Society of St Gregory :: SSG :: Summer School 2003

Worth Abbey, set on the side of a hill in the lush, beautiful rolling Sussex countryside, was the venue for the 2003 SSG Summer School. We were celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the promulgation of Sacrosanctum concilium, and the School’s title, Grace as from a Fountain, was taken from article 10 of that document.

The packed programme of talks, liturgies and workshops centred on the sacraments of initiation: from Baptism, to Confirmation and culminating in the Eucharist.

From the liturgy, therefore,
and especially from the Eucharist,
grace is poured forth upon us
as from a fountain…

The abbey church itself sits tucked into a steep hillside, with its approaches stepped at different levels so that, depending on which exit one takes out of the building, one emerges to encounter a flight of steps either up or down. It looks for all the world like a flying saucer from the outside and a Roman arena from the inside — the approach passages and corridors encircling the main body of the church, with their low, round inter-connecting arches, sloping ramps and flights of steps leading to the different levels, reminded one particularly of the theatre at Sagunto, or the arena at Saintes, or, perhaps, even the Colosseum… moreover, the warmth of the bricks conjured up visions of Babylon to one member!

The weather was warm and dry and the outlook apparently set fair but, barely had most participants unpacked their cases and made their way to the main meeting area, when the heavens opened and anyone caught without an umbrella was in trouble. Fortunately, the next day dawned fine and clear, the sun shone, the puddles dried up and the umbrellas and macs were forgotten.

As ever, members had travelled from an impressive range of parishes and dioceses: from Wales (both North and South), from Northumberland, Lancashire, Cornwall, Kent, East Anglia, London, the Midlands, the West Country — and Arundel and Brighton managed to field a good local team, in spite of the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Although some of the newcomers probably suffered from the effects of the retreat-at-a-hundred-miles-an-hour syndrome, over the years old-hands have learned to pace themselves. That said, the speed and intensity is no bad thing in itself — the brain goes into overdrive and a great deal is achieved despite the apparent overload. The need to be on the ball was increased by the extensive building work going on at the school, which meant that, instead of strolling gently through the front door to the dining hall (the normal route), getting to the trough entailed a circuitous trip — up a flight of steps, across an open space, through an archway, across a courtyard and then, finally (by this time drooling with anticipation), gaining entry by means of a steep descent down the fire escape.

Fortunately, it was worth it!

Music
The Director of Music, Richard Jeffery-Gray, had put together a varied selection of music to support the liturgies which, though consisting mainly of fairly recent material from a number of well-known and popular sources (Bernadette Farrell, Christopher Walker, Stephen Dean and others), also drew on some lesser-known Gregorian chant and simple psalmody (by Dom A Gregory-Murray) for Morning and Night Prayer. For the choir, he chose some satisfyingly challenging works, including his own setting of the Gloria and a Magnificat by Patrick Geary, both of which finally came together on the day — rewarding not only the composers but the singers too, who had put in a lot of hard work. The accompanist, Stephen Bryant, was unfailingly sensitive and supportive in his approach and delighted the organists with his superb voluntaries at the conclusion of each liturgy.

Monastic Community
It is always difficult planning a timetable, particularly when access to the main worship area is necessarily restricted by the host community’s own requirements — nevertheless, the opportunity to participate in the Abbey’s own monastic routine was too good to miss and, in spite of the tight schedule, Summer School participants could take advantage of this, either on a regular basis or to dip in as time and inclinations allowed. This allowed one to experience and benefit from a different kind of worship that one would not normally encounter in the average parish.

Talks
Fr Allen Morris delivered the opening keynote talk,¹ setting the scene by discussing how we look at liturgy and worship, from the Old Testament, via the New, and up to a radical re-assessment of Vatican II and the state of things forty years on. On the following day, he continued, with an examination of the rite of Baptism: how it was originally, what it became and how it should be. Marian Tolley took a close look at Confirmation, the part we play in it, how we do it and how we go out into the world as a result. In preparation for the first celebration of Holy Mass together as a Summer School, Fr Allen’s lecture on the penultimate day focussed on the Eucharist.

One participant wrote, in his feedback: ‘It was only after hearing the way Fr Allen put it that I suddenly had this picture of Christ in each of the assembly, seamlessly united with Christ in the presider, in a joint act of offering to the Father. I have taken it with me into our parish Mass, and the effect for me is profound.’

1. Published in Music and Liturgy, Volume 29 Number 3, with the other talks by Fr Allen and by Marian Tolley appearing in subsequent issues.

Liturgies
Days started with Morning Prayer and formally ended with a short Night Prayer. Late in the afternoon, the main liturgies each day supported and complemented the talks — a fact that escaped some! Members commented afterwards that the most moving part of the liturgies were the anointings: of each, to each and by each. Having our hands anointed and washed made some of us look at our hands anew. However, others felt that there was too much in these liturgies and that the symbolism was confusing. It all goes to show that we feel most passionately about what and how we celebrate together. With such passion, there is a conflict of ideas and viewpoints as to exactly what is good — resolved, during the School, through charitable grace. Oh that there were such passion about liturgy in our parishes!

Workshops
Workshop topics were carefully chosen to support a wide range of liturgical interest, whether musical or otherwise;

thus, sessions arranged for:

Instrumentalists (Paul Wellicome),
Chant (Dom Dunstan O’Keeffe),
Composers (Bill Tamblyn)
Cantors (Darquise Bilodeau)

were complemented by:

Children’s Liturgy of the Word (Christopher Walker),
Celebrating the Rites of RCIA (Patrick Geary),
Lay-led Eucharistic Services (Sr Pauline Clarke),
Planning for Liturgy (Canon Gerry Coates)
a ‘Medley’: (Sacramental Symbols, Using Liturgical Space, Preparing the General Intercessions)

Participants in the Chant workshop were especially pleased to be able to sing Salve Regina (the ‘fancy’ version, that they had studied so assiduously during the day), as the final anthem of Thursday Night Prayer.

Planning can never quite see the unexpected — such as the instrumental workshop which tried arranging some songs for the instruments which had been brought, a lively consort comprising the more conventional guitar, flute, clarinet, and viola, as well as the less usual combination of ukelele, bass guitar, capped shawm and crumhorn!

In Chris Walker’s workshop, we were reminded ‘children should feel that Children's Liturgy is a safe place where they can tell anyone everything’.

Concert
From the relaxing and encouraging ambience of the Common Room, a goodly number of lights emerged confidently from under their bushels in the cabaret/concert on the final evening: recitations, part-songs, Welsh songs, George Formby impersonations, poetry, humour and much more — the accumulated and varied talents of SSG members know no bounds. The Act One finale might be said to have been the pičce de résistance — a tango-style lament Come back Medina (all is forgiven!), performed with heavy irony by an unholy trio of faux acolytes (Paul Wellicome, Bill Tamblyn and the writer himself, Patrick Geary) deftly accompanied by maestro Jeffrey-Gray on the keyboard — there was not a dry eye in the house!

Quiz
Under the venerable auspices of OFLIT (Office for Standards in the Liturgy), quizmaster Paul Moynihan ably hosted and presented the annual quiz, supervising the three teams and just about managing to keep them under control. Not only was he quizmaster and scorekeeper, he devised and wrote the whole thing — how does he do it?! As a result, the Summer School was deemed to have reached the required standard. Special Measures would not be necessary. That’s all right then!

Conclusion
We are all different, our circumstances are different, our approaches, actions and reactions are all (thank God) different. Nevertheless, having experienced the rewarding and encouraging fellowship of a Summer School — whether newcomers or old-hands — we were able to go home enriched, renewed and inspired to carry forward our work of ministry, whatever it might be, into our parishes and our daily lives.

If there were three things that emerged during the course of the fast-paced five days at Worth, they were participation, participation and participation.

What are we waiting for?

SSG Summer School 2003