Remembering Michael Vasey
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Issue 18 - Summer 2008 Price to non-affiliates of Praxis: £2.50 What is Praxis? Remembering Michael Vasey Praxis was formed in riends, former students and colleagues of the memorial stone singing the ‗Litany of the 1990, sponsored by the Liturgical Commission, late Michael Vasey, for many years the Liturgy Resurrection‘ from the Common Worship initiation the Group for the F Tutor at Cranmer Hall, joined the current St services. John‘s College community on Wednesday 21 May for Renewal of Worship Invited guests shared a buffet supper before joining a Service of Thanksgiving in his memory, held in the (GROW) and the Alcuin the audience assembled for the 2008 Vasey church of St Mary-the-Less, Durham (the College Club. It exists to provide Memorial Lecture, given by David Kennedy (Canon Chapel). Past and present members of the Joint and support liturgical Precentor of Durham Cathedral and Chair of Praxis). Liturgical Group, the Alcuin Club, GROW and the education in the Church His subject was ‗Biblical Tradition: Michael Vasey‘s Liturgical Commission were among the congregation. of England. approach to the teaching of Christian worship‘ and he Michael died on 28 June 1998 and continues to be began by paying tribute to the role Michael had remembered with affection and gratitude by many – a played in his own development as liturgist and keen sense of loss was still much in evidence, Affiliation teacher. In preparing the text, he had drawn on notes particularly during the moving homily delivered by The sponsoring taken during Michael‘s lectures by David Elleanor – Robert Song and Margaret Masson. organisations do not sadly this former Durham ordinand had died, aged fund Praxis financially. The liturgy included several texts written by Michael, 59, on the very day when David Kennedy had located The work that Praxis among them one of his psalm prayers and a setting of the notes, handed to him years earlier on his does is supported ‗A Song of Anselm‘, with Peter Moger as cantor. The appointment to teach liturgy in Birmingham. The mainly by affiliation. If anthem, ‗Bring us, O Lord God, at our last lecture, to be published in due course, was dedicated you are not an affiliate, awakening‘ (sung beautifully by the college choir), to David Elleanor‘s memory as well as to Michael‘s. why not consider picked up the themes of resurrection hope and Anne Harrison becoming one? Just get longing for heaven found also in readings and hymns. in touch with the The service closed in the churchyard, where choir Music Editor, Praxis News of Worship and office—details on the and congregation gathered around Michael‘s Editor of the RSCM’s Sunday by Sunday back page. Liturgical Conferences coming up soon Website Have you visited the Worship, Liturgy and Music in early modern England calls to Deep‘ is now available online (www.lst.ac.uk). Praxis website? View us David Peacock, Head of the LST‘s Department of Monday 8 –Tuesday 9 September 2008 online at Music and Worship, says that the aims of the event St. Chad’s College, Durham University www.praxisworship.org.uk are to: This is a one-off conference bringing together deepen understanding scholars for a series of interdisciplinary discussions around the public worship theme of the Early Modern broaden skills Inside this issue of Worship Network. explore and experience current trends Praxis News of Worship The principal speakers will be: facilitate conversations across the worship Reports of Praxis 2 streams Roger Bowers (Jesus College, Cambridge) events John Craig (Simon Fraser University) Anyone with ‗a serious interest in worship‘ is Correspondence 2 welcome: worship leaders, worship theologians, Christopher Marsh (Queen's, Belfast) musicians, church leaders and those involved in the Aspects of Worship: 3 Peter McCullough (Lincoln College, Oxford) Let us pray creative arts. The first day (9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) is Bryan Spinks (Yale Divinity School) described as a ‗Symposium Prelude‘ on Worship: The Music News 4 & 5 Limited bursaries are available to assist postgraduate Big Issues, with input from Jonny Baker, Mark Earey, Book reviews 6 students and other unwaged participants. Joel Edwards and Graham Kendrick. Later on the Thursday evening, Geraldine Latty will lead a Look—no paper! 7 Deep calls to Deep ‗Worship celebration‘. Durham 7 Thursday 11 - Saturday 13 September 2008 Conference 2009 On the Friday and Saturday there will be more London School of Theology (Northwood) worship, a plenary session with John Bell of the Iona Resources online 7 Community, and a wide choice of workshops Colin’s Column 8 Readers of Praxis News of Worship may recall a including ‗Breathing new life into hymns‘, ‗Lament in reference in the music pages of Issue 16 to a worship Notice board 8 worship‘, ‗Mission and worship‘, ‗Worship for today‘s symposium being planned by the London School of children‘ and ‗Where is the worship song going?‘ Theology. More detailed information about ‗Deep Praxis - enriching worship today ISSN 1748-2348 Praxis Event Reports Reclaiming the Night: Stick to 1 hour Praxis Yorkshire A Praxis Midlands event in Birmingham Always serve refreshments raxis Yorkshire invited Peter Moger to Cathedral on 6 March 2008 Don‘t apologize for it – celebrate it. P come and launch Worship Changes he event attracted nearly 100 people Finally Adrian gathered together ideas from Lives at a day conference on 26 April. The T and the keynote speakers - the Rt. the floor as well as from the Bishop and invitation included an offer of the booklet Rev‘d Gordon Mursell, Bishop of Stafford Dean. These included: sent post-free in advance for £2.50 (this and the Very Rev‘d John Irvine, Dean of being subsidized from the booking fees), Coventry - did not disappoint. Bishop Remember the witness of a church lit up and 29 people took up the offer, and came Gordon delighted us with a thorough yet (inside) on a dark evening, especially if to the day with copies they had already very personal summary of Biblical and early visible from a distance. read – the total numbers present were liturgical references to prayer at night. I Taizé, candles and story-telling work around 70 and on the day everyone had a suspect we have all experienced various particularly well as the night draws in. copy. ‗prowlings of the Devil‘ in the small hours. There was a heartfelt plea for the use of Peter Moger, whose own input was both The Bishop‘s source of protection is simply silence ..... and to make sure it is long warm and compelling, was in part viewing to reach out his hand to God. His full notes enough to be HEARD! the day as a trial run, and the actual form of are available at At the other extreme, how about workshops, of feed-back, and of structuring www.praxismidlands.org.uk/archives. showing a film and then ending with his own input (which included a workshop The Dean led us through the vision and compline? on ‗Music in Worship Changes Lives‘ – planning which have enabled the monthly which had a large take-up) was part of The evening service was felt to be one ‗Cathedral Praise‘ at Coventry. ‗Be working out the best ways in which the where there could be a wide variety of prepared to start small and keep going for booklet can be used to serve its overt worship over a year and a lot of quite a while before serious growth begins,‘ purpose of changing lives. is good advice. Things do take time to get opportunities to move outside the rubrics of Your reporter, who chairs Praxis Yorkshire, established. the BCP and Common Worship. They could be used to mark the seasons with also ran a workshop, the contents of which Canon Adrian Daffern, Precentor of meditations and/or to use resources from can be accurately guessed from a certain Coventry Cathedral, offered wisdom from (for example) Iona or the Northumbria column on the last page of this journal. both Cathedral and Parish ministry. In one Community. Why not major on a style of The Right Reverend Colin Buchanan parish, with many funerals, he held a music and ideas ranging from Plainsong to monthly memorial service which gradually Jazz, or weave traditional versions of the ―grew‖ the evening service so that it was Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis into Common larger than the morning one! His ‗Quick Worship Evening Prayer? Wins for Evensong‘ are worth pondering: Altogether an excellent day – with enough Keep it moving ideas to last until the next event (‗Rites on Don‘t try to be King‘s College, the way out – more than just funerals!‘ on Cambridge Thursday 9 October 2008 at Birmingham Cathedral). Choose wonderful hymns Keep the readings short Janet Chapman Preach a superb sermon and lead lovely Priest-in-charge, St Mary’s, Banbury and prayers Canon Liturgist designate, Birmingham Cathedral Invite people along Letter to the editor From the Reverend Mark Bennett I would have thought that there might be a therefore passed rather unremarked case for a book on 'Celebrating lay through the committees which have Dear Gilly, leadership' - encompassing established considered it. rites for Readers, Churchwardens etc I surely cannot be alone in noticing that Best wishes, because the new volume on Admission and (perhaps even notes on coronations), to Licensing of Readers 'will be of limited admitting lay ministers of communion and MARK BENNETT resources for less formal occasions. That interest' it is going to be produced in a non- The Rectory would be more use to the Church than a standard form, rather than as part of the Perry Road half-hearted acknowledgment that Readers carefully designed Common Worship Harlow exist - indeed it could fire some excitement series.