• Statement on the fire at Notre Dame

    The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral is a tragedy not only for Paris and the people of France but for the world.

    Those who know the building will be unable to see the pictures of the fire without feeling heartbroken.

    So many different things that make up the building are priceless – the medieval roof, the woodwork, the organ, the stained glass, the relics. But this tragedy is more than the loss of them all. It is the loss of the heart of Paris, the loss of a place of pilgrimage and the loss of a place of romance.

    Every day this week, Christians will be reflecting on the heartbreak of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to whom Notre Dame was dedicated. Every day as we do so, we will be praying for the Paris its people as they face their own heartbreak.

    Notre Dame means Our Lady. Notre Dame doesn’t just belong to Paris, it belongs to us all.

    This was a building that is utterly associated with Paris. But it was an utterly priceless treasure for the world.

    It was truly ours, and this tragedy is our tragedy.

    Our Lady of Paris, pray for us and for all affected locally.

    Our Lady of Paris, we pray for you.

6 responses to “Carol Service”

  1. Ritualist Robert Avatar
    Ritualist Robert

    Fr Kelvin, is there a link to a pdf of the order of service so we can all see it?

  2. Kelvin Avatar
    Kelvin

    I’ll try to post a pdf later today. I need to pick it up from the office and then bring it home to change it to pdf format. I also need to correct a couple of mistakes before I forget what they were.

    I can’t post everything that was in the people’s hands for copyright reasons, but I’ll see what I can include.

  3. Kelvin Avatar
    Kelvin

    It was something like this, Robert.

    Carol Service pdf file

  4. Layclerk Avatar

    In the service sheet, verse 3 of In the Bleak Midwinter has the wrong words.

    The words as used by Harold Darke, and as sung as a tenor solo last night, from memory are:

    Enough for Him whom Cherubim worship night and day,
    A breast full of milk, and a manger full of hay,
    Enough for Him, whom angels fall down before,
    the ox and ass and camel which adore

    OK, I shall remove my anorak now!

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