Back of the net!

Like a secret gothic Easter Egg level in Fifa18, we’ve hosted an amazing football tournament inside Gloucester Cathedral!

Gloucester Cathedral, in partnership with Psalms, the diocese, Youth For Christ and Scripture Union have hosted an amazing celebration of the World Cup with a day-long football extravaganza, bringing local schools and communities together in the Cathedral Nave.

The Very Revd Stephen Lake, Dean of Gloucester said, “There’s so much going on, and that’s what Cathedrals are about: sacred space and common ground, able to do wonderful things in a unique context, which hopefully can speak to people about the love of God and that life can be enjoyed in all its fullness.” – extra brownie points for getting the reference to our Life vision in there, Stephen!

Via Facebook:
“Sacred space and common ground – I love this – brilliant” ~ Adam
“People coming together in a cathedral, playing games, enjoying themselves and communicating with each other about the meaning of life, what is the church coming to?” ~ Paul
“Imaginative ❤ I hope no one kicks the ball through a stained glass window” ~ Joan
“Wow that’s different” ~ Isla
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Organised largely by the Psalms team, the day was filled with sports ministry touches and sparked a huge number of conversations around life and faith.

Andy Poole from PSALMS said: “It’s an experience that the kids will remember for the rest of their lives. When they think about church, they will look back on this day of enjoyment and engagement. It was a huge success and the Cathedral was buzzing all day. About 300 people came through including parents. There were only three church teams and the others were school or local teams, who enjoyed the chance to take in the architecture and spiritual side of the Cathedral.

“We believe that everyday life is worship and that we go about glorying God in our daily activities. A lot of these young people had zero interest in church and have come into the building for the first time. Here, they have heard something of the gospel and a glimpse of the message of Jesus. The parents said that they didn’t expect the Church to be so open to children and young people in this way.”

As well as the football, there was a banner reading ‘God is…’ where people could share their thoughts on God, a prayer station and a mention of the Cathedral’s heritage of worship and spirituality before every briefing.