Choral Evensong with Sermon In Music: St Simon & St Jude – Sunday 28 October, 2018

Responses: Byrd
Psalm: 119: 89-104
Setting: Faux-Bourdon Evening Service - Gibbons
Sermon in Music: i) Prayer of St Richard of Chichester - L White; ii) O for a closer walk with God - Stanford; iii) Open thou mine eyes - Rutter

Choral Evensong: Trinity XXI – Sunday 21 October, 2018

Responses: Francis Jackson
Psalm: 142
Setting: 'Gloucester' Evening Service - Kerensa Briggs
Anthem: Hail, gladdening light - Wood

Appropriate hymns at Evensong to end our day of commemoration of Trafalgar Day, when we remember Nelson & all those others who gaves their lives in 1805, and those who have gone to sea to defend their country in the battle since.

Choral Evensong: Trinity XIX – Sunday 07 October, 2018

Responses: Leighton
Psalm: 125
Setting: 'Great' Evening Service in D - Parry
Anthem: My soul, there is a country - Parry

This evening's service commemorates the centenary of the death of Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (27th February 1848 - 7th October 1918). The anthem is taken from the "Songs of Farewell" composed towards the end of his life in response to the horrors of the First World War and his own failing health. Parry died some five weeks before the Armistice which would end the war having never heard his cycle as a complete work.

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 fi rst 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.

A Hard Calling – Monday 22 October, 2012

A service to commemorate journalists, camera-crew and support staff who have died in the conflicts of the 21st Century while bringing us the news was held at St Bride's Church on Monday 22nd October at 6:30pm. In the presence of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

View Order of Service & Transcripts of Addresses and Readings

Two years ago, Marie Colvin described her work as "a hard calling" when she gave the address at this commemorative service. She described the risks that she and her colleagues took to speak truth to power and send home that first rough draft of history.

In February this year, Marie died in Homs covering the conflict in Syria. Tragically, she too became a victim of war: she paid with her life for her bravery, commitment and dedication.

Tonight, we remember Marie, and many others like her, who have lost their lives to bring us the story. She hoped that because of what she did and others still do, people back home will care enough to read their stories, listen to their reports and watch their broadcasts.

Tonight we are keeping faith with them by remembering and celebrating "the hard calling" that is frontline journalism.