Today has been designated as National Coming Out Day.
There’s been so much going on recently in the media and social media about gay bishops in the Church of England.
This seems to me to say it in a more elegant way than all the letters to the press, editorials, blog posts and twitter posts by the score.
Couldn’t agree with you more about ‘Jesus Christ the Apple Tree’. It was sung, at his own request, at the great Michael Mayne’s Funeral in Salisbury Cathedral and the preacher on that occasion said the following: ‘And perhaps most of all, those strands of simplicity and humility that are the harbingers of gratitude and grace caught in three musical choices with which we celebrate Michael’s life today. Elizabeth Postern’s ‘Jesus Christ the Apple Tree’ – if she never wrote another piece (and I know nothing else by her), this wonderful essay in simplicity would earn her reputation.’ I’d like it sung at my own.
Evensong is wonderful. Compline is almost as good…. “Brethren, be sober, be vigilant……”.
I remember the then Provost of St Andrew’s Cathedral Aberdeen Donald Howard describing Evensong as being “like a relaxing soak in a hot bath after a busy Sunday”. He had a point.
When I lived in Glasgow I travelled from the darkest southside to St Mary’s for evensong most weeks. Now, I’ve been to many stunning evensongs in grand cathedrals and college chapels over the years but St Mary’s Glasgow is hard to beat for the intimacy of the experience and the absence of pretension – as well as the high musical standards! Keep up the good work.
With you on Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. Great text. I’ve recently used a setting in the Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems which uses a traditional folk melody to stunning effect – even simpler than the Poston, but just as effective!
Our little choir, Angelus Singers, was formed, and still exists, to sing Evensong in churches where no choir exists.
In my write-up about the value of Evensong, I said that..’You cannot go away angry, after Evensong’, and I still believe that.
Could you all go over and see Cliff Piper over at http://morayrosscaithness.blogspot.com/ He is obviously not getting enough attention as the Dean of Moray, Ross and Caithness so he has started a blog. He is taking his first steps in the Blogosphere and needs our encouragement and compassion. He says on twitter that its scary.…
I note the report on Sweden’s Local news-site that bishops from England and Ireland are boycotting the consecration of the next Bishop of Stockholm. (Tip of the biretta to Fr Madpriest). Does anyone know which Scottish bishop is going? We are usually quite good at turning up to things in Sweden.
I nearly preached about relics for our All Saints Festival on Sunday. No, I’m not talking about the congregation, who are far from being relics, I am talking about, you know, holy relics. (Not that the congregation are not holy, either). It was that tour of the relics of Thérèse of Lisieux that made me…
We had some theological students in church yesterday who had come as a group to observe our goings on. This is something that I got involved in last year too. They go around several churches and then invite the preacher into their class which takes place later in the week to discuss what happened. I…
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