I lost the thread of the sermon today. It seemed to be going OK although I cannot recall what it was about. Then, suddenly, white males were being berated as privileged.
After that we were asked how we pictured God. Did we view him as a white male, a black woman or a member of the LGBTQ community? I ask you!
What is wrong with the church?
A request came out by email from the Organists' Association from a guy who needs a deputy for both a wedding and a Sunday service later this month. I was not able to help with the Saturday wedding as I have one at my church. I can help with the service on the following basis.
This all depends upon the sermon at church #1 not being too long but I am promised that the incumbent will be told to crack on. I have also said that if the service is too long the last hymn might have to be spoken or unaccompanied.
When I was a lad, I was briefly organist at 2 churches whilst I was working my notice out at the first. So I would hop on my bicycle and travel 2 miles to church #2 where the pay was better. I did have to play one hymn quite fast at the end of one of church #1's services for which I was reprimanded.
I would have thought that the C of E would want to support English organ builders. It seems that Pershore Abbey commisioned a new Ruffati organ in 2017 which is just coming into use after delays caused by the pandemic.
Buckfast also has one.
I have no doubt that these instruments are excellent and the organists will enjoy playing them but what encouragement does it give to native organ builders?
Worcester Cathedral had a new organ by the late Ken Tickell which I have heard. It is not often that a new organ is built although Manchester Cathedral recently had one, also built by Ken.
For further organ discussions see the Mander forum.
Honestly, all this LGBTQ+ stuff annoys me - on one level. If my father were still alive he would simply not be able to believe it. What has prompted this post is the Lambeth Conference and a letter which appeared on Facebook which I will not put here: the issue of single-sex marriage is very divisive. Even before the conference there was fury!
On another level I can see that sexual preferences (i.e. other than Hetero) have been about for a long time. As a boy I enjoyed "Round the Horne" although I was far too young to understand all the innuendo in the Julian and Sandy sketches.
It is also shameful that Alan Turing experienced so much trouble concerning his preferences after all he did for the country.
One Facebook comment was this:
The Clergy have done many horrendous things in the past to ordinary people and will continue to do so whilst they openly recruit such people into their midst.
Another pointed to
the inability of the Church to make any meaningful progress on this issue, unlike most civilised nations and their governments.
I was talking with my bowls partner on Monday who is a non-conformist minister. I told him about the noise in church before a service starts and how, when I was young, we used to have to be quiet. Also, everybody used to understand the need to calm down in the minutes before a service begins and did so automatically.
He commented that it is the same in his church and he regretted the modern trend to talk loudly. I deduce that loud chatter is a 21st century cultural thing.
More and more churchyards are becoming places of refuge for insects and wildlife so you will fin dmore of the things shown below. A different hive of activity perhaps? (pun intended!)
One problem of having church services streamed is that one can go and listen back on YouTube. Yesterday the anthem was "I will sing with the spirit" by Rutter which has an accompaniment with a busy (quaver) right hand part. I could tell that my quavers were slightly 'keen' and I occasionally got a tiny amount ahead of the choir. Not enough to make a nonsense of the music but enough for me to notice.
On the day I had thought that it was the choir which was getting behind. I still think that they were taking too long to breath and not starting the next phrase quickly enough. Also, when I was a young chorister, we were all told - in one anthem, I forget which, - that the organ had quavers and we must be aware of this when the choir had sustained chords or the flow of the quavers woukd be impeded.
It is all to do with listening and rehearsing. Sadly, the choir only has a quick practice before the servcie when there is a lot of chatter.
