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20 March 2016
Palm Sunday commemorates the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, where he rode into town on a donkey as crowds of people gleefully greeted him and spread out palm branches in his path. Our morning service reflected this.

Jesus told two of His disciples to go into a nearby village and bring a donkey that would be waiting there

The service started with the blessing of our palm crosses, we then processed around the outside of the church with palm crosses in hand. A token group of people represented the crowds welcoming Jesus as he approached Jerusalem.

Some of the people waved branches of palm trees, a sign of victory
During the service we had a dramatic reading about our Lord's passion.

The anthem for this week was O Saviour of the World  by Arthur Somervell. The words appear in the little-used Office for the Visitation of the Sick in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, taken originally from an older Roman Rite, and have been set to music by many composers over the years. Arthur Somervell was one of the leading figures in the English music renaissance of the 1890s-1900s: among his many works is Maud, a song cycle formed from Tennyson's eponymous poem, which today is best known for the song at the end, Come into the garden, Maud.
The communion hymn was Let all mortal flesh keep silence the words are a translation by Gerard Moultrie.  There is no date for the Byzantine liturgy from whence the text has been taken. The tune's earliest written version is 17th century, but is is probably far older. This French melody was arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams.


Service Times

First Sunday in the Month:
08:00am Holy Communion
10:00am Family Service

Second Sunday in the Month
08:00am Holy Communion
10:00am Parish Eucharist

Third Sunday in the Month
08:00am Holy Communion
10:00am Sung Matins

Fourth Sunday in the Month
08:00am Holy Communion
10:00am Parish Eucharist

Variations can be found in the Parish Magazine or the Calendar at the bottom of this page.

Useful links


Here are some links to resources you may find helpful:


  1. St Mary's Facebook page
  2. Chichester Cathedral will be live streaming services. For the Eucharist and order of service Click here before 10:00am Sunday and follow the instructions.
  3. The BBC Daily Service is available here.
  4. Prayer for today.
  5. The C of E youtube channel.
  6. Hearing You is a new phone help line launched by the Diocese of Chichester in partnership with Together in Sussex in response to the impact that Covid 19 has had on Just about the whole community. It aims to provide pastoral support and a listening ear to the recently bereaved and people directly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
  7. COVID-19 advice from the Diocese of Chichester here.

Please note that St Mary's are not responsible for the contents of external links

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