This week’s interview is with Simon Beresford, Lay Reader
How long have you been part of the community at Wakefield Cathedral?
In 1997 I moved to Wakefield and was enamoured by the view of the Cathedral from my window. I returned to a life of worship and Christian discipleship after a break of some years. Having been raised in a vicarage environment, it was quite different to enter a church as an adult, yet I was warmly welcomed and soon became a ‘family’ member.
Which services do you attend?
Over time, I have been to all the regular services, and many more besides! I began by only attending the 1100 ‘Solemn Eucharist’ as I could have a lay-in. As a Server, I have been privileged to be part of the broader liturgical fabric of the Cathedral throughout the years. Each act of worship is unique…. I have no favourite, although the opportunities to fully share in eucharistic worship are always special. That said, I have engaged more when there are less words, with Missa for example.
What do you most treasure about Wakefield Cathedral?
Our church is both a Diocesan mother-church and a city-centre parish church. It offers so much to so many, with a rich variety of opportunity, spanning traditional and fresh liturgies and encounters with the sacred; with welcoming space for community and personal moments, providing refreshment for the body and the soul. Above all, I treasure this House of God as a home of prayer, a place for stillness, bringing our joys and woes, where even just a brief pause can ready oneself for the onward journey.
How have you been inspired to live our your faith as a member of the Cathedral community?
From the very beginning of my membership of this community I have sensed God’s call to discipleship and beyond. I have explored vocation to public ministries in several forms, training for and being licensed as a Lay Reader a few years ago. All of this has been possible within a Christian ‘family’ that encourages and values one another’s ministry and contribution to the Kingdom. Lay collaboration isn’t always easy in a cathedral, but we seem to make it work here, being rooted amidst a broad congregation of faith.
What do you miss most about the cathedral during this period of lockdown?
Not ‘what’ but who: all of you. Although I have benefitted enormously from the technological developments in our recent worship and fellowship, I find that I mostly miss the sharing of the Eucharist – seeing my church family move forward in hope and prayer to encounter Christ in bread and wine.
We have faith and will return to share once more.