We did a bit of touring -- even though it had been raining and the rivers were flooding, we were determined to get on the water.  We tried to rent a boat on the Thames at Windsor Castle, but the boat livery was closed because the water was running so fast.  We contented ourselves at watching the duck floating down the river at break-neck speed!  

Later we saw ducks feeding in the river outside Wells Cathedral with no regard for proper duck decorum--who cares?  There's food down there!

More ducks at St. James park outside Buckingham Palace.  

More pictures from Amy and David

Pictures from Amy and David Phipps - Trip to Bristol

Here are some of our pictures from the Bristol trip - We had such a good time singing with our friends, enjoying all the sites, and kicking around the harbor!  This is a view of the Bristol Cathedral from the beautiful garden immediately behind the Choir Room. More soon!

Re-entry

Re-entry..... it's the name a friend of mine gives to all of those activities that consume you when you return to earth following a long stint away from home. You know - laundry, dry cleaning, getting the mail from the neighbors', picking up the dog and the kids, mowing the lawn after the 40 days and nights of San Antonio rain - all of that stuff.

And don't forget the best part - downloading all of your remaining trip photos! Here are some from our last few days in London!

Spamalot at the Palace Theater is the hysterically funny musical based on the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Others in our group saw the musicals Wicked (the prequel to the Wizard of Oz), Mary Poppins, Les Miserables, Lion King, and Lord of the Rings.



Many of us got the memo about Canterbury being the place to wear your pink shirts!



Canterbury is an amazing city. The old part of town, within the ancient Roman/Norman city wall, is now a pedestrian-only area. Visiting this cathedral in particular is very moving - this is the current seat of our faith, the home of the Archbishop, and the place where pilgrims have come for thousands of years to pray at the site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Beckett.






In modern times the Pope and the Archbishop have met and prayed together at the Martyrdom site, and the sanctuary still stops every hour at half-past to pray for the peace of the world. Praying for peace is a great emphasis in every church in Europe - perhaps because so many visitors to cathedrals are not necessarily members of the Anglo-Catholic faith tradition, yet the desire for peace is something that unites us all, regardless of other lines we draw in the sand to separate us.

Thanks for your prayers for us as we've been away. We look forward to seeing you in worship downtown soon - we'll be the ones in the red and white robes!

We're Home!

Greetings to you all!

It is good to be back on native soil! At least, many of us are back. Some have stayed to vacation longer in Europe or visit friends or relatives. But officially, the tour group landed last night around 11:30 p.m.

Since most of you have requested more photos, I thought I'd just put up a bunch of our last days in London, and as I gather them from the rest of the group I'll put up some other ones.

First of all, for you Harry Potter fans, here is the REAL Platform 9 3/4 from King's Cross station in London. Notice how the luggage trolley is already half-way onto the magical side!



And a few from Stonehenge:




And of the crowd awaiting the BBC Proms Concerts:



And a view across the River Thames:



And of the internet crowd attempting (unsuccessfully) to hop onto the free WiFi around the corner from our London hotel. The red phone booth to the right also broadcasts a WiFi signal -


Check back later today for more pictures of our days in London!

Monday, July 30

Monday, 30 July 2007

Monday was a travel day on the way from Bristol to various places. Some in our group are headed elsewhere, but most of us are staying in London for 3 more days. Sorry I don't have pictures right now - I'm using the internet cafe's computer. When I have a moment with my laptop, I'll put up some photos. That may not be until our layover in the Newark airport... but I'll try sooner!

First stop - Stonehenge, one of the oldest and most mysterious sites in all of the world. Even what is known about it poses more questions than answers. HERE is their website, which has all kinds of info, and I'll put up some pictures the first chance I get.

Next stop - Salisbury Cathedral.... whoever said we might get tired of looking at cathedrals was just plain batty! Some of the only "enamel" stained glass in the UK is at the back of the altar. The depth of the blue color is simply stunning. If you haven't been clicking on any of the external links, please click HERE for their website just to see the stained glass.

After a spot of lunch, on to London, where our hotel is on Kensington Park High Street, overlooking Kensington Park. Since we were only a few minutes from the Royal Albert Hall, some of us decided to take in the evening's BBC Promenade Concert. Remember our Bristol composer - Philip Wilby? We just missed hearing his premier piece at the Proms last Saturday. The program we heard included the European premier of Esa Pekka Salonen's piano concerto and Berlioz Romeo and Juliet.

Thanks for continuing to check in! More soon!

Sunday, July 29

Sunday morning Eucharist, 10:00 a.m.

Did you celebrate "Anglican Communion Sunday" with us two weeks ago at St. Mark's? If so, then you received a foretaste of the feast to come, so to speak, as we celebrated the Communion liturgy and music nearly IDENTICALLY to the service here in Bristol. We borrowed the language of the contemporary Anglican Prayer Book and sang the same setting of the service music, in this case by British composer Harold Darke (click HERE for more info on him).

Completely unknown to us was this AWESOME bit of "it's a small world" - the composer of our chosen communion anthem "If Ye Love Me", Philip Wilby, is the HUSBAND of the Rev. Wendy Wilby, the CANON PRECENTOR of Bristol Cathedral, who has been the cantor for most of our Evensong services!! It's one of Ed Rieke's favorite pieces, and he chose it completely unaware of the connection - isn't that amazing?! Here they are with Ed, Grace and Kristin.


We got to meet Philip earlier this week when he attended the Evensong on Friday night. Last night he had a piece for organ and brass premiered in the Royal Albert Hall at the Proms Concerts - his music is a big deal!

Here we are lined up in the Chapter House awaiting the start of the service. This part of the cathedral is where the monks used to gather - it dates from 1180!

It was wonderful to have Rev. Mike Chalk participating in this morning's service as well. He joined the processional and was the priest who served all of us communion. It was very moving for us.

After a short lunch break we were back at the cathedral for our final service of this residency. It's gone by so quickly... it hardly seems possible that the week is over.... (Can you keep a secret?? We've already convinced Ed to plan the next one! We hope YOU'LL join us next time!)

Our final service at Bristol Cathedral.

Preces/Responses: Hancock
Psalm 88:1-10
Service: Dyson in D Major
Anthem: Hancock You Are One in Christ Jesus

Sir George Dyson (1883–1964) was a well-known English musician and composer. His son is the physicist Freeman Dyson and his grandchildren are Freeman's children the science historian George Dyson and his sister Esther Dyson. He attended the Royal College of Music (where he studied under Stanford) and then worked for thirty years as a school music teacher (at Rugby, Wellington and Winchester), before being appointed as Director of the Royal College of Music in 1937. He received a knighthood in 1941 and was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1953.

Dyson composed some fifty works for the Anglican liturgy, including two complete morning and evening Canticles in D major and F major, as well as a setting of the evening service in C minor for trebles. The two evening services for full choir remain extremely popular in English churches and cathedrals, and are certainly part of the core repertoire. In the Oxford Companion to Music, Percy Scholes described his compositions as "skillful, sometimes deeply felt, but never forward-looking in idiom".

Gerre Hancock’s anthem, You Are One in Christ Jesus, was commissioned by the members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church to honor and commemorate 25 years of service by their Organist and Director of Music, Edwin Rieke. The anthem opens with quietly intense “alleluias” growing out of the organ motive. The text (Galatians 3:27-28) is supported by an undulating organ accompaniment which grows in color and volume to return to the “alleluias.” In the final section, the entire text is chanted on a single note while the organ plays the hymn tune, McKee, “In Christ There Is No East or West.”

Following the Evensong service, Philip and Wendy Wilby hosted a lovely wine and cheese reception for all of us in the Chapter House. Both Philip and Wendy are such lovely people. In fact, all of the cathedral staff has just been fabulous to us, so warm and welcoming and helpful with this detail and with that question. And they've been very appreciative of our singing also.


Some of our group are going their separate ways tonight, either back to the States or on to various other vacation destinations. Most of us, however, will board the bus for London tomorrow for three more days of sightseeing. Keep checking in for more pictures and news!