Polyphony
/pəˈlɪf(ə)ni/
Noun: the musical style of simultaneously combining a number of parts, each forming an individual melody and harmonising with each other.
Sunday 9 June is Pentecost – it used to be commonly known as Whit Sunday – and it marks the end of the 50 days of Easter as the church celebrates the sending of the Holy Spirit to inspire Christians and the church. On that Sunday, the epistle reading begins:
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
Acts 2: 1-6
There is a style of musical language known as ‘polyphony’. The dictionary definition above describes it well: the coming together of different individual parts into something bigger. Those of us who regularly attend choral worship at the Cathedral will be familiar with the concept of polyphony even if the word is new to us, because many of the glories of the choral repertoire are fine examples of the genre. Members of the choir or the music team will be happy to talk to you about this if you would like to know more – do ask them!
The epistle on the Day of Pentecost always strikes me as a wonderful description of a piece of polyphony. Believers gathering from lots of different places, speaking in their own languages, and yet creating something together which harmonised beautifully and was perfectly understandable to all who heard it.
Sometimes, we have a tendency to play down the contribution each of us makes – not just to the church, but also to the life of the world. Pentecost reminds us that each of us matters, and that God is most fully praised when each of us contributes to the divine song of the world by offering back the gifts we have been given.
Polyphony only works because of the individual melodies which come together to create it. Each of the voices matters, and if one is missing, the beauty of what God has created is less than whole. So too with us: every voice matters.
The point is to make harmony, which is why Paul in his letter to the Galatians (5:22-23) says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” – all positive and constructive virtues. This doesn’t mean we should always agree with one another, just as, the musicians don’t always play or sing one note, but it does mean our voice matters.
So don’t be afraid to add your voice to the Song of the Church. The great work of polyphony God is creating among us is not yet finished, and the gifts that each one of us brings are needed to write the divine music which tells the story of God’s love for the world in our time and place.
SAL MCDOUGALL, PRECENTOR
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Worship & Mission
Stillpoint
Saturday 22 June, 9am-9.45am
You are invited to 45 minutes of guided silent prayer in the Ringers’ Chapel of Lincoln Cathedral. No experience of contemplative prayer needed. All are welcome.
Spiritual Classics Reading Group
Saturday 6 July, 10.30am-12noon
The Precentory, 12 Eastgate, Lincoln, LN2 1QG
This is an open reading group in which members read a book prior to the meeting and discuss it together. The title for the next session is The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served from 10.30am and discussion will begin at 10.45am.
Lecto Divina
Bible Reflection Group
Saturday 6 July 4pm-5pm
The Precentory 12 Eastgate, Lincoln LN2 1QG
We meet to read, ponder and pray through the Sunday readings for Eucharist of the following day. All are welcome.
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Community
LCCA Pentecost Tea Party
Sunday 9 June 2019, after Evensong
To be held in the Cloisters. Tickets are now available from committee members at £2.50 each. Tea and cakes will be provided.
‘Learning in Lincoln Cathedral’
Thursday 13 June, 10.30am, 27 Minster Yard.
A talk by Sally Bleasdale, Education Manager at Lincoln Cathedral. The event is hosted by the Lincoln Cathedral Retired Staff and Volunteers Group. A perfect opportunity to meet former colleagues and make new friends. Annual membership fee £5, guests very welcome £2.
Road Closures
The road closure on Eastgate will continue until Friday 14 June while new drainage is installed ford for the Old Deanery Visitor Centre. The one way system in Minster Yard will be reversed to allow traffic to be diverted via the south side of the Cathedral.
From 14th June Minster Yard will be closed to traffic, there will still be pedestrian access.
Lincoln Cathedral Community Association
LCCA is organising a visit to Trinity Hospital, Retford on Saturday 6 July 2019. Make own way there to arrive by 2pm (Postcode DN22 7NB).
Our Subdean is Master Governor of the Hospital. If you are interested in joining us, please enter your name on the list on Community Association Notice Board in the Nave. Refreshments will be provided, numbers restricted to 30.
June Pallister – Secretary LCCA Executive Committee
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Events
Organ Concert Series 2019
Saturday 15 June, 7pm, Martin Baker
Saturday 20 July, 7pm, Hilary Punnett
Saturday 21 September, 7pm, Charles Harrison
Friday 4 October, 7pm, Organ Extravaganza
Sunday 22 December, 5.30pm, La Nativité du Seigneur
Be a Chorister for the Day!
Saturday 15 June, 1.30pm
Love singing? Take part in this fantastic opportunity. Explore the song school and experience what it is like to be a chorister. For more information contact 01522 504398 or music@lincolncathedral.com
Come and Sing
Saturday 22 June, 10am
Join other singers and learn Carl Orff’s famous choral work Carmina Burana from scratch. This all-day event is for enthusiastic singers of all ages and abilities. Led by Director of Music, Aric Prentice, you will learn one of the most recognised pieces of choral music from film and TV.
The event will begin at 10am, finishing with a performance for family and friends at 3pm. Registration is required. Please contact the Assistant Organist on 01522 504398 or assistantorganist@lincolncathedral.com.
Magna Carta Lecture
Thursday 27 June, 7pm
Rights and Freedom Today by Shami Chakrabarti
Shami Chakrabarti is the Shadow Attorney General and a member of the House of Lords. A lawyer, she is Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Manchester, Honorary Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple. She was previously Chancellor of both Oxford Brookes University and then the University of Essex.
Baroness Chakrabarti was Director of Liberty, the National Council for Civil Liberties from 2003 to 2016. Shami’s first book, On Liberty, is published by Penguin. Her second, Of Women, was published on 26 October 2017.
Oliver! Tickets
There are still tickets available for the production of Oliver! If you are struggling to find enough seats for your group online at lincolncathedral.com, please call 01522 561658 and we can look for suitable spaces.
The show takes place in the Cathedral from Monday 5 to Friday 16 August 2019 (excluding Sunday 11 August).
Tickets
Tickets for all events are available on the Cathedral website – www.lincolncathedral.com
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Bible Readings
Sunday 9 June
Pentecost
Sung Eucharist
Genesis 11: 1-9
Acts 2: 1-21
John 14: 8-17
Mattins
Isaiah 40: 12-23
I Corinthians 2: 6-end
Evensong
Exodus 33: 7-20
2 Corinthians 3: 4-end
Sunday 16 June
Trinity Sunday
Sung Eucharist
Proverbs 8: 1-4, 22-31
Romans 5: 1-5
John 16: 12-15
Mattins
Isaiah 6: 1-8
Revelation 4
Evensong
Exodus 3: 1-15
John 3: 1-17
Sunday 23 June
First Sunday after Trinity
Sung Eucharist
Isaiah 65: 1-9
Galatians 3:23-end
Luke 8: 26-39
Mattins
Deuteronomy 11: 1-15
Acts 27: 1-12
Evensong
Readings TBC
