How Durham Cathedral could use modern technology to enhance its mission and ministry

1. 1
elling
the
Story
How Durham Cathedral
could use modern
technology to enhance and
extend its mission and
ministry.1
1 Submitted Summative Essay:Mission in Context,
MATM, Cranmer Hall, June 2009
“Just as the ‘new technology’ of stained
glass windows made the old stories come
alive for the populace of medieval
yesterday, now our new technologies can
also enhance the understanding and
admiration of a new populacetoday.In fact,
it may be as well to consider the eye strain
caused by reading text on screen akin to the
neck strain surely felt by the faithful,
craning up to decipher the sections of
window as well to remember the growth
and successof that ‘new technology’. Let us
take heart from it, and carry forward that
encouragement into our development…”2
Fifteenyearsago,thiswasthe conclusionof
my MA dissertation. The technology it
referred to was standalone, not pre-dating
but developing alongside the internet,
which was still in its infancy. The
technologiesmayhave proliferated but the
sentiment remains – that we should
embrace them.
Lord,
whois infiniteincreativity
and seesthe potential beyondourselves,
helpusto hear yourvoice,
see yourglory,
and share yourlove withthe world.
Kate Boardman,June 2009
2 Concluding paragraph fromBoardman,K., Modern
Technology and Medieval Studies: Can Multimedia
Enhance theStudy of Medieval Manuscripts? University
of Hull, MA dissertation (unpubl.), 1995
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NTRODUCTION
New media and communication
technologies are routinely used today
in almost every aspect of life. They bring
potential to create and connect, to
support and to serve; opportunities that
did not exist twenty years ago. Many of
these opportunities can and increasingly
are being exploited by the Church to
enrich the experience offered to members
and non-members, pilgrims and visitors.
This essay will cover three key areas and
explore various outworkings of them, as
they could be put to use by Durham
Cathedral to enhance its mission today.
Firstly, using the website in a more
dynamic and personal fashion to
communicate with not to its readers.
Secondly, to make the most of digital
images, using them to visually market the
cathedral more aggressively both locally
and further afield and exploiting the
power of the image to communicate and
inspire. Thirdly, emphasis will shift to the
consideration of audio, and how digital
audio, which is easy and relatively cheap
to create, could significantly increase
engagement with the Cathedral. Finally,
showing how these can harmoniously
work together, this essay proposes a
larger scale project akin to that referred
to in the opening quotation, and which
Durham Cathedral is ideally placed to
exploit within the next twelve months.
An evaluation of all available web
technologies or digital tools with regard
to how they could be used by the
Cathedral is far beyond the scope of this
essay. There are a number of initiatives in
consideration or development, such as the
[instantly successful] presence of the
Cathedral on Facebook; these are ignored
here due to lack of space and the fact that
they are already being discussed.
Similarly, the potential to enter 3D
environments and create an official
presence in Second Life – despite this
being the subject of an international
conference to be held at St John’s College
in July – also needs must be neglected.
Both of these technologies are discussed,
though not with direct reference to the
Cathedral, in a previous essay, the Word
made virtual.3
Nor is there scope in an essay of this
length to elaborate greatly on pre-existing
work on the mission of cathedrals.4
Reference is made at the end to Durham
Cathedral in Mission,5 written by Canon
Rosalind Brown in August 2008, the
bullet points for mission listed therein
form a backbone to much of what follows.
Two themes underpin the development of
this essay. The first motif which runs
through it and which defined the content
selection is that of telling stories. The
Church is and has been full of stories, full
of people, from Jesus teaching his
disciples in parables through to the
3 Boardman, K. TheWord madevirtual:some thoughts
on mission and ministry online. Diocese ofDurham
Living Theology Today summative essay, February 2008.
http://files.blog-
city.com/files/F05/93085/p/f/word_made_virtual.pdf
4 Though background tothe thinkingcomesfromworks
listed in the bibliography.
5
http://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/introduction/missio
n
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recently converted’s testimonies; the
telling, listening to, recasting, sharing and
recasting of stories, and the story, is at the
heart of mission.
The second theme of the essay is in
choosing digital tools which help to
exemplify the definition by Michael
Sadgrove of cathedrals as places of
presence, of passionate engagement, and
interpretation (‘As wide as the Earth’,
Installation Sermon, Sheffield, 3 June
1998). This essay proposes the particular
uses of technology detailed below to add
colour and depth to the ongoing story
woven by Durham Cathedral today, uses
which should enhance and illustrate the
sense of presence, draw people in to a
more passionate engagement, and offer
them a far richer interpretation of the
story the Cathedral has to tell.
ATHEDRALS AND MODERN
TECHNOLOGY
“Tostimulate further debate
and to encourage those
responsible for cathedrals to
explore new and imaginative
waysof living out their
contemporary role.”
Aim of HeritageandRenewal.6
Using technology to enhance the mission
of the cathedral should be a natural
extension to the existing IT and mission
strategies. Whilst the Cathedral seems to
stand firm, aloof, impervious to the
passing of time, the imperative to live out
God’s mission in today’s world does not
excuse it from moving with that world.
Meeting people where they are today
6 HeritageandRenewal, Archbishops' commission on
cathedrals,chairedby Lady Howe,1994
includes exploiting the technology that
they use to interact with each other and
with society.
“A cathedral is […] beckoned by
its very character to look
outwards and become immersed
in the wider world beyondits
doors […]”7
This may require a pluralist approach at
the current time, to reach out across the
generations, blending traditional methods
of presence and communication to those
who grew up in the last century with the
newer channels of communication and
the always-on presence now assumed by
the digital natives of the millennial
generation. For a while, there may be a
need to provide and maintain multiple
communication streams, however, a
carefully planned, coherent and
integrated strategy for the future should
be both attainable and sustainable.
Durham Cathedral ought to consider how
it connects and communicates both in
respect of its existing presence on the
internet through its web pages and how
they may be extended and enhanced, and
through the careful consideration and
adoption of other emergent technologies.
A key word here is “and adoption of” –
communication and information
technologies appear, grow and develop at
a pace which often surprises those who
do not belong to the net generation.
It can be strange to consider something
which is less than two years old a
“mature” technology. With the speed of
7 Lewis, C. & Platten,S. Dreaming Spires? Cathedrals in a
new age. London,SPCK, 2006,p.21
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technology development today this is not
uncommon, and must be accepted. To
embrace any and all new technological
fads is obviously not appropriate for an
esteemed institution such as Durham
Cathedral, however it is important to keep
abreast of the technology, be aware of and
understand the marketplace and to be
prepared and able to move quickly into
the adoption of tools and technologies
which are identified as beneficial.
Being prepared and able to move quickly
to adoption means to have consultancy
and decision-making processes in place to
enable such a move. A parish church may
be much more flexible than a cathedral
and a vicar able to take more executive
decisions to put things more swiftly into
practice than a dean. Today’s consumers
can be fickle and can mock failed or
clumsy attempts to ‘get wiv the yoof’;
conversely they are also a valuable
advisory group to engage in conversation.
Maintaining an open dialogue with a wide
range of stakeholders and revisiting
communication methods regularly
provides the opportunity to review and
recommend new channels to
communicate with existing and new
audiences.
This essay does not mean to reduce
‘mission and ministry’ to ‘connect and
communicate’. Prayer, praise, teaching,
worship, hospitality, sanctuary; the past,
the present and the future – these can all
be touched and enhanced by new
technology. However because being able
to reach out and meet people is at the
heart of mission and ministry there are
key opportunities available to the
Cathedral to exploit in the socially-
networked world of today, these are the
focus here.
Do we risk diminishing the Cathedral’s
lofty existence to offer unbroken prayers
and praise whether in the presence of a
congregation or not by encouraging it to
engage more, and more directly, with its
audiences? No, because as we shall see,
adopting and exploiting technology can
help us reach beyond the clergy, beyond
the congregation to the city and beyond,
to all God’s people; touching those who do
or will come but also those who don’t,
can’t or won’t.
DYNAMIC AND PERSONAL
WEB PRESENCE
(Giving a human face to the
technological)
People are connected across the globe
today in a world where they expect
information not only to be available 24/7
but also to be regularly updated. Moving
from a static (Web 1.0) to a more dynamic
(Web 2.0) website and incorporating a
sense of blogging would enable the
Cathedral to connect and communicate in
a much richer way with readers, It would
display a/the human face (and human
voice, see below) of Durham Cathedral. In
a blog (from ‘web-log’) people use the
web as a public journal where they share
thoughts, activities and resources, which
can be commented and entered into
conversation on.
There are a number of Bishops who
already blog as individuals, and maintain
a public record of not only their thoughts
and prayers, but of their teachings, their
visits and also of prompts to things for
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their subscribers to read and digest.8
Some appear more personal than official,
all are a wonderfully informal face of the
man behind the mitre. Most of these are
maintained by the Bishops as and by
themselves, rather than as a part of their
cathedral’s web presence. This does not
mean however, that it is inappropriate for
a cathedral to do similarly.
The people who live and work in the
Cathedral precincts are a fascinating
group of people involved in many visible
aspects of the day-to-day life of the
cathedral and city, and many less visible.
Updating the website with not just ‘news
headlines’ but regular information about
what is happening in the world, on large
or small scale would build into a vital and
visible example of what God is doing in
the world through the Cathedral and the
people in it.
Content for a more dynamic part of the
website along the lines of a blog is by no
means exhaustive, but might include:
 Prayers forthe week,including
some of those
people/countries/situations
prayed for. There are many
beautiful prayers read at
Evensong or the midday
Eucharist, being able to return to
these would be helpful for some;
for others there wouldbe a focus
to be able to pray together with
the community throughout the
week.
8 Alan Wilson (http://bishopalan.blogspot.com/); John
Sentamu (http://www.archbishopofyork.org/761); Tom
Wright(http://www.ntwrightpage.com/)
 Information on events attended in
the region, whether that be clergy
preaching elsewhere or
engagement with Durham City
Vision on developments forthe
riverbanks or progress on the
World Heritage Site.
 Bookreviews, short bible passage
commentaries or reflections on
events/reading.
 Reports of events in the Cathedral
or city.Or further afield – the
Facebookpage has allowed
Adrian Beney to post links to the
videos of the Cathedral Choir’s
trip toVersailles within a few
hours of his return.
 Updates fromvarious associations
– interim news about the Friends’
Ramsey window,information
about the Durham Churches’
Together seminar series etc.
These do not replace entry in Newslink or
in the printed Cathedral News, but gain
currency from being timely, and are a
great opportunity to engage people on an
ongoing basis. Web page contents like this
are often called ‘stories’, and would not be
limited to updates from the clergy – there
are many other stories to tell. Pieces of
interesting information about the building
itself, tales from the guides or even a
regular entry on life as a chorister, as the
girls begin their training would all add to
the colour and depth of connection
established between the Cathedral and
the wider world.

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Some of this can – and no doubt will – be
done on the new Facebook page, and
although this would limit it a little to
Facebook-registered users, the
informality is already taken as a given in
this form. More direct still would be to tie
in updates on a blog-style web presence
with a presence on Twitter. Twitter is a
140 character infostream, which exploded
into popularity when such personalities
as Stephen Fry and Barack Obama were
discussed in the press as using it.
Westminster Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral
and St Pauls are all twitterers, of slightly
different types (see also Appendix 1 for
screen shots),9 as are some of the Bishops
already mentioned above.10 Copying an
existing ‘style’ in using technologies like
blogs or Twitter is difficult, it is
impossible for one’s own style to be
suppressed. This is a good thing, and
many voices are welcome; Durham
Cathedral could certainly produce an
engaging stream of events, prayers,
notifications to provide a vibrant ‘running
commentary’ on the life, work and
mission of the Cathedral.
SING IMAGE AND IMAGES
CREATIVELY
(Attracting visitors)
It is true to say that few cathedrals are
easy to arrive at, via public or private
transport, and Durham is no exception.
One can arrive in Durham on the train and
see that the Cathedral towers over the
city. Choose to walk from the station
9 http://twitter.com/wabbey;
http://twitter.com/SalisburyCath;
http://twitter.com/StPaulsLondon
10 Alan Wilson (http://twitter.com/alantlwilson);John
Sentamu (http://twitter.com/JohnSentamu).
http://twitter.com/twishop is keepingtrackof them.
though, and the Cathedral can disappear,
leaving an on-foot pilgrim unsure of the
route to take. A set of directions with
visual prompts on the website would help
to ameliorate this, and not only of the
direct route to the Cathedral, but also
suggested walks around the riverbanks,
which play a large part in the Cathedral’s
development plan and also in its finances.
Sharing the hidden corners of Durham
with our visitors is an easy way to
enhance their engagement with the world
heritage site and the Cathedral’s own part
in that.11
Some of the photographs chosen for use
on the walking tour (and a number of the
finer interior images) should be added to
Google Earth. Increasingly people
planning holidays use Google Maps to
organise itineraries and stays. Again,
working with Durham City Vision and the
World Heritage Site, the development
team should be ensuring authorised
photographs and information can be
retrieved by anyone searching the web in
this way (does, for example, anyone in the
Chapter Office maintain a watching brief
on Durham Cathedral’s wikipedia site?)
Releasing authorised photographs has
wider currency than one might expect.
The popularity of the recent
Photographers’ Evening proved the
interest in the subject. The website
11 Walkingtoursto and fromthestation are an obvious
startingpoint; however a logical development might
then be fortheCathedral engage with DurhamCity
Vision andlocal hotels toadaptroutes for them, which
they can distributewith city maps or on theirwebsites
for people to seein advance; thisis an opportunity to
work towardpartnership with differenthotels in the
longerterm, with whomwe play a vital role in the drive
to make Durhama placeto stay overnight instead ofa
day, or three nights rather than two.
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provides nowhere near enough
photographs. Some of the Durham City
Photographers’ Club framed shots on
display at the Photographers’ Evening
were far superior to most of the ones that
can be seen on the website, and could
prove a real draw in encouraging people
to come and visit. Prints such as these
should also be bought, licensed and made
available in the city. One of the city’s
finest pieces of advertising for itself is the
back wall of the Slug and Lettuce pub,
where canvas prints of Durham’s more
beautiful views line the wall. There are a
vast number of local residents who have
never set foot inside the Cathedral and
the Cathedral is missing a marketing coup
by not making the most of the images that
it has. Does the wider provision of images
diminish the sacred space of the building,
or reduce the likelihood of it taking your
breath away when walking in? Not in the
least. Creative photography can often help
you engage further with the subject,
spending time sitting quietly and
focussing on small details as well as just
seeing the whole.
Many visitors to Durham do come with
the Cathedral top of their to-see list, but
some are work or conference visitors just
travelling through. Making the best, the
most evocative of the photography we
have available to them in the city, in
hotels and restaurants and on the web
might whet their appetite for a return
visit. This is an opportunity not to be
missed. That over 50% of voters chose
Durham Cathedral in the 2001 BBC poll12
for their favourite building means that
many people that do know it, at least from
the outside.
12 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1511841.stm
I discovered Durham Cathedral
quite by accident in January,
1973. I was travelling from
Manchester to Edinburgh on the
train with friends. The early
morning was cold and a heavy
fog lay all around. We pulled into
a station and I got up to stretch
and look out the compartment
window. To my surprise, there
above me, towering up out of the
fog were two enornous (sic)
Norman towers. It was so very
beautiful and impressive, that I
hurried to find out the name of
the station so I could return soon
to see whatever church that was.
It was "Durham". I returned
within the month and have loved
it ever since. I have only
discoverd (sic) in the meantime
that my father's family were
County Durham folk. It was fated
to be.
Pastor Roy Ledbetter on the
Durham Cathedral Facebookpage
Many others do not recognise the
silhouette, or know what beauty awaits
them on stepping inside. Many American
tourists never reach further than York.
Does the Cathedral wish to attract more
‘visitors’? How many visitors is too many?
How many pilgrims is too many? Durham
remains a unique setting of castle and
cathedral, so emblematic of our political
and theological heritage that we should, if
not encourage more people, at the least
ensure that those who do visit, or who
cannot but who do want to learn about it
have the opportunity to do so.

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DDING AN AUDIO
EXPERIENCE
(Deepening the experience of
visitors)
Moving on, we now consider the visitors
and pilgrims which the Cathedral already
has as well as those it may welcome in the
future. How do we offer them the
opportunity to make the most of their
visit? How can technology help us to do
this?
The Art Institute in Chicago (AIC) – as do
many art galleries, museums and historic
buildings – provides an audio guide for
visitors to hire for the duration of their
visit as a complement or alternative to a
guide or catalogue. Some parts of the
AIC’s permanent exhibition are more
popular than others – for example the
classic painting of the puritan couple
‘American Gothic’.13 For these it is
possible to download more detailed audio
as an mp3, to play on your PC, iPod or
mobile phone, covering the work, the
artist, its context history and reception. If
you only have a limited time to visit the
AIC, this service allows you to identify the
things you want to see and create your
own mini-guide.14
Listening to an audio guide, hired or
downloaded, can allow you to engage
more deeply with a subject whilst
standing in front of it. Richard Mayer in
his research15 demonstrates that true
understanding is improved by employing
dual input (words and pictures, pictures
13 http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/6565
14 See ‘Enrich your visit’:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/check_here_first.ht
ml#enrich and the moregeneral startingpoint ‘Plan
your visit’:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/geninfo.html
15 Mayer, RichardE. Multimedia Learning.Cambridge:
CUP, 2001
and sound). It is better to look at a
painting or sculpture – or take a tour of
the Cathedral – while listening to audio
than it is to keep breaking your gaze to
read the next bit of the guide. It can also
be much more accessible for those whose
reading skills are not so good, or whose
eyesight struggles in the light of the
Cathedral.
The AIC takes a step further in its ‘enrich
your visit’ section, and this has also been
taken up by the British Museum and
others.16 Recording live lectures or
creating specific series of audio which is
more contextual than on a single work of
art. Series on such as van Gogh, the
paintings of the Renaissance, the debate
about repatriation for the Elgin Marbles,
the manuscripts of St Catherine’s
Monastery are available from the web as
individual downloads or as podcast
subscriptions.17
These examples should encourage
Durham Cathedral to see a number of
possibilities within them. Investment in
audio guides for visitors to the Cathedral
would almost certainly be a valuable
move. The logistics of their security,
management, issue and return would
make it no small undertaking, even if it
has the opportunity to generate some
considerable revenue. One would not
wish to turn the Cathedral into a ‘living
museum’, with people just following the
16 The British Museum‘VisitingTactics’is a valuable
summary of need-to-know information thatthe
Cathedralcouldlearn much from with respectto its
website:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/
uk/735940/British-Museum-Gallery-Guide.html
17 For example, see‘Forgotten Persia’:
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/re
sources/index.html
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guide (in either audio or print) and not
stopping to look around, taking the time
for the building and God to interact with
them as they move around. Nor would
one wish an audio guide to be seen as a
stealth entry fee.
Audio can however be relatively easily
and cheaply created and made available,
as the AIC and the British Museum have
done, via the web. Different audio series
can be created to respond to people’s
differing interests. These in no way
detract from the group and public tours
by the guides. There are two obvious
audio guides with which to begin.
Firstly, a guide to the building, its
architecture and decoration. This can be
internal and external, if they are
downloading and listening on their own
player there is no reason why this should
not include exterior discussions. This
should include stories and references to
the Cathedral, from the milkmaid and the
dun cow to Bill Bryson’s quote from Notes
from a Small Island, which he would
probably be delighted to record
personally. This guide could bring
together the stories of, and interviews
with, the stone masons, the architect, the
Ramsey window designer, the clergy and
the fascinating tales and endless
knowledge of the senior guides. This
would make for a riot of audio colour, to
interpret and to share the passionate
engagement these people have for, and
bring forth from the Cathedral.
A second guide would be more reflective,
an audio pilgrimage. This would take a
similar basic format as the printed
version(s) but be extended to allow for
the potential of the medium. It should
include appropriate music, reflections and
prayers to accompany the main text as
pilgrims make their way around the
Cathedral. There can be gentle prompts at
relevant points: ‘pause awhile in the
crossing, see how the light catches…’
Poetic, perhaps, but allowing the listener
be drawn into their own conversation
with God in the space.
Audio guides can be downloaded in
advance of a visit, brought to a visit or
used for more information after a visit,
perhaps tempting a return trip. The audio
series offered by the AIC and the British
Museum show us the way beyond guides.
Part of the mission and ministry of the
Cathedral is to teach. Primarily this is the
teaching of the Bishop, but teaching also
happens both regularly in preaching and
in occasional studies. Beyond the
congregational engagement, a Cathedral
should be a diocesan resource, and the
teaching ministry of the gifted clergy and
lay staff should be available to a wider
audience, in the same way that the
Durham Churches Together series from
Easter to Pentecost was videoed and will
be available to all on DVD.
Capturing the Lent courses offered by the
Cathedral and individual events such as
short talks for the launch of books by
members of Chapter would create and
develop a base of teaching materials for
people within and without the
congregational community, within and
without Durham to engage with. There
are such interesting and thought-
provoking lectures and talks held at the
Cathedral that this would be a valuable
asset. Not everyone can attend every

10. 10
event, and even those who can, may be
glad of the opportunity to ‘listen again’.
Some of the teaching that happens on for
example the Liturgy or Benedictine days
can make a real difference to one’s
devotional life, knowing more about the
prayers and development of parts of the
service and feeling oneself a small but not
insignificant part of that ongoing chain.
This is surely to be encouraged.
ISTEN AGAIN
The potential to ‘listen again’ leads
naturally on to the consideration of
podcasting sermons. Already the text of
sermons is available on the Cathedral
website, and when you know the person
who gave the sermon, you can often hear
their personality. Hearing the way that
words were actually delivered makes for
a different experience than simply
reading the base text for yourself. It
draws you into the conversation. It is an
easy technological step to record and
transmit the sermons given in the
Cathedral to the web as a podcast. If
someone preaches a message which hits
home and a listener wants to reconnect
with it, why not?
Podcasting teaching from the Cathedral
spreads its mission beyond the people
who step through the door on a Sunday
morning to provide a wider ministry. That
may be to a regular member of the
community now ill or house-bound,
someone who has moved away but
follows the sermons with fond memories
of happy years in Durham. It might also
be picked up by and speak hope to
Christians persecuted far away in the
world, but with access to the internet. It
is an encapsulated moment in time, to be
true, but podcasting is increasingly
common and generally roundly
successful. As with many new
technologies, people unfamiliar with it do
not always appreciate it, nor feel
comfortable with throwing themselves on
the mercy of a potentially global audience.
There are theological fears about who you
are actually preaching to, if sermons are
podcast, and whether this makes a
difference. Does knowing that the sermon
will be podcast affect how one preaches
or what is preached on the day? Is it really
likely to change the message preached on
a particular day in a particular place to a
particular congregation (especially when
the text already appears on the website)?
Far from being a distraction, the context
is important, and sets the tone for the
podcast – preaching is designed to be
God’s word at a moment in time. If it is a
genuinely Spirit-inspired message, isn't it
going to be able to reflect again and again
anyway, like the Gospel stories do?
HE DIGITAL TREASURES
With the recent notice to eject SSG
from the Bookshop, and redevelop
the claustral buildings, Durham Cathedral
faces closing its Treasures for up to a
year, while creating new ‘stories’ around
the heritage and history of the Cathedral
and the Northern Saints. But why close?
In physical reality, yes, but this represents
a fantastic opportunity to make the most
of digital and web technologies and the
talents and scholarship at the Cathedral to
create a virtual visit in the interim. This
would not only retain some access to the
Treasures whilst the exhibition was
closed, but also would provide no small
marketing potential for the revamped
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display when it re-opens. Taking the time
to record many of the Cathedral’s
treasures is also a chance to preserve
them digitally for the future.
However one may feel about the home
location of the Lindisfarne Gospels, the
Turning the Pages project offers a
stunning view of the artefact, its history,
context, production, relations and
inheritance. Combining both high-quality
images with music and written
interpretation, it brings otherwise
inaccessible yet key pieces of our heritage
to everyone. Fifteen years ago, this
technology was in its infancy, now it is
commonplace, and the vast treasure of
Durham Cathedral should be opened up
to everyone. Modern technology offers
the applications to do this, and the
opportunity should be grasped.
It is a common misconception that by
making glimpses of digital reality
available to the world, people will ‘make
do’ with visiting virtually. This is not the
case, it can encourage and engage, and
enhance the Cathedral’s connections with
its varied audiences. The careful
preservation of the Cathedral’s artefacts
no longer means that they should not be
available to teach, meditate on and inspire
new generations.18
ONCLUSION
These are just a very few of the
ways that the Cathedral could
exploit modern technology for mission by
leveraging the available web tools to
enable it to connect and communicate
more widely and effectively. This essay
hopes to have illustrated that there are
18 At Appendix 2, some imagesof the Lindisfarne
Gospelsin SecondLife
aspects of new technology which could
add value to many or even all of the
mission activities from the Cathedral’s
Purpose Statement:
 Being Anglican, being the shrine of
St Cuthbert, being a living centre
of prayer, pilgrimage and
presence, welcoming people
whatever their faith.
 Being a sacred space.
 Being a sign of the presence of
God in the world.
 Being a place where daily prayer
and praise are offered.
 Being a place of hospitality and
sanctuary
 Bearing witness to the gospel
through evangelism, service,
environmental and social
responsibility, practical care for
those in need.
 Encouraging and supporting
pilgrimage and spiritual
formation.
 Being a focus foradult and
children’s Christian education, for
theological reflections, intellectual
engagement in the region in
partnership withthe university
and diocese.
 Supporting the bishop and diocese
in mission.
 Collaborating ecumenically with
churches in the region.
 Conserving, developing and
interpreting the historical
buildings, fabric and artefacts.
 Celebrating human creativity
through music and the arts.
C

12. 12
 Promoting the welfare of the city,
county and region in partnership
with others.19
Each aspect helps the Cathedral to reach,
inform, connect with, teach, support and
share with both the gathered and the
dispersed communities.
A rule of thumb when considering
adopting a new technology is perhaps to
apply to it a test of Michael Sadgrove’s
definitions of cathedral mission. If a
technology responds to at least one of
them, that is: if it increases a sense of
presence, brings a richer interpretation or
helps to tell the Cathedral’s story in a way
that demonstrates or elicits a passionate
engagement with the building, the
community and with God, then it should
be embraced.
“I dare to summon the whole
Church bravely to cross this new
threshold, to put into the deep of
the Net, so that now as in the past
the great engagement of the
Gospel and culture may show to
the world ‘the glory of God on the
face of Christ’ (2 Cor 4:6). May
the Lord bless all those who work
for this aim.”
Pope JohnPaul II,
January 24th, 2002
19 Brown,Canon R., DurhamCathedral in Mission,
August, 2008,p.2

13. 13

14. 14
Appendix 1: Church Twits 

15. 15

16. 16
And the difference between +Sentamu’s twitter page and his blog:

17. 17

18. 18
Appendix 2: Digital Treasures in Second Life

19. 19

20. 20
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