Bradford Cathedral

As we arrive at the week of Christmas Day, please see below for confirmation of our opening times, and contact details, over the festive period. Bradford Cathedral will be open as usual up to, and including, Tuesday 24th December for visitors, from 10am - 4pm, and for services on the morning of Christmas Day. We will be closed from Thursday 26th to Saturday 28th December, and from Monday 30th December to Wednesday 1st January, but will be open for services on Sunday 29th December. Morning and Evening Prayer between Christmas and New Year will take place online at the usual times of 9am and 5:30pm. For more details please visit https://lnkd.in/ejpArPmf The Cathedral will be open as usual, from Thursday 2nd January 2025. If you would like to contact a member of the team over the Christmas period, you can leave a message on our answer phone on 01274 77 77 20 and our duty chaplain will be back in touch as soon as possible. You can also contact us through our Facebook, Instagram or X accounts, and we will return your message as soon as possible.

Every day since Boxing Day we have been delving back into our archive to talk about what happened at Bradford Cathedral during each month of 2024, with photo highlights and much more. Our 2024 retrospective now comes to an end with December. We held many services and events during Advent and Christmas including the Advent Procession; The Coming of Christmas (PossAbilities); Christmas By Candlelight; Christmas Fellowship; the Rainbow Academy Christingle Services; Carols for All (including bell-ringing and featuring the City of Bradford Brass Band); the Advent Meditation (including a pop-up session in The Broadway shopping centre); the third sell-out Black Dyke Band and Bradford Cathedral Choir Christmas Concert; Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols; the final date on the Maddy Prior and The Carnival Band 'Carols & Capers the Fortieth Anniversary & Farewell Tour'; Annual Lunchtime Carol Recital (followed by carols at The Corn Dolly); Messy Cathedral Crib Service; Midnight Choral Eucharist with carols; and Christmas Day services; as well as the final Practicing the Way sessions and the last organ recitals of the year. Also in the busy month we had a staff gathering for Christmas, and we said goodbye to Anthony, Daisy and Neil, and hello to Liz as our new Head of Fundraising. Members of our choir, congregation, clergy and the Cathedral itself featured in videos as part of the Church of England's Advent campaign; the Revd Professor Emma Halliwell preached at Evensong on the 8th December; and we had some of the bell ringing floor bosses replaced. The next video from Michael Scott was released; Dean Andy appeared on day one of BBC Radio Leeds' 'Bradvent Calendar' (we knew we should have trademarked that!!); and the first wave of Bradford 2025 events - under the theme of 'Creativity Under Pressure' were announced, as well as applications for 'Weaving Stories' roles opening. There was even time at the end of the month to welcome in a pilgrim who has visited all the Cathedrals in England! We hope you've enjoyed this look back at 2024 - and are as excited as we are for what 2025 will bring!

Nominations are hotting up for the first Bradford Music scene awards! Nominations close at 11:55pm on Tuesday 7th January and we'd love it if you could give us a vote! Please share this post, and vote today at https://lnkd.in/ecDkbPHG #Bradford2025

Every day through to the 6th January, we'll be delving back into our archive to talk about what happened at Bradford Cathedral during each month of 2024, with photo highlights and much more. Our 2024 journey brings us now to the penultimate month of the year, November, and it was all about Remembrance with the Eucharist of the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed on All Souls' Day, and the various Remembrance and Armistice services in the Cathedral and at the Cenotaph, plus a themed Monday Fellowship talk looking at the World War I window. Later in the month we hosted 'The Music Of ABBA By Candlelight'; the 'Installation and Collation of Canons' (at which the work of Elaine Swinhoe from the Diocese of Leeds Mothers' Union was celebrated, and we welcomed in Rt Revd Moses Yamo, Bishop of Rorya in Tanzania; and hosted Nadia Eide as part of her 'Winter Light' tour. In November we celebrated success when winning the ‘Leisure Venue of the Year’ at the Telegraph & Argus Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Awards 2024; and also marking Celebration Sunday the next weekend with the Cathedral Music Trust. In staff news we welcomed Carole Clarke and Robert Webb as the first two of our new 'Section Lead and Lay Clerks'. The latest what's on booklet was also published; we received the Cathedrals Cycle Route baton from Newcastle Cathedral ahead of the next relay in 2025; and we featured as part of the Church of England's 'Stir Up Sunday' video.

Every day through to the 6th January, we'll be delving back into our archive to talk about what happened at Bradford Cathedral during each month of 2024, with photo highlights and much more. Our 2024 journey brings us into October. Near the start we welcomed the Victorian Society to the Cathedral as part of their visit of Bradford; we snapped members of our choristers with conkers; and Anthony Gray included the incredible Thunderbirds March as part of his organ recital. The Dean's Stall and the Vicars' plaque were also engraved in October. That month's Monday Fellowship was by Mary White looking at 'Wesley's Women - An Alternative History of Methodism'; we hosted the next Concert by Candlelight, with the music of Adele; and Better Start Bradford held their end of funding fair with us. As the month continued we held our 'Choral Eucharist with Prayer for Healing', welcomed the Intercultured Festival to the de Lacy Centre for a series of bookings, including a sound bath, a cacao ceremony with journaling and dance, and a drumming workshop; and hosted the launch of the 'You Need to Talk about God' films which had been recorded in the Cathedral earlier in the year. At the end of October we also hosted the next annual 'Saying Goodbye Service' and our next family activities, as part of the Bradford Family Learning Festival. In other news we welcomed the next Bradford Faith Trail, our team posed for a photo to promote the 'It's On In Bradford' website; and we had more bell-ringers visit. The Bolton Road Community Cycling Club visited as part of their annual Yatra bike ride; we welcomed members of the Pommie Pilgrims as part of their national fundraising pilgrimage; and we launched some new videos for Recycle Week.

Every day through to the 6th January, we'll be delving back into our archive to talk about what happened at Bradford Cathedral during each month of 2024, with photo highlights and much more. Our 2024 journey enters the final third of the year with September, starting with the filming of the Advent and Christmas videos by the Church of England. The third and final organ recital season began, followed by the End of Life Matters course and then the Practicing the Way course. September's Monday Fellowship talk was delivered by Canon Ned Lunn, on the subject of 'Into Pakistan. Reflections from my visit there in November 2023' and on Saturday 14th we held our next Heritage Open Day which included Jowett cars in the Close, stalls in the Cathedral and a talk from Michael Scott all about his model project. It was also Yorkshire Churches Day and we welcomed the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers to ring our bells. On the following Friday we hosted 'An Evening with Philippa Hanna' and then on Sunday our next annual Big Brew. The month came to a close with the Daniel Martinez Flamenco Company bringing a night of flamenco - Andalucia - to the Cathedral and then our International Harvest on the final Sunday (with food being donated to our mission giving partner Inn Churches), on the same day as bell ringers from Birmingham rang a 12-bell peal. In other news, 30 years of the Fairtrade Mark was celebrated and we featured in some promotional photos taken in our grounds; Deborah Henney joined the team through the Church of England’s Ministry Experience Scheme; we featured on BBC’s Sunday Morning Live as part of a piece looking at the Bradford Faith Trail; and the Cathedral timeline launched in the grounds, and on our website. Also in September we featured in the Bradford Industrial Museum exhibition 'We Built This City’: 150 Years of the Bradford Society of Architects and Surveyors'; in the 'Celebrating Eco Church Awards' exhibition at Ripon Cathedral; we attended the Bradford College freshers’ fair; the first events for Bradford 2025 were announced; and we welcomed Anne Hilton to the team. And, finally, it was announced that we were shortlisted in the Telegraph & Argus Retail, Leisure & Hospitality Awards 2024.

The free recitals take place every Wednesday at 1pm from the 8th January to the 16th April, except for the 19th February https://lnkd.in/e7p79Uqi

On Sunday 29th December we were delighted to welcome Stephen to the Cathedral, the final stop on his mission to visit every Church of England cathedral. Having been a member of the RSCM Southern Cathedral singers, and realising that he had already visited quite a few Anglican cathedrals, he made it his ambition to visit every one. In addition to being a cathedral pilgrim, Stephen is also an avid fan of Chesterfield FC, and comes from the town. They are known as "Spireites", a term which is derived from the famous crooked spire of Chesterfield Parish Church. Stephen said: "Thank you to everyone at Bradford Cathedral for the huge welcome, especially as I am a Spireite, on the way to watch my team take on Bradford." We hope that Bradford's 2-1 win over Chesterfield didn't dampen his visit to the city!

Every day through to the 6th January, we'll be delving back into our archive to talk about what happened at Bradford Cathedral during each month of 2024, with photo highlights and much more. Our 2024 journey continues into August. The Hope Street Consort were our visiting choir on the 4th and, later in the month we had two nights of 'Queen by Candlelight' and one of 'Eagles by Candlelight'. Also in August Revd Pete Gunstone joined Diocesan members for the Taizé pilgrimage. Then, at the end of the month, we welcomed the North 8 Choir who worked with the Cathedral Choristers at the summer's Choir Camp, and on the last day the Cathedral was decorated as Christmas for an exciting upcoming project...

We're back open today for the new year, from 10am - 4pm. Come and start 2025 in the right way with a visit to the Cathedral, and you can see the Cathedrals Cycle Route baton - and other information - on display in our shop. (You can also speak to a member of the team and sign up for the leg from Bradford to Wakefield Cathedral in May!)