HEAD CHORISTER GIVES SERMON IN SALISBURY CATHEDRAL

This year's Marian Procession, a special service in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary to whom Salisbury Cathedral is dedicated, and during which the head chorister gives the sermon, took place on Sunday 16 May.

Devised by the Precentor, Canon Jeremy Davies, the Marian Procession is a celebration of Mary’s journey through life. “Instead of Evensong at 3.00pm, we celebrate our Patronal Festival with a wonderful processional service through the Cathedral. The choir and clergy enter this spectacular building through the great West Door and process the full length of the cathedral, stopping at the spire crossing, Presbytery and finally Trinity Chapel to celebrate Mary’s place in God’s plan and to tell her story through music, readings, reflections and prayers.

“The service is sung by the girl choristers and lay vicars. Just as in December the Bishop’s Chorister (head chorister, boy choristers) writes and delivers the sermon in the Boy Bishop Ceremony, on this occasion the Dean’s Chorister (head chorister, girl choristers) - writes and delivers a personal ‘Reflection’. This year Grace Beverley spoke about choristers as story-tellers and the story of Mary’s life.”

Text of the sermon written and delivered by Grace Beverley, Dean’s Chorister, Salisbury Cathedral Choir, during the ‘Marian Procession’ on the Cathedral Festival Day – Sunday 16th May 2010, at 3.00pm.

I believe that, day by day, choristers tell stories.

Great evidence and illustration of this idea is found in the singing of Psalm 78, which tells the story of God leading his people from Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Most people think that Psalm 78 is the chorister’s worst nightmare. With 73 verses, it is the longest psalm we sing in one night. Of course, Psalm 119 is much longer, taking up five full pages of the bible, but, being so long, it is split up into chunks. In fact, Psalm 78 probably does have a hint of ‘oh dear’ to the younger members of the choir, but to me, it is a story, told to the congregation through singing, deep, meaningful and eventful. The music rather shapes the story, having loud, intense parts to show God’s wrath and displeasure at the disobedience of his people, followed by quiet, gentle sections to demonstrate His compassion and forgiveness. Next time you hear Psalm 78, why don’t you follow the story in the Psalter? It’ll be worth it!

Today we are performing the Marian Procession. I use the word ‘performing’ because we are telling the story of Mary’s life through singing, through readings and through actions, almost like a play or production. As we process through the whole cathedral, we also move through Mary’s life. We symbolise different stages of her life through words and actions.

Mary is part of one of the greatest stories ever told – that of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is demonstrated through the various scenes of the service today.

Mary herself sang songs and told stories. Perhaps the best known of these is the Magnificat, which we have just sung, often called “Mary’s Song”. Two thousand years on, we as choristers still tell her story as we sing her song daily at Evensong. Of course these days, computer games and iPhones seem to grasp our attention much more than traditional story telling. Although these things can give us hours of entertainment, they can’t be passed down through the generations, like stories which can be told time and time again.

Our procession or story today started at the West End of the Cathedral symbolizing where Mary first appears in The Bible, as Wisdom in the book of Proverbs. We sang ‘Ave Maria’ – ‘Hail Mary’.

Shortly after that we moved to the Spire Crossing, where we placed white roses before the statue of the Virgin. The rose has long been strongly associated with Mary. There is a lovely carol sometimes sung at Christmas – ‘There is no rose of such virtue as is the rose that bear Jesu’. That rose is Mary.

Following this we heard the reading of the Annunciation. This is one of the most remembered parts of the story of Mary’s life, a miracle happening as it is announced to Mary by the Angel Gabriel that she is to have a baby, who is the Son of God. Then we heard a series of readings progressing through Mary’s life. Her visit to Elizabeth before the birth of her son, John the Baptist. And then the birth of Christ, that most famous and familiar Christmas story. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and the story of Jesus teaching the elders in the temple, a story which shows Mary as an anxious mother, worried about where her son might be.

Later in the service we will again see the anxious mother, this time at the foot of the Cross, watching her son die.

Our service, journey and story will end in the Trinity Chapel at the East end of the cathedral. Here we will say the Angelus together, and the choir will sing ‘Ave, Regina caelorum’ - ‘Hail, Queen of heaven’. It is a great privilege for us as choristers to be the story tellers of today, and I hope that through our music we help you to know and worship the God who has given us these gifts, and who is the subject of ALL our story telling.