 or more schools per term several times, the final visit including a group
of choristers, and working with children and teachers. The term’s project ends in a concert
from all the children at the cathedral led by their teachers and our own staff and choristers.
The partnership with Devon County Council is hugely important. The project is currently
funded by the Dean and Chapter and various external Trust funds. The Cathedral Choir
also sings twice a term in a parish of the Diocese on a Sunday evening.
Sundays
08.00 Holy Communion (BCP)
09.45 Sung Eucharist and Sermon (CW Order 1) at the nave Altar
11.15 Choral Mattins and Sermon (BCP)
15.00 Choral Evensong (BCP)
Weekdays
08.00 The Eucharist (CW Order 1)
08.30 Morning Prayer (Daily prayer)
13.00 Healing Service Mondays only
13.15 The Eucharist (CW Order 1) Wednesdays only
15.00 Choral Evensong (BCP) Saturdays
17.30 Choral Evensong (BCP) usually said or a visiting choir on Wednesdays
20.00 NightChurch Fridays only (moving to Sundays)
Festivals
17.00 Evening Prayer (Daily Prayer)
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17.30 Solemn Eucharist (CW Order 1) at the High Altar using Incense
VISITORS
In 2010 over 130,000 visitors were welcomed, 800+ group visits organised in various
languages and in excess of 350 daily tours provided!
4,500 school children visited the Cathedral. The children took part in a variety of tours and
trails and creative activities including clay gargoyle making and brass rubbing. The new
brasses which were funded by the Cathedral Friends depict both signs and symbols of the
Christian faith and images of the Cathedral; they have been a huge success.
Central to this ministry to visitors is the contribution of a large number of dedicated
volunteer Stewards and Guides.
The new Cathedral ‘swipe’ cards were launched later in the year and to-date 1,307 have
been issued, with approx. 45 new application forms received every week! The information
collected from these new cards will not only help improve the Cathedral’s welcome but also
the understanding of visitors’ needs.
The English walk round guide has recently been translated into 16 languages including
Arabic. An audio tour, which is currently in production, will also be available next summer.
Two short term appointments have recently been made – an Education Officer a Volunteer
Co-ordinator - with funding from HLF for 12 months to construct activities plans in support
of a further HLF bid which aims in part to gain funding for education resources.
PASTORAL CARE
The Cathedral is a place where primary pastoral care is offered through the daily voluntary
chaplaincy ministry of both ordained and lay ministers. This emphasis on a shared ministry
of the ordained with the laity mirrors the diocese’s approach in ‘Moving on in Mission and
Ministry’. The Canon Pastor is currently developing and strengthening the pastoral care
teams and attempting to rationalise the diverse groups that currently operate (listing,
chaplaincy, healing, visiting etc).
The Eucharistic Ministers of the Cathedral have been trained under the direction of the
Canon Precentor in a three-session course that also explores the ministry of taking the
Communion to the sick and the housebound. There is a need to develop this ministry so
that all who were once regular worshippers at the Cathedral may receive Communion
regularly again. The responsibility for this large group of ministers currently is shared by the
Precentor and the Pastor and the group meet for further training, mutual support and
prayer.
The Cathedral is a place of diverse communities and the pastoral care of them all has to be
realistically tackled when human resources are stretched. With nearly 1000 people on the
Community role it is impossible for one priest to shoulder this responsibility; the choir,
itself, is as large as many small to medium sized churches in the Diocese! There are 40 paid
employees of the Cathedral and nearly 400 volunteers. The Cathedral also receives large
numbers of visitors throughout the year but particularly between Easter and October half
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term. Each of the departments have to shoulder some of the care of those who work and
volunteer within the Cathedral. The school currently does not have a full-time chaplain so
pastoral care is shared between the part-time acting lay chaplain, the Precentor and the
Pastor. Until last year the Precentor chaired the Pastoral Committee, this has now passed
to the Canon Pastor who is now working with the Precentor on the provision of school
worship.
MISSION AND EVANGELISM
The two key missional outreach projects that the Canon Missioner currently supports are:
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Nightchurch
Soup On A Run (SOAR)
Nightchurch was established almost four years ago as a ‘Fresh Expression’ of church based
in the Cathedral on Friday evenings (8-10pm) offering space, reflections, a fair trade café,
conversations and a short act of Night Prayer. Nightchurch has hosted a number of
fundraising events in partnership with Christian Aid and also a number of special events such
as a Jazz Mass and a Youth celebration. It was hoped that Nightchurch would swell into a
congregational community who would relate to Night church as their ‘Church’, particular
drawing in those born after 1960 (Gen X & Y). Although Nightchurch has attracted
between 50/150 people on Friday nights this has been mainly through folk ‘passing through’
and the homeless accessing the cafe rather than settling into a regular community. This is
being addressed and Nightchurch is ‘resting’ from August 2011 with a view to re-launching
on Sunday evenings in October 2011. The ‘new look’ Nightchurch will have a more
structured evening and a stronger focus on worship, welcome and membership.
SOAR happens every Wednesday evening in South Street, Exeter serving hot food to
around 60 homeless or vulnerably housed people. This is a much appreciated ministry and is
run and funded by members of the Cathedral community.
Soup Run - SOAR
The Cathedral sponsored Soup Run on Wednesday evenings continues to flourish and we
currently have 13 volunteers working in rotation feeding a simple hot meal to approximately
50 disadvantaged men and women each Wednesday between 6pm and 7pm on the corner
of South Street and Fore Street. In addition to the meal and hot drinks, warm clothing and
bedding are often provided and this service is very popular particularly in cold weather.
There is a continued need to recruit volunteers; to increase funding and find sources of free
or reduced cost food, if this valuable outreach work is to continue, especially as clients will
be particularly vulnerable to the coming government cuts in social services.
The Canon Missioner is also involved in supporting the Environment and Social Justice
Committee. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and have Fairtrade
Church status. The Cathedral now asks what can be done to reduce its carbon footprint as
a matter of course; there is an agreement, in principle, to the replacement of gas boilers
with bio-mass boilers and the installation on photo-voltaic panels on the roof.
FAITH DEVELOPMENT
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The Cathedral has a number of strands that it uses to help develop and encourage the faith
of those who are regular members of the various communities, and those who are
occasional visitors.
There are occasional lectures and short lecture series, with recent ones focusing on
‘Anglicanism’ and on some of the ‘Living stones’ of the Christian faith.
An ‘Adult Sunday School’ series is run on Sunday mornings during Lent. In 2010 the focus
was on the Five Marks of Mission, and in 2011 was on the possible development of a ‘Rule
of life’ for Exeter Cathedral.
A regular ‘Third Sunday’, provides the Sunday 0945 congregation with the opportunity to
‘talk back’ to the preacher and engage them in questions about the sermon.
A ’First Thursday’ series aims to explore some of the wider issues of religions faith and life
such as modern bio-ethical issues, sustainability, Inter faith dialogue, materialism,
fundamentalism, and so on.
Preparation for the admission of children to Communion before Confirmation is offered
annually alongside preparation for baptism and/or confirmation of young people and adults.
The ‘rhythm of life’ project
The idea of a 'rule of life' can sound a bit daunting. But at its heart it is simply a way of
helping us focus on the commitments made at our baptism and confirmation.
Exeter Cathedral was never a monastic community, but its heartbeat has always been a daily
rhythm of prayer and reflection, using scripture, formal and informal prayers, music, silence,
art and even the created world. The Chapter have committed themselves to a journey of
discovering afresh what that rhythm of life might look like for Exeter Cathedral at the
beginning of the 21st Century. A continuing exploration of a vision of making neighbours
from strangers, and of making the connections between sacred and secular, spirit and
senses, has identified two key questions: How all those who experience something of the
life of the Cathedral, from the Bishop and Dean to the occasional visitor, can be helped to
catch something of that rhythm? And how can the Cathedral help the beat of that rhythm
resonate with the beat that goes on in people's daily lives?
Lent 2011 introduced the idea of a contemporary 'rule of life' that might be entered into at
different levels by different people in different parts of the Cathedral Community and
beyond. People will want to keep a rule in different ways and the aim is to create something
flexible and creative, which above all does not add extra burdens to those whose lives are
already overfull. Rather the intention is to make suggestions and provide resources that
could put in place some simple customs and habits that fit with the way we are called to
lead our lives. That must apply equally to those who are committed Christians, and those
who are exploring the spiritual life for the first time.
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EDUCATION, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES
The Library and Archives constitute a working department of the Cathedral. There is a
professional team of Peter Thomas, Librarian, Stuart Macwilliam, Assistant Librarian and
Angela Doughty, Archivist. All work part-time and therefore to ensure that the Libraray is
open to the public and researchers five afternoons a week they are supported by a team of
30 committed volunteers organised by the Volunteer Co-ordinator Sheila Miles. All the
duties expected of much larger public and academic libraries and record offices such as
cataloguing, research on behalf of others, general enquiries, outreach, illustrated lectures
and staging of exhibitions are undertaken by the team.
Regular exhibitions have been held; the first, located in the Cathedral, was based on the
records held in the Archives showing the history of the Cathedral’s music and musicians
through the centuries; the second was run in conjunction with Exeter City Heritage Days
and showed the history and heritage of the Cathedral Library and Archives. Both attracted a
lot of visitors, especially the Heritage Days when over 300 people came over the three days,
many of whom were local to Exeter and none of whom had realised that such treasures
were cared for on their doorstep.
Last year saw the commencement of the long awaited project to bring the Archives, the
books in the Old Library and the Cook Collection which are currently stored at the
University, together into the West Wing of the Bishop’s Palace. The Project Design Team of
consultants with the specialist skills required have worked throughout the year to gain
building and planning consent to provide a new heating system, electrical rewiring
throughout the building, fire and intrusion systems, together with the specialist
environmentally controlled archival storage. Following the first stage of the Cathedral’s
accommodation review it was agreed that there was a need to provide better choir practice
and robing areas, a music library and a new and much larger sacristy. The space created by
the Library moving to the ground floor will allow this to be ideally located in the West Wing
of the Bishop’s Palace. Building and Planning consent for the whole project was achieved in
July, whereupon the detailed design work was undertaken. In December The Project Board
recommended to the Chapter that tenders be invited from four firms who had been
shortlisted and interviewed. Hindsite Construction Ltd was awarded the contract and
building work commenced in March and is planned to continue throughout the year.
The Library closed to the public at the end of 2010. Space has been created in the Archives
for the two Librarians to continue working during the period of building works. All in the
Department are enthusiastic to show what has been achieved when the works are
complete, sometime in early 2012.
FINANCE AND TRUSTS
The Finance department manages the Cathedral’s day-to-day finances, and its long-term
investments. It helps to provide the budgetary framework for all departments, and monitors
income and expenditure throughout the year. It is made up of a professional staff of three,
and the Finance Committee (a committee of Chapter) meets four times a year to review
management accounts and investments. The Finance Department also provides accounting
services to Exeter Cathedral Enterprises Ltd, the commercial arm of the Cathedral
responsible for the running of the Cathedral’s shop and café. Currently we employee three
staff, one full time and two part-time.
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A Finance Committee is constituted and meets at least quarterly in order to provide
independent advice to the Chapter with regard to the Cathedral finances, with an additional
meeting to consider the annual budget. It is chaired by Chapter Canon Jonathan Harris,
who as a member of the Chapter, holds the Finance Portfolio. Representatives from each
of the supporting independent Trusts, together with the Chapter’s nominees and
representatives, sit on this Committee. The Committee has been particularly supportive of
Chapter’s determination to achieve and maintain a balanced budget for 2010 and to maintain
this policy for 2011, particularly with the ongoing background of a difficult economic climate.
It welcomed the implementation of the Chapter’s first Development Plan which will create
the framework upon which to highlight key areas of mission development for the immediate
future.
The Trusts
The following Independent Trusts support the Cathedral and its work:
The Friends of Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral Preservation Trust
Exeter Cathedral Music Foundation
Charity Commission No. 207096
Charity Commission No. 276397
Charity Commission No. 297365
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The Cathedral alone returned a surplus of £459,899 in the year ended 31 December 2010
(2009 - £224,300). After consolidation with the Cathedral School and Enterprises, the net
surplus is £503,905, compared to a group surplus of £266,519 for 2009. After the effect of
revaluations of properties and investments, there was a net increase of funds of £561,783
for the Cathedral, or a net increase of £580,789 when consolidated as a group.
The operational costs (£142,049) of the Third Millennium Campaign were fully covered in
2010 and contributions totalling £649,846 were made to the three branches of the
Campaign’s aims. With reference to note 3 to the accounts, it should be noted that
receipts by the Campaign totalling £781,490 are included within the Donations total of
£936,844. (2009: £595,638 out of £728,666).
The Cathedral’s financial performance, after setting aside the positive effect of the Third
Millennium Campaign, delivered a surplus of £97,260 (£40,755 of this being restricted
funds). The Chapter is pleased to have achieved an outcome which significantly improved
over the balanced budget that had been set in the challenging economic environment of
2010.
At 31 December 2010, the Cathedral held investments of £1,631,930, of which £1,379,014
was in the Central Board of Finance Investment Fund. Of this amount, £961,493 is
represented by Permanent Endowment or Restricted funds, which are not available for the
operational running of the Cathedral. A further £1,230,329 was held on deposit with the
CBF, of which £330,733 was unrestricted.
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EXETER CATHEDRAL ENTERPRISES
The Company comprises the Shop and the Café, each with its own character largely
imparted through its location within or adjacent to the Cathedral. The profits of the
Company are covenanted to the Chapter annually and form an essential element of
unrestricted income which is applied to the general purposes of the Cathedral’s mission.
The Café is on the ground floor of the Pearson Cloister and the staff pride themselves on a
friendly and helpful approach. Having grown from simple beginnings over 20 years ago, the
Café now caters for both Cathedral visitors and established customers, in addition to an
increasing amount of function catering for the Chapter, the Diocesan Bishop and Offices and
for a number of special events . There are many opportunities to be explored that will not
only broaden the range of the café’s offer to visitors but will help cement its place as a key
revenue-generating component of the Cathedral’s operations.
The Shop operates from a self-contained area just off the south quire aisle and offers a
range of cathedral-orientated giftware and books as well as a number of other lines focussed
on the casual tourist. The Chapter have long-identified the desirability to relocate the shop
to a position that is accessible adjacent to the Cathedral where it can operate independently
of the liturgical timetable.
THE THIRD MILLENIUM CAMPAIGN
During 2010 the Third Millennium Campaign worked steadily towards the successful
achievement of the milestone figure of £6 million in donations and pledges which was
announced by The Dean during the celebratory Leofric evensong in February 2011. The
Campaign, whose patron is HRH The Prince of Wales, is designed to support three main
areas of Cathedral life: the fabric of the Cathedral, its environs and Close properties in the
care of the Dean and Chapter; the music tradition, and the restoration of the organ: and the
Library and Archives project.
The net income received is distributed periodically throughout the year to the Preservation
Trust (for fabric projects), the Music Foundation Trust, and to a designated fund held by the
Dean and Chapter for the Library and Archives project, the Organ and the music outreach
project. Each of the funds is actively managed to accrue interest.
The largest grant was for £450,000 from the Big Lottery Community Spaces programme to
undertake the first phase of the Vision for the Green, the physical work for which began in
October. The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a development grant to enable work on
detailed proposals for a second round application to be submitted in 2011 focussing on the
Cathedral’s education programme, volunteer needs and the West Wing Project
Restoration work continued on the north side of the West Front supported by a grant from
Devon County Council’s ‘Investing in Devon’ fund. Further work is due to be undertaken in
2011.
The work to support the Music Outreach project, the Music Foundation’s endowment fund
and the Organ fund has continued to be a priority for the Campaign. Some significant
pledges for the Organ fund were made during the year and a donation of £25,000 from the
Friends of Cathedral Music for the Music Foundation Trust. Although the Campaign is on
track to have raised £8M by the end of 2012, the music element of the Campaign will not
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have been as successful and fundraising for the music endowment will continue for some
time and remains a priority for the Chapter.
Recent high profile Campaign events have included a most enjoyable and successful dinner
hosted by Bishop Michael at the House of Lords; a glittering Grand Nave dinner which saw
some 480 guests dining in the Cathedral by candlelight in October, and which made a
record-breaking contribution of £201,000; a very successful concert featuring Tasmin Little
and the Exeter Symphony Orchestra; a Carol Service for the business community; and a
number of smaller events around the county which brought the appeal to new audiences.
In preparation for 2012, the Chapter is supporting the Director of Fundraising with a
‘Resources Study’ so that the future of fundraising is clear from the ending of the current
campaign.
MAINTENANCE AND CONSERVATION
Cathedral
Fabric maintenance and conservation projects are reviewed and updated annually with
specific reference to the Cathedral Architect’s quinquennial inspection report. The Chapter
has maintained the principle that all specific projects should be funded separately from the
Cathedral’s core revenue budget wherever possible. Grant applications for specific and
appropriate projects may be made to the Friends of the Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral
Preservation Trust, through the Third Millennium Campaign or to English Heritage.
The main programme of conservation during the past year was of the upper levels of the
West Front. The emphasis continues to be on conservation rather than renewal, and as a
result a sparing schedule of stone course replacement was adhered to. Wherever possible,
creative use of lime mortar or putty was employed to support features of the original
medieval stonework and the result of this sensitive work is now visible on the north west
section of the upper levels. The Stonemasons have continued to develop their skills in fine
carving of grotesque heads, pinnacles and foliage, all of which will form part of the overall
project. We are grateful to Devon County Council’s Investing in Communities programme
for its funding towards this scheme. The Chapter was also delighted to have secured
funding from the Traditional Skills Bursary Scheme, through which Tom Laflin has joined the
Masons duo for three terms to develop his skills on various aspects of masonry
conservation and stone working.
It is inherent in the nature of many fabric-related projects that their extent and complexity
demands a significant work up and consultation period. Through 2010, there were a
number of projects at some stage of development which included a scheme to replace the
ageing set of gas boilers and a contingent project to introduce a heat zoning scheme for
greater efficiency, the introduction of a permanent ramped access to the Quire, the repair
and restoration of the golden gates at the west Quire entrance, a conservation project to
catalogue and store safely the fragments of the Assumption painting and the final stage to
complete the conservation of the Knights’ Effigies in the South Quire Aisle. In addition, the
first stage of a planning process was drafted to determine how to address the need for
additional visitor reception and interpretation areas, together with a coherent strategy for
shop and café space was drafted.
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The Friends of Exeter Cathedral continue to be a primary funding source for fabric-related
projects for the Cathedral and the Chapter are grateful for the increased allocation of grant
made available towards the end of 2010, which has been brought forward into 2011.
Cathedral Green
At the end of 2008, the Chapter approved a concept plan for a new design of layout, paving
and street furniture covering all aspects of the Precinct. Detailed discussions were held with
key stakeholders and there was wide public consultation, which led to the Chapter’s
approval of a final draft of the new ‘Vision’ in late 2009. Once statutory approvals from
Exeter City Council, English Heritage and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England
(CFCE) had been obtained the Chapter, through the Third Millennium Campaign, made
grant applications to implement the refurbishment of the first area to the north of the
Cathedral. Having appointed the primary contractor, Ken Biggs Construction Ltd, work
was eventually started in Autumn 2010 and the appointment of a stone lettering specialist
(Annet Stirling - Incisive Letterwork) and an artist specialising in interpretative roundels
(Hilary Cartmel) early in 2011 will lead to the completion of a visually exciting project that
will benefit both Cathedral and city for the future.
Chapter Properties
Whilst the main focus has been on the Cathedral Green and the Library & Archive (West
Wing) projects, other relatively minor works have been carried out on other properties
under the Chapter’s responsibility.
In Church House, within the Cloister Garth, there were refurbishment projects in both the
choral scholars’ accommodation and in another apartment unit which was allocated to the
Assistant Director of Music. The schedule of repair and maintenance on 2 The Cloisters
was completed and the specifications for further projects on the Close properties are being
finalised, to continue to bring this element of the housing stock towards appropriate
standards of accommodation for clergy and staff purposes, but within the context of prime
examples of medieval origin and construction.
The Chapter and Cathedral community in general were much saddened at the news of the
death in December 2010 of Peter Bird, the appointed Cathedral Architect. Despite his
continuing enthusiasm, the later stages of his illness had prevented him from participating in
the Cathedral’s projects and activities as he would have wished. The Chapter have initiated
a process to make a new appointment.
Buildings Committee
A Buildings Committee sits, under the chairmanship of the Dean, to consider and receive
reports on all the Cathedral’s building projects and maintenance programmes in cooperation with the Cathedral’s Architect and Archaeologist. During the year, it has
monitored the progress of all projects referred to under the section ‘Maintenance and
Conservation’ above. Its other purpose is to inform and review the work of the FAC.
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Fabric Advisory Committee (FAC)
The Committee, which has a lay chair, has recently focussed on the proposals for the
Cathedral Green, the condition of the canopy of the Bishop’s Throne, progress on the
Cathedral inventory and the works to the upper levels of the Cathedral’s West Front.
EXETER CATHEDRAL SCHOOL
Exeter Cathedral School returned a net operating surplus of £20,170 in the Cathedral’s
financial year ending 31 December 2010. Funds carried forward to 2011 amounted to
£308,322. The Cathedral School is important in the life of the Cathedral and is the only
source of choristers. Discussions are underway to secure the school’s independence from
the Cathedral Foundation.
198 pupils were on roll in January 2010, increasing to 201 by the summer. The new school
year in September 2010 began with 200 pupils (a record high for the start of an academic
year). Waiting lists were in operation for parents looking for places in a number of year
groups.
The thirty-six Cathedral choristers, all of whom attend the School, continued to serve the
Diocese by singing the week and weekend Cathedral Services. Six girls and five boys
attended the chorister voice trials in February and two girls and one boy were offered
choristerships. The recruitment of boy choristers continued to be challenging, in line with
the general trend around the country.
In support of the wider community, the School and Cathedral Choristers, in conjunction
with the County Music Service, took part in a major outreach project to extend children’s
involvement in music and, in particular, singing, in primary schools. This outreach work
culminated in two major concerts to very large audiences in the Cathedral in March and
November.
The Year 7 and 8 boy and girl choristers completed a very successful Cathedral Choir tour
to Norway in February. Year 8 choristers visited London in October when they gave a
performance in the House of Lords to invited guests on behalf of the Cathedral’s Third
Millennium Campaign.
The Lay Chaplain continues to organise themes for daily worship and these are enhanced by
visits from Cathedral clergy and outside speakers. Regular Services also take place in the
Cathedral and the Eucharist is celebrated regularly. At its last Section 23 inspection its
worship provision was found to be ‘excellent’.
In preparation for the School’s proposed independence, the transfer group, comprising
representatives of Chapter and the School under the chairmanship of the Dean, continued
to hold regular meetings. The principal matters for consideration are: the Articles (formerly
the Memorandum and Articles), lease arrangements for the buildings, a service agreement
between the Dean and Chapter and the School, and the application to the Charity
Commission for independent charitable status. Work on independence has progressed and
it is hoped that this will be achieved early in 2012.
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The Cathedral also has a host of OTHER GROUPS, some with formal constitutions and
elected officers and others less formal. Details on these can be found in the Annual Report.
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