longer worship in churches which were becoming less and less Anglican in their forms of worship and where I could expect at any time to hear a homophobic sermon.It requires me to leave home just after 6.30am and I arrive back just before 1pm.
There are 3 regular services.
7.45am Said Eucharist
9.00am Sung Eucharist
11.00am Choral Eucharist
I usually attend Sung Eucharist.
At Easter, Christmas and St James Day we have a combined service at 10am which is Choral Eucharist.
For Choral Eucharist we have a Professional Choir and a Head of Music who was recently headhunted from England, I presume at some expense. Music consumes about 20% of the parish expenditure.
The Kyries are sung in Greek and the Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei are sung in Latin along with the motets as we take Communion.
I guess these are beautiful but I find my legs ache, my mind wanders, sometimes I try to remember my schoolboy Latin to follow how much longer each will be.
I like to sing and enjoy singing each of the above in English at Sung Eucharist. (I am not sure if my neighbours equally enjoy it but no-one has complained, I believe I sing in key)
Yesterday I received a bombshell when my sister sent me an email headed: St James new service time and saying "How does this suit you?"
I had not yet downloaded and read the March Monthly News and did so to find the Rector announcing that from late June every Sunday St James would have just a 10am service of Choral Eucharist.
The time is a nuisance I could tolerate. I would leave home later but would not arrive back for lunch until 2pm, however if the service runs late (more likely with Choral Eucharist) it would be 3pm.
However Choral Eucharist every week is something I would find intolerable. I feel Music should enhance our worship not become the focus of it.
So again I will be moving. Christ Church St Laurence at the other end of the city is more Anglo-Catholic and has "Solemn High Mass" at 1o.30am but does have Sung Eucharist at 9am so I will first try this out.
St Mark's at Granville (a migrant largely Muslim area) describes itself as the only moderately high church in the western suburbs and it is actually closer to home but the priest moved to Queensland last year and who ++Jensen will allow to be the replacement is problematic. Its webpage has disappeared.
All the other inclusive churches in the Diocese are east of the city, impossible to reach regularly.
A few months ago my sister asked "Won't you miss St James when you move to Dunedin?" Perhaps this is God's answer.
