PAX HOMINIBUS
It has become by now a bit of a tradition that on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Klaus Bung plays for the Moravian Church in Hornsey, London N8. (Wikipedia Moravian Church).
On 11 February 2018, Klaus saw an advertisement by the FSSP (Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter) in Reading, Berks.
They wanted an organist for Maundy Thursday, Holy Saturday Vigil and Easter Sunday morning to play at St William of York Church in Reading. The organist was to 'accompany the Gregorian Mass Ordinary. The rite used will be that of the traditional Latin liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church - what is known as the Extraordinary Form.'
This rite was standard until it was abolished by the liturgical reforms by the Second Vatican Council in about 1964, when the use of the vernacular was made COMPULSARY, and Latin was banned, a demand which had been made, in vain, by Jan Hus, the spiritual father of what later developed into the Moravian Church, in the Kingdom of Bohemia a few centuries earlier. In 1415, at the Council of Constance, he was burned at the stake for his teachings.
The FSSP was founded by Roman Catholic Priests who loved the old liturgy and the use of Latin for the mass and objected strongly to its abolition. The FSSP 'was founded in 1988 under the leadership of 12 priests who were formerly members of the Society of Saint Pius X, another traditionalist organization, but were unwilling to remain part of it following the Écône consecrations, which resulted in its bishops being excommunicated by the Holy See.' (Wikipedia)
Klaus, who knows the old rite, knows Latin and can accompany Gregorian chant, offered to play on Maundy Thursday and on Holy Saturday, but not on Easter Sunday, the day when he traditionally plays at the Moravian Church (from Mission Praise, and the Moravian Hymn Book). He heard from Father Goddard of the FSSP that for several weeks nobody applied for the Easter Sunday mass. Philip Norman sent personal emails to the over 1,000 organists on his mailing list. The Preston and District Organists Association emailed its members, a long shot, just in case. All to no avail. Father Goddard was despondent. Only a miracle could help now.
On 7 March 2018, Father Goddard received an e-mail:
Dear Father Goddard,
We have heard of your plight in not having, on Easter Sunday, an organist who can play Gregorian chant, and in the brotherly Christian spirit reflected in your name (Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri) and ours (Unitas Fratrum Brüdergemeine, community of brothers) we are offering you the loan of Klaus, our Easter Sunday organist. We have found somebody else who can take his place in our church. Please let Klaus know that, and what, you want him to play so that he has time to practise this difficult music.
I wish you a happy and Blessed Easter.
All God's many blessings,
Rev James Woolford,
Minister for Harold Road and Hornsey Moravian Churches
On 8 March 2018, Father Goddard replied:
Dear Reverend Woolford,
May God reward you - thank you very much for your generosity in foregoing Klaus for our sakes! Indeed, we had exhausted all possibilities in terms of organists, so your kindness is a real God-send!
I have copied this to our musicians, Michael and Julian, who I know will be as grateful and relieved as I am, so they can let Klaus know what to play on Easter morning.
Wishing you and your community a grace-filled Lent and a blessed Easter.
With my prayers and best wishes,
Fr Matthew Goddard