Christmas carol services

By way of a seasonal post, I note an exchange of columns and correspondence in the Times over the singing of carols by those of uncertain or professedly no faith. It began with a column by Libby Purves, and generated a reply from David Aaronovitch and some correspondence. It revolves around Richard Dawkins' recent comments about his general willingness to join in singing of carols, despite his (presumable) rejection of the words.

The debate became somewhat sidetracked by the matter of sections of the well-known carols which are without biblical basis - 'the little Lord Jesus no crying he makes', or the snow lying about, deep and crisp and even. What I find more interesting is the continuing currency of this 'cultural Christianity'. I can see that carol singing in schools or other non-church venues can be straightforward communal singing for its own sake, rather akin to that at football matches. What would be very interesting would be to tease out the path the parish carol service or Midnight Mass has taken over the last fifty years. In my own experience, the carol service is often treated in a quite unique fashion to the rest of the year's worship, with the 'regulars' often choosing a different service. They seem to have elements of local social fixture, reunion, entertainment, and nostalgia, as well as perhaps (as Purves suggests) the leaving-open of a door to God, whoever He may be. I wonder when it is that these services cease to be part of the usual liturgical round, and become 'guest' services.

Benedict XVI and Catholic church music

Rather belated, but I notice some interesting reactions to the Pope's recent pronouncements on music in the Vatican chapel, and its broader implications for Roman Catholic music in this country. See the Telegraph article on the Pope, plus Damian Thompson's response and similar comments in his Telegraph blog: (1), (2), and (3), with attendant discussion.

Geoffrey Beaumont's 'Folk Mass'

A splendid article by Arnold Hunt in this week's Church Times on the fiftieth anniversary of a BBC TV broadcast of this piece. It is very revealing about both the planning of and the reaction to the broadcast, using sources in the BBC Archives.
I am bound to add that there is more material on the background to reactions to the Mass, and its ongoing notoriety amongst sections of the musical and church-musical press, in Ian's and my article in Studies in Church History 42 (2006) pp.429-41, and also in our piece in Redefining Christian Britain (particularly pp.52-54).

Chad Varah

Several obituaries have appeared for Chad Varah, founder of the Samaritans and rector of St Stephen Walbrook in the City of London. Of interest for this blog was his involvement in the controversial Henry Moore altar for St Stephen's. There is some information about the altar on the church's own site, and it is discussed by Roger Berthoud in his biography of Moore.

Obituaries have appeared in the Guardian, Times and Telegraph.