All Saints Parish Newsletter 18th March 2016
Dear Friend,
Our Lord entered Jerusalem to go to his Passion. That is how it turned out. Historically speaking, his motive was probably to lay down the final challenge to his people to accept the message and coming of the kingdom of God, knowing that his action would probably cost him his life. They rejected his message and brought him to the cross. As John’s Gospel reminds us (12.16) the true meaning of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem did not dawn on his disciples until after Easter. Then they came to see that the entry was paradoxically the procession of a king to his coronation (his crown would be of thorns and his throne a cross). In this event we are supposed to catch a biblical echo:- Zechariah 9.9:-
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Like Mark (and in contrast to Matthew and John), Luke, from whom we’ll hear the Palm Gospel this year, does not repeat that prophecy of Zechariah, but we are nonetheless expected to know it: the keyword is the ‘colt’ which Jesus rides.
Despite much that has been said and written about the humility of this beast, it is in fact a royal animal (the point of the donkey as opposed to a horse is that horses are for war, and this is to be a peaceful triumph), so this acted parable evokes the entrance of King David into his city. Pilgrims generally approached the Holy City on foot. To ride any animal in these circumstances rather than walk was scarcely humble and the action is the more extraordinary since Jesus seems to walk everywhere else. And, as Luke notices, the more important point is that has not previously been ridden (Luke 19.30).
This makes the animal, once again, fit for a king. The irony of his kingship, its challenge to worldly categories, will be demonstrated in the crown and throne which follow. A further peculiarity of Luke’s version of this triumphal entry is his paraphrase of the word Hosanna: Mark and Matthew record the cry as ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! … Hosanna in the highest!’ But Luke offers a translation of this word at 19.38:
‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’
This not only explains the Hebrew word for Luke’s Greek readers and listeners, but also deliberately recalls the song of the angels at the birth of Christ, a detail unique to Luke’s gospel. Peace and glory were there proclaimed as a future promise that would become reality only through the cross. Christmas cannot be detached from Good Friday and Easter except at the cost of trivialising and sentimentalising it. Because of Christmas Good Friday and Easter are connected to us, not theoretically or philosophically, but in our DNA.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Michael Bowie
Assistant Priest
Please pray for those who have asked for our prayers: Asia Bibi, John Bailey, Fr Allan Buick, Vivien Caplowe, James Cary-Elwes, Dennis Davis, Mark Dougly, Kate Down, David Fettke, Jonty Gordon, Adrian Gunning, Ghislain Hamelin, Lewis Harvey, Minnie Hodgetts, Gwyneth Hopkins, Julia Holland and family, Myrtle Hughes, Pat Hunt, David Jewkes, Alice Jullien, Julie Knight, Andrew Laird, Tom Leader, Miriam Nelson, Oliver Orr, David Pearce, Canon John Rees, Jock Scott, Patricia Searle, Stella and Helen Skinner, Rose Stephens, Madeleine Storer, Christine van Dyck, Robert Walmsley and Joy Wright.
For the recently departed: Ellen Hirschberg, Rod Jones, Caroline Andrews and Liz Browne.
Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: Christine Tagoe, Mary Steward, Hugh Wiley, Emily Pattisson, Margaret Baker, Charlotte Read, Olive Evans, Geoffrey Constable, Constance Kirk, Belle McCarthy (matron of the Choir School), Beryl Williams, Ralph Ballard and Mary Montgomery.
For full service information: www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk.
TODAY Friday 18 March – The devotion of STATIONS OF THE CROSS will take place after the Evening Mass at All Saints at 7.05pm.
WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY 20 MARCH – PALM SUNDAY
HIGH MASS, 11am but Liturgy of the Palms starts in Market Place with Procession to Church at 10.45am (subject to the weather)
Preacher: Bishop Jack Nicholls
Mass in four parts – Byrd
Vinea mea electa – Poulenc
There is Sunday Lunch service this week and Frances O’Neil is the chef. Tickets £5 on sale in the Parish Shop in the Parish Room before and after Mass (subject to availability).
CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher: Bishop Jack Nicholls
Third Service – Byrd
Versa est in luctum – Lobo
ORGAN RECITAL AFTER BENEDICTION, 7.15pm
Laurence Long (All Saints’ Organ Scholar)
Programme:
Praeludium in G minor, BuxWV 148 – Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637/39-1707)
VIII from ‘A Little Organ Book in Memory of Sir Hubert Parry’– Harold Darke (1888-1976)
Jésus accepte la souffrance (VII from ‘La Nativité du Seigneur’) – Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Vater unser im Himmelreich – Georg Böhm (1661-1733)
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 – J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
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 this recital.
Please see the noticeboard in Church where other events may be advertised as space is limited in the Newsletter.
WORSHIP NEXT WEEK – HOLY WEEK and EASTER 2016
Preacher: Bishop Jack Nicholls
CONFESSION TIMES:
Mon 21, Tues 22 March, 12 – 1pm and 5 – 6pm
Wed 23 March, 12 – 1pm and 5 – 5.45pm
Maundy Thursday 24 March, 5 – 6pm
MAUNDY THURSDAY WATCH OF THE PASSION
Please sign the sheet of hours on the lectern in the Baptistery if you can commit to keeping the Watch at a particular time.
HOLY WEEK Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – 6.30pm Mass with Homily
Wednesday 23 March – 7.30pm TENEBRAE for Maundy Thursday
MAUNDY THURSDAY 24 March – 6.30pm
HIGH MASS of the Lord’s Supper with foot washing
GOOD FRIDAY 25 March
12 noon The Preaching of the Passion
1 – 3pm The Solemn Liturgy of the Passion
6.30pm Stations of the Cross
HOLY SATURDAY, 26 March
12 noon Liturgy of the Day
9pm HIGH MASS of the Easter Vigil by candlelight
Missa Brevis – Jonathan Dove
EASTER DAY, Sunday 27 March
11am Procession, Blessing of the Easter Garden & HIGH MASS with Holy Baptism
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Krönungsmesse, K 317 – Mozart
This joyful Eastertide – anon Dutch
My beloved spake – Hadley
6pm Festal Evensong, Te Deum and Benediction
Preacher: Fr Michael Bowie, Assistant Priest
Magnificat in A – Stanford
Nunc Dimittis – Tone V
Easter – Vaughan Williams
Te Deum: Collegium Regale – Howells
ALL SAINTS LENT APPEAL 2016
As part of Lenten almsgiving, collections for our Appeal will be shared equally between the following three charities:
- Bishop of London’s Lent Appeal 2016
Fundraising for two reputable charities active among the beleaguered Christian communities in Iraq and Syria:
Open Doors – providing emergency food supplies and hygiene kits to 10,000 families every month in Syria and
Aid to the Church in Need – focusing in Iraq on urgent needs for housing, medicine and education to allow the Church to maintain its Christian presence and witness Jesus Christ. - Us (formerly USPG)
Supporting the church in Zimbabwe working with those affected by HIV and AIDS and providing local clergy and lay leaders with skills and training to undertake that work. - The Marylebone Project – our regular year-round mission project, run by the Church Army – empowering homeless women into independent living. Our money goes towards the emergency bed unit, providing urgent accommodation for women escaping domestic violence, financial crisis, sexual exploitation and mental health issues.
In 2015 we raised a total of £3,900 (including Gift Aid). To date this year we have received £1,855, including Gift Aid. Please give generously so we can try and raise over £4,000 in 2016.
Lent plate collections will take place at particular services in Holy Week. Please make cheques payable to: Parochial Church All Saints (Lent Appeal). Please Gift Aid donations wherever possible – whether coin Lent boxes signing and completing a yellow envelope to accompany cheque or coins to increase the value of your donation by 25%.
Please return donations to the Parish Shop or the Parish Office from Sunday 20 March and preferably by Sunday 3 April (to allow us to promptly claim the Gift Aid and send cheques to the recipients).
The Marylebone Project has delivered their latest newsletter – copies of which can be found on the table in Church – in which they advise of their new Patron singer Ellie Goulding and make an Easter Egg Appeal. Following the success of their first Egg Appeal in 2015, they ask if anyone is able to donate a chocolate Easter egg to the Project for their residents and Day Centre service users? If you can help, please deliver your egg by Sunday 20 March as you would non-perishable food and household items and we will get them to the Project for Easter.
NEW STATIONS FOR A ‘NEW JERUSALEM’
(exhibited at 14 locations across London)
On the day he died, Jesus walked the Via Dolorosa through the streets of Jerusalem, a holy city for Jews, which would later become sacred to Christians and Muslims. Jesus’ journey is traditionally commemorated by the Stations of the Cross. Across the chasm of two thousand years, this tortured path resonates with current events for people of many faiths and cultures. In particular, it calls to mind the hazardous journeys of refugees from today’s Middle East.
This unique exhibition – held in 14 locations across London – uses works of art to tell the story of the Passion in a new way, for people of different faiths. In this pilgrimage for art lovers, viewers will travel across London, mapping the geography of the Holy Land onto the streets of a ‘new Jerusalem.’ The Stations will weave through religious as well as secular spaces, from cathedrals to museums. The art on display runs the gamut from Old Master paintings to contemporary video installations. Artists include Christians, Jews, Muslims, and atheists. Instead of easy answers, the Stations aim to provoke the passions: artistically, spiritually, and politically.
Commenting on the Pilgrimage, The Bishop of Stepney, The Rt Revd Adrian Newman, said:
“These remarkable Stations of the Cross represent an iconic Lent pilgrimage across the landscape of contemporary London. They navigate a journey filled with modern meaning – dispossessed communities, fleeing refugees, displaced identities, and all who suffer injustice and oppression. This is visual art which melts the distinctions between sacred and secular, past and present, material and spiritual, offering up a liminal experience here on the streets of this culturally diverse capital city. Art and Christianity have a wonderful history, and I’m delighted to see this exhibition bring them together in such a creative way.”
Supporting the exhibition, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, said:
“For many centuries, the Passion of Jesus has inspired artists to some of their most outstanding work. I warmly welcome this innovative ‘Stations of the Cross’ project, bringing together Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist churches, as well as museums and public spaces around London, to enrich with new artistic endeavour our meditation on the redemptive suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
“The narrative of the Passion, embodied through these 14 impressive works of art, provides a powerful encouragement to think about not only the suffering of Jesus in this Lenten season, but the suffering of innocent people around the world. I pray that this exhibition will be a great success and wish to thank most sincerely the curators, artists, and institutions who have made it happen.”
Visitors can take this tour by downloading maps and podcasts from the Coexhist House website, along with a new app, ‘Alight,’ Details about prayer services, lectures, performances, and other associated events at the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection, and churches across London are available on the site and cash donations can be pledged online for Syrian refugees. The exhibition is supported by King’s College London, Cambridge Inter-faith, Programme, Coexist House, and Art & Sacred Places.
PARISH RETREAT, 6 – 8 May 2016
The 2016 All Saints Parish Retreat will be from 6 – 8 May at Bishop Woodford House in Ely.
It will be conducted by Fr Barry Orford. If you want to come, or would like further information, please contact Martin Woolley on 07976275383 or at m.g.woolley@btinternet.com. Rooms will be allocated in the order in which bookings are received.
UPCOMING SERVICES & EVENTS AT ALL SAINTS
All Saints, Margaret Street & The Cleaver Ordination Candidates Fund
SATURDAY 9 APRIL 2016
CENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF
FRIEDERICA FRANCES SWINBURNE
(Donor of the Lady Altar & No. 6 Margaret Street &
Foundress of the Cleaver Ordination Candidates Fund)
11.30 am Solemn High Mass of Requiem
Preacher: The Ven. Luke Miller, Archdeacon of London
Walter Vale, Requiem Mass in D flat
2.30 pm The 2016 Roy Porter Lecture – The Revd Dr Robert Beaken
‘A Snapshot of Anglo-Catholicism in 1916’
4.30 pm Solemn Evensong & Benediction
All welcome
SUNDAY 10 APRIL 2016
MEETING OF PARISHIONERS and
ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING, 12.45pm
A Meeting of Parishioners will be held in Church, at which Churchwardens for the year 2016 – 2017 will be appointed. All persons whose names are entered on the church electoral roll of the parish and all persons resident in the parish whose names are entered on a register of local government electors by reason of such residence are eligible to attend. Any person wishing to be considered for the Post of Churchwarden must be (a) 21 years of age or over, (b) on the Electoral Roll and (c) an actual communicant member of the Church of England. Nominations must be proposed and seconded, and candidates must indicate their willingness to stand. In addition, candidates are asked to submit a short typed or clearly written statement giving the reasons for their wishing to stand, and the benefits they could bring to the post if appointed. Nominations for the post of Churchwarden MAY NOT be made at the meeting.
Prebendary L. A. Moses, Vicar, 18 March 2016
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) will follow immediately. Only persons whose names are entered on the church electoral roll of the parish are eligible to attend. At the meeting five members of the laity will be elected to serve on the Parochial Church Council for the years 2016 – 2019 and one member of the laity the to serve for the years 2016 – 2018. The retiring members of the Council are John McWhinney, Frances O’Neil, Colin Podmore, Keith Postance, Stuart Voy and Shawn Welby-Cooke. Of these, only Frances O’Neil, Colin Podmore, and Shawn Welby-Cooke are eligible for re-election. Candidates for election must be (a) on the Electoral Roll, (b) at least 16 years of age, and (c) actual communicant members of the Church of England. All nominations must be proposed and seconded by persons on the Electoral Roll and all candidates must indicate a willingness to stand. In addition, candidates are asked to submit a short typed or clearly handwritten statement giving their reasons for standing for election. Nomination forms may be obtained from the PCC Secretary or the parish office. Although nominations may be made at the meeting, it would be helpful if completed nomination forms, together with statements, are returned to the PCC Secretary at the parish office by Monday 28 March to enable the papers to be available one week before the Annual Meeting. Sidesmen for the year 2016 – 2017 will be appointed at the meeting and the Independent Auditor for the year 2016 – 2017.
The meeting will also consider:
(a) A Report of on changes in the electoral roll since the last annual parochial church meeting.
(b) The Annual Report of the proceedings of the parochial church council and activities of the parish generally including the Financial Statements for the year ended 31st December 2015.
(c) A Report from the Churchwardens on the fabric and articles of the Church.
(d) A Report on the proceedings of the Deanery Synod.
and other matters of parochial or general Church interest.
John McWhinney, Honorary PCC Secretary, 18 March 2016
SATURDAY 16 APRIL 2016
CHORAL EVENSONG at 3.30pm
Sung by the All Saints Margaret Street Former Choristers Group
Organist: Harry Bramma
Canticles: Specially composed by Martin Bruce
Anthem: Never Weather-Beaten Sail,
Words by Thomas Campion, specially composed by Louis Halsey
SERVICES & EVENTS FOR MARCH & APRIL 2016
BEYOND ALL SAINTS
St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square
Saturday 19 March, 11am
The Violence of Peacemaking – Archbishop Romero and
the Search for Peace
An ecumenical service organised by the Archbishop Romero Trust to mark the 36th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero
Preacher: Francisco de Roux SJ, Peace Advocate in Colombia
Officiant: Revd Richard Carter
Two important Aid to the Church in Need events for your diary this Lent:
Farm Street Church Hall, 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH
Syria – “I was hungry and you fed me” An Eyewitness Account of a Country in Crisis – TONIGHT – Friday 18 March 2016, 18.45pm
Entrance Free with a collection for suffering Christians in Syria.
Refreshments in the Hall.
Back from Syria, John Pontifex, Aid to the Church in Need UK’s Head of Press & Information, will report on visits to places severely affected by violence and extreme poverty including Homs, Damascus and the Valley of the Christians. He will assess the current situation and show how ACN is providing emergency relief – food, shelter, heating and medicine both in Syria – notably Aleppo – and in neighbouring Lebanon.
Lenten Way of the Cross Service
Sung by the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School
Monday 21 March 2016, 7pm
St Patrick’s Church, Soho Square, 21a Soho Square, London, W1D 4NR
Entrance Free – with a collection for suffering Christians. Refreshments in the Hall, followed by a short update by ACN’s John Pontifex on his recent visit to Syria and the launch of ACN’s Persecuted Christians Need You campaign. Music will include: ‘Miserere mei’ by William Byrd and pieces of great spiritual beauty by Felice Anerio, Pablo Casals, Antonio Lotti and Thomas Tallis. A wonderful and reverent way to mark Holy Week.
Please register your interest for these two Aid to the Church in Need events by contacting Johnny Dowling at john.dowling@acnuk.org or 020 8642 8668
St Mary le Strand, WC2
Tuesday 5 April, 1pm
Bishop Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College Cambridge & former Archbishop of Canterbury will launch a new series of conversations around the theme FAITH IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE
All welcome, but please reserve a free place via the church website: www.stamarylestrand.org.
HUGH PRICE HUGHES LECTURES 2016
All lectures will be held at Hinde St Methodist Church at 7.30pm. Admission is free & all are welcome! www.hindestreet.org.uk/hph
This series will invite you to reflect on how other ways of knowing and seeing – “faith” commitments for some – relate to their Christian faith. These alternative and complementary ways of knowing and seeing, sometimes portrayed negatively by people of faith, have the potential to deepen our understanding of our faith commitments and enable us to engage more constructively with the wider world.
12 April – Rev Ric Stott, Artist & Methodist Pioneer minister
Identity, Modernity and Faith
10 May – Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Journalist
Living as Christians in Multi-faith Britain and
the Importance of Religious Literacy
14 June – Michael Wakelin, Religion & Media Consultant
ALL SAINTS MISSION ACTIVITIES:-
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 during the cold weather.
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 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/virtualtour – 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
CHORAL EVENSONG, SERMON and BENEDICTION, 6pm.