Weekly Record 5 - 12 February 2012
10 Feb, 2012
THE CIVIC MASS PRESENTS US WITH FRESH CHALLENGES
This week our local councillors voted almost unanimously in favour of the City having an elected mayor. It seems that we will be the first City in the country to follow the example of London in having an elected mayor who would run the City region, chairing a cabinet of councillors. The controversial element of this is that it bypassed an intended referendum of all residents in May, who were to vote on this issue, leaving us with an actual election for a mayoral candidate on this date instead. The whole process is being fast-tracked, supposedly, so that we don’t miss out on a promise from the government of an extra £130million for the City region. The idea of an elected mayor is nothing new but in the rush to be ahead of other UK cities there are two main concerns. The first is that so far there is little information, and has been little public discussion regarding the role, powers and responsibilities of such an elected post. The second is that with an election taking place in May there is very little time for suitable candidates to come forward and for the public to consider their relative merits. It is important that such an important change in the administration of the City gets off on the right footing.
Normally the Civic Mass alone presents us with enough of a challenge to deal with, but the combination of this, and an archbishop’s Golden Jubilee, in one joint celebration, raises the organisational challenge to a whole new level. These days the various honorary titles such as Eminence, Your Honour, Excellency, My Lord etc can be swept away with a warm hello and welcome but you still have to get the pecking order right whether it be in civic, judicial, military or clerical spheres. We had a final planning meeting to co-ordinate the various processions last week and designated people who would be leading the various groups, pointing out who were the important personnel, the route, final destinations and seating. This all went well and I was feeling confident that everything would go to plan. Then the next day one of the procession leaders slipped on his front door step and broke his arm and unfortunately he will be laid up for some time, so we are back to the drawing board. Years ago I was in a procession of clergy which began in the sacristy and was supposed to end up in the front benches of the church but other groups had been led to the wrong benches and we ended up processing in and then back to the sacristy where we started, and then sat out the rest of the Mass. I hope we don’t have to resort to this !
The 10.00am Mass in the Crypt this Sunday will be offered for Deacon Don Campion on the first anniversary of his death remembering his service to our local community over many years as a deacon.
This week we have a Cathedral social night in the Crypt Concert Hall on Tuesday with the beers for the CAMRA Beer Festival available for tasting. There are still a few tickets left for this at £800. Next Saturday there is a Marriage Preparation Day for all couples who are due to be married at the Cathedral this year.
Canon Anthony O’Brien Dean