In early April, our Peregrine Falcon pair laid 3 eggs – we hope for chicks to hatch around 8-11 May.

We are glad that the “Exeter Pride” Service will continue this year at the more central venue of St Petrock’s Church on the High Street, at 10.45am on Saturday 11th May – do support this if you can.

We are grateful to Stephanie Aplin for taking up the mantle of Chapel Warden, and to Fr Dominic Cyrus, Vice-Principal of South West Ministry Training Course, who will be helping our Clergy team with Services.

Sunday 5 May, Easter 3/II. 11Am Sung Mass. Hymns 345, 155, 486. Missa l’Hora passa, Viadana. Motet: Christ the Lord is Risen Again, Foster. We welcome Fr Dominic Cyrus as Celebrant and Preacher. At 12noon there will be our monthly Bountiful Table of baking, preserves & produce in support of Church funds.
6pm Choral Evensong & Benediction. Led by Fr Nigel Guthrie. Byrd Responses. Psalm 86. Hymn 294. Canticles: Dyson in F. Anthem: If ye be risen again with Christ, Gibbons. O salutaris 269, Tantum Ergo 268.

Sat 11 May, 10.45am at St Petrock’s Church, High Street. A Service of Blessing & Solidarity with Exeter Pride led by Fr Nigel Guthrie, Rev Hannah Alderson & Canon Chris Palmer – all welcome, of any faith, gender, sexuality or none.

Sun 12 May, Easter 4/III Good Shepherd. 11Am Mass. Hymns 362, 381, 457. Mass in F, Rheinberger. Psalm 23, Howard Goodall. Celebrant & Preacher,Fr Nigel.

Sat 18 May, 9-11am at St David’s Church. Big Breakfast in support of Christian Aid – very worth our support.

Sun 19 May, Easter 5/IV. 11am. Hymns 484, 420, 445. Missa Lauda Sion, Palestrina. The Call, Vaughan Williams. We welcome Ven David Gunn-Johnson.

Sat 25 May, 9am. Parish Men’s Breakfast in the Orangery at The Imperial.

Sun 26 May, Easter 6/Rogation Sunday. 11am. Hymns Processional booklet, 364, 342 (t178). Mass in C&F, Stanford. O Lord, give thy Holy Spirit, Tallis. Celebrant & Preacher, Fr Dominic Cyrus.

Wed 29 May, 7.30pm at Parish Church of St Michael, Cheriton, near Winchester. The Institution of Rev Christopher Durrant as Rector of the Upper Itchen Benefice.

Thursday 30 May, Ascension Day. 7.30am, Sung Matins.
7.30pm Sung Mass of the Ascension. Hymns 130, 332, 134. Missa Brevissima, Casciolini. Motet: God is gone up, Hutchings. Ven David Gunn-Johnson.

Sun 2 June, Sunday after Ascension. 11Am. Hymns 352, 355, 388. Mass in E, Darke. Come Holy Ghost, Attwood. Fr Nigel. Bountiful Table.
6pm Choral Evensong & Benediction. Led by Rev Alison Whiting & Fr Nigel. Reading Responses. Psalm 68. Hymn 63. Brewer in D. Lift up your heads, O ye Gates – Mathias. O salutaris 269, Tantum Ergo 268.

St Michael’s worship is traditional, music is excellent, people are friendly, and all are welcome. Please join us. Pray for our continuing life & mission, and support your church with time, talents and giving.

A Joyful 50 days of Eastertide from all at St Michael’s.

Richard Barnes.

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Our resident Peregrine Falcons have laid 3 eggs this year; we hope for chicks to hatch around 10th May.

Sun 7 Apr, Passion Sunday. 11am Sung Mass. Byrd for 4 voices. Verily I say unto you, Tallis. Fr Christopher Durrant.
Sun 7 Apr, 6pm Choral Evensong & Benediction. Byrd Responses. Ps 22:1-13. Gibbons Short Service. Solus ad victimam, Leighton. Fr Nigel Guthrie.

Sun 14 Apr, Palm Sunday. 11am Procession of Palms and Sung Gospel. Tallis in Dorian mode. Byrd, Ave verum corpus. Fr C.

Holy Week at St Michael’s
Mon 15, Tue 16, & Wed 17 Apr. 10am Low Mass.

Wed 17 Apr, Spy Wednesday, 7pm. Stations of the Cross, Pergolesi “Stabat Mater”.

Thu 18 Apr, Maundy Thursday, 7.30pm Sung Mass with Foot-washing. Casciolini in A minor. Durufle, Ubi caritas et amor.Byrd, Ave verum corpus.

Fri 19 Apr, Good Friday, 10.30am Veneration of the Cross. The Reproaches, Upton. Crux Fidelis, King John of Portugal.

Good Friday, 8pm Tenebrae sung from the Gallery, Plainsong, Lassus & Palestrina.

Sat 20 Apr, Holy Saturday, 8pm Easter Vigil Mass with New Fire & Paschal Candle. Darke in E. Ex ore innocentium, Ireland.

Sun 21 Apr, Easter Day, 11am Festal Sung Mass. Ireland in C. Billings, Easter Anthem. Fr C.

Sun 28 Apr, Low Sunday, 11am Sung Mass. Wood in F. This joyful Eastertide. Fr Dominic Cyrus.

Sun 5 May, 11am Sung Mass, 6pm Choral Evensong & Benediction.

A Holy Passiontide & a Joyful Eastertide from all at St Michael’s.

Richard Barnes.

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Young VG was more cautious and spent a lot of time sitting in the trefoil and at least once fell out but clambered back in. She fledged at 5.05am on Fri 22 Jun and seemed to be doing okay. But next day Nick Dixon heard calls from the Choir Vestry gully. VG had come down there and got stuck. She was rescued and taken to the Vets; the RSPCA fed her for a week, and released her back here Tue 3 Jul. Both juveniles now seem to be doing fine.

For July we are mostly singing Mass Settings in F, but we end the month on another climax with Haydn’s Little Organ Mass.

With the current shortage of resources, numerical & financial, it seems wise to scale back a little over August. There will be no Tuesday Choir Practices from 31 July to 21 August, just as Tuesday & Thursday Vespers take a break in August. Choir will continue to meet at 10am on Sundays, to run through the Music for the Liturgy and polish up a Communion Motet from our repertoire. Mass Settings will be congregational (Merbecke, Martin Shaw and the like) so we can all join in.

Tuesday Choir Practice will resume on 28 August, as Sunday 2nd September has our monthly Choral Evensong at 6pm as well as Sung Mass at 11am.

A quick forewarning that September will be a busy and exciting month at St Michael’s with the Church Open all day on 8th for Devon Historic Churches Ride&Stride and the Deanery Prayer Walk, on 9th for Cream Teas, and 15th & 16th for Exeter Heritage Open Days. Then our 150th Anniversary Michaelmas Celebrations are on the weekend of 29th/30th September.

Other events in July…
Wed 18th July at 7.30pm. St Michael’s Lecture – Rev Dr David Nixon (St Thomas Church, Exeter, formerly Dean of Studies for South West Ministry Training Course) will ask the question: “What does God think about Brexit?”

Sat 28th July, 9am, Men’s Breakfast, see in churches for details.

Richard Barnes.

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The post Peregrines Progress 2018 appeared first on St Michael & All Angels.

One piece of ‘hot’ news is that our young male JN from 2015 has been seen around Taunton with a female peregrine hatched at St John’s RC Church in Bath the same year. We know this thanks to our ringing programmes, and hope they may find somewhere to establish a nest site.

Fri 23 Jun As far as we know, both PP & PM have fledged and are around the Church being fed by the adults. PP stayed put in the nest box for rather longer than expected after PM had left, but eventually seems to have fledged with minimal fuss in the early morning of Tue 20 Jun, I think.

If you’re in the area, please visit St Michael’s Church on Sat 24 Jun, particularly from 2.30pm onwards, when Nick Dixon should be present to answer questions and point things out, with a formal Q&A session timed for 3.45pm. It’s all part of the St David’s Big Bash of Community Events around St David’s Hill.

Thurs 15 Jun After lots of balancing on the edge of the trefoil and wing flapping, PM fledged at 4.17pm on Wed 14 Jun. She went as far as the nearby flat roofs of Dinham Crescent, and spent the night there.

Thursday morning, Elizabeth found PM on the Church Choir Vestry steps; not a safe place with the School Run about to start. Local resident Tony carefully gathered PM and put her in a box for safety. About 9.30 our friendly Vet kindly came to give the juvenile a quick check-over and put her up on a roof. She seemed fit and strong and immediately flew off further down Dinham Crescent.

Around midday Nick Dixon found her down towards the Mill on the Exe, and later in the afternoon PM, now named PoppyMay by the children of St David’s School during Assembly with Curate Christopher, was spotted back near the Church.

Although she has gone quite long without food, she is flying well and roosting near the Church, so hopefully she will get the idea of returning to the Church Tower to be fed by the adults.
Meanwhile PP, named Princess Peach by the schoolchildren, has not yet fledged…

Tue 13 Jun At 6 weeks our 2 strong female chicks have developed their full juvenile plumage, with just a few hints of white fluff left. There is serious wing flapping practice going on, some of it jumping off the rock in the box, other precariously close to the trefoil opening, as they show increased interest in the outside world.

They are also now feeding themselves and fighting over food brought in by the adults. On fine days the adults seem to be absent for long stretches, probably clearing ‘their airspace’ of intruding or overflying threats, like buzzards, as fledging gets near.

While Thursday is our best guess for fledging from previous experience with female chicks, it could be any minute or any day now.

Congratulations to Nick & Jason’s Peregrine installation at Woking for successfully fledging 5 chicks this year.

Tue 23 May Our 2 chicks are 3 weeks old and the camera will be switched off for a while around 5pm this afternoon while they are weighed and ringed under licence. They look to be growing and developing well, starting to pad around the nest box & flexing their wings, and showing signs of feather development.

Also to inform that the 2 unhatched eggs will be removed under licence and sent for analysis. Thanks for your continued interest in the St Michael’s Peregrines. Richard, Nick, Jason.

Weighing and ringing went fine – we have 2 females this year who have been given coloured leg rings PP & PM. They are now exploring the whole of the nest box, some of which is out of sight of the camera – so don’t panic if occasionally you can’t see them. We are not expecting them to fledge until around 14-17 June.

Wed 10 May – so, a week on from the hatching of one egg around 3.30pm Tue 2 May and a 2nd egg around 11am Wed 3 May, it’s clear that the other 2 eggs are not going to hatch. This follows a similar pattern to the past 2 years where just 2 out of 4 eggs have hatched.

This may result from our adult Peregrines being relatively old now, meaning not all eggs are fertilised or develop well. However, it should give our adult a good chance to feed and raise 2 strong young chicks towards fledging in mid-June.

Enjoy the next few weeks on camera as the 2 fluffy chicks hopefully grow strong and pretty, and then go into the slightly messier stage of developing proper feathers.

I’ve had occasional issues with the video stream not displaying properly, but found that clicking the “full screen” symbol lower left in the image and back again usually recovers the nest box picture if refreshing the webpage doesn’t do the trick.

One of Nick & Jason’s other webcams, at Woking, is now watching a large group 5 chicks grow!

Sat 22nd April – and it’s high time I started a blog for this year’s Peregrine activity up on the Spire here at St Michael’s.

This is the 21st consecutive season of egg-laying at St Michael’s Mount Dinham; the first 11 used an external NE-facing shelf, since 2008 in the nest box mounted inside the SE-facing trefoil opening high in the Spire. This year Jason Fathers of Wildlife Windows and Nick Dixon have installed a new HD Camera in the nest box with a wider view including the trefoil opening from where the adults like to look out on their domain. After various issues with our broadband connection, the pictures have been clear and reliable since egg-laying began.

This is probably the “third generation” of breeding adults, with present male since 2005 and present female since 2009. There are pros & cons to Peregrines using such an enclosed breeding site. Indeed, are there any similar ones elsewhere? Adults, eggs and chicks have more protection from spring gales and summer storms during the breeding season, and from predators. But there may be risks from accumulation of debris (we have virtually no chance to clean it) – only 2 out of 4 eggs hatched again last year. But overall their record is good.

So, they laid their first egg at about 2am Fri 24 Mar, the same day as last year, just a few hours earlier.

A 2nd egg was laid about 2.45pm on Mothering Sunday 26th Mar, about 60 hours after the 1st, and a 3rd egg at 11.55pm on Tuesday 28th Mar, 57 hours later.

The 4th & final egg was laid at 10.16am Fri 31 Mar – Wendy Bartter has kindly made a youtube video of it (as she has of the other 3 eggs being laid). Wendy has a Peregrine specific YouTube account, and also links from her and the @StMikes_Exeter twitter accounts. And use the “Peregrine Falcons” link across the top of this Blog page to go to the Webcam view.

The adults are now just over 3 weeks into the task of Incubation, and seem to be doing it well as usual. There should be just under 2 weeks till hatching, which if timings are similar to last year would most likely be on 2nd or 3rd of May…

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Juvenile with leg ring PG fledged early Mon 13 June, exactly 42 days after hatching. He flew a bit, got mobbed by gulls, was found in an Exeter College car park, and rescued because newly fledged young find it difficult to get airborne from flat ground. PG was returned to the Church, and spent a night on tiles.

Tue 14 June, PG was rescued again, and was hand fed road-kill squirrel by a local vet. This is more intervention than we would like, but is what would be done for any animal found in distress.

PG was re-roofed, rescued and re-roofed again before he flew off, again attracting unwanted attention from the local gulls, and spent the night on Exeter Community Centre. Meanwhile PH had decided on another day of feeding and wing flapping in the nest box.

Juvenile PH fledged early Wed to the Church roof and spent the day exploring its roofs. No intervention was required today. Meanwhile we were pleased that PG was found back at the Church, flying more confidently. So by end of Wed 15 June we had 2 adults & 2 juveniles active on St Mike’s.

That’s all I know so far – seagulls still a nuisance, but things looking fairly good.

Update Fri 24 June – now the juveniles are on their own with the adults, learning to fly and hunt, and we have to take our chances as to how many we see together at the church.
The juveniles will start to fly further afield as they get more confident over the next few weeks.
As far as I know – I’ve certainly not heard otherwise – both juveniles are strong and well, and all 4 birds are using the church as their base and for roosting. But there’s been little sign of the young going back into the nest box, unlike in some previous years.

Update Thu 4 Aug – sadly, on Thursday 28 July, one of this year’s juveniles, PG who had received such care in the 2 days after fledging, was found dead in Paul Street, Exeter, apparently after a flying accident.

The events this year at Norwich Cathedral nest site remind us not to be over-sentimental about these magnificent wild birds of prey. “Mother Nature” is not always as gentle as we like to imagine. There, an incoming younger female, from the urban site in Bath apparently, displaced the male’s older mate from previous years after she had laid her eggs; the male was a dutiful single parent feeding all 4 chicks that hatched; but as they came due to fledge the new female became aggressive to these chicks that were nor her own; two died and two which made it to the ground have been taken into care, hoping that they can be saved and released back into the wild in due course. Ours is not to question their natural behaviour – rather to reflect on humanity’s varied behaviours.

From earlier this year, a week before fledging.

And 3 weeks before fledging.

Screen image from day after ringing, Tue 24 May, chicks 3 weeks old.

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While May had all the Festivals (Rogation, Ascension, Pride, Pentecost, Trinity & Corpus Christi), June still has plenty to offer, so we hope to see you at St Michael’s.

At 6pm each Tuesday and Thursday, there is Plainsong Vespers & Meditation, though on Thurs 9 June there will be a CBS Mass for St Columba of Iona.

Celebrate Corpus Christi with us on Thurs 26 May at 7.30pm. Sung Mass with Procession, witnessing to the presence of God’s Love in the world.

Likewise Friday 27 May at 7.30pm, when we were privileged to welcome Professor Nicholas Orme, to distil his extensive knowledge of Church History in a lecture in memory of Canon John Thurmer, entitled “A Brief History of England’s Cathedrals.” An excellent evening with 85 people hearing and discussing an enthralling overview of 2 millennia in 1 hour – Thank you.

Sun 29 May Trinity I, 10.45am. Mass for 3 voices, by William Byrd. Motet: Si iniquitates observaveris, by Samuel Wesley.

Sun 5 June Trinity II, 10.45am. Missa l’Hora Passa, by Viadana. Motet: Litany to the Holy Spirit, by Hurford; Sweet Spirit, comfort me, by Herrick.

June 5th is also the Feast Day of St Boniface, a true European, born c.675 in Crediton, studied in Exeter, worked as missionary and bishop in what is now northern Germany, martyred in 754 at Dokkum in the Netherlands, and buried in Fulda. In Aug 2012 St Michael’s Choir visited and sang in the splendid baroque cathedral which now covers his shrine.

Sun 5 June 6pm Evensong & Benediction – Sumsion Responses, Brewer in D Canticles; both Organists of Gloucester Cathedral. Psalm 44. Evening Hymn by Balfour Gardiner.

Thurs 9 June 6pm, CBS Mass for St Columba of Iona. All welcome.

Thurs 9 June at 7.30pm in Exeter Cathedral. If you missed Bp Sarah Mullally’s St Michael’s Lecture “Should the Church be involved in the Health of our Communities?”, you can hear her address the same subject.

Sat 11 June, kicking off at 7pm, UPLOAD at Exeter Cathedral, for young people 11-21 (revised down) who don’t do church – live bands, skate park, big screen gaming, sumo wrestling, giant inflatables and prayer!

Sun 12 June Trinity III, Music Sunday 10.45am. Introit: Cantate Domino, by Pitoni. Setting: Missa Sancti Nicolai, Mass in G major by F J Haydn. Motet: 8-part Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100) by Giovanni Gabrieli.

12th – 14th June is also my best guess for when the 2 young Peregrine chicks should be fledging from the nestbox. Once they are competent flyers they will likely continue to roost in the box for a couple of weeks further.

Thurs 16th – St Richard of Chichester, 1253, famous for the Prayer – “Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, For all the benefits Thou hast given me, For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me. O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother, May I know Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly” – better known in the 1970s as the song “Day by day” from the Stephen Schwartz musical Godspell.

Sun 19 June Trinity IV, 10.45am. Missa Aeterna Christi Munera. Motet: Sicut Cervus, both by Palestrina.

Sun 19 June at 4pm, Afternoon Tea and Concert with The Exeter Chorale. Please join us for a generous helping of mainly Victorian vocal and organ music, served with home-made cakes, tea or coffee. All for £8 (£5 for Mount Dinham residents and students, children free). The programme will feature a Te Deum composed by HRH Prince Albert, Ave Maria by Mendelssohn, The Lost Chord, and much more!

Wed 22 June 7.30pm St Michael’s Lectures are delighted to welcome back Dr Karen O’Donnell, former research student here, now Research Fellow at Durham University working in Digital Theology and ministry training, to talk on the topic “Help for Heroes: PTSD, Warrior Recovery and the Church.”

Sun 26 June Trinity V, 10.45am. Mass in C&F. Motet: Beati Quorum Via, both by C V Stanford.

CANCELLED Apologies, this Concert has now been CANCELLED; Mon 27 June 7.30pm at St Michael’s, The Fisher Consort.

Mon 27 Jun is the 152nd anniversary of the death of John Dinham, tea merchant, philanthropist and developer of Mt Dinham.

Wed 29 June is the 2nd anniversary of the death of Revd Dr John Hughes, much-loved former Curate of this Parish. Matins at 9.30 and Low Mass at 10am will be said on this the Feast of Saints Peter & Paul. Blogs related to tragically early death of John Hughes may be found via Fr John Hughes RIP

Sunday 3 July, 10.45am Mass, plus at 6pm we will have our normal 1st Sunday Evensong & Benediction with a cappella music by Thomas Tallis and William Mundy.

Richard Barnes.

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A couple of days later than in recent years, the first egg was observed by Nick Dixon to be laid at 7.07am on the morning of Maundy Thursday, 24th March. The birds occasionally sit on their first egg, but incubation proper does not start until their third egg has been laid.

The laying of the second egg on Holy Saturday, 26th March, was some time between 2.30pm and 5pm, about 58 hours after the first, but if you can help us fix the time more exactly, please let us know by email contact or twitter reply.

We would hope that a third egg will be laid in the wee small hours of Tuesday 29th March.

Update 1. Thanks to Nick Dixon for seeing the 3rd egg laid this morning at 7.27am (BST), 63 hours or so after the 2nd egg. Incubation proper should now be starting, ‘shared’ by both adults. Based on previous years for our Peregrine pair, we would hope for chicks to be hatching after about 32-34 days, so 29th April – 1st May as a best guess.

Will they lay a 4th egg this year, on Thursday afternoon? And if so when will we spot it under the sitting adult?

Update 2. Yes, pretty sure I’ve just glimpsed a 4th egg, which must have been laid between 6.45pm and 7.30pm BST Thursday 31st March. Incubating adults now hunker down over their eggs like a slate-blue Thunderbird 2. Female does most of the sitting, but calls loudly to the male when needing a comfort/food break.
Yes, definitely 4 eggs.

This is the 20th consecutive season of egg-laying at St Michael’s Mount Dinham; the first 11 using an external E-facing shelf, the last 9 in the nest box mounted inside the SW-facing trefoil opening high in the Spire some 20-odd years ago.
Probably the “third generation” of breeding adults, with present male since 2005 and present female since 2009.
There are pros & cons to Peregrines using such an enclosed nest site – are there any similar ones elsewhere? Adults, eggs and chicks all have more protection from spring gales and summer storms during the breeding season, and from predators. There are risks from accumulation of debris (we have virtually no chance to clean it) – only 2 out of 4 eggs hatched last year and one of the chicks in 2015 was weak on fledging. But overall their record is good.

Update 3. Tue 12 April and both adults are attentive to the task of incubating their 4 eggs; just over a third of the way through. A screenshot from a couple of nights ago showing both in the nest box.

Unusual to see both adults sleeping in the nest box at night during incubation.

Update 4. May 4th Wednesday and we have 2 little peregrine chicks and 2 eggs still being incubated. For those who’ve not been following events on our @StMikes_Exeter twitter feed, the first hatching seems to have occurred around 4.50am on Mon 2nd May, 34 days after 3rd egg was laid; thanks to Wendy Bartter for notification and a
After quite a long wait a second chick hatched around midnight into Wed 4th May, notified by Ingrid Bwouwer, and today both adults were actively bringing prey into the nest box to feed these two, while still sitting the 2 remaining eggs and keeping the young eyases warm.

Update 5. May 12th Thursday. Unfortunately the other 2 eggs will definitely not hatch now, and the adults are gradually losing interest in incubating them as they concentrate on feeding the 2 young chicks. Indeed, the eyases are growing and developing apace, sitting up against each other, feeding well and really starting to flex their little wings, with the first hints of independent movement too. Here’s a screenshot from the evening of the 6th with both adults and the small chicks. Note the vertical markings of the juvenile in the pinnacle photo compared to the horizontal markings you will see on the adults.

Update 6. Sun 29th May. Hopefully you’ve seen from Twitter or Facebook that Nick & Jason were able to measure and ring the 2 chicks last Monday, 23rd. Growth and development seems fine and it appears we have 2 male chicks this year. The unhatched eggs were removed under licence for analysis. Since then the chicks have started to look more advanced, with feathers coming to replace their down, starting to part feed themselves, bouncing around the nestbox (sometimes out of view of the camera) and noticing the world outside. Best guess for fledging is around 12th June, Music Sunday at St Mike’s and the weekend of official celebrations for the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Screen image from day after ringing, Tue 24 May, chicks 3 weeks old.

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Please try to support the John Thurmer Memorial Lecture on Friday 27th May at 7.30pm at St Michael’s. It will be a privilege and a joy to welcome Professor Nicholas Orme who was a colleague and friend of Canon John Thurmer for many years. Professor Orme has a distinguished career studying Church History and medieval society & childhood, especially in the West country.

Reminder: Wed 27 April at 7.30pm, St Michael’s Lectures welcome Rt Revd Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of Crediton, to talk on the topic “Should the Church be involved in the Health of our Communities?” continuing our theme of religious reflection on current social concerns.

With an abundance of Feasts this month, the Choir has a wealth of beautiful music to share with you.

Rogation Sunday, 1st May, 10.45am Sung Mass and Procession around Mount Dinham. Missa “Entre vous filles” by Lassus, and “Thou visitest the Earth and blessest it” by Greene.

Sun 1 May we also have our 6pm First Sunday Choral Evensong & Benediction. To mark Rogation Sunday, the Anthem will be “The Heavens are telling the Glory of God” by Franz Joseph Haydn from his Oratorio, The Creation. Come & see why Choral Evensong is the fastest growing service in the C of E.

Thurs 5 May, 40 days after Easter, we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into Heaven. Ascension Day Matins is sung at 7.30am from the West Gallery, followed by breakfast.

Thurs 5 May at 7.30pm, Sung Mass for Ascension Day. Music is Spatzenmesse (Sparrow Mass) by W A Mozart and “Ascendit Deus” by Peter Philips. This is a joint Parish service and CBS Mass for May. The Sermon preached by Fr Christopher can be read here.

Sat 7 May – Exeter Pride. We welcome any who want to show solidarity with Exeter’s LGBTQ+ communities to join us for Sung Matins at 9.30am at St Michael’s, and/or to join the Christian group in the Pride Procession from the St Sidwell’s Centre at 12noon.

Sat 7 May at 4.30pm Choral Evensong following a Diocesan Safeguarding Training Day – all welcome.

Sun 8 May, 10.45am. Sung Mass. Our Archbishops are asking all Christians to pray especially this week for better Witness and Evangelism to our secular society. St Michael’s continues to offer diversity and welcome to all – traditional Church for today! Mass Setting is Sumsion in F, and the Motet “O God the King of Glory” by Purcell.

We are much saddened to report the death of Fr Roger Shambrook SSC on Friday 6th May; his visits to St Michael’s to celebrate Mass and preach over the past year or so were always appreciated. Fr Roger had ministered with great devotion over many years to the people of Torquay. We offer our prayers and sympathy to all who knew him. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. The Requiem Funeral Mass for Fr Shambrook will take place at 2pm on Friday 13 May at St Mary Steps Church, EX1 1BB.

Photograph by Jamie Bowen

Sat 14th May at 3pm. Christian Aid tea party at 95 Howell Rd hosted by the Vicar. Bring a cake or buy a cake!

Sun 15 May, Whitsunday/Pentecost, 10.45am. We welcome Ven David Gunn-Johnson. Sung Mass with Mass in F, by Josef Rheinberger, and Motet “If ye love me” by Philip Stopford. Revel in the rich romanticism of Rheinberger and the lush harmonies of Stopford.

Sun 15 May, at 7pm in Exeter Cathedral, “The Kingdom Come”, a Diocese of Exeter service in response to the Archbishops’ call to prayer. A pilgrimage of worship around the Cathedral to pray reflectively using prayer spaces especially created. Music with University of Exeter’s Chapel Choir and ending with night prayer.

Sun 22 May, Trinity, 10.45am. Sung Mass with Haydn’s “Little Organ Mass” and the Motet “Duo Seraphim” by Guerrero.

Thurs 26 May, we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi with Vespers at 6pm and Sung Mass at 7.30pm. We process the Blessed Sacrament around Mount Dinham (weather permitting) accompanied by Hymns. Our Music this year features the 16th century Spanish composer Francisco Guerrero with “Missa Inter Vestibulum” and Motet “O Sacrum Convivium”.

Please do put Friday 27 May at 7.30pm in your Diaries, when we are privileged to welcome University of Exeter Department of History Professor Emeritus Nicholas Orme, who will distil his extensive knowledge of Church History to give a lecture in memory of Canon John Thurmer, entitled “A Brief History of England’s Cathedrals.” Entry free, all welcome; we look forward to seeing you.

Sun 29 May, Trinity II, 10.45am. Sung Mass. Music t.b.c.

And finally, don’t forget our nest box camera can be viewed on the “Peregrine Falcons” website page; donations welcome. The eggs laid at Easter are due to hatch as April turns into May.

Richard Barnes.

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Jun16 update – That did the trick! Juvenile female JK flew from the nest box at 8.10am Tues 16th, enjoying the morning sun and then exploring most parts of the roof during the day. So now our two young Peregrines need to practise their flying and hunting, and keep out of trouble, mainly from the local seagulls, until they can fend for themselves.

Good to meet several photographers and birders at St Michael’s over the past few days – there are some stunning new photos on the Exeter Peregrine Group Flickr page linked under “Gallery” (and scroll down).

Jun15 update – Juvenile male JN was seen back around the church Fri & Sat, a bit bedraggled but ok, and seems to be making good progress now. We need a good strong male offspring, after the males from the past 2 broods died in their first year.

The young female JK, despite spending much time in the trefoil opening, seems rather reluctant to fledge, and is still being fed in the nest box by the adults. She’s only a couple of days over her 6 weeks, so hopefully there’s nothing amiss.

Jun11 – To fledge or not to fledge, that’s been the question this week.

So, male juvenile JN is now a full 6 weeks old and has been spending much time near or on the trefoil opening, but hadn’t yet made that leap into the unknown, until 5.30pm on Thursday 11th June. As observed by Elizabeth, he flew strongly and came down on a Dinham Road roof. Later he flew back up to the spire but couldn’t find the open trefoil or land on the tower, and headed away again. Andrew located him in a fairly safe roost near the church, where he was calling to the adults and they answered but didn’t come to him. So we hoped as night fell and it started to rain he would be alright there or try again to get back to the church.

The female juvenile JK (Rowling?) is 40 days old with just a little fluff still evident that she is preening away, and also doing vigorous wing exercises mainly on the stone lower left in the camera view. Now that her brother has flown the nest box, she is looking a bit bewildered and doing a lot of calling, as they were still sleeping next to each other.

Apologies for the couple of days when feathers were on the camera lens; thankfully it has cleared itself, because it’s not legally or physically accessible now.

Mum was still bringing in large prey for tea-time and other feeds the past few days, so both juveniles should be strong and well fed. I don’t know whether they sense the weather or follow the forecast, but, with thunderstorms and heavy rain potentially in the offing for Friday, JK may be better delaying fledging till the weekend now. We shall see.

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