Some images taken this evening from Cardinal Place - the new arcade of shops and offices that has been built across from the Cathedral. For the first time, it is possible to observe the Cathedral from a distance, and I find the juxtaposition of old and new, spiritual and secular, very exciting and challenging.
Cardinal Place has made a considerable difference to this part of London. Victoria has been despoiled by '60s and '70s office blocks, which are now nearing the end of their life. Redevelopments such as Cardinal Place will transform this area in the next ten years.
For the Cathedral, it provides and opportunity and a challenge; Cardinal Place is a modern cathedral - a steel and glass temple to fashion and commerce. Much about that is good, but it raises the stakes for us, and asks us to find new ways of proclaiming the gospel. How do we express, in this context, that there is a spiritual basis to all of our activity?
For the Cathedral, it provides and opportunity and a challenge; Cardinal Place is a modern cathedral - a steel and glass temple to fashion and commerce. Much about that is good, but it raises the stakes for us, and asks us to find new ways of proclaiming the gospel. How do we express, in this context, that there is a spiritual basis to all of our activity?
Perhaps the challenge can be summarised as "God's Cathedral" faces "Hell's Cathedral", the temple of Mammon and Commerce. The challenge isn't to "reach out and meet": it's "to challenge and oppose".
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