Author: artsyhonker

Musical Bicycle Pilgrimage

Byartsyhonker June 16, 2013 1 Comment
In addition to the St Andrew's Mystery Plays, I have a second shiny project for next summer: a musical bicycle pilgrimage. The plan is to find some like-minded cycling musicians and visit various churches in East Anglia, Essex, and Cambridgeshire by bicycle. At each church we will put on a recital; the churches hosting us would keep any proceeds from the performance, but would need to put us up...

On Cultural Relevance in Liturgy

Byartsyhonker May 31, 2013 0 Comments
Earlier this week I wrote on liturgy, what it means, what people think it means. One of the reasons religious groups reject one form of liturgy and replace it for another is that they are trying to be culturally relevant. There is something very good in this: there is a recognition that the language the religious group uses to talk about what is divine, spiritual or transcendent, is not the same...

On Liturgy

Byartsyhonker May 30, 2013 2 Comments
I've seen a number of instances where a church or a member of a church claims that their worship "doesn't use liturgy". They seem to mean that they don't use sung prayers, or set words, or participate in the Eucharist -- they avoid The Liturgy Of The Church, so to speak. I understand liturgy much more broadly: as the shape and format of public worship. Of course, religious traditions that are not...

New Legislative Proposals — what does GS 1886 mean?

Byartsyhonker May 24, 2013 0 Comments
Right, if you're not interested in Church of England politics, look away now. Go watch some kittens or something. The House of Bishops has published a report recommending one of four possible legislative proposals drafted by the working group on women in the episcopate. They have recommended Option One. Option One, most simply put, means: 1) make it legal for women to be Bishops 2) remove the...

The Angel : a poem for Stephanie Bottrill

Byartsyhonker May 14, 2013 0 Comments
by Trish Burns Joey slips behind me, mewing as, unthinking, I replace the cups and pens, the writing pad in the box marked "Kitchen." He purrs against my legs - I touch him - grumbles as the front door clicks. He will be better fed. My home is not my home now, Nor have I elsewhere, nor am I fed. I must be gone, and I am gone - ghosting between the houses which sleep on in the early light. How...

ACTORS WANTED!

Byartsyhonker May 13, 2013 0 Comments
At St Andrew's Leytonstone this summer we're hosting Mystery Plays as an organ fundraiser. I've made an initial list of ten plays (playlets really). The idea is to have all of these covered by the beginning of June, after which if more people want to join us they're welcome and we can expand. Various local groups have expressed interest in participating and I'll be approaching them this week to...

Those Naughty Organists

Byartsyhonker May 3, 2013 0 Comments
I read with some bemusement an article in the Telegraph. Beware the wrath of the church organist, it warns, and goes on to list various musical infelicities. Slipping unexpected tunes into music is practically obligatory, as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I will play "We're walking in the air" as a recessional voluntary when it is actually snowing (or at least for the first Sunday snowfall of the...

WLP2: Workfare and church investments

Byartsyhonker April 24, 2013 0 Comments
This is the second letter of the Weekly Letter Project. This week (yes, I'm late) I am writing to James Featherby of the Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group. Dear Mr Featherby, I was pleased to see that the national investing bodies of the Church of England have adopted a policy on executive remuneration on the recommendation of the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group...

Jeremy Hunt song

Byartsyhonker April 6, 2013 2 Comments
With many thanks to @Turkeyplucker for the words: Now some say that Minister Lansley Is better than Jeremy Hunt; They're both set on privatisation, And I say that each one's a -- Come for your jabs and your X-rays, Come get your broken bones set, And come buy a piece of the service, They haven't sold all of it yet! Give back, give back the National Health Service to us, to us! Give back, give...