Society of Mary & Dedication Festival & Rogation

This is going to be quite a weekend, liturgically speaking. On Saturday, we will have a High Mass of Our Lady for the parish May Festival. The setting is “Vidi speciosum” by Victoria, and at the end we shall process round the church singing the hymn “The happy birds Te Deum sing; ‘Tis Mary’s month of May” to the rollicking tune “The Lincolnshire Poacher”. 

At the shrine of Our Lady of Clemency, the Sub-Deacon will totter (or is it teeter?) up a step ladder and crown the statue of Our Lady with a crown of rosebuds. (Actually, I think one totters up and, once at the top, then one teeters!)

Our preacher will be Fr Richard Cornish Martin, the Superior-General of the Society of Mary, which will be holding its Annual General Meeting at St Clement’s in the afternoon, after what promises to be a lavish parish lunch. 

Fr Martin will also be our preacher the next day at the 11 o’clock High Mass for the Feast of the Dedication of the Church when the Procession will be to the rousing hymn “Hail thee, Festival Day” and the final hymn will be one of the loveliest hymns in the book (and one I want at my Funeral!) “In our day of thanksgiving, one prayer let us offer” to the tune “Saint Catherine’s Court”. 

This is all part of our 150th Anniversary Celebrations, which so far have gone very well. Our next high spot will be on Rogation Sunday, May 17, when the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway, The Most Revd Idris Jones, will pontificate and preach. This time (weather permitting) the Procession will go round the outside of the church and will include the blessing of the garden  (since there are no fields of crops near St Clement’s).