Matthew’s Gospel tells a story of a woman who suffered for twelve years and who came up behind Jesus and ‘touched the fringe of His cloak’. She said, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed’. (Matthew 9: 20-21). The primary purpose of Brecon Cathedral is to be a place of worship, a ‘thin place’ where God may be encountered in human lives, where everyone who comes might ‘touch the cloak of Christ’; a place where people gather to celebrate the triune God who is invoked and expressed through liturgy, symbols, sacraments, and scripture. This is what makes the Cathedral a holy place to worship in all seasons (Advent, Christmas, Harvest, Remembrance, Lent and Easter, Pentecost, Diocesan services like ordinations and the Chrism service, as well as marking civic and national events). It is a sacred space with common ground for everyone that is welcoming and inclusive.

The Liturgical Plan, which can be found by clicking on the link below, was written to outline the Cathedral’s daily, weekly, and annual experiences of worship for the Cathedral’s People | Passion | Priory Project. It was written alongside other research and documents for Round Two of the National Heritage Lottery Fund that includes internal reordering of the Cathedral spaces for new and innovative worship alongside the valued choral and sacramental worship, and many other events. The purpose of reordering has aspirations and vision for the future to expand the sacred space where diverse communities gather and the divine may be encountered.

The Very Revd Dr Paul Shackerley

Dean of Brecon

Brecon Cathedral Liturgical Plan