From the Bishop

The Bishop of St Albans writes:

“St Albans Cathedral is the home to Britain’s first saint, and the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in the country.

The Dean of St Albans is appointed to lead the life and work of the Cathedral, and to share with me and other senior colleagues in the oversight of the Diocese of St Albans and in supporting our vision of ‘Living God’s Love’.

St Albans Cathedral is a flourishing worshipping community but the Coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact. The Dean will need to provide leadership to the Cathedral community to help review and reset the vision and strategy for mission as we emerge from lockdown, building on all that has gone before, and all that has been learnt over the last year.

We need a Dean who will bring experience of leading churches into growth and confident in equipping people in mission, especially in the areas of social justice and caring for our environment. The Cathedral has a long history of supporting children, families and young people in their discipleship and we would like to strengthen this aspect of the Cathedral’s ministry even further.

We are, of course, hoping to appoint a new Dean who will have the wisdom of Solomon, the preaching ability of St John Chrysostom, the charisma of St Francis, and the prayer life of St John of the Cross, embodied in a holy and sacrificial life rooted in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. But we also know those criteria would rule out most potential applicants! If you sense a call to this role – even if you have not previously considered being a Dean – please do prayerfully consider submitting an application.

I am looking forward to working with the Dean as a key colleague within the Bishop’s Staff Team. Please be assured of my prayers as you discern whether you are being called to be the next Dean of St Albans.”

+Alan