Welcome from Jo Kelly-Moore, Dean of St Albans and Chair of the Association of English Cathedrals
Welcome to the National Cathedrals Conference 2026. This is a four-day event, from 18 to 21 May 2026, where leaders from our Church of England cathedrals, together with partners from across church and our national life, will gather at Bristol Cathedral for a shared space of reflection, learning, and re-energising.
Cathedrals are magnificent buildings, architectural treasures which, for centuries long, have offered the welcome and told the story of our Christian faith in word and action. Today both the physical buildings, and the communities they hold, continue to be beacons of hope in our vulnerable and challenging world. Conference 2026, entitled Living Stones : Living Hope, will explore present-day issues, and opportunities and challenges for our cathedrals, reflecting on all this through our calling to be agents of hope for all those we encounter.
At the Conference we will share the results of two new pieces of research, commissioned by the Association of English Cathedral in 2025, which collectively explore the spiritual, social, cultural, and economic impact of English cathedrals today. This important research will help articulate the value cathedrals bring to their communities and to the nation as a whole today, helping also us to consider our priorities going forward.
We will draw on the wisdom of leaders in the fields of spiritual, social, cultural and economic commentary, asking them to reflect on the reports and challenge us to respond.
We are inviting a younger generation to engage with the Conference and to help us to reflect on what cathedrals’ place and purpose is in society today. We will create time to sit together with issues of racial and social injustice, welcoming the opportunity to do so with colleagues from Bristol Cathedral who will share their work on contested heritage with us.
We will have a safe space to meet each other, opportunities to learn together, to network and meet new people, to be challenged, to support each other, and to reflect deeply on our shared mission and call to bring the hope of Christ to the world.
All this will be held in a framework of prayer, worship, welcome, and conviviality in the wonderful cathedral and city of Bristol.
At this significant time of challenge and opportunity for English cathedrals we hope that you will join us at Living Stones : Living Hope.
Jo Kelly-Moore
Dean of St Albans
Chair, Association of English Cathedrals
What’s on offer:
- A vibrant programme for listening, learning and equipping.
- Time for conversation and sharing with colleagues and friends from the wider cathedral network and national church.
- We will stay in comfortable hotels close to Bristol Cathedral.
- There will be a regular pattern of worship facilitated by our hosts.
- A prayer space will be available for the duration of the conference, located in the Lord Mayor’s Chapel.
- We will enjoy a good level of hospitality. There will be a Gala Dinner on Wednesday 20. (Please note: dress code is smart but this is not a black-tie occasion).
- Workshops – Take place on Tuesday after the two plenary sessions, please revert to the Conference Programme page for more details.
- Roundtable sessions for College of Deans, Precentors, Mission & Ministry, CAFA, Communications, Fundraising & Development, and SNEMs – will take place on Wednesday afternoon.
- Surgeries/helpdesks will be facilitated by the staff from the National Church Institutions. We will also operate a Conference helpdesk from the start to the close on Thursday afternoon, which will be adjacent to the Cathedral Chapter House.
- CCLA, EIG and other Conference Sponsors will also run helpdesks to help with concerns and forward planning. CCLA is particularly keen to show how their investment and financial leverage can help us see what can be achieved by ethical policies and action and EIG has lots of suggestions for our insurance needs.
- Marketplace – you will find a well-stocked marketplace with retail and information from some of our resourcing organisations spanning our Christian responsibilities, insurance, investment, the environment and cathedral buildings
- Bristol – one of the most historic cities in the UK and we look forward to enjoying what the city has to offer.
We hope you will come away deeply refreshed by the stimulus of the programme and the experience of being able to come together once again.
