Dear Friend,

On Sunday we celebrate the feast of St. Luke. Until it closed a few years ago, the chaplaincy at St. Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy in Fitzroy Square was carried out by the clergy of All Saints. I still encounter priests and members of their families who express their gratitude for our ministry there. To people who were often far from home, family and friends, the ministry of the staff and chaplains, was a comfort when they were experiencing something of that loneliness Paul speaks of in the epistle (2 Timothy 4.5-17): “Only Luke is with me.” 

Luke “the beloved physician” was an apt patron for a place of healing.  In the gospel for his feast (Luke 10.1-9), the seventy disciples sent out in pairs to the places Jesus is about to visit are instructed to “cure the sick who are there.”  Care for the sick would become a constant theme in Christian mission.  The Church has known “Christ’s love and power to heal” which we pray for in the Collect.

As the American theologian David Bentley Hart observes in his book Atheist Delusions, there was almost no precedent for this in pagan society.  This was a tradition carried on here by the All Saints Sisters of the Poor, who not only nursed in the Middlesex Hospital but in the Crimean and Franco-Prussian Wars.  The roots of the NHS and much other secular health care are to be found deeply embedded in Christian soil.

Care for the sick is one aspect of Christ’s mission to all the world.  The number of disciples sent out is probably symbolic: there were thought to be seventy Gentile nations.  We would have to double it   to accommodate even those represented in the population of London today.  The instruction to “Eat what is set before you,” may be Luke telling Jewish-Christian missionaries not to refuse the hospitality of Gentiles.

Jesus probably did not have to worry about his disciples getting overweight: all that walking would remedy that.  Nowadays one of the occupational hazards of clerical life is coping with the effects of eating and drinking: an important part of parish life. The battle against an expanding waistline is that bit harder when refusal of the second helping might cause offence. The consultant at St. Luke’s who was responsible for keeping bishops healthy gave them a list of things they should not eat. I still encounter tables laden with these at parish celebrations. It takes a strong-willed cleric to resist them and the blandishments of those who provide them.

In his briefing to them, Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”   The hymn “Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest-home!” which we will be singing on Sunday, combines agricultural harvest and that universal mission to which the Church is called: the gathering in of the nations as well as of sheaves of wheat. 

This passage is often associated with prayer for vocations and such prayer is vital if the Church of England is even to replace the clergy retiring over the next decade. We need to be apply it even more widely: to the mission all of us are called to share in one way or another. The sending of the Seventy showed that mission was not the monopoly of the Twelve then or of the clergy now.

To spread the gospel, Jesus needed a movement. He calls people to himself, then he sends them out.  There is no evidence of a head-hunting campaign to find the best candidates for the task; no “talent pool” of successful missionaries. The seventy were probably as scared as most of us would be by what they were being sent to do. Until now Jesus had done the talking: now they would have to speak about the kingdom of God. Too many of us in our tradition plead incompetence and leave it to the clergy. Competence is gained from listening to Jesus in the liturgy and teaching of the Church and from practice.  Having experienced the peace of communion with him, we are to go in the peace of Christ and speak it to others.

The seventy were to be totally dependent for food and shelter on those to whom they were sent. They were to be as vulnerable as Christ had made himself in the incarnation, “lambs amongst wolves.”  This was an approach to mission St. Francis rediscovered in his time. In contrast to the senior clergy and monastics of the day whose credibility was fatally undermined by the wealth and status which separated them from ordinary folk, he found that it worked.  In our own day, Pope Francis has adopted more than the name of the Little Poor One: he is trying to lead his bishops and clergy to a simpler lifestyle which will bring them closer to people.

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, Peter Burbidge, James Cary-Elwes, Ian Coull, Dennis Davis, Mark Dougly, Kate Down, David Fettke, Prebendary John Gaskell, Jonty Gordon, Gaby Grace, Lewis Harvey, Pat Hunt, Alice Jullien, Andrew Laird, Tom Leader, Christine Loffty, Simon MacGregor, Sister Martha (SMNC Tanzania), Hilary Morgan, Joseph Musah, Miriam Nelson, Gordon Orme, Fr David Paton, David Pearce, Eileen Prior, Canon John Rees, Nick Russell, Jock Scott, Stella Skinner, Rose Stephens, Judy Stewart, Buzz Stokes, Christine van Dyck, Jo Vincent and Joy Wright

For the recently departed: Kenneth Leech, Dennis Allen, Margaret Thorpe, David Willcocks and Sybil Fox, Pamela Lloyd (Priest), Emma Walden, Christopher Tambling, Sue Lloyd Roberts, John Streetling (Priest) and Marjorie Pass.

Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: Lilian Geddes, John Williams (former Chorister & later Organist), Christopher Rawll (former Churchwarden, Lay Preacher, Subdeacon and Archivist at All Saints), John Hillaby, Colin Wesley, Dora Bull, Roy Prince, Eva Dean, Ron Keating (PCC member) and Peter Laister (All Saints Choir School Confessor).

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER – ST LUKE THE EVANGELIST – HIGH MASS, 11am 
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses 
Missa ‘ad imitationem vinum bonum’ – Lassus
Ave Maria – Stravinsky

There is a Buildings Committee Meeting after Mass in the Parish Office. 

Sunday Lunch (two courses with coffee) is served – John McWhinney and Paul Weston are the chefs, planning a menu of Boeuef Bourguignon followed by Apple & Pear Crumble with Rosemary.  Tickets: £5 available from the Parish shop in the Parish Room before and after Mass.

CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm 
Preacher: Father Julian Browning
Stanford in C
Strengthen ye the weak hands – Harris

WORSHIP NEXT SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER –- LAST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 
HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: Father Michael Bowie 
Missa Brevis – Ives 
O be joyful in the Lord (Jubilate in C) – Britten

Sunday Lunch (two courses with coffee) is served – Dan Fielden is the chef. Tickets: £5 available from the Parish shop in the Parish Room before and after Mass.

CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION 6pm 
Preacher: Father Julian Browning 
Watson in E 
O Jesu Christ, meins lebens licht – Bach

PARISH NOTICES & EVENTS AT ALL SAINTS in OCTOBER

Regular Yoga Classes will begin at All Saints in the Parish Room between 6.15 and 7.15pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting Tuesday 20 October. If anyone is interested in having further details of these sessions, being run by a local qualified teacher, contact Dee Prior in the Parish Office on 020 7636 1788 or e: astsmgtst@aol.com. 

Wednesday 21 October, 6.30pm – Mass and Confirmations, with Bishop Stephen Platten. All welcome to support candidates from All Saints and the Annunciation. Refreshments will be served afterwards to mark the occasion.
NOVEMBER EVENTS at ALL SAINTS

ALL SAINTS FESTIVAL 2015

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER
EVE OF ALL SAINTS
LITANY OF THE SAINTS, FESTAL EVENSONG
& BENEDICTION 5pm
Preacher: The Revd Kevin Morris, Vicar of St Michael’s Bedford Park
Canticles: Stanford in A
O quam gloriosum – Moore

SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER
ALL SAINTS’ DAY
PROCESSION & HIGH MASS 11am
Preacher: Canon Christopher Chivers, Principal Westcott House
Mass Setting: Grosse Orgelmesse – Haydn
 Lo! round the throne – Ley

FESTAL EVENSONG, TE DEUM
& BENEDICTION 6pm
Preacher:  The Venerable Jonathan Smith, 
Archdeacon of St Albans
Canticles: The Short Service – Gibbons
All wisdom cometh from the Lord – Moore
  
MONDAY 2 NOVEMBER
ALL SOULS’ DAY
HIGH MASS OF REQUIEM 6.30pm
Preacher: The Right Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford
Mass Setting:  Requiem – Fauré
Offertoire – Fauré

ALL SAINTS FESTIVAL APPEAL 2015 is for two important causes:
Half will go to All Saints’ mission the Marylebone Project (run by the Church Army) – which empowers homeless women into independent living. Our money contributes to the emergency bed unit, providing emergency accommodation for women escaping domestic violence, financial crisis, sexual exploitation and mental health issues. 
The other half will go to The Foundation For Relief And Reconciliation In The Middle East – This small UK based charity works 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. The charity supports the multi-faith clinic attached to St. George’s Anglican church in Baghdad and an afternoon school for 250 refugee children in Amman, Jordan, run by a Roman Catholic priest, Father Khalil. Their latest project is the Jerusalem International School of Reconciliation, established to encourage dialogue across religious and cultural borders. We have chosen this charity because they ‘try very strongly to ensure that the donations we receive go directly towards our work in the Middle East and to minimise the cost of administration by working with trusted partners who have local knowledge and will ensure donations are used well’.

Further information about the work of both charities will be displayed in the baptistery at the back of the church. Please give generously – gift-aiding your donations wherever you can (so that your generosity is increased 25%).

TICKETS ON SALE NOW for KEATS ANCIENT AND MODERN – an afternoon of entertainment at All Saints – Sunday 15 November at 3pm. Come and see a film featuring one of our own congregation in the role of Fanny Brawne with the poet John Keats and hear the life story of a modern day Dr John Keet. £10 a ticket including a glass of wine – in aid of the All Saints Church Restoration Appeal. Tickets will be available from Sandra Wheen, Christine Levy and Pamela Botsford any Sunday after Mass.

DECEMBER ALL SAINTS’ EVENTS for your DIARIES

CHRISTMAS POETRY TEA, Sunday 6 December 3pm, at Pamela’s.  All welcome.  Please bring Poetry or Prose on the subject of ‘Home’.  To accept, or to request 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 in aid of the All Saints Restoration Appeal.

WALSINGHAM CELL VISIT – DECEMBER 2015 – TO NOTRE DAME DE FRANCE (French Church off Leicester Square) – the All Saints’ Cell of Walsingham plans a visit on Wednesday 9 December, 7pm to Evensong with a Talk on the history of the Church by Fr Kevin Mowbray followed by drinks. A fine modern ecclesiastical space with renowned Lady Chapel by Jean Cocteau and other historic and contemporary works of art, including a painting of Joan of Arc and a sculpture representing Our Lady of Mercy above the entrance welcoming visitors as they walk in from the street – Leicester Place. The sculptor was a famous French artist Georges-Laurent Saupique (1889-1961) who was head of the restoration work of Reims cathedral. All welcome.

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

EVENTS ELSEWHERE IN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

TONIGHT!!
Churches Together in Westminster ALL NIGHT VIGIL OF SOLIDARITY AND PRAYER WITH CHRISTIANS IN CRISIS IN SYRIA AND IRAQ to be held at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue beginning on Friday 16 October 7.30pm – 10pm with music and discovery through personal testimonies and then prayer from 10pm and concluding Saturday 17 October at 6am. Please lend this vigil your support, even for a short time.  

TOMORROW!!
WESTMINSTER ABBEY NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF ST. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, Saturday 17 October – 9am Abbey open for Pilgrims, 11.30am Festival Eucharist Preacher:  Bishop Stephen Platten, 3pm Evensong with Procession. Throughout the day pilgrims will be able to pray at the Shrine, priests will be on duty for individual spiritual counseling and the Sacrament of Reconciliation and prayer tours around the Abbey will be available. There will be opportunities to renew baptismal promises and to participate in healing liturgies with the laying on of hands and anointing. A lecture will be given on the life of St. Edward the Confessor. Activities for children will be offered in the Education Centre and around the Abbey and its precincts.  School groups are very welcome. All welcome.  Tickets are not required.

DEVONSHIRE MARBLE AT ALL SAINTS 
Some readers may remember a visit, tour of church and talk at All Saints earlier this year -given by Geology Professor Gordon Walkden and attended by about twenty people, including representatives from English Heritage. This came about during the period when Professor Walkden was writing a new book on the subject, which is now published. He writes: 

‘I would particularly like to draw your congregation’s attention to the November launch event of my book at the Lloyd’s Register building on Fenchurch Street. This is on Friday 6 November at 3pm. Lloyd’s has one of the finest Devonshire Marble interiors in the country and this is a rare chance to see it.  If anyone is interested in attending the formal lecture they can apply for a ticket by email as follows:  Booking essential at Barbara.Jones@lr.org; place ‘Marbles Talk’ in subject box.

Thank you for your assistance with my Devonshire marbles project.  The broad details are as follows: Devonshire marbles: Their geology, history and uses (2 vols), 500pp.by Gordon Walkden, published by the Geologists’ Association, Autumn 2015. £12.’

Friday 27 November 3 – 8pm & Saturday 28 November 10am – 4pm – CHURCH OF ANNUNCIATION,
MARBLE ARCH – ‘ALL THE FUN OF THE CHRISTMAS FAIR’ 2015. Last year (the first fair, run at St Cyprian’s) was a huge success, receiving lots of comments about how stylish it was – including from the Homes and Antiques Magazine and being voted in the top 10 UK Christmas markets by ‘I love Markets’. This year, with St Cyprian’s undergoing renovation, the event has transferred to the Annunciation, so everyone is invited to join them there to meet the best exhibitors of 2014 with a host of new ones. Live music, Christmas-themed demonstrations, refreshments and a candlelit evening gala with a glass of wine while browsing the goodies on sale.

ALL SAINTS RESTORATION PROJECT UPDATE

All five nave aisle pendant lights are fully illuminated along with the specially-made light fittings for the choir stalls (attached to the wrought iron grilles). A further CCTV camera is to be installed and then we will be able to fine-tune the settings of the overall lighting scheme. Funds for the project continue to be raised and the total received at the time of writing is now a splendid £413,125. Any more gifts will allow us a small reserve against the final cost of the works. If there are any surplus funds when all bills are paid, these will go towards future essential restoration projects at All Saints.

We are indebted to all those donors who have helped us replace the out-dated electrics and relight the church so that all the achievements of earlier phases of restoration work over the last twenty years are now revealed. The new CCTV and fire alarm system provide security and fire protection too. Thank you! 

HOW YOU CAN HELP………. please make cheques payable to: All Saints Church Restoration Appeal and send them to:The Parish Administrator, 7 Margaret Street, London W1W 8JG. 

Please indicate where Gift Aid may be applied or send in a completed Gift Aid envelope from in church, as it increases the value of your contribution by 25% at no cost to yourself.

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.

Seasonal Appeals – The grand total collected at All Saints for mission activities in 2014 was £6,463 through the All Saints Festival and Lent Appeals. £3,463 went to the Marylebone Project and a further £3,000 to Us (formerly USPG).

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. 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 website www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk, which has a full colour 360 virtual tour for viewing the wonderfully restored interior of the Church – see www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk/history/virtualtour – before a visit or if unable to travel. 
* 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. 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