Am just back from a really positive committee meeting at Durham Cathedral where we heard that in the first two years of operation, we have raised some £1.6 million for various activities across the Cathedral. These include funds for the conservation of the historic fabric, money to pay for adaptation works to make some of the spaces fit for purpose (as well as the regular pattern of worship, the building also attracts some 500,000 tourists a year), and resources to pay for education and outreach work and the music programme (a particular source of pride locally, not least because the current BBC Young Choristor of the Year was trained at Durham).One tends to think of those working in religious buildings as having very little to do other than light a few candles and preach the occasional sermon. But since the Dean first invited me to join the embryonic development committee back in 2007, I have become much more aware of the enormous range of responsibilities and activities. Current thinking includes developing a strategy to link in with the Government's 'Big Society' agenda (whatever you might think politically, the pragmatist sees money in there for organisations like the Cathedral to work with different groups within society) and, on a joyous note, thinking about how to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Cathedral's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. At present, we are thinking of a celebratory event in early November, possibly linked with an academic conference looking at the challenges of managing multi-use historic buildings. So watch this space.....
