Posted in Culture
Pilgrim Uniting Church will hold an evensong service on ANZAC Day this year, providing space for reflection, prayer and the sharing of choral music.
Most closely aligned with the Anglican Church, evensong services traditionally run in the evening or late afternoon, include prayer and reflection, and have a strong focus on choral music.
“There’s some truly beautiful evensong music available, but we don’t hear it often in Uniting Church services,” says Christopher Bridge, assistant organist at Pilgrim Uniting Church and one of the organisers of the service.
“We first held an ANZAC Day evensong service in 2015, marking the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing,” adds Peter Kelsall, the organist and choir director at Pilgrim. “We got a lot of positive feedback about the music and style of service after last year’s event – so we decided to hold another this year.”
The Pilgrim evensong service this year will feature the combined choirs of Pilgrim Uniting Church and Christ Church North Adelaide, accompanied by the magnificent Pilgrim organ. The service will include Herbert Howells’ “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis”, H. Balfour Gardiner’s “Evening Hymn”, and Vaughan Williams’ “Lord, Thou Has Been Our Refuge”.
“We think services like this are a way of connecting with people beyond our usual base, while still appealing to regular church goers,” Peter explains.
“It’s an opportunity to do something a little bit different – and to share this beautiful music with others,” says Chris. “There’s also a strong focus on reflection, which is appropriate for ANZAC Day.”
All are welcome to attend Pilgrim Uniting Church’s evensong service, which begins at 6pm on Monday 25 April.
For more information, please visit the event page here.
Other ANZAC Day items:
Scots Church Adelaide open
Scots Church Adelaide will be open during the Adelaide Anzac Day March, from approximately 9am to shortly after the march ends. The church building is located in the marshalling area, on the corner of Pultney Street and North Terrace in Adelaide. All attending the march are welcome to drop by for a quiet place to pray or rest.
Lest we forget
Rev Sue Page, a Uniting Church minister and reserve RAAF Chaplain serving at RAAF Edinburgh, reflects on ANZAC Day in a New Times online article here.
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