Home
Welcome to SM4!

Worship & Music
St Paul’s Cathedral has been here for over 1,400 years. It has been built and rebuilt five times, and always its main purpose has been as a place of worship and prayer.

Visit Us
St Paul's, with its world-famous dome, is an iconic feature of the London skyline. Step inside and you can enjoy the Cathedral's awe-inspiring interior, and uncover fascinating stories about its history.
Learning & Faith
Lifelong learning is a core part of the our work, delivered through a variety of events by St Paul's Institute, and the Cathedral's Adult Learning and Schools & Family Learning departments.

History & Collections
For more than 1,400 years, a Cathedral dedicated to St Paul has stood at the highest point in the City. The present Cathedral is the masterpiece of Britain's most famous architect Sir Christopher Wren.

Support Us
Behind the scenes, the cost of caring for St Paul's and continuing to deliver our central ministry and work is enormous and the generosity of our supporters is critical.

Venue Bookings
Widely considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful buildings and a powerful symbol of the splendour of London, St Paul’s Cathedral is a breathtaking events venue.Latest News
Cathedral closed until further notice |
Equal worth of all people highlighted at 'optimistic' debate on racism
05 December 2014
Progress has been made in the fight against racism in Britain, but there is still much more to do - a message from a Cathedral floor debate looking at discrimination today.
On the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King preaching from the pulpit of St Paul's, St Paul's Forum
together with the Runnymede Trust hosted the debate, How can we end racism
today?, on Thursday, 4 December.
In front of an audience which filled the space under the Cathedral's dome, the Dean of St Paul's, The Very Reverend David Ison,
chaired the panel of distinguished speakers:
Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon OBE
Dr Heidi Mirza, Professor of Race, Faith & Culture, Goldsmiths College
Hugh Muir, Diary Editor, The Guardian
An introduction to the evening was given by Corey Samuel of the Renaissance Foundation.
SEE ALL IMAGES FROM THE DEBATE
Heidi Mirza said that her father would have been proud that she was on a stage speaking at St Paul's but heartbroken that the subject was 'racism today'. She left the audience with the thought that today Britain needs visionary and courageous leaders to help end racism.
Hugh Muir posed the question of what Dr King would think of today's Britain, saying he would be "astounded' that "Britain once ruled most of the world but now most of the world lives in Britain". He highlighted the importance of optimism but echoed the sentiment that we need strong leaders to help end injustices in areas of life such as employment, policing and justice.
He added: "We haven't made as much progress as he [Dr King] would have liked. We haven't made as much progress as we would have liked. But we have
made progress."
Baroness Lawrence spoke movingly about her son, Stephen, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993, asking aloud "Where would Stephen be
now?"
She mentioned the humanity that was present in all Dr King's teaching, adding: "There is good in everybody. I don't hold hate for the men who took
my son's life or I will become like them", and "Blame leads to blame, anger to anger, violence to violence."
Questions from the audience looked a lot at how our political system must be at the heart of change, but also how us as individuals must do our
part.
LOOK BACK AT THE LIVE TWITTER CONVERSATION
Event press:
Hugh
Muir writes in the Guardian
Dr Omar Khan of the Runnymede Trust
write for Huffington Post
Church of England
blog
The Runnymede Trust also launched its new report: |
-
Share this content
- StumbleUpon

Baroness Lawrence speaks to the audience
Enlarge this image

Heidi Mirza and Hugh Muir spoke on a panel chaired by the Dean
Enlarge this image

The audience packed the dome area
Enlarge this image

Martin Luther King preaches from the pulpit of St Paul's in 1964
Enlarge this image

Garth Hewitt, who had been in the congregation in 1964, asks a question at the debate
Enlarge this image