All Saints Parish Newsletter 14th November 2014
Dear Friends
I first heard Sunday’s gospel (the parable of the talents) in an RE lesson at school, aged seven. I remember this so clearly because it was the first time I had heard something from the Bible that was the opposite of what I expected. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing: the man who had guarded the money entrusted to him and returned it safely to his master was punished, while the two men who had risked the master’s money by investing it were rewarded. The most successful investor was even given the talent of the poor cautious servant who had merely kept it safe. My sympathies were instinctively with the risk-averse servant, who seemed to have been treated unjustly.
This story is problematic if we get stuck on the surface of it. The problem arises from the equation of money with the Kingdom of God. You could read the parable as recommending entrepreneurial wealth-creation: indeed some have read it like that in recent memory. But while it is about risk and generosity, it isn’t about money. It is about how the Kingdom and the gifts of God are precisely unlike material wealth: it describes the working of a spiritual law rather than a principal of wealth creation. How we co-operate with our initial gift of the Spirit, given from God, will determine our own and others’ spiritual flourishing. Unlike money, the gift of the Spirit increases in being shared and given away. If we bury it we not only fail to enter into the joy of our Lord (which is the ‘gift’ of the Spirit) but we kill its work in ourselves by seeking to possess and imprison it. A gift buried is not a gift saved but a gift lost.
The parallels for a church are easy to draw.
Father Michael Bowie
Assistant Priest
All Saints Margaret Street
Please pray for those who have asked for our prayers: Douglas Beeken, Susan Beauchamp, Heather Brown, Rachel Clayton, Rosamond Clayton, Kate Down, Tim Harding, Yvonne & Philip Harland, Elspeth Harley, Lewis Harvey, Myrtle Hughes, Molly Leng, Joshua Levy, Christine Loffty, Hilary Morgan, Norman Newby, Linda Orme, Maureen Pride, Malcolm Richards, Peter Royle, Jock Scott, Dilys Thomas, Mary Thomas, Joy Wright and Asia Bibi.
For the recently departed: Thomas Shaw SSJE (Bishop), Sylvia Eldridge, John Andrew, Kenneth Lanceley and David Trendell, Rosemary Crome, Alan Bishton and David Reeves.
Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week: William Foster, Alfred Stephens, Elizabeth Church, Jonathan Walker, Nadine Olivey (Friend of All Saints), Norman Caplin (former Honorary Organist All Saints and composer), Clifford Doyle (Priest), Joan Roberts, Donald Page, Florence Searle, Helen Clayton (former Honorary PCC Secretary and Churchwarden), Douglas Cudmore, Emma Stephens, John Harrington, Kingsley Stansfield, David Voy, George Ebbs, Joyce Harvey, Winifred Brough, Mary Buchanan and Timothy Lawford.
WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY and NEXT WEEK
Weekday Masses remain in the Parish Room. Due to the construction of scaffolding in the north and south aisles and later in the chancel, Church will be closed during the week again from Monday 17 November until at least the end of the month. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility during this challenging period.
WORSHIP SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER – SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT
HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: The Vicar,
Prebendary Alan Moses
Missa ‘Miserere mihi Domine’ – Cardoso
How lovely are thy dwellings fair – Brahms
The flowers in Church today have been donated by Roger Clark for the 50th Anniversary of the death of his mother, Molly and for the Caplin family as they remember Norman’s anniversary during the coming week. If you would like to mark an anniversary or other event with flowers, contact Jean Castledine on 020 8858 3508.
After High Mass there will be ‘The Shape of the Liturgy’ Ten to One Talk in Church. The topic is The Collect. The bell will ring beforehand.
Sunday lunch is served this week. Tickets £5 from the Parish Shop in the Parish Room (subject to availability). Geoffrey Woodcock and Philip Payne are preparing main course, dessert and coffee.
CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION at 6pm
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses – ‘Apocalypse Now’ – an Introduction to the Book of Revelation
Service in G minor – Purcell
I heard a voice from heaven – Tomkins
WORSHIP NEXT SUNDAY – 23 NOVEMBER – CHRIST THE KING – Sunday next before Advent – HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: Fr Julian Browning
Missa Omnium Sanctorum – Caplin
Jubilate Deo in C – Britten
Frances O’Neil returns thanks to God for her recovery and to the many people at All Saints who prayed for her, encouraged her and provided unstinting practical help. Please join us for a glass of wine after Mass.
Also after Mass ‘The Shape of the Liturgy’ Ten to One Talk takes place in Church. The topic is First Reading.
Sunday lunch is served next week. Tickets £5 from the Parish Shop in the Parish Room (subject to availability). Patrick Hartley and Rebecca Hirst are preparing their traditional Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding with four vegetables, dessert and coffee.
CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Service in E – Murrill
Laudibus in sanctis – Byrd
NOTICES
The Vicar is attending General Synod on Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 November and preaching at High Mass at The Annunciation, Marble Arch on Sunday 23 November.
RETURN OF PENNY BOXES FOR COUNTING – If you have not yet returned your Penny Box to Priscilla Oakeshott in the Parish Shop, please do so by Sunday 23 November. Thank you!
WALSINGHAM PARISH PILGRIMAGE 2015
All Saints’ twelfth annual pilgrimage to Walsingham will take place from Friday 17 to Monday 20 July 2015. (In the past the pilgrimage has been from Friday to Sunday, but following feedback after the 2014 event, we are offering an option to stay until Monday lunchtime.) Please indicate which departure date you would like when booking. If you are interested (or would like to find out more) please speak to Jean Castledine or contact Ross Buchanan on 020 7221 1312 or ross.r.buchanan@btinternet.com.
Due to the Shrine’s limited capacity and booking arrangements, those who would like to attend will need to pay a non-refundable deposit of £10 to the Parish Administrator, Dee Prior, by the end of November 2014 to reserve a place on the Pilgrimage. A further £10 deposit will be required by Monday 13 April 2015 and the full payment for accommodation by Monday 15 June 2015.
ALL SAINTS RESTORATION APPEAL UPDATE – GOOD PROGRESS MADE! FUNDRAISING – Thanks to the huge generosity of parishioners and friends and the award of £10,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, we have now received a splendid total of £369,500, reducing our reliance on loans to circa £15,000 (from £35,000). However, we have two significant elements on hold to get within the overall project figure – a CCTV security system and an automatic fire detection system. Both are highly desirable in our Grade 1 Listed Church if more donations are received.
WORKS – Following the removal of all the old fittings and electrical cable in Church, this week has seen the construction of scaffolding in the north aisle to give access to fit the new cables and lights. From Monday 17 November scaffolding will similarly go up in the south aisle, followed by scaffolding in the chancel from Monday 24 November for two weeks. The nave altar will need to be used for the first two Sundays in Advent. The overall project is scheduled for completion by the end of January 2015, allowing for a Christmas break and subject to the delivery of all specialist materials.
WEEKDAY SERVICES – taking place in the Parish Room and Confessions heard in the Oratory (access via the Parish Office). Church will be open on Sunday throughout the project and at other times when safe to do so.
HOW YOU CAN HELP………. further donations will reduce our reliance on loans and complete key fire and security improvements! Cheques payable to: All Saints Church Restoration Appeal. Send to: The 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 EVENTS in NOVEMBER/DECEMBER:
Sunday 23 November, Ten to One Talk: First Reading. The bell will ring beforehand.
Sunday 23 November, 7.15pm (after Evensong & Benediction) – ORGAN RECITAL by Timothy Byram-Wigfield, Director of Music at All Saints. The programme includes:
Overture to the Oratorio ‘St Paul’ – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy transcr. W.T.Best
Two settings of ‘Vater unser im Himmelreich’, from the Clavierübung, part 3 – J.S. Bach:
1) à 2 Clav. E Pedal e Canto fermo in Canone’ BWV 682
2) alio modo, manualiter’ BWV 683
Benedictus, Op 59, No 9 – Max Reger
Toccata, from ‘Suite Gothique’, Op 25, No 4 – Léon Boëllmann
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 after this recital.
Wednesday 26 November, 7pm – EVENING ADVENT GROUP meets for four consecutive weeks in the Vicarage – reading Rowan William’s Being Christian – Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer. Other dates are: Wednesdays 3, 10 and 17 December. Please contact the Parish Office (020 7636 1788 or astsmgtst@aol.com to let us know which group you will attend).
Wednesday 26 November, 6.30pm – Requiem Mass. Please print the name of anyone you would like to have remembered at this Mass in the black folder in the Parish Room (weekdays) or Baptistery (Sunday).
Friday 28 November, 11am – DAYTIME ADVENT GROUP meets for four consecutive weeks in the Vicarage – reading Rowan William’s Being Christian – Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer. Other dates are: Fridays 5, 12 and 19 December. Please contact the Parish Office (020 7636 1788 or astsmgtst@aol.com to let us know which group you will attend).
Sunday 30 November, ‘The Shape of the Liturgy’ Ten to One Talk: topic is The Psalm. The bell will ring beforehand.
Sunday 30 November, 6pm – ADVENT SERVICE OF READINGS & MUSIC by candlelight
With the Choir of All Saints Margaret Street.
Monday 8 December, 7pm – Standing Committee Meeting of the All Saints PCC, Vicarage
Monday 15 December, 6pm – FESTIVAL OF NINE LESSONS & CAROLS. With the Choir of All Saints Margaret Street.
Thursday 18 December, 6.30pm – CAROL SINGING IN THE PARISH – all welcome to join in – please meet in the Church Courtyard. Followed by mince pies and mulled wine in the Vicarage.
Sunday 21 December, 11am HIGH MASS and HOLY BAPTISM.
Monday 22 December, 12.30pm – CAROL SERVICE and Blessing of the Christmas Tree. With a soloist from the Choir of All Saints Margaret Street.
Wednesday 24 December – CHRISTMAS EVE – MIDNIGHT MASS and BLESSING OF THE CRIB at 11pm.
Thursday 25 December – CHRISTMAS DAY Low Mass 9am and HIGH MASS at 11am.
SUNDAY 28 December – FIRST SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS HIGH MASS AT 11am. NB. There is no Choral Evensong this Sunday.
EVENTS BEYOND ALL SAINTS
Saturday 29 November, 3pm – St Cyprian’s, Clarence Gate – ADVENT VESPERS
Friday 5 (15-21hrs) and Saturday 6 December (10-16hrs) ALL THE FUN OF THE CHRISTMAS FAIR – St Cyprian’s, Clarence Gate, London NW1.
All proceeds to Marie Curie Cancer Care. Candle-lit Gala 5 December from 6pm – entry suggested £3 (with wine) and general entry other times suggested £1. Over 40 professional stalls selling all you need for Christmas, with exhibitors usually found at top Christmas Fairs such as Country Living Fair, Save the Children Fair and Spirit of Christmas. Artisan food, music, vintage, designer makers, books, children’s favourites – they have Christmas wrapped up! See Fair website www.funofthefair.co.uk for full details.
Thursday 4 December – 6.30 – 8pm – ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
December 2014 marks the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. preaching to an audience of 4,000 under the dome of St Paul’s. As a tribute to his legacy, a panel of leaders and thinkers from the black and minority ethnic community will reflect on “Martin Luther King’s Dream: How Can We End Racism Today?” The panel is led by Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon OBE, Hugh Muir diary editor at The Guardian, and Dr Heidi Mirza, Professor of Race, Faith & Culture at Goldsmiths College. Further information can be found at: www.stpauls.co.uk/MLK. Free tickets can be booked at: http://MLKstpauls.eventbrite.co.uk.
Saturday 6 December, 3pm – CHRISTMAS POETRY TEA AT PAMELA’S
A seasonal version of the popular regular event, come along with a poem and treat yourself to an early mince-pie! 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.
Friday 12 December, 6.45pm – ALL SAINTS’ CELL OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM EVENT – In the octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – an Ecumenical Visit to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, Mayfair. All are invited and welcome to join the liturgy – Anglican Evensong led by Fr Michael Bowie with address by Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, a tour of the church, followed by light refreshments. You do not have to be a member of the Cell to attend but please advise Mrs Rosa Postance by email (rosa_postance @hotmail.com) if you are going to come to this event.
ALL SAINTS YEAR ROUND SUPPORT for HOMELESS PEOPLE
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.
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 AT ALL SAINTS during Refurbishment until January 2015
(Church guaranteed open Sunday only from 7am to 7pm and at other times when safe to do so)
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 – SATURDAY in the Parish Room
Morning Prayer 7.30am
Low Mass – 8am, 1.10pm and 6.30pm
Evening Prayer 6pm
(Except Bank Holiday – 1.10pm Mass only)
Confessions
A priest is available for confessions/counsel Monday – Friday from 12.30-1pm and at 5.30pm Monday – Saturday, or by appointment. During the refurbishment works, confessions will be heard Monday – Friday in the Oratory at 7 Margaret Street. Please ring the bell
at the Vicarage or Parish Office doors for admittance.
www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk and e-mail: astsmgtst@aol.com.