A year in the life of St. Mary Magdalen, Sheet

Choir:
Ingrid Horne (Choir Leader)

Singing during a service at St Mary's is not just the prerogative of the choir and we hope that we have enabled more people to participate in worship throughout the year by encouraging you all to join in the singing including during Communion. We hope too that by widening the range and variety of music sung worship has been enhanced.

A regular happy band of choir members meet once a week on Thursdays at 7.30pm, usually for an hour, to learn the music. Olivia Tottle continues to provide invaluable support by playing the keyboard for us during rehearsals. We are fortunate to have various extras who bolster our numbers for special services such as Christmas, Easter, confirmations, weddings and funerals; it is always a privilege to sing at such events plus you are guaranteed a good seat!

We always welcome new members and accept that some may have limited availability - any time they are prepared to offer is appreciated. Should you be interested then please see me after the service or phone.

Training Choir:
Mike Knee

The Training Choir has been working with children aged 6-12 to prepare special musical items for some of the services during the year. In 2004 we performed the "Beatitudes" cantata with the adult choir and friends, and later we made a recording which we hope to repeat following some technical problems (on that day, it felt as if the church power supply predated the church!). In the autumn we sang an unusual piece on the theme of the Pilgrim's Progress, based on a 1970s rock song. Since then we have not been meeting, mainly because the "bulge" in numbers of children who were in this age range is now moving into the teens. Nevertheless, there are some children who greatly appreciate the opportunity to sing in church before joining the main choir or the worship group, and we are considering the possibility of working once again with Lynne Edlestone who had previously done such a wonderful job of leading the choir before moving to Bosnia. My thanks to the children, for their enthusiasm and patience (most of the time) and beautiful voices which have combined to enrich our worship.

Young Family Service Music Group:
Sue Condrup

This music group leads the singing at the 10 am Young Family Service on the third Sunday of each month. We also play for the Crib Service on Christmas Eve.

As always, we aim to provide an up-beat and sensitive approach to worship for young families, although people of all ages come along and enjoy the lively, happy atmosphere.

The group consists of nine instrumentalists and eight singers, although not all are there for every service. This year, we are pleased to welcome Emily Wilde to join the singers, although sorry to lose John Rumble - many thanks for your contribution, John. Indeed, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the group, and particularly Victoria Horne, who has really put herself out to come and support us when she has been able to, despite university commitments.