The Guild of Church Musicians and the Future Canon Jeremy Haselock, Warden athering in Oxford last month, the Annual General Meeting of the Guild Genthusiastically approved a raft of suggestions for updating our core documents, streamlining our working methods, improving communications within the Guild and on the web, and, most important of all, making our examination and award programme more sharply focussed on the needs of today’s Church. I am most grateful to the members present at the May gathering for their support and sharing the vision of Council. At the suggestion of many I now share the most signiicant of what are no longer suggestions but decisions with readers of Laudate. First, we are to tidy up the legal format of the Guild, bringing it into the twenty-irst century. Nothing will change as far as Guild and oversee external communications alongside members are concerned as these changes involve Michael Walsh who will continue to edit Laudate. only format rather than the way the Guild is All other portfolios will be retained by their run. The Registered Ofice of the Guild will current holders. We are reducing the size of be transferred to St. Michael’s Church, Council, limiting membership to those with Cornhill, London, EC3V 9DS where Bishop speciic tasks, and meetings will from now on Stephen Platten, the new Rector and a good be held jointly with a similar slimmed-down friend of the Guild, is setting up a centre for Academic Board. I am very grateful to those Liturgy and Music. There are also some changes whose position on Council was purely advisory to the constitution, using the standard Companies and who are now stepping down; they have been House format, in order to clarify the legal of immense help to the Guild and I hope they will responsibilities of Oficers and Council members continue to support us with the lustre associated as trustees. Once the necessary legislation has with their names and membership of a small been enacted by the Government, the Guild will Advisory Group which will meet once a year to move over to become a Charitable Incorporated review the work of Council. Organisation which will simplify our accounting Hugh Benham, as Chairman of the Academic procedures and formal reporting. Board, is charged with a thorough review of We have made some small changes among the our examination and awards system. He has Oficers of the Guild. Bob Andrews, currently convened a small working party to assist with this Treasurer and Membership Secretary, will and they are making good progress. They have continue to deal with this aspect of our work recommended a new level of award within our but in the position of Company Secretary. John system, that of Licentiate (LGCM) for those who Ewington will become the Conference Secretary have satisfactorily completed the larger part of while all other administrative tasks will be the Fellowship requirements but have been unable undertaken by June Williams as Administrative to submit a dissertation. We are also formally Secretary. Robert Leach will run our website adding HonGCM, Honorary Member of the May 2015 1 Guild, to our list of honorary awards as it appears and Council have worked to develop a sensible to have been missed out of the constitution. degree of autonomy while maintaining every A small sub-committee is also revising and possible link with us here in Britain. We welcome simplifying our academic dress. this new conidence as a serious move towards As you can see from what is before you, the AGM liturgical, musical and academic inculturation. authorised the redesign of Laudate and gave the Later this year, with other oficers of the Guild, I editor an increased budget to commission articles hope to visit Australia and learn from their many from beyond the membership of the Guild. We strengths and skills. will print extra copies to circulate as publicity The Warden’s working party recommended the material and, in time, include a pdf version on development of a closer and more co-operative the website. We have abolished the separate relationship with the RSCM and that Barry Yearbook as the publication of members’ details Williams be co-opted to Council to work with has been found to raise issues of privacy. All the the RSCM. In this connection, with Barry and statutory material (accounts etc.) and examination June Williams I attended a very useful, full day questions previously published in the Yearbook meeting with the senior management team of the will be found in the future in Laudate. Robert RSCM and we are making good progress with a Leach is also investigating the redesign of our programme of mutual co-operation. The RSCM website to make it more user-friendly, contain will now be kept informed formally of The Guild’s more material of general musical and liturgical activities, and they will share matters of common interest, and feature a password-protected, concern and interest with us. members-only section. Perhaps we should also Last, but by no means least, we hope to address move into the ield of social media and investigate the matter of ecumenism with more seriousness. both a Twitter account and a Facebook page. We I hope, with the help of Sister Avril OP, to open are keen to ind out more about our members up new avenues of co-operation with Roman at home and abroad and would like to compile Catholic church musicians and liturgists and to a register of talents, skills and abilities. We are encourage the Academic Board to take more designing a questionnaire with a view to discover account of the musical and liturgical traditions of more about our talent pool. I hope the form will the Free Churches when revising the syllabus. be included in the next edition of Laudate. We continue to rejoice in and draw strength from the lourishing of the Australian incarnation of the Guild. Under the leadership of Bishop Richard Jeremy Haselock Hurford, the Sub-warden, the Australian Oficers Warden The Members of the GCM Council Warden: .....................................................................................The Revd Canon Dr Jeremy Haselock Sub-Warden: ...................................................................................................... Revd Fr Peter Allan CR General Secretary and Registrar: ....................................................................................... June Williams Treasurer: ......................................................................................................................Robert Andrews Conference and Presentations Service Secretary: ................................................... John Ewington OBE Chairman Academic Board and Fellowship Director: ................................................Dr Hugh Benham Fellowship Secretary: ......................................................................................................... Edward Scott Examinations Secretary: .............................................................................................Dr Helen Burrows Editor of Laudate: ........................................................................................................Dr Michael Walsh Webmaster: ....................................................................................................................... Robert Leach Representative of Religious Orders and the RC Church: ....................................Sister Avril Foster OP Academic Board Secretary: ............................................................................................... Roger Wilkes Carl Jackson MVO Dr Alan Thurlow 2 Laudate 87 From the Administrative Secretary THE OXFORD MEETING 1st and 2nd May, 2015 n Friday evening, 1st May, ifty members world of church music and liturgy. Our whole and guests sat down to an enjoyable dinner examination structure, the working together with Oat the Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel in other similar organisations, particularly the RSCM, the Abingdon Road. Speeches were made by our and much more. You will be able to read a report President, Dame Mary Archer, John Ewington, Rev. of all this in the next Laudate. John Paton, Precentor of Christ Church Cathedral, After a very good buffet lunch, we all moved up His Honour Judge Anthony Russell, QC and our the road to Merton College, where we enjoyed a Warden, Jeremy Haselock. wonderful recital by the choir, under Ben Nicholas, Members came from Europe, South Africa and son of Michael and Heather Nicholas. The choir New Zealand. We also welcomed Richard Fenwick, had given a public recital on the previous evening our former Warden, now Bishop of St Helena. It and we enjoyed an hour of that music, which was wonderful that these people came such long included works by James MacMillan I will take you distances to be with us. It was the irst oficial visit of the Guild to this “City of dreaming spires”, as Matthew Arnold called it in his famous poem, depicting the view of the city from Boars Hill. The hotel is a very ine modern one with a leisure centre, pool etc and most excellent rooms. Many people commented on its high standard. The staff looked after us very well. A hearty buffet breakfast was enjoyed on Saturday morning, followed later by coffee and then a most interesting illustrated talk by composer Philip Spratley on the subject of The Fortunate Harvest – how folk music has influenced our hymnody. Our numbers had swelled to 67 on this day. The talk was followed by the AGM, the minutes of which will be published in the January Laudate, as is our practice. The AGM this year was even more