A Pilgrimage Begins

Dear Friends,

At long last the St. Mark's Choir and Senior Choristers have reached their goal, and we'll soon begin our journey together at two of England's finest cathedrals. Our choirs have evolved immensely over the course of the past three years since our last pilgrimage. It is a privilege and honor to serve with them in a total of nine Evensongs and four Choral Eucharists over the course of two weeks. In her letter to the choir pilgrims, the Rev. Ann Fraser states, "A pilgrimage involves setting out, going (getting lost, annoyed, afraid; being delighted, moved) and returning home, changed."

These wonderful humans have all worked extremely hard to reach this moment in the life of our music ministry, and, together, we will serve during the absence of Salisbury and St. Paul's Cathedral choirs, which is a great responsibility. In doing so, we help those who attend these services a few moments each day to escape the outside world by encountering a time of solace and transcendence.

This Sunday, July 5, at the 10:30 a.m. liturgy, the choirs will render a choral mass setting by living British composer Philip Stopford. Beth will bless the choir, allowing the congregation an opportunity to pray for all of us getting ready to set out on this marvelous journey. During the service, you'll experience the choirs singing the parts of the Mass Ordinary, or those parts of the Eucharist that are fixed and don't change each week: Gloria, Sanctus/Benedictus and Agnus Dei. Think of each movement of a choral mass setting much like the prescribed canticles, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, at Choral Evensong. The choir sings a setting of those same ancient texts set to music by composers spanning centuries. The result is an art form that the listener experiences as sung prayer in unique and transformative ways.

We are so very grateful for all the ways the St. Mark's community has supported us as we've carefully planned, prepared music and fundraised. It truly takes a village to do this incredible work. In addition to our choirs, I'd especially like to acknowledge our choir pilgrimage committee who worked so diligently over the past several months: Robbie Moore, Amy Phipps, Laura Wickham, David Heller, Jane Williams, Carolyn Arizpe, Ann Fraser, Lindsay Young and Brett Richardson. I'm proud to serve alongside all these pilgrims as your director of music representing St. Mark's abroad.

Sincerely, Jon Johnson