All Church Buildings are now also CLOSED until further notice. Please DO NOT COME to St Michael’s, but continue to pray, and mark Holy Week & Easter at home.

Fr Nigel will pray the Daily Office at the Vaicarage, and some Prayers & Reflections will be put on Facebook & Twitter accounts, as time permits.

This is what would have happened, but all events from 17th March are CANCELLED.

Wed 26 Feb, 7.30pm. Lent starts with Sung Mass for Ash Wednesday with Imposition of Ashes. Hymns: 84: 70: 67. Missa Brevis, Lotti. Miserere Mei, Lassus.

Thurs 27 Feb, 7.30pm. St Michael’s Lecture. Oliver Nicholson on The First English Christians: Four ways of reading Bede - introducing the book for this year’s Lent reading group, which will meet 7-8pm on subsequent Thursdays in Lent (see Poster/Pewsheet).

Sat 29 Feb, 9.30am. Men’s Breakfast at the Farmers’ Union.

Sun 1 March, Lent I, also St David’s Day. 11am Sung Mass. Litany, Hymns 383: 406. Missa de Angelis, Plainsong. Motet: Nolo mortem tecatoris, by Morley. N.B. NO Bountiful Table today.
6pm Sun 1 Mar, Choral Evensong & Benediction. Responses: Byrd. Psalm 50:1-15 Hymn 377. Canticles: Walmisley in D minor. Anthem: If ye love me, by Wilby. O salutaris, Tantum Ergo.

Wed 4 Mar, 9.30am Matins/Low Mass. 6pm Stations of the Cross.

Thu 5 Mar, 7-8pm, Lent Reading Group in Church on Bede’s History of the Earliest English Christians, led by Oliver Nicholson.

Sun 8 Mar, Lent II, 11am Sung Mass. Hymns 238, 378, 64. Mass in Phrygian Mode, Wood. I will lift up mine eyes, Walker. Bountiful Table today – Bakes, Preserves & Produce for Church Funds.

Wed 11 Mar, 9.30am Matins/Low Mass. 6pm Stations of the Cross.

Thu 12 Mar, 7-8pm, Lent Reading Group on Bede’s History, led by Oliver Nicholson.

Sun 15 Mar, Lent III, 11am Sung Mass. Hymns 67, 65, 74. Mass in Dorian Mode, Cabina. Like as the hart, Howells.

Wed 18 Mar, 9.30am Matins/Low Mass. 7pm Stations of the Cross.

Thu 19 Mar, 7-8pm, Lent Reading Group on the Venerable Bede, led by Oliver Nicholson.

Sat 21 Mar 7.30pm at St David’s Church. Exeter Chamber Choir, St John’s Passion by J S Bach. Tickets £18 on the door, £15 in advance.

Sun 22 Mar Laetare/Mothering Sunday, 11am. Hymns 186, 451, 63. Missa super Dixit Maria, Hassler. Ave Maria, Parsons.

Wed 25 Mar, Feast of the Annunciation, 7.30pm Sung Mass. Hymns 188, 185, 161. Mass for 4 voices, Byrd. The Angel Gabriel, trad. Basque.

Thu 26 Mar, 7-8pm, Lent Reading Group on the Venerable Bede.

Sat 28 Mar, 9.30am. Men’s Breakfast at the Farmers’ Union.

Sun 29 Mar, Lent V, 11am. Hymns 79, 137, 83. Mass for 4 voices, Byrd. God so loved the world, Stainer.

Wed 1 Apr, 9.30am Matins/Low Mass. 7pm Stations of the Cross.

Thu 2 Apr, 7-8pm, Lent Reading Group on the Venerable Bede.

Sun 5 Apr, Palm Sunday, N.B. 10.30am start for Blessing & Procession of Palms, and Passion Gospel according to Matthew. Verily I say unto you, Tallis.6pm Palm Sunday Evensong & Benediction. Byrd Responses, Gibbons Short Service. Solus ad Victimam, by Leighton.

Holy Week
Wed 8 Apr, Spy Wednesday, 7pm. Stations of the Cross, sung “Stabat Mater”.

Thu 9 Apr, Maundy Thursday, 7.30pm Sung Mass with Foot-washing. Missa brevis, Lotti. Ubi caritas et amor, Mealor. Ave verum corpus, Byrd.

Fri 10 Apr, Good Friday, 10.30am Veneration of the Cross. The Reproaches. Crux Fidelis.
Good Friday, 8pm Tenebrae sung from the Gallery, Plainsong & Polyphony.

Sat 11 Apr, Holy Saturday, 8pm Easter Vigil Mass with New Fire & Paschal Candle. Stanford in C&F. Unicorni captivator, by Ola Gjeilo

Sun 12 Apr, Easter Day, 11am Festal Sung Mass. Mozart in D. Billings, Easter Anthem.

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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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Sun 3 Mar, Quinquagesima/Transfiguration. 11am Sung Mass. Hymns 494, 234, 443. Little Organ Mass, Haydn. Motet: O nata lux, Tallis. Ven David Gunn-Johnson. Followed by the Bountiful Table.

Sun 3 Mar at 6pm, Choral Evensong & Benediction. Sung by University of Exeter Chapel Choir. Psalm 89:1-18. Hymn: 377. Sanders Responses. Mathias Jesus College Canticles. Balfour Gardiner, Evening Hymn.

Wed 6 Mar Ash Wednesday. 9.30am BCP Matins.
Wed 6 Mar, 7.30pm, Ash Wednesday Sung Mass with Imposition of Ashes. Hymns 84, 70, 67. Missa Brevis and Miserere Mei, Lotti.

Sat 9 Mar, 7pm at Salvation Army Temple, Friars Gate, Exeter. Bach’s St Matthew Passion – Exeter Bach Society & Exeter Chorale, directed by Jonathan Lucas Wood. £18

Sun 10 Mar, Lent I, 11am. Hymns Kitany, 307, 72. Mass in the Phrygian Mode, Wood. Lord, for Thy tender mercy’s sake, Farrant. Fr Nigel Githrie.

During Lent we are encouraged to spend more time in prayer and in study to deepen & broaden our faith. At St Michael’s we can use one or more Wednesdays (13,20,27 Mar & 3,10 Apr) for this. Stations of the Cross at 6pm is a prayerful 45min meditation on Jesus’ Passion. The Lent Reading Group at 7pm for an hour or so will explore the writings of Cyprian, 3rd century Bishop and Martyr in Carthage.

Sun 17 Mar, Lent II, 11am. Hymns 381, 62, 73. Mass in A minor, Casciolini. Turn Thy face from my sins, Attwood. Ven David Gunn-Johnson.

Sat 23 Mar, 9.00am Men’s Breakfast at the Imperial. Details from Ian Smith at St David’s.

Sat 23 Mar at 7.30pm, Exeter Chamber Choir Concert. Music for Lent. Admission £10.

Sun 24 Mar, Lent III, 11am. Hymns 276, 281, 468. Mass in C, Ireland. Like as the hart, Howells. Fr Christopher Durrant.

Mon 25 Mar, 7pm. Concert by Univ 0f Exeter Flute Choir

Sun 31 Mar, Laetare/Mothering Sunday, 11am. Rose Vestments & Simnel Cake. Hymns 185, 451, 63. Missa “Dixit Maria”, Hassler. O Lorde, the maker of al thing, Joubert. Fr Nigel, with Howard Friend preaching.

Advanced Notice of Holy Week at St Michael’s
April 17 Spy Wednesday, 7pm. Stations of the Cross, Pergolesi “Stabat Mater”.
Maundy Thursday, 7.30pm Sung Mass with Foot-washing.
Good Friday, 10.30am Veneration of the Cross. 8pm Tenebrae sung from the Gallery, Plainsong, Lassus & Palestrina.
Holy Saturday, 8pm Easter Vigil Mass with New Fire & Paschal Candle.
Sun 21 Apr, Easter Day, 11am Festal Sung Mass.

A prayerful & holy Lent to & from all at St Michael’s.

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2018 is our 150th Anniversary. If you have special memories or photos of St Michael’s over the years, please let us know. It would be good to compile some articles and a display for our Sesquicentenary celebrations at Michaelmas.

Fri 2 Mar at St David’s Church. 7.30pm Exeter College Choral Society conducted by Alfie Pugh, accompanied by John Draisey. Mozart, Kodaly & Rachmaninov. £12 (£5 students).

Sun 4 Mar, Lent III. 11am Sung Mass. Missa Brevis, Lotti. Motet: God so loved the world, Sir John Stainer. Celebrant: Fr Nigel Guthrie. Followed by the Bountiful Table.

Sun 4 Mar, 3pm. Trumpet, Organ & Piano Recital, Will Palmer & Peter Adcock. Fundraiser for St Peter’s School Malawi Project.

Sun 4 Mar at 6pm, Choral Evensong & Benediction. Byrd Responses. Psalms 11,12. Hymn: 67. Canticles: Dorian Service, Tallis. Anthem: Wash Me Throughly, SSWesley.

In his Ash Wednesday Sermon, Fr Christopher encouraged us to spend more time in prayer in Church, and to study to broaden our imagination. We could use one or more Wednesdays in Lent (28 Feb, 7,14,21 Mar) for this. There is Stations of the Cross at 6pm – a prayerful 45min meditation on Jesus’ way to the Cross. And the Lent Reading Group at 7pm for an hour or so exploring the life and thoughts of St Antony, the founder of desert monasticism.

Sun 11 Mar, Laetare & Mothering Sunday, 11am. Mass in F, Harold Darke. The Lord bless you & keep you, John Rutter. Ven David Gunn-Johnson. Rose Vestments, flower posies & simnel cake.

Thurs 15 Mar. Parish Lunch, 12 noon, at Exeter College’s @34 Restaurant – please sign up in Church.

Sat 17 Mar at 7.30pm, Exeter Chamber Choir Concert. Music for Lent including MacMillan Miserere & Lotti Crucifixus. Admission £10.

Sun 18 Mar, Passion Sunday, 11am. Sarum Plainsong Mass. O große Lieb, JSBach. Fr Nigel Guthrie.

Sun 18 Mar, 4pm in Exeter Cathedral. Farewell Service for Bishop Sarah Mullally, who will be installed as Bishop of London in May.

Sat 24 Mar, 9.30am Men’s Breakfast at the Imperial. Details from Ian Smith at St David’s.

Sun 25 Mar, Palm Sunday, 11am. N.B. BST starts. Blessing of Palms & Procession. Sung Gospel. This Mass will finish a little later than usual.

Summary of Holy Week at St Michael’s

28th Spy Wednesday, Stations of the Cross at 6pm, Liszt Via Crucis.

29th Maundy Thursday, Sung Mass with Foot-washing at 7.30pm, Casciolini & Elgar.

30th Good Friday Liturgy & Veneration of the Cross at 10.30am and the moving Office of Tenebrae sung from the Gallery at 8pm, Plainsong, Lassus & Palestrina.

31st Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil Mass with New Fire & Lighting of Paschal Candle at 8pm, Stanford & Handel.

Sun 1 Apr, Easter Day, 11am Festal Sung Mass. This Joyful Eastertide. Mozart Mass in D. Hallelujah Chorus. Ven David Gunn-Johnson.
NO Choral Evensong & Benediction today – Choir & Clergy serviced out!

A Happy & Joyful Easter to & from all at St Michael’s. Christ is Risen; He is Risen indeed. Alleluia!

Richard Barnes.

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Our new Vicar, Fr Nigel Guthrie, has requested that Sunday Mass start at 11am, so that he can lead worship at both St David’s & St Michael’s when necessary and get to know both congregations.

Fr Christopher Durrant will be on a placement at Silverton from Sun 18 Feb for 6 weeks gaining experience working in a different type of Parish – we wish him well. He will be back just in time for Holy Week with us.

This beautiful church of St Michael’s Mount Dinham was consecrated to the Glory of God on 29 September 1868, so this year sees its 150th Anniversary. Can we use this Sesquicentenary Year to encourage more people to visit, support and share with us in the activity and worship that takes place here? Come and See!

Thanks to all who have persevered with us through the past few months; visiting clergy & Fr Christopher, servers, our small but faithful congregation and those who visit occasionally, the rota of Organists and the choir that has kept singing and carried on, organised by Amy. We could do with a few more voices as we approach Lent & Holy Week. Come and Sing!

The Shepherds have returned to their flocks. The Geeks from the East have come with their Gifts and changed their understanding of power. The world thinks Christmas is all over. But it’s not all over until the old man sings Nunc Dimittis and the prophetess sees Jesus & Mary in the Temple at Candlemas. Come and Worship!

Fri 2 February at 7.30pm, 40 days after Christmas, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Candlemas. Mass in C – John Ireland. When to the Temple Mary went – Johannes Eccard. Fr Christopher Durrant.

Sun 4 Feb, Sexagesima, 11am Sung Mass. Mass in F – Harris. Our Conversation is in Heaven – Exeter born Walter Gilbert (1829-1910).
Sun 4 Feb at 6pm, Choral Evensong & Benediction. Smith Responses: Ps 65, Hymn 243. Sumsion in G. Abendlied – Rheinberger.

Thu 8 Feb at 12noon – Parish Lunch Club at Exeter College’s @34 Restaurant; sign up lists in both our churches.

Sun 11 Feb, Quiquagesima/Lent-1. 11am. Mass in F – Sumsion. O Lord increase our faith – Loosemore. Fr Nigel Guthrie.

Tue 13 Feb. 6pm Vespers. 7pm Choir Practice. 8.15pm Pancakes!

Wed 14 Feb. Ash Wednesday. Services Morning & Evening with Imposition of Ashes.
9.30am Matins. 10am Low Mass.
7.30pm Sung Mass. Tallis Dorian Mode. Lord, let me know mine end – Greene.

Sun 18 Feb, Lent I. 11am Mass. Cranmer’s Litany of 1544. Byrd 4. O Lord Thou art my God – Exeter composer Kellow Pye (1812-1901). NG

Wed 21 Feb, 6pm and each Wednesday in Lent, Stations of the Cross are prayed. Please join us for this seasonal devotion which lasts about 45mins. You may like to stay for…

Wed 21 Feb, 7.00-8.15pm. Lent Reading Group in church with Oliver Nicholson looking at the 4th century best-seller, the Life of St Antony. All welcome.

Sat 24 Feb, 9.30am. Men’s Breakfast at the Farmers’ Union by the Queen’s Street Clock Tower.

Sun 25 Feb, Lent II. 11am. Plainsong Missa de Angelis. Purge me, O Lord – Tallis. Ven David Gunn-Johnson.

Wed 28 Feb, 7pm. Lent Reading Group continues; also 3 Wednesdays in March.

Sun 4 Mar, Lent III. 11am. Missa brevis – Lotti. God so loved the world – Stainer. NG
Sun 4 Mar at 6pm, Choral Evensong & Benediction. NG

Richard Barnes. 28 Jan 2018.

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Sunday 20th March, Palm Sunday, 10.30am (N.B. earlier start) Sung Mass with Blessing and Procession of Palms around Mount Dinham. Sung Passion Gospel. Mass in F by Harold Darke. Motet: When I survey the wondrous Cross, by Wilby. Celebrant is Ven David Gunn-Johnson.

Monday in Holy Week, 21st March, 10am, Low Mass said by Ven David Gunn-Johnson with short Homily by Br Michael Jerome.

Tuesday in Holy Week, 22nd March, 10am, Low Mass said by Canon Tom Honey with short Homily by Br Michael Jerome.

Tuesday in Holy Week, 6pm, Plainsong Vespers and Meditation. Choir Practice at 7pm.

Spy Wednesday, 23rd March, Morning Prayer at 9.30am, Low Mass at 10am.

Spy Wednesday 23rd March at 6pm, when Judas arranged to betray Jesus, the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross are prayed, with the singing of the devotional poem Stabat Mater Dolorosa to music by Charpentier for upper voices.

Maundy Thursday, 24th March, 6pm, Plainsong Vespers and Meditation.

Maundy Thursday, 24th March, Sung Mass at 7.30pm. We especially remember Jesus and his Disciples in the Upper Room, the Foot-washing, how the Last Supper became the First Holy Communion, the words of Jesus to his followers, and the Betrayal.

The Mass Setting is by Charles Wood in F, and the Anthems are “Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est” by the contemporary composer Paul Mealor and “God so loved the world” from Sir John Stainer’s Victorian meditation, The Crucifixion.

At the end of the service, the High Altar is stripped, the Blessed Sacrament carried to the Altar of Repose in the Lady Chapel, and the Watch is kept there through the night recalling Christ and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and then before Pontius Pilate.

Friday 25th March at 10.30am, Good Friday Liturgy. Reproaches, by former St Michael’s member, Chris Upton. Veneration of the Cross. Crux Fidelis, attr. King John IV of Portugal.

Good Friday, 8pm, Tenebrae. An ancient service sung in Latin and English from the West Gallery to plainsong and polyphony by Lassus (1532-1594) and Palestrina (1525-1594), ending in darkness and silence to symbolise Jesus’ descent to the dead.

Saturday 26th March, Holy Saturday 8pm – The Easter Vigil. We kindle the New Light, prepare and bless the Paschal Candles for St Michael’s and St David’s, hear the Exsultet, the proclamation of Christ’s Resurrection, and renew our Baptismal Vows.
Setting: Mass in C&F by Charles Villiers Stanford. Anthem: Out of the Stillness, by Richard Shephard to a poem by Jonathan Draper, Dean of Exeter.

Out of the stillness of dark before dawn,
In the still and the quiet and the damp of the night,
The morning star glimmers alone in the sky:
Signal of day, herald of light.

Deep in the stillness of anguish and fear
Lie hopes that were shattered by death and by doubt,
The husk of a dream lies empty and crushed,
Mind seeks for meaning, heart flickers out.

Out of the stillness the dawn comes again
Darkness is vanquished and hope is renewed
The sun has arisen, never to set,
A new day is dawning with heaven suffused.

Death with its terrors at last overcome
By one burst of light, by one gift of love.
Wholeness and healing and hope in his arms,
The sun has arisen with life for the world.

Easter Sunday, 27th March at 10.45am. (N.B. clocks will have gone forward one hour overnight!) Festal Sung Mass and Blessing of the Easter Garden.
All at St Michael’s wish you a Happy and Blessed Easter. Christ is Risen; He is risen indeed!
Introit: Sing out this Eastertide, by Graham Keitch.
Setting: Mass in G, Franz Schubert.
Motet: Haec Dies, by William Byrd.
This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Low Sunday, 3rd April, Sung Mass at 10.45am – it remains to be seen whether we can repeat the excitement of last year’s Easter Bonnet Parade, but please come and enjoy Spring worship and Easter Hymns with us anyway. Music is Darke in E Mass Setting and Easter Anthem by William Billings.

Sunday 3rd April may be Low Sunday but for our 6pm Choral Evensong & Benediction we will be in joyful Easter mood. Responses by Smith, Office Hymn 115, Psalm 16, and the Canticles, Mag & Nunc, will be Stanford in C.

Anthem:- Blessed be the God & Father by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (who died 19 April 1876 and is buried across the valley from Mount Dinham just below the Exeter Catacombs). Composed for Easter Sunday evensong at Hereford Cathedral, 1834, when only trebles and a single bass voice were available, hence the unison ATB passages. Words selected from 1st Epistle of Peter, chapter 1.

One of the few Feasts usually to occur within Lent, the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary this year is “transferred” from Holy Week to after the Octave of Easter, and will be celebrated at St Michael’s on Monday 4th April with Sung Mass at 7.30pm. Please note this date, which is also the CBS Mass for April. Setting “Missa Aeterna Christi Munera” by Palestrina; Motet “Ave Maria” by Parsons.

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Sunday 7 February, Quiquagesima, 10.45am Sung Mass. Setting: Mass in F – Herbert Sumsion (1899-1995), Motet: O Nata Lux – Thomas Tallis (1505-85); music by two of our longest-lived composers.

Sunday 7 February at 6pm, Choral Evensong & Benediction. Canticles: Collegium Regale, Anthem: Like as the Hart desireth the waterbrooks; both by Herbert Howells (1892-1983). Alternatively: Sing Joyfully, by William Byrd (c.1540-1623).

Monday 8 February, Chinese New Year occurs just before the start of Lent this year.
Tuesday 9 February, Shrove Tuesday, 7pm Choir Practice, followed at 8.30pm by Pancakes.

Wednesday 10 February, Ash Wednesday, with services both Morning & Evening.
9.30am Matins, 10am Said Low Mass with Ashes.
7.30pm Solemn Sung Mass with Imposition of Ashes led by Fr Nigel Mason, Hospiscare Chaplain. Setting: Mass in A Minor – Casciolini. Motet: Hide Not Thou Thy Face – Farrant.

As is our custom, Lenten Masses use simpler Plainsong settings.
Sunday 14 February, Lent I, 10.45am Sung Mass with Litany in Procession. Missa de Angelis. Motet: O Lord Look Down from Heaven – Battishill.

Wednesday 17 February at 6pm and every Wednesday in Lent, the Stations of the Cross are prayed. A reminder that Plainsong Vespers followed by silent Meditation takes place every Tuesday and Thursday in Church at 6pm.

Thursday 18 February at 7.30pm at St David’s Church Heritage Lecture by Professor Jeremy Black of Exeter University on The Battle of Waterloo. Admission free; please support.

Sunday 21 February, Lent II, 10.45am Sung Mass. Sarum Plainsong. Motet: The Call – Lloyd. Words by George Herbert, Welsh-born Anglican poet & priest (1593-1633).

Wednesday 24 February at 7.30pm, St Michael’s Lecture. Br. Michael Jerome, ‘Christianity, Christ and Mental Illness: Confronting Saneism in Society with a Crown of Thorns’ – please note, some aspects of this lecture may be distressing.
Click here for Lecture Series Poster=>Lecture_Series_2016
Sunday 28 February, Lent III, 10.45am Sung Mass. Praier Booke Noted – Merbecke. Motet: Panis Angelicus – arr. Nigel Browne.

Sunday 28 February at 6pm in Exeter Cathedral there is a liturgical performance of Cantata 41. Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, by Exeter Bach Society.

Tuesday 1 March at 6pm, CBS Mass at St Michael’s, with plainsong & hymns, for David, Patron Saint of Wales and our Parish church.

Sunday 6 March, Mothering Sunday, Laetare with Rose Vestments, 10.45am Sung Mass.
Sunday 6 March at 6pm, Choral Evensong & Benediction.

Times of change are unsettling but inevitable, even in a church as apparently traditional as St Michael’s. Please continue to pray for and support St Michael’s; we have a full rota of mainly visiting priests to welcome to our regular services between now and Easter, and much to look forward to together.

Finally, a topic guaranteed to make one unpopular. Financial giving to St Michael’s, while improving a little, is still inadequate to cover basic costs, so if, like me, you have not yet joined the Parish Giving Scheme, please talk to the Treasurer or take an information pack from the back of the church and give it some serious consideration, or donate online.

The bottom line, as they say, is that it costs about £850 per week to keep St Michael’s functioning and serving its community; rather like the Council Tax, the Diocese charges us £450 per week to help fund clergy and services for the Church of England across Devon; and our own utility bills for heat, light, building maintenance, insurance, music, candles, incense, service sheets, … total the other £400.

Many thanks, Richard Barnes.

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Sunday 22nd March, Passion Sunday when the Crosses and Statues are covered. 10.45am. Mass in A minor, by Casciolini and the Anthem, Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, by Lotti.

Wednesday 25th March please try and come to the Feast of the Annunciation. Sung Mass at 7.30pm. Missa “Dixit Maria” by Hans Leo Hassler. Anthem: Hymn to the Virgin, by Benjamin Britten.

Sunday 29th March, Palm Sunday, 10.30am (N.B. earlier start and the clocks will have gone forward an hour overnight!) Sung Mass with Blessing and Procession of Palms. Sung Passion Gospel. Mass in D by Leighton. Anthem: Pueri Hebraeorum, by Victoria.

Wednesday 1st April at 6pm, Spy Wednesday when Judas arranged to betray Jesus, the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross are prayed along with the singing of the devotional poem Stabat Mater Dolorosa to music by Charpentier.

Stations of the Cross are said weekly during Lent on Wednesdays, except Feast of the Annunciation (25th Mar), but today the prayers and meditation are enhanced by a simple setting of the Stabat Mater.

Maundy Thursday, 2nd April, Sung Mass at 7.30pm. We especially remember Jesus and his Disciples in the Upper Room, the Foot-washing, how the Last Supper became the First Holy Communion, the words of Jesus to his followers, and the Betrayal.
The Mass Setting is Missa Brevis by Lotti, and the Anthems are “Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est” by the contemporary composer Paul Mealor and “God so loved the world” from Sir John Stainer’s Victorian meditation, The Crucifixion.

At the end of the service, the High Altar is stripped, the Blessed Sacrament carried to the Altar of Repose in the Lady Chapel, and the Watch is kept there through the night recalling Christ and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and then before Pontius Pilate.

Friday 3rd April, Good Friday 10.30am Good Friday Liturgy. Reproaches, by Upton. Veneration of the Cross. Crux Fidelis, attr. King John IV of Portugal.

Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis: nulla silva talem profert, fronde, flore, germine.
Dulce lignum, dulces clavos, dulce pondus sustinet.

Faithful Cross, among all, the one noble tree; no other forest offers such leaf, flower and seed. Sweet the wood, sweet the nails, sweet the weight it bears.

Part of a 6th century hymn by Venantius Fortunatus written for the procession that brought a part of the true Cross to the Frankish Queen Radegunda in 570. Interestingly, she is a patron saint of Jesus College, Cambridge, which was founded on the site of the 12th century Nunnery, and has a chapel in Exeter Cathedral named after her.

Although King John IV of Portugal (1604-1656) was an accomplished musician and composer, the Crux fidelis attributed to him cannot be traced to earlier than mid-19th century France. His extensive library was destroyed with much else in the tragic Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Good Friday, 8pm Tenebrae. An ancient service sung in Latin and English from the West Gallery to plainsong and polyphony by Lassus (1532-1594) and Palestrina (1525-1594), ending in darkness and silence to symbolise Jesus’ descent to the dead.

Saturday 4th April, Holy Saturday 8pm – The Easter Vigil . We kindle the New Light, prepare and bless the Paschal Candles for St Michael’s and St David’s, hear the Exsultet, the proclamation of Christ’s Resurrection, and renew our Baptismal Vows.
Setting: Fitzwilliam Mass by Alex West. Anthem: Lift up your heads, O ye gates, from Handel’s Messiah.

Easter Sunday, 5th April at 10.45am, Festal Sung Mass and Blessing of the Easter Garden.
All at St Michael’s wish you a Happy and Blessed Easter.  Christ is Risen; He is risen indeed!
Introit: Surrexit Christus Dominus, Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) died on his 50th birthday and is buried in Wolfenbuettel.
Setting: Kleine Orgelmesse, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) prolific Classical composer.
Motet: Easter Anthem, William Billings (1746-1800) of Boston, Massachusetts, is widely regarded as the first American choral composer.
The Lord is ris’n indeed, Hallelujah.
Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.
Hallelujah. And did He rise?
Hear, O ye nations, hear it, O ye dead.
He rose, He burst the bars of death, He burst the bars of death and triumph’d o’er the grave.
Then I rose, then first humanity triumphant passed the crystal ports of light, and seiz’d eternal youth.
Man, all immortal hail, hail; Heaven, all lavish of strange gifts to man;
Thine’s all the glory, man’s the boundless bliss.

Since it is the first Sunday of April as well as Easter Day, there will also be Festal Choral Evensong and Benediction at 6pm. The music will be Thomas Tallis’s Festal Responses, Canticles by Herbert Brewer in D, and Anthem “This Joyful Eastertide” by Charles Wood. Benediction Hymns to the familiar plainsong.

Richard Barnes.

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There’s a touch of “Wolf Hall” musically for the first few weeks of Lent with the Plainsong of the Sarum Rite and Missa de Angelis, and indeed Martin Shaw’s strangely named Anglican Folk Mass, an Edwardian take on Merbecke’s 1550 work for Cranmer’s Prayer Book, giving way to motets and canticles mainly in English by Farrant, Tallis and eventually Purcell. For more information about Cranmer’s First Liturgy in English, explore from this link.

Monday 16th February, 7.30pm, starting at the City Gate Hotel, sees a pre-Lent Pub Crawl, with moustaches and optional fancy-dress, arranged by St Michael’s Social Committee.

Shrove Tuesday, 17th February, 6pm Vespers & Meditation, 7pm Choir Practice, 8.30pm Pancakes in church.

Ash Wednesday, 18th February, is marked with Matins at 9.30am and Low Mass with Ashes at 10am, and in the evening at 7.30pm by Sung Mass with Imposition of Ashes.
Setting: Mass for Four Voices by William Byrd and Anthem: Versa est in luctum by Alonso Lobo, My harp is tuned for lamentation, and my flute to the voice of weeping. Spare me, O Lord, for my days are as nothing.

Sunday 22nd February, Lent 1, 10.45am. Mass features Cranmer’s Litany of 1544 sung in procession, Plainsong Sarum Mass and Farrant’s Hide not thou thy face from me O Lord.

Tuesday 24th February at 6pm, in place of Vespers, Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, Mass for St Matthias’ Day sung with Plainsong Propers and Hymns. All welcome, as we are able to use the St Clement Chapel for worship again following a big tidy-up now that the Organ build is finished.

A reminder that Stations of the Cross are prayed on Wednesdays in Lent at 6pm (except 25 Mar, Annunciation), and Vespers continue to be sung on other Tuesdays & Thursdays at 6pm.

Wednesday 25th Feb at 7.30pm, the St Michael’s Lectures welcome Dr Clare Bryden (Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter) to talk about Particulart: Or the art of knitting, chemistry, meditation and gentle protest.

Sunday 1st March, Lent 2, 10.45am. Mass. The full Anglican Folk Mass by Martin Shaw and O Nata Lux by Thomas Tallis.

Sunday 1st March, 6pm. Evensong and Benediction will be more penitential, with Tallis Responses & Canticles, Allegri’s sublime Miserere and Plainsong Benediction Hymns.

The nest box camera should also be back online on the Peregrine Falcons page of the website at the beginning of March, hoping for egg laying around the Spring equinox.

Sunday 8th March, Lent 3, 10.45am. Plainsong Missa de Angelis and Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts, by Henry Purcell.

Friday 13th March at 7.30pm, the Recital@StMichael’s is a Schools’ Recital. A programme of chamber music performed by young musicians from Exeter School and the Maynard School. Tickets: £5/£3.50, please support.

Sunday 15th March, Lent 4 is Laetare or Mothering Sunday using the Rose Vestments, 10.45am. Missa “O quam gloriosum” by Victoria and Ave Maria by Parsons.

Tuesday 17th March at 6pm, in place of Vespers, Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, Mass for St Patrick’s Day sung with Plainsong Propers and Hymns. All Welcome.

Wednesday 18th March at 7.30pm. St Michael’s Lecture by Dr Morwenna Ludlow (Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter). On Theological Writing as Art & Craft; Is Writing a Theology Book a bit like Making a Pot?

Sunday 22nd March, Passion Sunday when the Crosses and Statues are covered. 10.45am. Mass in A minor, by Casciolini and the Anthem, Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, by Lotti.

Annunciation Window – St Michael’s Mount Dinham

Wednesday 25th March please try and come to the Feast of the Annunciation. Sung Mass at 7.30pm. Missa “Dixit Maria” by Hans Leo Hassler. Anthem: Hymn to the Virgin, by Benjamin Britten.

Thursday 26th March Concert at St David’s Church in aid of their Transformation Fund, given by Exeter Police and Community Choir at 7.30pm, with refreshments. Tickets £5 on the door.

Sunday 29th March, Palm Sunday, 10.30am (N.B. earlier start and the clocks will have gone forward an hour overnight!) Sung Mass with Blessing and Procession of Palms. Sung Passion Gospel. Mass in D by Leighton. Anthem: Pueri Hebraeorum, by Victoria.

As Canon John Thurmer often said, homo sapiens is primarily a story-telling species, so it is always good for us to re-tell and re-enact the story of salvation in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Mirrored here may our lives tell your story, one might say.

The website also has details of services for Holy Week and Easter at the start of April.
RB

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At St Michael’s we try not to anticipate Feasts, so Easter services are listed after the final four Stations.

Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross

Hymn – Jesus, the Crucified, pleads for me

Jesus, the Crucified, pleads for me,
While he is nailed to the shameful tree,
Scorned and forsaken, derided and curst.
See how his enemies do their worst!
Yet, in the midst of the torture and shame,
Jesus, the Crucified, breathes my name!
Wonder of wonders, oh! How can it be?
Jesus, the Crucified, pleads for me!

IV “Verily I say to thee, today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”

And one of the malefactors which were hanged, railed on him, saying, “If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us.”

But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man has done nothing amiss.”

And he said unto Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.” And Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say to thee, today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”

Jesus dies upon the cross

V “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” – VI “I thirst.” – VII “It is finished. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

There was darkness over all the land. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, saith, “I thirst.”

When Jesus had received the vinegar, he saith, “It is finished. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” And he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Jesus is laid in the arms of His Mother

Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

O come unto me – this awful price, redemption’s tremendous sacrifice – is paid for you. Oh! Why will ye die? O come unto me.

Jesus is laid in the Sepulchre

Hymn – All for Jesus

All for Jesus – all for Jesus,
This our song shall ever be;
For we have no hope, no Saviour,
If we have not hope in thee.

All for Jesus – thou wilt give us
Strength to serve thee hour by hour;
None can move us from thy presence,
While we trust thy love and power.

All for Jesus – at thine altar
Thou wilt give us sweet content;
There, dear Lord, we shall receive thee
In the solemn Sacrament.

All for Jesus – all for Jesus –
This the Church’s song must be;
Till, at last, her sons are gathered
One in love and one in thee.
Amen.

Holy Saturday 8pm – The Easter Vigil for the whole Parish. We kindle the New Light, prepare and bless the Paschal Candles for St Michael’s and St David’s, hear the Exsultet, the proclamation of Christ’s Resurrection, and renew our Baptismal Vows.

Out of the stillness – A poem by Jonathan Draper, former Dean of Exeter Cathedral.

Out of the stillness of dark before dawn,
In the still and the quiet and the damp of the night,
The morning star glimmers alone in the sky:
Signal of day, herald of light.

Deep in the stillness of anguish and fear
Lie hopes that were shattered by death and by doubt,
The husk of a dream lies empty and crushed,
Mind seeks for meaning, heart flickers out.

Out of the stillness the dawn comes again
Darkness is vanquished and hope is renewed
The sun has arisen, never to set,
A new day is dawning with heaven suffused.

Death with its terrors at last overcome
By one burst of light, by one gift of love.
Wholeness and healing and hope in his arms,
The sun has arisen with life for the world.

Not in 2020 or 2021 – EASTER DAY 10.30am Festal Mass and Blessing of the Easter Garden.

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