Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

The Epiphany anthem "Omnes de Saba venient" by Orlandus Lassus opens our reflection this week. Lassus was one of the masters of sixteenth century Renaissance polyphony. Born in modern-day Belgium little is definitively known of his early life although the story persists that he was kidnapped three times because of the beauty of his singing voice. His compositions most certainly match that reputed beauty.

Our reading from the Gospel of St John includes the famous words of John the Baptist "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the signs of the world!" Alison then recalls a walking retreat to Winchester Cathedral during Holy Week when she was a theological student.

We close with the famous hymn "Thou, whose almighty word."

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

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We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

This week's reflection opens with an anthem by the former King's Singer, Grayston Ives, which sets the poem "Listen sweet dove unto my song" by the 17th century priest and metaphysical poet, George Herbert. The beautiful first verse reads:

"Listen sweet dove unto my song,

And spread thy golden wings in me;

Hatching my tender heart so long,

Till it get wing and flie away with thee."

Today we mark the Baptism of Christ and the reading is St Matthew's account of that event. Alison then reflects on the importance of baptism today as both a rite of passage and a moment of discovering one's true identity.

We close, appropriately enough, with the hymn "When Jesus came to Jordan".

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Dr Jeff Lake, Associate Priest of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

The first reflection of the new year opens with Jonathan Dove's evocative setting of the poem The Three Kings by Dorothy L Sayers which begins and ends in melancholic mood and imaginatively depicts kings of very different ages and the varied gifts they bear. Sayers was best-known as a crime novelist and was considered among the four "Queens of Crime" of the first half of the twentieth century alongside Agatha Christie.

On this Epiphany Sunday, Jeff begins his reflection with the poem BC-AD by the twentieth century British poem, Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, which considers the witnesses of the nativity who "Walked haphazard by starlight straight/ Into the kingdom of heaven."

We close with the familiar Epiphany hymn "As with gladness men of old" written by William Chatterton Dix who wrote it, and many others, while recovering from a near fatal illness.

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Dr Jeff Lake, Associate Priest of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

A fifteenth century carol text "There is no rose" from the Trinity Carol Roll opens this week's reflection on the fourth Sunday of Advent. The setting is by composer Robin Hodson.

Many with a particular interest in Brigid our matron saint and her Celtic Christian connections have an openness to pagan traditions which worries some. Jeff reflects on examples of those who navigate this well, remaining grounded in the gospels, and his own related personal experience of a work in Tate Modern by Máret Ánne Sara, a Sámi-Norwegian artist.

We round off this week with the Advent hymn "O come, O come, Emmanuel!"

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

Our reflection opens with a another setting of the "Benedicite, omnia opera" – the great song of praise and blessing for all of creation that we traditionally sing in Advent. This week's is by the prominent English cathedral musician, Herbert Sumsion, who spent most of his career as Organist at Gloucester Cathedral.

The gospel reading again centres on John the Baptist – the prophet who knew his role was to prepare the world for the appearance of the Messiah. However, Alison reflects on the uncertainty John felt as to whether Jesus, who he had heard of in his prison cell, was that Messiah.

We close with the hymn "The Advent of our King" by the French hymnist Charles Coffin.

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Steve Morris, Associate Priest of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

Our reflection for the second Sunday in Advent opens with the words of the Venerable Bede in a paraphrased setting of the text by Andrew Carter in his anthem "A maiden most gentle." The French melody and sparkling organ accompaniment captures the simplicity of the Christmas scene with answering upper and lower voice verses which unite in the words "Ave Maria."

The reading this week recounts John the Baptist's foretelling of the coming of Christ who will baptise not with water, but with the Holy Spirit. Steve reflects on this intriguing character.

We close with the Advent hymn "Come, thou long expected Jesus" by perhaps the greatest hymn writer, Charles Wesley.

A new episode of this online act of worship is released every Sunday morning.

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

This week's reflection opens with a setting of the "Benedicite, omnia opera" – the great song of praise and blessing for all of creation that we traditionally sing in Advent. It is composed by the English cathedral organist and choirmaster, Robert Ashfield, who served as organist and master of the choristers at Southwell Minster then Rochester Cathedral.

Today is Advent Sunday which marks the beginning of the season of Advent. Alison reminds us in her reflection that it is a season when we are encouraged to engage with the dark realities of our world so that we can truly value the light that comes into the world at Christmas and recognise our deep need for it.

We close with the seasonal hymn "Lo! He comes with clouds descending" by the great hymnist Charles Wesley, set to the famous tune, Helmsley.

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Dr Jeff Lake, Associate Priest of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

Today is the feast of Christ the King which brings to an end the church's year as we proclaim Christ enthroned in heaven as sovereign king over all creation. The cycle then begins anew with Advent – that season of expectation and preparation for Christmas and the birth of Christ as a helpless baby, born to save us all.

St Bride's Choir opens this reflection with Monteverdi's moving devotional motet "Christus, adoramus te" – "Christ, we worship and bless thee, because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world."

After the Gospel reading from Luke, our associate priest Jeff considers the growing relevance the feast of Christ the King has had for him over time especially in an age when national power is increasingly elevated above moral responsibility.

We end with one of our most popular hymns "Glorious things of thee are spoken" to the rousing tune, Abbot's Leigh. The text is by John Newton whose notorious early years included being captain of a slave ship; after his conversion he became an ardent abolitionist in association with William Wilberforce.

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

Stanford's most dramatic anthem – For lo, I raise up – opens this week's reflection. Written at the outbreak of the First World War, it sets Habakkuk’s Old Testament prophecies, beginning with a depiction of the violence and destruction of war but ending with a message of hope, deliverance and the power of faith.

The church's yearly pattern of observances and celebrations is approaching its end with the feast of Christ the King towards the end of this month when we triumphantly proclaim the universal sovereignty of Christ as supreme authority over all creation whose ultimate triumph lies at the end of time.

In today's reading St Luke's gospel, Jesus foretells of that end and his second coming and Alison reflects on these challenging words.

We end with the seasonal hymn "King of glory, king of peace" by the devotional poet and priest, George Herbert.

We close with the patriotic hymn "I vow to thee my country" published in 1921 after the Great War finally ended. The tune, by Holst, is an adaptation from his Planets Suite and sets a two stanza poem by Cecil Spring Rice, who served as British Ambassador to the United States during the war.

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music.

This week we mark Remembrance Sunday when we as we gather, along with others across the nations, to pay tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for peace. In church, St Bride's Choir & Orchestra will perform Duruflé's Requiem as a mass for the fallen and this reflection opens with the first movement of that piece.

Our reading is the famous passage from St John's Gospel proclaiming the commandment to "love one another as I have loved you" and its particularly poignant assertion at this time that "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Alison then reflects on these themes of love, sacrifice and remembrance — from Christ’s command to love one another to wartime memory and hope.

We close with the patriotic hymn "I vow to thee my country" published in 1921 after the Great War finally ended. The tune, by Holst, is an adaptation from his Planets Suite and sets a two stanza poem by Cecil Spring Rice, who served as British Ambassador to the United States during the war.

Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website.

Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on

If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback.

SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S

==================

We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding.

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet