Farewell to Canon Philip and Fran!
Transcription
Farewell to Canon Philip and Fran!
JUNE / JULY 2014 Farewell to Canon Philip and Fran! Canon Perran enjoys looking back at Canon Philip’s time at the cathedral I can well imagine the conversation in twenty years’ time. ‘Do you remember that Canon who was always on about his icons and his psychology? And do you remember those dreadful jokes he used to tell in his sermons? He’d get three quarters of the way through the story and then keep you hanging on all through the serious bit, and then when you got to the punchline you wondered why you’d waited!’ What more need I say in this little appreciation of my dear colleague Philip, as he and Fran prepare to leave for pastures new of the Cretan variety? Perhaps I could just elaborate on that imaginary conversation for a few moments… Philip the icon man: – I guess that sums up a lifetime of interest both in Christian art and in the life and worship of the Eastern Orthodox churches. Philip has done an enormous amount to deepen our en- NEWS 2 LETTER FROM THE DEAN 3 NEW CANONS 4 SYNOD 5 ST LAMBERT 7 MICHAEL BARTLETT 8 BENSON 9 TRURO CATHEDRAL 10 MUSIC Canon Philip helps to finish the cathedral icon: The Virgin of Tenderness of Vladimir gagement with the artistic community of Cornwall and beyond, and to help us to begin to see the Cathedral as a work of art in itself, with which other art within it needs to engage. His arranging of regular exhibitions of contemporary art, often involving some creative act of worship, has opened up a new dimension in our spiritual reflection and our appreciaContd on page 6 LUTHERAN WORSHIP 11 CORNWALL 12 REMEMBERS KIRSTEN ‘ORDINAND’ 14 THE OLD CATHEDRAL 17 SCHOOL DEMENTIA 19 FRIENDS OF TRURO CATHEDRAL 20 MOTHERS’ UNION 21 CORNISH SAINTS 23 SUMMER FUN 25 WHAT’S ON 27 ORGANORAK 28 NEWS - in brief Philip and Fran On Sunday 22nd June, Fran and I will make our more formal farewells at Truro Cathedral, however we thought some of you might like our future contact details and so here they are: Canon Philip and Mrs Frances Lambert Church House Gavalochori Chania 73008 Crete, Greece Telephone: 00 30 2825 023270 Email: cretechaplainphilip@yahoo.com We have enjoyed ourselves immensely at Truro Cathedral and have very much appreciated the love and support we have received. We will miss so many of you and so It would be lovely to see people and of course hopefully to come and join us for worship at St Thomas Church, Kefalas. The church email is creteanglicans@yahoo.co.uk and the website for directions etc. is http://www.theanglicanchurchincrete.co.uk/ Canon Philip Lambert Royal Cornwall Show The Cathedral is again exhibiting at the Royal Cornwall Show this year (5-7 June). We’d love to see you at our stand (306), so come and say hello. Feeding the Homeless A very big thank you to the anonymous person who donated a box of 100 containers with lids to be used for Takeaway meals for the Homeless. Much appreciated. Help with Sunday Coffee Audrey Henry is looking for some willing volunteers to help with Sunday coffee. The frequency is up to you but probably no more than once or twice a month. Cornwall Heritage cards If you spend more than 50 hours a year, volunteering at the Cathedral, you can apply for a Cornwall Heritage card. This gives you free entry to a number of heritage attractions around Cornwall. See Anne Marie in the Front Office for details. 2 Rachel says farewell... Living in Truro and working at it's Cathedral over the past 9 months has been a wonderful and memorable experience. It has been a privilege to accompany the Cathedral Choir on the organ and to work with and learn from its talented leaders, Chris Gray and Luke Bond. I've enjoyed life as a Cathedral organist immensely and I'm thankful to have had the chance to work with a choir of men and boys who sing everyday, as this is not something one can do back home in Toronto. It has also been a pleasure to get to know everyone in the wider Cathedral community. I truly appreciate Cornish hospitality as I have been made very welcome here. I've also had the chance to explore a bit of the county and am in awe of the natural beauty. I shall miss it a great deal in September when I am moving to London to be organ scholar at St. Paul's Cathedral for the academic year. In the future, I plan on continuing my career as both a Cathedral organist, either here or abroad, and a performer. I look forward to playing my last recital at the Cathedral on Friday, June 6, when I'll be playing music by Bach as well as some Canadian pieces, including one I am passionate about, Healey Willan's Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue. I'm also very excited to be performing as part of ORGANIZED CRIME Duo at Truro Methodist Church on Thursday, June 12. This will be our first show abroad and will probably be unlike any organ recital anyone's seen here before. Of course, I do plan on visiting next year, so this is not goodbye forever. From Dean Roger.. This month we say goodbye to Philip and Fran, who are venturing forth to pastures new in Crete. First and foremost I need to say how much we will miss them: a summary is inadequate for certain tasks in hand, and to say in what ways we will miss them both in a few words will not do justice to the breadth and depth they have brought to Cathedral life over the past eight years. In particular I will miss Philip’s prayerful wisdom, borne of his deep commitment to the Eastern tradition, a tradition that I am rapidly learning is both profoundly spiritual and spontaneously natural; and I will miss Fran’s effervescent care and concern for people. These characteristics find common ground in their rich and rewarding hospitality. They have given themselves fully to this Cathedral community, and for this, and so much else, we must be greatly thankful. And yet, as they say, all good things come to an end. To say ‘that’s life’ to such a comment can be dismissive and cursory, but there is a spiritual truth contained within what can be heard as a casual statement. For our lives are constantly criss-crossed by the tension that arises between our desire to be committed to a particular group of people or community, and our curious natures that provoke us to seek fresh adventures elsewhere. This is particularly the case with those of us called to be priests: we are called by God to devote ourselves to a particular ministry at a particular time in our lives, and I know of very few priests who do not take that commitment very seriously. But priests are open to the possibility of being called to explore their vocation in another community somewhere else, and that means uprooting yourself, and your family, of course, from where you happen to be and moving to somewhere new, which means establishing new relationships in a new context. This doesn’t happen in a logical or mechanical way, of course. Some priests can stay many years in one place, having as fulfilling a ministry as the more peripatetic of us. I know of one priest, who had spent forty years in one parish, being asked by his bishop just before his retirement, how he had ‘stuck it out’ in the same place all that time; ‘what you must understand, bishop,’ came the reply, ‘is that in that time I have had three different congregations.’ Which leads me onto the second point. It is not just the clergy who stay and then go. Congregations change as well. I have occasionally been back to parishes I have served in (to open the summer fete or something), and have found that the make-up of the community there has totally changed. Of course, there are one or two stalwarts who have been there since Noah landed the ark, but it is surprising (or is it?) just how quickly people come and go. And, I have to say, that it is quite salutary just how many people don’t know you when you return somewhere where you had been the vicar. That is, I have to say, right and proper: people and places move on; they have to, otherwise they will get stuck in a time warp. It also means that, when new people join a church, hopefully new ideas in how to develop the Church’s life and ministry, will come in their wake. (I say, hopefully, but I am the first to admit that people join churches for all sorts of reasons, not all of them positive!) This, I believe, tells us something very profound about the nature of our churches and their communities. Firstly, they provide stability and an abiding presence. Our medieval churches have been dotting our landscape for coming up to a thousand years, and even after only a hundred years it is impossible to think of the Truro skyline without the Cathedral’s magisterial presence dominating it. To be aware of the abiding hope that these buildings point to is part of their function and their being. God’s constancy is something we mustn’t underestimate. But equally, our churches are not changeless institutions, stuck in a (mostly mythological) past where the congregation is holding on to past truths like grim death. People come and people go, and they bring with them the newness and freshness of their personal insights, as, indeed, they take with them the experiences they have learned in the churches they are leaving, to share that experience in the new situation they find themselves in. I am sure that the good people of north-west Crete will benefit from the ministry that Fran and Philip have exercised in Truro, just as much as we will benefit from the new ministry offered by Philip’s successor. The genius is, I suppose, having the ability to keep things in balance. Leaving somewhere where you have had a good time can be very painful; all too often the temptation is to stay until you drop because you enjoy the place and the people so much. But equally you know that there is a bigger world out there and that your curiosity is goading you on to explore it in more detail. Part of being human is sacrificing comfort and taking risks, and although none of us has the sufficient genius to get that balance totally right, yet there is sufficient about us to know when it is time to move on or to stay put. 3 New Canons for Truro Cathedral Immediately after the Office of Evensong on Sunday 18 May, five new Non-Residentiary Canons were installed as Canons of Truro Cathedral and members of the College of Canons. ABOUT THE NEW CANONS: Revd Geoffrey Bennett Rural Dean of Carnmarth South and Vicar of Budock. He occupies the Stall of St Necton. Revd Andrew Gough Priest in Charge of Halsetown and Priest in Charge of St Ives. He occupies the Stall of St Ia. Christopher Batt Chaplain to the Markets, Agricultural Chaplain and Rural Chaplain; Assistant Co-ordinator for the Farming Community Network and Chairman of the Cornwall Emergency Feed Fund. He occupies the Stall of St James the Less. Esther Pollard Diocesan Secretary. She occupies the Stall of St Matthew. Dr Jonathan Rowe Director of Accompanied Ministry Development. He occupies the Stall of St Peter. For his sermon, Bishop Tim took as his text Jesus' words: "Abide in me as I abide in you", taken from John 15.4. He described the new canons as five very different people who, apart from their humanity, had little in common and were very different characters who had lived very different lives. “Yet we can rejoice at the possibilities this brings,” he said, “the opportunities for engaging in new and challenging conversations.” Bishop Tim pointed out that the word ‘abide’ is not often used in everyday conversation but does go some way to explaining the role of the new canons. “They have all been around a bit!” he said. “So they have all experienced life’s ups and downs, and have stuck to their tasks such that they can share that experience with us. “They are five people who have Pictured with Bishop Tim (from left) are: Dr some underJonathan Rowe, Esther Pollard, Revd Andrew Gough, Revd Geoffrey Bennett and Christostanding of this pher Batt. (Photo: Paul Richards) place and what is going on in the outside world too,” he added. “They are examples to us this evening of what it means to abide. Through their adherence to the Christian faith they have discovered the reality of the Gospel and can help us to mediate it in the world and our lives; to bring integrity into our discipleship. To stick with it. To abide.” 4 Truro Cathedral Company of Bellringers Hello everyone again, just an update on the tower situation at this time. Well the scaffolding firm said it will take them up to eight weeks to erect the scaffold and they have now been at it for around six weeks. They are up to louvre height and are now high enough to start wrapping the scaffolding right around the tower. This is looking good we hope for us to start ringing the bells again soon. In the meantime we have been continuing to ring at other towers for our practice night on Tuesday evenings. Towers visited include St Clements, Probus, St Erme and this week we will be at St Austell. We thank them all for accommodating us while our own bells are out of commission. Also in the near future we are hoping to teach some new recruits. In connection with our Cathedral Education Department, we are to be in contact with some of the schools in Truro to see if any of the children would be interested in learning bellringing. This we need to do and encourage, to be sure of the next generation continuing this ancient art. Of course if there are any of you out there who would also like to try their hand at ringing then we would be only too pleased to see and hear from you. So here’s hoping that the bells will be back in action soon and we can all get back to our regular Sunday routine. Best wishes to all John Davis Cathedral Ringing Master Cathedral Services in the Cornish Language Synod votes for women bishops Revd Jane Kneebone writes… From the end of July, we shall be including occasional services in Cornish as part of the round of worship in the Cathedral, particularly on the feast days of some of our Cornish Saints. Although services in Cornish have taken place in the Cathedral before, this will be first time, as far as we know, that special saints’ days will have been marked with the Eucharist in Cornish. The first such service will be held on the Feast of St Samson, Monday 28 July – a said Eucharist at 1 pm; and on Wednesday 1 October, there will be a solemn Sung Eucharist at 5.30 pm on the Feast of St German. At this service there will be hymns sung in Cornish to well-known tunes, and the choir will sing the Mass setting in Latin – there will be no English spoken at all. This seems particularly fitting when we remember that before the advent of the Prayer Book in English, all church services in Cornwall were conducted in Latin, with probably the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer said in Cornish. In the 1549 Prayer Book Rebellion, it was the cessation of services in Latin that the Cornish were protesting about! We hope that our venture will attract speakers and non-speakers of Cornish alike. If you don’t speak the language, don’t worry – the service book will be reproduced in both Cornish and English, so you will easily be able to follow the service. I have been involved in leading services in Cornish for some time now, and I find every time that they are very prayerful and uplifting. It may well be that these special Cathedral services will offer other people a similar experience, such that they can encounter God through liturgy in a new way. HIGH SPOT of Diocesan Synod on Saturday 10 May was undoubtedly the debate culminating in an overwhelming vote in favour of the Consecration of Women in the Episcopate, writes Feast of St Samson Monday 28 July – a said Eucharist at 1 pm Feast of St German Wednesday 1 October, a Solemn Sung Eucharist at 5.30 pm All welcome David Watson, Diocesan Communications Officer. By way of an introduction, the Dean of Truro, Roger Bush, outlined the chronological background to the debate and pointed out that the latest proposal was radically different from the original, rejected by General Synod 18 months ago. “It is based on simplicity and a desire to move forward together,” he said, “taking into account the views of all and bound by trust and not legislation.” Speeches from the floor were heartfelt and measured, with the majority in support of the motion – citing a number of female Cornish saints; the past 20 years of joy and benefits gained following the ordination of women as priests; and the need to be less introspective and to take on board the views of the wider community. “This is all about simplicity, reciprocity and mutuality,” said one delegate. “It also seeks to meet the needs of the minority of opponents too,” remarked another. Speakers against the proposals acknowledged that the deferral of 18 months had been a useful period for reflection and that removal of legislative measures was a positive step. However, in their opinion, there remained deep theological reasons why the consecration of women bishops was unacceptable, and adoption of the proposals would shut doors to closer collaboration with Orthodox and Roman Catholic ecumenical partners. Summing up, the Dean thanked all the speakers and said: “It has been a good debate that reflects where we are in this matter and a chance to clear away mutual suspicion.” The final voting was: house of Bishops 2 For, 0 Against; House of Clergy 26 For, 1 Against; House of Laity 37 For, 2 Against. There were no Abstentions. 5 Cont’d from front cover tion of Pearson’s masterpiece, as have his training events for the Cathedral guides and stewards, and his Kaleidoscope course which has deepened our knowledge of the world of the senses and how God often works through those senses. And his knowledge of things ecclesiastically Eastern has greatly enriched our theological reflection and liturgical practice, whether in commissioning icons or in organising a trip to the artwork of Ravenna, or in offering a spiritual reflection at Canon Philip with Nicholas Sagovsky during Morning 50th anniversary celebrations for Amnesty Prayer. It is so International good to know that this engagement with the East will continue in Philip’s new work in Crete, for the benefit of Orthodox and Anglican alike. Philip the psychological guru: – we have all learnt much about the delights of Neuro Linguistic Programming and how it might help in spiritual development, and while we may not always have understood what Philip was going on about, we as a Chapter With Phil Whiting at one of the many have come to ad- art exhibitions Philip helped organise mire the way in which he has been able to approach a discussion or a decision from a fresh perspective informed by his psychological training and knowledge. Many from within the Cathedral community and beyond will be able to speak 6 of Philip as a wise and empathetic counsellor, who has been able to fuse the riches of the Christian tradition, the insights of psychological theory and plain old common sense, often enriched, to the benefit of counsellor and client alike, with a fine glass of Prosecco too, or sometimes a fine meal cooked and served with great care and love. But it is for his humour that I will most miss Philip, and not just for those jokes in his sermons and his larger repertoire at parties. Fran and Philip enjoying food and wine at the Rick His is a Stein fundraising meal humour that bubbles up in all circumstances, that helps to put problems into perspective, and which is able to transform the dullest of jobs into delight. I could not have had a more supportive colleague and friend during my interesting two years as Acting Dean, when Philip was always there with an encouraging word, an offer of help, and very often a witty remark to boot, for his is not a superficial humour that is unaware of the sometimes tragic reality of life, but one which knows that all things come from God who wants only the best for us in his divine comedy. We wish Philip and Fran all blessings in the next stage of their life’s adventure, as they move to Crete, and we look forward to a future Chapter outing there, just to check that they are keeping well… Canon Perran St Lambert, Babushkas and stones growing leaves In the spirit of if you have got it flaunt it, here is a small article about my namesake. If you go up into the sanctuary in Truro Cathedral and turn left inside the altar rail you will see a series of statues. One of them is a finely attired bishop, his name is St Lambert and his feast day is 17th September. On the eve of St Lambert’s day 16th September 2006 I became the Canon Missioner here at Truro Cathedral. One of my responsibilities has been the interpretation of Truro Cathedral through the guides, stewards, chaplains and the education department. So who was St Lambert and why is he there? The St Lambert, Bishop of Liege and Martyr, first bit is easy as from the Coptic parish in Lillois any glance on the internet will reveal who he was and that he was a missionary bishop and martyr in the Lowlands, meeting his death in the 7th Century. All good guides will be able to explain this to visitors as they also explain other parts of the building, such as the font or the windows. But what is different about a Cathedral guide, steward, chaplain? What is different about our education department leading school visits or introducing undergraduate students to the building’s glories? The answer is a question. We can find out a good deal about St Lambert, but the Truro Cathedral question is why is he there in the sanctuary? This is true of many things, why are there what appears to be “wings” in the vaulting over the quire and over the baptistery? Why are there “leaves” growing out of some pillars and not others? This question of why something is where it is in the building often answers the question of what it means. Over the years in the various training events that we have offered to the guides and stewards we have emphasised that it is the building itself, its shape and orientation (east/west) which interprets the bits and pieces. Think of a Russian doll, the large babushka holds more and more smaller babushka dolls. They all fit into the one big babushka doll. The cathedral as a whole contains and shapes everything else. So for example the pillars are growing “leaves” the nearer you get to the focus of the whole building, the east end, the place of light, of life and hope where the sun rises. Or take the “wings” in the vaulting of the quire and baptistery. They are in the places of spiritual focus , as if they are angels wings fluttering in combined worship. Look around and you will see from window patterns to floor patterns how the purpose and easterly direction of the building reveals the meaning of the particular thing and where it is. Look at its cruciform shape and ask what that is saying about violence, death, martyrdom and also at the leaves at the top of the nave beginning to burst out in this shape of execution. It is this distinctive way of understanding the central message of the whole building which we have to offer. As we inhabit its space, pray and worship in it so we see hear and feel different things that we can use to understand the details and to pass on. We live in a world where overall patterns that shape life are often dismissed or simply not acknowledged for example patterns for understanding the world like religious faith or political ideas. A lot of the time things are reduced to the smallest bits to see if something can be understood. Instead church buildings like Truro Cathedral hold many things together in a story of faith which shapes its stones. It is that overall pattern and shape that our guides welcomers and chaplains can explain. So we find St Lambert a martyr missionary tucked into the sanctuary in the place of offering and connected to the resurrection scenes. What could it mean, being there? I leave you to find out. Leaving you is what we are doing this month, with sadness as well as anticipation for the future on Crete. I am very grateful to so many guides, chaplains and stewards who have opened the eyes of our visitors and indeed my eyes to this place and its wonders, the big picture and in the details. You may be interested to know that my formal licensing day on Crete will be: 17th September 2014 - St. Lambert’s Day! 7 Address given by Canon Philip Lambert at the service giving thanks for the ministry of Prebendary Michael Bartlett, priest vicar of Truro Cathedral. 30th May 2014 “Michael, how did you become a priest?” He replied, “Well I bankrupted our family firm of outfitters in Wimborne and thought what else can I do?” He accompanied this revelation with a chuckle and I am sure you can imagine him now, the timbre of his voice, the laugh, the ready joke, and the twinkling eyes. In fact he did well in the family business but the call to priesthood, having served in Wimborne Minster in many ways and especially as choir man and boy was too strong and after a period of non-stipendiary priesthood he sold up the business and moved with his family to Boscoppa Cornwall and then 18 months later to be rector of St Endellion, Port Isaac and St. Kew. There he remained for the next 15 years as rector until he was 71. He was the archetypal Church of England parish priest at home with all whether in the church or in the pub, his 4th congregation he would call it when he was rector of the St. Endellion group of churches. He was the kind of priest who loitered with intent, provoking all kinds of answers to his question, “How are you dear boy?” You knew you could entrust him with your answers as well. He would listen, he would encourage, and he would not trample all over your spiritual and emotional flowers. Maybe as a man with a gift for flowers and gardening he knew how important it was to treat each person in a particular way, planting this one there, watering this one more, supporting another. It reminds me of the passage from Isaiah speaking about the Lord’s anointed, “a bruised reed he will not break”. Michael loved music; it was a fundamental part of his priesthood and being. When I first wrote those last lines they suddenly appeared in capitals without any help from me! Was that Michael prompting something? Just like he supported the St Endellion Music Festival? As he once said about his picture of heaven, “A heavenly choir perpetually singing. Heaven must have a choir and it is perfect” But he was no pious escapee quite the reverse. Yes he prayed profoundly and yes too he could crack a good joke. He was earthed like any good lightening conductor, firmly attached to the spire and to the ground, linking the heavens to the soil. When he retired he came to worship here, serve as a chaplain, assisted in mentoring new chaplains (I knew I could always trust him to do this. Clergy on placement here would say how much they enjoyed working with him). So many of you stewards, chaplains, welcomers, Cathedral guides say the same- and how you miss him as part of your team. Fortunately for us at Truro he agreed to become a priest vicar. He loved singing here and adored the choir. He would wear his prebend’s furry hood for Evensong. The choirboys soon had a nickname for him, Canon Road Kill. 8 We heard it before Michael did and we were a bit reticent to tell him. We needn’t have worried; he found it very funny and then began to use it to describe himself! Michael was a priest to his fingertips. This also meant the events of his life would influence, mould his prayer and priesthood, as a potter moulds a pot. To be a lightening conductor for heaven means bearing much of the charge as it is earthed. To earth heaven as a priest he also did it through the prayer of his heart mind and body in desolation and doubt as well as joy. We all know he had a totally unexpected bout of depression and this would cause him great questioning. Yet out of this thunderbolt by safely allowing it to earth he gained insights about himself which without words affected for good his own prayer and care for others. Then when Parkinson’s was diagnosed, yes it shocked him, but somehow by the grace of God he used it, lived with it. He knew his hand was shaking and he would do two things, he would make a joke, and he would also either hide it or hold it when taking services so as not to distract people worshipping. Yes Michael brought these things to earth in himself. He was properly so heavenly minded to be earthly good as a lover of the soil, the soil of human beings, the soil of the garden. Canon Road Kill, Prebendary Michael Bartlett we are very grateful to you that because of your love for Christ you became not a distraction but a lightening conductor of our faith so that we could see in trouble and joy that faith earthed in your particular life. We the church are also grateful to your family who have made so many sacrifices for you to be able to minister to us, to be what you wanted to be, to care in the way you wanted to care. Now as Fr Harry Williams said, “Laughter is the language of heaven”. Well Michael you are ready for it, don’t rest in peace, but rest with that big rugby frame of yours chuckling with the angels. May this vision of St Brigid be your reality now. I would like to have the men of Heaven in my own house: With vats of good cheer laid out for them. I would like to have the three Marys, their fame is so great. I would like people from every corner of Heaven. I would like them to be cheerful in their drinking, I would like to have Jesus too here amongst them. I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings, I would like to be watching Heaven's family, drinking it through all eternity. Attributed to St. Brigid Risen Christ, you made the hearts of your disciples burn as you walked with them along the road. We ask that you so inspire us with the fire of your love that we may joyfully walk the path of life with you and all those who are encouraged to seek you. Your face Lord, do we seek: our God for ever and ever. Amen Victoria Field, former artist in residence, reports on the further evolution of her latest play Benson. A couple of years ago I moved from Cornwall to Canterbury to be nearer my relatives. I grew up in East Kent but haven’t lived here since leaving school over three decades ago. Inevitably, I began worshipping regularly at Canterbury Cathedral where Archbishop Edward White Benson lies in a magnificent tomb in St Augustine’s Chapel under the North West Tower. It seems I’m destined to follow him around – he died suddenly of a heart attack in 1896 in Hawarden Church (on his knees, saying confession during the Sunday Service) in North Wales – I lived for a while not far away in Chester during the 1980s. Creative writing is a Six of seven members of the cast of Benson in Canterbury: rear, l-r, Dominic Power (Benson), way of conEmily Husk (Eve), Emma Spurgin-Hussey (Mrs necting the Bassett), front, l-r, T.J. Holmes (Mason), Ben inner life with Esdale (Martin) and Kate Lamerton (Mary). They are posing with a newly-unveiled the outer statue of Dave Lee, comedian and pantomime world. On dame. the surface, my life couldn’t be more different from that of a Victorian Bishop, but many elements of his biography spoke to my own concerns. These include the role of fathers - human and divine, relationships including friendships, marriage and love affairs, power - within families, society and the church, and the drive to create – in Benson’s case the magnificence of Truro Cathedral. His faith was severely tested by the death of his eldest son, and in my work as a poetry therapist, finding ways in which we can adjust to loss is a perennial task. Poems are not capacious enough for so many themes, so I had to write a play. I began a couple of scenes in 2008 when I was an Associate Artist at Hall for Cornwall, then shelved them until a Hawthornden Fellowship gave me time to complete a first draft in 2012, and then gave it an outing in Truro last February. A play is a bit like a machine with many moving parts and the version that was performed in the Chapter House was definitely creaky in places! The warm feedback, though, gave me encouragement to continue working on the piece. It was clear that the issues in the drama resonated with the audience. Canterbury is blessed with a new state-of-the-art theatre, and a vibrant New Writing programme. The Marlowe Theatre and Canterbury Cathedral jointly dominate the city’s skyline. With funding from Arts Council England, I had an opportunity to work on the script with a dramaturg and to present Benson again as a work in progress this May. The cast is smaller (we said goodbye to John Loughborough Pearson and Arthur Benson), there is more fiction, more tension, and a happier ending. I was delighted four Cornish actors came to perform. Canterbury, and especially its Festival, has a long tradition of cathedral drama – T.S.Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral was first staged here in 1935 and writers from Dorothy L. Sayers, to John Masefield to Laurie Lee have written for the Canterbury Festival. Earlier this year, Christopher Marlowe’s A Massacre at Paris was performed in the cathedral crypt, right next to the Huguenot Chapel which was given by Elizabeth I to refugees fleeing persecution, and still hosts a weekly service in French. It was a memorable experience to see the play in that setting. As part of last month’s presentation, we also held a fascinating symposium on the Sacred and Stage, at which Professors Ken Pickering and Paul Allain and scholar, Jason Burg, talked about the relationship between theatre and cathedrals. My hope is that Benson will eventually make it to a full production. Meanwhile, though, the process of developing the play has given me new and deeper respect for him and his achievements. And my love of cathedrals continues to grow. I’m always delighted to be in touch with anyone with similar interests. Victoria Field was writer-in-residence at Truro Cathedral in 2006. Her latest poetry collection is The Lost Boys (2013, Waterloo Press). She blogs at www.poetrytherapynews.com 9 From Christopher Gray, Director of Music Summer Concert The Cathedral Choir’s summer concert on Saturday 21st at 5.00pm (note start time) which will take the audience on an involved journey. The first half looks at World War I from different perspectives: three Rupert Brooke poems are set in Alan Gray’s mini song cycle 1914. The songs capture the spirit of adventure at the start of the War, when people were grateful for the opportunity to serve their country. The famous Binyon poem For the fallen was penned in North Cornwall and dates from around the same time as the Brooke. It puts across the bravery and nobleness of the young men who fell “with their faces to the foe” and it includes the famous stanza “We shall grow not old as they that are left grow old”. Hubert Parry was too old to fight, but he never came to terms with losing so many of his pupils from his time as head of the Royal College of Music. His anthem “My soul, there is a country far beyond the stars” is perhaps a more philosophi- 10 cal attempt to come to terms with the war between his beloved homeland and the country of his musical idols. Contemporary composer Francis Pott has no connection with Truro but was so moved by the death of former Truro Cathedral Chorister, Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, killed whilst defusing a bomb in Afghanistan in 2009, that he set a World War I poem called “Lament” by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson. This hauntingly beautiful piece has a special resonance here and is also included in the programme. The second half will feature a complete performance of the dazzling Missa Brevis by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, composed during World War II. The ecstasy in the music comes partly from the exceptionally high writing for all voices, not least the boy trebles who have to ascend to a top C twice. Tickets for the summer concert (21st June) are available for TCM members from Lindy Skitch at the reduced price of £10 (students £5, under-18s free) with reserved priority seating. Please concert her on 01872 245010 or lindy@trurocathedral.org.uk or here at the Cathedral Office (14 St Mary’s St, Truro, TR1 2AF) to book. Otherwise Tickets are available from Hall For Cornwall Box Office, 01872 262466, www.hallforcornwall.co.uk, or on the door A post-concert supper will be served by the Cathedral Restaurant after the Concert (see menu below) End of year service We finish our academic year on Sunday 13th July. Please do join us for Evensong at 4.00pm when our leaving boys and Choral Scholars will receive their formal valediction. Festival on Nine Lessons and Carols I have the very exciting news that our ‘Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols’ on 23rd December this year is going to be recorded live (visual and audio) for release as a DVD. You might like to join us to be part of this very special project which will capture and preserve one of our most beautiful traditions. Alternatively, if you would rather not have the (inevitable but hopefully small) intrusion of cameras and microphones, you may wish to plan to come to the same service on 24 th December instead this year. Latest Recording for our new CD The Cathedral Choir has just recorded its latest CD. The music charts a journey through World War I and includes all six of Parry’s Songs of Farewell (1915-18), Alan Gray’s mini song cycle 1914 (1915), the Short Requiem by Walford Davies (1915), Stanford’s anthem For lo, I raise up (1914) and Vaughan Williams’ masterpiece Lord, thou has been our refuge (1921). The sessions were wonderful, and there is something magical about the connection the Choir has with this music. I hope it will come over on the recorded sound – if anyone can capture it, it’s Regent Records! The CD is scheduled for release in October/November. JOIN TRURO CATHEDRAL MUSIC TODAY LUTHERAN VESPERS The second special event in June is a reconstruction of Lutheran Vespers from Bach’s time at St Thomas’s Church in Leipzig. This takes place on Sunday 29 th June at 5.00pm (note start time). As it is a service, there is no charge for admission (though, as ever, contributions to the collection will help to offset the considerable costs involved). The music will include two cantatas by Bach, BWV117 and BWV192. The second of these is based on the hymn tune “Nun danket alle Gott” (“Now thank we all our God”) which we still use today. The Vespers reconstruction will be a loose one, partly because there is surprisingly little known about the exact format of this service, for which Bach composed so many cantatas, and partly because we have chosen to make various decisions that suit our own needs (there is no historical justification, for instance, in having two different cantatas in the same service, as we are doing). We will sing the cantatas in their original German language, but most of the rest of the service will be in English, with the congregation joining in where possible. The Magnificat will be chanted by the choir, the Creed will be sung, various organ chorale preludes by Bach will be played in their proper contexts, and we will sing the anthem “Jauchzet dem Herren” by Schütz. The Cathedral Choir will be joined by an orchestra which will include some of Cornwall’s top instrumentalists. All clergy, congregation and musicians will be in the Nave, where the acoustic is best for this kind of music. PICK UP A LEAFLET IN THE CATHEDRAL TODAY Please don’t miss what I hope will be a powerful act of worship and a fascinating piece of historical reenactment. 11 Christopher Gray, Director of Muisc, looks forward to some music commemorations The Dean of Truro, The Very Rev’d Roger Bush, outlines Truro Cathedral’s commemoration of World War One. August 4th this year sees the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. Those who went to war in that hot summer had no idea, of course, just what a cataclysmic event it would turn out to be. Over the next four years there will be many commemorative events marking significant dates and battles, but this November, Truro Cathedral will be holding a series of talks, displays and concerts that focus on many aspects of the War and its significance: this series will include involving schools in telling the story of the War from local standpoints, the showing of films which have a First World War theme, the recitation of War poetry, and lectures by people with distinguished careers in theology, history and public affairs. We hope to show that the War had many faces, and that engagement with the War is something that still resonates with many people today. I hope you will find something of interest in what follows. The War did leave lasting consequences, and we hope that what the Cathedral is offering will explore something of the horror, the courage and the determination of people not to be overcome by despair that the War consistently evokes in our imagination. More information in next Newsletter. 12 The Cathedral will soon be unveiling major plans for a festival to commemorate and reflect on the outbreak of World War One, 100 hundred years ago. We are calling the week-long commemoration ‘Cornwall Remembers’ and it will run from Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th November and will include two performances of Benjamin Britten’s devastating War Requiem (at 7.30pm on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th). The forces for the War Requiem are vast, and we will bring together an orchestra of more than 80 players, as well as Three Spires Singers, Truro Cathedral Choir and three internationally-renowned soloists, including Mark Padmore. In the piece Britten sets poems by Wilfred Owen which are interspersed with words from the Requiem mass. Tickets are available from the Hall for Cornwall (01872 262466) or www.hallforcornwall.org.uk The rest of the week will include daily Evensongs which will reflect on aspects of the War and a lecturerecital on Ivor Gurney and his music. Do keep a look out for more information in the coming months. Highlights from the programme include: LECTURES A stellar line up with a range of speakers including a politician, a historian and a couple of theologians. Heading the list is Michael Portillo former Defence Secretary and now media star. Dr Catriona Pennell is a historian based at Exeter University who is interested in the social and cultural impact of war, especially how it impinges on experience and memory. Professor John Wolfe is the Open University’s Professor of Religious History. His lecture will look at the interface between ‘religion’ and ‘security’ alongside new research on ideas of martyrdom and sacrificial death. Dr Paul S. Fiddes has the title of Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford, FILMS We are going to show three films in the cathedral: All Quiet on the Western Front (P.G.) Gallipoli Film (P.G.) Regeneration Film (cert 15) EXHIBITIONS During 1-15 August Phil Whiting’s ‘Opening the Gates of Hell’ (see page 11) will explore where the idea of Total War took us in the 20th C and is followed in November by Roy Ray’s ‘No Man’s Land’. OTHER MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS These include Bach’s B Minor mass performed by the St Endellion Festival Orchestra and Chorus on the actual 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, 4th August. The Royal British Legion are commemorating the anniversary on the 6th September with a concert called ‘Honour over Glory’ featuring HMS Drake Royal Naval Volunteer Band, Caroline Childe (soprano), Cameron Rolls (tenor) and the Three Belles. A lecture / recital featuring the work of Ivor Guerney takes place on 5th November. Cornwall’s Schools Remember: Personal stories and reflections on WW1 Kirsten Gordon, Education Officer, looks forward to an exciting collaboration From the end of July until November this year there will be an exhibition of Secondary School students’ work on display in the Cathedral. This work has been produced by students from a number of Cornish Secondary Schools, and is the result of their investigations into their own family and local area history. Schools were approached in the Summer of 2013 and invited to take part in the Cathedral’s 2014 WW1 commemorative activities. The aim right from the beginning was to try to uncover some of the personal stories of those who fought in the First World War. We hoped that asking students to research these stories would encourage them to reflect on the real human cost of war, as it can sometimes all too easily be thought of in terms of numbers and statistics, rather than the individual lives interrupted and lost. Above all, we do not want the experience and stories that are uncovered to be forgotten once this particular exhibition is over. So, students are being given the opportunity to record their observations as video clips, which can be added to a collection of films on a ‘Cornwall Remembers’ website. The collection will include a series of short films showing students relating their discoveries and reactions, even following some students as they attempt to find the final resting places of relatives lost in the Great War. Some of these films will be available to view in the Cathedral alongside the main exhibition. Students from the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus have also been following the stories of soldiers - some named on the Cathedral’s Roll of Honour – and their research will be incorporated into this project as an exhibition piece, a short film for our collection, and an online exhibition. We hope that encouraging Cornwall’s young people to share their reflections in this way further highlights the importance of continuing to commemorate and remember those who fought and fell, and who are no longer here to speak with their own voices. 13 Life and times of an Ordinand! Catching up with Kirsten Norfolk, former Worship Administrator and now trainee Ordinand I look out at the sea of expectant faces. My hands are shaking, and my cassock-alb suddenly feels very tight; I take a deep breath…it is actually happening, I am stood in a pulpit about to deliver my first ever sermon! There have been many moments like this at Theological College; moments that have challenged me, forcing me to push myself further and further outside my comfort zone. As we approach Pentecost, I reflect on the power of the Holy Spirit, how I have been given the strength and courage to do things that a couple of years I never thought possible; that every day I am being ‘sent out’ to experience something new. This is what makes Theological College so exciting; every week is different. One Friday I remember being in chapel for 7.00am, preparing to participate in a 7.30am Solemn Eucharist; by 6.00pm that same evening, I was in the centre of Oxford feeding the homeless. Last week I Kirsten Norfolk enjoying the Oxfordshire countryside was in my wellies stood in the middle of a field talking to farmers as part of a rural ministry course; next month I will be spending four weeks in Camberwell South East London, experiencing inner city ministry, which will include taking a group of teenagers to a theme park (prayers please!) There is never a dull moment! “Holy Hogwarts” otherwise known as Ripon College Cuddesdon, is a wonderful community, situated on top of a hill in the picturesque village of Cuddesdon in Oxfordshire. The College has a beautiful new chapel, which we worship in every morning and each evening we head down to the Parish Church for Evening Prayer. In many ways, it feels like I have stepped back in time; communal living, tea and cake at 4.00pm and every time I hear a bell ringing, I know I should be eating or praying! However, despite its traditional appearance, the College is a vibrant and growing 14 The new Chapel at Ripon College Cuddesdon community, with a mix of worship styles from BCP Evensong to a worship band led Creative Eucharist. My first year at Cuddesdon has been a roller coaster of emotions and experiences and I know there is plenty more to come! As we celebrate Pentecost, it is a time to reflect on how the Holy Spirit has moved and is moving in our lives and how as Disciples, we respond to being ‘sent out’ to proclaim the Gospel afresh. Truro Cathedral Fundraising Calendar 2015 NOW ON SALE Visit the Cathedral Shop for all your gifts and presents. Great range of Wedding and Christening cards and presents. Latest addition to our sales line are these poppy inspired cups, mugs, teapots and jewellery. Sunday 13 July Sunday 17 August Sunday 14 September 15 Helping the really poor for £75 There is a box in St. Mary’s Aisle marked “Stamps”, which was made by Mr Richard Hichens when Polwhele House School collected them for Albania. Now sometimes stamps are found inside or may have been left at the Cathedral Office on weekdays. What happens to them? For twelve years stamps raised funds for Friends of Albania. They included one abandoned collection, which funded the renovation of a mountain village health clinic. FoA closed in 2011. Now the stamp proceeds and associated donations go to Albania Community Assist, a charity registered in Tirana under the umbrella of International Community Assist in Wiltshire. Our contribution is earmarked for a specific project. This provides locally made treadle sewing machines to women living at a level probably incomprehensible to most British people. Albania has a very skeleton ‘benefit’ system and limited ‘free’ health care for which bribes are often demanded. If destitute widows, victims of crime or abandoned wives need to feed their family there are no Food Banks. They try the town refuse tip or dustbins. I have personally witnessed this activity. £300 from the 2013 proceeds of stamps, worldwide plus some small donations were sent to the ACA office. Four women have now received their machines and training so they can earn a livelihood. Bukurije lives Lezha, in a town north of Tirana known for the burial site of Albania’s National Hero, Skanderbeg who resisted the Ottoman invasion 400 years ago. Her parents both died in 2012, her husband in 2013, leaving her with an eight- 16 month old baby girl and no income. She was distraught. ACA have now provided her with one of our machines and a place on a free local training course. . She can become either a factory out-worker or make saleable articles. Valentina and Dashuri live in a rural area in the district of Librazhd (Librash). They are under police protection owing to aggressive exhusbands. They have young children and can only work as part-time cleaners for often as little as 50p an hour. ACA has helped them overcome depression and assisted with debt reduction. Now they each have a sewing machine and are receiving instruction. Aferdita is a Roma woman living in Kuçova (Koochova) an industrial town in Central Albania. Her husband is disabled and confined to a wheelchair. She has several children and her old mother-in-law lives in. Until she met ACA she was a street beggar or scavenged drink cans on rubbish dumps (worth 1p each) to buy food. She was among the best students on an ACA training course and now has her own machine, which she uses to make clothes for selling on a street stall. These ladies and others we hope to help in future are not exceptional in Albania but represent a large section of the population whose lives are very different from some of the British ‘faux’ poor, equipped with mobile phones, televisions, alcohol, tobacco and indoor sanitation. Stamps (with some exclusions) and donations continue to be welcome. Despite my poor health the project will continue. After all we have the wonderful NHS. Contact details: Primrose Peacock pearose@mypostoffice.co.uk 01872 276362 Gary Wyatt from Koha Arcitects takes a closer look at the plans for the restoration of the Old Cathedral School. The Old Cathedral School is being restored and refurbished to provide new creative arts facilities for cathedral and community use. The design has been granted full planning and listed building consent and ecclesiastical approvals. Trial repairs to the external fabric including leaded-light windows and stonework are due to start on site very soon. The next stage will be completing the working drawings, making a Building Regulations application and then tendering the main contract. Work is due to begin this summer. A Glass screen in the south-west archway to provide a light, welcoming entry area with an improved connection to the Cathedral Green. Work will be completed to restore he original School Hall to become a Concert Hall / multipurpose space. A double height space in the entry area overlooked by a glazed bay window in the library. Conference and Business suites at ground floor level. An Internet library at first floor and a series of music practice spaces/ art studios available for the public. The refurbishment of the second floor (originally the Laboratory) for music / art with a glazed roof light over (as per the original Pearson Design). 17 Untrashed Cornwall – the rubbish super group! Trashed film to be shown in Cathedral on 6th June A local group has recently been formed to try to address the growing problem of waste in Cornwall. Motivated to take action after having viewed the documentary Trashed, narrated and directed by award winning actor, Jeremy Irons, a group of concerned individuals met together to take action against the rising tide of unrecyclable and potentially toxic waste. The group, Untrashed Cornwall, was so moved by the documentary which highlights the issues associated with toxins leaching out from rubbish dumps, carcinogens in the emissions from incinerators and the soupy mush of plastics found in deep oceans that they decided to try to address the problem in Cornwall. Early action has seen members experiment in trying to shop for groceries with minimum packaging and preparing two meals per week consisting solely of local produce. The aim is to involve local retailers in Untrashed Cornwall, in particular local supermarkets, and discuss the issues associated with plastic packaging to see how pressure can be put on manufacturers to stop using non-recyclable products. Other planned activities include a litter pick and talks to further understand the various types of plastics and how to avoid the most damaging ones. 18 The group has plans for more showings of Trashed which takes the viewer on a journey around the world, from a beach in Lebanon through the waters of the Ciliwung River in Indonesia, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and an incinerator in Iceland – all of which have contributed to health problems of the local, and not so local population. Each year, we now throw away fifty-eight billion disposable cups, billions of plastic bags, 200 billion litres of water bottles, billions of tons of household waste, toxic waste and e-waste – this is not a problem that we can continue to ignore or hope someone else will sort out. It is affecting our health, that of our children and the plants and animals we rely on for food. Trashed will be showing at the Cathedral on 6th June at 7pm and at the Falmouth Poly on 19th June. Tickets are priced at £2.00 for the Cathedral and £4.00 at the Poly, with a £1 donation to the Poly refurbishment fund. Previous showings have been a sell-out, so early purchase of tickets is essential – from the Cathedral Office, 14 St Mary’s Street or email Lindsay@headweb.co.uk for further information. ‘We hope the film will demonstrate that by changing the way we live our lives, we can contribute to our own survival and well-being and ultimately that of the planet.’ Jeremy Irons There is a Caption Competition on the Untrashed Cornwall Facebook page, The best caption posted, under the photo wins £25 cash to spend on a plastic free shopping trip with an Untrashed Cornwall Steering Group Member, closing date June 5th, winner announced at Cathedral Film night June 6th. Carolyn Hendra reports on a recent meeting she and Charles Butchart attended on behalf of the cathedral. Back in March, the Chapter of Truro Cathedral received an invitation from to be part of what was described as an exciting national movement to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their carers - the aim being to work towards making Truro a Dementia Friendly City. Charles Butchart and I, as members of the Cathedral pastoral care team, were asked if we would represent the Cathedral at the launch event. We were delighted to accept this invitation as we realise only too clearly the problems that arise when dementia begins to change lives for individuals and their families. Dementia is one of the biggest problems we have in our lives today – there are now more people living with dementia than with cancer. Dementia leads to isolation and loneliness. We all forget things – the obvious one of going upstairs to get something and then having no idea why we came up there. Forgetting someone’s name or where we put the car-key. I know that if I don’t put something down in my diary, I will never remember it. If I forget where I put my diary – well, you get the picture! Dementia is slightly more than being forgetful. Loss of memory becomes more of a problem when there is no-one around to remind us or tell us what day it is and where we are supposed to be or what we are supposed to be doing. Dementia – a scary word. But it wouldn’t be if we understood more about it. It is the Alzheimer’s Society Initiative to encourage us all to learn more about it and to become a Dementia Friend. We watched a very moving video showing Dr Jennifer Bute, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, explain how she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago and has devoted her time since then, to altering how people view dementia. She passionately believes that more can be done to improve the future for people living with dementia. Did you know that singing is good for the brain? Well Charles and I joined in singing action songs showing only too clearly that our co-ordination was not that brilliant, though we remembered the words of the nursery rhymes exceedingly well. Mary Jones is the leader for Truro Alzheimer’s ‘Singing for the Brain’, holding sessions in Truro for those who live with dementia, along with their carers. She proved to us that such sessions bring about a lot of laughter and enable those who take part to reminisce and lose their inhibitions. The keynote speaker was Ian Sherriff, the academic lead for dementia at Plymouth University and the chair of the Prime Minister’s Rural Dementia Friendly Group. He blinded us with facts and figures. Charles and I came away realising that people living with dementia have so much to offer – we should not be afraid to talk to them and include them in every way we can. They need our support and friendship to keep them from giving up those things that we take for-granted. We reported back to the pastoral care group and shared what we had heard. The Chapter are now considering how we as a Cathedral community can move this forward. Perhaps we can all start by raising our own awareness, befriending and supporting those whom we know, are struggling a little with their memory! More information about Truro Dementia Action Alliance can be found at:: www.dementiaaction.org.uk Email: dementiaaa@truro.gov.uk City Hall Foyer The Alzheimer's Society have a very informative website (www.alzheimers.org.uk) with lots of information and articles The local Cornwall office can be contacted by phone on 01872 277963 or by email : cornwall@alzheimers.org.uk 19 www.friendsoftrurocathedral.org.uk REGULAR EVENTS COFFEE MORNINGS – Held on the second Wednesday of the month in the Pearson Room (entrance opposite the gates to the Cathedral Car Park) from 10 -12. We serve tea and coffee with tasty biscuits, there is a Bring and Buy Stall, a Bookstall and a Raffle. A great opportunity to meet up with old friends or make new ones. Pop in and see for yourselves. Coming dates Wednesday 11th June Wednesday 9th July Wednesday 13 August EVENTS 2014 ANNUAL BOAT TRIP TUESDAY 1ST JULY This popular event is happening again, leaving Truro boat quay at 6.30pm, with hot pasties to keep us going as we head down-river. There is a bar on board, and time at St Mawes for further refreshments, hot or cold, before we had back to Truro to arrive at about 10pm. If you haven’t tried this trip before, this is the year! Everyone has a great time, even if the weather is its usual risky self – bring a scarf and something waterproof, and look forward to the magical view of the floodlit cathedral, as we glide back up the estuary. Price £15. SUMMER TEAS – SATURDAY 14 JUNE and SATURDAY 13 SEPTEMBER Roberta and Mark Evans have kindly invited us to tea on two afternoons this summer, from 35pm, at £5 per head. Come either day (or both), and enjoy relaxing in their beautiful garden, with its stunning view over the city. There will probably be lots of people there that you know, 20 and if not, you will make new friends. Thank you Roberta and Mark, and we are full of hope that the sun will shine! TRIP TO THE MINACK THEATRE – TUESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER We are off to the matinee performance of Charles Dickens’ GREAT EXPECTATIONS, performed by Theatre in the Square. We will travel by car, leaving the Cathedral car park at 11.00am, to give you time for a picnic or lunch in the Minack cafe, before the performance at 2pm. As always, we shall be very grateful for offers of spaces in your car; and if you need transport, we will hope to find a space for you. Price £12. VERY IMPORTANT – YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A FRIEND TO COME TO THESE EVENTS. WE HOPE THAT YOU MIGHT WISH TO JOIN US AS A RESULT OF ENJOYING YOURSELF SO MUCH! HOW TO CONTACT US THE FRIENDS’ OFFICE TELEPHONE NUMBER IS 01872 274986 There is a 24 hour answering machine THE FRIENDS’ OFFICE IS AT 21 OLD BRIDGE STREET (opposite the entrance to the Cathedral Car Park) The Office is open on Wednesday (10am to 12 noon) For all enquiries please either call at the Office ENQUIRIES on Wednesday between 10am and 12 noon or telephone 01872 274986 TICKETS MAY BE PURCHASED BY:1. Calling at the Friends Office (see details above) 2. By telephoning the Friends’ Office and leaving your contact number. 3. By completing a Ticket Request Form available on the Friends’ Board in the North Transept. 4. By email – info@friendsoftrurocathedral.org.uk Cathedral & St Mary’s Mothers’ Union Pam Macleod, Branch Leader looks forward to a busy summer We are about to hold our first evening meeting and are hoping that we can attract some of the younger mums who form part of the wider Cathedral community. We’re meeting in Vertigo Café Bar which is a bit different from our usual meeting venue in the Pearson Room and should be an attraction in itself, being lively and unconventional. Will we get 3 new people, or 30? We’ll let you know. STOP PRESS: It was a great meeting. 18 people altogether of which 5 were new to Mothers’ Union. There was a very friendly relaxed atmosphere, everyone talking to each other, making new friends and finding out what we’re about. The overall response was that we need to have evening meetings more often – perhaps twice a year – and that we should put as much effort as possible into attracting new people to come along. Everyone spoke highly of the venue and the welcome we received from the staff; the tasty nibbles went very well with glasses of wine or soft drinks and the room we used was cheerful and comfortable. We would certainly go there again. The weather is finally getting a bit warmer and less windy and accordingly, our next meeting is our annual outing on Thursday June19th when we’re going down to Glendurgan, close to the Helford. Nearly midsummer by then so it should be a lovely day, or is that tempting fate? After visiting the gardens we are going back to Mawnan Smith to have tea with their Mothers’ Union branch which is led by Mary Cockeram, our Archdeaconry Representative. They came and had a tour of the Cathedral and then tea with us, 2 years ago, so we are returning the compliment and it should be fun. In July we have another Quiet Afternoon up at Epiphany House, this year led by Canon Lynda Barley. We’ve done this for several years now and are usually able to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of both House and garden. Following a reflective couple of hours we have a Communion Service in the Chapel – a lovely experience – then finish off with a cup of tea together. These Quiet Afternoons give us a bit of breathing space in the midst of busy schedules, a peaceful interlude in which to gather our thoughts and focus our minds on what is really important. They are immensely valuable. August is Family Fun Day in the Cathedral, of which more in the next newsletter. We are already gearing up for it. If you haven’t experienced this in previous years you have missed a treat. Come along on August 21st and find out what it is all about. We welcome newcomers at any of our meetings so do please contact us if you’re interested in joining us. We would be delighted to hear from you. Finally, with sadness, we record the recent deaths of three of our members, Margaret Hodgson, Deirdre Dare and Jean Wright. We thank them for the warmth of their friendship, their smiling faces and their clear Christian faith. We miss you all. NEXT MEETING: Thursday 19th June at 2pm Visit to Glendurgan Gardens and Tea with Mawnan Smith MU Contact Pam MacLeod, Branch Leader (01872 272335) for details All welcome 21 Other June Concerts Verdi’s Requiem Femmes Vocales Vienna Concert Conducted by Veronika Schmid performed by Truro Choral Society Saturday 7th June at 7.30pm Originally conceived by Verdi to be a collaborative work with other Italian composers after Rossini’s death in 1868, the Requiem was finally composed by Verdi alone following the death of the Italian writer and humanist Alessandro Manzoni. With the choir now numbering almost 170, the audience will be effortlessly taken through the terrifying Dies Irae and joyful Sanctus in a wonderful celebration of Verdi’s great work. Soloists include Claire Seaton (soprano), Susanna Spicer (mezzo-soprano), Mark Chaundy (tenor) and Adam Marsden (bass). Tickets from the Hall For Cornwall Box Office: 01872 262466 or www.hallforcornwall.co.uk Handel’s Messiah (as orchestrated by Mozart) performed by St Mary’s Singers and Orchestra Monday 30th June 2014 - 1pm ‘Femmes Vocales Vienna’ hails from Vienna University which has a thriving music department with many performing groups. This includes two orchestras and eight choirs, consisting of 700 singers made up of both students and alumni. The University has over 7,000 senior students, mainly women, who see retirement as an opportunity to widen their interests and knowledge. As a result there are a large number of singers making up the two senior women’s choruses who have joined together for a concert tour of Cornwall this June. In addition to Austria’s strong tradition of mixed choir and men’s choir repertoire, many famous composers wrote music for women’s voices which is rarely sung today. The University’s women’s choirs were thus formed in 1996 to focus on this much forgotten music. Saturday 14th June at 7.30pm In the 50 years that separated the first performance of Handel's Messiah and Mozart's transcription of it, an enormous change had occurred both in musical style and the use of different instruments. Mozart retained Handel's gorgeous melodies, but added parts for clarinets, horns, flutes, oboes, trombones and bassoons. He cut two arias and one chorus and re-assigned soloists to different parts, also changed the tempi and harmonic structure of certain arias. The resulting oratorio is 30 minutes shorter than the original and excitingly different. Come and hear it and see what you think of it. Tickets from the Hall For Cornwall Box Office: 01872 262466 or www.hallforcornwall.co.uk Handel’s Israel in Egypt performed by the Three Spires Singers and Orchestra th Saturday 5 July at 7.30pm Christopher Gray, Three Spires Director of Music, writes, “Handel’s Israel in Egypt is perhaps most famous for its vari- ous plagues – including flies, locusts, and frogs – all perfect excuses for some wonderful choral and orchestral special effects. As well as wanting to share the sheer rumbustious invention in Handel’s amazing musical response to the colourful text, one of the reasons I’ve chosen this particular work is that there is a great deal of virtuosic writing to challenge and delight the choir, who will be joined by a team of soloists, all specialists in this kind of music.” Tickets from the Hall For Cornwall Box Office: 01872 262466 or www.hallforcornwall.co.uk 22 The choir’s repertoire is chosen to suit the more mature voice with its warm and rich sound. This is especially true in the alto sections, producing an effect which is difficult to obtain with younger voices. The choir sings a cappella repertoire in three or four parts, ranging from Renaissance to Modern times in addition to symphonic repertoire. There is also a strong emphasis on the performance of traditional Austrian folk music and operettas. The choir will perform a selection of music including sacred works by Saint-Saens, Delibes and Mendelssohn and traditional Austrian folksongs and music from the Viennese Operettas. Thirty-five Cornish Quilting Groups and individuals are busy stitching away hoping to complete their designs for an exhibition starting on 30 June. The exhibition which is called ‘Saints of Cornish Churches’ will run for two weeks in the cathedral from 30 June to 14 July. The original idea sprang from an avid quilter, Mary Miller, who had a number of meetings with cathedral staff to help identify a suitable theme for the exhibition. Eventually the theme of Cornish Saints emerged and the work could begin. Together with A sample of what will be on show at the quilting friends Quilters exhibition in July Helen Edmond, Jo Morgan and Di Wells news was spread among the quilting community in Cornwall and an overwhelmingly positive response meant that the project could go ahead. Information about the size and display of the quilts and its theme were disseminated and quilters from all over the county started visiting local churches seeking inspiration and ideas for their chosen designs. Mary Miller said, “The design has been probably one of the biggest headaches for the makers. Research into their chosen Saint sometimes uncovered a myriad of information, imagery and ideas. For others, there was such a dearth of information – so that it was difficult to know where to begin!” Cornish Saints from across the county will be represented in the exhibition and the finishing stitches are now being applied to more than thirty colourful quilts that will adorn the cathedral later this summer. Exhibition is free but with the opportunity to donate. Open Monday—Saturday 10-5pm and 12-4pm on Sundays The Benedictine Way A study week in September at Durham Cathedral and St Chad’s College, Durham with transport direct by train from Truro. Enjoy an autumn, spiritually refreshing break in a beautiful, ancient university and cathedral city. A small group from Truro Cathedral will be going to enjoy the Durham Benedictine tradition of morning and evening prayer with time in-between for cathedral tours and exploring the city. Full board available at St Chad's College opposite the Cathedral. Further details were published in the February/March Cathedral News. This is a final reminder that places are still available but booking is advised before the summer! Booking forms and further information are available in the Cathedral or from the Cathedral office. 23 Piano Concert This year Cornwall’s Miracle celebrates 35 years of producing inventive and enjoyable theatre with a new production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, touring this summer. In true Miracle style, Shakespeare’s text has been respectfully shaken and stirred. Audiences can expect the unexpected when they take a trip across unchartered waters and find themselves washed up on an enchanted island. Here they will discover a magical world filled with sweet air beating with young love, ringing with old jealousies and the cries of enemies - all stirred up by a grumpy conjurer… “Shakespeare wrote plays to entertain people and to be enjoyed by a wide cross-section of the population,” says director Bill Scott. “We share those aims completely! The Tempest was his last play: concise, rich in poetry and packed with comedy every bit as funny as Father Ted or Faulty Towers.” Talented collaborators from Miracle’s past and present are reuniting to guarantee this show will be a musical and visual treat. Jim Carey has produced an original live music score for the show and designers Alan and Jude Munden will create a magical world that can fit inside a Transit van. A streamlined cast of six actors will be playing all the characters - irrespective of gender or species! Two new performers, Simon Norbury and Lisa Howard, join miracle regulars Ben Dyson, Cat Lake and Ciaran Clarke, with the part of Miranda being played by Hannah Stephens, who starts work with the company the day after her degree course finishes. Miracle’s outdoor productions have become a ‘must do’ summer activity with family and friends gathering their chairs, blankets and picnics and heading off to enjoy Miracle’s relaxed open air shows staged within stunning locations. “The joy of open-air performance is that every night is different and it really is an etiquette-free zone: you can sit where you want, eat what you want, wear whatever you like” says Bill “Plus, each setting is transformed as night falls; the actors can never be sure what to expect and must be ready to respond to a dramatic moonrise, a sudden shower or a wild animal trying to get in on the act. For players and audience this is a genuinely unique and shared experience.” Wednesday 30 July at 7.30pm on the Cathedral Green TICKETS: From Hall for Cornwall, 01872 262466 or www.hallforcornwall.co.uk 24 We are pleased to announce that the Latvian virtuoso pianist Reinis Zarins will give the next recital on our new Yamaha concert grand on Saturday July 26th 2014. Mr Zarins is a national celebrity in Latvia where he performs frequently in solo and concerto recitals, always broadcast on television or radio. He has twice won the country’s prestigious Musician of the Year Award (2011 and 2013). His studies began at the age of seven in Latvia, and were completed in Yale University Music School and the Royal Academy of Music. Mr Zarins is well known in Europe and the East Coast of the United States, performing often in The Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall and The Weill Recital Hall in New York’s Carnegie complex. His firm belief in music as a means of communication has led to projects with artists and choreographers. He has championed contemporary Latvian composers. In this recital, however, Mr Zarins focuses on the classicalromantic repertoire for what promises to be a profoundly memorable evening. Bach’s electrifying Chaconne for solo violin, in Busoni’s majestic transcription for piano, sits alongside a handful of intimate miniatures which Brahms composed in the last years of his life. In the second part of the evening, Franz Liszt’s flamboyant arrangement of well-known Schubert songs such as Der Wanderer, Die Forelle (The Trout) and Gretchen am Spinnrade will lead into Liszt’s own legendary Sonata in b minor, described as “arguably one of the greatest piano works of the 19th century”. www.reiniszarins.com 25 JUNE JULY Sunday 1 4pm The Mayor of Truro’s Civic Service Weds 2 Tuesday 3 5.30pm Solemn First Evensong of Petroc of Cornwall Weds 4 5.30pm Solemn Eucharist of Petroc of Cornwall Thurs 3 5.30pm Friday 4 1.10pm Solemn Eucharist of Thomas the Apostle Cameron Luke (Cheltenham) free lunchtime organ recital Friday 6 Friday 6 1.10pm 7pm Sat 5 12-2pm Messy Table Fun for families and children Free Sat 5 7.30pm Saturday 7 Noon- Rachel Mahon (Truro Cathedral) free lunchtime organ recital Showing of the award winning environmental film ‘Trashed’ narrated by Jeremy Irons. Tickets £2 can be bought in advance from the Cathedral Office or on the door. Messy Table Fun for families and children Until 2pm Handel’s Israel in Egypt performed by Three Spires Singers and Orchestra. Written a few years before Messiah this sumptuous oratorio highlights Handel’s vivacious musical palette. Tickets from Hall For Cornwall, 01872 262466, Saturday 7 Saturday 7 5.30pm 7.30pm First Evening Prayer of Pentecost Verdi’s Requiem performed by Truro Choral Society Composed 140 years ago in memory Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist who Verdi greatly admired. Tickets £15 from Hall For Cornwall, 01872 262466, www.hallforcornwall.co.uk Weds 9 10am Friends' Coffee Morning in the Pearson Room (10-12 Noon) All welcome Fri 11 1.10pm Mark Swinton (St Mary’s, Warwick) lunchtime organ recital Sat 12 All day Truro Carnival Sunday 13 From noon Sunday Carvery Lunch in the Cathedral Restaurant. Enjoy a one course (£8.50) or two course (£10.50) delicious meal. Must pre-book by calling 01872 245011 Sun 13 4pm Evensong with Valediction of Choristers and Scholars Sunday 13 8pm Open to Question- An informal opportunity to reflect on issues of Faith with Rev Canon Dr Stephen Dawes in the Pearson Room. Sunday 8 10am Solemn Eucharist for the Feast of Pentecost Sunday 8 4pm Solemn Evensong for the Feast of Pentecost Sunday 8 8pm Open to Question- An informal opportunity to reflect on issues of Faith with Rev Canon Dr Stephen Dawes in the Pearson Room. Tuesday 10 5.30pm Solemn First Evensong of Barnabas the Apostle Weds 11 10am Weds 11 Friday 13 5.30pm 1.10pm Friends' Coffee Morning in the Pearson Room (10-12 Noon) All welcome Solemn Eucharist of Barnabas the Apostle Robin Jackson and Maureen McAllister (International Organ duo) free lunchtime organ recital Saturday 14 7.30pm 5.30pm Tuesday 10-5pm 15 Solemn First Evensong of Thomas the Apostle Cornwall’s Schools Remember: Personal stories and reflections on the First World War A major exhibition seeing the centenary through the eyes of pupils from schools in Cornwall. Free, 10 – 5pm daily (Sunday 12-4pm) Until 21 November Handel's Messiah as orchestrated by Mozart performed by St Mary's Singers and Orchestra. Rarely heard performance of Mozart's transcription of Handel's Messiah. Tickets from Hall For Cornwall, www.hallforcornwall.co.uk 01872 262466. Thurs17 2pm Mothers’ Union Quiet Day at Epiphany House Solemn Eucharist for Trinity Sunday Summer Fun at Truro Cathedral Click here for details Sunday 15 10am Fri 18 1.10pm Carl Jackson (Hampstead Palace) lunchtime organ recital Sunday 15 Sunday 15 Sat 19 11-2pm Messy Table Fun for families and children Free Sat 19 1pm Four Tunes Saxophone Quartet informal concert, free with collection Sun 20 11.30am Fairtrade Table after Morning Eucharist in North Transept Sunday 15 11.30am Fairtrade Table after Morning Eucharist in North Transept Noon Father’s Day Carvery in the Cathedral Restaurant Enjoy a one course (£8.50) or two course (£10.50) delicious meal to celebrate Father’s Day. Must pre-book by calling 01872 245011 catering@trurocathedral.org.uk 4pm Solemn Evensong for Trinity Sunday Weds 18 5.30pm Solemn First Evensong of Corpus Christi Sun 20 Noon Thursday 19 1pm Bristol University Madrigal Ensemble informal concert, Sing and Discover Choir informal lunchtime Concert, free with collection Thurs 19 2pm Mothers’ Union outing to Glendurgan Gardens Mon 21 5.30pm Solemn First Evensong of Mary Magdalene Solemn Eucharist of Corpus Christi Sarah Svendsen (Yale, New Haven, USA) free lunchtime organ recital Messy Table Fun for families and children until 1.30pm Tues 22 5.30pm Solemn Eucharist of Mary Magdalene Thurs 24 5.30pm First Evening Prayer of James the Apostle Friday 25 1.10pm Jeffrey Makinson (Manchester Cathedral) free lunchtime organ recital Fri 25 5.30pm Solemn Eucharist of James the Apostle Sat 26 1pm Cornwall Community Choir informal concert, free with collection Sat 26 7.30pm Reinis Zariņš Piano Concert Latvian Musician of the Year Award in 2011 and 2013, Tickets Hall For Cornwall, www.hallforcornwall.co.uk or 01872 262466 See website for details www.reiniszarins.com Sun 27 4pm Solemn First Evensong of Samson, Bishop, Missionary Thurs19 Friday 20 Saturday 21 Saturday 21 5.30pm 1.10pm 11am – Sunday 22 10am For the Fallen: A concert performed by Truro Cathedral Choir Tickets from the Hall For Cornwall Box Office: 01872 262466 or www.hallforcornwall.co.uk A post-concert supper will be served in the Cathedral Restaurant see menu for details Sunday Eucharist and Farewell to the Canon Missioner Monday 23 5.30pm Solemn First Evensong of the Birth of John the Baptist Tuesday 24 5.30pm Solemn Eucharist of the Birth of John the Baptist Friday 27 1.10pm Roger Judd (Hereford) free lunchtime organ recital Friday 27 7.30pm Ordination of Deacons Saturday 28 Saturday 28 10.30am Ordination of Priests 2pm Order of St John Service Saturday 28 Saturday 28 5pm 5.30pm Full peal attempt First Evening Prayer of Peter and Paul, Apostles Sunday 29 10am Solemn Eucharist of Peter and Paul, Apostles Sunday 29 5pm Monday 30 Monday 30 5pm Lutheran Vespers with Truro Cathedral Choir and orchestra A loose reconstruction of the service of Vespers from Bach’s time at St Thomas’s Church, Leipzig. Music to include Cantata 117 and Cantata 192 10-5pm Saints of Cornish Churches: An exhibition organised by Cornwall’s Quilters. 35 original designs inspired by the stories of Cornish Saints and the Parish Churches of Cornwall. Free with collection. For more information contact Jo Morgan 01872 279063 (until 14 July) Open 10 5 (Mon-Sat) 12-4 (Sun) Free with opportunity to donate to offset costs. 1pm Mon 28 1pm Eucharist in Cornish in St Mary’s Aisle Mon 28 5.30pm Solemn Eucharist of Samson, Bishop, Missionary Wed 30 7.30pm The Tempest: Shaken and Stirred Miracle Theatre uniquely brings to life Shakespeare’s great masterpiece of forgiveness, generosity and enlightenment. Join Prospero, Ariel and Miranda on the enchanted island (Cathedral Green) for this tale of shipwrecks, magic and love. This is an outdoor performance, please dress warmly, no chairs available Tickets from Hall for Cornwall www.hallforcornwall.co.uk, 01872 262466 Femmes Vocales Vienna informal concert free, with collection If you would like to receive information about events at Truro Cathedral please email info@trurocathedral.org.uk or let Anne Marie know your address and she’ll put you on the Events mailing list. Organorak VIVE TRELAWNÉ AND CARRY ON WESTMINSTER ORGANORAK TRIES TO KEEP CALM I am writing this column on what used to be the ‘Whitsun’ bank holiday and we’ve not even reached Ascension yet, so please excuse any temporal confusion. Easter, however, happened at the right time (with a decent sunrise this year, the ‘blue spot’ duly making an appearance). Bishop Tim had great fun with water and wax; several service sheets almost dissolved and some of us didn’t have enough candle left to relight for a third time – all that before breakfast! There have been some vintage recitals too. Ben Comeau, (the second person to perform on the new piano, after the memorable Cristina ‘the Lioness’ Ortiz), produced a cheeky ‘Simpsons’ improvisation on the organ as well as a totally stunning ‘Firebird’ transcription, which would be a best seller, if recorded. Claire Alsop, who job-shares with her husband at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, made a welcome return with magnificent Liszt ‘BACH’ and Stanford Sonata. Last year’s Organ Scholar, Harry Meehan marked the anniversary of the ‘Dambusters’ raid with the Eric Coates March. A further example of precision bombing occurred shortly afterwards on the way to the pub, when a seagull shed its entire payload on Organorak, (I am told it is like a blessing – it isn’t). Stuff totally upstaged by his final item, an improvisation on demure Greensleeves followed by totally in – your – face ‘Trelawney’ – magnifique! Other unexpected delights included Portuguese choir Capella Duriensis with a Bach Motet and Cardoso Magnificat, a splendid ‘informal evensong’ from participants in the Cornwall Singing Break weekend, Cornwall Returners’ Orchestra in a bucolic VW folksong suite, an all – VW Eucharist with the added bonus of Luke ‘larking’ about during Communion and a rare chance to hear the entire Brown family performing together (Ian, Sarah, Jess and Robin singing, Fred on the organ) in St Mary’s Singers’ Bach St Matthew (not to mention the magnificent Evangelist of Nick Hawker). But what joys there are to come! Mozart’s Messiah (with the famous ‘The French Horn Shall Sound’), Handel’s ‘Israel in Egypt’ with authentic boils, frogs and hailstone effects, Bach Vespers (described as a ‘loose reconstruction’) and diverse lunchtime delights from Vienna Ladies, ‘4 Tunes’ saxophones, Nordic Light from Sweden, plus a welcome return for organ maestro Nathan Laube in August – not to be missed. Late extra – ‘Architecture is frozen music’ says Goethe, so I’m allowed to write about it as the new edition of Pevsner’s ‘Cornwall is now out’ – in 1951 he was less than enthusiastic about Truro Cathedral but the new editor, Peter Beacham, has rectified that. Annoyingly we were not chosen as the venue for the official launch, (it’s at some old house), but he will be giving a talk at Waterstones on the 18 June – tickets from their shop. ....AND FINALLY A CAPTION COMPETITION The Wednesday lunchtime series is now underway at Truro Methodist Church, with Philip Davey continuing this year’s trend of Big French Stuff, including the surprise league leader – always thought ‘Carry on de Westminster’ was one of thosebawdy comedies with Sid James and Barbara Windsor, whereas it is actually based on a phone call on a bad cross – channel line between Henry Willis II and Louis Vierne. A concert not to be missed at TMC is the duo ‘ORGANIZED CRIME’, (including our Organ Scholar, Rachel) on the 12 June at 7.30pm – I promise, you will not be disappointed! Frédéric Blanc’s recital at the Cathedral (appropriately screened in monochrome) was a feast of Big French INFORMATION For more information visit our website www.trurocathedral.org.uk or contact the Cathedral Office, 14 St Mary’s Street, Truro, TR1 2AF (Open Monday to Friday 9am –5pm) where possible by email to colin@trurocathedral.org.uk by Friday 11th July