From the Vicar's Desk

From the Vicar's Desk - 23 April

Welcome to "From the Vicar's Desk" for Friday 23 April

"one flock, one shepherd"

It's not been an easy week for the Church of England: a Panorama programme and an official report which leaves little room for doubt that we are not doing well when it comes to racial equality in the church. read more...

Living in Love and Faith

The Church of England is currently engaging in a national engagement, listening and learning process around questions of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage, and how these fit within the bigger picture of Christian Faith. We will have an opportunity to explore this together later in the year, but our engagement with this as a diocese will begin with two half-day conferences (both the same programme) which you are invited to attend, both on zoom.

Saturday 8 May: 9.30am - 1.30pm
Saturday 22 May: 9.30am - 1.30pm

You can book here and please contact Kat if you have any questions about Living in Love and Faith.

Lewis & Elizabeth Cobb

Following news of Elizabeth's death, I got this message which is rather lovely and definitely worth sharing:

The Cobbs served SMR very well indeed. Lewis was Assistant Verger alongside Brian Spencer and they were, as far as I know, a good team and worked very well together. They did many things that today's Vergers are not allowed to do (due to Health & Safety legislation) like cleaning the chandeliers - and there are many of them. What may be less well known is that Lewis spent over a dozen years in Dar es Salaam heading the Mission to Seafarers' work there after his stint at SMR. Elizabeth did stalwart work on the flowers front and has for some time been laid low by spinal problems.

SMR's Annual Meeting

This will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 24 May. Please email email me for the Zoom link.

Thank you to those who have notified me of changes to the Electoral Roll: interestingly I have not yet had any applications to join the roll. You can see last year's roll here. If your name is not on the list and you consider yourself to be a member of SMR church you can download an application form here which can be sent in by email here. If you have moved recently or need to check the address we have on file for you click here to send me an email.

Celebrate your vaccine

Final chance to make a donation to the World Health Organisation's Arm in Arm vaccination programme. Just click here. We've raised over £2000 which is magnificent. Thank you.

Send on / Contact me

Please forward this email on those who might be interested in SMR and contact me here (rather than using reply please)

With my best wishes

Dan

Canon D F Tyndall

Vicar, St Mary Redcliffe

0776 929 6220

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Last Sunday marked the end of another choir term—and what a term it has been! We've welcomed new choristers, learnt plenty of exciting music, sung for some wonderful liturgies, and eaten what can only be described as a significant amount of biscuits. The day began with a very special visit from Sing Start! , who joined us for the Eucharist. Together we sang Litany of the Holy Spirit and Joanna Forbes L'Estrange's St Helen's Mass. A huge thank you to Helena from Children's Church for organising ice creams afterwards—a thoroughly appreciated post-service treat! We're also delighted that a large number of Sing Start! children will be joining our regular treble lines from September. This is tremendously exciting, not only for the choir's future growth but also for the long-term strength and sustainability of our music-making at SMR. In the evening, we gathered for a special service celebrating the composer Charles Wood, marking 100 years since his death. It was a fitting tribute to one of the great figures of Anglican church music—but the occasion was also notable for another reason. Several of our own choir members stepped into new musical roles and showcased talents beyond their usual singing duties. Our Head Chorister conducted the introit, one of the back-row singers composed the psalm chant, and our Corner Chorister wrote the organ voluntary. It's wonderful to see so much creativity and musicianship flourishing within the choir. The final service of the year was followed by the all-important choir party: pizza and a screening of Sister Act. Judging by the enthusiastic reaction afterwards, there is now considerable demand for I Will Follow Him to appear in a future service. We make no promises—but do keep an eye on next year's music lists... The choir is now taking a well-earned summer break, but music certainly won't stop at SMR. Sunday morning Masses will continue with a cantor leading the music, and we're looking forward to welcoming several excellent visiting choirs over the coming weeks, including St Andrew's Backwell, St Mary's Ross-on-Wye, and the Handful Chamber Choir. Our regular choir returns on Sunday 13 September, refreshed, recharged, and ready for another exciting year of music. Have a wonderful summer, and thank you to all our choristers, families, volunteers, and supporters for another fantastic year.