Gerry Lynch writes Why is Cathedral Evensong Growing and What Does It Mean? — an article that was published in the May/June 2014 edition of Salisbury Cathedral News.
He concludes:
Evensong is not necessarily undemanding. It gives tremendous space for daily study of Scripture, and disciplined prayer sustaining a life of Christian service.
Maybe Choral Evensong needs to grow in depth and geography. Can we help more parish churches provide a weekday Evensong, perhaps weekly in larger towns and monthly in rural areas? And can we help people grow in depth and knowledge of faith when we see them mainly across the choir on Tuesday nights, and never on a Sunday?
I seem to rememember under canon law that it is the duty of every Parish Priest to ensure that the Daily Offices are said in the Parish Church. Rather, that he/she should say them. If they can be sung, even better!
(and the bell should be tolled to let the Parish know that their priest is doing what he is for – and that they can join the priest if they wish.)
It is very worrying that so many new deacons/priests have not experienced the daily office in their formation as the key stone of their praying life, and so few Churches advertise the daily office.
So every Parish Church in unity with its cathedral, and its Bishop, should be the location of the calm quiet recitation of the Divine Office. It is another place where we allow ourselves to get caught up in the eternal worship of God ON BEHALF of all who live around us in the Parish or the Diocese
Sunday afternoons at 4pm (EST) Evensong from Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal is carried on Radio Via Marie:
http://radiovm.com/
One can listen on the Internet.
Grace Church Cathedral in San Francisco also offers Evensong on the Web: http://www.gracecathedral.org/cathedral-life/worship/listen/
And there’s Evensong from the BBC from a different church every week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tp7r