Liverpool Cathedral welcomes lifeline from the Department of Digital Culture, Media & Sport
Liverpool Cathedral has welcomed a much-needed award of £600,000 from the government’s Department of Digital Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). The Cultural Recovery Grant will enable us to maintain jobs after what has been a difficult year.
Like so many Liverpool institutions and businesses, the cathedral faced large deficits and has had to take strong measures to secure our financial footing. Recognising our role as an employer in an economically deprived area we have worked hard to preserve jobs. This award will give us a bit more security in an uncertain world.
We believe this grant reflects the importance of both cathedrals in the cultural, tourism, economic and spiritual life of the city. However, we recognise the difficulties so many institutions face in Liverpool and we would urge the government to support all sectors as much as possible.
This grant is helpful but we still need to be creative in generating the resources we need to survive. As visitor numbers have understandably fallen so our traditional routes of income have stopped. We want to remain a place of connection, of encounter, especially as people feel lonely, fearful, and isolated. So we are continuing to look for new ways to meet our running costs and support the vital work of Micah Liverpool in feeding the poor and providing much-needed routes into employment. We are looking at new and creative ways of providing – safely – points of encounter, community and connection. And we continue to work in partnership with organisations across the city.
What we are able to do is look towards Christmas. We believe that this year Christmas will be more important to the city than ever before. And with an emphasis on traditional family celebrations, we are looking for ways to help the city and region come together this Christmas.
The Very Revd Dr Sue Jones, Dean of Liverpool said “we are thankful for this lifeline from the government. In the most difficult year of my Christian ministry, it is gratifying to receive some help for us to remain serving the city in the many ways we do. We had already taken great steps to survive through this time and there is much still to do. But this lifeline will help us to recover, to secure vital jobs, and to keep reaching out to the city.
We are always mindful that we were built by the people, for the people and we want this grant to continue to help us serve Liverpool through being a catalyst for other investment, a place to attract people to the city, and a spiritual and cultural focus for the city as we build towards Christmas.”