Welcome to Choral Evensong.

On Sunday 29 January 2023 there will be a Choral Evensong on The Feast of The Presentation held at St Helen's Church for the welcome of The Reverend Mel Stanley to our Benefice. The service will start at 4 pm and will last for approximately 45 minutes, followed by refreshments.

The service is essentially that composed by Archbishop Cranmer in the sixteenth century, but contains texts and melodies which are much earlier. The solemn worship of God, with all the resources and creativity at our disposal, is our core purpose, pointing, as does our building, to our belief in the centrality of God in the life of the world and this community. The essence of this service is praise: words, inspired by God, used to worship him and lift our minds and hearts. Our meditation on the word of God leads us to Jesus who is the Word made flesh, and so the Magnificat acts as a pivot, pointing us to the new relationship with God which he brings about. The remainder of the service celebrates that ‘new covenant’ and, in the intercessions, commits us to the life of service to which Christians are called.

We hope that you will find prayerful reflection on what is said and sung a worthy offering to God. We live in a busy world; it is our prayer that this act of worship may both glorify God and provide an opportunity for the recharging of spiritual batteries.

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, bow down before him, his glory proclaim. (J.S.B. Monsell)