S E RV I C E O F T H A N K S G I V I N G FOR THE LIFE OF TIM RIX 4 January 1934 8 November 2012 St Bride s Church, Fleet Street 6 February 2013, 11.30am
BEFORE THE SERVICE J.S.Bach Aria from The Goldberg Variations CHOIR Matthew Morley Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary THE BIDDING PRAYER The Venerable David Meara HYMN Lord of all Hopefulness Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy, Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray, Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day. Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith, Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe, Be there at our labours, and give us, we pray, Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day. Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace, Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace, Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray, Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day. Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm, Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm, Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray, Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day. 2 WORDS AND READINGS Lucy, Oliver and Juliet Rix William Wordsworth A Parsonage In Oxfordshire Where holy ground begins, unhallowed ends, Is marked by no distinguishable line; The turf unites, the pathways intertwine; And, wheresoe'er the stealing footstep tends, Garden, and that domain where kindred, friends, And neighbours rest together, here confound Their several features, mingled like the sound Of many waters, or as evening blends With shady night. Soft airs, from shrub and flower, Waft fragrant greetings to each silent grave; And while those lofty poplars gently wave
Their tops, between them comes and goes a sky Bright as the glimpses of eternity, To saints accorded in their mortal hour. T.S.Eliot Four Quartets East Coker extract Home is where one starts from. As we grow older The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated Of dead and living. Not the intense moment Isolated, with no before and after, But a lifetime burning in every moment And not the lifetime of one man only But of old stones that cannot be deciphered. There is a time for the evening under starlight, A time for the evening under lamplight (The evening with the photograph album). Love is most nearly itself When here and now cease to matter. Old men ought to be explorers Here and there does not matter We must be still and still moving Into another intensity For a further union, a deeper communion Through the dark cold and empty desolation, The wave cry, the wind cry, the vast waters Of the petrel and the porpoise. In my end is my beginning. CHOIR Gustav Mahler Die Zwei Blauen Augen ADDRESS Michael Wymer 3
Andrew Lloyd Webber, arr. Gwyn Arch Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat from Cats by T.S.Eliot CHOIR WORDS AND READING Jacqui Scott and Anne Walmsley T.S. Eliot Four Quartets Little Gidding V What we call the beginning is often the end And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. And every phrase And sentence that is right (where every word is at home, Taking its place to support the others, The word neither diffident nor ostentatious, An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity, The formal word precise but not pedantic, The complete consort dancing together) Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning, Every poem an epitaph. And any action Is a step to the block, to the fire, down the sea's throat Or to an illegible stone: and that is where we start. We die with the dying: See, they depart, and we go with them. We are born with the dead: See, they return, and bring us with them. The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew-tree Are of equal duration. A people without history Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern Of timeless moments. So, while the light fails On a winter's afternoon, in a secluded chapel History is now and England. With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, unremembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning; At the source of the longest river The voice of the hidden waterfall And the children in the apple-tree Not known, because not looked for But heard, half-heard, in the stillness Between two waves of the sea. Quick now, here, now, always A condition of complete simplicity (Costing not less than everything) And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well When the tongues of flames are in-folded Into the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one. 5
HYMN The Lord's My Shepherd The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want. He makes me down to lie In pastures green; he leadeth me The quiet waters by. My soul he doth restore again, And me to walk doth make Within the paths of righteousness, E'en for his own Name's sake. Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale, Yet will I fear no ill: For thou art with me, and thy rod And staff me comfort still. My table thou hast furnishèd In presence of my foes; My head thou dost with oil anoint And my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy all my life Shall surely follow me; And in God's house for evermore My dwelling-place shall be. WORDS AND READING Bridget Shine Mary Elizabeth Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep 6 Do not stand at my grave and weep: I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the mornings s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.
ADDRESS Francis Bennett CHOIR Ralph Vaughan Williams Over hill, over dale from Three Shakespeare Songs PRAYERS The Venerable David Meara HYMN Love Divine Love Divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven, to earth come down, Fix in us thy humble dwelling, All thy faithful mercies crown. Jesu, thou art all compassion, Pure unbounded love thou art; Visit us with thy salvation, Enter every trembling heart. Come almighty to deliver, Let us all thy life receive; Suddenly return, and never, Never more thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, Serve thee as thy hosts above, Pray, and praise thee, without ceasing, Glory in thy perfect love. Finish then thy new creation, Pure and spotless let us be; Let us see thy great salvation, Perfectly restored in thee. Changed from glory into glory, Till in heaven we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before thee, Lost in wonder, love, and praise! 7
BLESSING The Venerable David Meara CHOIR Thomas Tallis If Ye Love Me OUTGOING ORGAN J.S.Bach, Number 3, The Goldberg Variations There will be a retiring collection jointly for Book Aid International, Book Trust and St Bride s. All are welcome to join us for a reception and lunch at Stationer's Hall immediately after the Service. COVER Portrait by Benedict Rubbra Warning: if you are going to play croquet with Tim Rix make sure he is on your side. He is an exremely nice person until he gets hold of a croquet mallet! John Elslely Drawing by Albi