Author: leah

We are pleased to announce that Lancaster Priory has received funding from the National Lottery Awards for All Community Fund for our work within the Marsh Community in the Parish.   We are thankful for the ongoing support of the community fund, which will enable us to continue to build on the hard work of Katie Schad, Priory Community Worker for the Marsh and extend this project to August 2023.

Katie has been hugely committed to the Marsh and supports a number of community groups that meet in the Community Centre as well as supporting individuals and families in the community.  She works alongside a team of dedicated volunteers from the community and from churches in the local area.

Current groups include: Coffee and Cake, the Marsh Community Choir, Mini Marshmallows (toddler and carer group) and a group for local blind people.  Katie is currently working towards the launch of a gardening club that will develop the community centre gardens and provide an activity to drawn in more people.

There is also a weekly prayer group that meets on zoom on a Tuesday morning, which supports Katie and all of those who volunteer on the Marsh.

If you would like to know more about any of the groups and activities on the Marsh, or about Lancaster Priory’s work in this area, or join us in praying for the flourishing of the people and community please contact Katie Schad.

Our clock dial has been restored in the workshop of Cumbria Clock Co LTD near Penrith and will be reinstalled soon.

Facing The Past Phase 2: PROJECT MANAGER

Following a change to the wedding registration of couples, after 400 years, both parents’ names are now included in the register.

Below is a picture of our first wedding couple in The Priory marking this momentous occasion.

Photo courtesy of Samantha (https://samanthabroadleyphotography.co.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/sambroadleyphotography/?ref=page_internal)

Please click on the link below to hear the latest update on our tower restoration from Elaine Blackett-Ord, Blackett-Ord Conservation Architecture.

From the Churchwardens

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week we received the very welcome news from the Coronavirus Task Group in the Diocese that, following advice received from the Directors of Public Health in Lancashire, churches can and should reopen for public worship on Sundays and Feast Days, with effect from March 8th. This means that we are now able to share with you the joyful news that we look forward to welcoming back a congregation on March 14th, Mothering Sunday. What a lovely occasion to be able to worship together once again!

Unfortunately this is not a return to normality and we will have to reinstate all the safe practices we had in place before this latest lockdown: a limit on numbers, hand-sanitising, social distancing and wearing masks or visors whilst in church. Places will also need to be booked in advance as previously. Services will also continued to be live-streamed.

The return to public worship does not, however, mean a return for the choir. We will continue to be limited to 1 cantor. For this reason we have decided it is probably best not to reopen for a congregation in the evenings but to live-stream only. This will enable us to have a very small choir who can provide us with a choral evensong – something which would not be possible if we had a congregation present with the limit of a single cantor.  This has been a difficult decision but we hope you feel we have made the right call.

Reopening the church also means that we can welcome back a congregation for BCP Holy Communion on Tuesdays at 10.15, starting from Tuesday March 16^th.  We know that this service is very special to many of you. Please do remember to book your place in advance.

When Holy Week arrives, we intend welcoming congregations on Palm Sunday 10 am Eucharist, Maundy Thursday 7.30 pm Eucharist, Good Friday 2.00 pm Solemn Liturgy, Easter Day 10 am Festal Eucharist. Other services throughout the week will be held without congregations and will be live-streamed. Much more information to follow later.

It has always been our practice on Mothering Sunday to distribute posies for mothers. We will continue to do this, this year,  but in a slightly different way to conform with health regulations. Posies will be blessed at the altar during the service and then be made available to collect from outside the church as people leave.

Finally… we hope to make the church look at its magnificent best on Easter Day and to decorate with lilies. If you would like to send a donation for lilies in memory of a loved one please send your gift either by BACS to ‘PCC Lancaster Priory and Parish Church’, Sort code: 20-47-61, Account: 50564613, reference ‘Lilies’, or alternatively by cheque (with ‘Lilies’ on the reverse) to Barbara Gardner, 76 Wyresdale Road, Lancaster, LA1 3DY. For those of you who regularly give by Gift Aid we will be able to reclaim income tax paid. Very importantly, please send the names of those you wish to be remembered to [email protected]

Hoping that you are finding Lent to be a time of refreshment and enrichment in our journey of faith.

With our best wishes to you all,

Andrew and Pauline

The Rev Canon Chris Newlands conducted his final service at the Priory on Sunday, January 31, after 11 years as Vicar of Lancaster.

The special service and farewell video was streamed online from 6.30pm as lockdown restrictions mean there was no congregation present to mark Canon Newlands retirement.

Live streaming of services has resulted in the Priory enjoying a global reach and is part of Canon Newlands legacy. He was also instrumental in securing funding for the ongoing repairs to the clock tower and new lighting inside the historic church.

A high profile figure, since 2010 Canon Newlands has played a leading role in civic services and encouraged the Priory’s cultural programme, including welcoming The Moon in 2019.

The openly gay vicar has supported Lancaster Pride and his links with other local organisations include Lancaster Black History Group, Holocaust Memorial and Churches Together in Lancaster.

Canon Newlands has been Canon of Blackburn Cathedral and a member of the General Synod, and Archbishops’ Council which co-ordinates and leads the Church of England’s work.  He was also Prolocutor of the Province of York, Chair of the Major Churches Network and chaired the House of Clergy of the General Synod.

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to serve as the 42^nd Vicar of Lancaster,” said Canon Newlands.

“There is a tremendous sense of history in the very stones of the Priory and we have sought to build on this heritage and hand it on to the next generation of leaders.  I will forever treasure the memories of the people who have been a part of this community as regular worshippers or occasional visitors to the concerts and great occasions we’ve hosted.”

Before being ordained an Anglican priest, Canon Newlands taught in Algeria where he encouraged an interest in theatre, music and the arts on behalf of the British Council.

His previous posts include Precentor of Durham Cathedral and Anglican envoy to Orthodox Churches in Romania and Bulgaria.

He was also a parish priest in Colchester and, while working as Chaplain to the Bishop of Chelmsford, was part of the Chelmsford Cathedral clergy team and assisted him in the House of Lords.

On retirement, Canon Newlands will live in Bexleyheath with his partner, David, a GP.

Church warden, Andrew Nicholson said: “We are immensely grateful to Chris for his 11 years of faithful service to Lancaster Priory and the huge contribution he has made in placing the Priory at the heart of the community.”

Canon Newlands successor will probably be appointed by the end of this year. In the meantime, services will be covered by associate priests and local ministers.

Canon Newlands final service can be viewed on Facebook @lancasterpriorymusic and his final sermon can be viewed here 

Community consultation is now underway into plans for a new slave trade memorial in Lancaster.

For the first time in 150 years, a memorial will be installed in the Priory churchyard where the grave of the Rawlinson slave trading family was daubed with red paint last spring.

It was a result of this action and following the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that the Priory formed a group to commission a memorial which has secured MP David Lammy as its patron.

“Our diverse commissioning group began in September and we’re now at the exciting stage of a community-wide consultation as we are very keen that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the final form the memorial will take,” said group chair, Andrew Nicholson.

“We are anxious to avoid a situation where we create a new piece of art, no matter how worthy or excellent, but nothing changes as a result. We want people to reflect on the memorial, be moved by it, and make a lived response.”

A report on the consultation will form an artist’s brief for the memorial and fundraising has already begun with appeals to individuals, churches, local groups and trusts. Funding bids will also go to Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Although placing a memorial in the churchyard, which is a designated ancient monument, will pose a significant challenge, the aim is for it to be installed this year.

The Priory, like Lancaster itself, has strong links to the slave trade. Some slaves were baptised in the church and its memorial garden contains the mummified hand of a slave servant, Frances Elizabeth Johnson, ‘owned’ by the Satterthwaite slavers of Castle Hill.  There are memorials both within and outside the church to families involved in slavery.

“The memorial we are proposing will enable us to remember in penitence and sorrow those who became victims of the slave trade through the actions of our fellow citizens and remind us that these people were not mere statistics but real people,” Mr Nicholson said.

It’s hoped that the memorial will spur people on to resist and reject abuse and injustice wherever it’s encountered and also spark creativity. School visits will be encouraged as education is an important element of the whole project.

Consultation among various groups is likely to take place online until Easter and anyone wishing to join a group should email [email protected]

Do you want to be a part of the discussion?

All welcome to apply to take part in the Focus Group Consultation, by Zoom, on 2^nd March at 1.00pm

Email [email protected] to register in advance and receive your online meeting invitation