Cathedral Extra Advent & Christmas 2017 From the Dean ... PO Box 855 Christchurch 8140 NZ | Tel +64 3 3660046 | [email protected]| www.christchurchcathedral.co.nz The Transitional Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand ChristChurch Cathedral Transitional † The Transitional Cathedral +64 3 366 0046 [email protected]www.christchurchcathedral.co.nz Contact W hen the Church celebrates Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago. Jesus was born in a stable in the town of Bethlehem in very humble circumstances, and the first to offer their worship were the shepherds who responded to a message from an angel who told them the Good News that a Saviour was born, the Messiah, the Lord. People have all sorts of ways of keeping in touch with this. Some people go on tours to the Holy Land to visit Bethlehem. They come back with nativity scenes, figures of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus which they set up in their living rooms. Some bring back other reminders of the Holy Land; water from the Jordan River, or a stone that might be incorporated into a church building. Christians have been making these kinds of pilgrimages for centuries and bringing back reminders of the story to help make it a present reality for us today. In this Cathedral there will be a crib scene for this very purpose, and the figure of the baby Christ-child will be placed in the crib scene during the Christmas Midnight Eucharist in communion with other Cathedrals and churches around the world. Bethlehem today is a very different place from that depicted in our carols and Christmas cards. It is surrounded by a wall designed to keep Palestinian people out of Israel. It has frequently been caught up in the violence of conflict in that part of the world. Modern day Bethlehem is a reminder that Jesus came into a world which is a difficult place, where there is injustice, misuse of power, violence, and where those who are powerless find themselves being expected to be submissive to those with power. This reflects the way many people of the world think the Church should be; compelled into submission. This is not the way of God. Jesus is the fullness of God revealed to us in a human life. He comes in vulnerability, as a helpless child, to be alongside us and to share our humanity. He invites us to follow him. He never attempts to force us to follow, but he comes as the fullness W
Transcript
Cathedral Extra
Advent &
Christmas
2017
From the Dean ...
PO Box 855 Christchurch 8140 NZ | Tel +64 3 3660046 | [email protected] | www.christchurchcathedral.co.nz
The Transitional Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand
ChristChurch C a t h e d r a lTransitional
†
The Transitional Cathedral+64 3 366 0046admin@christchurchcathedral.co.nzwww.christchurchcathedral.co.nz
Contact
When the Church celebrates
Christmas we celebrate the
birth of Jesus over 2000 years
ago. Jesus was born in a stable
in the town of Bethlehem in very humble
circumstances, and the first to offer
their worship were the shepherds who
responded to a message from an angel
who told them the Good News that a
Saviour was born, the Messiah, the Lord.
People have all sorts of ways of keeping
in touch with this. Some people go on
tours to the Holy Land to visit Bethlehem.
They come
back with
n a t i v i t y
scenes, figures
of Mary and
Joseph and
the baby Jesus
which they
set up in their
living rooms.
Some bring
back other
reminders of the Holy Land; water from
the Jordan River, or a stone that might
be incorporated into a church building.
Christians have been making these kinds
of pilgrimages for centuries and bringing
back reminders of the story to help
make it a present reality for us today. In
this Cathedral there will be a crib scene
for this very purpose, and the figure of
the baby Christ-child will be placed in
the crib scene during the Christmas
Midnight Eucharist in communion with
other Cathedrals and churches around
the world.
Bethlehem today is a very different
place from that depicted in our carols
and Christmas cards. It is surrounded
by a wall designed to keep Palestinian
people out of Israel. It has frequently
been caught up in the violence of conflict
in that part of the world. Modern day
Bethlehem is a reminder that Jesus
came into a world which is a difficult
place, where there is injustice, misuse of
power, violence, and where those who
are powerless find themselves being
expected to be submissive to those with
power. This reflects the way many people
of the world think the Church should be;
compelled into submission.
This is not the way of God. Jesus is
the fullness of God revealed to us in a
human life. He comes in vulnerability, as
a helpless child, to be alongside us and
to share our humanity. He invites us to
follow him. He never attempts to force
us to follow, but he comes as the fullness
W
From Page 1of God’s grace and love to win us over.
He shows us that the God we worship
and that Christians believe in refuses to
come in force, but in humility and in love.
Later on, Jesus will say, “Whoever
welcomes this child in my name
welcomes me, and whoever welcomes
me welcomes the one who sent me;
for the least among all of you is the
greatest." In the birth of Jesus, God takes
these seriously and shows us what this
looks like. God becomes a child for us,
becomes as vulnerable as it is possible to
be, so that we might know God’s love.
The carol, “O little town of Bethlehem”
has this line in the first verse: “the hopes
and fears of all the years are met in thee
tonight.” God is aware of the messiness
of life and comes to be alongside us in
our life’s journey. God comes to confront
the darkness that we face, to be with us
as we cope with the messiness of life
and difficulties we find ourselves is. God
comes to open up a future laden with
hope that is beyond our imagination; a
future where there is justice and love.
This Christmas, give your hopes and your
fears to God. For Jesus is born to bring
love into the world. He is with us and
alongside us, working for love, peace and
hope, that these gifts may be received
in our hearts and in the hearts of every
human being, so that all may know God’s
love.
Dean Lawrence Kimberley
Servers ...
Worship at the Transitional Cathedral
SUNDAYS8.00am Holy Eucharist
10.00am Choral Eucharist5.00pm Choral Evensong
WEEKDAY SERVICESHoly Eucharist at 12.05pm
Monday (NZPB),
Tuesday (NZPB, & prayers for healing),
Wednesday (Celtic tradition),
Thursday (in te reo Maori),
Friday (NZPB)
Saturday Midday Prayer
Choral Evensong at 5.30pm
(during school terms):
Tuesday & Wednesday
(with the full Choir);
Thursday
(with the gentlemen of the Choir)
Choral Evensong at 4.30pm
(during school terms):
Friday (with the choristers of the
Cathedral Choir)
Weekday Services of Choral
Evensong cease for 2017 on
Thursday 16 December and resume
on Tuesday
30 January 2018 at 5.30pm.
Recently we presented our Cathedral
Servers' team with Certificates and
presented those who had progressed to
he next level of proficiency with their
new ribbons.
We are immensely grateful to this
group of yuoung people who assist with
the Eucharist service every Sunday and
other major services as required. Some of
our senior members move on at the end
of the year as they leave Christchurch to
take up positions at university. We wish
them well for their studies and whatever
the future may hold.
We are always on the look out for
new servers. If you are currently in
Year 4 or above we'd love to hear from
you! Just contact Revd Ben Randall on
assistantcurate@christchurchcathedral.
co.nz
Advent & Christmas
Sunday 19 November
~ Second Sunday before Advent
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:DeanLawrenceKimberley
Music:TheCathedralSingers
5:00pm Choral Evensong
Preacher:MarlaHughes
Music:TheCathedralSingers
Sunday 26 November
~ The Reign of Christ
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:BishopVictoriaMatthews
Music:TheCathedralChoir
5:00pm Choral Evensong
Preacher:DeanLawrenceKimberley
Music:TheCathedralChoir
Sunday 3 December
~ Advent
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist withthe
CathedralGrammarJuniorSchool
NativityPlay
Music:TheCathedralChoir
2:00pm A Service to Commemorate
the 40th Anniversary of Women in New
Zealand
7:30pm The Advent Carol Service
TheAdventstoryinmusicand
readings
Music:TheCathedralChoir
Sunday 10 December
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:DeanLawrenceKimberley
Music:TheCathedralChoir
5:00pm Choral Evensong
Preacher:VenLynnetteLightfoot
Music:TheCathedralChoir
Sunday 17 December
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:RevdBenRandall
Music:TheCathedralChoir
7:30pm The Festival of Nine Lessons
and Carols
Music:TheCathedralChoir
Sunday 24 December
~ Christmas Eve
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:BishopVictoriaMatthews
Music:TheCathedralChoir
6:00pm Carol Recital by The Cathedral
Choir
10:30pm Carol Singing
11:15pm The First Eucharist of Christmas
Preacher:DeanLawrenceKimberley
Music:TheCathedralChoir
Monday 25 December ~ Christmas Day
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Festival Eucharist
Preacher:RevdBenRandall
Music:TheCathedralChoir
5:00pm Festal Evensong
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:VenLynnetteLightfoot
Music:TheCathedralChoir
Sunday 31 December
~ Christmas 1
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:DeanLawrenceKimberley
Music:TheCathedralChorale
5:00pm Choral Evensong (the first
Evensong of the Naming of Jesus)
Preacher:VenLynnetteLightfoot
Music:TheCathedralChorale
Sunday 7 January
~ The Epiphany of our Lord
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:VenLynnetteLightfoot
Music:TheCathedralChorale
5:00pm Choral Evensong
Preacher:DeanLawrenceKimberley
Music:TheCathedralChorale
Monday 8 January ~The Baptism of Jesus
12:05pm Holy Eucharist
Sunday 14 January ~ Epiphany 2
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:RevdBenRandall
Music:TheCathedralChorale
5:00pm Choral Evensong
Preacher:DeanLawrenceKimberley
Music:TheCathedralChorale
Sunday 21 January ~ Epiphany 3
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist &
Confirmation
Preacher:BishopVictoriaMatthews
Music:TheCathedralSingers
5:00pm Choral Evensong
Preacher:RevdBenRandall
Music:TheCathedralSingers
Sunday 28 January ~ Epiphany 4
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Choral Eucharist
Preacher:RevdBenRandall
Music:TheCathedralChoir
5:00pm Choral Evensong
Preacher:VenLynnetteLightfoot
Music:TheCathedralChoir
... Cathedral worship
From the music dep’t.
Recently the Cathedral had a
visitor from overseas who
attended most of our choral
services while here. This person, also a
musician, was in touch with me prior to
arriving, so I knew to be on the lookout
for him for a catch-up on conversation.
When we met up following the first
evensong he attended, he simply
beamed with joy about what he had just
experienced in that service, particularly
the sound of the boys’ voices together.
He said he had not heard the pure sound
of a choir like that in a long time. The
unique sound of our Cathedral Choir that
night had invigorated him, refreshed
him, and elevated him.
What is it about boys’ voices that is
so appealing? Perhaps it is the fleeting
nature of the individual voice itself. In
the springtime we relish the sights and
smells of new growth, particularly here
in the Garden City. Perhaps we find
springtime appealing because of its
fleeting nature. Springtime won’t last
forever, so we consciously soak in as
much of it as possible. The same is true
of a boy’s treble voice. A boy only gets to
enjoy the use of that part of his voice for
a few years, and then after a change, that
voice is gone. Some of the best advice
I’ve heard is to ‘live in the moment.’ That
is particularly applicable to boys who
sing and we who have the pleasure of
hearing them.
This past Sunday 12 November we
had an Old Choristers’ Evensong, now
an annual event in which we invite all
previous members of the Cathedral
Choir to relive their formative time as a
chorister, choral scholar, or a gentleman
in the Cathedral Choir. Thank you to
all who have supported this event in
singing or attending the service. As the
reunion weekend has happened for two
consecutive years now, it can be firmly
labelled a ‘tradition,’ and therefore we
look forward to the third annual Old
Choristers’ Evensong in November 2018.
As Advent and Christmas get
underway, I invite you to our Advent carol
service on 3 December at 7.30pm and
our Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols on
17 December at 7.30pm.
In addition, the choristers will be
singing carol recitals on 16 December
(part of a celebration at Ara), 19
December (12.30pm in the Cathedral),
20 December (early afternoon in
Ballantynes), and 21 December (5.30pm
in The Piano).
There is also a special fundraising
concert on Sunday 10 December
at 2.00pm featuring our Cathedral
Choristers, soprano Juliet Reynolds-
Midgley, and other talented youth
from around Christchurch (tickets $20,
available on Eventfinda and at the
Cathedral).
Please check our web page www.
christchurchcathedral.co.nz for more
info, and be sure to ‘like’ our Facebook
page (ChristChurch Cathedral Choir).
Best wishes for a peaceful Advent
and Christmas.
John Linker, Director of Music
The Transitional Cathedral+64 3 366 0046admin@christchurchcathedral.co.nzwww.christchurchcathedral.co.nz
Contact
Juliet Reynolds-Midgley, soprano& exceptional young musicians:
