Pew Sheet – 7th February 2021

The Rector writes  ‘ Last Tuesday 2nd was Candlemas and now we are back in ‘ordinary time’ but just for a couple of weeks until Lent begins (Ash Wednesday is the 17th of this month!)  I just love the liturgical seasons, which like nature’s seasons , gives structure and rhythm to our spiritual year.

Most of you already know our own liturgical ’wheel’  which resides in St Mary’s Church but here is one to look at. I hate to admit but this one is far more informative then the one I made myself , ah well!‘

Music Notes 07-02-2021

Hymns for today are:

58       Morning has broken

522     In Christ there is no east or west

24       All creatures that on earth do dwell

Our first hymn today was written by Eleanor Farjeon and uses a traditional Scots melody, Bunessan, set by Donal Davison.

Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) was a Londoner born into a literary family. Her father was a novelist, playwright and journalist and her mother had a theatrical background. She is best known as a children’s author writing books and poems as well as a rhyming history of England. She also collaborated with her composer brother on a children’s pantomime The Glass Slipper.  Farjeon was also invited to write hymns which were set by well-known composers such as Martin Shaw.

I remember her poems for children from my own schooldays. They were vivid and memorable and often contained a message like the one I quote below which I hope you enjoy.

The Quarrel

I quarrelled with my brother, We hated one another. I don’t know what about, The afternoon turned black.
One thing led to another Then suddenly my brother
And somehow we fell out. Thumped me on the back,
The start of it was slight, And said, “Oh, come on!
The end of it was strong, We can’t go on all night—
He said he was right, I was in the wrong.”
I knew he was wrong! So he was in the right.

Bébhinn 087 228 5965

bebhinnmuire@gmail.com

Random Notes  CCCLXXVI   

Service Streaming Update

The last time I wrote about service streaming was on 29 May 2020.  I might reasonably have expected that to be the only Random Notes on the matter, but COVID-19 has had other ideas. It is now 11 months since we started streaming from St Mary’s so some updates are in order.  Our first camera was a 20-year-old Sony TRV20 camcorder. While it worked, the quality was quite poor. We then moved to a Logitech C930E which has served us well since and will continue to serve us for the foreseeable future. Sound is picked up from a PA speaker through the webcam mic. The laptop is an old one that runs Ubuntu.    Three problems have persisted since our setup last year. First, the sound is not as clear as it could be. Second, the video could be a little sharper. Third, the Ubuntu operating system has proven troublesome. All of these problems need addressing. We’ve also learned a lot by setting up a similar streaming system in the Church of Our Lady & St John. So now it is time for some changes.   The laptop is being replaced with a slightly faster model running Windows 10. This will make the software more stable. In addition the box with all the buttons, an Akai MPD218, will come fully into use. This allows scene changes, volume control and streaming control with simple  button presses.    The monitor is being replaced with a slightly larger one to make thing easier to organise.  

See photo for details.

  

Not visible in the photo but also coming into effect this week are some sound improvements. Once those are tested working, we will work to improve the sharpness and smoothness of the video. This will take a few more weeks.  These improvements represent our third full service streaming setup – or the fourth if you count attempts made a few years ago. This is a learning process with the emphasis on small but effective changes.

These learnings are now being shared with other parishes in the diocese; the first instructional seminar with 5 parishes was held 5 days ago. More will follow. To quote Jeff Bezos: “Gradatim Ferociter” – Step by step, ferociously!

SJFW