Abbey podcast for the Feast of the Annunciation
Wednesday, 25th March 2020
A podcast produced in a locked down Westminster Abbey has been released today to mark the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The podcast was recorded earlier this week in the Chapel of Our Lady of Pew, a side chapel within the Abbey.
Introduced by the Dean of Westminster, The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, the podcast is sixteen minutes long with a reading, short address, anthem, prayers and blessing.
The Dean of Westminster, The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle said:
Our doors may be closed and like the nation we are in isolation but we pray daily in the precincts. We are all having to adapt fast to ever changing circumstances. For us here this means thinking of ways we can become a new kind of church. Today I’m pleased to be able to share a podcast for the Feast of the Annunciation. It was recorded in the Abbey earlier this week before the current restrictions were in place. We hope it brings some comfort and reassurance in these challenging and difficult times.
The Abbey’s Canon Theologian, Dr James Hawkey gives the address, and his wife, Carol Hawkey, reads St Luke’s account of the Annunciation. The anthem ‘See, see, the Word is incarnate’ composed by Orlando Gibbons, with text by Bishop Godfrey Goodman, sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey conducted by James O’Donnell, was kindly supplied for the podcast by Hyperion Records.
Social distancing following government guidelines was observed by everyone who took part. It was edited and posted remotely by Abbey staff working from home.
