Shoes in the Sand

Rochester Cathedral’s Canon Missioner Jean Kerr shares stories of prayer, hospitality and “shoes in the sand” from all walks of life, at one of the UK’s thriving visitor churches …

Interact has previously reported on SGM Lifewords’ Historic Churches Initiative, which helps churches connect visitors with the Bible’s life words – and ultimately with God – through specially-designed Bible resources as well as ideas for prayer installations and events. Rochester Cathedral in south-east England has used hundreds of copies of the Historic Churches Prayer Cards with visitors. We asked Canon Jean Kerr to tell us more about this unique mission field, and her own experience of God at work as tourists from all walks of life pass through the Cathedral.

“As Canon Missioner, my task is to continually encourage the cathedral to look outside of itself, and to make the most of the endless opportunities that we have over the year to engage with the visitors who come through the door. It’s never just a historical, architectural visit here, never. We try to make sure that the idea of spiritual pilgrimage runs through everything we do. We’re always looking for opportunities to point to something more, inviting people into living, Spirit life. It’s demanding and exciting work.

“Cathedrals are a gift to the nation. And SGM Lifewords Historic Churches resources have been a gift to us. The Prayer Cards in particular have helped as we’ve tried to welcome people in and help them to engage with the space: they’re really popular, and just disappear! We rarely see the fruit of this ministry, because the people we’re engaging with are strangers. But I think people respond to the anonymity of the cathedral: using the space, making it their own, even though we have no idea who they are. Our role is to provide a welcome, a listening ear if necessary, and space to be.

An Open Door
“There was originally a Benedictine monastery here, and that’s set patterns of rhythm of life, of prayer, of hospitality and generosity, that have sprung new life into this community of faith. The issue of welcome, and how we are hospitable to the stranger in our midst, excites us. We’re always inviting in. We’ve just received a grant to have the Great West Doors glassed so that people can always see in, even if they wouldn’t dream of stepping through the doors. God is always accessible, always available, and we wanted to reflect something of that.

“We try to make the most of every opportunity. So we invited the local community to experience the life of the cathedral by holding an Open Evening here: we provided refreshments and gave them the opportunity to see bits of the cathedral they wouldn’t normally see. We hosted the Antiques Roadshow in the Nave on a roasting hot day, and provided cold drinks for 2,000 people. And the cathedral regularly serves as the venue for concerts and community events.

“Being in Rochester, with its historical connections with Charles Dickens, we have some cultural festivals which allow us to offer hospitality. At the Christmas Dickens festival, we will have something like 10,000 people coming through the cathedral in two days. For a lot of people that festival at the beginning of December is their only Christmas experience. We welcome them in, provide opportunities for creative prayer, sing carols, and share the Gospel message. The cathedral is always filled to capacity – we end up having to turn people away!

A Waiting Room
“It’s very clear that when people come in, they want to do something that enables them to make their mark. People long to make prayer. So we set up “missional installations” for visitors to interact with.

“Last Christmas, we wanted to translate the idea of Advent into the popular world. So we set up a waiting room. We put up some simple pictures, and placed a book at the high altar where people were invited to write down what they were waiting for. And the stories that were there! Young people with cancer. People whose family relationships have broken down who were waiting, longing, for a daughter or sister to make contact so that things would be restored. Waiting for politicians to come to their senses. People shared profound experiences and concerns in the books that were written here.

Shoes in the Sand
“Another time, we set up an installation around the theme of footprints and shoes. We made a “beach” in the cathedral. I asked people, some Christians, some not, to leave a shoe for us on the sand, walking towards the cross, and to tell their story. One of my friends had a daughter who had been in the London 7/7 bomb blasts and lost a leg. She left her unworn shoe in the sand. There was a baby shoe from a woman who’d lost six babies; a bishop’s shoe; a shoe from someone who’d gone as a missionary to Indonesia, but become very ill and had to come home again. All these stories shared!

“What astounded me was the way in which visitors chose to engage with this. There was no instruction, no invitation, but we found that people were removing their shoes to place their own footprints in the sand, pointing towards the cross. People had lit candles, and instead of placing them on the candle-stand, they’d placed them at the cross. If we provide the space, an indication of something, people can and will take it on for themselves.

Stories Shared
“One of the things I love about working here is that you meet so many ordinary people, and if you’ve got a dog collar on, they just open up: sharing their stories, asking the questions they’ve longed to ask but have never asked.

“I had one conversation with a lady who was helping her little daughter to light a candle. And she said: “Now make a wish to the good fairy.” I thought – I can’t just let this go! So I said, “I’m really pleased you’re lighting a candle here”, and we had a conversation about the good fairy: what was that about? She explained to me that she didn’t realise you could pray to God: she thought you had to be religious. Another conversation with a sixteen-year-old who was waiting for the end of her cancer treatment and wondering, “will I spend the rest of my life waiting for it to return?” Conversations with people who come in thinking they’ve come for architecture and suddenly find something in the building that’s of God.

“I can remember coming in one day and a couple of days in a row there was an Asian girl standing by the candles. On the third day I went and sat nearby for a while. She looked up and she’d been crying, and I said: “I don’t wish to intrude, but if you need to talk, I’m here.” She said: “I’m just asking God to help me, because I’m a Christian, but my family don’t want to know. I have no family now.” And I think – God, what can I do with that? How do I respond to that in 30 seconds? As it was she worked in Rochester and lived elsewhere, and just needed a safe place to cry. What a privilege to be able to meet people, at whatever level, and listen to their stories.

Writing History
“Rochester Cathedral is rich in history. We’ve just finished work on a new audio-visual tour which will walk visitors around the building and show them some of the treasures: what is probably the oldest Norman door in England; the pilgrim steps. We’re grateful for and want to celebrate our heritage. But this is also a living space, where history is still being written.

“Everyone who walks through these doors has an opportunity to be part of the life of the cathedral, to make their mark. And as we allow that to happen, as we invite them in, extend a welcome, and help them engage, we open up the possibility of encounter with God.”

To find out more, and to order resources, visit our new Historic Churches website.