Weekly Notices | 30 November 2025

A Reflection by Canon Harriet

This Sunday we begin the season of Advent: the period of time set aside in the church’s year for preparation for Christmas. The word “advent” means “coming into view” or “coming into place” and of course, for Christians, Advent is exactly that – the coming into the world of the Christ-child, God-in-flesh. The whole season is bound up with hope, expectancy and the mystery of waiting. 
 

If you ask Christians what their favourite time of year is in the church year, it is very often this season of Advent. Over the centuries, some very beautiful music written for Advent, from plainchant through to haunting Advent carols and anthems, many of which you will hear our Cathedral Choir singing in the Advent Carol Service on Sunday evening and during the season.  
 

Advent is also a time which has inspired much poetry and prose, and in the ancient church, there existed seven short pieces of text, used in Advent worship, and still used today, called the O Antiphons. The antiphons use texts from the Bible, that Christians understand to refer to Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah. You may well know them from the Advent hymn, “O come, O come, Emmanuel”. Each text takes an idea and then elaborates on it to create a very beautiful piece of verse. Here are the beginnings of a selected few, each one an invitation to Christ to come down among us: 
 

O Wisdom, come and teach us the way of prudence… 

O Key of David, come and lead us out of prison and into freedom… 

O Morning Star, come and enlighten all who live in darkness… 

O King of the Nations, come and save the human race… 

And finally,  

O Emmanuel, come and save us. 
 

This is a season of longing and waiting. It is a time when we become acutely aware of the world’s longing for peace and light. We desire wisdom for the world’s leaders; redemption for those who are enslaved; the brightness of dawn for those who live in the darkness of war and violence and grief. 

So as we look to Christ, the one in whom our hopes are focussed, perhaps you might make one of these “O” verses your own and use it to pray for this beautiful yet broken world as we journey towards Christmas together. 
 

There will be an opportunity every Monday in Advent to gather for half an hour of silent prayer (with a brief introduction) at 2:00pm in the Chapel of Healing and Reconciliation on the south side of the Cathedral. All are welcome. 


Canon Harriet Neale-Stevens,
Canon Chancellor and Vice Dean

Dates for your diary…

Community News 

Countdown to Portsmouth Cathedral Christmas Fair! 🎄


With just a week to go until the Portsmouth Cathedral Christmas Fair on Saturday 6 December, we’re inviting your festive support to help make the day shine. Chocolate and cake donations are especially welcome, and this year we’re keen to include treats to suit a range of dietary needs, from gluten-free bakes to savoury delights. Our Christmas Raffle is packed with superb prizes, including a top reward of £100 in John Lewis vouchers, and a wonderful selection of themed hampers to choose from.

You can read the full story here.
 


Fairtrade Cathedral Status

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that our Fairtrade Cathedral status has been renewed. This means that we are committed, as a community, to using as many Fairtrade goods as possible. 

You can read the full story here.
 


Silence in Heaven


Join us for half an hour of silence during Advent. Each session will begin with a brief introduction to the silence, using words from the Advent Antiphons and the Scriptures.


2:00pm - 2:30pm
Chapel of Healing & Reconciliation Mondays in Advent
(1, 8, 15, 22 December)


All welcome - no prior experience or knowledge are necessary. Feel free to come and go as you wish.
 


Chapter Meeting


Chapter, the governing body of the Cathedral meets on Tuesday 2 December.  The agenda can be found on our downloads page here.
 


New Children's Area

Now that we have the new welcome and interpretation area, we have moved the Children's Area to the Heath Harrison aisle which makes for a welcoming and comfortable space for children coming to the cathedral. Over the coming weeks we will be renewing the books and soft toys to include books like Old Testament I spy, the Psalms adapted for children and the very popular Action Bible - the whole Bible written and drawn in graphic novel style!
 
We hope this area will be fun and comfortable and also allows children a better view of what's going on in the services. Please feel free to take books and toys into the pews as well. We welcome children and families at all our worship, please do make yourselves at home. And if you have any suggested improvements or ways, we can further our welcome, please have a chat with Canon Jo or Canon Harriet.


Installation of Senior Girl Choristers

Last Sunday at Evensong we installed Jenna, Grace and Elsie as Senior Girl Choristers. Well done to them and thank you for their dedication, musical expertise and loyalty to choir and cathedral.
 


St Cecilia Evensong

We were delighted to host nearly 150 children from 9 schools last Friday as part of our re-booted Cathedral Sing Project. The children toured the building with Canon Harriet, rehearsed with Adrian, Director of Cathedral Sing and then joined our Cathedral Choir for Evensong itself. The Cathedral roof was duly raised in joyful noise for St Cecilia.
 
'As always, it was a splendid experience for the children, and they certainly rose to the occasion. They particularly enjoyed the opportunity to have a tour and to find out a bit about some of the symbols they saw and the history of the cathedral. They were amazed by the voices of the choristers at the beginning and end of the service. One of the children commented that they did not know voices could go that high! Of course, they really enjoyed the trumpets as well.'
 

White Ribbon Day


On Tuesday, Dean Anthony, as one the Chaplains to the City Council, attended the Flag Raising event for White Ribbon Day, when supporters are encouraged to wear the ribbon as a symbol of their commitment to challenging harmful attitudes and behaviours towards women.  For more details about the White Ribbon visit here.
 


Shop Opening Hours This Week


Please note that the shop will be open on Saturday from 12 noon until 2.30pm. The reduced hours are a result of limited volunteer availability and an event taking place later in the day.


Can You Help?
 

We’re always grateful for the wonderful volunteers who keep our shop running, and we’d love to welcome a few more friendly faces to the team. If you enjoy meeting people and have a little time to spare, we’d be delighted to hear from you.

To find out more or to contact us about volunteering, please visit here. 

Friends of Portsmouth Cathedral


The latest Friends Newsletter will be published in early December and will include details of the 2026 social programme. Unfortunately, the early December Coffee Morning has been postponed. If you would like to know more about membership, please visit our website here.

Worship & Visiting

Every day, Portsmouth Cathedral is open for worship, prayer, and visiting. Unless otherwise specified, services do not require booking. Our website contains orders of service, as well as information about visiting the Cathedral.

Services this Sunday


8:00am – Holy Communion
9:30am – #PompeySundays with admission to communion

11:00am -Advent Sunday Eucharistsung by the Cathedral Consort

5:45pm - Advent Carol Service ’From Darkness to Light’ sung by the Cathedral Choir

Prayers & Intercessions

We remember those for whom prayer has been asked by members of the Cathedral Community: Tom, Jason, Richard, Trevor, Abbie, Matthew, Hazel, Gina, Mark, Paul, Michael, Pauline, Susan, Jennifer, Martin, Steve, baby Lottie and baby Lily.  
 
We continue to pray for the long-term sick, including:  Karen, Wynne, Carole, Davina, Saphie, Ralph, Trudie, Marion, Jill, Suzy, Chris, Graeme, Alistair, Philip, Mathai.
 
We remember those who have died recently, including: Alan Sutherland (Cathedral funeral 1:00pm Thursday 4 December), Barbara Hyatt (Cathedral Funeral 3:15pm Monday 15 December), Michael Jackson, Betty Baldwin and Lara Kynvin RIP.

 Upcoming Services & Events

See more events
See regular services

Getting in touch

Please feel free to get in touch if we can help in any way, or if you just want to hear another voice!

Get in touch with us by email to info@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk or leave a message via phone on 023 9282 3300.

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