25 October will be marked as a special Creation Sunday in St Mary’s. The music and preaching at the 10.30 am service with all reflect the theme of thanksgiving for creation.
Services for St Francis
The 10.30 am and 6.30 pm services on 4 October will mark the Feast of St Francis of Assisi and will include Franciscan prayers and hymns.
Baptism Service
There will be a special service of Baptism on Sunday 13 September 2009 at which a number of children will be baptised. Such services happen regularly through the year and anyone who is looking to have a child Christened or who wishes to talk about being baptised themselves should speak to a member of the clergy after any service.
Choral Evensong Resumes
Choral Evensong resumed on 16 August 2009 at 6.30 pm. Choral Evensong is a peaceful, reflective service in which members of the clergy and the choir lead singing and prayers in a seemingly timeless format. At the heart of the service is the Magnificat, the song of Mary, to whom this church is dedicated.
Feast Day Choral Mass
There will be a special service to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August 2009 at 6 pm. The service will include music by Palestrina which will be sung by The Marian Consort.
Farewell for Bishop Idris
Bishop Idris has taken leave of the diocese with a special service on 19 July 2009 to mark his retirement at the end of the month.
Jazz Mass Sermon
Sunday 28 June was last day of the choir term – members of the choir will be enjoying a well earned summer break for a few weeks after that. The Sunday morning service on that day was a special jazz mass. The setting was Bob Chilcott’s Little Jazz Mass and will be accompanied by piano, bass and drums. The sermon is now available here.
Pentecost
The Feast of Pentecost falls on 31 May 2009. On this day we remember the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus’s friends and setting them free to share the good news about him. The story is described in Acts Chapter 2. This is a day for remembering the power of God. In St Mary’s, beautiful red vestments are worn, recalling the flames of fire in the story. This is also a day for giving thanks for the powers of creativity that God has given to human beings. This year, St Mary’s will be particularly celebrating the fact that each of the people heard the good news of God’s deeds in their own tongue. Members of the congregation are invited to pray the Lord’s Prayer in their own first language on this feast day.
Easter Celebrations
The Easter Vigil takes place on Easter Day at 0700 and will be celebrated by The Rt Rev Idris Jones. It will include a baptism and a confirmation, the lighting of the Easter Fire and the singing of the Exsultet. Holy Communion will be celebrated at 0830. A Festival Eucharist will be celebrated by the Provost at 1030 and will include Schubert’s Mass in G with Orchestra. The Hallelujah Chorus will be sung by the whole congregation as the Gradual Hymn. Festival Choral Evensong takes place at 1830. All Welcome
Wells For India Visit
A member of St Mary’s, Isobel MacNaughtan is currently in India visiting projects that have recently been supported by the congregation through the Wells for India programme.
Isobel is keeping a blog of her journey which may be read here.