Unexpected item in church

These days many churches have a small kitchen area so that post-service coffee can be served. The usual set-up involves a serving area, sink, taps, draining board, hot water geyser and the necessary drawers and cupboards for storage: i.e. like a kitchen in your home. If a church does not have a church hall or anteroom the kitchen (which is sometimes screened with tasteful oak) is very useful.

Until yesterday I had not seen a dishwasher installed in a church.

My friend commented that it helps keep the church 'going'. By this I suppose he meant that the social aspect of a cuppa is important, and removing the tedium of washing up is a boon for those tasked with producing refreshments.

I have not seen one of these before

I found this on an organ I played recently. It is not just a guide to the note names, for a non-musician, which fits snugly over the keys. It actually tells the note holder what order to play the notes in so the tuner can do his setting out.

Starting with C he would go up to G and tune a perfect 5th, then from G to D a perfect 4th (although he would need to count the beats.)

Then the order is A, E, B, F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, and finally back to F. Organ tuners use sharps, not flats, as the pipes are set out on natural and sharp sides. Since equal temperament means that the octave cannot quite be divided equally, the skill of a tuner is to place the 'weirdness' where it does least damage; usually spread evenly over the octave. Bach proved this was possible when he wrote the "48"

Imposing

This burial mausoleum (tomb, chamber, 'house') at Sharnbrook is quite unusual. Details here.

Water

Many churches have sinks and taps in them where water can be obtained to make tea or for the flower arrangers to use. I had never seen anything like this before which is at Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire. It may not be their only source of water but it was unusual for it to be inside the church near the north door.

No choir

No choir? Use you choir stalls for storage.

That will do

On the recent ringing meeting I was amused by the way the rope guides had been fixed to the wall. A hole had been made in a commemoration board [actually I'm not sure what the board said] as you can just about see from this dreadful photo (my phone camera is rubbish)

Box pews

This is how it used to be!

I suppose 'church' is seen as a very archaic institution because it holds onto history. Yet, it discards old modes of worship and introduces new-fangled ideas such as "Show and Tell". What a mismatch!

More things

 

This is an interesting view. On the wall is an old bassoon, presumably from the days when churches had a music group. Also note the collection box: there were four on the wall, only 1 is clearly visible. Then note the books. Many churches now have books at the back either for sale (to raise funds) or to be borrowed. Finally there is the coffee maker for social time after a service.

Harmonium

I used to have a harmonium when I was young. I do see examples in churches as I visit various places. I don't think this one is in use any more!

 

Church smells

Smell can evoke a sense of place. There used to be a particularly calming 'smell' about Peterborough Cathedral (in the South transcept) which was there when I was a boy and continued to be present for 30-35 years aferwards. I think the fire in 2001 must have done something to whatever caused this smell as I didn't notice it after that.

I notice smells in church. Often they are from ladies of a certain age who wear too much perfume. Recently I have been sitting at a console close to a choir and somebody must have used Olbus Oil or something similar.

I'd rather that than the smell of smoke from so-called incense, which I detest!

Behind Organs

Churches contain a lot of junk which nobody wants to discard. Even those materials which might come in handy need to be stored somewhere and round the back of the organ is often qute a 'good' place.

Notices #1

Church notices can be interesting. I saw this example recently.

 

Coats of Arms

Quite a few churches have coats of arms on display. Here is one at Caldecott. Apologies for the dreadful photograph; my phone camera is pants.

Parish Magazines

In the 1970s the vicar at the church where I was first organist produced the Parish Magazine (or 'rag') on his Gestetner machine. Back then it seemed fine and would even pass muster today: photocopiers only came into use later.

As I visit churches I find all sorts of parish 'rags'. Yesterday I was ringing at somewhere near Corby and this church had a really professional publication with glossy paper and plenty of adverts but - I felt - little actual content.

One expects stories/reports from church organisations, a letter from the vicar, a list of services, Banns, Funerals, appeals and the odd photo. This example had some of those things but I felt there was too much 'white space'. It looked to have cost quite a bit to produce each copy too.

Each to his own.

Stained Glass

A bit of a repeat posting today. I have previously said that, for many years, I was not particularly bothered about stained glass. For some reason I now notice it much more and I have seen some lovely examples in my travels. A photograph never does the glass justice. Light streaming through it brings it to life. This is the example I mentioned in the earlier post.

What you find around organs

On Saturday, when I played for the renewal of vows, the organ console was behind a curtain which meant I was not on view. In general I refer to be tucked away as one would up in an organ loft.

It is also sometimes necessary to work out where one is going to put ones music. There isn't always room on the organ bench. At a recent funeral I found the blower was in a soundproof box right next to the console. On top there were many very old hymn books which had probably been there since the organ was installed! I had to play 'Tetris' (as it were) with the books to create a level surface for my music.

 

Things in churches

On my recent travels I have found wooden boxes for donations in two churches. Not only have these not been locked but they were not even attached to anything. The thinking here is that if unlocked they will not be broken into with brute force. If not attached to the wall the church fabric will not be damaged. Better to lose the cash in the box than have something more unsightly happen. This does not make it a very attractive proposition for would be givers. I did leave a donation in one box as I had collected the church key from a nearby farmhouse. I didn't put anything in the other box.

I also found a Visitors' Book; they are very common. They are also a form of history as some go back a long way - this one to 1963. I was last at this church in 1977 but I don't think I signed the book (I didn't check)

Books

 

I took this photo last Sunday and forgot to upload it from my phone. It is the bookshelf behind the organ bench and on it are stored books from yesteryear.

The Church of England managed with the Book of Common Prayer for many years then, at some point, somebody started to update the liturgy. By the time I was a chorister in 1968, Series II communion was pretty well established and a few years later Series III came out. These were again replaced by the Alternative Service Book (ASB) in 1980 a complete waste of time IMHO. Many churches invested cash in buying the volume which was obviously wasted.

Roll on and we now have the dreaded Common Worship of 2000. A more pathetic publication it would be difficult to imagine. Using it for communion services requires one to turn back and forth depending upon which Eucharistic prayer is used: to be fair, once one is used to the cue for the Sanctus one need not bother to follow the prayer, especially as various interjections and acclamations are seldom sung. I do dislike the many rubrics, symbols and icons which are meant to assist navigation of the book.

The line I REALLY hate is "that we may do justly". 'Do'? Who decided this? "That we may act justly" I suppose it means. See here.

The photo above shows the many volumes which are no longer in use, such as hymn books. Many places now use Hymns Old & New in which the harmonies and arrangements are of varying quality and the language has also been changed.

Ah, progress.