Pledges for plunges pay off for Akld cathedral

It was Auckland diocese’s general manager James van Schie’s “mad idea”. 

Driving home one evening from work, he saw a billboard for a mid-winter swim series — and a lightbulb flashed in his head. 

“I was a good swimmer in my teenage years, which I’m now well and truly out of, but I thought, ‘I once could do it. Surely, I can still do it’,” he said. 

He signed on to do the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series’ Waiheke Island event, held on July 3, 2021, and created a Give-A-Little page to raise funds for St Patrick’s Cathedral. He also got St Mary’s College principal, Sarah Dwan, on board. 

“Sarah and I swam for the hardworking priests and volunteers of the cathedral. We swam for everyone who loves St Pat’s, for whom it’s their spiritual home. And we swam to draw attention to the great work that St Pat’s does,” Mr van Schie said. 

On the sunny Saturday afternoon, the pair donned their wetsuits, jumped into the freezing waters of Little Oneroa and swam 750 metres to Oneroa beach.  

Mr van Schie finished 13th out of 193 swimmers at 12:45. He was second in his category. Ms Dwan, on the other hand, clocked in at 13:55, and came in sixth in her category.  

More importantly, they raised a total of $8620 for St Patrick’s Cathedral. Mr van Schie was able to garner donations amounting to $5750 in 27 days, while Ms Dwan raised $2870 in 19 days. 

“I’m very humbled by how generous so many people have been,” said Mr van Schie, who had to change his fundraising target three times as eac

h level was exceeded. He originally set a target of $2000. 

 Cathedral’s financial woes 

No one is more grateful for the efforts of Mr van Schie and Ms Dwan than Cathedral Dean Fr Christopher Denham. 

“The principal need for our fundraising at the moment is not for any building or anything like that, but simply for the on-going cost of keeping the cathedral going,” said Fr Denham. 

He said the cathedral is probably “one of the worst affected parishes in the diocese” by the Covid-19 pandemic. There has been a drop of about 40 per cent in Mass attendance there. This resulted in a significant dip in their finances. 

“What comes in the plate pays for the cathedral. The people are very generous, but these are tough times. With the smaller numbers, our income is much lower. And at the same time, the administration cost and the cost of maintaining that building (and) insuring it, don’t change,” he said. 

Fr Denham said a number of people in the community are staying away because they are concerned about going to large gatherings, which are what Masses at the cathedral are. International students, who also form a significant part of the cathedral parish, are gone, as the borders are closed. 

“Of course, we are also a place where visitors come. People who are visiting Auckland, if they are staying in hotels in the central city, we’re a natural place where they come,” he said.  

Without these groups, Fr Denham said, there is a massive impact on collections. 

“To be honest, this year, which is perhaps, our worst, we are looking at a six-figure deficit. We need to find something in the vicinity of $100,000 at the minimum to cover our cost. Perhaps, a little more,” he said. “It’s a very serious situation for us.” 

Fr Denham said this is probably a wake-up call for the cathedral to find other avenues for financing their operations.  

“We are also looking at the possibility of setting up an endowment for the cathedral, and starting some fundraising campaigns for that as a means to ensure that we also keep an eye on the long-term financial health of the cathedral, and not just focusing on the troubles we have now,” he said. 

Fr Denham pointed out that many institutions in Auckland, both religious and secular, are largely supported by donations or bequests from previous generations. 

“It’s a wonderful way of making a commitment to the ongoing work of something that you believe is valuable,” he said, stressing his gratefulness for the fundraising efforts of Mr van Schie and Ms Dwan. 

In her Give-A-Little page, Ms Dwan stressed how important the cathedral is to St Mary’s. “It’s also the home of St Mary’s College Masses, and has been a big part of the life of the college for generations,” she wrote.  

Mr van Schie said this mid-winter swim was something of a spur-of-the-moment thing for him. Given more time to prepare, he said he could have encouraged more swimmers to join. 

“We might do this again next year,” he said.