From the Parish Priest
Dear friends,
As I write this, thousands of people are packing up their tents and attempting to start the journey home after attending Glastonbury. No doubt many of them are looking forward to a long-awaited shower!
There are many great music festivals taking place over the summer, which people either attend or enjoy in the privacy of their own homes thanks to the broadcast media. But for me, there is only one, and that is the two-month musical extravaganza we call The BBC Proms.
Everyone knows about the famous Last Night party, but not everyone is aware of the importance of the Proms to the international music scene — the encouragement of new composers, the commissioning of new works, and the availability of affordable live music.
The Proms today are very different from the first season in the Queen’s Hall in 1895, but they are still the same Proms. They have grown and developed, become more diverse — both in the music performed and in those who perform, attend, and listen. They are, arguably, the most important classical music event in the international calendar.
What happens in the Church of God now is very different from what happened with the apostles, in the Celtic Church, at the Reformation, or in the “great days of the Victorian era” — but we are the same Church. We grow, develop, and evolve, building on what has happened in the past to be the very best version of the Church that we can be.
Sir Henry Wood, the founder of the Proms, was passionate about introducing new and often controversial pieces to audiences. Many of these were initially met with derision but are now firm favourites in the hearts and minds of many radio listeners and concert-goers.
As the Church continues to evolve under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we engage with new ideas and new concepts — many of which will at first seem foreign or strange — but which often end up being eternally treasured. After all, Harvest Festival was at first just Parson Hawker’s bright idea!
I look forward very much to hearing a mixture of old favourites and new, challenging music in this year’s Proms — and equally, I look forward to some reassurance, challenges, and growth in our church life.
With love and prayers,
Philip