April 2016 at St Michael’s

Please continue to support the Lectures both here and at St David’s. The Easter Season fills April with joyful Sundays, with Gospel readings of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples, and uplifting Hymns, Mass settings and Motets.

Our nest box camera is online on the Peregrine page of this website, with the 4 eggs laid around Easter now being incubated and due to hatch at end of April/start of May – enjoy watching, and donate if you feel able.
2016-04-01_4Eggs
The intricacies of Julian & Gregorian Calendars and Paschal Moons mean that Orthodox Easter is on 1st May this year, a full 5 weeks after the West, by which time we will be reaching Rogation Sunday.

Monday 4 April please come to the Feast of the Annunciation transferred from Holy Week. Sung Mass at 7.30pm. Missa “Aeterna Christi Munera” by Palestrina. Ave Maria, by Parsons.
Window Ave Maria

Plainsong Vespers & Meditation every Tuesday & Thursday at 6pm in Church. No Choir Practice Tues 5 Apr.

Sunday 10 April, Easter 3/II, 10.45am Mass singing Harris in F and Surrexit Christus Dominus by Michael Praetorius.

Sunday 17 April, Easter 4/III, 10.45am. Missa “O Quam Gloriosum” by Victoria and Exultate Deo by Palestrina.

At St David’s Church on Wednesday 20 April at 7.30pm, preceded by Holy Communion at 7pm. This year’s Annual Parish Church Meeting, reviewing 2015 and looking prayerfully to the future for both St David’s and St Michael’s Churches.

At St David’s Church on Thursday 21 April at 7.30pm – The Revd Harri Williams from St David’s Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, on St David, his Ministry and Influence. One of a series of Heritage Lectures about the Church and its churchyard as part of the St David’s Transformation Project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Saturday 23 April at 9.30am, there is a joint St David’s/St Mike’s Men’s Breakfast at the Farmers’ Union by the Clock-tower at the north end of Queen Street.

Saturday 23 April, St George’s Day and Jewish Passover. 7.30pm at Exeter Cathedral a rare opportunity to hear Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, performed by EMG Symphony Orchestra and Choirs. Written for the Consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in May 1962, it is a sign of reconciliation and hope in a damaged world.

Sunday 24 April, Easter 5/IV, 10.45am. Mass in the Phrygian Mode by Charles Wood and the splendid multi-verse Anthem “Ye Choirs of new Jerusalem” by C V Stanford.
Bp Sarah Mullally
Wed 27 April at 7.30pm, St Michael’s Lectures are delighted to welcome Rt Revd Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of Crediton, to talk on the topic “Should the Church be involved in the Health of our Communities?” Continuing our theme of religious reflection on current social concerns.

Rogation Sunday, 1st May, 10.45am Sung Mass and Procession around Mount Dinham. Missa “Entre vous filles” by Lassus, and “Thou visitest the Earth and blessest it” by Greene.
Rogation 2015 - Copes
Sunday 1st May, we also have our 6pm First Sunday Choral Evensong & Benediction. To mark the day, the Anthem will be “The Heavens are telling the Glory of God” by Franz Joseph Haydn from his Oratorio, The Creation. Come & see why Choral Evensong is the fastest growing service in the C of E.

Thurs 5 May, 40 days after Easter, we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into Heaven. At 7.30am, we have Ascension Day Plainsong Matins sung from the West Gallery, followed by breakfast. At 7.30pm there is a Sung Mass for the Feast Day.

Please also put Friday 27 May at 7.30pm in your Diaries, when we are privileged to welcome Professor Nicholas Orme, who will distil his extensive knowledge of Church History to give a lecture in memory of Canon John Thurmer, entitled “A Brief History of England’s Cathedrals.” Free entry, all welcome.

Richard Barnes.