All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear Friend

Epiphany 2

In the 19^th and 20^th centuries we saw a burgeoning of cults and sects as alternatives to the major religions (rather than the increasing apathy we meet today). It is easy to forget that Christianity was so regarded, by Jews and Romans alike: an eccentric cult focusing on a guru, Jesus of Nazareth. And one of the problems faced by the early Church was another such cult, the Baptist sect, who believed that John the Baptist, not Jesus, was the Messiah, the chosen one of God. The Baptist sect seem to have argued that their master, John, was superior to Jesus for two reasons: first, John the Baptist was prior to Jesus; second, Jesus submitted to John’s baptism of repentance (the event we celebrated last week), making him, they argued, inferior in status to John.  

The writer of John’s gospel robustly addresses these issues. First he insists that Jesus is greater than John the Baptist because in fact he existed before him: John the Baptist himself declares, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me.’ Jesus is the Word who existed from the beginning; all that came to be had life in him, this gospel tells us. As for Jesus submitting to the baptism of John, this gospel does not report the event of Jesus’ baptism (just as it doesn’t narrate the institution of the Eucharist). Instead, typically for John, we have commentary and explanation of that event: John the Baptist’s affirmation that the Spirit of God rests on Jesus.  

There is also no mention of the Baptist’s austere dress and diet here; nor does he confront religious leaders with his fiery criticism. He does not send his followers to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah. Rather, he reveals Jesus’ true identity to others: ‘I am the witness that he is the Chosen one of God’. 

When religious leaders send messengers to John to find out who he really is, he protests that he is not the Christ, not Elijah and not the Prophet. John keeps declaring who he is not in order to say who Jesus is. All that he is not, Jesus is. The Baptist is wholly subordinate to Jesus: think too of his appearance in our Christmas Gospel: ‘He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light’ (John 1.8). 

In John’s gospel John the Baptist plays a unique role: he is the first Christian witness, the first person who leads others to Jesus, whom he identifies as the Messiah; he is the first of a host of people who give testimony to the truth about Jesus. Later in this Gospel Jesus tells his own followers that when they receive the Spirit of Truth, ‘you too will be my witnesses’. (15.27)  

That charge is given to every one of us. As Jesus says to his followers in the Ascension narrative, at Acts 1.8:

“…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar′ia and to the end of the earth.”

We have all been baptized ‘by water and the Spirit’; we have been called to witness to Jesus. We are asked to point away from ourselves to Jesus; we are challenged to lead others to the person of Jesus. The best way to do that is through our own evident attachment to the Lord. If others readily perceive us as people in touch with the deep and generous life of God, as people worth emulating, we are fulfilling our baptismal ministry.  

Yours in Christ,  

Fr Michael Bowie 
Assistant Priest
All Saints Margaret Street 

Please pray for those who have asked most urgently for our prayers:  Asia Bibi, Bishop Michael Perham, Anthony O’Connor , Hans Ashbourne, Melanie Stimmler, Bill Rodger and Alix Bainbridge-Spring.  

For the recently departed:   Barbara (Bobby) Wilson, Sarah Bayon, Oswald Clark, Alexander Chamberlain, Jill Harrison, Eric Greer, Howard Levett, Jill Saward, Udho Forward, Michael Ovey (Priest), David Galilee (Priest), Jean Sheppard and Yap Kim Kee.  

Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: John Spencer, Margaret Herwood, George Haines, Dennis Black, Elizabeth King, Albert Sheppard, Arnold Lawson KBE FRCS, Kate Gorge, Josephine Whittley, Harris Charlton, William Clark, Hannah Berry, John Snoswell, Gwyneth Bishop, Virginia Smith, Isabella Fotheringham, Frank Whitehill, Armory Lay, Annie Waggett, Maggie Dibley, Derek Allen (Priest), Ernest Swanton and Edith Laing.

For full service information: www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk.

WORSHIP THIS WEEK: 

SATURDAY 14 JANUARY 11.30am Rosary and Walsingham Devotions, followed by 12 Noon Low Mass of Our Lady of Walsingham. 

SUNDAY 15 JANUARY – Epiphany 2

HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: Fr Michael Bowie
Missa Euge Bone – Tye
Kyrie le Roy – Taverner
Tribulis miraculis – Marenzio 

There is an Events Committee Meeting in the Parish Office after Mass.

Sunday Lunch is served – tickets £5 on sale from the All Saints Shop in the Parish Room before and again after Mass. The chefs are John McWhinney and Paul Weston and the menu is:
Chicken casserole with tomato, peppers, courgettes, onion and aubergine with basil. Apple and pear crumble with fresh cream for pudding and coffee.

EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm  
Preacher: Fr Julian Browning 
Stanford in A 
Verbum caro factum est – Hassler 

WORSHIP NEXT WEEK

SUNDAY 22 JANUARY – Epiphany 3 
HIGH MASS, 11am 
Preacher: Fr Julian Browning
Cantus Missæ – Rheinberger
The Lamb – Tavener 

EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher: The Vicar,
Prebendary Alan Moses
Chichester Service – Walton
Great and marvellous are thy works – Tomkins

WORSHIP SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 
THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE (Candlemas) – 
CANDLE PROCESSION & HIGH MASS, 11am 
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses 
Missa Brevis in F, K 192 – Mozart 
When to the temple Mary went – Eccard

PARISH NOTICES & NEWS 

SCHEDULED BUILDING – HEALTH & SAFETY NOTICE – VICARAGE HALLWAY

From Tuesday 10 until Wednesday 18 January we are relaying the flagstones in the doorways and repairing the tiled floor of the vicarage hallway. Progress has been good this week and we are currently on schedule. The flagstone in the mouth of the courtyard doorway has been renewed and therefore that door is open once again to provide access. From today Friday 13 January the doorway from the street to the hallway will be out of action until the morning of Wednesday 18 January. This area involves more work than the courtyard door.  

So, we would ask you to minimize comings and goings through the vicarage hallway during this period, in the interests of health & safety, as there are trip hazards, dust and workmen and equipment in a small space. If you can avoid taking this route altogether, please do so. If you must use this route (having considered all alternatives), please take great care and observe any restrictions in place to protect you. You may find it helpful to phone the Parish Office on 020 7 636 1788 to check on your particular route if having access at this time is essential. There will be a clear path for Sundays. While we have the specialists on site for this project, we aim to have them look at the repair to the tiled wall in the south choir aisle adjacent to the vestry where the new lighting box was installed as part of the Phase IV Restoration Project. Thank you in advance for your understanding and apologies for any inconvenience related to this essential repair work.

There is a meeting of the PCC in the Parish Room on Monday 16 January at 7pm.  

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN WESTMINSTER
AGM, Talk and Displays on Homelessness in the City of Westminster
Time & Date: 6.30 for 7pm – 9pm, Monday, 16 January
Venue: Crown Court Church of Scotland, Russell Street, London WC2B 5EZ
Following the CTiW AGM, which is expected to be fairly brief, there will be a talk entitled Homelessness & Encounter on the subject of homelessness generally in the City of Westminster, and especially amongst young people. The speaker will be Colin Glover from The Connection St Martin-in-the-Field.

Refreshments will follow with the opportunity to browse displays by a number of leading organisations helping the homeless, including West London Mission and Westminster Churches Night Shelter (Methodist), Depaul Trust, The Passage and Home for Good (resettlement support) Scheme (RC), Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church (Baptist), and Borderline (supporting homeless Scots in London). Displays will also be open prior to the AGM, and there will be the opportunity to speak with representatives from the organisations.  All are welcome. Entrance is Free.

SUNDAY EVENING ORGAN RECITAL – TIMOTHY BYRAM-WIGFIELD
Sunday 29 January, 7.15pm (after Benediction)
Programme
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564 – J.S.Bach
Ave Maria, Op. 12 – Johannes Brahms
From ‘La Nativité du Seigneur’  (1935): La Vièrge et L’Enfant – Olivier Messiaen  
‘Jesus bids us shine’from ‘Six Fantasies on Hymn Tunes’, Op.  72, No. 4 – Kenneth Leighton
Final, from Symphonie No 6, Op. 59 – Louis Vierne
Entry is free, but we invite you to make a retiring donation (recommended £5) to support the Choir and Music at All Saints. The All Saints Licensed Club/Bar below the Church will be open after
the recital (new 2017 membership subscription now payable: £3).

SMALL CHOIRS FESTIVAL at ALL SAINTS  – Saturday 4 February 2017,
Afternoon Rehearsal 2-4.30pm with 5pm Festival Service
The organist will be Gary Sieling (once Assistant Organist of Peterborough cathedral and now 50% organist and 50% HGV driver) with Fr. John Burniston (St James’, Islington) presiding.
In a thousand vestries around the UK, curly, sepia photographs of proud, serried choristers from the years before the Great War remind us how the great choral tradition in English churches has diminished. Many of these vestries never see a choir these days and in others just a small group of singers gathers Sunday by Sunday; unable to sing most of the repertoire and, almost certainly, with few or no men.

It was from this environment that, in 2004, the first Small Choirs Festival emerged. After a few years, the repertoire from these festivals was made available as downloads on the internet and sparked a surprising amount of interest from English speaking choirs around the world. So Small Choirs International was born, which now has over 360 affiliated choirs from all continents except Antarctica, with 780 pieces of music available for free download with the permission of the copyright owners. The editors, arrangers and composers come from across the UK, USA, Europe, and the Antipodes.

The 2017 Festival repertoire consists of two familiar pieces arranged for SA Men, and some new pieces with flexible requirements. ALL singers who support the ideals of Small Choirs are invited to be part of the festival, whether they belong to a small choir or not and any All Saints’ congregation members who feel that they would like to be supportive are encouraged to sing. Even if you aren’t available to sing, do support the concluding Festival Service from 5-6pm. All welcome.

Further information is available at www.small-choirs.org.uk/feb2017 [with the repertoire to be sung] or from Philip Norman (07939 064 247) pkn@pnms.co.uk.  The Small Choirs website: small-choirs.org.uk.

NB. Change of date: POETRY TEA, Sunday 26 February 3pm (not the Saturday as previously advised), at Pamela’s home.  Please bring “Your Favourite Poetry and Prose”.  If you would like to come to this event please speak to Pamela or Sandra in the courtyard, or ring Sandra on 020 7637 8456 leaving your name and phone number.  Charge £6 in aid of the All Saints’ Restoration Fund.
 

** MISSION NEWS**
Men’s clothing especially is needed by the Jesus Centre in Margaret Street and also by the Soup Kitchen at the American International Church, both of whom  provide a daily range of services to homeless people. If you have women’s or men’s clothes to give away, please bring to Church and leave at the Parish Office so we can continue to help support our neighbours’ efforts. The Church Army is now also collecting women’s clothes for their Homeless Hostel so all donations can be found a good new home!

The Soup Kitchen specifically calls for: men’s trousers (sizes 32-36) and men’s sturdy/athletic shoes (sizes 9-12 especially) and say ‘we are also beginning to need men’s outerwear of all varieties and we always need rucksacks and duffle-bags to help our guests carry their belongings!’

We have recently received an email of thanks from Miranda Suit, Director of the Soup Kitchen:

Dear Friends, Thank you for your wonderful support throughout 2016.  Once again our Christmas Luncheon on 10 December was a very fitting way to round off the year – do have a look at some of the photos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Soup-Kitchen-at-the-American-International-Church/298663436940986

However it was bittersweet for me, as I will be leaving my job here in the next few months, partly to help look after my new grandson.  I have been here for over 10 years and made so many dear friends, so it will be a wrench, but I know the right replacement will be found.  With such committed staff and volunteers, a great Board and supporters like you, the vision of the SK is secure and set to grow.  We will let you know when the actual date of my departure has been decided. Warm wishes to all of you, Miranda

Miranda Suit, Director of the Soup Kitchen (part-time, usually in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays) says: Please drop me a line if you are planning to drop things off here. As always, many thanks for your support. Soup Kitchen at the American International Church, 79a Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TD T: 020 7580 2791    www.amchurch.co.uk/soup-kitchen/

ALL SAINTS REGULAR MISSION PROJECTS:- 

Marylebone Project – emergency refuge and rehoming project for homeless women. 
USPG –work with those experiencing Aids and HIV in Zimbabwe.  

ONGOING SUPPORT for HOMELESS PEOPLE through: 
MARYLEBONE PROJECT run by the CHURCH ARMY – 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 helped to provide the funds for one of the 4 beds – offers a safe haven and refuge for women escaping domestic violence, financial crisis, sexual exploitation and mental health issues. 

Year Round Support – we also support the Marylebone Resettlement Project with non-perishable food and toiletries or household necessities like cutlery or bed linen/blankets. Thank you to everyone who contributes food and household essentials via the basket in Church or handed in to the Parish Office. Please continue to donate these so we can help more people in need.

Day-to-day Support – we respond to the needs of homeless people who visit the church allowing them to sleep there in the daytime and signposting them to other agencies who can offer help and donating £1,000 in 2016 towards the Soup Kitchen at the American International Church in Tottenham Court Road this year. We also allow 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 and as the cold weather starts to bite, please help us fund and support people in need through our Mission activities.

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 or tell them about our websitewww.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk, which has a full colour 360 virtual tour for viewing the wonderfully restored interior of the Church – seewww.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk/history/virtual tour – before a visit or if unable to travel. 

* If you know of others (near or far) who would like to receive this regular update on what’s happening at All Saints 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. Or make use of the prayer request facility on the website at: www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk/prayer. 

* 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@gmail.com.

DAILY SERVICES AT ALL SAINTS 
On major weekday feasts, High Mass is sung at 6.30pm 

SUNDAYS in Church 
Low Mass 6.30pm (Saturday), 8am and 5.15pm. Morning Prayer 10.20am
HIGH MASS and SERMON, 11am and   
EVENSONG, SERMON and BENEDICTION, 6pm. 

MONDAY – FRIDAY
Morning Prayer 7.30am
Low Mass – 8am, 1.10pm and 6.30pm
Evening Prayer 6pm
(Except Bank Holidays – 12 noon Mass only)

SATURDAY 
Morning Prayer 7.30am
Low Mass – 12 noon and 6.30pm (First Mass of Sunday) 
Evening Prayer 6pm

Confessions 
A priest is available for confessions/counsel Monday – Friday from 12.30-1pm and at 5.30pm Monday – Saturday, or by appointment. (Special arrangements apply in Lent and for Holy Week.)

www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk and e-mail: astsmgtst@aol.com