This is the second of our Great Events and due to the particularly early occurrence of Rogation this year and a different pattern of events we were able to combine our Annual Rededication and Thanksgiving Service with something of an innovation - a Spring Dinner. This particular combination certainly helped boost the numbers present at the Service in St Bride's - counted at 120 with some members preferring to attend the splendid service but not the dinner that followed.
The Master of the Marketors gets the privilege of arranging the entire service, including the readings, hymns and choral works. So it was an opportunity to include some of my favourite pieces, whilst always trying to provide some variety from previous years so that each year's service is unique. Possibly another first for the Company is for the Master to also deliver the Address - usually delivered by the Chaplain. As an Authorised Lay Minister in my Deanery of Sandwich, a Reader in Training, and having studied Christian Theology for five years, it is not unusual for me to take Morning and Evening Services which include "Sermons". I have also delivered major addresses from the pulpit in Chicago, Cairo and Watlington and written extensively in my role as President of the Malcolm Muggeridge Society - Muggeridge himself a prominent Christian apologist and religious writer. So this was not exactly breaking new ground for me personally but perhaps showing another important side of my life to members of the Company. The theme for my address was Time and Eternity, based on Ecclesiastes 3 - To everything there is a season.
The service was beautiful and I think much enjoyed by all attending. The St Bride's choir was to its normal high standard and members are delighted to have this professional quality of service available to them annually.
The Spring Dinner was held in Apothecaries Hall and full to absolute capacity. Apothecaries claims to be the oldest livery hall still in its original medieval design and has the great virtue of being a short five minute walk from St Bride's. The Apothecaries are a Worshipful Society, not a Worshipful Company which is a slight oddity in the livery. Our guest speaker was Sarah Speake, Strategic Marketing Director for Google and she delivered an exceptional speech highlighting the changing patterns of communication and selling. I learnt what a Petabyte was and shortly we will all be as familiar to those as we are today to Gigabytes - as the world becomes increasingly digital.
I will add photos to this blog in due course. I would also encourage donations to be made to Walking with the Wounded in support of Cdr Andrew Block RN who is participating in the Trois Etapes. You will find his Bmy charity website by Googling Andrew Block Cycling and Andrew has committed himself to raising £10,000 - please assist this commendable endeavour.
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