Progressing Christchurch Cathedral Via Social Media

Our cathedral, whether we are talking about any of the three versions of it, is developing its profile via social media. Just in the past two days I have twice heard mention of the cathedral having a blog. I have discovered it and you can follow it here. A couple of posts are here and here.

I understand that there is going to be some frequent updating of the blog posts in the near future.

"Three versions of the cathedral?," you ask.

The damaged one (which is bound to be even weaker today after a 5.2 quake), the transitional one (a.k.a cardboard cathedral), and the future one.

UPDATE (Saturday 26 May) Some good news from the Press about the cathedral situation

To read the Press over the last few months has been to read about a situation which sounds like there is a damaged but easily restorable cathedral, which restoration is both affordable (just $20 million!) and enthusiastically wanted by the majority of Cantabrians, with the only thing standing in the way of the restoration being one dogmatic bishop. The reality has been and is different: a very badly damaged cathedral which is only restorable as a replica building after deconstruction to safe levels, at a huge cost (say $50+ million above insurance proceeds), for which only a few people have actually committed themselves to give towards, with no clear sense of how much popular support lies behind the heated (and sometimes venomous) controversy, with the decision to deconstruct being made by corporate bodies of the church rather than the Bishop alone, and endorsed by the whole Synod of the Diocese of Christchurch. The Press, in my view, in the way it has cast its headlines, framed its articles, chosen its photographs, printed a terrible advertisement from the Wizard, and allowed letters supporting restoration which are over its normal word limit, has flamed the controversy rather than reported the reality in its bare and tragic detail. The cathedral is munted. Quakes did it. Time to grieve, then move on to a new, affordable, quake-safe, inspiring cathedral.

Today the Press prints some good news about that reality: Cantabrians, the ordinary people of Canterbury without famous names and profiles and first Four Ships ancestry, get it. A majority, 54%, in a survey think the cathedral should be demolished. Only 42% think it should be saved.  See comments here.They are also financially canny: they know that restoration will be way more expensive than a new build and worry the extra cost will be an add on to their rates and taxes. Go Red and Black!