This past Saturday, 29 October 2022 the St Mark's Cathedral in George was activated from 11h00 to 14h00 as a Heritage On The Air site by Corne ZS1COR. In support he was joined by members of the Eden Radio Club ZS1ERZ. Site approved: St Marks Cathedral, George. HB0046 Corne reported that he made +-20 contacts during the activation period. He would like to thank all those who contacted the station and also who assisted him during the activation. A special thanks also to the Dean and Rector as well as the Church Parish for allowing amateur radio to activate this beautiful St Mark Cathedral and heritage site!!
As from the images it is clear that this is a beautiful heritage site well looked after.
More about the site (Church):
The Cathedral building was consecrated in 1850, initially as the Parish Church of St Mark, and was granted cathedral status in 1911. The building itself has been extended over the years with the Chancel and Apse, the North and South transepts and the Lady Chapel being added at various times to give the Cathedral its present appearance and appealing style. It is a visually tasteful, attractive and colourful building lending itself to the accustomed form of Anglican worship.
As an Anglican Cathedral, the style of worship at St Mark’s always has been and still remains largely traditional, with sympathetic acknowledgement of justifiable and sensible adaptations to meet evolving changes in attitudes and needs of the people it serves. The glorious Anglican church music tradition remains, as does the orderly pattern of common prayer, symbolism and formal ceremony.
Specifically, our culture is one of inclusiveness, encouraging the regular celebration of Holy Communion or Eucharist and welcoming anyone who is in full communion with their own church to receive Communion or to merely come to the altar rail to receive a blessing. Daily worship lies at the heart of our Cathedral with formal services each day and the invitation to use it for private prayer, quiet contemplation or to light a candle in memory of a departed loved one whilst it is open to the public on weekday mornings. It is also part of our caring culture to work within the wider local community, assisting in various ways with financial, spiritual and physical support for those less fortunate and in need of sympathetic concern and practical assistance. To this end, the Cathedral Parish tithes on a regular basis to assist community projects in relieving poverty and need whilst providing hope and upliftment, both spiritually and practically. Much of the community work is undertaken by volunteers from the Parish, guided by the Clergy.
As a practical way of promoting the Cathedral’s culture of inclusiveness it is also used as a venue for music and choral performances so raising its public profile as an integral component of George’s historic fabric and making it accessible in a way that elevates it beyond being considered only a place of worship.
What is HOTA?
H.O.T.A (Heritage on the air) is an amateur radio group that strives to motivate radio amateurs to learn more about history, and to keep history alive by activating a multitude of historical sites by using SSB, AM, FM, CW and even with Heliographs. Radio amateurs have great fun going out in the field and visiting places and areas where once history was made. Even if you do not like history there is places that were visited that might be of interest to you. You can even combine your other hobbies with H.O.T.A. Now that you have a faint idea of H.O.T.A it is time to learn more about H.O.T.A and the fun radio amateurs have and can have in activating historical sites.
If you want to learn more about H.O.T.A you can visit the Heritage on the Air website by clicking HERE.
Images of this event:
(Click on images for larger view.)
PLEASE NOTE:
The author of this article is not affiliated to any amateur radio club in South Africa. The information published is to promote amateur radio and activities by any means available. Any club in South Africa is welcome to send me information for publication about their activities and I will gladly publish it on the GRHub Network Blog.
