All Saints Parish Newsletter
Trinity XIII -31st August 2012
From Fr. John:
Part of our Gospel on Sunday (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23) reads, “these people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me….” At the beginning of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer every day, we say, “O Lord, open thou our lips” and the response “and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise” is given. At Mass, we do nothing before saying the words, “In the name of The Father, and of The Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”. So, it is my ambition every day, the first thing said supports the hope of what is achieved throughout the day; the genuine praise of God and love of creation. The Chorister prayer puts it well, “Bless, O Lord, us Thy servants, who minister in Thy temple. Grant that what we sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Now this might sound a little like last Sunday’s Sermon, but I believe it should be a constant hope and ambition for the Christian that what we offer in praise, how we respond to the Glory of God, might encourage in us how we genuinely relate towards one another, inspired by God. Of course we have bad days, of course, we slip and fail, but starting the day over and over with the same ambition to give glory to God and for that offering to influence us in our daily life with each other, must be part of our “ordinary vocation” as Christian people. Our gospel on Sunday looks at the old religious order criticising ritual purity amongst the followers of Our Lord. His response, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come…” I hate to believe that it might be true, a leopard cannot change its spots. But in Christ I also have to hope that we can. So I am reminded of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday or soon, yours in Christ,
Fr. John
Please pray for, Michael Harris, Sandra O’Brien, Linda Orme, Mary Barnet, Stephen Collingwood, Sian Evans, Jackie Ferriter, Joshua Levy, Audrey Patterson, Marion Pidgeon, Cecila Shore, Michael Sullivan, Rachel Clayton, Heather Walker, Graham Hawkes, Richard Tann, Brian Sparkes, Ron Cayless, Sr. Jean Margaret, John Rogers, Mason Jacobsen, Barbara Laws, Marguerite Crill, Ondina Brash, Carol Blake, Anne Hamburger, David Day, Susan Parker, Zoe Emerton, Timothy Montgomery, Timothy Harding, Andrew Tillyard, Lise Cribbin.
The Recently Departed: Teresa Butler, John Welch, Noreen Breen, Barbara Davis, Alfred Morris, Joseph Simms, Br Arnold SSF. At the anniversary of their death: Mathias Paneth, Peter Davidson, Patricia Williams, Edward Tagoe, Vera Arde-Acquah, Sophie Garrett, Kathleen Heales, Elizabeth Little, Francesca Macom, Harold Matts, Joanne Wace, Guy Wace, Alicia Wace, Anne Adams, Edith Senior, Emily Burling, Neil Titley
Saturday September 15th ST CYPRIAN’S DAY at St Cyprian’s, Clarence Gate
12noon High Mass – Preacher: Fr. Richard Watson, Vice-Dean, St Albans Abbey
Followed by a reception
3:30pm Sung Evensong and Benediction
Poetry Tea Saturday 29th September 3:00pm at Pamela’s. You are invited to bring poems and prose on the general subject of ‘Summer celebrations and experiences’. If you would like to write something yourself how about ‘My Jubilee’ or ‘My Olympics’ . To accept, or to find out Pamela’s address, please speak to Pamela or Sandra or ring Sandra on 020 7637 8456 leaving your name and phone number. Cost £6 towards the All Saints Restoration Appeal.
ANGLICAN CATHOLIC FUTURE
A series of evenings celebrating our Catholic inheritance in the Church of England .
Wednesday October 17th ‘Our Lady’ – Speaker, The Revd Cally Hammond Dean of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge 6:30pm Mass ALL SAINTS MARGARET STREET – ALL WELCOME for further details please contact All Saints Margaret Street.
CONFIRMATION – Saturday 3rd November 2012 5pm at St Paul’s Cathedral. Please see Fr. John or Fr. Alan for further information.
Penny Mordaunt MP, (Portsmouth North) and friend to All Saints Margaret Street is arranging for the Parish a Tour of Parliament on 16th November 2012. A maximum number of 60 people can attend, so please book your place with Fr. John Pritchard as soon as possible. johnapritchard@hotmail.co.uk The Tour Starts at 9:55am and will last 75mins. The Tours are free, but I am suggesting that we all make a £10 donation towards Phase IV – Restoration Appeal for All Saints Margaret Street. Please send Cheques to All Saints c/o Dennis Davis or Fr John Pritchard made payable to "All Saints PCC Restoration Appeal". Details of where to meet will follow. ONLY 10 Places left. Please book as soon as possible.