All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear friends,

What a wonderful celebration of the Assumption we had last weekend. I am so grateful to everyone who participated and contributed in any way. It was a beautiful proclamation of our Catholic faith and a renewal of our trust in the power and efficacy of the prayers of Our Lady.

The parish party which we threw after the procession on Sunday night was terrific. Many thanks go especially to Kate Hodgetts and to Chris Self for organising it, and to all who helped serve drinks and tidy up. It was a magnificent example of our parish offering hospitality and welcome at its very best.

The liturgy and music were magnificent. Huge thanks go to Stevie Farr, our Director of Music, Jeremiah Stephenson, our Associate Director of Music, and to all the members of the choir. Not only was the music during the liturgies first-rate, but they coordinated the immensely complicated business of organising music for the procession with remarkable aplomb and success.

We are grateful that we had two bishops present with us. It was a joy to have Bishop Jonathan preside over the procession and Benediction, and it was also good to see Bishop Lindsay Urwin in choir for the liturgy too. In total, this meant we had three Guardians of the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham present, when one includes Aiden Hargreaves-Smith.

We also owe our servers a huge thank you for all the liturgies they have enabled and organised over the weekend. A special word of thanks should go to those who MC-ed the major liturgies, especially Daniel Formston, who Mc-ed the Assumption Procession for the first time. What a model of recollected calm and inspiring leadership all our MCs have been over the past few days.

I also want to record my thanks to all those who participated in any way in our efforts to raise awareness of All Saints’ through social media and to allow people to participate in our liturgies online. I am very grateful indeed to Huw Pryce and Richard Everton who masterminded the complex operation of organising the exterior live-stream. I also want to thank Mark Fleming and Charlotte Choley-Kovacevic for the magnificent work they have accomplished in photographing and filming the procession. Huge thanks to you all for your amazing work in this area!

It was so good to have a number of Chelsea Pensioners present with us on Sunday evening. I am grateful to them for their participation. What a splendid sight they were which we can all be proud of as they processed down Oxford Street forming the guard of honour for the image of Our Lady of Walsingham.

The procession would not have been possible without the time given by so many volunteers who acted as stewards. Their role is crucial in ensuring the procession goes off safely and we are all very thankful for the expert way in which they ensured the route was clear and safe for us all.

I hope this weekend can stand as a moment of joyful confidence and faithful encouragement as we seek to make known the Good News of Christ and draw others to worship and know him here in our parish community. I give thanks for the liturgical tradition that makes that possible and for all the faithful members of our congregation whose hard work and commitment made last Sunday such a wonderful celebration.

I want to express my profound gratitude to you all, and give thanks to God for all that he has done through us and our parish community over the past week.

Fr Peter

August Bible Study

Our August Bible study will focus on St Luke’s Gospel this year. The last session will take place on 27th August after the evening Mass. You can sign up for all the sessions, or just those you are able to make, here. 

Courtyard dinner – thank you!

A huge thank you to all who attended our Young Adults’ Group annual summer courtyard dinner. It was a lovely evening and. great opportunity for fellowship. It was good to see so many of our younger parishioners there and to welcome newcomers. A huge thank you goes to Fr Alan for all the hard work he put into the cooking and to preparing for the evening – we are all very grateful indeed to you, Father Alan!

Fidelium: the Oxford Movement

Fidelium, a new network for young adults who worship in parishes across the Fulham jurisdiction, will be organising a teaching mini-series this Autumn on the Oxford Movement.

This mini-series will involve a lecture given by Fr Peter at All Saints’, Margaret Street on Thursday 11th September at 7.00 pm introducing the main ideas and figures of the Oxford movement and Catholic Revival.

There will then be a day trip to Oxford on Saturday 27th September led by Fr Peter to put some of the ideas discussed in the lecture in context. The day trip will involved a visit to Pusey House, a tour of Oriel College, a pub lunch, possible punting party and then Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral.

You can sign up for the trip to Oxford here. A full list of Fidelium’s forthcoming events can be found here.

Advent retreat at Walsingham

The Advent Retreat takes place from Friday 5th December to Sunday 7th December 2025 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

All those who gather for the retreat go into silence on Friday evening after supper. Silence is then kept in the Shrine grounds through the whole of Saturday until after the Solemn Mass on Sunday morning which takes place at St Mary’s parish church.

The cost of the retreat is £260. This covers the cost of a room with full board for two nights and a transfer from Kings Lynn to Walsingham. We will follow our usual routine of asking retreatants to buy their own train tickets.  We will set off around midday on Friday 5th December and travel by train to Kings Lynn, returning to Kings Cross on Sunday evening around 7.00 pm.

You can sign up via the eventbrite link here. Nearer the time, our parish office will then be in touch with you asking you to settle the balance of what you owe.

Music sponsorship

The music at High Mass is sponsored by Steven Cox, in memory of his mother-in-law Marlene Anketell, whose first anniversary of death is on Sunday. Jesu mercy, Mary pray.

Flowers

The flowers before the statue of Our Lady of Margaret Street this week are given by Aiden and Ashley Hargreaves-Smith in ever-grateful memory of their beloved mother Valerie and grandmother Irene, whose anniversaries fall at this time.

If you would like to make a donation for flowers or the courtyard garden, please contact Shawn directly or via the office.

Parishioners and visitors enjoy our post-liturgy party in the courtyard last Sunday.

Attendance last week