Wasn't church musical life easier a hundred years ago! In those days, parish churches singing the Holy Communion would invariably use Merbecke's setting which, like the liturgy itself, never varied and everyone knew by heart.

Now, with the Alternative Service Book 1980 and the weekly celebration of the Parish Eucharist, there's been an explosion of different settings of the "sung bits". Which one to use?

On Tuesday 10 June at St John's Birkby the Association is holding an informal workshop to explore some popular and some new settings of the ASB Eucharist.

The evening will be led by Jim Cowell and the Huddersfield Friends of Church Music, the peripatetic choir founded by Ralph Garside which keeps alive the parish choir tradition.

Together we will look at a number of different ways of singing the Eucharist, and we'll try to find out what makes a good and successful setting.

As it's a workshop event, come prepared to sing, comment and criticise from your own point of view.

There'll also be the chance to hear the choir singing some non-Eucharistic items from its repertoire.

St John's Birkby is an ideal setting for such an event. With plans to close the church currently halted, the congregation is keen to get the building back into use as much as possible.

Do support the association, St John's and the Friends of Church Music in what will be a most interesting and enjoyable evening.