Tuesday began early with a 7.30am start in the office. This enabled me to get a few things done before the meetings began. The meeting today focussed on RCIA Rite of Acceptance on Sunday 16 November. By the end of the meeting we had quite a dramatic take on the opening of the rite which would grab the attention of the congregation, we hoped.

After the meeting I set about creating the Worship Aid for both the forthcoming Sunday and November 16. I also created a worship aid for the next 3 school masses. At 2.30pm I had a rehearsal with the school using those worship aids!

On Wednesday I was in early again for the school Mass and then worked on instrumental parts for an event on Friday. I also created the music for the choir which would meet to rehearse later tonight.

On Thursday I was in at a more reasonable time getting in 2 hours work before meeting Leo the musician for the Spanish masses. It was a great meeting and I learned a lot about the sound equipment of the church! I left work at 2.30pm and spent time shopping, and getting my hair cut. I have become a regular visitor to Buddys which is a furniture rental shop which sells off some ex-rental stuff at very low prices! Today I bought two more lamps. Aldi next door was also good to me. Of particular note was a fine prosecco!

On Friday (my day off) I got up later and did some work transferring my iTunes library to my new iphone. Unfortunately, in the process I mucked  up the email accounts so now I cannot receive messages on my phone. In frustration with apple whose support services were also down, I went to the beach for a couple of hours. Then I left my ‘day off’ and went to work to prepare for the evening event … the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) was holding an Evening Prayer and Reception at St Lawrence. It was their first visit to St Lawrence and they had expected 30-60 musicians but in the event 110 turned up.

I had designed the Evening Prayer to include a Blessing of Musicians. We gathered with my ‘Always in your presence’, had an invitatory and Psalm tones from Notre Dame Paris, the hymn was Haugen’s ‘When in our music God is glorified’, the Responsory was ‘Let nothing trouble you’ by Bernadette Farrell who also supplied the Magnificat. We closed with ‘Watch O Lord’ by Marty Haugen.  I directed and served as cantor with guest musicians on piano, organ, guitar and flute. It was great to see so many from my own choir present for the evening.

The bottle of prosecco bought yesterday came in very useful later that evening!