Following a placement at Wakefield Cathedral earlier this year, we are pleased to welcome Revd Dr Kathryn Goldsmith back to Wakefield Cathedral for the next three months on secondment.
On returning, Mother Kathryn said:
“As some of you may be aware I completed a 7-week placement at the cathedral just after Easter. I was therefore delighted to be asked by Dean Simon to return on secondment from my parishes to work with the cathedral team until the end of August. Over the next few months I hope to be much more involved in the worship and pastoral work of the cathedral and to continue getting to know members of the congregation and volunteers.”
Read on below to find out more about Mother Kathryn from her interview conducted at the start of her first placement with Wakefield Cathedral earlier this year.
Article from 04 March 2022
Please join us in offering Revd Dr Kathryn Goldsmith a warm welcome to Wakefield Cathedral.
Kathryn will be joining the team for the next six weeks as part of her curacy training; gaining a greater understanding on the inner-workings of a cathedral, experiencing ‘cathedral-life’ from a priest’s perspective.
Kathryn is currently in the final year of her curacy in the United Benefice of Chapelthorpe with Woolley and West Bretton Parish, Wakefield.
Having grown up in Surrey, Kathryn’s first official role within the church was a non-clerical one, working for the Church Commissioners supporting the Bishoprics and Cathedrals Department.
Kathryn also worked for the Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments at Lambeth Palace and was part of the team who helped appoint senior clergy to vacancies.
A role as Virger at Wells Cathedral followed (where she became best friends with the cathedral cat Louis) and it was here that she decided to take the first step into exploring a vocation.
Kathryn said: “I’d had the thought [of seeking ordination] in the back of my mind for years but I had always put it off or come up with a reason not to pursue it.
“In 2014 I left Wells Cathedral to study for a PHD in Astrophysics, the only remaining course available was at the University of Leeds which is how I ended up in Yorkshire!
“Before I completed my course, I had made the decision that now was the time to ‘take the leap’, so alongside completing my doctorate in 2018 [Kathryn’s fifth degree] I had also begun my ordination training – it was certainly a busy time, but I knew it was the right move to make.”
Kathryn graduated from The College of the Resurrection in Mirfield in 2019, taking up her current curacy role thereafter.
“This is my first week at Wakefield Cathedral and I’ve found the whole space to have a real prayerful, caring feel to it; I’m really looking forward to spending the next six weeks finding out more about the place, the people and the processes that go on here.”
If you see Kathryn walking around the cathedral or the city centre in the coming weeks please do say hello, introduce yourself and give her a warm welcome to Wakefield and the cathedral.
Kathryn will be working at Wakefield Cathedral on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday up to and including Easter Sunday.
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