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Guildford Cathedral and the Common Good

Guildford Cathedral engages and inspires people for the ‘common good’.

This work is rooted in the belief that individuals - created in the image of God and working together in community - have the potential for good.  The Cathedral has a long term commitment to realising this potential, of working towards the ‘common good’.

Specifically, the Cathedral works to:

  • extend welcome and hospitality to all who visit
  • ignite transformative conversations with civic society, universities, schools, the public, private and voluntary sector, as well as many of our individual visitors
  • support the ministry of the Bishop, and encourage the Diocese, in faith and engagement
  • sustain patterns of daily worship

Across all that it does, the Cathedral encourages and facilitates conversations around the ‘common good’.  Through such transformative conversations, understanding and wisdom is cultivated; people consider how they can personally contribute to the ‘common good’ and  begin to understand what communities would look like if we fulfilled our potential for good.

Recent examples of our work for the ‘common good’: 

  1. initiating (regional) debate about the place of faith in a secular society through initiatives such as the Faith in the public arena lectures
  2. supporting the area’s voluntary sector through our special services for local charities, a charity fair for more than 20 local charities, and by hosting the Duke of Edinburgh and High Sheriff awards
  3. inspiring 3,500 school children per year through Explorer days, drama and art workshops and joint events with the Diocese such as Messy Cathedral
  4. equipping more than 250 children and young people with new skills and experiences through Sing Up, Be a Chorister for a Day and other musical activities
  5. hosting a Diocese project Art Beyond Limitations (a 3 week exhibition, interactive mosaic, reception and dedicated evensong) which showcased the talents of 43 local artists living with disabilities and encouraged dialogue about ability and disability with over 500 visitors