Service Archive
Recent services held at All Saints
WEDNESDAY 25th DECEMBER
CHRISTMAS DAY
Our Benefice’s Curate, Rev John Hollows, returning by popular demand, led a Family Service designed to appeal to all members of the family, young and old. Seated in the Nave, the congregation joined in classic carols including Once in Royal David’s city and O Come, all ye faithful and a host of popular Christmas songs including a rousing rendition of Twinkle, twinkle little star.
FRIDAY 20th DECEMBER
CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT
We were delighted that Rt Rev Bishop David Jennings was able to lead our Carols by Candlelight service this year.
After the traditional processional opening with Once in royal David’s city The Turkdean Choir, directed by Dominic Hamilton, interspersed Boris Ord’s adaptation of Adam lay ybounden and the Cornish classic Saint Day carol, while the congregation gave strong versions of Stainer’s God rest ye merry, gentlemen and Sir Arthur Sullivan’s It came upon the midnight clear, while Steve Winwood played guitar accompaniment for his arrangement of Silent Night before all delivering a barnstorming rendition of Hark the herald-angels sing. With Steve Winwood and Theo Mountford playing the organ, a Turkdean and all-comers record of 46minutes was achieved, leaving more time for mulled wine and mince pies in the newly-heated Nave which was the subject of much appreciation.
SUNDAY 17th NOVEMBER
CHORAL EVENSONG
THE TWENTy-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
The ever-ebullient Rev Nick Scott led a wonderful service of Choral Evensong on Sunday 17th November, welcoming the addition of our two new infra-red heating chandeliers in the nave to very warm applause.
The Turkdean Choir, directed by Dominic Hamilton, delivered tremendous renditions of Bruckner’s Locus iste, Walmisley’s Canticles and Ivor Atkins’ setting of the Venite, while the congregation gave lusty heart to “Glory to thee my God, this night” to Tallis’s Canon, “Come down O love divine” to locally apposite Down Ampney by Ralph Vaughan Williams and “Angel-voices ever singing” in Edwin Monk’s splendid setting.
Theo Mountford then outdid himself with a vigorous rendition of the classic foot-tapping Toccata from Widor’s Symphony for Organ, No 5 in F minor.
With the new heating on full blast the congregation and choir stayed for refreshments including pleasingly local wine from the Three Choirs Vineyard in far-off Newent.
The congregation also made a further generous contribution to the costs of the now-installed heating chandeliers, bringing our funding appeal almost within touch of our £20,000 target.
SUNDAY 10th NOVEMBER
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
Our Benefice’s Curate, Rev John Hollows, led a simple service of Remembrance. Without a choir, we sang some classic remembrance hymns congregationally, with the significant assistance of Theo Mountford at the organ.
Coffee was served in the Nave, celebrating the successful conclusion of the electrical works that have now reconnected us following the small cupboard fire in September.
SUNDAY 13th OCTOBER
THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Rev Sarah Hayes braved our continuing lack of electricity to lead our October Matins service, an effort that was greeted by unusually sunny and warm conditions, which was much appreciated by all.
Sir William Harris’s Agnus Dei formed the basis of a memorable choir anthem while both choir and congregation seemed to be in fine voice and gave particular “oooomph” to the rendition of Wesley’s joyful “Love Divine, all loves excelling” perhaps making up for our lack of electricity!
With hot water delivered from the Warden’s Aga for a very sociable cup of coffee after the service, the congregation of about 50 all agreed that they would look forward to the restoration of electricity in time for the next service in November as these repairs will be undertaken at the same time as the installation of the new infra-red heating system in late October. Thus hopefully turning a little crisis in to a positive virtue really…
SUNDAY 8th SEPTEMBER
ACCESSION OF HM KING CHARLES III
THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Rev Peter Quinnell returned to Turkdean to lead our Matins service on Accession Day, having been uplifted and inspired by attending The Sixteen’s Proms performance of choral classics from Stanford, Parry and Elgar at The Royal Albert Hall on Saturday.
Conditions at All Saints were complicated by lack of power following the overnight explosion of the electricity meter, but the Turkdean Choir rose to the occasion by delivering a splendid rendition of Pavel Chesnokov’s Cherubic Hymn, op 27 no 5, (“Херувимскaя пeснь.”)
Coffee was served in the Nave only after near-heroic hot water carrying efforts…
SUNDAY 14th JULY
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Rev Canon Tim Sedgley led our July Matins service, the last before our short Summer break, with his customary gusto (and without the potential distraction of the test match at Lord’s that wrapped up so speedily on Friday!)
Our young assistant organist, Theo Mountford, took the bulk of the service for the first time and did so with consumate skill, culminating in a beautiful rendition of Karg-Elert’s “Lobe den Herren.”
The service was followed by an animated chat about the potential new infra-red heating fixtures over coffee and cake, which on this occasion was a delicious orange & almond variety.
The photograph of All Saints Church, Turkdean was taken by
Jonathan McKechnie-Jarvis on a recent visit for the
Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust
SUNDAY 23rd JUNE
The FOURTH Sunday after TRINITY
We were delighted and slightly surprised to greet 95 people for our Floral Choral Evensong on Sunday 23rd June with some extraordinary floral arrangements from each of the eight parishes of the Benefice.
The service served as Turkdean’s fond farewell to our Benefice’s Priest-in-Charge, Alycia Timmis, before she heads off to Monmouth to take up the Chaplaincy of the Haberdashers’ Schools there. The service also kicked off our Parish’s attempt to raise £20,000 to fund the installation of new infra-red energy-saving chandelier heaters and we were truly astonished to be able to report that by the end of the evening we had received contributions and commitments totalling more than £13,000 which will allow us to plan the installation before the onset of Winter.
Well done Turkdean!
In place of a sermon, the congregation were treated to a delightful anthology of floral poetry and prose brought together by Alycia as “Floral Delights: A Garland of Shakespeare & Scripture” and delivered by our Priest-in-Charge with the generous assistance of renowned Shakespearian, Michael Maloney.
The success of the fund-raising may have been even further improved by the quality of the music, with the now-robed (!) Turkdean Choir delivering a truly spine-tingling rendition of Holst’s anthem “Let all mortal flesh keep silence” under Simon Wills’s direction and with guest organist Hugo Kennard and assistant organist Theo Mountford delivering some tippety-top “organ-ing.”
The congregation understandably lingered after the service on a beautiful evening that remained light until almost 10:00pm with the assistance of Chapel Down Flint Dry wine, home-made lemonade and some sensational honey-glazed sausages, goats cheese and fig canapés and smoked salmon blinis. What a great evening,
SUNDAY 9th JUNE
THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Rev Paul Youde returned to Turkdean to lead our June Matins service which was held on what appears to have been the hottest day of the year so far (well, “hottest” may be technically correct, although “warmest” might be a better term.)
The Congregation sang “Praise, my soul the King of Heaven” with great gusto and the Choir, appearing in their newly enrobed finery for the first time, delivered a very moving rendition of Farrant’s “Lord, for thy tender mercy’s sake”. Despite protestations to the contrary the Wardrobe Director appeared to have survived the enrobement process with his sanity and humour intact and the Choir looked very smart indeed.
The culinary highlights of the day were clearly the Chocolate Brownies that accompanied coffee in the Nave after the service. Only with the most severe self-discipline were sufficient Brownies held over for delivery to the shepherds embarked on sheep-shearing duties in the Parish!
The Adoration of the Trinity” by Albrecht Dürer, was painted (oil on wood) for
he Chapel of All Saints at the Zwölfbrüderhaus almshouse in Nuremberg, Bavaria,
where it was installed within an ornate frame as the altarpiece in 1511.
The picture is now held at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
SUNDAY 9th MAY
The Sunday after Ascension
The ever-charming Canon Tim Sedgley kindly joined us again to lead our Matins service in May. He will be back in July by popular demand.
We celebrated the successful completion of the new “Hoggin” church path, mixing local clay and gravel to produce a semi-permeable, buff-coloured surface replacing the pavers that had been deteriorating for some years.
Our young assistant organist, Theo Mountford, played Sir George Thalben-Ball’s “Elegy” to great approbation and coffee after the service was accompanied by a slice (or two) of quite delicious cake, which was almost sufficient to break the inviolable rule of never using the word “moist.”
SUNDAY 14th APRIL, 2024
THE SECOND Sunday AFTER easter
Rev Canon David Cook visited Turkdean for the first time to lead our April Matins service.
The Choir sang Bruckner’s haunting anthem “Locus Iste”, while the congregation joined in with gusto for three very well-loved hymns.
A particularly delicious orange and almond cake perhaps influenced congregants to tarry awhile with their coffee in the Nave after the service.
“The Procession to Calvary”
by Peter Bruegel the Elder (c1525-’39)
is held at the Kunshistorisches Museum, Vienna.
SUNDAY 31st March, 2024
EASTER Sunday
Rev Canon John Ovenden led our Easter Sunday Matins service with his customary joy and energy (and an Easter Egg!)
Without the Choir and with John doing double duty as Organist, the Congregation gave of their best for some Easter Alleluias.
Simnel Cake, Easter Eggs and Champagne (or at least English sparkling wine) were then shared by an unexpectedly large Congregation including a most welcome influx of younger humans.
Aerial photograph of All Saints Church, Turkdean
by drone from South
by courtesy of Jonathan McKechnie-Jarvis Esq
THURSDay 28th MARCH, 2024
MAUNDY THURSDAY
Our Priest-in-Charge, Rev Dr Alycia Timmis, led our Benefice’s celebration of Maundy Thursday with a Solemn Service of Eventide Communion at All Saints.
Uniquely for services held at Turkdean the service is conducted without any music and focuses on the quiet contemplation of Christ’s Last Supper when he washed his disciples’ feet as an act of love and kindness.
The service is held “in the round” in the Nave, emulating the configuration of the Last Supper itself with readings, prayers and space for thought and contemplation.
Everyone left in quietness, preserving the sense of peace and more adequately prepared for the remainder of Holy Week.
SUNDAY 10th March, 2024
Mothering Sunday
Rev Peter Quinnell led our monthly Matins service in March, which allowed us to celebrate Mothering Sunday.
The Choir sang Stainer’s “God so loved the world” from his oratorio “The Crucifixion” which remains Stainer’s most popular work.
Mothering Sunday posies were shared, along with coffee, in the Nave after the service.
The painting of “Summertime, Gloucestershire”
by James Archer (1824-1904)
is held in the collection of the
National Gallery of Scotland
Sunday 11th February, 2024
Quinquagesima
Rev Sarah Hayes led our monthly Matins service with Holy Communion in February, celebrating Quinquagesima.
The last Sunday before Lent is also 50 days before Easter and, as such, is often associated with having a particularly lavish roast dinner in preparation for the rigours of Lenten observance. This may also explain the day’s alternative name: “Pork Sunday.”
SUNDAY 14th JANUARY, 2024
THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
Rt Rev ✝David Jennings led our Matins service with Holy Communion in January, celebrating the second Sunday after Epiphany
The Choir sang the anthem “View me, Lord”, Richard Hey Lloyd’s inspirational setting of the poem describing the transformative power of divine grace by Thomas Campion (1567-1619), poet, musician and doctor.
The image of “The Adoration of the Kings” by an unknown master dates from about 1520 and now lies at the
Kaiser Friedrich Museumsverein, Berlin
MONDAY 25th December, 2023
Christmas day
A Family Service for Christmas Day
All Saints mounts a supremely joyful Family Service on Christmas Day, led in 2023 by our Benefice’s then
newly-ordained Assistant Curate, Rev John Hollows.
Music and song, readings and happiness for all,
young and old alike, celebrated, uniquely in All Saints calendar, on Common Worship lines.
WednesDAY 20th December, 2023
Carols by candlelight
Our Benefice’s Priest-in-Charge, Rev Dr Alycia Timmis once again led our candlelit carol service in 2023. The church was full to the brim for our service of eight carols
Once in royal David’s city
Gabriel’s message
Away in a manger
A great and mighty wonder
Silent night
In the bleak midwinter
O little town of Bethlehem
Hark the herald-angels sing
and six readings read by parishioners.
The congregation then enjoyed mulled wine, mince pies and the opportunity for some seasonal conversation in the Nave.
SUNDAY 19th NOVember, 2023
Eventide holy communion
William Byrd’s Mass for four voices (1592)
The Area Dean for Cheltenham, Rev Gary Grady, kindly joined our Benefice’s Priest-in-Charge, Rev Dr Alycia Timmis, to lead a very special celebration of the restoration and rehanging of Turkdean’s ancient bells on the newly strengthened bell-frame. All four bells were rung for the first time since the Second World War.
Under the musical direction of Simon Harper, the Cantores Chamber Choir sang William Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices of 1592 quite beautifully, as All Saints Church brought its celebration of the 400th anniversary year of the death of England’s finest composer of ecclesiastical music to a stunning conclusion.
