Hello, all! I am Gregory Sammons, a retired priest of the Diocese of Ohio, now living in Dayton. I am the father of Liz Rodems, a second soprano in the St. Paul’s Senior Choir. It is with great enthusiasm that, together with Liz’s sister Jen Sammons, I am able to join the St. Paul’s Senior Choir on this trip.
Your choir director, Kevin Jones, invited me to be the trip blogger. This is an honor for me, and I will do my best to record impressions from the trip, anecdotes from the choir, and impressions of each day.
It is only 16 days until the St. Paul’s Senior Choir will take a musical journey which will provide memories for a lifetime. Together with family members and friends, they will travel to England via Heathrow airport on July 17/18, visit nearby Windsor, and then go to Bath for the first weekend.
On Sunday, they will provide choral leadership for the Eucharist at Bath Abbey, tour this charming village, and become acquainted with the significance of this city (which was a Roman settlement).
The following week, the St. Paul’s travelers will be stationed in Salisbury, where the choir will provide Choral Evensong each afternoon in place of the Cathedral choir (which is on summer break).
Preparing for Evensong is a demanding task. First, there are various sets of sung versicles and responses which mark Evensong. Additionally, the two Gospel canticles, the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis, are sung after each lesson, but the musical settings often vary each day. Finally, there will be a distinct anthem sung each day, and on one weekday, there will be a Choral Eucharist to mark the Feast of Mary Magdalene (July 22).
This has demanded an exacting rehearsal schedule for the choir over the past few months. But thanks to these rehearsals and the experience they’ve had sharing much of this music already with the St. Paul’s family, they are primed to be great representatives of choral excellence and will make St. Paul’s proud.
Lest you think we will spend every hour of every day in church, there are fabulous side trips planned to Oxford, Portsmouth, and Stonehenge, to name just a few. And of course, there will be pub crawls aplenty—I’ll mention these experiences, but perhaps edit out some of the details, if necessary!
Please keep this journey in your daily prayers for the safety and welfare of the group. And that the St. Paul’s travellers might be good ambassadors of our nation during this fraught time—-and of Christ, under whose banner of love we will go.
Until next time,
Greg +
The featured image is a photograph of the of Rev. Gregory Sammons and his daughter Liz Rodems, having their picture taken together on Easter Day 2025.
About the Author
The Rev. Gregory Sammons, Diocese of Ohio
The Rev. Gregory Sammons is a retired priest of the Diocese of Ohio, now living in Dayton. The father of Liz Rodems (a second soprano in the St. Paul’s Senior Choir) Gregory is traveling to the UK with the Senior Choir and will serve as the trip blogger.
Follow along with his daily writings through the Stories from Salisbury blog.