Turning of the year
Walking through the sunlit Priory to Morning Prayer… into the early-morning peace of St Giles’ Chapel. A single green ‘jewel’ glitters in the sunshine, trapped in a crack in the Priory floor. The congregation member smiles, remembering …
Quiet the Priory may be right now, but that little green glint is a glorious testimony of a truly living church. A church busy throughout the summer months, and showing no signs of slowing up as the year turns to autumn.
There was the amazing gathering of young cellists in July for the Hannah Roberts Cello Summer Masterclasses, filling the Priory with a stunning diversity of music in their concert ... and the joyous sounds of Great Malvern Festival of Singing…
The encouraging directions of the professional photographer, as a bridalwear photo-shoot took place set against the beautiful Priory architecture…
The 21st ‘birthday’ celebrations of the Priory’s thriving Mothers’ Union branch, the same year that the MU celebrates an incredible 150 years of service for families and communities…
The publication of a new guidebook to the Priory’s unique misericords (the Benedictine monks’ ‘mercy seats’, allowing them to relieve the pressure on their feet during services) by member of the congregation, Katherine Little … and if you want to know more about the misericords, why not come along to hear Katherine present the 2025 Friends’ Heritage and Faith Lecture in the Priory - ‘Tales in Oak: The Medieval Misericords of Great Malvern Priory’ on 27th September at 6.30pm. Tickets available here…
The hundreds of local people coming into the Priory for the Malvern U3A’s Enrolment Day, held in the Nave, benefitting from the wonderful level Nave floor…
And that green ‘jewel’, glinting on the Priory floor? It speaks of the amazing success of Priory Super Saturdays, where over 300 children were welcomed into the Priory to enjoy free craft activities every August Saturday. It speaks of the amazing Priory volunteers who created the crafts and ran them … of the refreshment volunteers and the cake makers, welcoming all and sharing free ‘Benedictine’ hospitality across the centuries … of the bellringers and tour guides bringing the amazing Priory to life for all … of a building filled with God’s people.
Priory Super Saturdays return on 1st November 10am-4pm and 22nd November, to coincide with the Great Malvern Christmas Festival. But more of that later!
That’s just a flavour of the Priory’s summer…
That one green ‘jewel’, glinting in the morning sunshine, speaks of the Priory; a living church.
