National day of Reflection – Memorial Spiral

A ‘memorial spiral’ created from a variety of stones has been unveiled inside Chester Cathedral to coincide with today’s National Day of Reflection

Memorial Spiral unveiled in Chester Cathedral

The installation in the nave of the Cathedral has been created as a place for reflection and entails a large stone spiral surrounded by candle prayer stations.

A spokesperson for the cathedral said the spiral captured our experience of spinning in and out of lockdown over the last twelve months, sometimes confined to the innermost small space of our own home and household, sometimes let out into society again only to risk returning to further restriction.

And it invites us to remember the infinity of space and time beyond ourselves, the immensity of the universe and the promise of eternity beyond the here and now.

Vice Dean of Chester Cathedral, Canon Jane Brooke says:

“As the Cathedral reopens, we hope our memorial spiral will give people an opportunity for quiet prayer and the possibility of lighting a candle in memory of those who have died in the last year especially.”

Chester Cathedral is currently open for private prayer and reflection. The Cathedral is open from 12 noon to 5pm daily. The memorial spiral will remains in the Cathedral until late-April.

The spiral has been created with the support of Chester’s Dandy’s Topsoil and Landscape Centre.

More on the National Day of Reflection here.