Preston City Parish

Ash Wednesday and Other Things.

2012-02-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

Hello from a busy Parish on Candlemas. We have just celebrated the feast in St George's with a well attended Mass and a small procession. You catch me above taking a break on Christian Unity Sunday, which saw your scribe dashing from Church to Church across three counties fitting in many different styles of service and denomination. A most enjoyable day and an enjoyable pint of bitter.

We come to a few announcements, to whit,

GUILD OF SERVANTS OF THE SANCTUARY.
I am Chaplain to the Lancashire and Furness Chapter, our annual evants have been finalised and the first one will be the AGM at St George's Church, Preston at 3pm on 18th February, beginning with a Sung Mass.

ASH WEDNESDAY
BCP Eucharist and Rite of Ashing in the Minster at 10.30am
Ashing at Lea School at 2pm
Sung Mass and Ashing in St George's Church at 7.30pm
Both Churches will be open all day for quiet prayer and reflection.

Above you will see the Minster during World Holocaust Day. The theme this year was 'Speak Up, Speak Out' and we heard moving stories from people allied with the Disabled and Lesbian and Gay communities as well as prayer, song and moving words from the Rabbi, who sung a Psalm of desolation in Hebrew. It was well attended and each year the City Council arrange this to remind people of what horrors have been committed in the past and indeed continue to this day.

We also witnessed and hosted a covenant between the Armed Forces stationed here in Preston and the City Council which honours the contribution made by the local Regiments and importantly assures them of proper care and assistance in case of disability, mental health breakdown or other great need. We also attended the Homeless service in Preston City Methodist Church with many other denominations, wherein we looked at more ways to alleviate the stress and hopelessness so often associated with sleeping rough. We already work hard to combat this growing problem in Preston, but it continues to escalate.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

Well, we are back and so is the 'green season of Ordinary Time, as this picture of the High Altar at St John's Minster shows. As your scribe scribes, it is going dark outside at half four in the afternoon and we are in the dog days of Winter, the frost still making a valiant effort at being out, but it is thwarted by the appearance of daffodils, of all things. Christmas is over, Candlemas is on it's way (which is a tautology, but there you are, this is Lancashire) and we are idly contemplating Lenten disciplines as the hills of ham and the dales of gravy reach their end.

This is a picture of your scribe looking smug taking his shopping home on a speedboat last year. It is yet another attempt to disguise the fact that there are not many Christmas pictures to show you, we were too busy for pictures and even the Lancashire Evening Post recycled last years Carol Service pictures, purporting to be this years. We had a good Christmas, with excellent numbers at the Midnight Mass and a presentable Mass of the day as well. Beyond that, we have so many Carol Services, Christingles, School services and so on and so forth, edited highlights begin immediately.

At Lea School, the Kitchen Crew dish up a very creditable Christmas meal to the children, your scribe and his friend the Vicar of Preston did much of the serving and subsequent wiping of gravy covered childrens hands and mouths. This encouraged them to be less dribbly in an immediate and startling fashion.

We also launched the Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda in the Diocese of Blackburn and Carlisle with a very well attended Festival Mass in the Minster, this picture shows The Bishop of Blackburn and the Bishop of Burnley with a small number of people after the Mass.

This shot takes in the Mayor, her Consort and some of the people who came for the main Civic Carol Service in the Minster.

And this shot is the customary annual 'Vicar of Preston in Mozetta at Carol Service' shot, this year, for variety, the mozetta turned on its owner and attacked. I am trying to stop it savagely biting again.

And of course we had a lovely Crib Service and Christingle.....

Complete with Wise Men and Dorothy playing the piano.

Finally, a picture of the DISC disability day in the Minster, showing some of the Carol Singing and general merriment at that happy event. More in a couple of weeks. Happy New Year!

Come and Join Us!

2011-12-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

Two of our Parishioners chatting after Mass last Sunday.

CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES.

Wednesday 14th December.
10.30 BCP in St John's Minster
7.30 pm, THE CAROL SERVICE in the Minster.
Please come early if you want a seat.

As usual until Sunday 18th December.
9.30 Sung Mass in the Minster
11.15 Sung Mass in St George's.
3pm THE CHRISTINGLE and NATIVITY PLAY
in St George's.

As usual until Saturday 24th December.
11.30pm, THE MIDNIGHT MASS in St George's.

Sunday 25th December.
10am Parish Mass in the Minster.

Monday 26th.
No Mass.

Tuesday 27th.
No Mass (County Hall shut).

Wednesday 28th.
Return to usual.

A Happy and Holy Christmas from us all at
Preston City Parish.

The 3rd Sunday of Advent in St George's Church, Friargate.

Advent Advents.

2011-11-29T00:54:00.000-08:00

Last week the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary Chapter whom I act as Chaplain to went to Saint Stephen's on the Cliffs in Blackpool in the last scheduled outing of the year. Next year we hope to visit Accrington, Preston, Ribchester and somewhere as yet undecided. The numbers have picked up of late, from 20 or so to about 40 people, so do come and support or join the Guild.

We had a Solemn Requiem Mass for departed members of the Chapter and also accepted two new probationers.

Blackpool was looking up and a day out before the Mass was enjoyed immensely.

Christ the King.

My Dear Friends,

While our hearts look forward in great hope and expectation to the annual celebration of Christ’s Birth, the Church’s Liturgy directs our gaze to the final goal: our encounter with the Lord who will come in the splendour of glory. For this reason in every Eucharist we “announce his death, proclaim his Resurrection until he comes again”, we watch in prayer. Let us now, in the few weeks of Advent, do something which it was suggested to me a couple of weeks ago we leave little time for – pray!

The Liturgy we encounter over these weeks does not cease to encourage and support us, putting on our lips, in the days of Advent, the cry with which the whole of Sacred Scripture ends, on the last page of the Revelation to St John: “Come, Lord Jesus” (22:20). I remember vividly Bishop Nicholas saying those words as he finished the Bible reading last year, here in our Minster Church, as hundreds of people prayed for the City and the Diocese. May we also echo that statement of the authors of Revelation.

My friends, this time of the Church’s year also reminds us of the Divine gift of human life in the womb, the joy of the birth of a child. Precisely, the beginning of the Liturgical Year helps us live anew the expectation of God who took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, God who makes himself little, who becomes a child; it speaks to us of the coming of a God who is close, who chose to experience human life from the very beginning in order to save it totally, in its fullness. And so the mystery of Lord’s Incarnation and the beginning of human life are closely and harmoniously connected and in tune with each other in the one saving plan of God, the Lord of the life of each and everyone.

The Incarnation reveals to us, with intense light and in a surprising way, that every human life has a very lofty and incomparable dignity. Each child in the womb is of equal value to that child we devote these four weeks to, each child has the potential of human life given breath and movement by God.

In comparison with all the other living beings that populate the earth we have an unmistakable originality. We are presented as the one unique being, endowed with intelligence and free will, as well as consisting of material reality. We live simultaneously and inseparably in both the spiritual and the corporal dimension.

This is also suggested in the text of the First Letter to the Thessalonians that has just been proclaimed: “May the God of peace himself”, St Paul writes, “sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:23).

We are therefore spirit, soul and body. We are part of this world, tied to the possibilities and limitations of our material condition, while at the same time we are open to an infinite horizon, able to converse with God and to welcome him within us. We are active in earthly realities and through them we are able to perceive God’s presence and to reach out to him, Truth, Goodness and absolute Beauty. We savour fragments of life and happiness and yearn for complete fulfilment.

God loves us deeply, totally and without making distinctions. He calls us to friendship with him, he makes us part of a reality beyond every imagination and every thought and word: his divine life itself.

Thus ends a rather preachy letter this month, but what can I say which can equal the truth and beauty of the Incarnation? Nothing, although I can thank you for your prayers, your generosity, your love and assure you that they are daily reciprocated and, when the time comes, can I wish you a very happy Christmas and the assurance of the truth of the Word of God.

Other than that, one task I am engaged in is coming to an end, thanks be to God, more begin, life goes on. At one end of Advent was the remarkable Nell Power appearing in Church, at the other is the baby Jesus, appearing in Bethlehem. All human life is here, and Divine life as well!

Fr Andrew.

All Type and Manner of Things.

2011-11-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

We have ben very busy these last few weeks and the pace continues. The picture above shows some of the Romanian Orthodox group who use the Minster on Sunday late mornings now, just after our Mass there. This coming Sunday we will be having our Mass earlier, at 9am, to allow people to get to the Flagmarket for the Remembrance Service. There will also be a Sung Requiem Mass in St George's at 10.55.

A picture now for Neil, one of our Parishioners, who has gone to China to work for a year. This shot of the wonderful Peter Kavanagh's pub in Liverpool will remind him of home and hopefully speed him back!

On Monday, we welcomed back some of our Ukrainian Orthodox friends who used to use St George's many years ago, before they found their own building, kindly leaving us some of their icons. Sadly, it was a funeral that brought them back. Lest you think that we have changed our allegiance from Canterbury to Constantinople, be assured that we still have our usual round of services in all three Churches, as you will find on the link to the right.

Beginning this weekend, we will be hosting the BDP (http://www.bdp.com/) exhibition, which is a fascinating look at many of the buildings designed by British designers all over the world. Sustainable, iconic and British, this is well worth seeing and entrance is free.

More Liverpool sorry Neil!

We welcomed some musicians today to rehearse before a performance, which added to the beauty of the morning after Mass.

And a Baptism! A busy beginning to a busy week.

Another Week in Colour.

2011-10-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

An apology first of all - I have been on holiday and we have had no posts for a little while. There we are, now that is done, on with the usual business of looking at pictures. Above you can see the Preston arts Festival in full swing, a busy two weeks of exhibitions, walks, performances, workshops and so on based in Preston Minster, which just finished last weekend.

This is one of the five hundred or so bikers who crammed into the Minster this week after a noisy, gasoline flavoured lap around the city for the funeral of Andy Topping, a devoted fan of the Minster and an even more devoted biker. The Dog and Partridge, the local biker and rockers pub, was full to bursting after an emotional and joyful service. I was just glad that the balcony did not collapse, we had the recommended number of people in it, but the weight limit may have been slightly exceeded!

We hope that the Minster will be equally packed for the launch of the Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda (see the link at the top of the page) on the 1st of December at 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome to come and worship God and show their solidarity with this new venture, hot on the heels of the motion passed overwhelmingly by Diocesan Synod that provision for Anglo Catholics should be looked at again, with a structural solution.

This is Bishop Geoff, about to set out on the Morecambe Bay walk the other week. It was a very interesting day and we raised much money for the Cathedral as well as feeding many of the estuary mosquitoes.

As I have been away, here are some holiday snaps of Kerkyra, or Corfu Town as we know it. belonging to the Venetians for many years, it is a peculiar mix of Orthodox architecture, venetian and Baroque influences, with many charming, winding alleyways with flagstones worn down and shiny with hundreds of years of feet treading them.

Here is the Ciborium of an Orthodox Church, behind the Icon Screen.

And here is the great icon screen, or Iconostasis.

And the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, looking slightly Spanish Baroque.

Faith and Justice talks.

2011-09-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

This post, the welcome comes from the First Duke of Cleveland, who lies in rest just outside Barnard Castle in Staindrop Parish Church. He was a campaigner for local rights and wider justice as well as being a devout Christian, so he also gets to advertise a series of Faith and Justice lectures at our Jesuit friends Church of Saint Wilfrid just around the corner on Chapel Street. They are as follows, and are all very interesting...

'Faith in the Inner City' - how does a once proud Parish revive and regenerate itself. With Brother Ken Vance SJ, Monday 10th Octover at 7.30pm
Brother Ken is Parish Administrator of Saint Francis Xavier in Liverpool, a large Parish with problems of its own.

'Faith in a multi Cultural Society: towards understanding Islam'. Revd. David Marshall. Saturday 5th November at 10am.
Rev Davis is the Archbishop of Canterbury's 'Building Bridges' seminar academic director.

'Faiith in the Modern World: the Internet and Evangelism'. Fr Peter Scally SJ.
Fr Peter built the well known 'Sacred Space' website and runs Jesuit Media Initiatives which runs Pray-as-you-go and the online journal Thinking Faith.

This week has been a busy one in the Parish, a few holiday makers have returned, a couple of people have gone on holiday or on long term contracts elsewhere, one or two are moving closer, life, in other words, goes on as does the daily task of setting out vestments and the daily joy of celebrating Mass for our Parish and the wider world.

Last weekend I was near Durham, saying mass for a couple of Parishes and otherwise entertaining them. I had a little time free and went to Escomb Saxon Church, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, church in the country. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. I liked the North East so much that I am going on holiday there in February for a week.

Here is Escomb Church from the outside.

There is much excitement at Preston Minster at the moment as we have been chosen to host the launch Mass of the Society of Saint Hilda and Saint Wilfrid in Blackburn and Carlisle Dioceses on the 1st December at 7.30pm. You are all welcome, more information can be found on the SSWSH North West newsletter or on our website, www.sswsh-northwest.com

A gravestone in Escomb. Who would have known that Pacman has been played for so long?

The reredos in Richmond Parish Church showing the Saints of the North East.

Your scribe walking a baby in the garden of Bowburn Country House during a lunch party. Stranger things have happened! I understand that there are some people who only read this blog to see baroque vestments. You will be saddened this time, but I will make up for this next time.

Here be pirates!

Towers and Goats.

2011-08-31T23:22:00.000-07:00

This is the interior of the grade I listed St Walburge's Church in Preston. It is a monumental building, towering over what used to be densely populated terraces full of catholics. It now towers over acres of light industrial estates and student housing and is consequently not as busy as it used to be. That aside, they had an open day last Saturday and on my way to preside over a wedding up the road, I dropped in and was delighted to see our Mayor and her consort. The hammer beam roof is very famous, the picture benefits from being expanded.

I may be looking slightly uncomfortable in this picture, but I was talked into climbing up the tower and it was worryingly windy....and high! This is not what I meant by high church.

You get a good view though.

St Walburges has the highest spire in the country apart from Winchester Cathedral, it towers over the city even though it is a little way from the centre and the scale is hard to photograph.

A very fine sanctuary by Hansom, also designer of the Holy Name in Manchester and the Hanson Cab. The Benediction throne is rather grand.

The Lady Chapel.

Another view of the sanctuary.

From the tower looking over towards the docks and eventually the sea.

Here, your scribe is deep in conflab with Canon Peter McEvitt in Cartmel Priory, More of that down the page. The picture is a rogue one and in the wrong place.

The Friargate Market was a great success again, these animals were not for slaughter (yet) but attracted a large crowd.

We had a Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary day out to Cartmel Priory last week. I am Chaplain to the Lancashire and Furness ward and had arranged a day in the far Northern reaches of the area. I was pleased with the numbers coming and the feedback from members. The next day out will be in November, to Blackpool.

The Gloria at the Mass in Cartmel.

Finally, Fr Timothy, your Scribe and Fr Thomas Finch, our honorary assistant Priest, who is 91 and once Parish Priest of St Cyprians Clarence Gate and St Marys Wellingborough.

A Concert and a High Mass.

2011-08-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

The Assumption came and went with typical Parish splendour, although numbers were rather down as you might expect on a Sunday in August. Looking back, it may have been as well to have kept it on Monday with an evening High Mass, rather than the external Solemnity of Sunday, oh well, would that we have known. I replicate below some thoughts on the feast written for another place;

'And so last year I went back home. I found it strange, not just because it took me 18 hours to drive there (including a little time spent under the English Channel on a train, an experience I never cease to find disconcerting, if France is only half an hour away, why on earth are they so foreign?) and not just because walking around vineyards in Germany is a slightly spiritual experience, but because I felt little sense of really returning to a home. To a house, certainly, and a house where I was very happy in a village of such old fashioned life that people leave their crops on the roadside for each other to exchange and to a people who I was glad to see again, but home? No, not home, because I have moved on. I have been to Switzerland, Scotland, London, Manchester, Crewe (now that was terrible!) and now Preston- that misses out a few, but you get the impression I am trying to make, that home has been since I was 13 and continues to be, wherever I live at that time. Going back is not always the experience we look for. Much like a favourite dish in a restaurant, never order it again, for it will be different and in that difference it will frustrate you.

Why do I say this? It would appear to me that we have just celebrated the feast of the Assumption, the feast of the reunion of the Holy Family, as one friend puts it, but I beg to differ, for not only did Joseph, to the best of my knowledge, not assume into Heaven, but that family is also intrinsically different in its infinite majesty. This woman Mary, who said 'yes', this woman who stands at the gate of the dawn, did she go back or did she move on? It would appear to me that after her 'yes', after that decision that changed the world, she went to the hill country, to a high place, where people have always encountered God, which in her case was the home of Elizabeth. Such was the joy at this meeting, after a hard slog over dangerous territory, especially for a pregnant woman - and especially for a pregnant woman with morals presumed by all to be loose - that John kicked in the womb of Elizabeth. They stood there, at the gate of the dawn, looking back to the prophets and the yearnings of the Jewish people for a Messiah and they looked forward to the new age promised to God's holy people, to Israel and the children of Abraham forever.

That she chose to come down and back to her home is a wonder in itself, by now visibly pregnant and a sign of shame to those who did not believe (and you can be sure that her neighbours shared in this gossip). She went back home, to a place which had changed, for comfort, certainly and her old life had been removed, replaced with suspicion and hatred. She kept moving, to Bethlehem, but even the angels and the wise men could not end the pain or take away the future trials she had to bear. She walked on, in faith, to the foot of the cross and to her own death, from whence she was taken to a new place, where she awaits the end of days, when she has her final part in our redemption to play.

Has she ever gone home? Or has she had to keep moving, a refugee even to heaven, taken on a lifetime of uncertainly and what could be termed misery by saying 'yes' to God. If there is ever a day which makes us realise that we will only be truly happy saying 'yes' to God when we have made a conscious decision to overcome the world with its persuasions and its false promises of money or glamour or status, it is the Assumption, when we celebrate God's most beloved refugee, who had hope and faith in that 'yes', that word which was the light of all peoples. John the Evangelist's Logos, the creation of the world, the word made flesh has the name Yahweh, but also, it has a response, and that response is 'Yes!'.

This bridge over the Ribble is in Preston and is part of the beauty of that place, it leads over to the other side where, surprisingly, there is farmland just beyond Avenham and Miller Parks.

And here is the farmland. Directly behind you is the Ribble, then the park, then the City Centre, where you will find St George's Church, wherein there is the next in our series of lunchtime concerts this Friday at 12.30. This week we feature Dominic Degavino, a student at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, which has taught him successfully, if the number of competitions and prizes he has won are anything to go by. He will be performing works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy and Chopin.

These suspicious gentlemen have come to remind you that there will be a High Mass on Saturday at 2pm in Cartmel Priory followed by Solemn Benediction. You are all very welcome and joy will be ybounden.

A Concert, and Some Photographs.

2011-08-03T09:54:00.001-07:00

All these people are following the Stations of the Cross with our pilgrimage in Walsingham, for more about that, read further down, but here is some information about this weeks concert.

This Friday, we are pleased to present the next in our series of Lunchtime Concerts at St George's Church at 12.30, the programme follows.

Emma Richards (viola)

Duncan Honeybourne (piano)

Johannes BRAHMS

(1833-1897) - Sonata in F minor for viola and piano,

Op.120 no.1

I. Allegro appassionato

II. Andante un poco Adagio

III. Allegretto grazioso

IV. Vivace

Johann Sebastian BACH

(1685-1750) - from the Cello Suite no.3 in C major, BWV 1009

Prelude; Sarabande: Gigue

Georges ENESCU

(1881-1955) - Conzertstuck for viola and piano

Emma Richards (viola) comes from Wiltshire, and graduated in 2010 from the Royal Northern College of Music, where she studied with Ásdís Valdimarsdottir and Simon Rowland-Jones and won the top viola prize, the Cecil Aronowitz Memorial Award. As a soloist she has received numerous prizes and scholarships and has attended festivals such as the Dartington International Summer School, the Internationale Stichtig Masterclass Apeldoorn, and the International Musician’s Seminar, Prussia Cove, working with leading artists including Atar Arad, Rivka Golani, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Thomas Riebl, Marco Van-Pagee and Jutta Puchammer-Sedillot. Emma is a passionate chamber musician and with her string quartet - the Attree Quartet - she has enjoyed coaching from James Boyd, Alasdair Tait and members of the Michelangelo Quartet, the Endellion Quartet, the Quator Danel and the Gould Trio. Recent performance highlights include Schoenberg’s Verklaerte Nacht at the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte Montepulciano, the Hindemith 1937 Solo Viola Sonata at the 37^th International Viola Congress in South Africa, and two performances of the Bartók Viola Concerto with the Wiltshire and Swindon Youth Orchestra. As an orchestral player Emma took part in the Professional Experience Scheme with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and, in 2011, takes up a full-time position with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Emma has given many solo recitals and has toured extensively as a chamber musician in many parts of the UK, with a visit to Ireland in 2008, and plans for 2011 include an exciting series of viola and piano recitals in the north west with duo partner Duncan Honeybourne. Future projects include postgraduate study next year in Germany, at the Frankfurt Hochschule fur Musik, supported by the Countess of Munster Trust.

Emma plays on a Riccardo Bergonzi viola, kindly donated by Joy Anderson, a much loved and much missed Grandmother.

Born in Dorset in 1977, Duncan Honeybourne was awarded an Entrance Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department where he won the senior piano prize. He was also a prizewinner in the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists’ Competition and gave recitals and concerto performances nationwide at an early age. He was awarded a place at the senior RAM but chose instead to move to the Birmingham Conservatoire where he graduated with First Class Honours and won many prizes, and subsequently received the honorary award of HonBC for professional distinction. He also worked in London with John York and in Leeds with Fanny Waterman, and completed his studies on a Goldenweiser Scholarship for three years in London with the Russian pianist Mikhail Kazakevich.

He made a critically acclaimed debut as soloist at Symphony Hall Birmingham and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, in 1998 and since then has enjoyed a distinguished career throughout Britain and Ireland as soloist and chamber musician. He has played concertos and given recitals at major venues in London, Dublin, most of the principal UK and Irish cities and at several British festivals, and has undertaken extensive solo recital tours to music clubs and arts centres throughout England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. He has broadcast as a solo pianist on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Scotland and RTE (Irish) Radio, has appeared on BBC and RTE Television, and has given recitals of chamber music with many renowned artists. He has premiered many new works dedicated to him by leading composers, including John Joubert’s Third Piano Sonata and the Andrew Downes Piano Concerto at Birmingham Town Hall in 2009. He is widely recognized as an interpreter of 20^th century and contemporary British and Irish piano music and, in 2010, his CD of piano music by Moeran and Howells was released by Winterbourne Records. His double-CD collection Piano Music from the Midlands, released in 2008, was recorded live at the Birmingham Conservatoire and features three sonatas premiered by Duncan alongside works by a range of 20th and 21st century composers from the Midland region.

Duncan Honeybourne is a sought-after specialist piano teacher, adjudicator, lecture recitalist and masterclass tutor. He is a Piano Tutor and Coach/Accompanist at Bryanston School in Dorset and at the Dorset Rural Music School, and for three years was also a Visiting Lecturer and Performance Tutor at the University of Chichester, where he taught undergraduate and postgraduate pianists and was Artistic Director of two concert series. He is Founder/Artistic Director of the Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts and directs a recital series in Leominster, Herefordshire.

So, Father David Arnold and your scribe led a pilgrimage to Walsingham, where we met my friend Fr John from 't North East, so we combined forces for the Stations of the Cross and the evening parties.

Here follow some live action shots of pilgrims enjoying a drink or two in the Richeldis lounge. We were also celebrating the MBE given to Mrs Rosemary Jolly, seen here on the left.

Keith tried to teach Arthur to dance, but hopefully he failed.

And here are the assembled pilgrims from the Preston contingent, looking happy and anticipating the evenings devotions. Three were unable to come, two from sickness and one from being in China!

Your scribe said Mass on the first morning in the Holy House.

Your scribe in a triple decker pulpit, most probably for the last time!

This is not Walsingham, we are temporarily done with that place of joy, this is Cartmel Fell Chapel an old Chapel of Ease to Cartmel Priory, in a stunning hidden valley of the Lake District. I visited it on Monday. On the 20th of this month of course there is the High Mass in Cartmel Priory at 2pm, to which you are all welcome.

By popular demand, the Lord Bishop of Blackburn and your scribe singing at Mass a few weeks ago!

Finally, Sue looks sad on the last night of the pilgrimage. After an emotional last visit to the Holy House we all left happy and had an easy journey back, even Doris and Janet who stopped to pick fruit on the way which has now been turned into an excellent jam.

An Invitation, to us and to You.

2011-07-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

'Who are these dancing ladies Father, and what are they doing on your blog' I hear you asking, agog. Well they are two of the revellers who were in the gardens of St Ignatius' Church, Preston, last weekend when that Church community invited our Parish to a BBQ. It was a wonderful evening and well supported by both 'teams'.

Here are some of the party goers eating and your scribe talking to Fr Tom Singleton, the RC Area Dean and PP of St Ignatius Church. Those trousers are now ruined after I spent yesterday afternoon helping to print 250 T-shirts with the slogan 'Making Waves' on the front and the explanation on the back that it is a fund raising walk for Blackburn Cathedral. More of that later.

Excellent puddings were supplied by, among others, a Polish Bakery in Preston which I have yet to locate.

Now, pay attention. August 20th is a day out! We are all going to Cartmel Priory for High Mass at 2pm and a procession of the blessed Sacrament in the gardens before Solemn Benediction later. You are all very welcome, do come, it will be a wonderful day.

Finally, the inside of St Ignatius's Church.

A Number of Milestones and a Procession.

2011-06-30T02:57:00.000-07:00

PPAET CONCERTS FOR JULY in Saint George's Church.
Fridays at 12.30, £5 full price, £3 concessions. Includes coffee.

July 1st, Ralph Lane, Clarinet and Jennifer Carter, Piano.
Debussy, Canzonetta, Saint Saens, Weber.

July 15th, Sophie Robertshaw, Bassoon, Ian Logan Wynne, Piano.
More details to follow.

First things first, on Corpus Christi we had a procession of the Belssed Sacrament through the streets of Preston after Mass. Father David Arnold, Bishop's Chaplain, carried Our Lord while the Parish followed.

On Trinity Sunday, Father Ian Hollin, our Hon. Assistant Priest, celebrated 40 years of Ordained Ministry in the Minster with a very joyful Mass at which the Saint George's Occasional Singers took part. Richard Blackburn, the Bishop of Warrington and old Theological College peer of Fr Ian preached.

We all face East for the Te Deum.

Father Ian and Fr Timothy, the Parish Priest.

Due to the random nature of the picture app on Blogger, here we have the procession wending its way back to St George's at Corpus Christi.

Now, you won't see this very often! 125 years of Priestly Ministry celebrated at the same time with Fr Tom Finch's 60th, Fr Ian's 40th and Fr Timothy's 25th. The Diocesan Bishop of Blackburn is in the centre.

And here is the Bishop preaching.

The three 'Birthday boys' during Mass.

Almost finally, a picture of the Ribble in Ribchester after the closing concert of the annual Ribchester Festival, which was a great success again, particularly considering the precarious financial times in which we find ourselves.

Finally, the Bishop at last nights Mass.

Two More Weeks in Preston.

2011-06-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

Blogger is playing silly beggars again and so this post has photos in no particular order! Above, though, is your scribe at Ladyewell, an ancient shrine to Our Lady to the north of Preston city centre, where there was a pilgrimage recently. There is a well there which was discovered by a man with the direction of the Mother of God and the waters thereof are still used for anointing and healing.

Our Diocesan Bishop, Nicholas, was the main celebrant and preacher at the Mass. He spoke in a powerful sermon of the urgent need for the Church of England to rededicate itself to Our Lady and to rediscover a more fervent devotion to her.

Many hundreds of people were there and here you see the Bishop with some of his people.

And here you see him walking to the shrine at the back of the procession on the way to say Mass.

Your scribe, of course, had to take all the clothes home at the end!

Here is part of the procession from the Church to the shrine.

On the Friday night we were pleased to welcome 'Five in a Bar' to the Minster for a fund raising concert.

On the Thursday, we had Mass for the Ascension.

The weekend before Ladyewell, Preston celebrated the annual Carribean Carnival with a great procession to the Park and then much dancing and Jerk Chicken ensued.

Oh, back to Ladyewell, more of the procession!

And another procession, this time in St Hilda's Prestwich, for their May Devotion.

The statue of Our Lady was carried around the Church (but not the grounds, as they are being renewed) before Benediction.

In Cuerden Park, the day before, there was a festival, at which were Morris Men. It wasn't all bad though, there were displays of crafts and sheep and home made food stalls....

...and to my delight, a Dixie Band!

There were no Dixie bands at the Caribbean Carnival, but there were lots and lots of Police.

Yorkshire, surprisingly!

2011-05-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

Another Minster this time, the picture showing St Gregory's Minster near Helmsley in Yorkshire, where I have been on holiday for a week or so. We often tell visitors that Preston Minster was originally built by St Wilfrid, as indeed it was, but the astute will realise that the present structure is almost completely Victorian, so much of the ancient character is lost. St Gregory's, however, is genuinely venerable, complete even with Saxon arch and Sundial.

In our Minster and in our Parish Church of St George, we have been busy anyway. The last Mayor is gone, Cllr Albert Richardson had his outgoing service last Sunday and we await the installation of the new Mayor tomorrow in the Council Chamber before her first service of welcome in the Minster in a couple of weeks. I am not a contender for the OBN (or Order of the Brown Nose) as you may be aware, holding each individual in equal regard, but we will miss Cllr Richardson. He has been a generous, kind and truly Christian Mayor, putting, in many interviews and statements, the needs of others before his own and if the Mayorality is to serve a purpose then that is surely it.

I went to Whitby as well! It was a lovely clear day and the sun shone. The Abbey looked marvellous and the town was bustling, but I was upset to learn that the fishmarket is to close in a few weeks, due to a lack of use. Fishing has been the raison d'etre of Whitby for generations and profitable though the tourist industry may be, you cannot pluck tourists out of the sea with nets.

In St George's last night we had our Walsingham Cell Mass, our pilgrimage come up at the beginning of July and many of the pilgrims are very excited about our trip, as is your scribe. We shall be going at the same time as Spennymoor and Bowburn parishes, where my friend Fr John ministers. We look forward to visiting Our Lady's shrine and catching up with old friends and sharing some spiritual time with each other. The only worry, which everyone shares, is the cost of fuel of course. We hope that this will not deter Parishes from even further away than us from going, but coach companies put prices up in line with the cost, we just have to hope that the increases do not continue as sharply for another year. This year the cost can be absorbed, next year, well, who knows, maybe we shall have to hop for a Loreto-style floating house!

This is the crypt at Lastingham Church, a very ancient and holy place in Yorkshire where I was delighted to find quiet for prayer and reflection last week. This early Norman space traces its roots to about 650 and its foundation by St Cedd. Rather earlier is St Bede's Nelson, where the Chapter of the GSS which I chaplain visited at the invitation of my friend Fr Philip Knowles on Saturday. We enjoyed Mass followed by a buffet and then Benediction. Apparently there was a big football match on at the same time, so numbers were slightly down, but we still recruited new members and we all look forward immensely to our next 'family outing' in August for High Mass and a procession of the Blessed Sacrament in Cartmel Priory.

The Chapel of Reservation in Lastingham Church. Some of the new people in Church on Sunday were asking why I kept genuflecting at the altar, not understanding the use or position of the central tabernacle in St George's. For a moment I was inclined to feel that side Chapels of reservation, as in Cathedrals, are preferential, but as I explained what little I hope to grasp of the infinite mystery of God and His dwelling among us, their faces lit up and I was pleased that they said 'ah, that is why this Church feels full, it is full of God'. Always, we find hope. Always, lurking under a stone, is grace.

Your scribe in relaxed mood enjoying a pint of bitter on the train back from Whitby. We had a concert on Friday night in the Minster of sacred Russian music, which almost everybody thought was excellent. We followed this with a Russian themed buffet (you had to like mayonnaise!). Follow us on Facebook, preston city parish, for details of our next musical evening on the 4th of June.

The Sacred Triduum and Easter in Preston.

2011-04-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning, the garden was empty and we were preparing for the Stations of the Cross and the Walk of Witness to the Flagmarket followed by the service in the Minster then the Solemn Liturgies in St George's.

The Church was bare, stripped after the Mass of the Institution and foot washing of the night before. We ended up with a good number of people watching until midnight, sitting with the Lord in the busy city, with car alarms, drug dealing, fights and late opening bars all around - a good reminder of the work of love yet to be completed.

The walk was in fine weather this year. Looking back at last years pictures, we were all in winter cloaks. The thunder came in the early evening followed by a warm downpour.

Prayers for unity and peace were offered, and we all went our separate ways back to our own churches for the remainder of the day, a good witness done, an act of togetherness underlining our individual commitments to unity in Christ.

On Saturday evening we began the vigil with the darkness and the fire at half past eight, as the late dusk settled over the street party on Friargate.

Much later, we finished, exhausted but exhilarated, ready to sleep before the great feast of the morning.

And we had a very good turnout in the Minster for the 10am Sung Mass, here in this city that nobody lives in.

Happy Easter from us all!

Easter Monday dawned bright and clear and fourteen thousand people came to Avenham and Miller parks for egg rolling and other activities. Janelle and your scribe are trying to look Victorian and serious, to the amusement of the Vicar.

The time machine was even out for a spin!

This is the view from the Friends of the parks stall where I sat...and sat....and sat until thousands of leaflets and pieces of information had been disseminated.

If you look carefully, you will see a man who looks very much like the Vicar of Preston wearing a funny hat.

Palm Sunday and Holy Week in Preston.

2011-04-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

You can see the sanctuary (with our new candles and cross on the altar) at St George's today. Eagle eyed readers may note the elevated throne in front of the tabernacle and the extra chairs at the back. The elevated throne is for the Diocesan Bishop (and two stools not yet there for the two Archdeacons) who will preside from the throne at the Chrism Mass on Tuesday, which the Bishop of Burnley will celebrate. Our entire Holy Week schedule is below.

MONDAY.
10am Low Mass St George's
7pm Low Mass and Laying on of Hands at St John's at the High Altar.

TUESDAY.
11am Solemn Mass of Chrism, St George's.
12pm Low Mass, Christ the King.

WEDNESDAY.
10.30 BCP Eucharist for Spy Wednesday, St John's.
7.30 Devotions and Meditation in front of the Blessed Sacrament, St George's.

THURSDAY.
8pm The Mass of the Institution of the Eucharist and washing of feet.
Watch until Midnight.

FRIDAY.
11am Stations of the Cross, St George's.
11.45 assemble for the walk of witness, St George's.
(please be on time, we expect many hundreds)
12pm Ecumenical Service at the Flagmarket.
1pm The Last Hour, St John's.
2pm The Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday, St George's.
Church open for silent prayer.

SATURDAY.
8.30pm The Easter Vigil, St George's.

SUNDAY
10am Sung Mass for Easter Sunday, St John's Minster.

MONDAY.
No Mass, join the clergy in Avenham Park for egg rolling and witness 10-4pm.

Incense is imposed outside before the procession today after Mass at St John's, on the way to Mass at St George's.

I seem to have a disapproving look on my face. I can't imagine why, it was a lovely day!

Having a natter in the Minster before going outside for the procession.

Flowering trees and Blossoming Societies.

2011-04-13T00:19:00.000-07:00

This Magnolia riot is in Avenham Park and is so full of colour, movement and beauty that I almost thought that I was at a May Devotion - or Mary riot as they are also known. We had a few days of unseasonal heat and unclouded skies and the parks were full of thousands of people wandering round, eating picnics, walking children, dropping litter and selling drugs. We will be in the parks in a far more genteel capacity on Easter Monday, your scribe will be manning a Friends of Avenham and Miller Parks stand from 10 until 4pm as well as beetling about, t'Vicar will be judging the Easter Bonnet parade and there will be a day of egg rolling, local food, theatre and general jollity. Be there or be told off.

The Japanese Gardens looked very fine in the morning light last Saturday, just before the sun broke through the trees on the Eastern bank of the woods. On Sunday we have a Sung Mass with reading of the Passion in the Minster at 9.30, followed by the blessing of palms and a procession to St George's Friargate for 11.15 Sung Mass and dramatic reading of the Passion. Pictures will appear that same day along with the Easter and Holy Week schedule.

What am I doing now? I am opening the 2011 Preston Beer Festival. It was a very enjoyable night and there was a lot of beer. We now pass on to the next picture.

On Lent IV, Mothering Sunday (or Mothers Day as everybody else calls it), we had a High Mass at St George's Friargate and you can see the rose (or pink) vestments that we used. Rose is simply a lighter shade of purple, to allow a break in the Lenten regime for one day.

Time goes by so fast in the city that it was good to reflect that it is only six months (feels like a hundred years!) since I was ordained as a priest and acting as Deacon for the High Mass was a happy reminder of the first year I had here.

This picture of our Lord Bishop in Walsingham with the Bishop in Europe is an advert for their joint role as Bishop protectors of the Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda. You can see the new website for that Society in the North West here,

www.sswsh-northwest.com

Finally, a trip to St Michaels Ashton for the licensing of their new Vicar, Fr Geoff. Ad multos annos!

Lent and More lent.

2011-03-30T23:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was in Waddow Hall, which belongs to the Girl Guides. This is the view from my bedroom, you can see Pendle Hill and Clitheroe Castle in the background. I was on a course with the Diocese, as you will have guessed, as part of my Post Ordination Training or whatever it may be called this week. That over, we look forward to this weekend and Mothers Day or Mothering Sunday, whoever you are addressing yourself to. Sung Mass in the Minster at half nine, High Mass in Saint George's at quarter past eleven.

Ben has been enjoying the unseasonal sunshine, which has mainly been shining when I have been stuck inside at various charity meetings and so on. This picture was taken just before a long day began looking at what we will do now that neighbourhood Management has been disbanded. As chair of a couple of local residents associations, I know full well that unless we can respond to peoples concerns, they will stop coming back and eventually the whole structure will fall down. None of this bothers Ben, who is looking for his friends.

At the end of the Society of Mary Lenten quiet day in Tarleton, we had Benediction presided over by John, Bishop of Burnley. It was a well attended day with an excellent lunch provided by the folk of Holy Trinity. We look forward to the May Devotions at St Hilda's Prestwich and then to Laydewell.

Spring is very much in the air, so the wild garlic is now out in force. When it begins to bud it will be ready for harvesting, being at its most pungent but least bitter.

Another Baptism last weekend, this time of the granddaughter of one of our regular congregation, a happy occasion although my stole was commented upon as it brought flowers into the Church in lent! As the child was called Lily, I felt that this was inevitable.

Happy people crowding round the font of new life.

And the same people as the service of Baptism begins.

Canon Timothy and Fr Tom Finch share a moment after Sunday mass. Fr Finch has been an honorary assistant priest here for some time now and we look forward to helping him celebrate a milestone later on this year. Watch this space.

Lent, Mainly.

2011-03-09T07:51:00.000-08:00

Father Timothy and I would like to wish you a productive Lent and offer you our blessings, although we do not suggest that you confuse ash with icing sugar as he has done in the above picture, Lent is bitter sweet, with its repentance and the promise of mercy, not just sweet!

With apologies for no posting for a while, we have had password trauma, but everything is now resolved. I have also been in Newcastle on a weekend holiday which turned into a preaching tour. here is a picture of Newcastle Cathedral High Altar, a fine space in a very fine building. Newcastle also, to my surprise, has an enormous amount of fine buildings, one particular sandstone sweep of Georgian architecture is quite breathtaking.

Students from the Royal Welsh College of Music entertained us for a lunchtime concert last week in Saint George's Friargate. This fortnightly series goes from strength to strength under the expert guidance of Rosemary Jolly and friends.

Also in newcastle is this excellent statue of Our Lady in the Church os St John the Baptist, which was a picture of Lenten restraint and unbleached linen. I very much like the use of 'Lenten Array' with its symbolism of sackcloth and blood.

Before Lent began we were able to go as a large Parish Group for dinner followed by a performance of 'The Gondoliers' by Gilbert and Sullivan in the Preston Playhouse. Our Verger, Rob Feeley, was in one of the starring roles, as was Fr Timothy's biretta.

The Rosso Ensemble held a music workshop in the Minster last week for local school children, which was very well received. It is part of our remit to offer subsidised or free arts 'encounters' for young people.

In Saint George's sacristy, Lent is coming and this evening Mass and ashing will be at half past seven.

We burnt the palms from last year yesterday for todays ashing, which has been very busy, beginning at school at nine o'clock and progressing to St John's Minster for 10.30.

Here Lent awaits us in the Sacristy at St John's Minster.

A Lenten picture for you, of the Knights of Jerusalem private chapel in Bruges, which is a staggering place. I took this picture last year, but it could have been at any time really.

And finally.... Fr Peter McEvitt fans will rejoice in this picture of the Canon singing his first Mass in Shaw Parish Church as the new Vicar. Congratulations Father!

February Colour Supplement.

2011-02-15T00:04:00.000-08:00

Another fortnight gone by and it has been a bit of a blur, here in the city centre where things very rarely stand still for long. Above you can see a concert rehearsing in the Minster where there is also much in the way of stage sets for the forthcoming Gilbert and Sullivan performance which Rob, our Verger, is involved in.

Last Sunday we had the inestimable joy of needing to put out four extra rows of chairs in the Minster and we also ran out of books, which was wonderful. The reason being that that Lea Endowed School came out in force to sing to us and perform a play for the sermon during the 9.15 Mass. It was generally thought afterwards that they could be much more involved in the future when invited again, maybe serving and reading the lessons. It was a very welcome change and a real breath of fresh air, as one of our more venerable parishioners put it.

You can see some of the children performing part of the play just by Fr Timothy.

On Saturday we hosted the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary North Western branch's AGM in Saint George's Church. We had a really good turnout for the Mass, AGM and Benediction and everyone enjoyed the day. A programme of events has been arranged for the year, including days out to Blackpool and Cartmel among others.

The sanctuary party approach the altar for Benediction.

The AGM which was closely followed by a buffet.

The censing of the altar during the Sung Mass. Part of the remit of the GSS is to promote excellence and reverence in serving at the altar and it is good to use a variety of liturgical styles at each meeting, allowing members to serve at varying 'types' of Mass, from Sung High Mass to more 'informal' services.

A couple of weeks ago, we welcomed 'Vibrasax', a due of saxophone and vibraphone, who were excellent. The next St George's Lunchtime Concert is this coming Friday at 12.30.

A quiet moment before evening prayer last Sunday evening, which was well attended.

Bishop Nicholas speaking to the Deanery Synod at St Margaret's Church, Ingol, which is a suburb just to the North of the city.

And your scribe delivering a lecture to some students at UCLAN last week. Everyone sat at the back, of course, just like at Church.

Food, Services and the Promise of a Hanging Pyx Later.

2011-01-31T06:51:00.000-08:00

The long project of restoring Avenham and Miller parks is finally drawing to a close. Since I moved here, hardly a day has gone by without there being lorries in the park, or tree choppers or planters or waste removers, but it is all looking as though it is drawing to a close. The avenue in the picture above used to be lined by many mature elm trees, but they had Bleeding Canker, so have been removed, which was in itself a massive job, New elms have been planted and we eagerly await the Spring to see them in bloom. You can see Father Timothy in the picture above talking to the Mayor and somebody whom we cannot see, he was invited along with the rest of the Friends of the parks group, who joined in the pleasure of seeing the parks almost restored.

Here is the Mayor, Cllr. Albert Richardson and one of the Mayoresses with some local school children after the planting of the last tree.

And here, on a cold morning, is the sun rising over the farm to the back of Avenham Park, taken from the newly restored railway bridge which now has cast off its previous image to be a central path and cycleway into the city as part of the Guild Wheel.

Taken from the same bridge you can see the new Elm Avenue. When Spring comes and the grass grows back it will look excellent. Just beyond the next bridge is the Continental Pub, home of real ales and dog friendly snug bars.

Last week was also World Holocaust Day, which was well attended in the Minster. The City Council organise this event each year in conjunction with the Parish, but it is mainly their event, which shows an excellent, positive commitment to educating the local children about the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and subsequent horrors.

This shows part of the exhibition arranged by the City Council for World Holocaust Day. I have no pictures of the service as I had to go and say the midday Mass in Saint George's as this service began and indeed I have no liturgical pictures for you at all this week, which is remiss of me. I will try and get some pictures of the Low Mass and Benediction this Wednesday at 7.30 in Saint George's for Candlemas.

After Mass on Sunday we had a joint Parish lunch. Numbers were reasonably good for both the Mass and the Lunch and we enjoyed beef in red wine with pasta followed by a huge variety of puddings as usual.

Here is a happy table of revellers at the Parish Lunch, from right Janelle, Harvey and Liz.

On Sunday morning I had the great delight of driving to Ribchester to say their 8am Book of Common Prayer Low Mass. I love Ribchester and have visited often, the Church is a lovely building and steeped in atmosphere, especially as the sun rises into a darkened Lady Chapel in the morning.

On Sunday afternoon at 4pm there was a 'circuit' service at Lune Street Methodist Church. A circuit is like a Deanery, a cluster of local chapels under a loose confederation. The attendance was good and the theme was homelessness. People from hostels in the city, both residents and managers, came and spoke, many, many hymns were sung and much money raised. To the left, you can see Revd. Sue Griffiths, Minister of Lune Street Central Methodist Hall and friend of the parish.

This is 'The Giant Egg', which I think refers to the metal box on the right. I drove past it on the way to the Stork, an excellent and dog friendly pub in Conder Green near Glasson Dock which, happily for your scribe, is run by South Africans and sells their excellent cuisine. They get an honorary mention as they gave my dog a sausage. I do not like eggs, a trait I share with Fr Timothy and the Archbishop of Canterbury, so drove swiftly on.

A slightly blurred photo showing Fr Timothy celebrating Mass for Saint Thomas Aquinas last Friday in the Minster. Oh! A liturgical picture. Hiding towards the back.

Finally, an unrelated picture of Croston Bridge, near Preston, It was a fine misty morning on the way to Bretherton where they have a hanging pyx! More pictures next week.

Week 3 in Ordinary.

2011-01-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

Busy, as usual last week. This picture was taken on Sunday evening after the Ecumenical service in St George's just as the queue for the buffet built up. It was a good service, celebrating our work together, which includes many joint services and Lenten lunches, a homeless drop in ever Sunday and Monday night, outdoor events and shared witness from the Flag Market to the Mayoral days.

Of course, we all had to stand in a line and say things together, but that is what Ecumenical do's are all about! We had two Jesuits, the RC area Dean, Sue Griffiths who is the Methodist Minister, James from Carey Baptist Church, Father Timothy and myself as well as many more in the pews.

Here is your scribe talking about something or other. Practicing poses for my maiden lecture at the University next week.

We began by singing the Angelus together. Everyone sat at the back, of course.

And we have had our usual rota of Masses, holy days, prayers, drop ins, chaplaincies, tree planting, World Holocaust Days, school visiting, dog petting and baptising and frustrations. Just another week in the city of God.

Epiphany and so on.

2011-01-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

On Thursday we had a good turn out for the Epiphany Mass. We folowed the Mass with a procession of the Kings to the Crib, in which everyone joined, then we went oitside to mark the lintel with the recently-blessed chalk.

We are looking for a new crucifix and candles for the altar which would be able to be used for Eastward and Westward celebrations, ie, not too high. If anybody knows of anything suitable, do let me know.

We have some pictures from David, one of our parishioners, who is to marry Mary his fiancee in the Summer. He has taken some of the Bible reading and the outside of the Minster over Christmas when we took park in a city wide project to illuminate iconic buildings. I hope you enjoy them.

These were taken on the Sunday late afternoon, on the last day of the reading. This is Fr Keith Fenton of the Ribbleton team ministry.

And your scribe.

And this is Mary.

One of the lighting effects. I suppose further descriptions are unnecessary!

Christmas and New Year in Preston City Parish.

2011-01-02T01:52:00.000-08:00

A happy new year from everyone at Preston City Parish and what better way to pass on such a message than a picture of Ben, who is looking surprisingly alert.

Here is a picture of your scribe celebrating Mass in the Minster on Holy Family Sunday. We had the best turnout for years for both the Midnight Mass and the Mass of the day and Holy Family Sunday was not too bad either, considering it came the day after Christmas Day.

Here you can see Fr Timothy, Rob our Verger, Norman the Sacristan and your scribe administering Holy Communion on Christmas Day morning in the Minster.

A slightly blurred 'action shot' of your scribe censing the altar in Saint George's at Midnight Mass.

The first Reading at Midnight Mass.

Christmas Mass Times.

2010-12-20T03:22:00.000-08:00

Just a short post this week to show you this picture of us in Avenham Park Pavilion leading the Christmas 'Carols in the Park' service, which was better attended than we feared, being the first time for this particular service. The pavilion was pretty full in the end and everyone joined in, which was gratifying. Anyway, more important information is this,

MASS TIMES FOR CHRISTMAS IN THE PARISH.

CHRISTMAS EVE.

Christingle 3pm, Saint George's.

Solemn Sung Mass, 11.30pm, Saint George's with guest musicians.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Sung Mass, 10am, Saint John's Minster with guest soprano.

HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY (26th)

Sung Mass, 10.30am, Saint John's Minster.

27th DECEMBER

Saint George's Low Mass cancelled.

28th DECEMBER.

Christ the King Chapel Low Mass cancelled.
Sung Evening Prayer Cancelled.

29th DECEMBER.

BCP Eucharist, 10.30am, Saint John's Minster.
All Mass times return to normal.

A very Happy Christmas from us all!

Advent Continues.

2010-12-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

At the end of a very long day yesterday was a carol service. At the end of a long carol service was a mince pie, which you see Father Timothy scoffing in this picture.

Two exhausted priests half way through Advent!

The Minster was packed last night, with well over five hundred people, even the gallery was full and there were people standing at the back.

And thanks to Norman, our sacristan, it looked really very attractive.

This is not last night, but last Sunday, when a good crowd came to hear the Saint George's Occasional Singers give their traditional Christmas Concert.

Your scribe had been in Durham all weekend preaching, in the picture above I am leaving the sanctuary after Mass in St Andrew's Spennymoor with Fr John Livesley, the Parish priest. It was a hectic dash back over the moors for the concert!

This was in Durham city centre, a fine use of a disused shop!

...and in a rare outing in (warm) normal clothes, I traverse the sheets of ice of Durham.

This happy band are some of the Friends of Avenham and Miller Parks after our meeting last week. The Avenham Park Carol Service is on Saturday at 2.30 in the Pavilion. All welcome. Next weeks post will have the times of Mass for Christmas week, watch this space.

An Advent Weekend.

2010-12-08T05:11:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we had an ecumenical Service of Light in the Minster at 6pm after the Hospice Carol Service. here you cans ee representatives of the partner Churches about to give the blessing at the end.

...and before the lights came on revealing the full terror of the chorus line!

We moved around the Church having four 'stations' of Advent, with dramas and readings from the different Churches. It was very well attended, particularly for a night so bitterly cold.

We processed up Lune Street from Saint George's, popped into Central Methodist to pick them up, then into St Wilfrid's on Fishergate before wending our way to the Minster. The -10 degrees weather did very interesting things to the smoke billowig out of the thurible.

At 4pm we had a service to mark the 25th Anniversary of Saint Catherine's Hospice, with carols, readings and Byrd motets.

On the Friday we had an excellent lunchtime concert performed by students from Chetham's School of Music in Manchester.

On Friday daytime we had a Disability Awareness day in the Minster with different agencies advertising what they do and choirs singing.

It was very popular.

On the evening of December 1st we had a service to mark World AIDS Day, which was the busiest yet- for once this is nothing to be pleased about as it marks the increase of rates of infection in lancashire and the UK generally over recent years. It was an ecumenical service, here you see the two priests of the parish with the Methodist presbyter and the Roman Catholic Dean.

A procession was held from the Harris Art gallery to the Minster.

The Bible Reading Marathon.

2010-11-30T23:47:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days, we have read the entire Bible in Preston Minster. Why? Firstly, to mark the Year of the Bible which is just beginning and secondly and more importantly, for grace - grace for the Diocese and the Church and grace to respond to the wors of God. We used the King James version mainly and it took about 82 hours, non stop, all day and all night. Here you can see our Lord Bishop, Nicholas, reading the last chapter of Revelation in what was a very emotional, charged atmosphere.

And Rob our Verger reading part of Galatians. All together, we had about three hundred people reading and many more coming in to hear the Word of God, including pilgrims going to Jerusalem, Hindus and Sikhs and Christians of all denominations.

I was quite tired by Sunday (we began on Thursday at 9pm) and was glad of the Parish Lunch after Mass, which was all very Connaught set lunch, consisting as it did of ham baked in madeira and a lavish selection of cakes.

Look down the side of this picture, inbetween the horses and the pillar and you can see Fishergate, the main shopping street in Preston. It is Saturday at midday and it is deserted. We are awaiting the English Defence League, who tore a days profits from our stores and a days pay from shop assistants and bar staff by holding a demonstration in the city. These people, who claim to be Christian but who are palpably not, contravening the commandments of Moses and Christ by their actions, left little but a mountain of cider cans and a few arrests - all fighting among themselves. If you want a snapshop of their ideology, here is one - as we sat in the Minster reading the word of God, they marched outside drinking beer and shouting 'seig heil'. For a reasoned discussion about multiculturalism in the City, listen here, to the clergy of the City Parish and a few others on Preston FM.

However Saturday evening as business as usual and we put the floodlights on to illumine the building as we carried on reading through the night.

Which look quite effective. Closer to Christmas time, a private company is floodlighting the Minster with coloured lights and designs, which we are looking forward to.

The Bishop of Lancaster came to read, as did the Bishop of Burnley.

And BBC Radio Lancashire came to record some of the reading as well as an interview, which you can find on their website.

Cakes and Requiems.

2010-11-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

This last Sunday was Father Ian's Seventieth birthday. Fr Ian is our Assistant Priest and a very welcome member of the Parish Team, especially around holiday times! We invited him to celebrate the Mass at St George's and afterwards Dorothy had arranged a couple of cakes for him to extinguish the candles of.

Harvey and Liz and Natasha were there, eating cake and crawling around the floor in turn.

Dorothy, Doris and Father Ian survey the cakes, an important job at any birthday celebration!

The cakes are waiting and Father Ian eventually emerges from the corridor to begin the celebrations.

Last Sunday we had a Requiem Mass for the fallen to mark Remembrance Sunday, beginning with the Last Post, two minutes silence and the Reveille. A wreath was then laid at the War Memorial in the Church.

The altar was thoroughly censed! This Sunday we have a parish mass at 10.30am in Saint George's, followed by lunch.

The Preston Orpheus Choir entertained a full house the day before Remembrance Sunday with a concert of pieces with military and requiem themes. This weekend, indeed from 9pm tonight, the Minster will be open for 72 hours non stop as we read the Bible in its entirety! All are very welcome.

This Friday's Lunchtime Concert.

2010-11-11T06:18:00.000-08:00

Lunchtime Concert on Friday November 19th, 12.30 in St George's Friargate. John Powell: Bass Baritone. Russell Lomas:
Piano

John Powell was born in London, and educated in Somerset and at Cambridge
University. He has spent much of his life in Manchester and his musical
activities have centred around singing, teaching and conducting choirs.
Until 1988 he was Head of Choral Music at Chetham's School of Music but now
teaches privately and is a tutor with the National Youth Choir. He is also
very active as a Festival adjudicator.

For fifteen years John was Director of the Bolton Chamber Choir as well as a
frequent Guest Conductor with Fleetwood Choral Society. His own chamber
choir, the John Powell Singers, is heard regularly on BBC Radio and has
toured recently in Estonia, Poland, northern Spain and Slovakia. John also
directs choral workshops and conducts Bolton Festival Choir, in addition to
training choirs for special events, and in 2005 he took up an appointment as
Musical Director of the Tatton Singers. Recent projects have included
conducting 'The Dream of Gerontius' at the RNCM and training the chorus for
'Belshazzar's Feast' at the Bridgewater Hall.

A member of the BBC Northern Singers since 1975, and a founder-member of the
Britten Singers, John has sung on Radio, TV and disc, and at the Proms,
Aldeburgh and Harrogate Festivals, and has toured abroad extensively. He
currently sings in the BBC Daily Service Singers.

John regularly performs in recitals and oratorio and particularly enjoys
exploring new and unusual repertoire. Recent choral concerts have ranged
from Monteverdi's 'Vespers' to Tippett's 'A child of our Time', and his solo
recitals which form an increasingly important part of his work, have
included an ambitious repertoire from Purcell to Lieder to 20th Century
English Song, and contemporary works.

Russell Lomas was born in Manchester and began piano lessons at an early
age. When he was fifteen, he won a scholarship to study with Gordon Green,
Clifton Helliwell and Franz Reizenstein at the Royal Manchester College of
Music from where he graduated with a Distinction in both Performers and
Teachers Diplomas and was awarded the Ricordi Prize for Accompaniment.

He has given piano duet concerts and accompanied chamber music and vocal
recitals throughout the UK, Europe, Jordan and Lebanon, and has made several
visits to the United Arab Emirates where he has given concerts in Abu Dhabi,
Dubai and Sharjah. He has broadcast for the BBC, Classic FM and a number of
European and local radio stations and has also performed on television for
the BBC and several ITV channels.

Until his retirement in 2003, he was a member of the Music Department of
Chetham's School of Music in Manchester for over thirty years, and Head of
Accompaniment for the final twelve. He was also the only accompanist to
appear on at least one televised programme in every series of the BBC Young
Musician of the Year competition between 1978 (the year of the first
competition) and 2004. Since then he has given many concerts in the UK and
abroad, and for the past seven years has been an accompanist at the Oxford
Flute Summer School.

Programme

Liederkreis Opus 39 Schumann

In der Fremde
Intermezzo
Waldesgesprach
Die Stille
Mondnacht
Schöne Fremde
Auf einer Burg
In der Fremde
Wehmut
Zwielicht
Im Walde
Frühlingsnacht

Dichterliebe Schumann

Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
Aus meinen Tränen spriessen
Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube
Wenn ich in deine Augen seh'
Ich will meine Seele tauchen
Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome
Ich grolle nicht
Und wüssten's die Blumen
Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen
Hör ich das Liedchen klingen
Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen
Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen
Ich hab' im Traum geweinet
All nächtlich im Traume
Aus alten Märchen
Die alten, bösen Lieder

To mark the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann

1840 was a remarkable year in Schumann's life, both musically and
personally. In that year alone he wrote 168 songs, including five major song
cycles; not surprisingly it is often referred to as the Liederjahr - the
'year of song'. It was also the year in which Schumann and Clara Wieck were
fighting Clara's father in the law courts for their right to marry. Schumann
was deeply in love with Clara and all the songs composed around this time
were outpourings of his love for her. He had fallen in love with her in 1835
when she was 16, and had asked her father for her hand in marriage two years
later. Wieck, who was Schumann's piano teacher, was hostile to the marriage
and he took Clara on long concert tours, probably to keep her and Schumann
apart. During these tours they corresponded secretly, but Clara's letters
did not always give Schumann complete confidence in her; for example Clara
was determined not to marry him until he was in a financial position to
assure her comfort, and there was talk of her marriage to another. Thus,
there were times when Schumann was resigned to the loss of Clara and when
his love for her was strongly mingled with jealousy and hatred. Finally, on
1st August, after a long and bitter struggle which had had a serious effect
on Schumann's mental health (he contemplated suicide on several occasions),
legal consent to the marriage was granted and they married on 12th
September, Clara's 21st birthday.
This astonishing output of songs was inspired not only by his love for
Clara, and her father's intractable opposition to their marriage, but also
by his interest in Schubert's recently published late songs and a
frustration with writing for the piano (which had occupied much of his time
for the previous decade). The other great influence on Schumann's
song-writing was the encouragement of his friend Felix Mendelssohn.

Week XXXII in Ordinary Time.

2010-11-09T23:48:00.000-08:00

I found this picture of Preston Minster last week, which shows the sanctuary and high altar before the recent commissioning and installation of an icon screen. The cross and lights are now in the Lady Chapel, as they would obscure the icons were they still there, but it is interesting how the screen changes the dynamic of the space, providing a focal point from afar by its generous use of gold leaf and from close up by the icons themselves. A hanging rood is hopefully to be erected in the near future, which will complete the scheme by providing a central cross for the Church, that symbol of our faith.

The next four pictures show the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary day out in Saint Annes on Sea. We were grateful for the hospitality of Fr David Lyons, their Parish Priest and his team of helpers for welcoming us and providing an afternoon tea. I have been the Chaplain of the North West branch of the Guild for a few months now and we decided that it was time that we returned to meeting quarterly in different Churches across the area. A number of Preston Parishioners came and altogether there were about 30 members of the Guild from across the branch, which was thought to be reasonable. We would have had an induction as well, but the man in question was away on holiday!

This picture and the one above show the service of Solemn benediction which finished off the day. Saint Annes is a small town which comes in between the urban sprawl beginning at Warton and ending in Fleetwood, which takes in Blackpool and Lytham from far West Preston to the top of the coastline. It is an attractive sprawl, on the whole, Blackpool is a matter of taste, but the whole area suffers slightly in your scribes mind by not being Morecambe Bay, to the North, which although it has less in the way of urban excitement, has staggering views of the same Sea.

The day in Saint Annes began with a Solemn Requiem Mass for the departed members of our Branch of the Guild at which Father David presided and preached. It was a moving Mass and fitting to have this particular service in November, the month of the Holy Souls.

Just in the front of this picture you can see Ian Herkess, our branch secretary.

Last Week in Preston.

2010-11-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week and I must send my apologies to our readers for not blogging on time, but my camera has refused to upload pictures to my PC until today and, realising from the many remarks I get from all over the world, that it is the pictures people like, I thought that I might wait!

The above picture shows your scribe leaving the Ascension Church, Brookfield, Preston, after their last Mass. The Church is to be demolished and rebuilt, which is good news.

Here is Bishop John just before the closing ceremony.

Sunday was the last day of the Preston Arts Festival, here you can see Christie, a Romanian Iconographer of note, exhibiting some of his work.

A quiet moment before Thursday Mass in the Sacristy at St George's.

We have a third Church, which you may not have known, the Chapel of Christ the King in the County Hall Precinct. It is a fairly small place, seating about 80 or so. We have a Mass every Tuesday at 12 as well as various events throughout the year, which are well attended. The doors are decorated with scenes of Lancashire life and architecture.

Rivers, canals and industry make up the theme of this one.

The altar, candles, cross and lectern were all made in house by Lancashire County Council craftsmen when the Church was first dedicated.

To end the Preston Arts Festival, we had a concert by the Leyland Brass Band, consistently rated among the best in the world.

The Student Mass on Sunday evening continues apace, see the page on our website for more information about this. It is also soon to produce offspring in the form of a discussion night three times a term on Tuesday evenings, I am filling up the spaces for speakers now, so watch this space.

All Saints on Sunday was a happy occasion, with Solemn Mass in the Minster followed by a Parish Lunch. Carrying the candle nearest to you is Tom Dumbell, who is joining us from Chester Diocese for a time, to help with our outreach to the university and to gain some Parish experience in a different Diocese.

We were pleased to have Fr Paul Nener from Liverpool as our guest preacher.He is just to the right on this picture.

The prayer of consecration.

Bibles and Birettas!

2010-10-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Arts Festival has been steady this week, with many events going on across the city and the displays in the Minster have attracted much attention. The festival closes on Sunday with a Eucharist at 10.30 and then a concert by the renowned Leyland Brass Band at 7pm.

The Minster will host a continuous reading of the Bible between 9pm on November 25th and 9pm on Sunday November 28th. All the people above will be involved along with the rest of the Diocesan hierarchy, school choirs, bands, youth groups and local celebrities. You can be involved as well - I am seeking volunteers to read, welcome, make tea and generally help out in the Minster during this time. Email me at andrewteather@fsmail.net if you, or another individual, or a group can help.

Sunday Mass in Saint John's was well attended, less so in St George's, probably due to the half term. Next Sunday there is no Mass in St George's, but a joint Parish Mass in St John's at 10.30 with a buffet afterwards. All welcome, as always.

Finally, a picture of the newly elevated Canon Lipscomb in the Outer Sacristy of St George's before Sunday Mass.

Canons and Archdeacons.

2010-10-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

This morning we had the Northern Archdeacons meeting, as we regularly do, in the Minster. Food was prepared amidst a backdrop of the first week of the Preston Arts Festival, which is bustling along.

One of the highlights of the Arts Festival is the chance to see this, the longest piece of embroidery in the world!

The highlight of the week was of course Father Timothy's collation as Canon of Blackburn Cathedral. He is seen here with his Mother and Brother after the event.

Here he is seen with Nicholas, Lord Bishop of Blackburn in a picture taken by our Verger, Rob Feeley. I had departed earlier in order to return to St George's for the Student Mass at 6pm.

Fr Timothy and the other Canons make their promises before the Bishop and congregation.

The Bishop, Dean and Canon Sacrist enter the Cathedral.

Led by the cross and Choir and Canons. We had a very good turnout of Parishioners and other well wishers to support Fr Timothy.

Before the Cathedral and after Mass, we had the launch of the Preston Arts Festival, which was a great success. The festival rolls out through the whole city over the next two weeks with events here and there and everywhere.

It was very exotic! This is not Fr Timothy in his new Canons outfit, but photos of this vision will be provided soon.

Personally, I have been busy, compressing a normal week into five days to enjoy a couple of lovely days in Walsingham. Here I am singing an English Missal Mass in South Creake.

Sunday 28 in Ordinary.

2010-10-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

This has been a very, very busy week. We have had a two day long Arts and Mental Health festival, many meetings and Masses and the usual events of the Parish. It seems remarkable that the annual Judges Service was only seven days ago, but here is a picture of Select Vestryman Rosemary Jolly talking to Mr Justice MacDuff in the Courts after the event to prove it.

And here is your scribe with the Recorder of Preston as well.

The Mayoral Party leave the Minster for the procession to the Courts where the Queens Proclamation is read to us. By ancient tradition the clergy stand behind the Judges bench, dating back to the days of capital offences.

Here we are going in at the beginning of the service.

The Select Vestry and our Lay Rector Sir Bernard de Hoghton Bart. enter the Minster.

The Judiciary wait to come in.

And the procession from the Courts to the Minster.

Saturday was the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary's Northern Festival at Blackburn Cathedral. As the Chaplain of the North Lancs and Furness Chapter I was asked to go and concelebrate, which was a great pleasure, particularly as it is also my Mother Church. Here you can see some of the assembled masses after the Procession and Benediction.

Part of the procession. The day was in honour of Our Lady.

We had sung vespers.

A last picture of the recessional from last weeks High Mass of Christ the Eternal High Priest, showing Fr Timothy beaming. He is probably thinking about the fur trimmed mozzetta which he can wear next week when he is a Canon.

And finally, after two Sung Masses this morning, the vestments for tomorrows morning Mas were laid out. Another busy, busy week, beginning with a quiet, reflective Mass. Bliss.

Sunday XVII in Ordinary.

2010-10-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

If the figure in the centre looks suspiciously like your scribe, read on. However, pause for a moment to consider that this evening is the first of our Student masses at 6pm in St George's and spread the word. Tomorrow, Monday, we have the annual Judge's Service at 10 am in the Minster Church, to which all are welcome. It is a very grand occasion and well worth seeing.

Fr. Timothy holding a cake in the shape of the Preston Lamb which he made for the buffet on Saturday. Why a buffet, you may ask. Which group had hired out the Minster this time? None, in fact. It was us, the Parish, who have had much to celebrate recently, including among them the ordination and First Mass of their Curate, who is also your scribe.

And here is a picture of the First Mass, a High Mass of Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, in Saint George's, yesterday. It was very well attended and a very happy occasion. Our choir sang exceptionally well, as did Martin Godden, our guest soloist.

Censing the altar. Fr Simon Sayer from Hollinwood was the Deacon and Fr David Arnold, the Bishop's Chaplain, stepped in at the last moment as Sub Deacon, due to cancelled trains.

A moments peace before the mass began.

On Wednesday, it was my ordination as a Priest in the Minster, here you can see Bishop John and myself at the end of the procession going out.

Just before the moment of Ordination.

During the Litany of the Saints.

The beginning of the Mass.

Just before the Ordination service.

Sunday XXV in Ordinary.

2010-09-20T02:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon saw the installation of the new Minister of Saint Christopher's Lea. It was a jolly occasion and was followed by the traditional buffet where it was very nice to catch up with old friends from the church and school.

It is a plain Church, but one well placed on the main road which runs through Lea, an outskirt of Preston on the Blackpool Road.

After Mass at Saint George's, Ian, our Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary Secretary, was explaining the secret of eternal happiness.

On Saturday night, we had the launch of the Young Musician of the Guild, an award sponsored by Booths supermarkets which looks for a talented young, local musician or group who will perform at the Preston Guild in 2012. The Guild happens every twenty years, so is a big deal, see HERE for more details.

Edwin Booth gives an address explaining the rules of the competition.

Our team of volunteers made thirty trays of canapes and served wine all night before clearing up and being at Mass bright and relatively breezy the next morning. We are always looking for more volunteers to help staff these sort of events, so do make yourself known to us.

XXIV In Ordinary Time.

2010-09-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Before all else, Mary Dunnett had a birthday today so was sung at after Mass, much to her delight and my slight relief. Secondly, apologies for a lack of post last week, it was my intention to wait until the Wednesday to post pictures of our Dinner on Tuesday night, but then my PC broke and so, I thought, we would wait for Sunday and a double edition. Notices before the Mass at Saint George's were heard loud and clear today, probably by people in Liverpool, such was the power of the newly refurbished sound system. One day a happy medium will be found whereby people can hear and not be deafened at the same time!

After Mass in Saint George's, David explains the intricacies of metalwork, as he takes the ciborium away to mend. It has got increasingly wobbly over the last few months and today was deemed no longer safe. Other work has gone on apace, with lights being fixed and architects peering at walls. It looks as though the apex on the East wall of the Minster needs repointing (at the top, of course...) and the cross surmounting it needs reattaching before it collapses. Simple work, but very high up, so plenty of scaffolding will be needed.

Saturday was the Hodder Valley Show in a field near Slaidburn and of course there was an enormous marrow to look at. It was fascinating chatting to the Vicar of Slaidburn about life in a quiet rural village only forty minutes drive from the city and comparing notes as to problems and joys.

Cabbages were displayed along with many other vegetables and cattle.

Here are the sheep in their pens. Prizes reflect the many years spent breeding animals for good meat yield, health and coat.

Here some cattle are judged.

On Tuesday we invited the Roman Catholics at Saint Ignatius' Church to have dinner with us in the Minster to celebrate the eve of Our Lady's Birthday. The cakes were a great draw as always.

And the turnout was very good indeed.

We had chicken in a variety of ways and salmon for a main course.

And Our Lady, we hope, poured out Her many blessings.

Next Saturday we are hosting the Young Musician of the Guild evening, with hundreds of people descending on us for canapes and wine at 7pm.

Sunday XXII In Ordinary Time.

2010-08-30T00:36:00.000-07:00

This morning, being the last Sunday in the month, we had a joint Parish Mass at 10.30. It was the turn of Saint John's to host it and the picture above is purely a 'library picture' as they used to say on the news when an up to date picture could not be found. This is so because your scribe is away for a few days and this post has been 'auto timed' to appear today. Therefore it is that I run the risk of anything having happened in the meantime, but we commend all times and all the ages to almighty God and not to a Parish blog anyhow.

However, today there are sunflowers in the Walsingham Chapel at Saint George's and the sun is shining in the sky and all, otherwise, is well. It may be of interest to the reader that Student Masses are starting in Saint George's at 6pm on the first and third Sundays of the Month commencing in October, therefore the first one will be on the 3rd. A drink and a bite to eat will follow.

Finally, a picture of the East window in Saint John's.

This Week in Preston.

2010-08-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

There is a sense of the last day at school in the city this week. We enter the end of the Summer holiday season, many people are away, meetings are cancelled and even doom mongering about the guild and the Tithebarn shopping centre scheme have given way in the local press to photos of overheated dogs amusing themselves in rivers and complaints about increased litter in parks. Our concert on Friday was a success, even if it may quite possibly have been the only cultural event in the city this week.

Mass attendance today in both Churches was slightly down, which is only to be expected, although daily Mass numbers maintain an unseasonably high batting average. In the picture above you can see John Collins, Leader of the Opposition in the Council Chamber and Grand Panjandrum of the Labour Party in Preston relaxing after Mass in Saint George's.

The view out of the sacristy in Saint George's is always inspiring as one walks out for Mass and the arts have been on our collective minds recently as Preston Arts Festival is planned for later in the year. Much of the activity will be in the Minster, culminating in a Festival Eucharist at 10.30 on All Saints day, with guest soloists from across the county and a guest preacher. Lunch will, we hope, be accompanied by an exhibition of icons. Plans for the student Masses in St George's are also finalised, they will take place on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month beginning in October at 6pm. A glass of wine and a little food will follow.

After Mass in the Minster, Fr Timothy chats to one of our congregation. Given the fine weather and the promise of a Farmers Market on Friargate, many people went straight after Mass to peruse the bargains.

Rob the Verger tidies up while engaging Rosemary in conversation and also carrying two staves at the same time. Such virtuosic skill is an everyday occurrence in Preston City Parish. Come and see for yourselves!

The Assumption and Future Plans.

2010-08-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago there was a community street audit in part of the Parish. I am glad to say that this has resulted in plans for the cleaning up of certain areas, the replanting of borders and the gating of a couple of alleyways where rubbish had been dumped. We have also been able to apply for funding for community based activities in public halls in Frenchwood, currently groups are being consulted regarding this.

Sunday was the feast of the Assumption, Mass numbers were generally good across the board with a few new people drifting in and a few friends not seen for some time who found themselves in the city for the weekend.

We had enough servers for a High Mass for a change. We are always happy to hear if people would like to join our altar serving team, just drop in any day when Mass is on and make yourself known to us.

Saint John's was remarkably radiant in the light at half eight on Sunday morning as morning prayer began. This time the week previously it was so dark in the chancel that I needed to put the lights on to read, but we have been blessed with good weather this week so far. Maybe it will last until we have a party for Our Lady's birthday in September?

Plans are now well developed for the Festival Eucharist marking the end of Preston Arts Fortnight, falling on the feast of Christ the King. We will be having a sung Mass with guest soloists and a guest preacher, followed by lunch and hopefully an exhibition of icons. More information nearer the time.

Sunday Before the Assumption.

2010-08-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

A bright and fair afternoon on Sunday welcomed the second and last day of Victorian events in Avenham and Miller parks, sponsored by the Harris charity and Museum. The punch and Judy was popular, as were the activities and plays put on around the grounds. Sunday was also the Preston Grand Prix, a bicycle event, which made the way to Saint George's difficult as part of the ring road was blocked off. Numbers were down, probably because of this, but spirits were up as we creep closer to the two Solemn Masses next Sunday for the Assumption.

There were also Morris Men in the parks, however nobody seemed unduly distressed.

Buddhist nuns as well. There is a large Buddhist centre next to the park on East Cliff and their clergy are often seen walking around the area, once I was stopped by a Hare Krishna and asked what sort of Buddhist I was!

The Ribble was shining in the afternoon sun. It is a continual happiness that only five minutes walk from the centre of town to the South are open fields and country walks. An old train bridge is currently being resurfaced and cleaned up to allow bicycle and foot access into the city centre straight from the surrounding countryside, which is great news.

Looking towards the old School of Art from the colonnade leading to the river always makes me think that without the cars or the plethora of street signs we could be back in the Georgian era. Manchester, an hour to the South, has lost much of its Georgian heritage to the Victorian industrialists 'improvements', with the exceptions of Saint John Street and the remarkable Moon Grove, but Preston still has a fairly intact Georgian heart, including Saint George's Church. The pillar box, like all others in the parish, has been painted red to mark the forthcoming Canonisation of the Vicar of Preston.

After Mass, intrepid Preston City Parishioners went to the Blackburn Rovers football ground to taste some different cheeses, marking the beginning of Lancashire Food Month.

The Baptistery in Saint George's looked splendid in the soft light filtering through the clouds of the morning.

The clergy of the Parish looked less splendid than their surroundings, as you might hope and expect.

In Saint John's, before the morning Mass, a number of people always come to the Lady Chapel to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in the cool half light before the main lights are turned on. It becomes, for a little while before Mass, a haven of peace and quiet.

Finally, a view of the Baptistery at Saint John's before Mass. More about the painting another time.

A Concert and a Couple of Shopping Malls.

2010-08-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

As the Canonisation of our Vicar approaches, the city of Preston prepares itself by smartening up the shops to welcome the hordes of tourists which he will bring. Possibly. Or maybe things are just on the up anyway, because the Miller Arcade opposite the Minster has found a few new tenants for the retail units and is looking mush better than it has done in a long while. Mass numbers are up as well, which is a bit of a paradox for the beginning of the summer holidays when, traditionally, one may expect them to be slightly down. Daily Mass attendance in particular has been on the up and we are hoping to offer a friendly face and authentic Christianity to our new parishioners. We tread a difficult line between secular events and daily Mass in our Parish, each needing the other to survive in the way we hope to continue. At the moment, things seem to be working reasonably well, with events coming in and Mass numbers up. Something else which is coming together is Avenham Park, where your scribes dog is exercised every day. The works are coming into a very busy stretch, with paths being resurfaced, gutters re-made, the Japanese garden is fenced off so the limestone can be cleaned and the ponds re lined and, despite the disruption and the many unfinished works, there is an air of the corner having been turned and the end of the work is in sight.

A blast from the past next, with a picture of the old Saint George's shopping centre which pre dated the Mall centre which stands on its site now. Both were built cheek by jowl to St George's Church - and it does not help that the Church was and is almost invisible until you stand outside it. Whether we are a 'hidden gem' or just 'hidden' is debatable and Preston, viewed with detachment and perspective, is not a town planners dream, but the Church is very fine inside of course, we just need to market ourselves a bit more in order to encourage more people in. It is interesting that as we are next to a shopping centre we are taught a lesson by those shops in encouraging and retaining 'customers' - by, I hope, our 'product' which is authentic Christian holiness and witness.

In Saint George's this Friday, our concert series rolls on with Charles Edmondson, the renowned organist, playing on our organ and piano. Half past twelve, five pounds, some concessions apply.

Last Week in Preston.

2010-07-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

After the Parish Mass at Saint George's last Sunday we had a BBQ outside, which was a great success. Thanks to David Wade and David Harrison for organising it and to the many other people who make the cakes, wash up etc. It was a very happy afternoon and the rain mercifully held off.

Whilst we waited for the food, an immoderate amount of wine began to be consumed, so I hid the rest, but alas, it was discovered.

Rob and Annette. Annette came to us from Kerala and like many Keralans is a great devotee of Saint George.

Your scribe looking rather stern, I was probably contemplating the pain in my foot which my boots are causing!

Some of our serving team, from left to right, Jeff, George and Paul.

And Norman who carried the cross and acted as Sub Deacon. We are beginning to have High Mass occasionally and it seems to be a great success.

Lyndon, our organist, was away, so Roger stepped in as he so often does.

One of the more unusual things that last week brought was an invitation, as the new chairman of a new Residents Group, to go on a Street Audit with members of the Police and the Council to see what we can do to improve the quality of life of people living in those areas. We had a very interesting afternoon and the results are currently being looked at.

Here I am with Bill, another member of the group.

The Parish Pilgrimage to Walsingham.

2010-07-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

A number of cars zoomed or meandered from The Minster last Friday after Mass to Walsingham in Norfolk for our annual Parish Pilgrimage. Walsingham is a shrine to Our Lady, administered by clergy of the Church or England after its re-founding by Fr Hope-Patten some time ago. We enjoyed a trouble free journey there (which is more than can be said of the journey back!) and four days in glorious sunshine.

Of course, Walsingham is not just about ones own group, but about the interaction with all the other Parishes who go at the same time. The shrine is always full, but each time it is generally full of different people, from all over the world. An added bonus this time was sharing the village with a huge Syro Malabar pilgrimage group. Above, you can see the more domestic procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the shrine grounds.

The beginning of the procession of the Blessed Sacrament on Sunday afternoon.

Some of our pilgrims, possibly feeling tired and emotional in the morning before breakfast.

Why tired? I hear you say. Well, it may be that certain pilgrims were enjoying a gin in the new lounge of the Milner Wing well after lights out!

None of which dampened our enthusiasm for the procession of Our Lady.

The Saturday Mass of Our Lady was well attended as usual. I have generally gone during the Assumption in the past when it is very busy, but the numbers last weekend were close to that.

Some of our pilgrims smiling as they wait for dinner.

Father Timothy found a Meercat, which he bought, unlike your scribe who found a black trimmed alb which he did not buy after scorn was poured on it!

This Sunday we will not be in Walsingham, but back home! Mass will be at 10.30 in Saint George's followed by a Parish BBQ. All, as always, are very welcome.

A Couple of Announcements.

2010-07-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend the annual Parish Pilgrimage leaves to Walsingham. Due to the number of pilgrims going it seemed expediant to only have one, joint, Parish Mass this weekend. Therefore Father Ian Hollin will be celebrating Mass at 10.30 in the Minster. There will be no Mass at Saint Georges this weekend.

On Friday the 16th there will be a concert in Saint George's as part of our Lunchtime concert series at 12.30. Josh Abbott, who is well known to regulars for his great skill, will be leading the programme.

Bishops Everywhere!

2010-07-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

Last week began with the visitation of Bishop Nicholas to Archbishop Temple High School in Preston. Father Timothy was there as Area Dean and I was there as a Governor of the school with other local clergy who are connected with the joint Christian mission of the school which we all share. The Bishop made a tour of the school, celebrated Mass for the children and staff, held a question and answer session, ate lunch with the pupils and inspected the site of the new Chapel. He offered constructive advice to the Senior Leadership Team and listened to many pupils and staff members as he encountered them. It was a very successful day, enjoyed by all and the weather helped, allowing the pupils to take part in a number of outside activities.

Bishop Nicholas giving his Sermon during Mass.

The clergy of the Deanery, from left Fathers Peter Hambourg, Brian McConkey, Keith Fenton, Andrew Teather, Timothy Lipscomb, (Bishop Nicholas) and Adrian Thompson (school chaplain) gather before the procession into the hall for Mass.

Bishop Nicholas meets members of the Senior Leadership Team at the beginning of the day.

Another happy event this week has been the Ordination to the Priesthood of Fr David Hayes in Belle Isle, Leeds. Fr David has known Fr Timothy for many years and I have also known him for years so his Ordination was a very happy event, well attended and supported by hundreds of people.

We wish Fr David well for his ministry and look forward to seeing him soon.

Sondheim, Cakes and Mass.

2010-07-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

Preston City Parish is proud to announce that our Vicar, Father Timothy Lipscomb, is to be made an Honorary Canon of Blackburn Cathedral on October 17th. The news was a cause of great happiness in the Parish this morning and people have already been detailed to measure him whilst he is not looking.

This morning before mass in the Minster the sunlight streamed through the East window. Sadly it did not last long and by the time we were waving goodbye to the last of our flock after the last Mass six hours later, the rain was coming down.

Chris, a new parishioner, was collared on the way out and asked if he would like to join the serving team. Happily he would and we look forward to seeing him again next week. He has just graduated from Lampeter with a good degree in Theology and I am looking forward to involving him in our student masses which begin this coming Academic year.

The credence table in the Minster, looking into the Chapel of Charles, Saint and Martyr.

On Monday night, a small party from Preston City Parish went to join Fr Chris Holden in Christ Church Carnforth for his first Mass. It was a very busy, happy occasion. You can see him here during the sermon of Father John Francis, recently Vicar of Ribchester.

On friday night, members of the PPAET (parish of preston Arts and Education Trust) went to see Side by Side by Sondheim at the Preston Playhouse. It was considered a success and we will be talking to some of the lead players and trying to form a show to present at the Minster with them. Here you see some of the brave adventurers in the bar.

Sometimes, when I go into the Minster in the evening to say my prayers, I am struck by the stark beauty of it, and this time, remembering my camera, I have a picture of it for you.

On Thursday night we entertained the Goosnargh Mothers Union to a tea and a tour of the Minster as well as a chat about our current mission. There were thirty two of them altogether.....

.....and they had a lot of cakes to eat!

What we did Last Week in Preston.

2010-06-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy week as usual but the picture above shows people relaxing in the church yard at St Wilfrid's Ribchester waiting for the concert last night which ended the Ribchester Festival, which was partly organised by Martin Bussey. It was a lovely evening and a fitting end to a busy day, with much of the Ribble Valley great and good in attendance. Now that the festival is over, we are once again the premier providers of culture for the neighbourhood and our next concert is this Friday at 12.30 in St George's and will be along these lines,

Joshua Abbott: Piano
Samuel Thompson: Clarinet.
Harry Ventham: Bassoon.

Joshua Abbott.
Joshua is currently studying piano at the Royal Welsh College of Music and
Drama, in Cardiff. He has completed one year of the course so far, having
had lessons with Richard McMahon, Martin Jones, Mary Dullea and others.
Before attending the RWCMD, Joshua had a gap year, during which he gave
private piano tuition in homes and schools. Joshua had also done music
therapy work at the Fountains hospital in Blackburn, building up a great
experience of several aspects of the musical industry. Joshua started
learning piano at the age of 9, and has studied with well known local
teachers, Trish Ferarrin, Joy Fielding and Paul Greenhalgh. He had been a
member of the Lancashire Youth Concert Band, playing flute for 2 years and
was a member of Blackburn Cathedral choir for 7years. Through these groups
Joshua has already gained international experiences in countries such as
Germany and Poland.

Samuel Thompson.
Samuel is currently taught by Leslie Craven, principal clarinet of the Welsh
National Opera. Samuel has been playing clarinet for ten year and in his
native North-West, Samuel played with the Lancashire Youth Orchestra and
played principal in the Lancashire Youth Concert Band. As a member of the
concert band, Samuel has played in Birmingham Symphony Hall, and also in the
Royal Albert Hall to open the Schools Proms. Sam has also performed with the
Lancashire Sinfonietta, playing Carmina Burana at Preston Guild Hall as part
of a Youth Development programme. During his time at the RWCMD, Samuel has
been conducted by such prestigious musical figures as Tim Reynish and Sir
Charles Mackerras, including a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at
St. David's Hall. Samuel has worked with Adrian Partington, conductor of the
BBC National Choir and David Jones, who learnt under Leonard Bernstein.
Samuel has also benefited from lessons with John Reynolds, head of Woodwind
at RWCMD, Rosa Campos of the Halle and Alison Lambert. Samuel regularly has
master classes with Angela Malsbury of the Royal Academy of Music and The
London Mozart Players.

Harry Ventham
Harry started his musical career on the clarinet at age 11 and entered into
his local music service, progressing through the different orchestras and
bands, eventually leading the Wind Band and playing principal Clarinet in
the Youth Orchestra. After starting the bassoon at age 16 and switching to
principal bassoon in both Wind Band and Orchestra, he successfully
auditioned for a place in the National Youth Wind Orchestra, in which he was
conducted by prestigious Wind Band conductors such as Dr. Glenn Price and
the celebrated tuba soloist James Gourlay and performing in concert halls
such as St. John Smith's Square and Birmingham City Hall. In 2007, Harry
auditioned for places at music colleges across the country and gained a full
scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, to study with
Steve Marsden (Principal Bassoon of the Welsh National Opera). Though
currently in his 2nd year, Harry has played Principal Bassoon in the college
Wind Band and Symphony Orchestra performing across Wales, and regularly in
St David's Hall, including performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony conducted by
Sir Charles Mackerras. He has also partaken in master classes with Meyrick
Alexander, John Reynolds and Stanfano Cantuni.

*****

Harry and Sam both recently made their BBC Radio 3 debut as part of the
College Wind Orchestra, they both featured in the performance of Alun
Hoddinott's Welsh Airs and Dances alongside the BBC National Orchestra of
Wales. They are both also founding members of the Rosso Ensemble, a Wind
Quintet who have take their outreach programme to schools, and performed
recitals across Wales.

Samuel Thompson

Poulenc - Clarinet Sonata
Messager - Solo de Concours
Pierne - Canzonetta
Cahuzac - Arlequin

HarryVentham

Grovlez - Sicilienne et Allegro Giocoso
Pierne - Solo de Concert
Saint Saens - Sonata for Bassoon
Tansman - Sonatine

We are also planning a Festival Mass at the Minster to provide a finale to the Preston Arts Festival, which will be on All Saints Day this year, followed by a buffet. The picture above shows the orchestra and choir in full flow during Bach's Mass in B Minor.

Just before the concert on Sunday, and shortly after England lost 4-1 against the Germans at Association Football, Simon Sayer was ordained to the Diaconate by the Bishop of Beverley at Saint Margaret's' Hollinwood, near Oldham. Simon is an old friend and it was very good being there. I provide a picture above of the top of his head.

At the Parish Lunch after Mass in the Minster on Sunday, we were entertained by David Wade on the piano after a very civilised meal of fish in a number of guises and the usual excellent pudding display.

The excellent buffet was served and enjoyed after Mass.

Of course, the back of Church had to be turned into a bistro first!

Fr Andrew, Fr Ian and Norman the Sacristan just before Mass on Sunday morning in the Minster.

The Hamilton-Thorpes came to show us their daughter Natasha again, whom we never tire of looking at!

The Priests Sacristy before Mass.

This week also saw Fr John and Naomi Livesley leaving Swinton team ministry and embarking on a journey to Spennymoor, where Fr John will be Priest in charge. We wish them all the best and were glad to be at the final mass which Fr John will celebrate in Swinton.

Finally, Janelle and Rob leave a Parish party!

Further Adventures in Ordinary Time.

2010-06-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Preston is best translated from the Anglo Saxon as 'Priest town', which is interesting in that I came from Prestwich, which means 'Priest's Retreat'. The centre certainly would have lived up to its name until recent ages, with many convents, Churches and monastries. The city centre is full of Churches but alas, there is hardly any housing. Convents have been sold or are awaiting development (some so large and so central you do wonder what, exactly, could be done with them) and Churches close from time to time. Last week we were sad to see the demise of Fishergate Baptist Church, which was housed in an imposing building on Fishergate, the main shopping thoroughfare in town. We wish Neil and Ruth well as they begin ministering in Wales.

Given its history, Prestonians are used to seeing their clergy around town and it is part of our mission in Preston City Parish to be visible to everyone - indeed we are almost alone in this now. Good will is certainly there and apart from the occasional militant secular atheist (who are having a rally in the Flagmarket tomorrow which I am looking forward to attending) we feel that this is a useful and well valued part of our lives. Personally, I feel that is the old convents were turned into flats the city would be able to support the restaurants, late opening shops (and indeed Churches) which it so desperately needs. Until then, we keep walking around, praying and talking.

This is the pavilion at Avenham Park, which is at the Southern end of the Parish. It was busy over the last weekend with events including opera singing and cake tasting and this Saturday it hosts a brass band from Norway who will be playing outside at 1pm. Later on in the month will be a performance of The Tempest in area within the park, more information about that soon.

This picture of the tabernacle in the Shrine Church at Walsingham reminds us that it is our Parish Pilgrimage soon, when we all look forward to a few days of bucolic bliss with Our Lady.

Friday's Concert, Mainly.

2010-06-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

Mass attendance om Sunday was good, with a few new faces, which is part of the shifting population we have in Preston and the vast majority of other city centres. New faces often mean that they are staying for a conference (as was the case this time) or otherwise visiting. We have to continually make ourselves available to an unknown quantity of fluid humanity, which is becoming more and more the Parish model for this country and reflects the transient nature of modern life. Personally, I grew up in a transient place, moving around regularly from country to country and I am more inclined to see the world as a fluid mass of humanity looking for salvation. Whichever way you see things, it makes for an interesting, challenging ministry - with one or two other things planned for later in the year.

Here are details of our next Friday lunchtime concert on June 18th, 12.30 in St George's Church

Ffinian Jones: Piano. Gabriel Jones: Piano

Ffinian Jones started playing the piano at the age of 8, achieving grade 8
distinction on the piano, cello and saxophone by the age of 15. He then went
on to study piano with Murray McLachlan at Chethams School of music before
entering Trinity College of Music in London, where he currently studies with
Philip Fowke. In 2009 he spent a number of months studying at the
Conservatoire National et Superieur de Music et Danse de Lyon in France with
Florrent Boffard. He was a finalist in the TCM Scarlatti competition and
winner of the 2010 TCM John Ireland competition.

Gabriel Jones was born in Brighton and began playing piano at the age of 8.
Before attending Trinity College of Music where he is currently in his 3rd
year he studied with Tony Purkiss performing in several lunchtime recitals
at Brighton's Chapel Royal and achieving a number of successes in local
competitions in Brighton and Worthing. As a Trinity student this year, he
has been a finalist in both the French song and Lieder competitions in
collaboration with singer Marianne Wright. He has also made his concerto
debut with the Brighton Youth Orchestra playing the Grieg Piano Concerto at
Hove Town Hall. In July he will be travelling to Switzerland with the BYO to
perform the Grieg as well as Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue during a week-long
concert tour.

Programme. Ffinian Jones

Bach, Prelude and Fugue in C# Minor, Book 1

Stevenson, Peter Grimes Fantasy

Chopin, Ballade No. 4

Gabriel Jones

Maurice Ravel - Jeux D'Eau

Ligeti - Touches Blouqées and Arc-en-ciel
from Book 1 of the Piano Études

JS Bach - Prelude and Fugue in Eb minor from book 1 of The Well-tempered
Clavier

Corpus Christi, Pilgrimages and Mayors.

2010-06-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

The Sacred Ministers after Benediction which ended our service for Corpus Christi on Thursday. We began at the Minster, processed with the Blessed Sacrament through the city to Saint George's for High Mass and Solemn Benediction.

During Benediction.

The procession rounds into Friargate.

Norman leads us off with the 14th century processional cross.

This Sunday saw another large scale event in Avenham Park, which is at the Southern end of the parish, the trees at the back of the picture above show the line of the River Ribble which marks the parish boundary. The event this week was a Mela, an Indian festival with singing, dancing, food and community events. It was fairly well attended and was also the new mayor's first official engagement after his Incoming Service at the Minster.

The incoming service was a grand occasion as you can imagine. Here the mace party leave the building before joining the marching band outside for the procession to the Guildhall for lunch.

Father Timothy, the Vicar, processes out.

Another procession! This time in Ladyewell, near Preston, a shrine of Our Lady where Forward in Faith had a day pilgrimage with the Society of Mary. It was a great success and a very sunny day. At the back you can see Bishop John Burnley, the celebrant of the Mass.

The statue being carried in the rosary procession from the Parish Church of Fernyhalgh to the Shrine.

Ordinary Time!

2010-06-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

After the Parish Mass on Sunday I drove down to Walsingham for the National Festival which was on Monday. It was a very happy time, here you see some of the Bishops recessing after Benediction in the Shrine grounds. Another procession will be seen soon, as we have a busy end-of-week here.

THURSDAY.
The Feast of CORPUS CHRISTI.
7pm, procession of the Blessed Sacrament from the Minster Church to Saint George's for High Mass.

SATURDAY.
12.00 Procession from Fernyhalgh Parish Church to the Shrine of Our Lady of Laydewell for High Mass with the Bishop of Burnley. All welcome, please bring a packed lunch.

SUNDAY.
9am Low Mass at the Minster
11am, Mayor's Incoming Service at the Minster.
(Please note, this is not a Eucharist).

And here is Our Lady of Walsingham being paraded to the Shrine on Monday. the turnout was wonderful and the day was, by all accounts, very special.

After Mass on Sunday, back at Preston City Parish, we had a lunch in the Community Room at Saint George's, enjoying a version of Vitello Tonnato, salads and other goodies. The turnout was good although looking back, a conversation had with a visitor who was travelling up the the Lake District about the bucolic quietness of my beloved Eskdale seems shattered by the recent news of the rampage in that place where twelve people died, before the gunman turned the gun on himself in Boot, a very remote, beautiful village where I usually stay. We will be praying for those people, families and communities this week.

The buffet was rightly popular, as will be the Lunchtime Concert this Friday at St George's commencing at 12.30. It features the Stonebridge Quartet and promises to be a feast for the senses.

Annette, part of our Keralan community, looked particularly splendid on Sunday in her National Dress, which is unique to her part of Kerala and is worn at harvest time.

And after Mass, the green of Ordinary Time resumes - as if there is such a thing.

The Last Week of Easter.

2010-05-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

The week before Pentecost was the last week of the season of Easter and we had a very good turnout for most of our Masses, for which we were glad. On the Thursday the Parish Clergy went to Selby in Yorkshire, to attend the Northern Synod of the SSC at Selby Abbey. A couple of pictures of this magnificent Church follow.

Looking down the choir to the rood screen and nave. The Church dominates what is a reasonably attractive small market town, the immediate environs of the Abbey forming a close of houses and greens.

The High Altar is very fine when viewed from up close but in my opinion is a little dark in comparison to the rest of the building when seen from the nave. It leaves a peculiar architectural feeling of the altar being the focus of attention in the building by reason of it's darkness.

On Tuesday we welcomed the new Mayor, Cllr. John Richardson in the Mayor Making ceremony at the Town Hall. The best silver was laid out for our inspection on the way out to dinner.

Here you see the outgoing Mayor, Keith Sedgwick, preparing himself to hand over the symbols of office. Albert will be Mayor until this time next year when another will be elected who will also be 'Guild Mayor', as we have a great exhibition/party every twenty years which celebrates much that is good about Preston and at which ceremonial 'Burgesses' are made in remembrance of the traders who made Preston famous. This next guild we hope to have some changes, some new events and some old ones as well. Preparations are certainly in place for this and we look forward to the events.

Father Timothy reads the customary prayers before the Council meets, this time adjusting them to pay tribute to the previous Mayor and to welcome the new.

And finally the chamber just before the meeting. No pictures of Pentecost Masses, alas, I shall endeavour to do better this Sunday when we have a Parish Mass at 10.30 am at St George's followed by lunch, but suffice to say, I was surprised, on reflection, when we extinguished the Paschal candles after the Gospel, that it had been fifty days already since we lit them.

This Week in Preston.

2010-05-17T01:04:00.000-07:00

This week has been very busy. One of the highlights was our outing to Fulwood to see how the other half live and to have our Churchwardens sworn in for the coming year. Here you see some of the seven Wardens with the Vicar. We can have eight altogether, two for St George's and six for St John's, an honorific relating to our Select Vestry.

The Vicar, the Archdeacon and the Bishop deliberate before the service.

Thursday was Ascension Day, so we had a Solemn Mass at St George's in the evening.

Saturday was a day of great exoticism as we celebrated St Pancras's day at the Church of Ss. Agnes and Pancras, Liverpool with the Bishop of part of Ghana and Bishop Angaelos from the Coptic Orthodox Church. Here you see the Bishop beginning the procession of the relic.

'Sursum Corda'

Your scribe processing out of the Church after the two and a half hour long Mass drew to a close.

After which we venerated the relic of the Saint.

On Sunday morning after Mass at the Minster we said goodbye to Keith Sedgewick, the outgoing Mayor. The Select Vestry (or some of them) line the entrance to welcome the Mayor's procession. We had horses with pennants, flags, big sticks and silver paddles. It was all rather grand.

The Select Vestry enter.

And the Judge.

The standards are raised for the National Anthem.

And the Mayoral Party begins to leave behind the maces.

And in the evening we went to St Hilda's Prestwich for the May Devotions.

Fifth Week and Sixth Sunday of Easter.

2010-05-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

This week in the parish we will be forsaking our usual Thursday Low Mass at the Walsingham Chapel in St George's for a Solemn Mass at 7.30 pm for the Ascension of Our Lord, still at St George's. Walsingham is in the air however as the booking has now been sent off for our Parish Pilgrimage later in the Summer and some of us are even going earlier as well, for the National Pilgrimage at the end of this month.

A further announcement concerns this coming Sunday, when the services will be as follows;

9am Low Mass at the Minster.

11am Mayor's Outgoing Service at the Minster.

There has been quite a lot of paperwork this month, which is an excuse to show you another little-seen part of the Parish, in this case a corner of the office above Saint John's Minster.

An ecumenical meeting proved fruitful as usual, particularly as we are in a state of change in that department. Fr Chris the Parish Priest of the city centre RC Church has moved on, Gillian, the Methodist Minister is going soon, one of the Baptists is leaving us (and the church closing) and so it is that we have much planned which relies on the goodwill of those who will take their places. We work well together ecumenically in the City and are sure that this state of affairs will continue.

This attractive back street is a place of regular visits for us, as it contains the offices of Drugsline, whom we have some dealings with. I show it to you now, however, as an excellent example of how inner city industrial buildings have been put to good use in some parts of Preston, rather than being demolished as in other parts.

The Green Party may have won its first ever seat in the UK, in Brighton as it happens, but the mid Spring verdant festival of chlorophyll racing through the trees on Ladies Walk is an annual feat of wonder.

And finally the fountain in Miller Park has been switched on again, the council having found out through a long process of divination and soothsaying that it does not harbour Legionella Disease, which is lucky as the fish from the Japanese Gardens were put here some weeks ago as that pond is to be cleaned out.

On Sunday our regular organist, Lyndon, was not able to play. Arthur stepped in at St John's and Dorothy played the piano at St George's, which was thought to be a very enjoyable contrast on this one occasion.

We are always looking for new servers at St George's and this small boy, wandering innocently to the confessional, was roped in to being a trainee boat boy, which is good news.

And who could resist joining the team?

On Sunday afternoon, our Lay Rector and member of the Select Vestry, Sir Bernard De Hoghton, opened his house to us and another local group for a tour and afternoon tea. This is a picture of his Dining Room, showing the table whereupon James I knighted the loin of beef 'Sir' Loin, a name which of course sticks to this day.

It was a most enjoyable afternoon and our thanks go to Sir Bernard for his kind invitation. Next Sunday a number of us will be travelling to St Hilda's Prestwich for the Society of Mary May Devotions at 6pm.

Pilgrims, Spring and Consecrations.

2010-05-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

This is a picture taken a few weeks ago by Ian and Jacqui, two of our Holy Week pilgrims who stayed in the Church Hall at St George's on Good Friday night and joined some of us for breakfast the next morning before walking on to the next stage of their journey. They have produced a blog documenting their pilgrimage which is well worth a read, HERE, we are on the end of part 2 and the start of part 3, but the whole adventure is well worth reading. We enjoyed having them in the Parish and look forward to another occasion.

Numbers at both Masses were slightly down given the Bank Holiday and at St George's especially people did not generally stay for coffee after Mass, preferring to get on with the business of going out for the weekend. We used a very beautiful new (to us) antique cloth of gold High Mass set, but alas I have no pictures. Another time, I think.

This is the Bishop of Burnley and the clergy of Accrington team ministry at St Mary Magdalen's Accrington during the Mass for the consecration to the Single Consecrated Life of Sister Mary Bernadette, better known to many as Sheila Scowcroft. It was a very happy occasion and we wish her well.

Here the Bishop receives her simple vows, permanent ones to be made, if it be God's will, at a later date.

And finally, spring continues to appear, the trees are beginning to break forth into unbridled leafiness and the ground starts to yield moss and seedlings. Another year wakes up and Summer begins to arrive.

Patronal Festival at St George's and the Parish Mass.

2010-04-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

A busy week, last week, but a happy one, particularly on Friday evening when we had the Patronal Festival at St George's. The St George's Occasional Singers performed beautifully and we had a pretty good turnout, particularly for a non-residential city centre on Friday night. Father David Arnold, our Diocesan Bishop's Chaplain, joined us, Father Timothy can be seen here inspecting the chasuble he is wearing.

Your scribe and Fr Timothy just before Mass began.

We had a splendid buffet afterwards.

Which everyone enjoyed!

And Father John Livesley came as well. Currently Curate in Swinton, Fr John is going soon to be Parish Priest somewhere exciting in the North East. We wish Naomi, his wife and himself well and look forward to seeing them soon.

This is just before Mass at St John's Minster this morning, when the incessant rain kept at bay for a few hours.

We had a Parish lunch afterwards although I only have this one, not terribly good, photo to show you. The lamb casserole was excellent as were all the many puddings.

Then it was off to St George's for your scribe for a Baptism, which was well attended and a happy occasion.

Above the baptistery is this fine mural of the Baptism of Christ.

And under which another Christian was added to the multitude.

Saint George's Day Sung Mass

2010-04-19T02:57:00.000-07:00

This Friday is Saint George's Day and so there is a Sung Mass at St George's Church, Lune Street at 7.30pm. Whilst we cannot promise a live slaying of dragons (and if we did, would there be a dragons protection league protesting outside?) we can reassure our readers that there will be an enjoyable Mass featuring the Saint George's Occasional Singers who will be presenting a world premiere and, of course, our usual hospitality afterwards. I feel slightly shabby trying to sell a Mass to you on the basis of the singing and buffet and I hope that you will not feel that I am doing so, but our occasional choir are a great treat and it would be a shame if their appearance went unremarked.

This week has seen some unseasonably warm weather, only ceasing on Sunday, although the light shone brightly through the windows of St John's at the Parish Mass before the AGM of the Church, which was reasonably well attended and thorough in its analysis of current situations. We continue to serve the Parish of Preston as we have in the past and always will do - comprehensively and with a strong emphasis on our ministry of service to the whole city of God. 'Do you love me?' said Jesus to Peter in the Gospel of the day, 'then feed my sheep and follow me'. We do a lot of feeding, both spiritually and physically, in the Church buildings and on the streets of our Parish, we will grow in the next year in this ministry as we will grow in our discipleship, if it please God.

This river is the Ribble and is also a Parish boundary. It never ceases to amaze me that you can walk from the city to the fields in three minutes on the south side. This parkland is a part of our outreach and we work with the park staff and local police to make it a safe and happy environment for all people to use.

It is a great treat to be able to walk in the fields just after sunrise before beginning the day in the city. This week is a very busy one, taking in schools, budget meetings, evening prayers, Walsingham Cell meetings, numerous charity meetings and a planning meeting for our very own Parish of Preston Arts and Education Trust, who pulled off the Diva Delight evening with such aplomb. Underpinning all this, of course, is the Daily Mass and part of our mission for the next year needs to be publicising these more so that a greater number attend them - although attendance is by no means poor at any of them.

Another gratuitous picture of your scribes dog, whose birthday is today. He is one. It is my birthday on Friday, although I am slightly older.

Finally, a picture of the Japanese Gardens in the sunshine. The work on the park is progressing well and the Spring has had an impact on the ground, making the whole place look alive again. We would be delighted to see you at any service, but particularly on Friday at 7.30pm or on Sunday, this week there is a Parish Mass and lunch at St John's Minster at 10.30.

This Friday's Lunchtime Concert.

2010-04-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

This Friday at Saint George's Church, the Friday Lunchtime concert series continues after the Easter break with a programme of music performed by the very talented Gemma Sheehan-Dare accompanied by Russell Lomas. Please see the main website for full details of the concerts and the next seasons schedule.

Andante in C Mozart

Duo for Flute and Piano Copland

Flowing

Poetic, somewhat mournful

Lively, with bounce

Two Pieces Fauré

Morceau de Concours

Fantaisie

Fantaisie in G minor Hüe

Gemma Sheehan-Dare was born in Harrogate in 1986. She began flute lessons when she was eleven after having played the recorder from the age of five. Whilst at school, she became a member of the National Children’s Wind Orchestra, won the Harrogate Young Musician of the Year competition in 2003, and was the principal flute in several orchestras in the North Yorkshire area. She also gave performances of Mozart’s G major Concerto and Chaminade’s Concertino and was the solo flute in performances of Bach’s 5th Brandenburg Concerto.

In 2005 she continued her education at Manchester University where she studied flute with Alan Lockwood and was one of the principal flautists in the University Symphony and Sinfonietta Orchestras. She was also a member of a wind quintet that played Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s ‘Refrains and Choruses’, and she took part in performances of Richard Strauss’s ‘Suite for 13 Wind Instruments’ which was included in the repertoire for the 2006 tour of the Vacation Chamber Orchestra..

Gemma graduated in 2008 with a B.Mus (Hons) and was awarded a scholarship to continue her studies at the RNCM with Peter Lloyd and Laura Jellicoe. Since then she has played principal flute in the RNCM Concert Orchestra and has worked with the Hallé Orchestra after having had a successful audition for the 2009 Professional Access Scheme and the BBC Welsh Orchestra. She has also played piccolo and flute in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, most notably in the New Years Eve Gala and the 2009 Summer Proms in the Park and recently she has been accepted for the Professional Access Scheme by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Russell Lomas was born in Manchester and began piano lessons at an early age. When he was fifteen, he won a scholarship to study with Gordon Green, Clifton Helliwell and Franz Reizenstein at the Royal Manchester College of Music from where he graduated with a Distinction in both Performers and Teachers Diplomas and was awarded the Ricordi Prize for Accompaniment.

He has given piano duet concerts and accompanied chamber music and vocal recitals throughout the UK, Europe, Jordan and Lebanon, and has made numerous visits to the United Arab Emirates where he has given concerts in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. He has broadcast for the BBC, Classic FM and several European and local radio stations and has also performed on television for the BBC and a number of ITV channels, and for the past six years he has been one of the accompanists at the Oxford Flute Summer School.

Until his retirement in 2003, he was a member of the Music Department of Chetham’s School of Music for over 30 years, and Head of Accompaniment for the final twelve, during which time, he gave numerous concerts with instrumentalists of the school. He is also the only accompanist to have appeared on at least one televised programme in every series of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition between 1978 (the year of the first competition) and 2004.