Turning Cathedrals into Careers Awareness Campaign

Wakefield and Bradford 13th December 2023

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As I write this after Christmas when the people of Gaza are living in ruins it seems to be slightly self-indulgent to be talking about touring cathedrals.

The name Jeel Al Amal School in Bethany, where all our students come from, means Generation of Hope and if we cannot hope and pray for a better world at this time what else can we do. One of our students Mohammad is studying nursing and unable to physically get to the university at this time so has spent the last month doing lectures and tutorials on “Zoom”. The Jeel Scholarship Fund was able to pay for his home internet access and he is keeping up with his learning.

Dorothy and I started at Wakefield Cathedral, welcomed by Dean Simon who on learning that Dorothy worshipped at the Cathedral cheekily announced that they had toilets!

He did reassure us that he was good friends with Dean John and as he splashed us all over Wakefield Cathedral Social Media we forgave him! Wakefield has the tallest spire in Yorkshire and a labyrinth which unfortunately was covered in chairs for a service when we arrived so a return visit is in order to experience it. We sat and had a quiet prayerful moment in the chapel before getting the dogs and starting  the Wakefield Circular Pilgrimage.

This goes past a Chantry Chapel, which is Medieval on a bridge, where masses were said for the souls of the dead and travellers. We were fortunate to be able to go in as the Caretaker was busy fitting a compost toilet. There are only four Bridge Chapels left in England………..Here is the interior

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The route goes past the canal and the Hepworth Gallery but brings into focus the huge economic difference between North and West Yorkshire.

We then bought a take-away coffee (negative we had both forgotten our reuseable cups) and Dorothy drove us over to Bradford. As dogs are allowed in Bradford we took Scout, Dorothy’s collie and Kit, my Jack Russel, out of the car park and down the stairs into a rather larger shopping centre than Boroughbridge has to offer. As Dorothy needed the facilities, I was left standing outside with the dogs. A lady approached asking whether they were my dogs, so I assumed she wanted to chat, so I asked her whether she worked there as she seemed to have some form of uniform on.

Then a man arrived asking this lady whether she was having any trouble with me? She then explained that she was security and dogs were not allowed in the shopping centre. I explained that I was on a Pilgrimage to the Cathedral, and I could not see any signs saying no dogs. She let me go obviously thinking I was from a different planet. By this point I needed the facilities and Dorothy had reappeared, so bladders relieved we exited the shopping centre. Has anyone ever designed a shopping centre so that one can do this without going round the entire ground floor first?

Bradford Cathedral was much easier to find! Angelique in the Dean’s office gave us a cuppa and the dogs treats before meeting Dean Andy who it turns out had worked in the Middle East for Mission to Seamen. The Cathedral nave warm honey coloured stone dates from the 15th Century with a William Morris window in the newer end.

Our Christmas Light evening at Kirby Hill was two days after this visit so the words here seemed apt.

 

To prove we were there we had a photo taken in front of the

Christmas Tree with Dean Andy.

 

Kit had her photo taken and then visitors from Pakistan

wanted their photo taken with her too.

Time and light  meant that our walk round Bradford was

fairly limited but  from March the faith trail occurs on the

first Saturday of the month.

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Both Cathedrals are free to enter , have great card shops and toilets.

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Thank you again to both Dean Simon and Dean Andy for helping publicise the Jeel Scholarship Fund.