MEMBERS of a church choir were delighted to be invited to Gloucester Cathedral to sing Choral Evensong, a service traditionally held every day as the sun goes down, marking the passing of another day in faith.

St Mary’s Church Choir travelled from Ross-on-Wye to sing at a service of around 40 minutes, featuring choral music, readings and prayers.

At St Mary’s the service happens once a fortnight, but in cathedrals it happens virtually every day with different musical settings at each service.

During lockdown, the choir held several virtual events, but now the nation is emerging from lockdown, there are exciting times ahead, with members due to attend Hereford Cathedral later this month to lead worship at a main Sunday morning service.

The new youth choir will be joining the adult choir this time – their first time singing in a cathedral.

This will be followed by a weekend in Salisbury just after Easter when the choir will sing all the services from Friday to Sunday.

Choir spokesperson Rachel Lewis said: “These cathedrals offer wonderful acoustics, magnificent architecture and tremendous organs and it is an honour for parish church choirs to be able to sing in them.

“The success of St Mary’s Choir is down to the fantastic leadership of Mark Sanderson, Director of Music, aided by the organist, Adrian Taylor.”

You can normally hear the choir sing at St Mary’s at 9.30am each Sunday and 6pm on the second and fourth Sunday of each month.

For more information about the choir, see www.facebook.com/RossChurchChoir