It was a most extraordinary start. Having been accorded a tremendously warm welcome on the Saturday evening, I was launched immediately into Holy Week and Easter, which were followed by a period when I was almost entirely alone in the Cathedral office because the office staff all had ten days off.

That was not all. Almost overnight, the label emblazoned on the case of my spectacles had taken on a whole new meaning. ‘Police', indeed, the Greater Manchester Police had become a major feature of my life, as we became immersed in the preparations for their special service.

If I had expected a gentle easing in to a new job in an unfamiliar city, then I would have been in a state of shock. But this is a good example of what a Cathedral's ministry can be like, and it is worth reflecting on for a few lines.

Naturally, one of the important features of a city-centre Cathedral is that we are open every day (even when the office staff are away!). We are constantly receiving visitors and pilgrims, and we maintain a regular pattern of praise and prayer at which people can know that they are welcome. Whilst this gentle ebb and flow may appear quite effortless, it is a demanding ministry, and I have enjoyed discovering how the cathedral in Manchester ministers in these every-day ways.

Being a city-centre Cathedral, however, gives us special privileges and responsibilities such as hosting large city and county-wide services at times of distress, and this is how we found ourselves preparing for the Greater Manchester Police service immediately upon my arrival. Most special services are the culmination of many months' planning, but in this case we had to draw upon our resources at great speed. Alongside the constant rhythms of our daily life, extra energy was found amongst staff and volunteers alike.

How important it is that we should be hospitable, and what a privilege it is to be in a position to be so. Welcome and hospitality - to friend and stranger alike - are themes that run right through the Old and New Testaments. So it is that alongside the regular patterns of daily lives, we must be constantly ready to step beyond the known and predictable, as we seek to emulate the love of God in what we do.

An extraordinary start, indeed, and while I have learnt so very much, and met so many in only a few weeks, I have very much more to discover with you all. I look forward to it.