St Mungo’s Music: December 2012

Bulletin of the Music Committee of the Archdiocese of Glasgow

Forthcoming events Carols for Peace Glasgow City Chambers Sunday 16th December3.00 Carols for Peace was established by the Lord Provost of Glasgow and Glasgow Churches Together more than a decade ago. The celebration will consist mainly of carols, with a reading, some prayers for the peoples of the Holy Land as well as for Bethlehem, Glasgow’s twin city, and of course, The Lord’s Prayer. The music will be led by the Airdrie Salvation Army Band, the St Mungo Singers, and the Scottish Asian Christian Federation with the support of Piper, harpists, ensemble and the South Side Fiddlers. This sort of enterprise, bringing the churches together to cele-brate and pray with the city , is ideal as an example of ‘the New Evangelisation.’ Refreshments will be provided by the Council after the event, and all are welcome.

December 31st: Hogmanay is marked in many parishes with a Mass for

Peace in the earlier part of the evening. For those who would like to make a later farewell to the old year and to welcome in the new there is a Hogmanay Watchnight Service at Glasgow Cathedral: music and word taking us into 2013. Supported by many churches and by ‘the Cathedral Strings’ it ends with the bells at 12.00 This gathering of Christians of many churches at this time also fits in very well both with ‘The Year of Faith’ and ‘the New Evangelisation’ - and praying together for blessing is surely a positive beginning to a new year.

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Music and the Year of Faith

‘Horses for courses’ and ‘tools for the trade’ are phrases sometimes used to describe apt solutions for particular problems or challenges. So what horses or tools in music will help us participate in the Year of Faith? Clearly, the parts of the Mass continue to deserve priority – especially the Sanctus and the opportunity it provides for us to express our sense of the holiness of God and yet of God who is not remote, but present in the one ‘who comes in the name of the Lord,’ and the Gloria with the attention it gives to the Father, the Son, and - even if only in a mention – the Holy Spirit. When we choose hymns for our liturgy, we do think about their musical style but above all we choose them for what they say! There are two broad categories of hymns – those which are thought of as ‘devotional’ and those which have a strong ‘faith’ content – they express the Church’s faith. It may be useful for us now, as we begin the Year of faith, to remember that less than 200 years ago the Church in the English speaking world was much in need of mate-rial to feed the upsurge in faith that was taking place, and it was well supported by the devotional writings of people like Fr Faber who gave us enduring verses such as Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all, Sweet Saviour Bless us and a host of others – aimed at helping people to pray with devotion. They were so successful that their hymns are still being sung to the present day.

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In that same century Cardinal Newman enriched us with ‘Lead kindly Light’ (which is a beautiful ‘devotional’ hymn) and ‘Praise to the Holiest’ which is a marvellous song of redemption and combines the appeal of the devotional with the strength of an af-firmation of faith. Other 19

th century hymn-writers based their work on translations

of some of the ancient Latin (then vernacular) hymns by Aurelius Prudentius (+413) or by Sts Hilary of Poitiers or Ambrose of Milan or Venantius Fortunatus: (+609). Creator alme Siderum (below) seems to be a 16th century re-writing of a 7

th century hymn:

Perhaps we should also look at the Church’s response to the deep crisis of faith in the 4

th century, a time when our understanding of the very nature of God was under

attack from the Arian heresy. The response of pastors such as Sts Hilary and Ambrose included the new custom of writing hymns with a Doxology, a verse of praise to the Holy Trinity, at the end. The hymns were aimed at giving the Catholic believers memorable expressions of the Church’s faith with the addition of the em-phasis at the end about the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They were so influential that even today one of our most popular prayers is the ‘Glory be to the Fa-ther and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. The ‘Hours’ of the Church’s Prayer begin with the Doxology and the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass ends with another one. For a Year of Faith, the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed are important, and they are familiar to us through their use in the liturgy - and they have played a very significant part in Christian history, summarising, as they do, the basic tenets of what we believe. Yet, in a way, if we get careless in how we recite them we could find ourselves treating them like venerable historic but devout shopping lists. They were created to meet specific historic needs – (the need for a Profession of Faith at the celebration of baptism, or in response to the Arian crisis of the 4

th century B.)

and they didn’t just appear out of nothing, for their sources can be found within the scriptures.

It would make sense for us to go right to the sources in the scriptures, because there are many examples of ‘creeds’ or formulas or hymns or verses which were used in the early church to express what the Christians believed. Three of these Creed formulae or biblical songs, were printed in the August issue of this Bulletin (and available on stmungomusic.org.uk) and were taken from Philippians , Ephe-sians and Colossians.

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are very useful additions to our repertoires for the Year of Faith: they express what Christians believed about Christ in the middle of the 1st century AD. They have their own new tunes but work very well with traditional ones. Some of us are not at ease with the use of popular tunes for hymns, but we need to recognise that their adoption is a well established devotional practise going back for centuries, and that hymns using such borrowed tunes include ‘Faith of our fa-thers,’ Hail Queen of Heaven,’ and ‘O Sacred Head!’ Whatever the origin of a tune, the style with which it is sung can erase any pre-existing association. Other material for the Year of Faith (and the New Evangelisation) can be found in many of the scripture-based hymns of James Quinn S.J. and of course, the psalms (responsorial and metrical) are a treasure whose depths we still need to plumb, and the great Canticles the Benedictus and the Magnificat in their many translations and versions should be part of our prayer language.

To mention just a few more: Firmly I Believe and Truly; We believe in God the Father Taize: There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; Adoramus Te, Domine Christ be beside me; Christ be near at either Hand; St Patrick’s Breastplate I bind unto myself today; Be still for the presence; Be still, my soul; The Church’s one Foundation; Go ye Afar; Come Holy Ghost (with the Doxology) ; The Altus Prosator of St Columba: O God, thou art the Father is also very suitable for cele-brations for the 1450th anniversary of St Columba going to Iona:

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St Mungo Cantata 2012

More than 20 years after the St. Mungo Cantata was first performed in

St.Mungo’s Cathedral, Glasgow, it seemed the perfect choice to mark the 1400th

anniversary of St.Mungo and the foundation of the City of Glasgow. So the Can-

tata was performed again in the Cathedral, under the sponsorship of Glasgow

Churches Together, with the support of Dr. Laurence Whitley and the congrega-

tion of the Cathedral.

After many weeks of work by the Teachers’ Committee, the schools (teachers

and children), musicians and volunteers, everyone came together in the Cathe-

dral on 13 November for a truly brilliant ecumenical event. A total of 21 schools*

(both Catholic and non-denominational), with over 600 children, took part, sup-

ported by musicians from the University of Glasgow (B.Ed. Music Yr.2), the Glas-

gow Gaelic School and elsewhere.

Guests included Archbishop Tartaglia, the Moderator of Glasgow Presbytery (Rev. Howard Hudson), Rev. Alan Anderson of the Methodist Church, Lord Provost Sadie Docherty, Jim Wilson of the Education Department, and Mrs. Catherine McMaster, former Bailie of the City Council.

There is a full report on stmungomusic.org.uk and another one on glasgow-churchestogether There are plans to broadcast the Cantata on the new radio station heart gives unto heart on December 23rd (HGUHRadio) The schools involved will receive a DVD of the occasion and another one of the photographs taken.

The Lord Provost & a pupil from St Stephen’s. A panorama with the St Ninian’s Dancers. Some of the band Sts Mungo, Enoch, Asaph and friends and to the right St Philomena’s and their banner.

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St Mungo’s Cantata—reports from St Monica’s From Mark at St Monica’s Primary School. As soon as we arrived at the great Cathedral of St Mungo I had to go behind everyone to get changed into the St Mungo costume along with other people who were dressed as saints or monks. Immediately, I thought the Cathedral was absolutely huge, with its stained glass windows and decorations. After we got ready, we accompanied the Lord Provost down to the Crypt of St Mungo where the Lord Provost laid a wreath. It was very dark and gloomy, and we had to go down about five flights of stairs to get there. I felt very funny that there I was, dressed as St Mungo, and I was standing in his Crypt. When all of the guests and schools arrived, it was very hectic. The guests included: Dr Laurence Whitley, Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and The Archbishop of Glasgow. At this point, the saints and monks started to walk down to the front. The orchestra began to play. There were harps, violins and pianos. The music was uplifting. The first school to sing was St Philomena’s, who sang, ‘God our Creator’. We all sang along too. The majority of schools sang a song and of course we sang, ‘The Pilgrim Song’, which Carissa played on the harp. She played brilliantly. Alexander Geddes narrated paragraphs about St Mungo’s life in between songs. He did it very well because he narrated several times and I wouldn’t have had the courage to do that. All of the songs enfolded the life of St Mungo. As the end was approaching, we sang the ecumenical, ‘Our Father’ and ‘Let Glasgow Flourish’. The Archbishop blessed us and Dr Laurence Whitley thanked us for coming. When we left the Cathedral, I was thinking about the wonderful quality of the singing and dancing. I also thought that it was an honour to be there and I was extremely proud of my-self, and my class. I felt thrilled to be in St Monica’s Primary School.

From Holly at St Monica’s Primary School

Approaching the religious Cathedral of Glasgow, everyone was nervous and anxious. Sur-prised at the size of the marvellous building we walked up the stone stairs and into the Church. More than twenty schools were participating in this glorious event. Meanwhile, some of St Monica’s children dressed up as saints and monks to lead the procession to St Mungo’s tomb in the company of, no other than, the Lord Provost, Sadie Docherty. Our chil-dren watched in silence as the Lord Provost laid a wreath on the Crypt of St Mungo. Many special guests had come to this momentous occasion such as the Archbishop, Dr Laurence Whitley, Mr Robertson, Cathie McMaster and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland. Prayers were said clearly and loudly. The songs were sung beautifully and confi-dently. Next, John and I walked down to the altar and handed Dr Whitley our donation for St Mungo’s old folks club. Once Alexander Geddes (the narrator) had spoken, Carissa, the harpist, played the introduction to our song. I sang my heart out as if my life depended on it. The Lord Provost, Sadie Docherty, thanked us all for coming and for performing brilliantly. Thinking back, my favourite part of the Cantata was singing in front of everyone. I was hon-oured to sing in front of lots of people. On a scale of one to ten I gave it a ten. My favourite part of Glasgow Cathedral were the stain glass windows.

stmungomusic.org.uk the website is developing and is packed with news of events and music. We try to add music and news every week it will be updated in appearance soon.. The Roman Missal area contains the music. There is an immense amount of music still to be uploaded to it but a good start has been made with full melody line and organ score when that is © permissible; some of our settings are © publishers so we are limited in what we can make fully available. Some music is out of print and we are able, with permission, to re-print on the web while advising people that if they do use it then they should acknowl-edge the author, composer and publisher in any returns they make for their copyright li-cence.

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A Beacon of Hope: Two Faith Groups Join Forces in Praying for Peace in Syria

Images of a young Syrian couple with their baby girl Sham carrying the Koran and Peace banner in the entrance procession of the Mass.

On the 20th of November 2012 a memorable occasion was celebrated, as two faith groups, Catholicism and Islam joined together to pray for a united cause - for peace to come to the people and country of Syria. On the road to Damascus in Syria, St. Paul the Apostle underwent his conversion to Christianity and as such the Justice and Peace group at St. Paul the Apostle Parish Church in Shettleston felt interconnected with the people of Syria. Since the 15th of March 2011 over 40,000 Syrians have been killed with over 76,000 imprisoned, and the situation is only worsening. As such, they felt a desire to extend their hands in someway to comfort and support the country and its people at this time. With the current unrest in Gaza and the recent bullying allegations within the Church of Scotland, it is often seen that the Abrahamic religions; Christianity, Islam and Judaism are at war with one another and at times with the secular world. However, Tuesday’s sacred event witnessed a unity between two of these faith groups as fellow Syrian Moslems here in Glasgow shared and supported the Mass. A young couple along with their five month old baby girl called Sham, carried a banner of peace along with the Koran symbolising both the shared desire for peace to come to the currently war-torn country, whilst little Sham, which means Paradise in Arabic symbolised a beacon of hope for a Paradisal and peaceful future to come to Syria. Only last month The Herald’s Rosemary Goring discussed the human desire to place faith in miracles, stating, “Bat some point everyone needs a miracle, and the world without the hope of unexplained good fortune would be too grim for comfort”. For all who attended the Mass on Tuesday evening, they shared the prayer for a miracle of peace to come to Syria, however, the integral point of the mass was to bring hope to those in Syria, and to Syrians here in Glasgow and throughout the UK. Demonstrating to them, they are not alone, and this intention was achieved as one of the male Syrian supporters of the Mass mentioned, “Bwe really felt like we were at home and being supported by our familyB” Glasgow is openly proud of its multiculturalism and as we become more integrated, it is only natural that different faith groups rally together, bridging their differences in times of war, disease and injustice. So we hope this Mass for peace in Syria will be the first of many multi faith-based events here in Glasgow, acting as beacons of hope for our multi-cultural city, and may the miracles of this sacred event be not only peace in Syria but that the world follows our example. The Justice & Peace Group of St. Paul the Apostle Parish Church Shettleston, Glasgow

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Solemnity of Saint Andrew at St Paul’s Shettleston

The St Paul’s Mass of St Andrew was special this year and guests included Margaret Curran MP, John Mason MSP, and Cllrs Frank McAveety, George Ryan, Anne Simpson and David Turner.

Fr John Campbell writes: It appeals to my sense of humour to see the church berated by labour and Conservative MPs for not passing legislation that would allow women Bishops in the Church of England. It’s against the equality laws, the politicians claimed, so the synod’s vote must be overturned, to comply with legislation. A clear case of politicians meddling in church business, not long after accusing the church of meddling in politics . The phrase church and politics don’t mix - works both ways. However, today’s gospel says otherwise. In calling Peter and Andrew, James and John, Jesus called them from an ordinary job, to an extraordinary vocation. That vocation was to serve their fellow men and womenBBB in response to the call of Christ, who called those fisherman to live a vocation that em-braced the needs of others in society. Politics and religion do mix; because their focus is the good of others, the good of society, the good of Gods creation. Today is our opportu-nity to say thanks to our guests, our city and national politicians, whose vocation is to serve ourselves and our locality and country. Thank you for , “Your worthy employment and dedi-cation to others” through our political process, and the sharing of the ideals of our faith we pledge ourselves to being co workers with you in building on your success in the city of Glasgow, in Scotland in the United Kingdom. May Andrew inspire us to be people for oth-ers.

Prayers of the Faithful

Welcome to our city Councillors, MSP, and MP. Great to have you here on the feast of our national

patron, the mace of Scotland - wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity – truly values promoted by

both faith and politics. Shared values in a shared search for a better world.

We ask God’s help in living up to our own vocations.

For Christians, that we will play our part as citizens of this nation and be a constant reminder of God, who is the supreme law giver and judge of all. LORD HEAR US . For our city council, that they may continue to help Glasgow flour-ish, Through the preaching of the Word and the praising of Gods name. LORD HEAR US . That we may live out our vocations to serve after the example and command of the servant King. LORD HEAR US . That Jesus the first born from the dead, will give life to our faithful departed. LORD HEAR US . RADIO STATION: Congratulations to the organisers of the new catholic Radio Station (Heart Gives Unto Heart) based at Wonersh in Surry. A good start has been made, and they will undoubtedly gather support as they sustain the regularity of the broadcasts. Click on HGUHRadio to tune in

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St Andrew’s celebrations: The Vigil at St Andrew’s Cathedral Glasgow Churches Together (GCT) marked St. Andrew’s Day with a sung Vespers at St. Andrew’s Cathedral on the vigil of the feast. The congregation was welcomed by piper Jacqueline Riley, and as they waited for the service to begin, the St. Mungo Singers and harpist Carissa Bovill provided prayerful, reflective music. The church representatives processed through the cathedral to the sanctuary to light the candles for the beginning of the service, to the singing of “O Light from Light, our Footsteps Guide” – the words of the late Fr. James Quinn to the tune known as “Dream Angus”. Archbishop Tartaglia led the congregation in the opening prayer before welcoming everyone to the celebration of the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the country and of the Cathedral. He offered a particular welcome to the church representatives: Major Bruce Smith of the Salvation Army, Rev. Alan Anderson of the Methodist Church, Rev. Howard Hudson Moderator of the Glasgow Presbytery of the Church of Scotland and Dr. Lawrence Whitley of St. Mungo’s Cathedral.

Rev. Alan Anderson reading the Scripture passage (right) and below ev Howard Hudson preaching

After the opening hymn – the appropriate “Lord, you have come to the seashore” which reminds us both of St. Andrew’s trade and his calling by the Lord – the choir led the singing of Psalms 115 and 125 and the Canticle from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians (“Though Jesus Christ was in the form of God”). Rev. Alan Anderson proclaimed the scripture reading from Ephesians

before the Moderator gave the reflection. He confessed to a great liking for St. Andrew - an example for everyone in Scotland. Andrew is not mentioned much in the Synoptic Gospels but in the Gospel of St. John, Andrew appears as one who leads people to Jesus. He does not keep his knowledge of the Lord to himself. Firstly he brings his brother Peter to Jesus and doesn’t seem to mind that Peter gets the “starring role”. How different things would have been if he had not made that introduction but Andrew is happy to work in the background. He finds and brings the little boy with the loaves and fishes – he was keen to bring anyone who could be of use and never underestimated what could happen. Finally he intro-

duces the Greek visitors. Philip went to Andrew for advice on their request to meet Jesus, seeing Andrew as the one who would know what to do, the man to go to. Are we, Rev. Hudson asked, like Andrew, anxious to share the Good News and to serve Jesus in what-ever way we can? As the congregation reflected on this challenge, Carissa played quietly. The service then continued with the singing of the Responsory “Christ was humbler yet” and the Magnifi-cat. The intercessions were read by representatives of the churches, praying for Glasgow and its people, the Scottish nation and the congregation present. The rediscovery of St Andrew’s Day as one on which we pray for the country, its people and government is another good example of the creativity prompted by ‘the New Evangeli-sation.’

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The St Mungo Singers — and support from the net

The St Mungo Singers welcomed 6 new singers this session. Jean O’Donnell writes

‘Whatever age you happen to be, the prospect of joining a new group or club can be quite daunting. Having recently retired, I hoped to be able to join St Mungo’s Singers; however, doubts filled my head. Would they want another soprano? Could I cope with the music? Turns out, I needn’t have worried. This chatty, friendly choir were welcoming and interested in someone new joining their ranks. Encouraged, I rashly added my name to those who were available to sing at the Inauguration of Archbishop Tartaglia in a few weeks’ time. I soon discovered that the variety and complexity of many of the pieces to be sung would include tongue-twisters in Latin that would take me a lot longer to master. I turned to the internet. Trawling through search engines proved frustrating and time-consuming and I was becoming disheartened – until, Eureka! I found “St Mungo Music” (http://stmungomusic.org.uk). This site was exactly what I needed. Not only was I able to listen to each piece, often a copy of the manuscript was alongside and gradually, I began to detect improvements in my sight-reading. Us-ing headphones in the evening, to avoid disturbing next door’s sleeping children, I was able to listen to the music and follow the notation. During the day, confident that no-one was at home to hear, I could sing along, as often and as loud as I liked. My very own Karaoke sessions! Access to the site, at whatever time suited me, undoubtedly enabled me to partici-pate more fully in the service on 8

th September. I remember the day with feelings of

satisfaction and enjoyment and, with the support of the St Mungo Music website, I look forward to new musical challenges.’

St Mungo Music website has a number of reports of recent events — we wel-

come reports of liturgy and music and will be glad to include them when it is

possible.

Recent events have included: the Notre Dame Vespers

in St Michael’s, Dumbarton on the 14th September

The Cantata ‘Julie, the Smiling Saint’ at St Michael’s

Primary School, Dumbarton.

The Installation of Archbishop Philip Tartaglia

St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow on the 8th September.

An Archdiocesan Music Day on November 10th at

the Ogilvie Centre, Garnethill.

Annual Requiem at St Agnes’ Lambhill on November

4th for people whose final resting place is in the local

cemetaries.

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Remembrance Service - City Chambers 9th November 2012

The Primary Seven Children of St Monica’s Milton were delighted to accept an invitation from Glasgow Education Department to participate in such an honourable occasion. As Responsible Citizens of Glasgow their contribution of poetry and song reminded everyone in the Banqueting Hall, that no one must ever forget the sacrifices that have been made by our Armed Forces, to secure peace and freedom for our country. ‘Clydebank Blitz’ was recited with commendable expression, emotion and accuracy. The children sang a new song, appealing to a captive audience, ‘Will we just remember once a year?’ This question stirred the mind of all present. To finish the Primary Seven recited ‘Lest We Ever Forget’. There was an eerie silence in the magnificent hall. Tears welled in many eyes as the children were applauded for their efforts. Holly McMenemy said, “I think my class successfully presented the message that ‘We Must Never Forget’ the sacrifices made by our armed forces.” Chloe Brown expressed that she “felt a great responsibility was on her shoulders to get the remembrance message over to the other schools.”

The Blessing of the Glasgow Crib: George Square Wednesday 5th December—another

contemporary ‘tradition.’

St Clare’s Primary, Drumchapel are singing at the Kelvingrove Art Galleries on Fri 14th

December

Carols for Peace with the support of Glasgow Churches Together and the City Council

takes place at 3.00 on Sunday 16th December. All welcome

The East End Deanery Parishes are having a Concert in St Thomas’ Riddrie on Sunday

16th December at 7.00. All welcome

St Ninian’s Knightswood & St Margaret’s Church of Scotland are joining forces for an

Advent Carol Service also on Sunday 16th December at 6.45 All welcome

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January 1st: the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God

A beautiful Christmastide feast for the beginning of

the year, honouring Mary, the Mother of God.

The psalm of the day is Psalm 66 — and there are

several effective settings.

The Gospel Acclamation of the Feast emphasises the

wider context of salvation history: : At various times in

the past, and in various different ways, God spoke to our

ancestors, God spoke to the prophets. Now in our time, he has spoken through his

Son. See the setting in psalms of the Seasons (Kevin Mayhew)

There are plenty of hymns suitable for the day, but in this Year of Faith perhaps we

should link our expressions of faith with those of the early church by singing the

Magnificat, the Song of our Lady, and perhaps the Canticle from the letter to the

Colossians ’Let’s give thanks to God the Father.’ Many of us will continue to enjoy

the carols which enrich our season and which give us such joy.

Events already planned for 2013

Glasgow Archdiocesan Music Committee meets at 7.00 in St Leo’s on Wednesday 9th

January. A number of schools have expressed interest in recording some Psalms so that

we can increase the psalm repertoire among schools in general—this will be a major pro-

ject for the early months of 2013.

The Vita Kentigerni n the Mitchell Library January 12th 12.00—12.30 all welcome The Mass of St Mungo in St Mungo’s Church, Townhead January 13th 12.00 The St Mungo Festival Evening Service in Glasgow Cathedral January 13th at 6.30 The Lord Provost, Cllr Sadie Docherty, will welcome pupils from Lourdes Secondary and St Monica’s Primary to a Burns Supper on January 24th in the City Chambers. I wonder what haggis tastes like in the morning?

The Mass of our Celtic Roots January 27th in St Aloysius, Garnethill at 4.00. Open to

all but choirs are particularly welcome and, to receive copies of the music for the occasion,

should contact the Music Secretary, St Leo’s 0141 427 0293 or gfglasgow@gmail.com

Glasgow Churches Together Music and Worship Committee meets at 11.00 in St Leo’s

February: Liturgical Music Workshop on Saturday 23rd February: preparing for the

Easter Vigil and Eastertide, with more material for the Year of Faith, an exploration of par-

ish Morning Prayers, and material for the celebration of the 1450th anniversary of St

Columba going to Iona.

The White Mass usually takes place in February.

10th March: The Vespers of St John Ogilvie: St Aloysius, Garnethill

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St Mungo’s Music January 2013

Bulletin of the Music Committee of the Archdiocese of Glasgow

forthcoming events

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Regarding the choir at St Mary's. I have been trying to put a choir together since returning to St Mary's almost seven years ago and, after a couple of false starts, things are getting underway. The impetus was really achieved at the Feast of the Assumption mass this year when a few volunteers agreed to form a choir. I think the hearing the St Andrew's choir and other experienced singers helped them gain some confidence to continue afterwards. My fears that it would fizzle out after the big event proved unfounded. Meeting regularly we started with five and now have approximately ten people. To have doubled the numbers in four months is great. The feedback from the congregation has been good as they feel having a group to lead encourages others to join in. From a personal perspective, having a choir is a lot of extra work but it is worth it as it brings something to the mass which my solo singing cannot do. Also, I enjoy working with others especially after so long doing the work on my own. I'm looking forward to see how much we can achieve through the first few months of next year. Gordon Thomson Organist, St Mary's.

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