Lancaster Priory

Author: Leah Vasey-Saunders

  • The Priory Bells – News from the Tower

    You may have noticed that whilst the Priory Clock is still chiming, the bells have not been ringing on our usual Tuesday evening practice night nor for Sunday services.  This is because there is some loose masonry on the tower which needs emergency repair and the movement of the bells swinging creates additional risk.  The churchwardens are busily working away with our structural engineer and architect to ensure that this holding repair happens quickly and so that, all being well, the sound of our beautiful bells will ring out over the city and parish once again.

    Whilst we often (normally) hear our bell ringers at work either practising, ringing out for joy as a bride and groom leave church, calling us to worship or tolling as a sign of local or national grief, we rarely see or understand the work that goes into ringing bells in our churches.  So our Tower Captain, Jim Currin, has put together this video so that you can (for a change!) see what they do.

    As soon as ringing is possible once again, we we would warmly welcome anyone who might like to have a go and who might enjoy helping us to sustain this historic and important part of the Priory’s work.

  • An Inclusive Church – Prayers of Love and Faith

    An Inclusive Church – Prayers of Love and Faith

    The Priory and Parish Church of St Mary’s, Lancaster is an Inclusive Church. God shows no partiality.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are seeking to live out the command he gave us to love one another as he loves us. For many years we have walked alongside the LGBTQIA+ community and same-sex couples in our church and community.  In the past, prayers after same-sex civil partnership and marriage have been offered in our church and we have rejoiced with these couples who have chosen to recognise their love, faithfulness and commitment before God.   We regret that despite the vote of the General Synod of the Church of England in November 2023, stand-alone services are not currently possible.  We look forward to being able to offer these again once permission is given for us to do so.

    At the meeting of our Parochial Church Council on the 26th of February 2024 we agreed a motion welcoming the ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ and supporting their use by clergy and other authorised ministers in our parish and in the public worship of our Priory and Parish Church.

    The Prayers of Love and Faith are resources for praying with and for a same-sex couple who love one another and who wish to give thanks for and mark that love in faith before God. These prayers will now be offered within regular services at Lancaster Priory.  If you want to explore the Prayers of Love and Faith resources you can find them HERE.

    Those who want to celebrate their love, faithfulness and commitment before God in our Priory and Parish Church will find a joyful welcome in a supportive and inclusive community.   If you would like to talk to a member of the clergy to organise prayers for you and your partner, please EMAIL us.

     

    A prayer of Thanksgiving from the Prayers of Love and Faith:

    Gracious God,
    from love we are made and to love we shall return.
    May our love for one another kindle flames of joy and hope.
    May the light and warmth of your grace inspire us to follow the Way of Jesus Christ,
    and serve you in your Kingdom,
    now and for ever.
    Amen.

     

  • Facing the Past: The Three Sophia’s – Responding – Disrupting – Making space to acknowledge the unacknowledged

    In 2020 Lancaster Priory was one focal point for local Black Lives Matter protests, when a memorial was sprayed with the words ‘Slave Trader.’ This began a process of bringing to light the crimes against humanity that were perpetrated as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by individuals associated with Lancaster Priory.

    to The Black Lives Matter movement in Lancaster focused on the city’s deep complicity in the transatlantic trade in enslaved people and how little this history was known. A key demand was to make this history visible to all and embedded into education and the heritage experience.

    Facing the Past, an arts and research programme to reflect, reveal and redress omissions in the way Lancaster has commemorated its role as the fourth largest slavery port in the UK, was developed in response to this, and Lancaster Priory is one of the partners.

    Facing the Past commissioned research by Melinda Elder, which is helping us to better understand the ways in which Lancaster Priory benefited from slavery, and the way individuals whose names are carved in stone in and around the building are connected to it. This research reveals the stories of 76 Black Africans entered into the church registers, 58 of whom were baptised in the font that stands at the back of the church today. These lives are not remembered, their stories not told, and their names not written in stone. One of those individuals was Sophia Fileen, baptised in Lancaster Priory on 15 February 1799, recorded as ‘a negro aged 11 years of Lancaster’.

    Lancaster Priory has had a longstanding partnership with EducAid, working in Sierra Leone. The Facing the Past team asked a group of school pupils there to step across the centuries and continents to imagine Sophia’s life. Working with movement practitioners, the girls responded to Sophia as a real person, not a victim, as a young girl with agency, strength, beauty and joy. The installation of the three figures (picture below) in Lancaster Priory is a result of this co-created work.

    Reverend Leah Vasey Saunders, Vicar of Lancaster:

    ‘We continue to respond to the disruptive act of protest in our churchyard by seeking to disrupt the inside of the church, making space for Black history and presence and encouraging dialogue, to enable us to develop future resources to face the past truthfully. We also want to remember and make visible the 76 Black Africans named in our registers. Sophia is the first step towards this. Her name means ‘wisdom.’ Our prayer is that she will inspire us as we step into a future that makes space for those exploited and unacknowledged in the past’.

    The installation will be in place in Lancaster Priory until 7 December, 2023. We would like to know what you think about it. Please go to bit.ly/3QvS1Kl to feed back.  The installation will return January 4th -31st.

    To find out more about the Facing the Past project, access its living digital archive here: www.facingthepast.org. You can both explore and share, making the city’s diverse history accessible for all. Facing the Past is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

    To donate to EducAid visit: www.educaid.org.uk

    Read Melinda’s Research here

    Read more on Visit Lancaster here

    Read more at the Lancaster Guardian here

    Photography by Rob Battersby.

  • Our New Director of Music

     
    Lancaster Priory are pleased to announce that Dr Rebekah Okpoti joined the team in September 2023 as Director of Music.

     

     
    Dr Okpoti says “I am delighted to have been appointed, to join the team, as Director of Music at Lancaster Priory. It will be a privilege to lead the music of the Priory into its next bold and creative stage of development. Strengthening and building new connections in the community and enabling the music ministry to show anew, to the city of Lancaster how music and worship are a continuing part of our faith and heritage at the Priory since 1094.”
     
    Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders (Vicar) says “I am so grateful to all of the Priory’s musicians past and present for the legacy of a strong and vibrant musical tradition. Dr Rebekah Okpoti has fabulous foundations to build on, and she will bring fresh insight, creativity and a variety of missional experience to this role at a key moment in the mission and ministry of God at Lancaster Priory.”
     
    You can find out more about Dr Okpoti HERE.

  • A new team member for Lancaster Priory!

    We are pleased to announce that the Revd Louis Johnson has been appointed as Associate Priest of The Priory in Lancaster. Please do keep praying for Louis and Christine as they settle into this parish and as Louis continues his work as Associate Priest.

    Louis was born, raised and schooled in Liverpool, Louis read Music at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, received his MMus and PhD in Music (Composition) from the University of Liverpool, and taught in the music departments at Liverpool Hope University, and the universities of Liverpool, Cardiff and Bristol, before undertaking training for ordained ministry at St Mellitus College, North West (now Emmanuel Theological College), whilst also serving a three-year context-based placement with Liverpool Parish Church, Our Lady & St Nicholas (which was also his sending parish). ‘He was ordained deacon at Michaelmas 2020, and priest at Petertide 2021, at the Anglican Cathedral in his home diocese of Liverpool.’

    As Louis and his wife, Christine, are both born-and-bred scousers (and Evertonians!), it has taken lots of prayer, thought, and discernment to explore the call to ministry in Lancaster, and answering this call feels like a big step for both of them – but the sense of call is certain, and they are both genuinely excited about this new chapter in their lives, and about getting to know the people and places that make up the parish of Lancaster Priory, the city of Lancaster, and the wider Diocese of Blackburn. Louis says: ‘I’m really looking forward to working with the whole team at Lancaster Priory, and I can’t wait to get to know the communities that make up the parish, and the wider communities which they serve and are part of. It will be a privilege to live, serve, and work with and alongside you all in the mission and ministry that God is calling us into, sharing in the many ways that God is blessing the people of Lancaster, sharing in the love of God that is Jesus, in whose name, and by whose Spirit, we are all called to journey together, into the future, along The Way.”

  • What is a PCC and Why might I want to be involved?

     

    What is a PCC?

    A parochial church council (PCC) is the executive committee of a Church of England and consists of clergy and churchwardens of the parish, together with representatives of the congregation.  Every PCC is also a Charity and so it’s members are also trustees.

    Legally the council is responsible for the financial affairs of the church parish and the maintenance of its assets, such as churches and church halls. It also assists the clergy in the management of church affairs in the parish, and promoting the mission of the church. The PCC also has a voice in the forms of service used by the church and may make representations on matters affecting the welfare and pastoral care of the parish.

    The makeup of a PCC is set out in the Church Representation Rules. To be an elected representative of the congregation, a person must be a communicant, aged 16 or over, and must have been on the church electoral roll for at least 6 months unless under 18, they must be nominated and seconded by persons on the roll.

    Lancaster Priory PCC meets 10 times a year. There is a list of current members in the porch of the church and the minutes of the meetings are publicly available (on request) after the have been approved by the PCC.  The PCC delegates areas of work to the following subcommittees: World and Community Group, The Resources Group and The Property Committee.  They also plan to launch a new Social and Fundraising Group and an Eco Group in the coming year.  The membership of these groups is wider than PCC members and they meet with different frequency depending on their delegated tasks and projects.

    Why might I want to get involved?

    Whilst PCC meetings include lots of different things, one of the most exciting things that they do is to help discern and respond to God’s call for the church, parish and use of it’s resources.  Lancaster Priory has four particular strengths through which the PCC can describe it’s ministry and outreach. We believe these form a core part of our identity, gifting and calling. They are:

    A- Worship

    B- Christian Education

    C- Community, Compassion and Kindness

    D- Innovation, Creativity and Commerce

    Alongside these four broad areas, our PCC have been discerning what God might be calling us to prioritise in ministry for the next 5-10 years, they have identified four priorities.  In the photograph above, you can see the PCC discussing at their October meeting, the next steps of the process on four key areas:

    One: Inspiring new generations.
    Although Lancaster Priory has an able and committed core of lay people, these are largely drawn from amongst the retired. Those of a working age are often more peripheral to the life of the church. University students can struggle to make links with the rest of the congregation. As the Priory emerges from the pandemic, it is clear that the work of evangelism and mission with children, young people and their families has suffered. There is a strong cohort of choir families who are committed to the priory but not necessarily well integrated into its life and ministry. We long for the Priory congregation to become broader and more diverse, better representative of our parish and city.

    Two: Growing deeper roots on the Marsh.
    The Marsh estate, which is amongst the more deprived areas of the city, comprises almost 1/3rd of our parish population along with the neighbouring new Luneside development and is largely unreached by the church. We believe we are called to invest in evangelism and mission in this part of our parish, to plant new congregations, as well as continuing the work of supporting families and young people and offering friendship to the elderly. We believe that we have been called to witness through word and service to proclaim the message of God’s unconditional love on the Marsh.

    Three: A Resource for the City, Diocese and Region
    The Priory has a recognised role within the city and region as a civic church. The annual pattern of civic engagements that come from universities, schools, city and county continue to be significant but we believe that we are called to develop a distinctive Christian voice within these relationships. The Priory is recognised as a significant and distinctive church within the diocese, but has not historically done much to resource other churches. We believe we are called to be a place of teaching and learning that empowers the people of God in a way that will benefit the whole diocese, and we seek to develop new ministries in this area.

    Four: Caring better for God’s Creation
    Lancaster Priory has been among the pioneers in Creation Care in Blackburn diocese, holding an ‘A Rocha’ Bronze EcoChurch award. We are fully committed to the General Synod 2030 net zero carbon target, use the Energy Footprinting Tool and Parish Buying Energy Audit. Recognising the crucial significance of the next five years in global efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change, we are committed to doing all we can at church and in our own lives to protect God’s creation, and acknowledge the generosity of God in his Creation.

    The next PCC elections will be in May 2023 – could God be calling you to participate in mission and ministry as a PCC member in this next stage of mission and ministry?

  • National Lottery Funding Boost for Lancaster Slave Trade Project

    NATIONAL LOTTERY FUNDING BOOST FOR LANCASTER SLAVE TRADE PROJECT

    The National Lottery Heritage Fund has given significant backing to Facing The Past 2, a major project reflecting on Lancaster’s links to the transatlantic slave trade.

    The £242,979 project will build on the work of Facing The Past 1 which took place last year.

    This significant funding boost, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, will strengthen the public understanding of Lancaster’s connections with the slave trade.

    The project will achieve this with a festival, a digital trail, training for primary school teachers, heritage and arts organisations across the district, and undertaking further research into this important history. It will also create 16 freelance roles.

    Lancaster Priory Commissioning Group (LPCG) is steering the project, bringing together a wide range of community, heritage and faith groups from across the city including Lancaster Black History Group. LCPG chair, Andrew Nicholson, said: “We are very grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for this generous grant which will enable us, through a variety of ways, to make the people of Lancaster more aware of our city’s historic involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.  Importantly it will spur us on to recognise and resist modern slavery and contemporary abuses of human dignity however and whenever they occur.”

    David Renwick, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We’re proud to support Facing The Past 2 in exploring Lancaster’s links to the transatlantic slave trade. It is important we look at all aspects of local heritage, including those that can be difficult, to help people better understand their history and broaden understanding in the wider community. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are able to support these stories being told.”

    The 14-month project, which begins this June, will involve commissioning research on Lancaster Priory Church, where enslaved people and families involved in the slave trade were baptised. There are also memorials to slave traders inside and outside the Priory.

    As part of the project, expert historian, Dr Melinda Elder will produce a booklet and interpretive panels for the Priory.

    All the research will be consolidated into a new, openly accessible digital trail available to visitors, schoolchildren, residents and heritage organisations.

    This digital map of Lancaster will focus on its global connections with the slave trade and build on an existing popular tour, initially developed by the city’s Global Link.

    Teachers from 53 primary schools across the area, which have supported the project through significant donations, will receive training on using and adapting the trail so that all their pupils, aged 8-9 will experience it.

    Heritage and arts partners will also receive a training package in talking about slavery, race and modern slavery provided free by The Museums Association. It will be one of the first times this programme has been delivered nationally.

    Another aim of Facing The Past 2 is participation by the wider local public so a community festival is planned.

    Facing The Past  1, which began last year and was funded by Arts Council England, involved arts and creative learning workshops and visits to the Judges Lodgings for young people and the development of a creative resource pack for schools. Arts workshops open to the community at Lancaster Priory and More Music in Morecambe also took place. Public consultation on responses to learning about Lancaster’s deep engagement with the slave trade was carried out too.

    The main aim of Facing The Past is to reflect, reveal and redress omissions in the way the city has so far commemorated its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

    From 1736 to 1806, Lancaster was the fourth largest port in England for transatlantic slavery, a trade which made several Lancastrians very wealthy. Their names are reflected in the city’s buildings, institutions and streets.

    ENDS

    Editor’s Notes

    About Facing The Past

    Facing The Past 2 is a collaborative project between Lancaster Priory Church, the Judges Lodgings museum, Lancaster Black History and arts, heritage and community organisations including More Music.

    Lancaster Priory Commissioning Group is steering Facing The Past. It is an active member of Lancaster Arts Partnership and has hosted many Light Up Lancaster events as well as its own cultural programme including the annual Festival of Song.

    The Judges Lodgings museum, run by Lancashire County Council, recently received a total of £70,000 to redevelop its Gillow Gallery, produce some new commissions of enslaved Africans, run school workshops and teacher training and produce a children’s exhibition as part of Facing The Past. In 2007, it commissioned Lubaina Himid’s Swallow Hard to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. She went on to win the Turner Prize and Swallow Hard was part of the Turner Prize show.  Lubaina’s Memorial to Zong exhibition also took place at Lancaster Maritime Museum last year.

    Lancaster Black History is a grassroots community group fighting racism through education. Its current research project with local people traces the links that prominent local families had with the triangular transatlantic slave trade.

    About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

    Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.

    Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund

  • A renewed commitment to the Marsh thanks to the Lottery Fund!

    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.

     

     

     

  • Saturday 28th November 2021, 19.30 – Advent Carols

    Saturday 28th November 2021, 19.30 – Advent Carols

    A service of readings and carols to start the season of Advent.

  • Restoration of the Clock Dial

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