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Click on the heading below to go direct to the HOME PAGE content HOME PAGE Registered Charity 1162342 St Mary's church, Church Road, Winkfield, Berks, SL4 4SF |
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"I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else: I can give you my heart and my devotion to all these old islands, and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations."
We celebrate Bell Sunday with a special service each year and we usually end the service with children "having a go" on the hand bells and finally with trips up the tower.
It was also the first Sunday after the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, so the service was modified a little. The service started with one of the children reading the Parish prayer before Matins began, and this was followed by the BellRingers Hymn. All the readings were Bell poems and there were 6 children to introduce them. The collects for the day, peace and grace were also read by the children.
The service went on with a prayer of thanks for the late Queen, and a prayer for our new King as he takes on his new responsibilities. Both prayers can be found on the second page of the October parish magazine when it is published.
After the final hymn, the hand bell ringers rang. This was followed by Tony Bish, Tower Bell Captain, who talked to the congregation about how and why the bells are muffled on solemn occasions. They had been rung muffled for one hour on the day after the announcement of The Queen’s death. The day of the proclamation of the new Monarch they should be rung "open" in celebration of the accession, and then revert to being rung half or fully muffled until the day of the state funeral. On that day the bells should be tolled for the hour immediately prior to the time of the Funeral Service.
Jill Glennerster then gave a short talk on the history of Bells (including Hand Bells), whch is published in full in the 'Thoughts of all sorts' section of the October parish mag.
The service ended with two verses of the National Anthem, and Anthony then played Bach's solemn little Prelude in E minor BWV553, ending on an E major chord.
Some people noted that, at the time of the service, the church flag was (deliberately) NOT at half mast, following protocol rules for the period following the accession of a new monarch.
On Sunday 28 August, Family Praise told the story of The Good Samaritan and as usual the children read the Bible passages and prayers. At 11am, Morning Prayer was led by John Kimbell and Jonathan Holl ended the service with an excellent performance of Toccata in F by Buxtehude.
The Family Praise service told the story of David and Goliath with the children reading the bible passages and prayers.
This was followed by Holy Communion led by Father Ernest Lennon. It is twelve months since Father Lennon was with us and it was so good to see him again. Josh Tuffley, our organist some years ago, also made a very welcome return. He ended the service with a wonderful performance of 'Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her' by J S Bach.
The children read the bible passages and prayers beautifully as usual, and during the Sermon slot on this occasion, Luke Saint, our organist for the day, taught the children 'Glory to thee my God this night' which they sang as a round. Luke ended the service with his own improvisation on 'All things bright and beautiful'.
Family Communion at St Mary's on 7 August was led by Vusi Mabuza. It was so good to see him again. The choir, although small, was in good voice. Jonathan Holl ended the service with a splendid performance of 'Sketch in C' by Schumann. Rev Vusi Mabuza also took 2 baptism services after Family Communion.
Crafty Choral Matins on Sunday July 31 told the story of St James the Apostle, sometimes called St James the Greater and also known by his Spanish name: Santiago de Compostela. James travelled through the Roman Empire with the Gospel of Christ, and legend has it that he took the Gospel to Spain where his supposed relics were uncovered and their location became a great centre of Christian pilgrimage. The City that developed is named after him as is his red cross with its sword like blade. James is represented by a shell and this has now become a widespread emblem for a pilgrim. Two of the children read passages relating to pilgrimages, and they took a drawing of his red cross and a shell to the altar. Other children in the congregation also took crosses and shells to the altar. The Hand Bell ringers rang La Mourisque, a dance in the style of the Moors – European Muslims who occupied Spain for many centuries. It was good to welcome Luke Saint again who ended the service with his own splendid improvisation on our final hymn, 'Jesus shall reign where’er the sun... '
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