NEWS BRIEFS

Photo above – Choristers of Truro . See comment below

Mission workers return to Kenya

Gary and Mary Reid, global mission workers of the Irish Presbyterian Church are due to travel back to Kenya in early January following a short home assignment in December, which included deputation.

You are requested to rejoice with Gary and Mary in the amazing goodness, mercy and grace of our Lord throughout 2019 and for his continuous leading and guiding. Pray that as they enter 2020 they will ever be obedient to the Lord’s leading and that his Holy Spirit will work mightily in them and in the precious souls of the Maasai, for his glory.

Pray for Gary and Mary as they return to Kenya and remember their children as the family are separated from each other.

Pray that their children will grow in the knowledge of our Lord and desire to serve him, and be obedient to him. To see more visit: www.presbyterianireland.org/letspray

Bishop bids farewell to Wexford Adoration sisters

Bishop Denis Brennan marked the departure of the Adoration Sisters from Bride Street Church in Wexford with a homily praising them for their “commitment and dedication”.

The sisters were present in the convent for 144 years. The historic building will be made into a residence for American students.

The group of enclosed nuns was established by late Bishop Thomas Furlong. They engaged in continuous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and prayed for the people of the diocese.

The sisters will move to Newtown road with the Sisters of St John of God. There is something “entirely fitting” that “both spiritual daughters of Bishop Furlong, should, while maintaining their unique and different charisms, be together,” Bishop Brennan said in his December homily.

Centenary of birth of Sir David Willcocks

David Willcocks was born on 30 December 1919 and was to become a chorister at Westminster Abbey, later studying at Clifton College, before becoming an organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge in 1939. His studies were interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the British Infantry, winning the Military Cross in 1944.

He returned to King’s College in 1945 to complete his studies, and became a Fellow of King’s College in 1947 and conductor of the Cambridge Philharmonic that same year, as well as conductor of the Salisbury Musical Society and organist at Salisbury Cathedral.

In 1950, he took the post of organist at Worcester Cathedral, and became conductor of the Worcester Festival Choral Society and the City of Birmingham Choir, a position he kept for seven years.
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By the end of the decade, he was the director of music at King’s College Cambridge, the post for which he is most famous. See features on Sir David including Kings College and Desert Island Discs recordings at –
[[] https://www.recordedchurchmusic.org/willcocks-david ]

 Prime Minister’s concern for persecuted Christians

In his Christmas message, the Prime Minister called on the British people to remember “those Christians around the world who are facing persecution.”

“For them, Christmas Day will be marked in private, in secret, perhaps even in a prison cell,” he said. “As Prime Minister, that’s something I want to change.”

“We stand with Christians everywhere, in solidarity, and will defend your right to practice your faith.”

T is for…Truro

Friends of Cathedral Music have been in Cornwall, visiting Truro Cathedral.

If you have been waiting to find out which choral foundation was the first to hold the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, wait no longer! It was Truro Cathedral!

Until 1879, the choir had traditionally sung Christmas carols in the streets, but the first Bishop of Truro, E W Benson, had other ideas. So, in 1880, Benson decided to hold a service on Christmas Eve. It couldn’t take place in the cathedral as it was not yet finished, so it was held in a large shed, which had been built as a temporary measure while the cathedral was being built. Benson chose nine lessons from the Bible and nine carols, led by the choir. The service started at 10pm, a time chosen to encourage people out of the pub and into the cathedral! The service proved hugely popular and has been adopted by churches all over the world, most famously, of course, at Kings College, Cambridge.

The tradition of Nine Lessons and Carols continues in Truro. There were two services this year, at 7.00pm on Monday 23 December and Tuesday 24 December.

2019 has been a busy year for the choir. Highlights have included a tour to Austria and Slovakia for the boys and adults, a tour to London for the girls and a concert with the City of London Sinfonia (The Fruit of Silence) which was broadcast by BBC Radio 3.

The choir also launched their new CD of music by Dobrinka Tabakoya, which they recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra, which came to Truro to record the disc. The album has just received a Critic’s Choice 2019 recommendation in Gramophone Magazine.

See and hear a taster of the new cd at –

[https://fcm.org.uk/news/t-is-for-truro/](https://fcm.org.uk/news/t-is-for-truro/)