Founded in 1929, the Society of St Gregory has played an important role in the liturgical reform and continues to do so by promoting the study and understanding of the liturgy and resourcing and encouraging good pastoral practice in the public worship of the Catholic Church.
The Society’s interests and activities encompass music and composition, the ministry of readers, presiding at liturgy, liturgy with children and young people in schools and parishes, and Christian art and architecture.
Welcome
Fr Adrian Porter sj, SSG Chair, writes: “Welcome to the Society of St Gregory. We are an association of people interested in good liturgy – the public worship of the Catholic Church. Our members include singers and musicians, readers and servers, bishops, priests and deacons, and ordinary lay folk who have an academic or pastoral interest in liturgy.
We publish a journal three times a year, hold an annual residential Summer School, run online and in-person training courses for those involved in liturgy in their parishes or schools, and organize composers’ groups for those writing music for the liturgy.
Please take a look at our website. Ask for a free copy of our journal, Music & Liturgy. And, if its right for you, think about joining us. You will be most welcome!”
Summer School 2024
Plans are well advanced for our Summer School at Liverpool Hope University from Wednesday 31 July to Saturday 3 August 2024. Keynote speakers include Martin Foster on the revised lectionary, Fleur Dorrell on seeing scripture through sound and colour, David McLoughlin on the worshipping community, and Sue Price on inclusion in liturgy. Christopher Walker joins us as director of music with Kathryn Turner as director of liturgy.
Music & Liturgy
The latest edition of Music & Liturgy, the journal of the Society of St Gregory, has dropped onto door mats! John Ainslie reflects on the liminal quality of liturgy. Paul Inwood navigates the challenges of using recorded music in church. Allen Morris explores the nature and use of blessings. This issue also includes Avril Baigent‘s Crichton Lecture and Claire Ozanne and David McLoughlin‘s talks from Summer School 2023 on key documents of Vatican II sixty years on.
Music & Liturgy is published three times a year and is sent to members of the Society of St Gregory.
News, views and reviews from the liturgical world . . .
New lectionary news
The Catholic Truth Society (CTS), which has been commissioned by the bishops’ conferences of England & Wales and Scotland to produce the new lectionary due to come into use on the first Sunday...
Learning to compose
An interactive melody writing workshop, led by Alan Smith, for relatively inexperienced liturgical composers who would like help with song writing. Saturday 11 May at 2pm online. We will work...
Easter 6 scripture
The first reading from Acts in today’s Mass is part of a discussion about whether or not Gentiles (or ‘pagans’ as translated in the lectionary) could be included in the new Christian community that was emerging …
Liturgy for abuse survivors
Thirty five years ago our parish embarked on a path which we are still exploring. The catalyst in April 1989 came when our Parish Priest was asked by a local youth football team whether he would be organising a …
Summer School 2024
Places for the Society of St Gregory Summer School 2024 are booking up quickly. The deadline is Saturday 1st June 2024. We look forward to welcoming Martin Foster, Sue Price, David McLoughlin and...
Easter 5 scripture
I miss having a garden, although it tended to be mostly taking a pair of secateurs and chopping things back before they took over the entire space. Nowadays I garden as a volunteer at the National Trust place …
Study day: eucharistic prayer
This study day will consider, briefly, the origins of the eucharistic prayer and its development in different geographical areas in the early centuries of the church. The principal focus of the day will be the content and meaning …
Macmillan on chant
To attract an audience of 300-plus on a cold and rainy midweek night for a lecture on the somewhat niche topic of the origins of western music in plainsong is an astonishing feat. But the draw this past week was Sir …
Easter 4 scripture
Reading this Gospel passage again, I’m struck not by the characteristics of the ideal first-century shepherd, but by what Jesus says about his life: ‘I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No-one takes it from me …