Minster Musings
The thought of New Year always reminds me of Benjamin Britten’s very simple and beautiful New Year Carol. We so often regard carols as being only for Christmas, and yet, they can and are written for other suitable times as well, including Advent and Epiphany. We’ve hosted an Advent Carol Service ever since I’ve been here – I hope it will be one of my legacies – making full use of the ‘cathedral-sized’ space the Minster affords. Words and music move around the building in candlelight, in hymns, the ‘Great O’ Advent Antiphons, with readings and carols sung by the choir. The Service of Nine Lessons and Carols is just as beautiful but without the movement throughout the building. In recent years we have introduced the Epiphany Carol Service – this year on the 25th January at 4pm – when we again sing hymns, hear those passages from scripture, and the choir perform music full of awe and wonder. This year it falls a couple of days before Holocaust Memorial Day – and we shall look to honour that anniversary in the prayers in this service and to welcome people from the other faith communities on that day to join us.
2025 has been a year of very mixed blessings with wars and insurrections across the world. People we have known and loved have died and gone to another place we like to call heaven. Some have died prematurely, others after a long and fruitful life. New Year prompts us to reflect on the year past, and to look forward, in fear and in hope. We all view the world through a particular lens, and in relation to our mental health. Some people are naturally half empty, whilst other are always half full people! The world will continue to struggle on with uncertainty around the economy, climate change, and security. Faith communities will continue to try and make sense of the world we find ourselves in, as we look towards building a kinder sort of world where everyone has equal access to land, health, education, and a place to call home.
At the Annual Meeting after Easter, we shall celebrate all that has been achieved throughout 2025, and we shall look back and thank God for all the blessings that we experienced and the opportunities that came our way for offering kindness and service to others. The calendar for 2026 will be published online and in hard copy, providing a sense of the shape of 2026 and how it will map out. Easter comes early this year, and therefore so does Lent and the Festival of Faith. The Minster Summer Festival is already programmed and in place, and preachers throughout the year will come and inspire and challenge.
2025 finished with a strong December with many hours of volunteering given by so many. This ensured that visitors were made to feel welcome and that we finished the year with a strong economic performance. The Tree Festival alone saw over 4,000 visitors and a handsome surplus of £15,000 towards the maintenance of the building and paying for ministry.
May the New Year bring you peace and comfort and may you know God’s blessing.
Revd Canon Hilary Barber
Vicar
December in Pictures
As mentioned above, December was busy in the Minster with special events and services virtually every day. Pictured below are photos of the Christmas Tree Festival, the Overgate Hospice Carol Concert; North Halifax Grammar School’s Carol Service; the Minster’s Service of Nine Lessons and Carols; the Snowman and the Walk-Through Christingle Experience that made it’s return after a break in 2024 due to the BBC filming.
