The Diocesan Digest Sound Magazine Of Lichfield Cathedral
Charity 702995
http://lichfield-cathedral.org/index.php?option=com_contact&itemid=142&task=view&contact_id=28
Overview
Summary
The Diocesan Digest Sound Magazine appears to be a small, specialised accessibility service within the Lichfield diocesan ecosystem. Its role is not to create general religious programming, but to convert diocesan information into a regular audio format for people for whom reading is difficult. By mailing recordings monthly, it may preserve a practical connection between visually impaired or otherwise reading-impaired people and the changing life of the diocese, especially where online information is not sufficient or accessible.
Operational geography
Coverage: International
Operational areas:
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Remaining uncertainties
- There is no direct evidence that the charity currently delivers, records from, or maintains a physical service site in any Birmingham ward or in Birmingham City Centre.
- The Digest is explicitly described as serving Lichfield Cathedral and the Diocese of Lichfield. The Diocese’s published geography covers Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, northern Shropshire and the Black Country, and is described as adjacent to Birmingham; this supports the interpretation that Birmingham is not the charity's core diocesan operating territory, but does not rule out individual Birmingham recipients.
- The organisation's distribution is wider than its diocesan content focus: official material states that memory sticks are sent to listeners across the country and in many parts of the world. It is therefore reasonable to classify its overall delivery footprint as international, while the locations of individual recipients remain unspecified.
- The British Wireless for the Blind provides recordings/access through its talking-newspaper system, but the available evidence does not identify whether this partnership creates a specific operational presence in Birmingham.
Additional evidence needed
- A current anonymised summary showing whether any regular Digest recipients are based in Birmingham.
- Confirmation from the charity of the location of its monthly recording studio and whether it has any Birmingham-based volunteers, recording sessions or delivery arrangements.
- Current information on any Birmingham parishes, organisations or accessibility services that formally refer people to, host, or distribute the Digest.
Areas of work
- Disability
- Religious Activities
Who they help
- Elderly/old People
- People With Disabilities
How they help
- Provides Human Resources
- Provides Services
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
An accessibility bridge into diocesan life
The organisation appears to function as an intermediary: selecting and recording information about diocesan activities, then delivering it in formats suited to people who cannot easily use printed material.
Why it matters
This positions the charity as part of the diocese's communications infrastructure as well as a disability service. Its value may lie in ensuring that participation in religious community is not dependent on conventional reading.
Show evidence
“The charity's object is the relief of blind, partially sighted, and other people for whom reading is a strain through regular recorded tapes.”
Source:Charity Commission“It provides monthly mailings of tapes or memory sticks containing details of activities within the Lichfield diocese.”
Source:Organisation
A deliberately low-digital delivery model
The use of mailed tapes or memory sticks may indicate that the service is designed around recipients who prefer, need, or are more reliably reached through physical audio media rather than web-based channels.
Why it matters
This suggests the organisation may serve an access gap that a cathedral website, newsletter, or digital events calendar does not automatically close—particularly for older people and people facing disability-related barriers to digital access.
Show evidence
“The charity mails tapes or memory sticks monthly to visually impaired recipients.”
Source:Organisation“The charity helps elderly or old people and people with disabilities.”
Source:Charity Commission
Connection is centred on information rather than direct care
Although its beneficiaries include people with disabilities, the organisation appears to address exclusion primarily by making local religious information usable, rather than by providing clinical, financial, or social-care support.
Why it matters
This distinguishes it from many disability charities: its contribution may be civic and relational, helping recipients remain informed about a community to which they may already feel connected.
Show evidence
“The recordings give details of activities within the Lichfield diocese, mainly of a religious nature.”
Source:Organisation“The charity is classified under disability and religious activities.”
Source:Charity Commission
- It is unclear how many people receive the magazine, where they live, and whether demand is growing or declining.
- There is no evidence about how content is chosen, whether recipients influence it, or whether the service is connected formally to Lichfield Cathedral or the wider diocese.
- The evidence does not show whether tapes and memory sticks remain the most accessible formats for recipients.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent annual reports or service statistics showing recipient numbers, distribution costs, formats used, and changes over time.
- Recipient feedback or case studies about accessibility, isolation, participation, and preferred formats.
- Information on governance, volunteers, funding, and relationships with diocesan communications, churches, and disability organisations.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
Provide a mailing of tapes or memory sticks monthly to visually impaired recipients giving details of activities within the Lichfield diocese which we feel may be of interest. These are mainly of a religious nature.
Charity objects
THE RELIEF OF THE BLIND, OR THE PARTIALLY-SIGHTED, OR THOSE LABOURING UNDER SOME TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT INCAPACITY OR DISABILITY WHICH MAKES READING A STRAIN, BY THE PROVISION OF A REGULAR EDITION OF RECORDED TAPES.