Cathedral News July 2019 – No. 687 From: The Dean The weekend of 22nd and 23rd June was very special here in Exeter. On the 22nd, we hosted the final of the National Twelve Bell Striking Contest - the world cup for bell ringers - with 10 teams of ringers from all over the country competing for the ultimate prize. It was a fantastic day. 1000 people turned up. The sun was shining. The Bishop’s Garden, where most of the eating and drinking took place, was looking glorious. This was Exeter at its best, and our visitors clearly had a great time. At 6 pm, we gathered in the Cathedral for the results. These were announced in reverse order, with each team being identified by a code letter instead of their name, so as not to influence the Judges in their decision-making by knowing any team’s identity. We slowly counted down from 10 to 9 to 8 and so on. And then there were just two left. The audience knew that the two teams were Birmingham (winner in 8 years out of the past 9) and us, Exeter, the home team. In second place came ….Birmingham, and the Cathedral erupted. There were certainly a lot of Exeter supporters in town; a wonderful emotional end to a magnificent day. And here is Matt Hilling, the Ringing Master, with the trophy. 1 We are deeply indebted to the Bishop for the loan of his garden, to Claire Griffiths, the Tower Secretary, and all the volunteers for their immense hard work and attention to detail, and to Matt Hilling, our Ringing Master, and the band for bagging the trophy. The next morning, we celebrated Bishop Martin Shaw’s 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. He presided at the 10 o’clock Eucharist, with a large congregation, and preached with more gusto even than normal. +Martin was ordained in Glasgow in 1969: Harold Wilson was Prime Minister, this was the year of the first Jumbo Jet flight, and the year that witnessed Neil Armstrong’s ‘giant step for mankind’. It was a long time ago. And for all the intervening period, the Church has been blessed by +Martin’s enthusiasm, music, energy, commitment and his deep quest for God. A particularly moving moment came during Holy Communion, when Madeleine Shaw took to the organ loft and joined the choir in a spectacular rendition of Mozart’s Laudate Dominum. And after coffee and cake came a delicious hog roast in the Cloister Garden, followed by ice cream from the Orange Elephant. We in Exeter are fortunate to have the Shaws in our midst, and it was great to be able to celebrate 50 years of priestly (and episcopal) ministry with +Martin, Elspeth and all the family. Jonathan Greener 2 News from the Company of Tapisers: Exeter Cathedral is privileged to host a prestigious embroidery exhibition from the collection of The Royal School of Needlework. Entitled ‘For Worship and Glory’, it will be in the North and South Quire Aisles from Thursday 1st August until Monday 26th August 2019 during normal Cathedral opening times. The pieces of ecclesiastical embroidery, dating from the late 19th century through to the 21st century, will feature on vestments, altar linen, church samplers... Here are two photographs to whet your appetite! First, the image used for advertising this exhibition comes from a set of twelve panels called The Litany of Loreto. These scenes all praise the various attributes of the Virgin Mary. The scenes are stitched with great skill and delicacy: ‘pre-Raphaelite’ hair, embroidered robes and a sense of drama. The remarkable stitching uses a limited palette of sepia, brown, grey and white and significant goldwork. Secondly, a framed Angel Head with a halo couched in gold thread, silk shading for the serene face, and deeply folded garments. In addition, placed beneath the Pulpitum, will be a display of some of the stitched treasures here at Exeter Cathedral – some old and some new. You may recognise some of them! We want to show how these pieces of needlework fit into the long tradition of ecclesiastical embroidery. 3 Do come and see this exhibition for yourself – and bring friends, family, and neighbours, too. You will be amazed at the precision and beauty of the work – and humbled by the dedication, care and love of the embroiderers who created them. Gift for Notre Dame In response to the devastating fire at Notre Dame in April the Company of Tapisers decided they would like to show their solidarity for the stricken Cathedral Community in Paris. This white and gold celebratory stole is the result: with a lily, to represent Notre Dame, and the crossed keys and sword, for Exeter Cathedral. This will be presented as a gift of friendship from the Exeter Cathedral Community. Diana Symes, Chairman of the Company of Tapisers The Retreat Association Icon Exeter Cathedral is delighted to host this icon during August – from 7th to 28th – when it will be on display in the Lady Chapel. A gift to the Retreat Association from iconographer John Coleman, the icon depicts the story of the Woman at the Well. Jesus talks with her, accepts her for who she is, and invites her to drink of life-giving water. The icon is a focus for our prayers and devotions, through which Jesus also offers us the water of life. We will host a Quiet Day themed around the icon on Saturday 10th August from 10am – 4pm. Based in the Chapter House, and with a combination of worship, short talks, and times for prayer – and with lunch provided. At a cost of £12, please book via the Cathedral website. 4 From the Cathedral Bellringers Well! Exeter Cathedral bellringers are now the proud winners of the National Twelve Bell Striking Contest! After all the months of planning, and all the dedicated practices by our focussed team of ringers, it remains a wonderful sensation, as well as an incredible surprise, that the competition culminated in such success – our team are still on cloud nine. The day itself could not have been more perfect, as can be seen from the photo below. From the moment I woke to clear blue skies I knew that it was going to be the occasion which we had all dreamed of during the long committee meetings, and detailed planning. Nevertheless, everything still needed to fit into place like clockwork for the day to run smoothly, and without an energetic and committed team of volunteers we would never have succeeded. Early on Saturday morning saw the Cloister Garden busy with teams erecting gazebos and lighting barbecues, portable toilets were delivered, and then the focus turned to the Palace Gardens where there were more gazebos to erect and beer to be delivered. It was a frenetic couple of hours, and even busier once our first visitors started to arrive for breakfast. Timing was of the essence, and sharp on 11am the Nave was filled with enthusiastic ringers waiting for the draw; Bishop Robert and Dean Jonathan led the welcome with warmth and humour, which included drawing the team names from a mitre! And then it was time for the ten competing teams to start ringing…. Exeter were drawn to ring fourth – a perfect position, as there is nothing more demanding than ringing first, nor soul destroying than having to wait until last. Under the sunshine, the Cloister Gardens were filled with people listening to the bells, and the Palace Gardens opened, to the rapturous admiration of everyone who came, for the herbaceous borders and roses could not have looked lovelier set against the backdrop of the Cathedral. The marquee hummed with activity, and the lawns were filled with people chatting and relaxing – a truly stunning image and one which our visitors will long remember. 5 The Cathedral was alive with the sound of bells from our mini-rings, the scent of flowers filled the air, and visitors enjoyed the displays and stands, and later on the Quire filled with people for an enthusiastic Choral Evensong to end the day. Excitement built even further as the judges returned to the Cathedral Nave to present their results; with the teams judged anonymously and announced in reverse order, the tension was palpable. And of course the Cathedral erupted when Exeter were announced as winners, with a score of 85%, a clear margin ahead of trophy holders Birmingham at 82%. A fantastic result for our team on their home bells, and the Dean was thrilled to present the trophy to our ringing master, Matt Hilling. The day wound down with more socialising in the Palace Gardens until the sunlight faded. A wonderful and glorious day, crowned with the perfect result. And here is the victorious Exeter team. We did credit to our supplies – all beer was drunk (with sales amounting to over £6,000), all food was eaten, and everyone reported that the day had been an incredible success, with some 900 people passing through. Exeter Cathedral can be rightly proud to have hosted the National Twelve Bell Final, it is rare to have days when the Cathedral can be showcased to such a wide audience, including a live broadcast on the internet! The Palace Gardens added that special wow factor to the day, one which will, I suspect, trump all successive hosts. The welcome from all our volunteers was fundamental to the success, and for myself personally, the help from all the Cathedral staff and volunteers both on the day, and during the busy days beforehand when we were setting up, was both incredible and invaluable; team work in every sense.