Coronation celebration plans

On Saturday 6th May, the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III takes places at Westminster Abbey, and the celebrations will continue over the Bank Holiday weekend. Here are our plans for marking the occasion here at the Cathedral, as well as some useful operational information:

Saturday 6th May, Coronation Day

We will have a Coronation celebration area for staff and volunteers in the Wren Suite, with decorations, a TV showing the Coronation broadcast, and snacks for everyone to enjoy
The Concorde Lounge will be a designated 'Coronation free' zone

Monday 8th May, Bank Holiday

The Cathedral will open for worship and sightseeing as usual

Tuesday 9th May

The Chapter House offices and Concorde Lounge will be decorated and there will be buffet snacks for everyone to enjoy

As well as this, we'll be asking our colleagues at Westminster Abbey to furnish us with some fun Coronation facts, and hope to arrange some reciprocal visits. Please do take photos of any of your own Coronation celebrations and experiences and send them over to me so that I can share them in a future newsletter.

Finally, we are also in the process of finalising a date and details for a summer party for staff and volunteers - more on that to follow soon!

Award nomination for the Schools & Family Learning team

Our wonderful Schools & Family Learning team have been nominated for an award! The School Travel Awards recognises the people and places behind inspiring school trips, and St Paul's Cathedral is a best heritage venue finalist for 2023.

The winners will be announced during a ceremony on Tuesday 6th June. We're all wishing the team the very best of luck - and that they return victorious!

Happy 1st birthday to our website

Just a couple of days ago on the 29th March, our website celebrated its first birthday since relaunching. A huge amount of hard work went into the design and content of a new Cathedral website that would be user-friendly and robust, and we continue to be incredibly proud of the result. It's a wonderful window into all that we do here.

In its first relaunched year, the website has attracted 4.2 million unique pageviews, and 6.5 million total pageviews (total pageviews includes repeat webpage visits by the same user). In the same period during 2021/22 prior to relaunch, there were 2.1 million unique pageviews and 2.6 million total pageviews - showing that not only have visits to the website increased in general, but people are returning again in greater numbers than before - which is amazing news.

An update about Canon Steward, Neil Evans

When Neil Evans first became our Canon Steward, he was going to be in post until June 2023. We are delighted that after consultation with the Bishop and the Dean, this has been extended to summer 2024. At that point, Neil will be retiring just shortly before his 70th birthday, in line with Church of England policy. Until then we can enjoy his company for another year - hurray!

The installation of Chris Webb, Vicar Choral

During Evensong last Sunday, Chris Webb was formally installed as a member of the Vicars Choral. Here he is pictured at the occasion with his wife Philippa and son Freddie.

Chris joined the Choir back in September, and things got off to a busy start with the Service of Prayer and Reflection for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II taking place during his first week.

Chris was previously a member of the choirs at All Saints’, Margaret Street and St Margaret’s, Westminster Abbey, and before that a Lay Clerk at Southwark Cathedral.

When not singing for services, he also works as an ensemble and solo singer in the UK and internationally. He sometimes sings for film and video game soundtracks, and was especially pleased to be asked to provide dinosaur noises for the Jurassic World franchise!

He lives in Sutton with wife Philippa, a hospital doctor, and 18-month old son Freddie, and has become a noted expert on the soft play centres of south London in the past year and a half!

What's on next week

Sunday 2nd April, 11am: Palm Sunday Procession
Monday 3rd April, 5pm: Sung Eucharist for Holy Week
Thursday 6th April: On Maundy Thursday, doors will open for sightseeing at the later time of 12.45pm
Thursday 6th April, 10.30am: Maundy Thursday Chrism Mass
Thursday 6th April, 5pm: Liturgy of the Day and Watch until Midnight
Friday 7th April: The Cathedral is open for services and private prayer only

Friday 7th April, 10am: Good Friday Choral Mattins and Litany in Procession
Friday 7th April, 12 midday: The Three Hours
Friday 7th April, 4pm: Good Friday Evening Prayer
Friday 7th April, 5pm: Good Friday Litany with the Veneration of the Cross
Saturday 8th April, 6pm: Easter Liturgy with Baptism, Confirmation and the First Eucharist of Easter

Messy Cathedral and Easter family activities

Tomorrow, 1st April, Messy Cathedral returns to St Paul's! From 10.30am until 1pm there will be activities for all ages, including crafts, storytelling and singing, journeying through the days of Holy Week with our Schools & Family Learning team and the Diocese of London. The event will culminate at 12.30pm with a special Holy Communion. All 900 tickets have been snapped up, but staff and volunteers and their families are very welcome to come along.

Beginning on Wednesday 5th April on various days through the Easter holidays, there will also be family activities to enjoy. Find out more about our fiery phoenix activities.

Office 365 training videos available

If you were unable to make the Office 365 training dates earlier this year, or you're simply looking for a refresher or reminder, there are now videos of the sessions available to view on the Global S drive. Simply go to the S drive > Training > Office 365, and choose your video.

Job vacancy

Executive Assistant to the Dean

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week (flexible working available)
Salary: £46,000 per annum, plus benefits

The purpose of this role is to effectively support, and act as a visible representative of the Dean.

There are three key aspects of the role:

Managing the Dean’s diary, balancing competing priorities, communicating with those involved and supporting the Dean in meeting preparation as required
Managing the Dean’s communications and correspondence
Maintaining and building relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

The closing date for applications is 11.59pm on the 16th April.

Find out more about the role

And finally...

Our very own Sam Dove is raising money for the MS Society by undertaking a 50km trek on the 1st April. If you'd like to make a donation to support the vital work the charity does, you can do so online via Sam's JustGiving page - and he is incredibly grateful for your support. Good luck Sam, we know you'll be brilliant!

If you have anything to include in next week's news, please remember to email internalcomms@stpaulscathedral.org.uk by 12 midday on Tuesday at the latest.

With very best wishes,
Laura