All Saints Parish Newsletter 12th September 2014
Dear Friends,
This Sunday we celebrate Holy Cross Day. The feast is kept on 14th September because it is the anniversary of the consecration in 335 of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, on the site of what was believed to be Calvary and the garden in which Jesus was buried.
The building was ordered by the Emperor Constantine. His mother, Saint Helena, played a leading role in the project. The workers clearing the site found what was believed to be the cross on which Jesus had died. It became the focus for veneration during the liturgy in Jerusalem on Good Friday. Guards had to be stationed bedside it to stop relic-hunting pilgrims biting pieces off as they kissed it!
But relics were distributed and one of them ended up in Poitiers, as I was reminded when we were there again on holiday this summer. While there, I made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Radegund which is just down the hill from the cathedral. This was to fulfil a promise to pray there for Fr. John Hughes who died in a road accident this summer. He was the Dean of Jesus College, Cambridge which is also dedicated to Radegund. The emperor Justinian II sent the relic to St. Radegund for her double monastery of the Holy Cross. Radegund was no ordinary nun – she had been a queen – so had influence in high places.
She also commissioned her friend the poet Venantius Fortunatus to write hymns to greet its arrival. We still sing them today:
- Vexilla Regis prodeunt -The Royal banners forward go – is the Office Hymn for Passiontide and for the feast of the Holy Cross;
- Pange lingua gloriosi– Sing my tongue the glorious battle – is sung during the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday – the liturgical descendant of that veneration of the True Cross in Jerusalem centuries ago.
The first celebrates the cross as the place and sign of Christ’s victory over evil.
The second hymns the cross as the tree of life. Its refrain goes:
Faithful Cross above all other
one and only noble tree
none in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit thy peer may be.
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron!
Sweetest weight is hung on thee.
Both reflect St. John’s understanding of the cross as both the place of Christ’s exaltation and glory and the source of new life. They have a more objective and positive note than later and more emotional passion hymn writing.
The liturgy for Holy Cross Day (John 3:13-17) gives us another picture of the cross; one which is part of the visual rather than the musical imagery of All Saints, Margaret Street.
At Evensong last Sunday, as we commemorated the 200th anniversary of William Butterfield’s birth, I suggested that he expected worshippers to have or acquire a high level of biblical literacy. Not everyone who comes to All Saints knows the Bible as he did. For them, the three panels below the west window present something of a puzzle. They are Old Testament “types” or figures of the passion. The central panel is of the bronze serpent we hear of the in the feast’s first reading (Numbers 21:4b-9). The rebellious Israelites have been bitten by venomous snakes. God instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and raise it on to pole so that they can look to it for healing.
The serpent in church is not on a pole, but entwined around the cross because in the Gospel for the day Jesus says, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” The cross brings healing and divine life to a wounded and dying world.
So at Evensong this Sunday we will sing:
O Cross, our one reliance hail!
So may thy power with us prevail
To give new virtue to the saint,
And pardon to the penitent.
To thee, eternal Three in One,
Let homage meet by all be done:
Whom by thy Cross thou dost restore,
Preserve and govern evermore. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Father Alan Moses
Vicar of All Saints Margaret Street
Area Dean of Westminster – St Marylebone
Please pray for those who have asked for our prayers: Stephanie Aziz, Alan Bishton, Susan Beauchamp, Martin Bluhm, Rachel Clayton, Rosamond Clayton, Kate Down, Jean East, Tim Harding, Yvonne & Philip Harland, Elspeth Harley, Lewis Harvey, Myrtle Hughes, Molly Leng, Joshua Levy, Christine Loffty, Jonathan Mani-Weoki, Lisa McCaulay and Baby Angel Maguire, Hilary Morgan, Norman Newby, Geraldine Newman, Maureen Pride, Malcolm Richards, Peter Royle, Jock Scott, Dilys Thomas, Mary Thomas and Joy Wright.
For the recently departed: Doreen Bamberger, Harry Allan, Piia Huhtanen and John Edwards.
Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week: Peggy MacMillan, Thomas Partridge, Augusta Kirby, Gwen Duckett, Richard Dinnis (Priest), Evelyn Hutt, Virginia Ambridge, Flora Subbiah, Arthur Bourchier, Guy Fleming (Priest), Greville Howard, Anthony Bryan de Tabley Andrews (Priest & former Assistant Curate at All Saints).
WORSHIP AT ALL SAINTS THIS SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER – HOLY CROSS DAY HIGH MASS at 11am
Preacher: The Most Revd Roger Herft,
Archbishop of Perth and Metropolitan of Western Australia
Missa ‘Crux fidelis’ – Vivanco
Adoramus te, Christe – Lassus
There is a meeting of the All Saints Servers after Mass.
There is no Church Sunday lunch this week, but lunch service resumes on 21 September.
CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION at 6pm
Preacher: Prebendary Alan Moses
Service for five voices – Weelkes
Ave verum corpus – Byrd
THIS SUNDAY 7.15pm (after Evensong) – ALL SAINTS – ORGAN RECITAL given by Charles Andrews, Associate Director of Music at All Saints. The programme includes works by Howells, Mendelssohn and Franck. Retiring collection to support the Choir and Music at All Saints (suggested donation £4). The All Saints Licensed Club/Bar below the Church will be open afterwards.
WORSHIP NEXT SUNDAY 21 SEPTEMBER – ST MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST HIGH MASS at 11am
Preacher: Father Michael Bowie
Cantus missÓ• – Rheinberger
Ave verum corpus – Elgar
CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION at 6pm
Preacher: Prebendary Alan Moses
Service in C – Stanford
Hail, gladdening light – Wood
SPECIAL EVENTS in SEPTEMBER at ALL SAINTS & ELSEWHERE
TOMORROW – Saturday 13 September, 10 – 5pm – “LIFE ABUNDANT” Anglican Catholic Future Day takes place at Southwark Cathedral – Celebrating Catholic Witness in the Church of England. Main speakers: The Most Revd Roger Herft, Archbishop of Perth & Metropolitan, The Revd Dr Alison Milbank, Nottingham University & Priest Vicar at Southwell Minster, The Very Revd Jane Hedges, Dean of Norwich. All welcome. Cost of the day: £10.
Full information about the programme, bookings and payment online at www.anglicancatholicfuture.org.
ST CYPRIAN’S FESTIVAL, Clarence Gate
TODAY Friday 12 – Monday 15 September:
TONIGHT, 7.30pm THREE PARISHES ANNUAL QUIZ NIGHT, St Cyprian’s.
In order to manage the catering arrangements, it would be helpful if you could finalise your teams (up to a maximum of SIX people). The charge is £10 per person, payable on the night, including refreshments. Please let Chris Self know if you are intending to take part. Individuals who want to be slotted into a team on the night should also let him know beforehand. Email: chris_self@btinternet.com. Tel: 020 7723 2938.
Saturday 13 September at 7.30pm – St Cyprian’s – CONCERT given by the ST CYPRIAN’S SINGERS directed by Julian Collings – LUX AETERNA, Maurice Duruflé – Requiem. Plus works by Byrd, Tallis, Harris and Holst. Peter Jaekel – organ. Tickets £10, in aid of the St Cyprian’s Singers.
Monday 15 September, ST CYPRIAN’S DAY, Clarence Gate – 7pm Solemn High Mass. Preacher: Fr George Bush, Rector of St Mary-le-Bow.
ALL SAINTS EVENTS LATER in SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER:
Tuesday 16 – Sunday 21 September from 12 – 6pm – JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP ARTS & CRAFTS CLUB 2014 EXHIBITION in the All Saints’ Parish Room. The show features original paintings/works of art and assorted crafts – including silk scarves, jewellery, boxes and hand-made cards (with new All Saints’ designs). The majority of work is for sale and would make ideal gifts. Free admission.
Wednesday 17 September at 7pm – Meeting of the All Saints’ Parochial Church Council in the Dining Room.
Friday 19 September, 6.30pm MONTHLY REQUIEM MASS – please print the names of anyone you would like to be remembered in the file to be found on the wooden lectern in the Baptistery at the back of Church.
Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 September – OPEN HOUSE LONDON 2014 – All Saints will take part in the capital’s largest annual festival of architecture and design once more, with John Forde offering talks at 2pm each day. Now in its 22nd year, this hugely successful event provides free and open access to more than 800 outstanding examples of historic and contemporary buildings, on-site projects and public spaces and remains the most powerful medium for engaging everyone in a better appreciation of their city. Please contact Chris Self if you can volunteer for a couple of hours on either day to welcome visitors. Email: chris_self@btinternet.com. Tel: 020 7723 2938.
Sunday 28 September – a new series of TEN TO ONE TALKS (running from Autumn 2014 to Spring 2015) entitled ‘The Shape of the Liturgy’ starts today in Church. The topic is the Gathering, Entrance Hymn and Chant.
Sunday 28 September, 7.15pm – All Saints is host to a charity fundraising ORGAN RECITAL after Evensong & Benediction – in aid of IRAQI CHRISTIANS IN NEED & THE MOSUL CRISIS APPEAL. The recital is given by CARL BAHOSHY (Organist at St. Elizabeth’s of Portugal RC Church, Richmond and born in the UK to Iraqi Christian parents). Charity retiring collection – please be generous (suggested donation £5- £10). Programme includes works by Bach, Messiaen, Vierne & Widor. Please support this hugely worthwhile and topical cause.
Saturday 4 October at 3pm at Pamela’s – POETRY TEA. Please bring your own choice of Poetry or Prose and maybe tell us why you made that choice. To accept or to find out Pamela’s address please speak to Pamela or Sandra in the courtyard or ring Sandra on 020 7637 8456 leaving your name and phone number. Cost £6 towards the All Saints Restoration Appeal.
Sunday 5 October – TEN TO ONE TALK in the series ‘The Shape of the Liturgy’ in Church. The topic is the Invocation & Greeting.
Sunday 5 October – there is a Mission Committee meeting in the Parish Office after Mass.
Sunday 12 October – TEN TO ONE TALK in the series ‘The Shape of the Liturgy’ in Church. The topic is the Collect for Purity.
Sunday 12 October – there is a Buildings Committee meeting in the Parish Office after Mass.
Friday 17 October, 11am – READING GROUP (second meeting of three in 2014, meeting the third Friday of each month. The last date is Friday 21 November). The text for the Group is: Marilynne Robinson’s novel Gilead, available in paperback from Virago at £7.99.
EVENTS BEYOND ALL SAINTS:
EYES OF FAITH by Professor Jack Mahoney SJ – Christianity as viewed by five great theologians (Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin and Karl Rahner) A five week course on Mondays from 7 – 8.30pm from 22 September to 20 October 2014. MOUNT STREET JESUIT CENTRE, 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH. Please book in advance via website: www.mountstreet.info or phone: 020 7495 1673.Professor Mahoney is a Jesuit priest and Emeritus Professor of Moral and Social Theology in the University of London, where he taught in several colleges for thirty years. These included Heythrop College, where he also served for a period as Principal. He is the author of several books and many articles, and has lectured widely at home and abroad, on theology and various branches of ethics.
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN WESTMINSTER “MEET THE NEIGHBOURS”
Hosted by The Annunciation, Marble Arch – Tuesday 30 September 7 – 9pm
The evening includes a welcome and talk by Fr Gerald Beauchamp (Priest in Charge) about the church’s history and architecture, including relics and statues, as well as the tradition behind its worship style. There will be an opportunity to look around the Church. Refreshments will be offered afterwards. Pevsner notes that to enter The Annunciation is to have stumbled upon: ‘a fragment of a major medieval church’. All are welcome to join this visit to a dramatic building in a fascinating and fast-changing part of London.
Saturday 4 October at 3pm – ST CYPRIAN’S, Clarence Gate – EVENSONG & BENEDICTION
Thursday 23 October – 6.30pm for 7.30pm – The Annunciation, Marble Arch W1H 7AH – CENTENARY CONCERT – ‘Jamie Lonsdale & Friends’ present an evening of arias and songs from your favourite operas and shows. Jamie will be joined by soprano Alexandra Kennedy, Chinese X-factor winner Mary-Jess and mezzo soprano Flora McIntosh. MD – Robert Emery. Please come and support this wonderful event. Tickets strictly limited, so please book in advance at www.jamie-lonsdale.com or T: 01367 820599 or email: lroyde@gmail.com. Tickets £25 per person or 4 for £60, including a glass of Prosecco.
NOTICES
ALL SAINTS RESTORATION APPEAL UPDATE
FUNDRAISING – just the last 3% of funding to find….
Following the testing of the market the budget for the work has been revised to £350,000 with over £304,440 now given or firmly pledged and loan finance of £35,000 offered, some £10,500 is yet to be secured with any surplus reducing the PCC’s reliance on the two loans.
All Saints Foundation has made a grant of £120,000 together with a loan of £30,000. The All Saints Club has made a grant of £5,000 from bar and lunch profits with a loan of £5,000. We still await the result of applications to charitable trusts.
THE WORKS – BIG NEWS!
The good news is that work is about to get underway! The cabling strip out phase will begin on 22 September. Church will be closed during weekdays for most of the period until 30 October to allow the use of cherry pickers and other access equipment. Weekday worship will take place in the Parish Room, with the Church open at the weekends. The main works on infra-structure cabling in the basement take place at the same time as the strip-out. Work in the Church itself is planned from Tuesday 4 November after the Festival – for completion before Christmas, subject to the supply of specialist items.
HOW YOU CAN HELP……….With some £10,500 to find – further donations are needed! Cheques should be made payable to:
All Saints Church Restoration Appeal and be sent to:
Dee Prior, Parish Administrator ,7 Margaret Street, London W1W 8JG.
Please indicate where Gift Aid may be applied as it increases the value of your contribution by 25%. Thank you!
ALL SAINTS SUPPORT FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE – MARYLEBONE PROJECT
A Day Centre, Residential and Transitional accommodation provider, re-settlement project and Educational and Training Unit for women. The Emergency Bed Unit – for which we have for some years provided the funds for one of the 4 beds – provides a safe haven and refuge for women escaping domestic violence, financial crisis, sexual exploitation and mental health issues.
Seasonal Appeals – Last year we donated £2,790 to this Mission Project, collected through the All Saints Festival and Lent Appeals. The PCC approved support of £3,000 for 2014.
Year Round Support – we also support the Resettlement Project with non-perishable food and toiletries or household necessities like cutlery or bed linen/blankets. Please contribute to this effort, bringing donations to the Parish Office or leaving them in Church in the basket in the Baptistery.
Day-to-day Support – we respond to the needs of homeless people who visit the church, providing luncheon vouchers for the West London Day Centre for rough sleepers who apply to the office and allowing a few individuals, who need a place to shelter or sleep during the day, to rest in the back of the church. We have created an information resource for Church Watchers, giving useful advice to homeless and vulnerable people seeking particular support or services.
In the face of a rising tide of homelessness in London, please help us fund and support people in need through our Mission project.
Want to help someone sleeping rough but don’t know how? Call Streetlink on 0300 500 0914 and they will get a visit from the local Street Team who can put them in contact with the services they may need.
FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS OR ASSISTANCE FROM ALL SAINTS MARGARET STREET:-
* If you would like to encourage others to take an interest in All Saints/keep up with what is happening here, please forward this email on to them, or to people you would like to invite to services.
* If you know of others who would like to receive this correspondence please encourage them to sign up for the email on the All Saints website – see the tab News & Events> Weekly Newsletter.
* If you would like prayers offered at All Saints, please email the Parish Administrator Mrs Dee Prior at: astsmgtst@aol.com.
If you would like any pastoral assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses: alanmoses111@gmail.com. Or Assistant Priest Fr Michael Bowie: mnrbowie@hotmail.com.
DAILY SERVICES (the Church is open every day of the week from 7am to 7pm except on Bank Holidays, when it opens for the lunchtime Mass only)
SUNDAYS
Low Mass at 6.30pm (Saturday), 8am and 5.15pm
Morning Prayer at 10.20am
HIGH MASS AND SERMON at 11am
CHORAL EVENSONG, SERMON and BENEDICTION at 6pm
MONDAY TO FRIDAY
Morning Prayer at 7.30am
Low Mass at 8am, 1.10pm and 6.30pm
(Except bank holiday – 1.10pm Mass only)
Confessions from 12.30pm -1pm and 5.30pm
(No Confessions on bank holidays)
Evening Prayer at 6pm
SATURDAYS
Morning Prayer at 7.30am
Low Mass at 8.00am and 6.30pm (First Mass of Sunday)
Confessions at 5.30pm
Evening Prayer at 6pm
On major weekday feasts, High Mass is sung at 6.30pm with Evening Prayer at 5.45pm.
A priest is available in church for confessions or counsel every weekday from 12.30-1pm (except Saturdays) and at 5.30pm, or by appointment. The clergy are always happy to see anyone for whatever reason. Please enquire at the Parish Office (to the right as you enter the church courtyard).
www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk and e-mail: astsmgtst@aol.com.