Our fundraising campaign: Cathedral promotional videos
At our 2023 Gala dinner for Our Lady Help of Christians, we announced that we had started the fundraising campaign for our project to produce a series of videos which will introduce details of St Mary’s Cathedral to a broad international audience.
The project
The Friends of St Mary’s Cathedral hosts numerous events which look ‘behind the scenes’ at the Cathedral. Over the years, these have included tours looking at windows, statues, and the Crypt; tours of the Sacristy; talks and tours covering different aspects of the musical life of the Cathedral; and presentations of items from the Archives looking at aspects of our history.
During the lockdowns of 2020–21, many people engaged with the Cathedral through its comprehensive schedule of live-streamed services. These included people who had never been to St Mary’s Cathedral, and those who might have no plan ever to set foot on Australian soil. Nevertheless, the live streams introduced them to a beautiful building with a rich history and excellent liturgy. Many of these people continue to watch the Cathedral’s live streams, and some are curious about this place. Some, indeed, have joined the Friends in order to engage a little bit more.
Progress to date
We want to be able to tell people like these, all around the world, a bit more about St Mary’s Cathedral and her story. About two years ago, we started to discuss the idea of funding some short videos that could be hosted online and promoted through social media. These videos of 5–7 minutes would be able to reach the curious: whether these curious ones are Friends wanting to become better acquainted with the sandstone beauty, or Strangers, meeting her for the first or second time.
We have worked with historians at the University of Notre Dame Australia to provide the initial materials for four short videos, each one telling a different story about the Cathedral through the lens of one of its numerous artefacts. The artefacts used to illustrate the scripts written so far range from the old statue of the Madonna and Child outside the north-western corner of the Cathedral, to the spectacular font in the Baptistry.
Can you help?
We need your help. We want to do justice to these stories, to produce videos of a quality high enough to match the magnificence of St Mary’s Cathedral. A conservative budget requires $30,000–$40,000 to produce the four videos so far planned. We want to have raised enough to get started by the end of this year.
Please help us. You can easily donate through our website. If you would like more information, please get in touch with us today.
Even if you aren’t able to assist financially at the moment, please know that your participation in all our events is invaluable. Please keep coming to our events, including the talks and tours, and the Trivia Night in September. Continue to spread the word, and perhaps bring someone new with you: the Cathedral always has room for more Friends!
Thank you for your support.
