10 October 2025

A friend sent me a copy of the recent newsletter from the High Kirk of Edinburgh or St. Giles Cathedral as it is sometimes called. There was a printed sermon preached by the minister about radical hospitality which changes us and  seeks justice for all.

In addition, there was a report from the Treasurer. Despite having some large financial assets which cannot be realised readily, the congregation had a deficit of some £250,000 last year. Two initiatives have been considered to arrest this financial decline.

The first is already in place. The High Kirk is employing a team of welcomers to meet and greet the 1.7 million visitors. ‘The staff of ‘Welcomers’ are trained actors, who can confidently greet visitors to the Cathedral with a request for a donation …’ writes the Treasurer. It has made a substantial difference.

In a former day, the welcomers would have been volunteers from  the congregation. Perhaps the aging profile makes this impossible. When I was at New Kikpatrick, some of our members volunteered as guides at Glasgow Cathedral. They weren’t members but saw the Cathedral as belonging to the whole city.

The second is still under consideration. ‘Work is continuing apace to allow the introduction of visitor charging’. With such large numbers visiting and substantial financial needs not least in the maintenance of  the building, I can see why the High Kirk is tempted. But how do you square that with the proclamation of radical hospitality?

For the past three years, we have been cathedral bagging in England. Some cathedrals do charge as much as £19! However, it is significant that all the cathedrals founded by the Benedictines do not. The ‘Rule of St. Benedict’ contains some radical ideas about hospitality including the washing of feet by the Abbot.

‘In the reception of poor men and pilgrims special attention should be shown,’ writes St. Benedict, ’because in them is Christ more truly welcomed.’ I am not sure how sincerely this can be done by actors at a charge of £19 a time!?