On Friday I had a chance to spend a whole day in the town of Hereford where the cathedral for the Diocese of Hereford is located. My hosts, Richard and Barbara Glasspoole, brought me there in the morning so I could see the cathedral and tour the town.
In addition to the cathedral there are two chief churches located near each other: St. Peter's, the oldest church in Hereford where Christians have worshipped for over a thousand years (not 24/7 of course) and All Saints'. Each church is quite unique. I have several photos from each of them.
St. Peter's is definitely a "welcoming" church as is evident from the banner that is visible from the street in the entryway of the church.
Inside all the "normal" features of a church have been transformed, although the medieval elements are still very visible and used regularly. There are display areas and areas for casual seating, and there are people around who welcome walk-in visitors who drop by.
All Saints' is also different from the normal medieval church building because as you enter the church there is a cafe called "Cafe@All Saints" with a kitchen, large posted menus, and a serving line where you can order a lunch. There are cafe tables all around the raised area in the rear of the sanctuary as well as in the balcony above the kitchen/serving area.
There are no pews in the sanctuary. The main altar is plainly visible to all who come for lunch, and there is also a "Lady Chapel" for smaller services adjacent to to it. There is also a play area for children, a large modern toilet area accessible to the public, and a separate chapel space used for various sorts of exhibits by non-church groups similar to an art gallery.
They have morning and evening prayer on certain days as well as a weekday Eucharist which is visible to lunch patrons. There are also "Stewards" who are around to welcome visitors and explain some of the features of the space and the congregation's ministry.
Occasionally people are surprised to learn that there is actually a "living church" that carries on this ministry, but after meeting the Local Ministry Development Group members at All Saints', I can assure you that they are very much alive there. They have an average Sunday morning worship
attendance of about 40 people, but there are thousands of people who spend time at All Saints' during any given week.
Richard is the organist who plays as a volunteer. He also plays the bass in a jazz combo and fills in as a tenor voice in the cathedral choir where he was once a member of the Volunteer Choir.
Walking from one end of the town at midday with Richard takes a long time. After seeing him stop to speak with many people along the way, including the local Member of Parliament, Jesse Norman, whom I met, I called him the "Mayor of Hereford."
Eventually a few of us gathered at the cathedral in the Chapter Room to chat about the differences and similarities in church life in the U.S. and Britain, and then, after running into and meeting several of the members of the cathedral choir, we attended Evensong in the cathedral.
After Evensong we went to "The Barrels," a local pub that has its own brewery to sample some of their products and then headed over to "Bunch of Carrots," a pub with a carvery where we had dinner.
Today I journey onward to Chester where I will rest and recuperate from my busy visitation schedule before heading on to the final diocese, Liverpool, on Monday (a Bank Holiday in England) and the Sisters of St. Joseph Prayer Centre in Formby which will be my longest dwelling place so far.
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