Today is Good Friday and tomorrow we should be dismantling the Lent Art Installation at Southwark Cathedral ready for the celebrations on Easter Sunday. The lockdown for Covid-19 has meant that this pilgrimage, like many others has been challenging, but in ways we could not have imagined when we began.
So, the city, like many others is on lockdown, the Cathedral doors are closed and the artwork is there in the Sanctuary of the church, quietly bearing witness and waiting for this to pass.
Today the Good Friday services are being broadcast live online and via the cathedral’s social channels. Over 450 people apparently have been tuning in on Facebook in recent weeks since lockdown started. You can access these streams and their recordings here: https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/worship-and-music/worship/streaming-and-videos/live-service-stream/
Though this is a time full of fear and worry for many, especially in densly-populated areas like Southwark, it’s comforting to think that a large number of the congregation are still present in the form of their measured lengths of string that are hanging before the altar, right in the heart of the cathedral building itself.
The 12 tall candles, so much a living part of this piece, have continued to be lit when possible. They are visible in the background of the Sunday services (led by just 3 members of the clergy) that have been livestreamed already and I hope offer just that – light and hope – to as many people as possible at this time when we all need it most.
The Cathedral also has a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCal1PTQIUohMqybIc9Lipkw/featured
The Dean has an excellent blog: https://southwarklivinggod.wordpress.com/
And the Cathedral’s website has links to resources here for anyone who might need extra spiritual support: https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/about/news/online-prayer-and-devotional-resources/