Inside Salisbury: An important time for Christians at Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral releases list of forthcoming religious events
by Annette J Beveridge
THE MOST important time of the year for those with a Christian faith is Lent, Holy Week and Easter and Salisbury Cathedral has prepared a variety of events to mark these occasions.
Lent
Lent begins on Wednesday, March 5 this year with Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the 40 days of Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness. During this time there will be a range of services, lunches and talks for people to reflect, contemplate and join in worship.
The Lent Talks course returns this year, with the theme The Beauty of Holiness: Praying the Psalms. This series of engaging talks will explore the Psalms, known as the songbook of the bible, and their place in Christian spirituality.
Talks will begin weekly on Monday, March 10 through to the final talk on Tuesday, April 15, with each talk ending with an opportunity for discussion and then with Compline, sung by a range of different choirs including the Farrant Singers, Sarum Voices and the Salisbury Cathedral Chamber Choir.
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Lent, Holy Week and Easter at Salisbury Cathedral
The period of Lent, Holy Week and Easter marks the busiest and most important time of the year for Christians. Over thirty services will take place at Salisbury Cathedral over the course of seven days from Palm Sunday on April 13 to Easter Day on April, 20.
JS Bach’s St John Passion
A particular highlight this year is JS Bach’s St John Passion on Saturday, April 12, as part of the Cathedral’s liturgical offering for Passiontide. The concert will feature Salisbury Cathedral Choir, the renowned period instrument ensemble Florilegium, as well as an exceptional line-up of soloists, including Evangelist Ruairi Bowen, familiar to Salisbury audiences, as well as a former chorister at Salisbury, Anita Monserrat. Tickets start from £10 and can be bought via the Salisbury Cathedral website or via telephone on 01722 656 555.
The Return of the Easter Garden
Friday, April 4 will see the return of the popular Easter Garden outside the Visitor Entrance into the Cloisters. The vision of Hampshire-based and award-winning horticultural designer Andy McIndoe, the Mediterranean plants will draw visitors back to the landscape and story of Jesus, with the sealed tomb reminding us of his death before the stone is rolled aside and the tomb opens on Easter Day revealing Jesus’ defeat of death. The Easter Garden will remain until Pentecost on June 8.
Holy Week
There will be many opportunities for prayers and reflection during Holy Week as the Cathedral follows Christ’s journey to the Cross. Special services will include the processional service of the Eucharist on Palm Sunday on April 13 which will see both Cathedral Choirs and clergy process from Choristers Green in the Close to the West Front, and into the Cathedral, recalling the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey.
A particular highlight of Holy Week is the dramatic and evocative Sarum Tenebrae: Service of Shadows on Monday, April 14, which draws on the traditional processions of the Sarum Rite (a form of worship developed at Old Sarum) and sees the service lit with candles that are gradually extinguished, finishing in total darkness with a ‘thunderclap’ sound symbolising the earthquake that followed Jesus’ death.
Other highlights include the Young People’s Station of the Cross on Wednesday, April 16 which will have readings, interpretations and reflection on Jesus’ crucifixion and burial by young people, and the Chrism Eucharist where clergy and congregation can renew their commitment to their faith on Maundy Thursday.
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Family Events
Families can enjoy Easter-themed crafts and storytelling on Saturday, April 5 and can make an Easter card, hear stories of Easter or go on a reflective Easter trail around the Cathedral which will run until 6 May. There will also be a Children’s Service on Friday, April 18 suitable for families with young children that tells the story of Good Friday with music from the Junior Choir.
Easter
Easter Day services will begin at 4am with the Easter Vigil and Readings, which will move outside for the ‘sun arising in the East’, when a fire will be lit, and a single candle will be lit from it. The service continues back inside and new members of the Church are baptized and confirmed. The 10.30am service will see the Easter Garden blessed and the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus and the empty tomb.
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You can also enjoy Easter congregational carols and anthems on Sunday, May 4 with the return of Alleluia! Christ is Risen: An Easter Carol Service, with music from composers such as Byrd, Hadley, Williamson, Vaughan Williams and Shephard.
The Revd Anna Macham, Canon Precentor, said: “The events of Holy Week and Easter are a turning point in our faith and a turning point in human history. In this most important week of the Christian year, the Church invites us to take part in them ourselves and to be changed by the experience. With special events, services and activities for children and adults both in Holy Week and in the weeks leading up to it, there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to get involved. We warmly welcome you to join us.”
For the full list of events, visit Salisbury Cathedral website.
