Christmas Challenge – The Big Give

Christmas Challenge 2024 Big Give Campaign

Lichfield, Peterborough and Portsmouth cathedrals have joined the Big Christmas Give Challenge and are urging people to help them double their fund-raising efforts in this unique seven-day online match funding campaign.

The Christmas Challenge 2024 Big Give Campaign offers a unique opportunity for donors to double the impact their donation can make. For seven days from 12 noon on Tuesday 3 December to12 noon on Tuesday 10 December, all donations will be matched.

Lichfield Cathedral wants to raise £11,000 to conserve two stained-glass windows for future generations – the St Christopher window (16th-19th century) and King David instructing the musicians by Victorian stained-glass expert Charles Kempe (1890) .

The work will involve removing the polycarbonate sheeting from the outside of the windows which has been found to cause condensation and rusting to the window tracery, and repair damage to the windows.

Lichfield’s Big Christmas Give is supported by The Reed Foundation. Donate here.

Peterborough Cathedral is fundraising to support its musical tradition and has teamed up with Hastings Music Endowment Fund who will provide the match funding.

Peterborough Cathedral’s music department sustains and develops the tradition of choral music and offers local children a world-class musical education that fosters essential life skills through the joy of singing.

The cathedral has over 50 choristers – drawn from a local state school and reflecting the diversity of the city – and 75 junior and youth choir members.

These choirs, along with music scholars and adult musicians, provide choral music for eight cathedral services per week.

Peterborough wants to raise £16,000. You can donate to Peterborough here.

Portsmouth Cathedral is also raising funds to sustain its musical tradition. It has relaunched its Sing Joyfully campaign and wants to raise £6,000 through the Big Give and match funding is supported by The Together Fund.

It is asking donors to support its musical tradition ahead of its Centenary year in 2027 and aims to perform more, train more young musicians in the choral tradition, reach more people in the community through its music outreach programme, and employ more talented professional musicians to develop their craft.

With its Scholars programme that trains the next generation of singers and organists to its Cathedral Sing Project.Portsmouth has trained over 110 Choral and Organ Scholars during the 20 years the scheme has been running. It costs £5,300 a year to train each Scholar.  Cathedral Sing works in local primary schools to inspire and engage children to discover their voice through choral singing.

Every year the project reaches over 1,000 children from a variety of schools, many of which are in more deprived areas. It costs £19,000 to run Cathedral Sing each year.

The Dean of Portsmouth, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, said,

“Choral music is at the heart of the worshipping life of Portsmouth Cathedral, whether at large diocesan and civic services, or a quieter mid-week Evensong. Not to have it would be like spring without birdsong! The often quoted maxim ‘those who sing well, pray twice’ expresses something of the emotional and spiritual power of music. Having the opportunity to make that music as a chorister, and to experience it in the congregation, is a gift beyond price. Your support to enable us to continue offering that gift would be hugely appreciated.”

You can donate here.

Chichester Cathedral has launched Twelve Ways of Giving this Christmas, inviting people to celebrate the spirit of generosity and kindness and make a meaningful impact.

The Twelve Ways of Giving range from giving your time by volunteering at the cathedral, leaving a legacy, setting up a regular donation, giving through the gift of shopping  in the cathedral shop to spreading the word of what’s on at the cathedral to family and friends.

You can read the blog post here.

Worcester Cathedral too has launched a fundraising campaign for Christmas and is asking people to help them by giving, with one off donations, regular giving or set amounts to support the music in the cathedral this Christmas,  light all the candles needed daily throughout this festive season or support their stonemasons in their craft to maintain the cathedral’s fabric,  keep the building safe and maintain it for future generations.

Find out more here.

‘Tis the season of giving – Our cathedrals get no regular funding from the Church of England or the Government and rely on the generosity of visitors, their cathedral community, grants, legacies, gifts and income raised through events to keep the doors open and sustain their mission and ministry for all.

Every donation, no matter how small, helps ensure that our historic cathedrals remain open to all, providing a place of spiritual wonder and presence at the heart of their communities.

Please note all our cathedrals are free to enter for worship, prayer and to light a candle.