On Saturday 22nd September the Schola Cantorum travelled to Nottingham to lead the music at a special Mass at our cathedral, the Cathedral Church of St Barnabas.
The big occasion was the annual Mass of the Guild of St Stephen, a huge celebration of all the young people who serve at Mass in the parishes throughout our Diocese of Nottingham.We were the first to get there and as we rehearsed we were able to see all the various groups arriving from different parts of the diocese - from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire - we even recognised some people from Leicester! Each server wore their own robe and there was a huge variety of robes and medals on display. Mass began at 11am and our choir led the congregation in singing "Brother sister, let me serve you" as well as the Mass of the Angels (Missa de Angelis) which we sang in the ancient catholic languages of Latin and Greek. During communion we sang a motet by William Byrd - Ave verum corpus.
After Mass there was just time for a few quick photos before our coach took us to Wollaton Hall and park. This is a mansion built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. After lunch we made friends with some of the deer who live in the park before visiting Wollaton Hall itself which is a natural history museum.
Bishop Patrick wrote to Mr Carney to thank everyone for coming and praised our singing. Thank you to Mr Carney, Mrs and Mrs Simeone, Mr Leung and Mr Noakes for taking us.