大象传媒

听

听

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Gloria

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Andy:听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Welcome to Salford and in particular to the 大象传媒 Philharmonic鈥檚 Studio here at MediaCity on the banks of the Ship Canal 鈥� with its wide sky, its open spaces and soaring modern architecture.

We鈥檝e just listened to Vivaldi鈥檚 wonderfully joyous opening to his Gloria sung by members of choirs and choruses from across the region.听 We鈥檙e in celebratory mood as we rejoice in God鈥檚 glory revealed among us.听 Great beauty in Nature, art or people and great music can transport us into the presence of God.听 I鈥檓 frequently surprised though by the strange places and unexpected people where I catch a glimpse of God鈥檚 Glory.

Today we pray that God would surprise us.

Steve:听听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 For the beauty that transforms

People:听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听 Glory to God

Steve:听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 For the love that redeems

People:听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听 Glory to God

Steve:听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 For the vision that inspires

People:听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Glory to God

Steve: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 听For the kindness that gives life

People:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Glory to God

Steve:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The glory of God is a human being fully alive.听

For the light that darkness cannot overcome,

we give you thanks and praise.

People:听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Amen.

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Choirs have come here today to perform Vivaldi鈥檚 wonderful music from 18th century Venice.听 Some might smile but, I鈥檓 actually struck by some of the similarities between Venice and here. Both cities built wealth through trade.听 Both cities have famous canals, admittedly we used to make more things here in Salford and it does rain more.听 We think of Venice as a wealthy city but behind the rich fa莽ade of any city, there will be places of poverty and distress. When Vivaldi wrote his Gloria it was to be performed by the orphans of the Ospedale Della Pieta, people who were in some way or another rejected but despite their own circumstances, lifted the lives of others through beautiful music.听 We live in a complex world of beauty & ugliness;听 wealth and poverty;听 goodness and evil and we look for God鈥檚 help to be his agents for change in this world.

Steve:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 From the bright, confident opening, Vivaldi slows the pace right down with his setting of the simple prayer:听 Now comes Et in terra pax - On earth, peace, goodwill to all people.听 The vision of heaven inspires those who know and experience the fragile nature of earth... and here the harmonies don't quite resolve themselves... there is a longing听 - a vision of a peaceful state of existence for which we still hope.听听

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Et in terra pax

Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God鈥檚 loving-kindness given to the world as healing for what seems broken or neglected.听 Art, faith and music all provide fresh dimensions for perceiving life.听 At both of my churches we have a lot of art activities, art groups, painting classes, photographic group, exhibitions and concerts. Brenda is a stalwart at St Philip鈥檚, and particularly loves coming to the classical recitals and to hear the 大象传媒 Phil.听 Here's how she weaves together her love of music with her view of the world.

Brenda:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 When I was young, my parents were in the church choir. Dad was a tenor, mum was an alto and my Uncle John was a bass, we鈥檇 have musical evenings and I鈥檇 have to sing soprano! At St Phil鈥檚 we used to sing quite a bit of Moody & Sankey. They were used in the missions because they were rousing and cheerful. I wasn鈥檛 keen on the more miserable hymns. Music makes me tingle. And I love the way it can express different moods whether it鈥檚 Mendelssohn, Handel or Vivaldi.听 I love to sing with other people.听 I like to join in! There is a thrill in the music and there鈥檚 a feeling of elation in all those voices joining together.

Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 That's what all great works of art can do.听

Words from three thousand years ago express how they can place us within the perspective of one whose vision reaches further than our senses.听 With me, Brenda reads Psalm 46

Brenda:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God is our refuge and strength, 鈥� a very present help in trouble;

Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, 鈥� and though the mountains tremble in the heart of the sea;听听听

Brenda:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Though the waters rage and swell, 鈥� and though the mountains quake at the towering seas.

Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 鈥� the holy place of the dwelling of the Most High.

Brenda:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God is in the midst of her; therefore shall she not be removed; 鈥� God shall help her at the break of day.

Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The nations are in uproar and the kingdoms are shaken, 鈥� but God utters his voice and the earth shall melt away.

Brenda:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The Lord of hosts is with us;听 鈥� the God of Jacob is our stronghold

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 'Be still, and know that I am God; 鈥�I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.'

Brenda and Andy:听 The Lord of hosts is with us; 鈥� the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Steve:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Doreen was somebody in whom I could see the glory of God.听 She was born and bred in Salford.听 She inspired me with her perseverance, her hope and her ability to turn something bad into something good.听 For the last ten years, we met to pray together each week.听 She often talked about the day of her twenty-first birthday.听听 It coincided with a natural calamity that's now part of Salford folk-lore - the great flood of 1946.听 The River Irwell burst its banks.听 Doreen would always walk home from her job in downtown Manchester rather than catch the bus.听

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

听听听听听听听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 But, as she headed through the main streets and alleyways that led to her home in the Salford district of Broughton, the water levels rose higher and higher.听 She walked and she walked.听 Rather than give up, or seek shelter elsewhere, her only horizon was home.听

The water was as high as her chest.听

But still she would not give up.听

Eventually, she had to swim through the streets nearest her home.听 When she arrived, her 21st birthday presents were ruined, but she was safe:听 demonstrating the true grit that she'd display in serving her neighbours in years to come, turning bad situations into good ones.听听

When she closed her eyes for the last time this January, I remembered the deep waters in which she'd swam throughout her life - bereavement, serious illness, the concerns of a mother - and I knew she'd say, because she'd said it so many times as we'd prayed:听

"For the spirit that's seen us through, and the glory that's yet to come.听 We give thee thanks. 听听We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee.听

Laudamus te - sung by the 大象传媒 Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year, Louisa Stirland with 大象传媒 Singer Elizabeth Poole.

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Laudamus te

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Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The population of any city is constantly changing, especially those with a history of trading with the world.听 Cities, like Salford, also become the places where refugees flee for safety and where friendships are planted and grown.听 The whole community also benefits from the gifts and creativity of those who make their home here.听 Serge fled from persecution in Cameroon. He was working in a human right鈥檚 organization and was arrested and tortured when he launched an album by a political artist who criticized the government.听 He was granted refugee status in 2008.

Serge:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I was 14 when I bought my first toy keyboard but had to keep it away from my dad. He wanted me to be an engineer as he was himself. It's only when I had my A level in maths that I took my first music lesson paid for by my mum.

I was interested in fusing African traditions with jazz which in fact is what I'm still doing these days in my compositions

I feel good when I鈥檓 playing music. I'm no longer hungry, I鈥檓 problemless. I remember when I was seeking asylum, waiting for the Home Office to reply. It was long, over a year. The only thing that helped me was music. I had many musicians around me who became my friends. They kept me going.

Andy: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 A reading from St Luke鈥檚 gospel about an unexpected friendship.听 (Luke 10:25-37)

Serge:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥楢 man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.听听 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.听听 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.听听 But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.听听 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.听听 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 鈥淭ake care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.鈥澨�听 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?鈥櫶�听 He said, 鈥楾he one who showed him mercy.鈥� 听Jesus said to him, 鈥楪o and do likewise.鈥�

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Steve:听听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The glory of God is a human being fully alive... and I'm fully alive when I'm a neighbour to a stranger.听 It's this quality that turns a bad experience into a good one.听 The victim on the roadside receives help from someone he least expects to give it, from a culture and background different from his own, and his life is saved.听 The Samaritan offers care to someone he never thought he'd meet when he began his journey, and, starting out as a stranger to the victim, he becomes his friend.听

In the act of giving and receiving attention, Samaritan and victim discover themselves in one another.听听听

An act of neighbourly love turns the bad-ness of the assault into the good-ness of a new relationship.听听

听

I remember how in T.S. Eliot's Choruses from The Rock, the Stranger arrives to call the city to account.

He asks 'What is the meaning of this city?听 The poet wonders what the answer will be.

Do you huddle close together because you love each other?'

What will you answer?听 'We all dwell together

To make money from each other'?听 Or 'This is a community'?"听

A city is made up of in-comers, refugees, strangers who hold it to account.听 Salford has many communities that have settled here over the years, strangers in their time, who've become good neighbours... including one of Britain's biggest Jewish communities.听 And here there's a poignant point of contrast with Vivaldi's Venice.听 It was there that the term "ghetto" was first coined, in the year 1516, to describe a demarcated zone set aside only for the Jewish community, on the site of a copper foundry.听 The word ghetto may come from the Venetian word for foundry or the Italian word for foundry.听 The strangers were to be kept at arm's length.听 Spiritually, Venice was much the poorer for this segregation, Salford much the richer for its acceptance of the dignity and diversity of those who came to make a home here.听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

One of Salford's neighbours has a town square in which I see the words, "A stranger is only the friend I haven't made yet."听 The question is not, "Who is my neighbour?" It is, "To whom can I be a neighbour?"听 To answer that is to be fully alive with the glory of the Lord God, King of heaven

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Domine Fili Unigenite

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 We spend a moment asking God鈥檚 forgiveness for the times when [we've failed] God, our neighbour and ourselves:

Lord of Glory, we have often taken for granted the wonder of the world and failed to notice your presence

Lord have mercy

All: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Lord have mercy

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Lord of Compassion, we have often passed by on the other side and failed to help those in need

Christ have mercy

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Christ have mercy

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Lord of Glory, we have often failed to be the person that you call us to be

Lord have mercy

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Lord have mercy

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 May God the Father forgive you your sins through Jesus Christ his Son, who takes away the sins of the world. And may you be renewed to live in God鈥檚 glory.

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Amen

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Qui tollis peccata mundi

Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 We pray for the needs of the world

God of Glory, we pray for peace in our world: that the barriers of hatred and fear may be broken down

Lord in your mercy

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hear our prayer

Brenda:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God of glory we pray for the building of community: that we may be surprised by help that is given.

Lord in your mercy

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hear our prayer

Steve:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 ve:God of Glory, we pray for all musicians and artists: that they may be inspired and may inspire others for good.

Lord in your mercy

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hear our prayer

Andy:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God of Glory, we pray for all those in need, for orphans, for the sick, for those whose troubles threaten to overwhelm them; that they may receive the help they need.

Lord in your mercy

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hear our prayer

Brenda:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God of Glory, we pray for ourselves; that we would have the courage & strength to serve you in your world.

Lord in your mercy

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hear our prayer

Steve:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Merciful Father

All:听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,

Jesus Christ our Saviour, Amen.

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Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Qui sedes ad dexteram (soloist 大象传媒 Singer Margaret Cameron)

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 We鈥檙e approaching the end of Vivaldi鈥檚 Gloria and of this service. After some slower music that is full of yearning the mood returns to full-blown joyous celebration again with echoes of his majestic opening. I hope that you are encouraged to share in God鈥檚 work by finding that glory in others, by caring for friend, for neighbour, for stranger; by singing in whatever way you can 鈥淕lory to God in the Highest鈥�.听 As the next movement says, 鈥淔or you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High鈥�

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Quoniam tu solus sanctus

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God the Father, who surrounds us with glory; encourage you

All:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Amen.

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God the Son, who shows us God鈥檚 way; strengthen you

All:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Amen.

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 God the Holy Spirit, who is with us always; lead you

All:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Amen.

Andy:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And the blessing of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you now and always. Amen.

MUSIC:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Cum Sancto Spiritu

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