The Cathedral is opening again for worship!

We are pleased to be able to announce that the Cathedral has resumed services from 19th July.

We are following the guidelines of the Welsh Government and the Church in Wales and taking a deliberately cautious approach to offering worship again. The initial plans will remain in place for the first few weeks although we will be reviewing the situation weekly.

Here are some of the key things to note:

· There will be two services: 9.00am and 11.00am

· Both services will be a celebration of the Holy Eucharist with the 9.00am service catering particularly for children and families.

· Social distancing guidelines must be maintained at all times.

· Hand sanitiser must be used on entry.

· Face-coverings may be worn by all – clergy may wear face shields to administer communion.

· A ‘track and trace’ card will need to be completed – please bring a pen.

· Communion will be administered standing and in one kind only.

· For now there will be no music.

· Ritual and ceremony will be kept to a minimum.

· No service sheets will be used – the order of service will be available online to print in advance and bring with you or to follow on a phone or other mobile device.

· The ‘2-metre distance’ rule means that the capacity of the Cathedral will be between 70 and 80 individuals although family groups sitting together will legitimately increase the number.

· 5 cathedral chairs must be left clear between households.

Please note that there will be a legal maximum capacity number and it may be necessary to impose restrictions on entry to ensure that number is not exceeded. During the early part of this week, protocols and detailed instructions will be issued to the Parish and Cathedral Stewards to enable them to assist with and implement the official guidelines.

Hi, my name is Owen Hurrell. I’m 12 and I’m in my 5^th year as a Chorister in Llandaff Cathedral. Since Lockdown everything has changed a lot and we haven’t been able to do any singing as a choir as of yet. I’ve been back to school a few times and really enjoyed being able to see my friends although it is very different to what it is normally like.

For starters, there are only 6 people in my group or pod whereas I’m usually in a classroom of 22. We also have four 75-minute lessons instead of seven 45-minute lessons. I’ve really missed Choristers during lockdown because I am usually really busy doing rehearsals and services but now it seems weird to not be doing it as much. It is also sad that some Choristers will not be able to continue singing after Lockdown as their voices will have broken but we will hopefully still be able to do a proper service to bid them farewell.

We also had to miss some of the best services of the year at Easter, which was very sad, but as of the 30^th of June, the choir is starting to do some singing via Zoom. Mr. Moore pre-records the rehearsals and then on Zoom we sing along to the accompaniment however we can’t hear each other because singing together on Zoom doesn’t work too well. Although we don’t know when we will be back singing again it is still great that we can continue practicing so we can be ready to start singing again when services finally begin.

Although I haven’t had choir during lockdown, I’ve still been doing plenty of singing. Every week my Mum and I record songs for our parish church’s online service. Altogether we have recorded 56 hymns and songs for our church so far. This is one we recorded for Maundy Thursday – https://youtu.be/g5YrkmyPAcU.

As well as this I’ve been continuing my singing, cello and piano lessons via Zoom and I have also taken part in a virtual evensong organised by the Rodolfus foundation. You can see my mum and me singing “I was Glad” 30 minutes into this video – https://youtu.be/3X8FYAb3JK0

You may also be able to see some other familiar faces from the choir and the school. We are all looking forward to continuing singing as a choir once again as soon as we are able to.

Christian Aid Week 2020 begins on Sunday 10th May. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, house to house and other face to face events cannot go ahead. However, the charity has a vibrant, virtual Christian Aid Week to get involved in online.

Below is a message from Kate Bates, Chair of the Cathedral’s Christian Aid Committee:

Dear Christian Aid Volunteers,

I hope you are well and managing to keep safe in this unprecedented pandemic. Thank you for volunteering to help with Christian Aid this year but as you have probably worked out already, it will not be possible to proceed with our Christian Aid activities in the usual way. However, in view of the impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable and desperate people, it is doubly important that we maintain our commitment and still try to do what we can to support Christian Aid.

Christian Aid Week still gives us an opportunity to celebrate and share the life-saving work Christian Aid undertakes with your support. Even in the darkest moments, love gives hope. Love compels us to fight against coronavirus alongside our sisters and brothers living in poverty. Love compels us to stand together in prayer with our neighbours near and far. Love compels us to give and act as one.

Can I encourage you therefore, to go to the Christian Aid website where you can read about some different and innovative options to support Christian Aid at this time. If you are able, you may wish to make a donation, which can be done directly through the website, though we all understand that the impact of the pandemic on individual circumstances may make this difficult. Can you also please continue to talk to your family, friends and neighbours through any appropriate means, about Christian Aid and encourage them to consider if they too can help. I send my very best wishes to you all, please stay healthy and connected with family, friends and neighbours through every possible means.

Kate Bates

Chair, Christian Aid Committee