Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

At Brecon Cathedral – 3^rd of February  

Archbishop Rowan Williams will preach at a special service of Choral Evensong at which the Cathedral's director of music and the assistant organist will be admitted to office and new treble choristers received into full membership of the choir.

The service will be part of a day of thanksgiving at the Cathedral as it also marks the completion of £500,000 of major fabric restoration work.

The Dean of Brecon, the Very Reverend John Davies, said, "Sunday will be an important day in the life of Brecon Cathedral and we are delighted that the Archbishop of Canterbury is able to celebrate with us.

"The internal repairs, which included replastering, have left the Cathedral looking stunningly beautiful. During the various phases of work, repairs to the fabric, often invisible to the naked eye, have been supplemented by the installation of new seating and lighting, as well as a new sound system.

"The bulk of this work was funded by two generous legacies from past worshippers supplemented by grants from CADW, and leaves our Cathedral as an oasis of beauty and holiness which we hope reflects something of the peace and presence of God in our midst, as well as being an asset for the whole community."

The Dean will admit Mark Duthie as director of music and Meirion Wynn Jones as assistant organist during the choral evensong. Both have been appointed thanks to the Cathedral Choir Appeal which is half-way towards reaching its target of £1m for subsidising music or singing lessons for the choristers and contributing towards the salaries of the music staff.

The Dean said, "Without the generosity of all those who have contributed to the appeal, the future of music at the Cathedral would have been in real jeopardy. Unlike many other Cathedrals, Brecon has no choir school, and the children and adults who sing here do so entirely voluntarily, week in and week out. They practise hard, work hard and sing well - we are enormously proud of them and grateful to their families and schools for being so supportive."

All are welcome to attend the two services on Sunday. The 11am service will give thanks for the completion of the restoration work while the Choral Evensong at 3.30pm, at which the Archbishop will preach, will celebrate the choral tradition.

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