March is here and Spring is just around the corner. Although event wise March may seem like a quieter month at the Cathedral, it is actually a busy time for us with Holy Week and Easter taking place so early in the year.
We start the month with James Bond by Candlelight on Friday 1 March, followed by Chester Philharmonic Orchestra: The Gerontius Project on Saturday 2 March.
The Lent series of Bible Talks continue in person this month on Wednesdays 6, 13, and 20 March. This is the first time since the pandemic that the Bible Talks have returned to in person.
Enjoy a day of singing with a royal theme with one of the composers from last year’s Coronation service at A Royal Sing with Paul Mealor on Saturday 9 March.
Mothering Sunday is on the 10 March, why not join us for Afternoon Tea in Café 1092 in the Refectory. Mums will receive a complimentary glass of Prosecco with their Afternoon Tea on the Sunday. Bookings require 48 hours notice. Already have plans? Give mum the gift of Afternoon Tea with a voucher. Available for purchase by calling the box office, in Café 1092, or by clicking here.
If you are visiting Chester on the 14 or 15 March you might notice a lot of graduates walking around the city as the University of Chester graduations return to the Cathedral. There will be limited access to the Cathedral during these days (including full closure of the Nave and Café 1092) but you will still be able to visit our gift shop, cloisters, and Garth. Candle banks will be available in the cloisters for those who want to come in to light a candle.
On Saturday 16 March, University of Chester Choir will host the Universities Choir Festival at the Cathedral and will be joined by university choirs from across the country. Tickets and more information can be found here.
This year, Marketing Cheshire will be hosting their annual Tourism Awards at Chester Cathedral on Thursday 21 March, which will see tourism professionals from across Cheshire and Warrington come together to celebrate the visitor economy in the region. We are very excited to announce we have been shortlisted for five awards this year:
Sustainable, Responsible and Ethical Tourism Award
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award
Experience of the Year (Tower Tour)
Visitor Attraction of the Year
Business Events Venue of the Year
The awards will be followed by a busy weekend in the Cathedral with Dance Anthems on Friday 22 March, which will have two sessions that evening. An earlier show at 6.45pm followed by a later show at 8.45pm. Saturday night we are joined again by Chester Music Society: Music for Passiontide.
This brings us to Palm Sunday on 24 March, the start of Holy Week. Revd Canon Rosie Woodall, our Canon for Worship and Spirituality and Vice Dean, will be speaker for the addresses this year which are themed to ‘People of the Passion: The Women of Holy Week.’ When explaining the significance of Holy Week, Canon Rosie states:
Through participation in the whole sequence of services, the Christian shares in Christ’s own journey, from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the empty tomb on Easter morning. This solemn season preserves some of the oldest texts still in current use, and rehearses the deepest and most fundamental Christian memories.
All our Holy Week and Easter services can be found here.
If you are visiting the Cathedral from Maundy Thursday you may notice the Cathedral looks a bit different with the church stripped of decorations and crosses on alters covered or removed. Canon Rosie explains:
Thursday passes into Good Friday with its two characteristic episodes. The church remains stripped of all decoration. It continues bare and empty through the following day, which is a day without a liturgy: there can be no adequate way of recalling the being dead of the Son of God, other than silence and desolation. But within the silence there grows a sense of peace and completion, and then rising excitement as the Easter Vigil draws near.
That’s March in a nutshell, hope you find something of interest this month! We look forward to welcoming you to the Cathedral
Monica Escobedo
Marketing and Communications Officer
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