- Joint Annual Report
For 2009
As usual, this has been a very busy year for both the Robed Choir and the Singers.
Easter ’09 was a busy time with a much-requested presentation of Stainer’s Crucifixion to lead us into Holy Week, followed by the run of special services for the festival itself.
Also at that time the Robed Choir travelled to Stoke to sing the Annual Service for the Association for Latin Liturgy for the second time. This was the subject of much appreciation by the Association and an assurance of a repeat invitation.
The Singers again sang for the closing (July) and opening (September) services of the Diocesan Course for Developing Disciples. Their contribution is always appreciated and an invitation to participate again in 2010 has been received.
Both Choirs presented a summer concert for the Moseley Festival which was very well attended and well performed by all concerned.
In August the Robed Choir’s Summer Residential took them to Ripon Cathedral for the first time. This was a very successful training venture which also included many social highlights including visits to Fountains Abbey and York Minster, bowling and plenty of swimming in the pool at Ashville College, where the choir was accommodated. We were grateful for the help of Rev. Jeremy in supporting the trip through his contacts in advance, and also his active participation during the week itself.
Christmas was also busy for the Robed Choir, with the usual round of special visits including St Martin’s in the Bull Ring (singing for the WI Carol Service in the presence of the Lord Mayor), Victoria Hall, Leamington Spa (for the 215t year!) and Christmas functions in Kings Heath and the City Centre.
The Singers also brought Christmas cheer to the residents at Sorrento Court and Dowells Retreat. The round of special Festivals of Lessons and Carols for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas ensured that both choirs were kept on their toes!
The repeat at St Mary’s of Cracking Carols for the community in the presence of the Lord Mayor went well and allowed the inclusion of some music which might not find itself into the context of a liturgical service.
The Robed Choir is delighted to have welcomed four new young members into the Treble line. At the same time both groups have been delighted to embrace Kevin Edwards (Tenor) and Rev. Dr Ivor Jones (Bass) into their ranks. There are several gentlemen who now serve in both the Choir and the Singers and their extra dedication is noted and appreciated.
For the future, both groups are looking forward to the potential trip to Capetown in 2011. Nearer to that the Choir visits Derby Cathedral in June while the Singers are exploring the possibility of a trip to Spain.
It goes without saying that everyone in the Benefice is welcome to join either group. This is especially true for youngsters in the Robed Choir. It is an excellent way of participating in our services on a regular basis, becoming not spectators but true participants in the delivery of the liturgy. What better way to understand the meaning of the faith and learn about music at the same time? For adults, the majority of the team have made the transition from congregation to Choir or Singers, with little previous singing experience but now are much more confident and conversant with what worship is about. Why not come and join in?
Both Choirs are looking forward to the new potentials afforded to them and to others in the church from the Vestry refurbishment. It has provided much needed re-organisation and cataloguing of the music library and a much more pleasant space in which to rehearse and prepare for worship.
Finally, Mick Perrier would like to thank Ian Biggs, Mark Simons and Bob Meikle for their inestimable support in various ways throughout the year. Together with the dedication of all members of the music team it is a real family effort!
Mick PerrierSt Mary’s steel bells have lasted far longer than expected; however, it has become necessary to plan for the future and therefore a Board of Trustees has been set up to raise funds to replace the bells.
St Mary’s Bells Installation Fund is now a registered charity and the appeal to raise funds for the project was launched on Sunday 12 July at all three services in St Mary’s. Display boards were set up with beautiful large photographs. There was a demonstration bell from Taylor’s Bell Foundry and a superb performance of hand bell ringing from members of the St Martin’s Guild of Church Bell Ringers as well as a talk about the project given by Richard Grimmett and Sharon Wall.
Since the launch enough money has been raised to purchase the three bells that are presently displayed in the south aisle of St Mary’s. It is intended that these will form the bottom three of a ring of ten bells.
Please take a moment to view the website www.stmarysbells.org where you can watch a video clip of the arrival of one of the new bells and listen to the existing bells and what the new ones may sound like.
In May the bell ringers of both St Mary’s and St Anne’s held their Ringers Outing on which three churches in the north Cotswolds were visited for ringing the bells: Welford-on-Avon, Upper Quinton and Ebrington. We will always be pleased to hear from prospective new ringers, so if you would like to have a go or just to see what we get up to please come along on a Monday evening to St Mary’s or on a Tuesday evening to St Anne’s, or preferably first speak to one of our ringers to check times.
For further information contact: St Mary’s – Ian Bryan on 07890 687939 or Paul Lindley on 689 1802, or St Anne’s – Jayne Beauchamp on 624 6188
Paul LindleyIn July 2009 the St Mary’s Bells Installation Fund was launched with the purpose of raising £140,000 to fund provision and installation of a new ring of bells at St Mary’s Church. The Fund was set up because the current set of steel bells are corroded, and thus out of tune. The tenor bell, which is the largest, has fallen from its fixings and now lies in the floor of the bell tower. It is not known how safe this is but the situation has added a new urgency to the project. The fixtures and fittings (especially the bearings) on the bells are worn out and will become, in the not too distant future, a real problem. The current set of bells are very heavy and difficult to ring which means that some groups of people, especially children, are excluded from ringing them. When the bells were cast, they were never intended for long-term use and so they have had, in this respect, a long life. A new set of bells would mean that a new generation of ringers can be taught from an earlier age and we hope that the local community will benefit from the sound of a new, tuneful ring.
There are a number of problems that we have to contend with:
The Fund’s Trustees started by applying for Charitable Status which was successful (Registered Charity No. 1130446). A leaflet was produced, as well as a website www.stmarysbells.org, to keep interested parties informed. Fundraising has been started and, so far, in excess of £12,000 has been raised since the launch in July 2009. Some of this money has enabled the Trustees to pay for the three largest bells to be purchased and these are now on display in the church along with some information about the project. The opportunity for a purchase of this kind is uncommon and has reduced the cost of the overall project significantly.
The Trustees have contacted the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers who will provide a search of Charitable Trusts relevant to individual projects and a list of appropriate bodies have been supplied so that our Trust can start to apply for further funding for the project.
Contact has been made with Olney who successfully made a bid for funding for their bell project. Their project manager is coming to Birmingham on 8 March so that we can discuss our plans with him.
Initial contact has been made with the Heritage Lottery Fund and, it is hoped, they will be brought on board further as the project develops.
A major museum in Rotherham is interested in the Steel Bells and will be visiting the church in the near future to discuss our needs and how the bells can be given a new life in a setting near to where they were originally cast.
St Mary’s bell ringers have been involved with organising fund raising events, the first of which is a quiz to be held at St Anne’s Church Hall on Saturday 17 April from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Tickets and details of this event are available from Robyn Tighe robyntigh@googlemail.com.
Further information about the project can be found by emailing Sharon Wall on info@stmarysbells.org.
Robert Slater, TrusteeThe Flower Guild arranges flowers for all services except during Lent and Advent. It also decorates the Church for weddings when requested. Anyone in the congregation can give flowers for a personal anniversary or for a festival. Members of the Guild usually buy their own flowers. Gavin Carter of the Fine Flower Company is always very helpful when members need advice about flowers.
There are twenty-four members. The number has decreased partly due to illness and infirmity. New members are very welcome and if necessary will be given all the help they want when starting.
Members have decorated the Church for four weddings, for the Patronal Festival, the Harvest Festival and the Christmas Tree Festival.
Betty Clarke is Chair of the Flower Guild (449 1189), Barbara Hanes is Vice-Chair, Dorothy Pridham is treasurer and Joyce Rimmer is Secretary (444 3516).
Joyce Rimmer.It has been a pleasure to arrange the flowers in the Church. However times are getting difficult and funds are getting low, so it was decided only to do this task once a fortnight. This has worked fairly well. The flowers are arranged to celebrate anniversaries, the lives of loved ones and of course Christmas, Easter, Harvest Festival etc. To finance a window at one of the Festivals would be greatly appreciated.
We urge parishioners to come forward and join us. Nothing is more rewarding.
Pat Burrows & Val Field.