The next in our Saturdays at Six concert series continues on 26th February with a recital of English songs by baritone James Gaughan with Matthew Collins on piano. Music includes Elgar's Sea Pictures and Quilter's Shakespeare Songs. Tickets are £7 on the door, including wine/soft drink and nibbles.
On a Friday evening we do a simple form of sung evening prayer. Using the ancient form of plainchant, we sing the psalms and canticles together. It’s a lovely and meditative way to end the week. As the evenings grow longer, we’ll see the evening light come through the windows as these ancient sung prayers rise up to God. Often during evening prayer I go through the events of the day and week, praying for the people I’ve met or spoken to, for the work that has been done (and sometimes for the work that has been left undone!), for what has been disappointing and what has been encouraging, thanking God for moments of joy and hope, and bringing to him difficulties, griefs and sorrows I’ve shared. This week I will bring a woman carrying a heavy burden of care; a man worried about money; the tears shed by two very different people; the joy of a couple hoping to be married; a moment of vulnerability; a grief borne with great dignity. It’s one of the great privileges of being a parish priest that I can share these moments and bring them to God in prayer. Prayer is at the centre of all we do as a church: praying with each other, praying for those who need our prayers, coming before God in adoration and worship, waiting on him in silence. Please do join us on Friday evenings if you would like - you don’t have to join in the singing! - or one of the other times of daily prayer that we do, both in church and online. It’s the best way to start and end a day.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee - 70 years since her accession to the throne. We will be marking this day at our 10am service on Sunday, and giving thanks for the Queen’s life of duty and service to the people of this country and the Commonwealth. The Platinum Jubilee is more than one day, of course. There will be lots more events during the year - including a pudding competition! - and at the beginning of June a four-day bank holiday with a large number of celebrations. At St Mary’s we are planning our contribution to the celebrations, and I hope that the event we are planning - of which more news soon - will be a chance to welcome not just our church but our village community to celebrate and have a fun-filled day. Watch this space for details!Before then of course we will be journeying through Lent towards Easter. One of the things we do during Lent is to raise money for our Lent Appeal. Last year we raised money for churches in Hull that are part of the Mustard Seed - growing seeds of hope in places where life is tough - and for Covid vaccines in poorer parts of the world. We need to chose our causes for this year. Once again it would be good to have one local cause and one international. Is there a cause that is close to your heart that you would like to suggest? I would love to hear from you. The PCC is meeting on 16th February and we will make a decision then, so please get in touch before 15th February with any ideas you have.with my prayers and blessings, Nicola
This Sunday we are celebrating Candlemas - or as it is formally known, the Presentation of Christ. These two names reflect its twin themes. On the one hand, it is the feast when we remember Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the Temple to make the offering for him as the firstborn son. We recall Simeon taking the baby into his arms, and recognising him as the ‘light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel’. We hear of Anna, who praises God and begins to speak about the child to all. On the other hand, it is - or was - the day when candles for use in the church were blessed: so that the words in the Nunc Dimittis ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles’ were symbolised in the candles lit in church. It is also the day when we turn at last from the Crib, that stable we have gazed into with wonder to see God-with-us, and begin our journey to the Cross, where God-with-us dies for us. We can’t have 10,000 candles as they do at Ely Cathedral, but we will be celebrating this day - with words and music and, yes, candles on both Sunday morning at 10am and at Evensong.While it’s not a legal requirement to wear masks in church any longer, we are still asking people to do so for the present, although I hope we will be able to review that soon.with my prayers and blessings, Nicola
