Church Music

Music plays an important part in the life of St Mary's, with an active choir and music group.

St Mary's choir

The Choir

The choir of some 12 men and women practices on Friday evenings from 6.30 to 7.30 in Church. The choir leads the music at the Parish Eucharist and Sunday Evensong and usually sings an anthem at the former. New choristers are always welcome, though there is a very simple audition.
Contact: Rosemary Colebourn Tel. 01273 470432

Music Group

There is a small music group (usually comprising piano, keyboard, flute, guitar, and violin) who mainly play for Family Services.
Contact: Rosemary Colebourn Tel. 01273 470432

Choral Evensong, 29th June 2025

Everyone at St Mary's, both members of the choir and congregation, are looking forward to welcoming singers from any parishes in the Lewes and Seaford Deanery and nearby, to join us in a full choral evensong (BCP) and precenting rehearsal and refreshments.

The attached poster/s can be displayed in your church, choir vestry or emailed to anyone in your congregation. As last year we will ask people to arrive by 3.15, so we can be ready to run through the music from 3.30 with a break for a homemade light tea before the Service at 6.30 pm. The afternoon rehearsal does presume that everyone will have checked the music and ideally rehearsed it beforehand and to help with that, as before, anyone taking part can join in the St Mary's choir practice from 7.00 - c8.00 on the preceding 3 Fridays: June 13, 20 and 27.

Accumulating the right number of copies of the music is one of the key challenges....! If you have copies of Sumsion in A (Mag and Nunc) that you can use, or you can lend spares to others, please let me know asap.

The psalm, 60, set for the evening, will be sung to the Parish Psalter setting(s),

The hymns (all with words by T. Dudley-Smith) are all in the latest edition of Hymns A and M, but for simplicity all will be provided with a copy just for use on the day:

347 Not for tongues of heaven's angels, (Bridegoom) new SATB version,

270 Christ pours his grace upon his own (Wilby) Unison, choir only, as the anthem

235 Be present Spirit of the Lord (Repton) Unison,

310 Thanks be to God, (Lobe Den Herren ) SATB, plus new descant final verse.

The Preces and Responses. The SATB most straightforward chant, SATB will be used, to avoid, in the time available, putting together unfamiliar or different versions of more complex settings! Copies will be provided.

Please be aware that there is a deadline of June 1st, for me to know how many are taking part, ie in a month's time, at the latest, so that copies of the music can be obtained and sent out.

There is no charge to take part, but we would really appreciate a donation to wards the costs; music, refreshments, postage and all admin. £10 is suggested as a guide, as people arrive on the day.

Do please get in touch if you have any queries at all.

Rosemary Colebourn - Choir Leader, St Mary's rosemarycolebourn@btinternet.com or 07552487694

Poster with details

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect.

Where and When

Our Church is open everyday between 8.30am and 4pm. Do just drop in, whether for a time of quiet and prayer, or just to enjoy the historical richness and beauty of the building.

On Sundays we meet, in the Church (details here), for our Sunday Service, which starts at 10:00am. When you arrive you will be given a warm greeting by our sidespersons (who will be wearing lanyards, so you can spot them). They will give you the hymn book and service booklet, and will happily help with any queries you might have. Do sit wherever you like!

By the way, there is no need to dress up (unless you want to). Informal, comfortable, clothes are very acceptable... but do wear warm clothes on cold days. Our pew seats are heated in winter, but we no longer heat the church itself, only the congregation, so the building can be chilly on frosty days.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it.

Our Services

The service begins at 10am. On the first Sunday of every month we hold an informal family service, with hymns, talks, prayers, and activities (for everyone who wants to join in). Other Sunday services are more traditional Eucharists. We follow the modern Anglican liturgy, with hymns, readings from the Old and New Testaments, a sermon, and prayers. The choir will sing an anthem.

At the end of all our services there is an opportunity to meet and chat with members of the congregation and the clergy over a tea or coffee (and biscuit or two).

We also hold weekday prayers and services, with a spoken Eucharist on Thursday at 10, and prayers at 8.30 every day of the week. (For more details, click here.)

Groups and Volunteering

You might like to join one of our groups, or becoming involved with our activities for young people. We also welcome volunteers to help with everything from flower arranging and cleaning to being a sidesperson. If you are interested, do get in touch using the form below.

Getting Connected

Get in touch with us to plan your visit or make any other inquiries

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Our Clergy


Rev'd David Bouskill		Rev'd Pat Benton
David has been the Vicar in charge of St Mary the Virgin since 2022.		Pat is the Curate at St Mary's as well as being a hospital chaplain.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

Revd David

Rev'd David