St Bride's Brides & Grooms: A Service of Celebration – Sunday 07 July, 2019

A service of readings, hymns and music on the theme of marriage to celebrate the gift of love on Sunday 7th July attended by couples previously married at St Bride's.

"It takes years to marry completely two hearts, even of the most loving and well assorted. A happy wedlock is a long falling in love." - Theodore Parker

Choral Eucharist: Trinity – Sunday 16 June, 2019

Setting & Anthem: Mass in D - Dvořák

Dvořák was commissioned by his friend Josef Hlavka to write this mass for the consecration of Hlavka's private chapel at Lužany Castle. Similar in scale to St Bride's, Dvořák had to scale down his usual forces; he wrote, "This time, however, I have written for only a modest presentation, and still I dare to claim that my work has turned out well."

We are grateful to the St Bride's Orchestra for joining us at this service. (NB: The performers are at the West End of Church, further from the fixed microphones than usual.)

A Song for the Season of Creation – Sunday 26 May, 2019

Following their successful Plastic-less Lent campaign in 2018, St Bride's Choir was approached to help produce a song for the Season of Creation which was premiered at St Bride's on Rogation Sunday, 26th May.

Malcolm Guite's words have been set to music by Ian Stephens in a number of arrangements suitable for choirs and singing groups of all ranges and sizes. Scores are freely available to download along with a recording by St Bride's Choir, and rehearsing/learning audio files.

Choral Eucharist: Easter IV – Sunday 12 May, 2019

Setting: Schola Missa de Angelis - Panufnik
Anthem: Agnus Dei from Schola Missa de Angelis - Panufnik

We are grateful to the St Bride's Orchestra for joining us at this service which was part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music.

Beyond the Darkness – Sunday 26 August, 2018

Welcome to this special service of hymns, readings, and choral music, at which we shall be commemorating the life of Mary Ann ('Polly') Nichols (1845-1888), and also remembering vulnerable women in London today who, like her, are affected by sexual exploitation.

Mary Ann Nichols was the first known victim of the unknown Victorian serial killer popularly known as 'Jack the Ripper'. Polly was born in St Bride's parish, and was married in this church. On this, the 173rd anniversary of her birth, we shall be remembering her life, and telling her story, rather than focussing on her killer and the details of her tragic death.

All the hymns at this service were written during the course of the adult life of 'Polly' Nichols, and would have been sung at St Bride's during that time. Our choral music includes modern works by contemporary composers from Eastern Europe: the context from which many vulnerable women in London today have come.

After the service there will be a retiring collection to support the work of 'Beyond the Streets', an organisation that works with women affected by sexual exploitation today.

A service of commemoration in words & music for Mary Ann Nichols.

In the Eye of the Storm – Tuesday 21 November, 2017

A Commemorative Service was held at St Bride's Church on Tuesday 21st November at 6:30pm.

As consumers of news in a fast-changing world, we demand a great deal of our journalists and foreign correspondents.

We expect them to keep us informed about difficult and complex situations in the trouble spots of the world, often at great personal risk, and sometimes, tragically, they pay the ultimate price.

So it is important that, as representatives of the media industry and the public life of this nation, we honour their memory in this service and remind ourselves of the sacrifice they make in order to bring us the truth.

View Order of Service & Transcripts of the Readings

Lest We Forget – Wednesday 09 November, 2016

A Commemorative Service was held at St Bride's Church on Wednesday 9th November at 6:30pm.

As consumers of news in a fast-changing world, we demand a great deal of our journalists and foreign correspondents.

We expect them to keep us informed about difficult and complex situations in the trouble spots of the world, often at great personal risk, and sometimes, tragically, they pay the ultimate price.

So it is important that, as representatives of the media industry and the public life of this nation, we honour their memory in this service and remind ourselves of the sacrifice they make in order to bring us the truth.

View Order of Service & Transcripts of Sarah Sands' Address and the Readings

Listen Online

On Wednesday, 9th November, 2016, at 6:30pm a service was held at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street to commemorate all those in the media industry whose mission to bring us the news faces peril and uncertainty and sometimes, tragically, demands the ultimate price.

Review of Service by James Sutton, Guild Journalism Bursary Scholar 2016

INTRODUCTION

As consumers of news in a fast-changing world, we demand a great deal of our journalists and foreign correspondents.

We expect them to keep us informed about difficult and complex situations in the trouble spots of the world, often at great personal risk, and sometimes, tragically, they pay the ultimate price.

So it is important that, as representatives of the media industry and the public life of this nation, we honour their memory in this service and remind ourselves of the sacrifice they make in order to bring us the truth.

WELCOME & OPENING PRAYER

The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce delivered the bidding:-

Welcome to St Bride's for our annual service of commemoration, at which we honour the memory and give thanks for the lives of those journalists, camera-crew and support staff who have died, particularly those who have lost their lives during the course of their professional duties.

This is also an occasion on which we remember and hold in our prayers those
members of the profession who are currently held captive and all whose work
places them in situations of grave risk or personal danger.

In remembering them today we mark their courage, their dedication, and their
commitment. And as we celebrate all that is best in investigative journalism, we
do so mindful of the fact that our news is sometimes brought to us at terrible
cost - a price that is paid by those journalists, and by their families, friends and
colleagues.

Almighty Father,
in whose perfect realm
no sword is drawn but the sword of justice,
and no strength known but the strength of love:
guide and protect all who seek to bear witness
to the truth of your troubled world;
all who seek to give a voice to the voiceless,
and to tell stories that would otherwise remain untold.
We remember especially this day all members of this profession
who have died, or whose fate is unknown
that you may bless their work,
and strengthen and sustain those who love them.
In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

A Telling Witness – Tuesday 10 November, 2015

A Commemorative Service was held at St Bride's Church on Tuesday 10th November, 2015 at 6:30pm.

As consumers of news in a fast-changing world, we demand a great deal of our journalists and foreign correspondents.

We expect them to keep us informed about difficult and complex situations in the trouble spots of the world, often at great personal risk, and sometimes, tragically, they pay the ultimate price.

So it is important that, as representatives of the media industry and the public life of this nation, we honour their memory in this service and remind ourselves of their sacrifice to bring us the truth.

View Order of Service & Transcripts of Addresses and Readings

The Pen is Mightier than the Sword – Wednesday 05 November, 2014

A service to commemorate and celebrate all those in the media industry whose mission to bring us the news faces peril and uncertainty

View Order of Service & Transcripts of Addresses and Readings

As consumers of news in a fast-changing world, we demand a great deal of our journalists and foreign correspondents. We expect them to keep us informed about difficult and complex situations in the trouble spots of the world, often at great personal risk, and sometimes, tragically, they pay the ultimate price.

So it is important that, as representatives of the media industry and the public life of this nation, we honour their memory in this service and remind ourselves of their sacrifice to bring us the truth.

Journalists, cameramen and support staff have always been casualties during the conflicts they are sent to cover. In recent years more journalists than ever have lost their lives and in many parts of the world are now regarded as “legitimate targets” within the conflict zones of the world. The atrocious executions of journalists and other citizens during 2014 have further challenged us to comprehend the extremes of human behaviour.

This year, we are particularly conscious of the barbarism of various factions in the Middle East and elsewhere, but we come together as journalists, and celebrate the priceless value of freedom of speech, as we demonstrate that the Pen is, indeed, mightier than the Sword.

A Mission in Peril – Tuesday 12 November, 2013

A Commemorative Service was held at St Bride's Church on Tuesday 12th November, 2013 at 6:30pm.

The word "mission" implies a sense of vocation, a calling to go to the frontiers and trouble-spots of the world to understand, to interpret and to bear witness. It is a word with unmistakably religious connotations but it is also an appropriate description of the journalist's duty to keep in touch with all that is happening in the world, to spot the events of significance, and to relay them to others in a form which can be readily understood.

Public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. As journalists we further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Recent events in the Middle East and especially in Syria have highlighted the importance of accurate reporting on the ground and the risks associated with this.

This year, our title "A Mission In Peril: Celebrating The Media in Troubled Times" refers not only to those on the front line, but to everyone in an industry which more than ever faces perils now and uncertainty ahead.

View Order of Service & Transcripts of Addresses and Readings

So tonight we remember once again all whose mission it is to bring us the news, sometimes at terrible cost, and we celebrate the profession of journalism, and the priceless value of freedom of speech.