Thought for the day
William Butler Yeats' The Ballad of Father Gilligan read by Richard Wallace
The Ballad Of Father Gilligan
William Butler Yeats
The old priest Peter Gilligan
Was weary night and day;
For half his flock were in their beds,
Or under green sods lay.
Once, while he nodded on a chair,
At the moth-hour of eve,
Another poor man sent for him,
And he began to grieve.
'I have no rest, nor joy, nor peace,
For people die and die';
And after cried he, 'God forgive!
My body spake, not I!'
He knelt, and leaning on the chair
He prayed and fell asleep;
And the moth-hour went from the fields,
And stars began to peep.
They slowly into millions grew,
And leaves shook in the wind;
And God covered the world with shade,
And whispered to mankind.
Upon the time of sparrow-chirp
When the moths came once more.
The old priest Peter Gilligan
Stood upright on the floor.
'Mavrone, mavrone! the man has died
While I slept on the chair';
He roused his horse out of its sleep,
And rode with little care.
He rode now as he never rode,
By rocky lane and fen;
The sick man's wife opened the door:
'Father! you come again!'
'And is the poor man dead?' he cried.
'He died an hour ago.'
The old priest Peter Gilligan
In grief swayed to and fro.
'When you were gone, he turned and died
As merry as a bird.'
The old priest Peter Gilligan
He knelt him at that word.
'He Who hath made the night of stars
For souls who tire and bleed,
Sent one of His great angels down
To help me in my need.
'He Who is wrapped in purple robes,
With planets in His care,
Had pity on the least of things
Asleep upon a chair.'
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We've seen lots of amazing work in the visitor services department so far this year. SMR stewards have generated over £4,500 donations between January and April 2026 and welcomed over 5000 visitors to the Church. We are welcoming new tour guides to the front of house team with the eventual goal to expand the number of tours we are able to offer to the public. Janet and Reuben have both done their first tours and have received wonderful reviews from visitors. If you are interested in volunteering on the front of house team please contact me on lucy.marshall@stmaryredcliffe.co.uk . We have had some amazing feedback from our outreach events as we aim to welcome not only those familiar with SMR but also those that have never been before. These have included film screenings, talks and most recently the Redcliffe Sessions which raised just under £150 for our Lent charity partner, CALM. Thank you to all those who have supported these. The next Redcliffe Session will be in support of SMR and will feature Bristol band Dogsbody on guitar, cello and violin, and songwriter, Alex Pester on 13th June. I am very excited looking into the rest of 2026 for our future events run both in house and by external hirers, more information of which can be found on our website. If you are interested in volunteering at any future SMR events please let me know! Lucy Marshall Visitor Services Coordinator 06.05.2026
The Bristol Diocesan Synod is the governance body of the diocese, formulating diocesan policy, assisting the bishop and his staff to support and oversee the work and mission of the diocese, approving the budget, and debating important local and national issues affecting the Church. It considers matters referred from general synod, deanery synods, PCC's and synod members. Each meeting includes a Bishop's Address, a General Synod report, a Bishop's Council/Board of Directors/Mission and Pastoral Committee report, and features Question-Time and begins with a short act of worship. The diocese always has an overall strategy, setting out its priorities, guiding thinking. The current one is entitled Transforming Church. Together. (TCT). It is the largest and most ambitious strategy that I have yet encountered, in many years' involvement with Church of England local governance, and it is a strategic plan based around renewing the diocese's mission, focusing on following Jesus, serving communities, and fostering an inclusive culture. It is concerned with growth, environmental sustainability and empowering leadership. TCT updates are considered at most diocesan synods at the present time. There are usually three meetings of the Bristol Diocesan Synod, but in 2025, there were four. The main business of the meetings was as follows: At the March meeting, there was a report from the Diocesan Board of Education. There was a video of young people posing questions to the synod for its consideration. There was a report on using Sharesy at Holy Trinity Horfield. Sharesy is a UK-based on-line venue-hire market place connecting people looking for space with local community venues, such as schools, church halls and community centres. The synod considered living in love and Faith. There was a report on the diocese's carbon emissions in the years 2021-23. At the June meeting, which included the AGM of the Bristol Diocesan Board of Finance, the synod voted to receive and adopt the annual report and financial statement for the year ended 31 December 2024, and to reappoint auditors, Hays Mac. People were also elected to posts on the Board of Finance. The synod also received the safeguarding report. There was a presentation about roof repairs to All Saints Corn Street, where the memorial to Edward Colston is situated. September's meeting was additional, and was solely about Living in Love and Faith, prayers of blessing for same gender couples, and featured a good deal of round table discussion. At the November meeting, the synod voted to authorize the Bristol Diocesan Board of Finance to expend, in the year 2026, sums totalling £15966000. This represents a projected deficit of at least £288.000. Although the budget was voted through, (had this not been the case, the diocese would not have been able to spend any money in 2026!), there were a larger number of objections and abstensions than usual, due to factors such as the diocese suspending funding for Carbon Net Zero. There was an update on Priority Communities, an initiative involving the most deprived areas receiving targetted help, including funding and dedicated resources. The synod also received a report on the Church Urban Fund Together Network Partnership, a nation wide alliance of Christian organisations, working to combat poverty and strengthen communities, including providing places of welcome and trying to address food insecurity through local partnerships, notably thanks to hard working volunteers. Auriol Britton 30.04.2026
Preached by the Revd Dr Brutus Green
Preached by the Revd Dr Brutus Green
