here - The Friends of Coventry Cathedral

GETTING TO KNOW OUR NEW DEAN
The Very Reverend
John Witcombe answers
a selection of questions
for the Friends New Year
What was it that attracted you to apply to become
Dean of Coventry?
Actually it was the diocesan priorities that first leapt out when I
saw it advertised – Worshipping God; Making New Disciples;
Transforming Communities. I thought, that’s what I want to do!
Then as I looked further at the priorities of the cathedral for reconciliation
both closer to home and across the world stage I
recognised the gospel that I offered my life for in ordination.
What are you most looking forward to, once you become Dean?
All of it, really. Leading a worshipping community. Tackling the
real practical challenges, along with the team – the financial
challenges are huge but something to get your teeth into. Building
relationships across a diverse diocese, all of whom need to
own the cathedral as their home. Getting to know people in the
city and working with others for the good of Coventry. Travelling
to meet partners in the Community of the Cross of Nails, and welcoming
them into the cathedral. There’s so much to be excited
about.
L-R, Ricarda, Abigail,
Emily, Tabitha and
Anna
Newsletter
Will you tell us about your wife and family?
My wife Ricarda is a priest, working at the moment as vicar of
St. Paul’s and Stephen’s, a fairly inner city church in Gloucester.
We have been married for twelve years – we met after my first
wife, who was also a priest, sadly died with Multiple Sclerosis. I
have three adult children: Joe, Abi and Anna. Anna is studying
costume interpretation (for stage or screen) in London; Abi works
at the moment as a teaching assistant, and is married to Matti,
Bishop Christopher and Dean John
who is the Children’s Worker in a large church in Bristol; Joe was
studying engineering at Bristol University but had to withdraw
with severe ME, and lives at home with us. Ricarda has two adult
daughters: Tabitha and Emily. Tabi is studying Natural Sciences
at Newcastle University, and Emily works in a doctor’s surgery in
Gloucester, and lives at home with us. We enjoy being part of a
large family, although it does have its challenges!
What is your vision for Coventry Cathedral in five years time?
I want the cathedral to be secure its sense of mission, and in the
resources to carry that out. It needs to be built securely on a
framework of partnerships – partnerships between the cathedral
community itself, and the city, the county, the diocese and the
international community of the cross of nails. I’ve already used
the phrase, “hand in hand in hand’, and you’ll be hearing that
again. Like many of us, I have strong feelings about admission
charges, and would dearly love to find those who would partner
with us to make such charges unnecessary. I hope that as we
begin to move into our second half century in the new cathedral
that we will find ways to enable it to ‘flex’ – to be supple, rather
than rigid, as we explore ‘what next’ in what might appear a ‘set
piece’ building. I am very excited indeed by the contemporary
three fold agenda of the community of the cross of nails – healing
wounded history, learning to live with difference and celebrate
diversity, and building a culture of peace – and hope to see these
really embedded across the diocese, and making a difference to
the presence of the cathedral in the city. And I believe that God
has a purpose for us in the wider Anglican Communion, as a
place and ministry which can draw people from quite diverse,
even opposing, backgrounds together in the service of the gospel.
So, quite a lot to aim for!
What does your present role as Director of Discipleship and
Ministry in Gloucester involve?
Well, I’m responsible for nurturing vocation and ongoing formation
in discipleship and for every sort of ministry throughout the
Gloucester diocese – alongside the Bishop, of course. Some of
my team work with those considering ordination or other forms
of licensed ministry, like Readers or members of lay ministry
teams. Others support discipleship across the whole church. We
also support those who are in licensed ministry – ongoing ministry
development. There are about a dozen in the team, and
there’s never enough time for all the opportunities, but it’s been
a very rewarding time. I’ve been in the department for over seven
years, and before I was the Director I spent the first five years as
Director of Ordinands, which is a wonderful post, discovering
people’s stories and sharing in the discernment of how God is
calling them.
What have you learned about cathedrals from your time in
Gloucester?
As a residentiary canon in Gloucester I have been able to learn
the ropes of how the ‘public’ face of the cathedral works, and
some of the frantic paddling that can go on behind the scenes. I
have learned of the incredible opportunities that cathedrals offer
– they really do welcome in an amazing cross section of the population,
and can provide a space for anyone to begin to make
sense of their life. They also present huge challenges – they exist
to offer hospitality, often consciously owning their Benedictine
tradition – but struggle to find the resources to make that a reality.
Their ministry, and their fabric, is hugely costly to maintain, and
this can distract from the mission to all comers.
What are the opportunities for English cathedrals in the 21st
century?
It’s well known that cathedrals are bucking the trend of decline
in attendance at worship: congregations, and visitor numbers are
up. The recent ‘Spiritual Capital’ report has identified the huge
value that the population of this country place on cathedrals:
whether or not a person counts themselves as ‘religious’, there is
something in a cathedral that draws them and enables them to
touch the divine. We offer not just a place for believing, but
also for belonging, and finding waymarks in a rapidly changing
world. In short, we offer what people find themselves looking for
– sometimes without knowing it beforehand!
How do you see your first 100 days as Dean of Coventry?
Frantic! Except that I know they can’t, and shouldn’t be – because
they also need to include space to pause and reflect on all
I am experiencing before it becomes so familiar that I forget how
it may strike a visitor, or outsider. I enjoy meeting new people,
and I look forward to getting out into the diocese and city from
the word go – I hope the cathedral community themselves will
be a little patient with me as I take the opportunities of being the
‘new boy’ to establish some important relationships which will
be important for the years to come. I look forward to days of
‘miracles and wonder’, of new discoveries, of enjoying worship
in the cathedral and the diversity of the city.
What do you see as the unique problems and possibilities for
Coventry Cathedral?
That’s quite a question! If I had a pound for every person who
has said to me – “Oh yes, I visited there. Fabulous building. I
went about thirty years ago. I haven’t been back.” – we might
solve our financial challenges. The cathedral has had fifty years
of extraordinary history – over seventy since the old cathedral
was destroyed. But what of the next fifty years? Both the building,
and the ministry, may need to ‘flex’ somewhat to respond to
changing contexts of mission and ministry, and to learn what God
is doing now and next, not just what he was doing sixty or seventy
years ago. Our story is unique, but isn’t at an end – we are
at a point of needing to write the next chapter. I see us playing
a vital part in national and international reconciliation in the
church (perhaps more than we have) as well as in the wider
world – at a time when the worldwide Anglican communion is
threatening to fracture, perhaps our history and experience can
offer something? As with everywhere that owns such a key event
in history, we need to recognise how that enables but can also
trap us – and we need to remember that a new generation simply
may not know the story.
How can the Cathedral Community best support the core Ministry
of Reconciliation in the future?
There are two ways, really – the first and most important is by
living it out. The contemporary three fold CCN agenda of: healing
the wounds of history; living with difference and celebrating
diversity; and building a culture of peace offer a pattern for us
all to commit to, making this a truly welcoming and hospitable
community. The second is to pray, and to look together for ways
that God may be seeking to grow the ministry, and to commit our
resources and imagination to that work.
Who is your role model?
When I was considering ordination, I was captivated by the story
and example of David Watson, who had an extraordinary gift of
communicating the gospel in an attractive way. Since then, I
have continued to enjoy the example of anyone who communicates
well, or seems to have the gift of living life to the full –
something not all clergy manage very well.
Ricarda and John on top of the World
What are you reading at present?
I usually have several books on the go. At the moment I’m reading
a collection called ‘Journey of the Heart’ in the morning,
which is an excellent overview of Christian contemplative writers;
Basil Spence’s ‘Phoenix in Coventry’ in the evening; and
‘Hope and Glory’ by Stuart Maconie to go to sleep with – that’s
a semi-comic history cum geography of Britain in the twentieth
century. I’ve just finished two fabulous books: ‘Jesus Freak’ by
Sara Miles, a wonderful liberal-evangelical description of outreach
ministry in San Francisco, very inspiring for any cathedral;
and ‘The Lying Days’ by Nadine Gordimer, an evocative and
provocative novel about South Africa from the 1950’s.
What is your favourite picture?
I have an original oil painting on my wall called ‘Regina’, by Osi
Rhys Osmond, painted in the Sudan when he was there with
Christian Aid. It was given me as I left my church in Uxbridge
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