An encouraging start to the five weeks of Lenten Music Pilgrimages last night (29th Feb) at Littleport. We were made so welcome at the outset by Revd Rosemary Maskell and her amazing band of helpers. The tables for the meal had been laid out with thought and care and the use of "real" plates and cutlery was a serious improvement over the disposable variety I'd taken with me "just in case"! It all felt very welcoming....
28 people were present through the evening and, having shared together a simple Lent meal we began our discussions on how the "Five marks of mission" (as interpreted by our Bishops) "Tell, Teach, Tend, Transform and Treasure" affected us as musicians in God's Church. This led us into a time of group discussion and feedback after which we spent about 30 minutes looking at some new publications and possible music for Lent. It will almost certainly be too late to use the music this year but it might come in handy in 2013 onwards. Finally, we drew the evening together in a short act of worship and reflection using resources from Bishop David's Listening in Lent booklet and some of the musical resources we'd studied earlier in the evening. 
My thanks to Iain Harvey (Director of Music at Littleport) for playing the organ for us and to all those (from Littleport and elsewhere) who came to take part. There was some useful feedback offered at the end so I can move on now to Barrington (with those helping me) in good heart. Do join us in Barrington on Tuesday 7 March if you can - other similar events will follow in St Ives (14th), Impington (22nd) and Bar Hill (28th). See here for publicity, booking details etc.
