Melisa Leyland Melisa Leyland

75th Anniversary of the Dedication of SMM

Friday, October 13th – Sunday, October 15th, 2023
A festival celebrating the 75th anniversary of the dedication of
the Church of St. Mary Magdalene

Join the congregation and choirs of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene as we celebrate 75 years since the church was consecrated.

All events are free: pay what you can; come as you are.

NOTE! Some event times have changed.

 75th Anniversary of the Dedication of SMM

  • Friday, October 13th at 7.30 pm Rise up, my love
    The award-winning Gallery Choir of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene sings music dedicated to the church's patron – from jewels of the Spanish and Italian Renaissance, through to works by contemporary Canadian composers and Healey Willan. Robert Dixon, director. David Simon, organist.

  • Saturday October 14th at 4.00 pm Schola Magdalena: Medieval and Modern
    Acclaimed women's vocal group Schola Magdalena presents traditional chant and medieval music by Hildegard of Bingen, alongside new compositions by Colin Eatock & Anthony St. Pierre. Stephanie Martin, director. Robert Dixon, organist

  • Saturday, October 14th at 8.00 pm 'The Kid'
    Organist extraordinaire David Simon improvises a soundtrack to Charlie Chaplin's classic 1921 silent film. This is sure to be a hit with the whole family.

  • Sunday, October 15th – "Dedication Sunday" at 10.30 am Procession and Solemn Parish Mass
    The music for this festal service will be sung by the Gallery Choir, the Ritual Choir, and - for the first time - the Children's Choir of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. The mass setting was written by Healey Willan for the dedication service in 1948. A festival reception follows the service. Guest Preacher: The Reverend Doctor Christopher Brittain

  • Sunday at 4.00 pm Organ Recital before Evensong
    Robert Dixon offers music by Felix Mendelssohn, Johann Sebastian Bach and Cecilia McDowall.

  • Sunday at 4.30 pm Solemn Evensong and Benediction
    SMM 75 concludes with evening devotions before the sacrament, as well as music by Healey Willan, Matthew Larkin, and Louis Vierne.

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Melisa Leyland Melisa Leyland

CONCERT 2 July - The Legacy of Healey Willan

The Legacy of Healey Willan – Sunday, July 2nd at 4.00 pm

Here at SMM - tickets $20.00 at the door (pay by credit card)

477 Manning Avenue, Toronto ON M6G 2V8

Hear some of Healey Willan’s most beautiful music, including the three motets to our Lady and Gloria Deo per immensa saecula, in the church for which he wrote it. The concert, which also features music by William Byrd and Stephanie Martin, pays tribute to the musical and liturgical tradition that Willan established at SMM. The Gallery Choir performs as part of A Festival of Pipes – a collaboration between the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Organ Historical Society – under the direction of Robert Dixon, with David Simon at the organ. Tickets for each day of the festival, including an array of concerts, workshops and competitions, are available at www.rcco.ca/Organ-Festival-Canada; and tickets for the concert alone will be available at the door - $20.00.

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Melisa Leyland Melisa Leyland

Sunday Mass times July 9th to August 27th inclusive:

Important Notice:

Sunday Mass times July 9th to August 27th inclusive: 8am Said Mass, 10:30am Parish Mass.

And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…

As the summer approaches many of us are looking to family time, to vacation and travel. It is therefore always the case, for congregations everywhere, that numbers at Sunday worship decline over the summer. This can be discouraging especially when we are only slowly recovering in our congregational numbers through the rest of the year. We have been slowly gaining momentum and we do not want to go backwards.

With this in mind I took a recommendation to the Advisory Board on Wednesday evening to say that for the months of July and August only we should combine our usual 9:30 and 11:00 services into a single parish mass. There was a clear consensus in support of the recommendation. After further consultation we have agreed that the mass will begin at 10:30 to ease travel for those coming from a distance and for the choir that must rehearse before the mass. The mass will follow the pattern we have been using in our occasional combined services.

It is my hope that you will make a commitment to join with us as often as possible this summer. I never like to present church attendance as a duty, but it is, I believe, something we do not just for ourselves, but for each other. When we gather we encourage each other, we strengthen each other’s faith, and we make worship the joy it can and should be. At Pentecost we had a healthy congregation at our combined mass, and people left talking about how much they had enjoyed it and how encouraged they felt. Let’s see if we can’t similarly encourage each other over the summer months.

Eric+

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