A hive of activity

A lot takes place before a service in the C of E. The list below will probably omit things which even I do not see as they take place in the sacristy.

• Lights turned on
• Coffee ladies prepare cups, milk, hot water
• Hymn boards are prepared (and checked - there was an error this morning, put right in good time)
• Notice sheets made ready for 'greeters'
• Bells rung up
• Candles lit
• Sound system turned on
• Streaming equipment made ready
• Screen lowered (the church I am playing at project what YouTube viewers see)
• Choir members robe and practise
• Eucharistic prayer choice conveyed to organist so the correct 'twiddly bits' are ready
• Readers find their places in the lectern bible (and bookmark)
• Communion wafers located
• Flowers will have been arranged the previous day
• Cantor selected for the psalm (well it isn't quite a psalm, just a verse)
  
• Many other things!

One does not just turn up and hope for the best.

Closed

 The local 'youths' are causing problems at the church hall car park.

Notices #1

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

 

Actual Teaching

So, the sermon on Sunday was about prayer as I've mentioned.

It was given at a church where there are several lady priests so, after the service, I approached the one I thought had spoken (I cannot see the pulpit from the organ console). she told me that it was a lay reader who had spoken so I went over to congratulate her.

The thing is that this sermon was thoughfully delivered and actually - I mean actually - contained some advice which would be helpful for those wanting to get closer to God. In short, the advice was to say the Lord's Prayer every day and that it didn't matter how or where one says it. Sitting, walking, slowly, line by line, with music playing, in silence, in bed, loudly, softly, morning or evening. There were more possibilites but you get the idea.

There were some points I felt were scooted over. For example "Why do bad things happen?". "Why does the person I've been praying for for weeks, months or years still die of the illness?" was the example she used. Her answer came from a book she recommended. Sometimes the answer to prayer is God himself. I felt this was not really an answer but she was brave to address the issue.

So many sermons I've heard have simply been about telling the story of a reading over again. Useful to place it in the context of biblical times but of little practical value.

This sermon was pretty good. So, it can be done. Vicars please note.

Martin How

News has reached me via Facebook that Martin How has passed away at a good age. He was described as the best cathedral organist we never had.

I met him a couple of times. He came to Peterborough to take a course for the Organists' Association and to Wellingborough to take an RSCM course on his chorister training scheme.

Here he is in action.

Prayer in Services #2

It seems to me that many people have an image of God as one of the following:

• A celestial aircraft pilot
• A celestial computer operator
  
• A celestial magician
• A celestial surgeon
• A celestial mechanic
• A celestial ______ (fill in the blank)

Taking the first two of these: imagine an airlcraft pilot sitting in a huge cockpit. He is confronted by numerous buttons, levers and dials. Each control does something. Or anyone using a piece of software - Microsoft Word or Excel have far more menus and options than I am ever going to use.

What people do when they pray is to expect God to listen and then push the appropriate button or click on the correct formatting/function command. Very often a prayer will contain the words "Make us X, Y or Z..." which requires a response from God the pilot. "Help us to change course in life" so God moves the joystick or whatever it is called on a large plane.

The sermon on Sunday was about prayer and I will write about it later in the week For now I am leaving this link here about the Lord's Prayer.

Well put

Jeremy Filsell wrote "The exquisite and immortal words of Joseph Poole (Precentor Coventry Cathedral in the 60s/70s). From Facebook."