All Saints Parish Newsletter 11th December 2015 | All Saints Margaret Street All Saints Margaret Street | All Saints Parish Newsletter 11th December 2015

All Saints Parish Newsletter 11th December 2015

Friday 11 December 2015 at 13:53

Dear Friend,

“Rejoice in the Lord, always; again I will say rejoice.”

Paul’s words which begin the epistle on the Third Sunday of Advent have a long-association with it. Used as the Introit or Entrance Chant they have given it its latin name Gaudete Sunday. In response to this call to be joyful, tradition allows a lightening of the sombre tones of Advent – purple gives way to rose pink investments and hangings – the organ is heard rather more during services.

Unless we live in a world of make-believe, we might wonder what there is to be joyful about at the moment with British warplanes involved in the attempt to halt the cruel rampage of the “Islamic State,” with terror on the streets of Paris and San Bernardino and the prospect of it on our own. The lot of folk in Cumbria flooded out of their homes just in time for Christmas, may not be in the same league as that of people fleeing war and persecution in Syria and Iraq, but it is hardly a happy one.  There seems all too much to be anxious about.

If Paul had been writing from a comfortable vicarage study in London, we might not take him very seriously. In fact, he wrote from captivity, knowing that release might only come through death. This lends to his words an authority and seriousness they might not otherwise have: both for his beloved Philippians who first heard them read, and for us who hear them as holy scripture in our Advent worship.

In the midst of urging us to rejoice, to let our gentleness be known to everyone, not to worry but to pray, Paul says, “The Lord is near.”  

We can understand this in two ways: the Lord is near in time or in space. If the former, then the Philippians could rejoice, live gently and free from anxiety, because the Lord’s return is imminent.  While there are those who seize on any and every tragic event in the world as a sign of that return, the experience of 2000 years of Christian history, and our Lord’s own warnings against such speculation, make us wonder if these words have anything to say to us. Did Paul just get the timetable wrong?

We find an answer in the other meaning of “The Lord is near.”  This echoes the Psalter which sings of the Lord’s nearness to reassure the broken-hearted and those who seek him. The presence of Jesus, his coming to us here and now, in word and sacrament, in prayer and fellowship, not just at the end of time, is what motivates rejoicing and gentleness.   Our response to all that causes anxiety – be it in the world at large or in our personal lives, our relationships and our work, – is to be prayer. “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  In such a life, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding can lift the burden of anxiety.

The link between supplication and thanksgiving found at the heart of our worship in the eucharist is vital. We can pray because the Lord is near and hears us. Paul does not promise that our prayers will be answered just as we want, but that whatever the outcome, in that peace of God which guards our hearts and minds, we will find freedom from anxiety. That freedom enables us to be gentle when we are tempted to anger, to be joyful when our natural inclination is to be bitter and resentful, to be hopeful instead of despairing. We are freed to act in ways which make a difference, enriching both the lives of others and ourselves, so that we find yet more to rejoice in.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Alan Moses
Prebendary Alan Moses
Vicar of All Saints Margaret Street
Area Dean of Westminster – St Marylebone

Please pray for those who have asked for our prayers: Asia Bibi, John Bradshaw, Fr Allan Buick, James Cary-Elwes, Ian Coull, Dennis Davis, Mark Dougly, Kate Down, David Fettke, Jonty Gordon, Lewis Harvey, Gwyneth Hopkins, Pat Hunt, David Jewkes, Alice Jullien, Andrew Laird, Tom Leader, Elizabeth Livingstone, Christine Loffty, Sister Martha (SMNC Tanzania), Miriam Nelson, Gordon Orme, David Pearce, Father Gerald Reddington, Canon John Rees, Jock Scott, Patricia Searle, Stella Skinner and Helen, Rose Stephens, Judy Stewart, Buzz Stokes, Christine van Dyck and Janet White.

For the recently departed: Mah, Wrenne Atkinson, Margaret Bowie, Geoff Dell, Peter Thompson (whose Funeral takes place today Friday 4 December) and Sr Frances Claire SSM (Funeral 23/12/2015 10.30am), Thomas Markey, Robin Fletcher (former Administrator of the All Saints Foundation and for whom a High Mass of Requiem will be held at All Saints on Thursday 28 January at 11am) and Valmai Jewkes.

Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: Mary Packer, David Vickery, John Turner, Lindsey Boynton, William Lloyd (Priest), Robert Kirk, James Forsyth, Doris King, Leonard Beeken, Edwin Forsyth, Joan Gower, Philip Prain (former Treasurer and PCC member) and Ena Knight.

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER – THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher:
The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Orgelsolomesse – Mozart
A Hymn to the Virgin – Britten

PARISH CHRISTMAS LUNCH, Sunday 13 December
This is the final parish lunch of 2015. Tom Leeman has kindly offered to provide a full Christmas lunch for the occasion – Hand Carved Norfolk Turkey with Bread Sauce and Cranberry Jelly – Walnut Stuffing – Roast Potatoes – Buttered Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon – Baby Garden Carrots – Served with Festive Gravy – Traditional Christmas Pudding – Brandy Butter – Coffee and Mints. Tickets: £7 to include complementary glass of wine, will be on sale in the Parish shop before and after Mass (subject to availability).

CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher:
Fr Michael Bowie
Howells Gloucester Service
It is high time – Bramma

WORSHIP NEXT SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER – FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: Fr Julian Browning
Missa Ave Maria – Palestrina
The Rose of Bethlehem – Murray

CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Fauxbourdons – Tomkins
Canite tuba in Sion – Guerrero

PARISH NOTICES

NEW POSTCARDS AVAILABLE

Now that the Church has been re-lit following the big Restoration Appeal and Electrical Renewal Project, we have been able to take some new photographs and create some new All Saints postcards. These are on sale in the Parish Shop on Sundays and from the Parish Office (Mon – Fri 10 – 5) and from Church Watchers during the week in Church. Price: 30p each or a special deal of 4 for £1. The first set of postcard images are of: the High Altar, Christ in Majesty, the West window and the Chancel ceiling. Further images we hope to follow in 2016 will include: Our Lady and the Lady Altar.

CHURCH ARMY HOSTEL CHRISTMAS APPEAL 
Thank you to everyone who kindly donated small gifts to the Hostel for Homeless Women over the last couple of weeks. A substantial delivery was made by car on Friday 11 December and was much appreciated. 

THE POETRY TEA last weekend raised £65.75 (including Gift Aid) for the All Saints Restoration Appeal. Thank you to all attendees!

MINCE PIES – Thank you to everyone who has already contributed mince pies to help towards our hospitality at the various Church carol services.  Could any further contributions please be given to Janet Drake/Chris Self by Sunday 13 December.

CALLING ALL WOULD-BE CAROL SINGERS!
Thursday 17 December 2015, 6.30pm for 6.45 – 7.30pm – All Saints is carol singing in Oxford Street once again and we need cheerful singers to make a joyful & pleasant sound. Please join us (meet in the Parish Office at 6.30pm) to sing and collect for two homeless charity projects in London – West London Day Centre and the Church Army Hostel for Homeless Women in Marylebone. Wrap up warmly! Mulled wine and mince pies to thank you afterwards in the Vicarage. For further information, speak to Janet Drake and let her or the Parish Office know if you can come and be part of the merry band.

DECEMBER ALL SAINTS’ EVENTS for your DIARIES 

Tuesday 15 December 7pm CHRISTMAS CHARITY CONCERT in aid of Worldwide Cancer Research – Season’s Greetings. Christmas Carol Concert with the All Saints Choir and special guest mezzo-soprano Worldwide Cancer Research charity ambassador Deborah Humble. Tickets £20 or £50 for a family ticket at worldwidecancerresearch.org/fundraising/event/carol-service. After the service you are invited to stay and enjoy mulled wine and mince pies with the trustees of and the scientists funded by Worldwide Cancer Research.

Please Note: no 6.30pm Mass on Tuesday 15 December.

CAROL SINGING IN THE PARISH, Thursday 17 December, 6.30pm – Assemble at All Saints (Parish Office – via the door to the right of the church courtyard). All are welcome to come along and sing. Collection for the West London Day Centre & the Church Army Hostel for Homeless Women in Marylebone.
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LUNCHTIME CAROL SERVICE
Friday 18 December, 12.30pm.
Mince pies and mulled wine served afterwards.
Do join us in a lunchbreak or before or after Christmas shopping!

CANDLE-LIT FESTIVAL OF NINE LESSONS and CAROLS, Monday 21 December 2015, 6pm
Followed by mince pies and mulled wine.
All welcome – please bring some friends.
PLEASE NOTE: The collection at this service will be in aid of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East – a small UK-Based charity working in northern Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Palestine, providing food, medical relief and accommodation to refugees in the camps and to the internally displaced in Iraq who have been made homeless by Isis.

CHRISTMAS EVE Midnight Mass & Blessing of the Crib
Thursday 24 December 11pm 
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Missa Sancti Nicolai – Haydn

CHRISTMAS DAY High Mass
Friday 25 December 11am
Preacher: Fr Michael Bowie
Spatzenmesse – Mozart

Please see the noticeboard in Church where other events may be advertised as space is limited in the Newsletter.

EVENTS FOR YOUR 2016 DIARIES – at ALL SAINTS

ORGAN RECITALS 2016 – all on Sunday at 7.15pm following Benediction
24 January – Charles Andrews
20 March – Palm Sunday – Laurence Long, Organ Scholar
22 May – Trinity Sunday – David Graham, Organist and Director of Music at The Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street Mayfair
3 July- Timothy Byram-Wigfield
18 September – Charles Andrews
20 November Christ the King – Charles Andrews

SMALL CHOIRS FESTIVAL 2016 – Saturday 6 February, 2 – 6pm 
Small Choirs was set up in 2004 to support church choirs with few or no men by organising choral festivals with a repertoire that such choirs could manage in their own churches without further support, and also by providing suitable music for such choirs in downloadable form on the internet. The website now has over 700 pieces of music suitable for such choirs and hundreds of choirs around the globe (from every continent except Antarctica) are using the site and receiving the regular newsletter and updates.

The 2016 festival is being held in All Saints. After an afternoon of rehearsing, a Festival Service will be held, with Fr. John Pritchard presiding, at which the festival pieces will be sung within a framework of well-known hymns and readings.  

The Small Choirs Festivals are ecumenical in nature and, in previous years, church choirs from all the major denominations have been represented. One of the special features of the festivals is that participation is not restricted to small choirs only. Anyone who supports the ideals of the organisation is welcome to join in, whether from a large choir themselves or just a member of the congregation of the host church. So, if anyone from All Saints would like to be part of the festival, just access the website (www.small-choirs.org.uk/feb2016), see what we are doing, and fill in the online form. Alternatively, ring Philip Norman, on 020 8519 6491.

Even if you are not available to sing, do support the concluding festival from 5 – 6pm.

The organisers of the Small Choirs Festival, Philip Norman, Philip Luke, and Glynne Williams are grateful for the opportunity to perform in All Saints, and thank Fr. Michael Bowie for extending the initial invitation.


EVENTS FOR JANUARY 2016 BEYOND ALL SAINTS

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN WESTMINSTER 2016 AGM followed by a Panel Discussion to be held Monday, 18 January 2016 at 6:30pm at St George’s Church, Hanover Square, W1S 1FX. Everyone is invited. Followed by refreshments. Panel discussion:

MASS MIGRATION: CHURCHES’ ROLE – (How do we respond? What do we want? What do we do? What is a migrant? What is a refugee?)
Speakers:
Julian Coman (Assistant Editor, The Observer)
Revd Bob Fyffe (General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain & Ireland)
Ambra Longatti (International development project worker)
Revd Nadim Nassar (Director, Awareness Foundation for Syria)

PANCAKE PARTY AT ST CYPRIAN’S – Tuesday 9 February
Fr Gerald Beauchamp writes: ‘All being well the new kitchen and toilets at St Cyprian’s should be finished by the end of January. To celebrate and to test them out informally St Cyprian’s is planning to have a pancake party on Tuesday 9 February starting at 7.30pm. I realise that you may already have plans that evening but you are very welcome to come if you are free. We will do something more official by way of thanksgiving on St Cyprian’s Day (Thursday 15 September) but that’s a bit long to wait.’ Please let Fr Gerald Beauchamp know if you can come on 9 February. E: Gerald.beauchamp@btconnect.com. Thank you.

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 – we made a substantial delivery to the Project in the first half of September and immediately fresh supplies came in and have continued to build since then. Thank you! Please continue to donate these so we can help more people in need as the cold weather begins.  

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@hotmail.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. 

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