The crisis is, of course, far from over. The Prime Minister has urged us to exercise continued self-discipline, and the freedoms to meet and socialise, the opportunity to assemble to enjoy music or performance together, and a whole host of other things that we used to take for granted, and which kept us sane and human, are still not possible. For the greater good of all we are called to exercise self-restraint and keep in place practices, like wearing masks in shops or for worship, that a year ago would have seemed unthinkable.

At one level we are privileged as a Church to be open and to be able to meet for worship. There are limitations on numbers of course, with the need for social distancing; our liturgy has felt very different. We have not been able to share the chalice in communion; we are not able to sing our well-loved hymns. What a joy however that we have gradually been able to re-introduce some choral music, although the complexities that surround that, and the logistical challenges that Tansy and her team are facing to keep all our singers – both children and adults – safe, are considerable.

A real positive in all this has been our online worship and this will continue. Those who are having to isolate or do not feel confident to return can continue to be linked in this way, and of course there are many others from near and far who have been able to join us in this virtual way who might otherwise never have crossed the Cathedral’s threshold.

Over the coming months we shall, all being well, be re-introducing a fuller programme of public worship, with said morning services re-commencing from October 5th (alongside Zoom daily prayer) and Choral Evensong from the beginning of November. We have begun to think ahead about Christmas – and while all future planning remains very dependent on where things are with Covid (and the safety of our staff, volunteers, congregations and visitors continues to be our number one priority) – the current plan will be to have more carol services but with fewer numbers attending. These services will need to be ticketed but we hope that by doing it this way, as many as possible will be able to come to at least one of our Christmas events.

A word about money and people. Earlier in the year we were very anxious about the impact the enforced closure of the Cathedral would have on our finances. We faced a dramatic reduction in our income both from visitors and from the cancellation of events, and our already rather delicate financial situation looked set to be made much worse. We took all the steps we could to mitigate our losses and the majority of our staff went on furlough, nevertheless it seemed inevitable that further significant cuts would be necessary and a process of consultation with a number of staff was undertaken. I am glad to say that in the event we have been able to minimise the number of redundancies that were necessary. Sadly one or two posts have gone, but we have been able to bring others back in a part time capacity, while others will gradually be returning from furlough over the coming weeks.

A number of things have made this possible. I have already alluded to the Government’s Job Retention Scheme; we have also been fortunate to receive emergency grant funding from the Church Commissioners (including specific funding for musicians), from the Friends of Cathedral Music, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and from one or two other sources. We have also been able to work with the Ministry of Justice to make available buildings (the VLC and the Knights’ Chamber) to house one of the Nightingale Courts. We have been glad to play our part in supporting the courts and secure a boost to our income in the process.

All of this means that we are, by God’s grace, in a much better situation than we could have imagined six months ago. While there is absolutely no room for complacency (most of these funds will not be available next year and we do not know how long it will take to return to some kind of normality) nevertheless we have managed to gain some breathing (and planning) space, retain the majority of staff, and endeavour to develop some of the pieces of work that will help to make us sustainable in the long term.

I want to put on record my gratitude and esteem for all our staff, including those furloughed, who have lived through this process over the past few months – for their patience, courage, loyalty and commitment. I also want to mark the extraordinary hard work and commitment of those who worked throughout the lockdown, from the security team who kept the Cathedral safe, to the senior team who worked with extraordinary skill and dedication to manage this process and support the Cathedral’s future viability. Thank you too, to all our wonderful volunteers, including the many who have begun to return to active duty, and to those who during the lockdown found new roles in making soup and providing meals for the homeless through our friends at Light Project Peterborough.

During the last months we have tried hard to keep in touch with and care for our wider community. It’s been a joy to meet many online (including at Canon Tim’s marvellous Quiz evenings) and, over the last couple of months, to see the return of many familiar faces at our Sunday service. Nevertheless, I’m personally very aware that there are some who may not have been in touch – or who have felt that they were out of the loop. One of the issues we have faced and need to resolve is our database and the contact details of those who see themselves as part of the Cathedral community. So, if you are among those who feel as if you are “out on a limb”, please do get in touch. We would be very glad to hear from you and would love to put that right.

As I said at the beginning of this letter, this is far from over. We hope and pray that, as a nation and as a city, we can manage the impact of Covid, and we continue to owe a huge debt of gratitude to our NHS staff. As a Cathedral we are at a time of adventure as well as challenge – finding new ways to share God’s love and serve our communities. We can’t be sure what the coming months will hold but put our trust in God’s goodness, his generous provision and (especially at this season) the protection of his holy angels. As the psalmist puts it:

'He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways' (Psalm 91: 11)

May you continue to know his protection and peace in all that lies ahead.

Every blessing

The Very Revd Chris Dalliston
Dean of Peterborough