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OCTAG N MAGAZINE
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER Page 4
VOLUNTEERING AT ELY Page 3
ELY CATHEDRAL FLOWER FESTIVAL 2018 Page 5
FOCUS ON CANON JAMES GARRARD Page 10 Issue 3 - Spring 2018
Welcome
New Octagon Furnishings
from The Dean
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his edition of Octagon covers the most exciting part of the Church’s year which is why you will find Canon Johnson describing at greater length all that we will be celebrating as we move through the remainder of Lent, Holy Week, Easter and into the great fifty days of Eastertide that culminate in the feast of Pentecost. And if that is not enough there is our patronal festival on Trinity Sunday followed by the great celebration of Corpus Christi.
The consecration of a new altar is an important event in the life of any church, and especially the Cathedral. It is not an overstatement to say that a church building is there, first of all, to house the altar. We have the High Altar in the Presbytery but the main altar around which we gather is that situated under the Octagon. The altar is the main focus of our liturgical life, it is a sign of Christ himself, the place at which the holy mysteries of our salvation are celebrated. We are therefore delighted that on Sunday 28 January, the new altar, along with other items of liturgical furnishings, were consecrated by the Bishop and the altar was made sacred by the Eucharist being celebrated upon it.
We have assembled some very special preachers during this period, and most notably Bishop Rowan Williams who will be preaching during Holy Week. I do encourage you to come and hear him; I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. There are many other exciting concerts and events over the next few weeks, but the richness of the liturgical provision during these three months is central. Our primary task is what St Benedict called the opus dei – the work of God, and that is prayer and worship. As always it begins and ends every day and the special services of the coming months engage us in the core elements of the Christian message, the hope for the present and the future given us in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The feedback has been very encouraging and positive and it has been a joy to eventually see the new furniture installed and in use. Our thanks to Luke Hughes (pictured above) who designed the new altar and Octagon furnishings and members of his team who have built it. We are equally grateful to the members of the Cathedral’s Fabric Advisory Committee who assisted in the development of the project and, alongside the Cathedral’s Fabric Commission for England, were the formal body which approved the design.
The Very Reverend Mark Bonney, Dean of Ely
This new altar and Octagon furnishings present a marked contribution to both the liturgy and beauty of our magnificent Cathedral and we are enormously grateful to the late Mrs Jean Walker whose generous legacy with Bishop Peter Walker has funded such a significant project alongside a substantial donation from the Friends of Ely Cathedral.
Regular Service Times
Sundays: 8.15am: Holy Communion 10.30am: Sung Eucharist 4pm: Evensong Daily Services: 7.30am: Morning Prayer 8am: Holy Communion 12.10pm: Holy Communion (Thursdays and Saints’ Days) 5.30pm: Evensong Cover image©Keith Heppell
Octagon Magazine
Copies are available in the Cathedral and from the Cathedral Gift Shops, Refectory Café and Almonry Restaurant. Electronic copies can be viewed at www.elycathedral.org. Comments or suggestions for Octagon are welcome. Please direct them to Maddie Cox, 01353 660375 | news@elycathedral.org 2
Issue 4 - Summer edition available early June
Chapter Update After a ten year stint Tom Green is resigning from Chapter from the end of February. We are enormously grateful for all that Tom has done during his time on Chapter, not least in bringing his extensive business experience to bear as some choppy waters were negotiated during the early years. Tom was part of the team that brought greater financial rigour to Chapter affairs and planning and, as a member of the Finance and Investment group and as a trustee of the Ely Cathedral Trust, he has helped steer the Cathedral into a much stronger financial position. Tom has been unafraid to ask the difficult questions, nor afraid of offering radical solutions, and we owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. Tom founded the Ely Cathedral Business Group which has established positive links between the Cathedral and the business community. We wish him and Coralie every blessing as they set up a new home in Cornwall. We are delighted that the Bishop has appointed Tim Walters (pictured left) to take up the vacant Chapter position. Tim trained as an Accountant and worked in the City of London. Following a career in various sectors of the Construction Industry, including Church and historic building restoration, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of a FTSE 250 business. This led to him becoming a Consultant specialising in strategic planning and organisational change in the Not for Profit Sector, in particular for NHS Charities, so he brings significant skills and knowledge in organisational governance, policy and finance management. Tim is married to Diana, a Nurse Practitioner, and is Treasurer of the PCC, a member of the Bishop’s Council and a Director of Diocesan Board of Finance. Tim’s passion for the Church of England and its secure future is central to his basic tenets.
Brass Rubbing in the Cathedral
Volunteer at Ely Cathedral Would you like to find out a bit more about becoming a volunteer at Ely Cathedral? We are hosting a ‘Meet the Volunteer Team’ evening on 8 March at 6.30pm in the Lady Chapel. Our volunteers enrich life at the Cathedral in so many ways and we simply could not run the Cathedral without them. There are a huge variety of roles and over 300 volunteers of all different backgrounds, faith, age and experience who together create a lively, friendly and supportive community.
Mondays and Wednesdays | 2- 4pm 26 March - 5 September (excluding 18 and 20 June) Come along and experience a lovely relaxing activity. We have an extensive collection of facsimile brasses of all sizes, from 1ft to 5ft! Suitable for adults and children over 7 years of age. For further information contact Lynne Williams, brass.rubbing@elycathedral.org
Sermons at Sunday Evensong Rather surprisingly for a large Cathedral we offer very few opportunities, outside the Sunday morning Eucharist, for sermons to be preached or heard, so we have decided that from Easter there will 5 be a sermon (short!) at Evensong on Sundays. Preaching has always been a vital element in the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and we look forward to this becoming an established part of our weekly offering.
If you have a few spare hours a week and are interested in joining our team come along on the 8 March where you will have the opportunity to enjoy a glass of wine, meet some of our volunteers and find out a little more about what they do and how you could help. For further information contact Jocelyn Palmer, j.palmer@elycathedral.org (01353) 660307
Congratulations to John Buttifant Congratulations to John Buttifant who has been invited to receive the Maundy Money from The Queen at Windsor Castle on 29 March (Maundy Thursday). This year, to reflect the Queen’s age, 92 men and 92 women will each be given the prestigious gift in honour of their services to church and community. John was nominated by the Bishop for his voluntary work at Ely Cathedral. John has been volunteering at Ely since 2002 as an Octagon Tower Guide, as well as being a friendly face in many other capacities around the Cathedral, or in his words ‘here, there and everywhere!’. As a Tower Guide, John has climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest 30 times without leaving Ely! We are all delighted that John has been recognised in this way. 3
FEATURE Holy Week and Easter
Holy Week Services
Worship is about more than words on a page. Christian liturgy is about drama and mystery. As we journey through the year, the worship of the whole church encourages each one of us to participate, entering into the mystery of God and becoming part of the greatest story ever told, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sunday 25 March 10.30am | Palm Sunday Procession with Daisy the Donkey followed by Sung Eucharist Assemble on the East Lawn at 10.15am.
The word liturgy means the ‘work of the people’ and when we come together to worship we offer our ‘work’ of prayer, praise and thanksgiving. Some scholars have suggested that the liturgies of the church are like a fifth gospel, like a three-dimensional text which has its origins in the first century church and is lifted from the page by music, song, speech, silence, action, ritual and sacrament. For Christians, the drama of Holy Week is one that we are called to enter into and be part of each year, journeying with Christ to the Cross, so that we may rise with him in his resurrection.
Tuesday 27 March 8pm | Candle-lit Choral Compline with Address by Bishop Rowan.
Monday 26 March 7.30pm | Eucharist with Address by Bishop Rowan.
Wednesday 28 March 7.30pm | A Sequence of Music and Readings. Music includes ‘Lamentations’ - Byrd, motets by Bruckner and the Cantata ‘Crucifixus pro nobis’ - Leighton. Maundy Thursday 10.30am Chrism Eucharist with the Blessing of Oils and Renewal of Ordination Vows. 7.30pm | Evening Eucharist of the Last Supper with washing of feet commemorating Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist. Address given by Bishop Rowan. This dramatic service concludes with the reading of Jesus’s arrest and imprisonment the night before his trial and the symbolic stripping of the altar as Psalm 22 is sung. A silent Watch of Prayer then takes place. Good Friday Midday until c.1.15pm | Preaching of the Cross addresses given by Bishop Rowan, with hymns and readings. 1.30pm - 3pm | The Liturgy of the Day with the singing of the Passion Gospel and the Veneration of the Cross in which all are invited to participate. 5.30pm | Choral Evensong. A solemn act of worship for Good Friday.
The services of Holy Week focus on different aspects of the passion, holding up scripture to the light that we may see its shadows, its colour, its promise. From Palm Sunday to Easter Day there is an expectation that faithful Christians, wherever they may be, will mark this solemn season through devotion and prayer, particularly making every effort to worship during the Triduum - the three days from Maundy Thursday to Easter Day. We hear again the command to love one another on Maundy Thursday, we venerate the cross on Good Friday, we light the paschal candle from the new fire on Easter Eve and on Easter Day we sing Alleluia with all of our being, renewing our baptismal vows and our commitment to Christ.
Holy Saturday 5.30pm | Evensong sung to plainsong. 8pm | Easter Vigil with Baptism and Confirmation with the Bishop presiding. The first celebration of Easter, with the Lighting of the Easter Fire, Paschal Candle and admission of new Christians to baptism and communion. This is a beautiful service at which we greet Easter in a dramatic and joyful way giving thanks for the faith that is within us. Easter Day 8.15am | A quiet, said service of Holy Communion using the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer with a short address. 10.30am | Orchestral Eucharist with the Ely Sinfonia, Dvořák’s ‘Mass in D’ and the ever popular ‘Easter Hymn’ from Mascagni’s opera ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’. The president and preacher will be The Bishop. 4pm | Festal Evensong and Procession Music by Sir Hubert Parry (the centenary of whose death we commemorate this year) including the ‘Great Service’ and ‘Blest pair of sirens’ and Paul Trepte’s recently composed ‘Te Deum’ which concludes our Easter celebrations.
This year, as the culmination of our Lent Programme ‘Music of Faith, Songs of Scripture’, we are delighted to welcome the great theologian Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and Honorary Canon of Ely Cathedral who will be our guest preacher and journey with us through the drama of Holy Week. For more detailed information about worship and events during Lent, Holy Week and Easter, take a copy of the brochure or view / download it on the Cathedral website. Follow our Holy Week campaign online - #TheWay. 4
FLOWER FESTIVAL 21-24 JUNE For those of you within the Cathedral community who remember the last Flower Festival in 2013, it will be no surprise to learn that plans and designs are already well underway for the 2018 Festival, Kaleidoscope of Life, which takes place on 21 - 24 June.
The Flower Festival preview evening takes place on 20 June. Tickets are limited and will include a drinks reception in the Bishop’s Garden with special guest Diarmuid Gavin. Other highpoints include an exclusive evening viewing of the arrangements on 22 June which will be preceded by a concert with the Military Wives Choir. Further information on the Festival including opening times, special events, tickets, restaurant partners and parking is available on the website or pick up a Festival leaflet from the Cathedral. (Please note: All services will take place at the usual times throughout the Festival although locations may differ. Please check the website or the printed service sheet for further details).
The Ely Cathedral Rose We are fortunate enough to have the same key people overseeing the 2018 festival; Judy Wynn, chair of the Cathedral Flower Guild, will be teaming up with Chelsea gold medal winner, Roger Woolnough (pictured above with Judy), who was the mastermind behind Ely Cathedral’s highly acclaimed 2013 event. As Creative Director, Roger has overall responsibility for ensuring how the 50,000 blooms will be used to create up to 100 exhibits with the help of over 35 Flower Clubs and Guilds from across the region, from Biggleswade to Lowestoft. The overall theme of the design focuses on the four seasons of life. Highlights will include a water feature, a floral arc the length of Ely’s impressive nave and an entire transept dedicated to commemorating the end of WWI. The crowning glory is a 12 metre wide kaleidoscope of flowers positioned in splendour directly under Ely’s famous Octagon tower.
One of the many displays will feature the new Ely Cathedral Rose (above). This beautiful new rose has been produced by award winning East Anglian rose growers, Peter Beales who are recognised worldwide for the preservation of old fashioned, historic and rare roses. As a specialist propagator of new blooms, they have won many prestigious awards including 24 Gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which is where the Ely Cathedral rose will be officially unveiled. This highly scented, repeat flowering shrub plant produces a wonderful multi-headed display of deep red buds which open to reveal double, ruffled blooms. We are informed it was much admired by HRH Prince Charles at the Sandringham Flower Show last year, when he was inspecting a few of the unnamed new species. A limited number of roses will be on sale at the Festival but we strongly advise people to order in advance. (To order your rose please contact Linda Joel 01353 660310 or email l.joel@elycathedral.org by 30 May 2018).
If the 2013 festival is anything to go by we are anticipating welcoming approximately 20,000 visitors to the Cathedral over the four days. Throughout the event, Ely’s 14th century Lady Chapel will host a programme of musical performances. Visitors can also enjoy floral demonstrations by professional arrangers as well as an opportunity for shopping in the Gift & Craft Marquee located in the Cathedral grounds.
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MUSIC AND WORSHIP Unsung Heroes?
Amidst the twin challenges of recruiting and funding boy and girl choristers, it can be all too easy to forget the adults who form the backbone of any Cathedral Choir. As well as the six professional Lay Clerks who sing whenever the full choir is on duty, Ely is lucky to call on a dedicated and growing pool of extra singers, known as the Expanded Choir (or “Extras” for short). They augment the back row for Sunday services and other major occasions, and form the “dep list”, the group of people who can deputise when a Lay Clerk is unavailable.
45 people who attend on a rota basis, signing up whenever they are available. “We’re a mixed group,” explains Simon. “Some people have been singing in the choir for twentyfive years, but over the last few terms we’ve had a lot of new blood.” He particularly welcomes one recent development: the inclusion of female singers in a hitherto all-male domain. “The choir has been recharged by the inclusion of female altos. It’s a really positive move forward, and we’ve finished up with a lovely blended sound.”
Bass Simon Adams, a member of the Expanded Choir for more than twenty-five years, remembers his debut. “I was singing in another choir led by the then Assistant Organist who said to me “why don’t you audition?” and so I plucked up the courage. The abiding memory of those first occasions was coming along to sing in the service and feeling so proud and privileged to be part of it...but it was also quite stressful, because we didn’t rehearse all the music!” This can still be the case today: limited rehearsal time cannot always stretch to music the choir as a unit knows well. Strong sight-reading skills and preparation in advance are therefore a pre-requisite for any new entrant to the ranks.
Some things however never change. “There is that consistency,” says Simon, “a sense of foundation that carries on through the years”. He looks back fondly on his years of involvement at Ely, including several trips abroad. “Choir tours are an absolute joy and privilege to be part of, particularly for the extra singers who are invited. It’s an opportunity to get to know the choir better, and there’s a great feeling of family”. There are many other highlights too. “The big services when you come away thinking “we did that well”. But also, for me, the highlights have been “depping” in the week in the middle of the winter at a simple service where the music has been wonderful. Those occasions stay with you.”
Simon speaks warmly of the Extras’ enthusiasm. “It is felt to be a privilege, we don’t take it for granted. Even after twenty years singing here you look up: there may not be many people at the service, and yet it’s a wondrous, meaningful experience.” The Expanded Choir currently comprises around
We are always glad to hear from experienced altos, tenors and basses interested in joining the Expanded Choir. Contact Paul Trepte (p.trepte@elycathedral.org/01353 660336).
St John at Hackney Choir visit to Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral has special links with the Church both in this country and throughout the world which help us to learn about life in different communities and cultures to our own. One of the Churches we enjoy links with is St John at Hackney in North London. The congregations from St John at Hackney and the Cathedral exchange visits and share in each others worship. Both congregations have benefited from learning about the joys and sorrows of life in rural East Anglia and inner-city London. We are delighted that they will be visiting Ely on Trinity Sunday, 27 May when their Choir will sing at Evensong. St John’s has an excellent Choir which exists to enhance the worship and build their community. Their Choral Scholarship scheme gives aspiring young singers opportunities to develop skills in sight-reading, solo performance and ensemble technique. Furthermore they aim to develop a choral outreach ministry bringing sacred music to the local community performing in local hospitals, schools, care homes and community spaces and other places which need it the most. Ultimately they hope to use choral music to engage with and support the local community, spreading the church’s message of hope to the heart of Hackney. www.stjohnathackney.org.uk 6
MUSIC AND WORSHIP Ascension Day, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi Christmas and Epiphany are over for another year, the tree recycled and the crib figures packed away. Already Lent is upon us and will run its course towards Holy Week and Easter. After that, the Church’s year (which begins with Advent and not on 1 January) still has significant occasions (Principal Feasts) to celebrate, once the Easter services (see page 4) are over. Not, perhaps, as well-known as Christmas and Easter, these days are, nonetheless, a very significant part of the Church’s year and the annual cycle of Cathedral services. Ascension Day: Forty days after Easter (always a Thursday) comes the Principal Feast of the Ascension, otherwise referred to as Ascension Day. Once Jesus had risen from the dead, the Bible testifies that he made appearances to his disciples (those who’d accompanied him through his earthly ministry) during a period of forty days. At the last such appearance, Jesus was taken up back to heaven (hence the term ‘ascension’). What did this look like? We cannot say. However the biblical narrative teaches that, as his disciples watched him go, two men dressed in white appeared and declared to them that Jesus would return in glory. His early followers would almost certainly have thought that would be in a short period of time (perhaps a year or two) but, 2000+ years on, Christians are still waiting in faith and hope. Day of Pentecost: Before Jesus ascended, he promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to be with them and this happened as they were gathered together in an upper room in Jerusalem. Today, at Pentecost, this gift of the Holy Spirit is celebrated by Christians and the day is often referred to as the birthday of the Church and its mission to the world. Pentecost stands alongside Christmas and Easter in its significance. The biblical description of the coming of the Holy Spirit tells of a very strong wind blowing and tongues of fire falling on the disciples and transforming them – they were, as promised by Jesus, baptised with the Holy Spirit. Based upon what they had seen and heard, many other people in Jerusalem became early followers of Jesus too. The Bible is clear some 3000 were added to their number. However, it would be a little later, in the new Church in Antioch, that followers of Jesus would first be called Christians. Trinity Sunday: A week after Pentecost, this is the day when Christians celebrate God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons in one. There is no biblical reference to Trinity Sunday – it is a Principal Feast devised much later by the Church – but there are plenty of references to the works of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to be found in scripture and these are celebrated on this feast day. The Cathedral is dedicated to the ‘Holy and Undivided Trinity’. Trinity Sunday brings to a conclusion the Principal Feast days of the Church of England until All Saints in November, after which the cycle starts again with Advent. Within the period of this edition of Octagon, the Church will also celebrate Corpus Christi on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. This is strictly speaking not a Principal Feast but, being the ‘Day of Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion’ we celebrate it in style with a full Sung Eucharist and Benediction. Details of services to mark and celebrate these key days are listed on the back page. 7
EVENTS / CONCERTS LIBERA Saturday 12 May | 7.30pm
ITALIAN BAROQUE AT ELY CATHEDRAL LE CONCERT SPIRITUEL Wednesday 13 June | 7.30pm
The Aldeburgh Festival returns to Ely Cathedral for the first time in over fifty years to present an extraordinary multichoir mass setting. Benevolo has been little heard in modern times, until Hervé Niquet’s ensemble’s recent championing of his richly textured and highly original sacred works. Orazio Benevolo’s mass is an astonishing spectacle and a ravishing listening experience, with eight choirs (each with their own conductor and instrumental ensemble) arrayed around the Octagon. Performed in a sequence alongside sumptuous choral motets and instrumental flourishes from his Italian musical forbears and leavened with the purity of plainchant, this is a bewitching, extravagant highpoint of the Italian baroque.
The magical sounds of Libera have enchanted audiences across the world. Their distinctive white robes recall Libera’s traditional origins, yet their music - which is at once both ancient and modern - reaches across the generations to a wide audience. Their success in album charts around the world bears witness to the extraordinary appeal of this unique ‘boy band’. The boys - who in their staged performances are aged between 7 and 16 - first appeared at Ely in 2017, and make a welcome return this May.
A CELEBRATION OF PEACE IN COMMEMORATION OF THE END OF WWI Wednesday 4 July | 7.30pm
CAMBRIDGE PHILHARMONIC CONCERT Saturday 7 July | 7.30pm Nicknamed the ‘Symphony of a Thousand’, the Cambridge Philharmonic will lead a massed orchestra and a choir of several hundred singers to perform Mahler’s th titanic 8 Symphony. To perform what Mahler himself considered to be his greatest work, the Cambridge Phil are joined by 8 exceptional soloists and led by renowned conductor Tim Redmond. This performance of one of the 20th Century’s greatest works, in the breath-taking setting of Ely Cathedral, is certainly not to be missed.
One hundred years after the end of World War I, a massed choir of 250 A singers from across the CELEBRATION of PEACE United States comes In commemoration of the end of WWI together on American Featuring Independence Day to A CHORUS OF 300 VOICES FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES perform a Celebration with East Anglia Chamber Orchestra of Peace with the Ely Cathedral East Anglia Chamber Wednesday 4 July - 7:30pm Orchestra, under the VAUGHAN WILLIAMS batons of Stephen WILBERG Cleobury (Kings Conductors, Stephen Cleobury (UK) & Craig Jessop (USA) College, Cambridge) and Craig Jessop (former director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir). This unique concert will include Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis, Dona Nobis Pacem, Sancta Civitas, 5 variants on Dives and Lazarus and other works by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Concert in aid of Ely Cathedral. Music Celebrations International presents
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Dona Nobis Pacem | Old Hundreth Psalm | Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Sancta Civitas | Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus
Let Peace then Still the Strife
Premium tickets £15.00 - Includes preferential reserved seating and glass of wine during interval General Ticket £10 - Non-reserved seating / Concessions £8 - Non-reserved seating
Available from: Ely Cathedral Box Office Tel: 01353 660349 | boxoffice@elycathedral.org | https://tickets.elycathedral.org
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RETROSPECTIVE Christmas at Ely
#aChristmasMiracle campaign
Christmas at Ely is always a very special experience, however many times you have been part of it before. This year was no exception. The Hark the Herald concert and the traditional carol services were splendid and beautifully sung and packed to capacity - the concert selling out weeks in advance. Our Eucharists on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day combined solemnity with celebration and along with Choral Evensong remain the central pillars of all the busy activity. Newer acts of worship have gone from strength to strength - the combined Crib Services on Christmas Eve and the day before saw over 1500 people, the Children’s Society Christingle was as full as ever and for the Carol sing along with Littleport Brass band we welcomed an amazing 800 people. The Christmas Tree light up service, although only in its second year, was a very happy celebration - now firmly part of the Ely tradition. None of this could have been achieved without the help and work of so many volunteers and dedicated staff. It would be impossible and invidious to single any out - except for our musicians and choirs: Upper and Lower Voices and the Ely Imps - a huge thank you to them!
Candlemas - A Feast of light For the third time Ely Cathedral was transformed for the Feast of Candlemas by the light of more than 7,500 candles. Over 400 people attended this special event which saw the Cathedral Choir sing a beautiful programme of music on the themes of this Feast. Punctuating the Choral music were a series of challenging and thoughtful reflections given by the Dean of St Albans, The Very Revd Dr Jeffrey John. We hope to share these reflections online in the very near future.
Ely Cathedral and The Diocese of Ely have been amazed by the success of their 2017 social media campaign to mark Advent and Christmas which has broken all previous records. #aChristmasMiracle was launched on Advent Sunday and over the course of December reached over 6.3 million people and saw our content viewed over 2.2 million times. The campaign was kicked off using a captivating and beautifully presented lead film telling the story of the original Christmas miracle. The footage featured many familiar faces and voices including The Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, BBC personality, The Revd Sally Hitchiner and Bishop Stephen. However the stars of the opening film were without doubt the many children and volunteers from across the Diocese who kindly participated in helping tell this significant story. The campaign ran until Christmas Day and explored the themes of Advent and Christmas. Daily blog posts were interspersed with videos of seasonal music performed by the Ely Cathedral Choirs and the Gesualdo Six. The #aChristmasMiracle campaign was picked up by Classic FM who shared content via their social media channels. You can watch all of the films on the Cathedral YouTube channel. Filming for our Lent 2018 campaign took place in February and we look forward to letting you know more soon.
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FOCUS ON Canon James Garrard - Precentor at Ely Cathedral
Who are you? My job as Precentor (from the Latin words for ‘the one who sings first’) is to be the canon with the main responsibility for the organising of liturgical worship in the Cathedral, working very closely with my clergy colleagues, the Cathedral’s musicians and the choirs, servers, vergers and staff. The recent service when the new Octagon altar was consecrated is very good example of working with all those people, and the Bishop’s office, to achieve that. What were you doing before you came to Ely Cathedral? I came to Ely from being a Vicar in the beautiful Ribble Valley in Lancashire and Diocesan Warden of Readers (LLMs). Previously I was a curate and then a parish priest in West Yorkshire. How long have you worked here? Just over 9 years. What does your role as Precentor involve on a daily / weekly basis? No day is identical to the last: a fact which I enjoy very much, but everyday has common elements too. Apart from attending Morning and Evening Prayer every working day (which is the duty
of all clergy) I am most involved in preparing the Sunday and other acts of worship, working closely with Paul and Edmund my musician colleagues in general administration of the choir and care for the choirboys. As a member of Chapter I am also ‘on the board’ and my more general responsibilities as a Chapter member are important every day too. Of course, I sing at evensong very frequently – literally ‘singing first’ (as above) O Lord open thou our lips. What is the most rewarding aspect of your role? Unquestionably working with other people in this extraordinary place to make our welcome and worship the best we can and hope that they will also see a glimpse of God’s glory and grace here. What is the busiest time of year? This is a question I am always asked! Christmas and Holy Week & Easter are far the busiest in terms of services of course, and the year provides some peaks and troughs. However August and February can be pretty busy too!
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What responsibilities do you have with other organisations outside your role at the Cathedral? I chair the Diocesan Royal School of Church Music committee which has its annual Festival here in May, and I am a member of the Fabric Advisory Committee at Liverpool Cathedral. I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. What other interests do you have outside Ely Cathedral? I very much enjoy art and history more generally. Perhaps it is therefore no surprise that when we can take a holiday abroad we have nearly always gone to Italy. What do you like most about living in Ely? I feel very fortunate to live in the centre of Ely – quite literally less than a minute’s walk from the market. The proximity of my work, the children’s schooling and the city’s facilities are great benefits every day. As our family lives variously in Norwich, Cambridge, London and just off the A1 near Newark, its roads and rail are also a good thing about it.
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MARCH Friday 2 12.10pm Holy Communion followed by Lent Lunch (Lady Chapel) Sunday 4 - 3rd Sunday of Lent 5pm Lent Discussion on Psalms and Scripture Monday 5 10am Ministry of Welcome Recommissioning Service Tuesday 6 1pm Meditation and Music for Lent 9pm Compline (Lady Chapel) Wednesday 7 1.10pm Lunchtime Concert Pupils of King’s Ely Thursday 8 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert St James Chapel Choir 6.30pm Meet The Volunteer Team Friday 9 12.10pm Holy Communion followed by Lent Lunch (Lady Chapel) Saturday 10 12.30pm Walsingham Cell Mass (Lady Chapel) 7.30pm Performances by We are Sound & 9.15pm ‘In the Dark at Ely’ Sunday 11 - Mothering Sunday 5pm Lent Discussion on Psalms and Scripture 6.30pm Lenten Taizé Service (Lady Chapel) Monday 12 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert Blair Academy Choir and Orchestra Tuesday 13 1pm Meditation and Music for Lent 9pm Compline (Lady Chapel) Thursday 15 7.30pm Organ Recital - Paul Trepte Friday 16 12.10pm Holy Communion followed by Lent Lunch (Lady Chapel) Saturday 17 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert Suffolk Singers Sunday 18 - 5th Sunday in Lent 5pm Lent Discussion on Psalms and Scripture Monday 19 - Joseph of Nazareth 12.10pm Holy Communion Tuesday 20 1pm Meditation and Music for Lent 9pm Compline (High Altar) Wednesday 21 1.10pm Lunchtime Concert Washington National Cathedral Choir Friday 23 12.10pm Holy Communion followed by Lent Lunch (Lady Chapel) Saturday 24 7.30pm St John Passion - J. S. Bach Ely Choral Society
Sunday 25 - Palm Sunday 5pm Lent Discussion on Psalms and Scripture Friday 30 10am Children’s Good Friday Activities and Worship HOLY WEEK & EASTER - SEE PAGE 4
APRIL Wednesday 4 10am Holiday Drop-In Session Friday 6 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert Radcliffe on Trent Male Voice Choir Sunday 8 - 2nd Sunday of Easter 6.30pm Easter Praise - Contemporary Worship Monday 9 - The Annunciation of Our Lord 10am Holiday Drop-In Session 12.10pm Holy Communion 7pm Mothers’ Union Lady Day Service Wednesday 11 10am Holiday Drop-In Session Saturday 14 12.30pm Walsingham Cell Mass (Lady Chapel) 5.30pm Come & Sing Evensong with the Ely Cathedral Octagon Singers Sunday 15 - 3rd Sunday of Easter Thursday 19 7.30pm Organ Recital - Aaron Shilson Sunday 22 - 4th Sunday of Easter 2pm Junior Prime Brass Concert Tuesday 24 Ely Cathedral Business Group ‘Celebration of Business’ Wednesday 25 - Mark the Evangelist 12.10pm Holy Communion Thursday 26 7.30pm Woodbridge School Concert Saturday 28 7.30pm From Russia with Love Ely Sinfonia Concert Sunday 29 - 5th Sunday of Easter
MAY Tuesday 1 - Philip and James 12.10pm Holy Communion Wednesday 2 1.10pm Lunchtime Concert Guildhall Saxes Thursday 3 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert Danish Royal Chapel Choir 7.30pm Hills Road Sixth Form College Spring Concert Sunday 6 - 6th Sunday of Easter Wednesday 9 7.30pm Stained Glass Museum Lecture Thursday 10 7.30pm Ascension Day Sung Eucharist Saturday 12 12.30pm Walsingham Cell Mass (Lady Chapel) 7.30pm Libera in Concert
Sunday 13 - 7th Sunday of Easter 6.30pm Christian Aid Week Service Monday 14 - Mathias the Apostle 12.10pm Holy Communion Thursday 17 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert William Jewel College Choir, USA 7.30pm Organ Recital Sarah MacDonald Saturday 19 - Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, Refounder of the Monastery at Ely 12.10pm Holy Communion 5pm RSCM Festival Service Sunday 20 - Day of Pentecost 7pm Pentecost Praise with Baptism and Confirmation Thursday 24 1.10pm Lunchtime Concert Neil Collidge Piano Sunday 27 - Trinity Sunday 4pm Evensong with Installation of Lay Canons Monday 28 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert University of London Chamber Choir Tuesday 29 1.10pm Lady Chapel Lunchtime Concert Platt River Singers, USA Wednesday 30 10am Holiday Drop-In Session Thursday 31 - Corpus Christi 10.30am Retired Clergy Eucharist 7.30pm Solemn Eucharist Fourth Mondays at Ely Cathedral Business Group ‘Fourth Mondays’ are informal evening discussion sessions, initially focused on businesses which are part of the ECBG network, and led by a representative of the company. As the name suggests they take place on the fourth Monday in every month. Our motivation for these gatherings are to encourage networking amongst ECBG members, learn about each other’s businesses and professional lives, to share experiences, challenges and insights, and to inspire one another and to pursue the ECBG theme and purpose as a business of wellbeing in our community. These events are open to all, even those not members of the Ely Cathedral Business Group Community and are free of charge. No need to book, just turn up. Please see the events pages on our website: www.elycathedralbusinessgroup. org/fourth-mondays for further information. Ely Cathedral, The Chapter House, The College, Ely, Cambs, CB7 4DL 01353 667735 | www.elycathedral.org Follow us on