Cathedrals host ‘rave in nave’ events to boost funds

Crowds enjoying a silent disco event in Canterbury Cathedral – STEVE FINN

Cathedrals are cashing in on the “rave in the nave” trend with more than a dozen planning to host controversial silent discos.

Earlier this month Canterbury Cathedral – England’s first cathedral, first established in 597  – defended its decision to host a silent disco, insisting that it would be “respectful” of the historic site.

The sell-out events saw clubbers take to the nave in a 90s-themed disco, playing the likes of classic pop hits from the likes of Vengaboys, Britney Spears, Spice Girls and Eminem.

Church leaders used the event, where alcohol was available, as a way to reach out to younger people and raise “large sums” to keep the Cathedral running as historic buildings struggle to keep up with maintenance costs.

The discos faced criticism from petitioners over concerns of sacrilege, who claimed that silent discos belong in nightclubs, not “the most important Christian church in England”.

However, over a dozen more cathedrals are now planning to host similar events, prompting further outrage and a new petition calling on the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, to intervene to “make the Cathedral a house of prayer once more”.

Clubbers went to sell-out events in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral earlier this month – STEVE FINN

Cathedrals in Chelmsford, Guildford, Exeter, Leeds, St Albans, Ely, Coventry, Sheffield, St Edmundsbury, Llandaff, and Manchester, are signed up to host the events over March, April and May, with tickets costing £28.57.

Hereford Cathedral and Chester Cathedral held silent discos last week, and the company behind them, called Silent Discos in Incredible Places, also staged the controversial first disco at Canterbury Cathedral.

The petition, which has more than 2,400 signatures and calls for the Archbishop to act, warns that “Canterbury was only the beginning” and that “more great English cathedrals are turning into nightclubs”.

It says: “The desecration will not stop unless we resist, with petitions and prayers, to show the clergy their errors and awaken in people’s hearts a renewed reverence of our sacred places.”

The petition also warns that the silent disco events “will not bring young people closer to Christ, rather it will send the message that Christ and His Church, and all the truth, beauty and goodness it has to offer, are unimportant.

“That entertainment deserves our attention more than God. Christians do not take their faith or their holy places seriously. That Christianity is not a lame joke,” it says.

‘Acts of desperation by churches’

Responding to the petition, Andrea Williams chief executive of not-for-profit Christian Concern, said: “The reason why cathedrals were built was to point towards the majesty and beauty and reverence of God and Jesus Christ, not to secular culture.

“These events are the latest acts of desperation by a Church which vehemently believes that this is the way to bring young people into places of worship.

“In some ways, silent discos are appropriate events for a Church that has been silent on so many of the key Christian freedom issues of our time.

“The Church is always going to be faced with a dilemma. It either converts people to what it stands for, or it gets converted to the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age.”

The Dean of St Albans, Joanne Kelly-Moore, told Radio 4 Sunday’s programme that cathedrals were open to all, lovers of medieval as well as 90s music.

The silent discos come amid a growing trend to entice younger generations through church and cathedral doors. Norwich Cathedral was accused of “treating God like a tourist attraction” after it installed a 55-ft, £2-a-ride helter-skelter in its nave in 2019.

The previous month, Rochester Cathedral opened a crazy golf course in its nave. Cathedral visitors have also skated in the aisles at Gloucester and gazed at an installation of the moon in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.

Lambeth Palace has been contacted for comment.

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