"The Last Seven Sayings of Jesus"

We are delighted to welcome Father George Guiver as our Holy Week Preacher, guiding us through reflections on the Last Seven Sayings of Jesus.

🙏 Sunday 13 April (Palm Sunday)
📍 6pm Service of Reachings, Music and a Reflection by Fr George

🕯 Monday 14 - Wednesday 16 April
📍 8.30pm Sermon by Fr George| 9pm Said Compline (Lady Chapel)

✝ Good Friday 18 April
📍 The Three Hours, 12 noon to 1.30pm: Devotional addresses interspersed with congregational singing, followed by the Good friday Eucharist at 1.30pm

🌅 Easter Sunday 20 April
📍 9.45am Cathedral Festal Eucharist – Easter Day Sermon by Fr George

I grew up in Leicester and started going to church when I was 9, placed in the choir of St Paul’s church by my (then non-churchgoing) mother. I studied music at Durham University, and was and am passable at piano, organ and singing. I discovered the life of religious communities in my teens, and began a connection from about 1970 with the hermitage at Shepherds Law in Northumberland founded by Brother Harold Palmer (see chapters in Oneness: the Dynamics of Monasticism, ed. S.Platten, Canterbury Press 2017). After university I got a job teaching English at Livorno in Italy, and stayed there two years. I was involved in life of the local Catholic church, became organist, and was welcomed to receive the sacraments by the bishop. After that came two years of formation at Cuddesdon College, and a curacy at Mill End, Rickmansworth. During that time I developed a relationship with Romania, and especially the Orthodox Church. The language was easy to learn, being close to Italian. Then followed 6½ years in a multi-church parish in rural Herefordshire – an experience I can recommend to anybody. Eventually my desire to study became too strong, and I left the parish to go to Germany, where I studied in the German Liturgical Institute in Trier. At the same time I was lodged the the ancient monastery of St Matthias, which happened to have a covenant relationship with the Community of the Resurrection (it has lasted and has been a wonderful gift for both communities for 55 years). That led to my exploring the Community at Mirfield, where I entered a Postulant in 1983. For nearly 20 years I taught liturgy in the College at Mirfield, ten of them in Leeds university as well. After that I was the Community’s Superior for 15 years. I published and edited various books on liturgy, prayer, and priesthood in particular. One fruit of my links with Romania was a connection the Community developed after the revolution of 1989. This led to exchanges of students, monastics, and teaching staff, which has now sadly come to an end due to all the restrictions that now apply to foreign exchanges and visits.