Liverpool Cathedral - 24 For 2024 Centenary Campaign

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Our ambitious campaign is established to ensure the viability of this magnificent building and its mission in the city for many years to come.

Our Cathedral, the largest in the UK, is facing a major challenge.

Our massive roof, majestic tower and extraordinarily beautiful windows are in urgent need of work. We must act now in order to pass this building to future generations in first class condition. We also aspire to enhance our capacity to serve the city and region.

We are seeking to raise £24m by 2024 to ensure the fabric is sound and the facilities fit for purpose. We aim to establish five new projects to equip us for mission far into the 21st century.

Our Case for Support

Our plan for this campaign looks forward to 19th July 2024, when we will celebrate the centenary of the consecration (and the 120th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone). The plan seeks to ensure that on that date, by God’s grace, the Cathedral will be fit for purpose for the next one hundred years. The Cathedral Chapter is determined both to pass the building to future generations in good condition, and to make certain that this vibrant centre of worship and mission for the Diocese of Liverpool is equipped to serve coming generations well in Christ’s name.

To this end, Chapter has organised itself around ‘four foundations’ and ‘six mission activities’ (see diagram opposite) and has set itself two ambitious goals for the coming decade: to double the number of those attending worship with us each week (by making new disciples of Christ Jesus) and to raise £24 million pounds (‘24 for 2024’, to fund both urgent repairs and new initiatives).

Our fundraising campaign was launched on 19th July 2014 (the 90th anniversary of our consecration) - we have exactly a decade to meet our goals. This is the case for support.

Our new projects - £5.5m

We aim to build two new centres within the Cathedral precincts to accommodate five major new projects:

St Aidan’s Centre:

This will be a place for leading-edge learning and pioneer mission accommodating two partnerships which serve the Church of England in the North West:

St Mellitus North West - training students from the north-west in the north-west for ministries, including ordination, to the north-west.
Joshua Centre for Pioneer Ministry - a partnership with the Diocese of Liverpool, building on good practice in multiplying new congregations.

The Cathedral Centenary Centre:

This will be a place of critical thinking and community engagement, enabling us to offer our expertise in music, education and wellbeing.

The Francis Neilson Project for Choral Outreach:

Using our musical expertise in the community to support singing in schools and excellence in church worship.

The Abraham Project for Inclusive Education:

Working closely with a local mosque and synagogue to foster dialogue, peace and reconciliation between faiths.

The Liverpool Cathedral Centre for Wellbeing:

To support the least, the last and the lost in practical ways.

We also intend to develop the St James Mount Enterprise Project as an outdoor place of recreation and inspiration.

The fabric of the cathedral - £18.5m

After 90 years of life we need to carry out essential repairs to various parts of our Cathedral while establishing an endowment for the future.

Capital repair projects - £10m

In 2010 we identified £10m worth of urgent repairs to the roof (nearly 1,000 square metres), the Tower (over 100m high) and our beautiful, historic windows (some more than 100ft tall).

Our Organ Appeal - £1.5m

Our organ was built as the largest musical instrument ever conceived and contains more than 10,000 pipes. We need £500,000 to complete its repair and a further £1m to provide an endowment fund for future routine maintenance.

Capital endowment - £7m

We aim to create a substantial endowment so future generations can maintain this wonderful, huge, complex and captivating building. We don’t want to leave our descendants with the same urgent and severe challenges we are now having to address