All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear Friend,

Trinity 4

This Sunday’s Gospel is the story of the Gerasene demoniac or the Gadarene swine. As to the location you pays your money and you takes your choice. But the story is clear. Jesus meets a man possessed by demons. To heal him he drives them into what becomes a herd of kamikaze pigs.

This is a healing story that bristles with difficulty for the modern western Christian reader. Even putting to one side questions about how we are to understand demon possession and exorcism, the apparently senseless cruelty to animals and the likely devastating economic consequences for the owners of the pigs raise questions. Elsewhere, Luke reports exorcisms far more matter-of-factly (e.g. 4.33-35, the man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum). Here, some of the additional material that he includes leads to more heat than light in attempts to understand the passage. Nevertheless, Luke’s central point is clear: demons obey Jesus’ commands, as do winds and water (cf. the calming of the storm). Also, this is an encounter with a gentile, in a gentile region, and therefore a significant foreshadowing of the future sharing of the gospel in the gentile world.

To us this story seems easily recognizable as an encounter with mental illness. There is a well-known link between homelessness and mental illness, especially in big cities like ours: I see people not unlike this man in London every day. I am in awe of those who can engage with them, as I know from experience, here and in another city centre, how challenging that can be. If you do ever engage with someone like this man, you will instantly be aware of how great is their need to be set free from what binds them and, simultaneously, of how difficult that is to achieve. Exorcism is not part of the care plan except in very rare cases (and these are also comparatively rare in the gospels). The love and respect that Jesus offers to all those he meets are the starting point for us as for him.

Jesus desires to set us free from whatever binds us and keeps us from flourishing as God would have us do. Mental health issues, which limit and sometimes even destroy human lives, affect 25% of our population in any year. I’ve never suffered from depression, serious anxiety or any other similar issue. But, like all of you, I can instantly understand the wider issue of being bound and limited by bad choices, events or accidents of circumstance. In my relative prosperity and security, 

I am often distressed and always moved by encounters with those who have neither. Please pray for our homeless brothers and sisters in this parish and where you live, as well as all who live with depression and other routine issues of mental well-being. And try always to regard them, and speak to them, as brothers and sisters loved by God.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Michael Bowie
Assistant Priest 
All Saints Margaret Street     

Please pray for those who have asked for our prayers: John Adams, Asia Bibi, John Bailey, Alixe Bainbridge-Spring, Fr Peter Bradley, Peter Brenthall and family, Vivien Caplowe, James Cary-Elwes, Bishop Michael Colclough, Dennis Davis, Mark Dougly, Kate Down, David Fettke, Ghislain Hamelin, Nicholas Harington, Lewis Harvey, Julia Holland and family, Maria Keen, Andrew Laird, Tom Leader, Miriam Nelson, Fr. Robert Norwood, Oliver Orr, David Pearce, Agnes Poitevin-Navarre, Fr Gerald Reddington, Canon John Rees, Alma Sheard, Stella and Helen Skinner, Margaret Spencer, Rose Stephens, Madeleine Storer, Christine van Dyck, Lynn Van Keulen, Robert Walmsley and Joy Wright.   

For the recently departed:  James Coutts (Priest), Yvonne Harland (whose Funeral Mass will take place at All Saints on Thursday 30 June at 6.30pm), Anna Braganza , Sister Mary Kathleen SLG, Nicholas Harington, Valerie Hawkins, Keith Rowlands, Ian Atkins, Sister Joan Fabre, Sister Isabel SLG and Jo Cox.   

Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: Gwendolen Coldham, Patricia Cudmore, DOM Michael Warner OSB, Hugh Douglas-Hamilton, Beverley Brentnall, Philip Bennett (former chorister) Francis Swanton, Stanley Harland, Percy Morimer-Smith, Mary Tilley, Alfred Webb (Priest), Henry Ewer (former Churchwarden), Arthur Golightly (Priest), Andrew O’Connor (Deacon), John Allcock, Baby Jean-Paul Myers and Friedemann Golka, Tony Mason (Senior Server) and Tedd McWhinney.

For full service information: www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk.

WORSHIP THIS WEEK:

SUNDAY 19 JUNE
Fourth Sunday after Trinity
HIGH MASS, 11am 
Preacher: Father Michael Bowie
Missa ‘Ego flos campi’ – Padilla     
Unser lieben Frauen Traum – Reger

Sunday Lunch is served. Tom Leeman is the chef and tickets for lunch will be on sale for £5 from the Parish Shop before and after Mass (subject to availability). 

EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher: Father Barry Orford
St Paul’s Service – Howells     
Salve Regina – Howells

WORSHIP NEXT WEEK:

SUNDAY 26 June
HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: Father Julian Browning
Missa Brevis – Gabrieli
Exsultate Deo – Palestrina 

Sunday Lunch is served. Daniel Fielden is the chef and tickets for lunch will be on sale for £5 from the Parish Shop before and after Mass (subject to availability).

EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher: Father Michael Bowie
Second Service – Gibbons
A new song – Macmillan

 PARISH NOTICES 

THANK YOU FOR THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY PICNIC LUNCH
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success last Sunday of the All Saints Jubilee chicken and trifle lunch in honour of the Queen’s 90^th Birthday. The raffle raised £350 for the relief of persecuted Christians in Iraq & Syria via the Diocesan Lent Appeal.  

Revised Notice: The POETRY TEA PARTY on Saturday 4 June at Pamela’s on the subject of ‘Europe’ raised £112.50 (with a late donation and anticipated Gift Aid) to go towards the All Saints Restoration Appeal. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated. There will be a report by Mary Rowe on the proceedings in the July Parish Paper.

Yvonne Harland – RIP
Yvonne’s Funeral Mass will take place at All Saints on Thursday 30 June at 6.30pm.

ORDINATIONS
Pray for those to be ordained this Petertide, among them Jeremy Tayler to be ordained priest by Nigel, Bishop at Lambeth in the Parish Church of St James, Sussex Gardens on Saturday 25 June 2016 at 3pm respectively. Michael Lynch is ordained priest the same day at St James at 10.30am. Pray too for the Rev’d  Dr Anders Bergquist, Maura, Blanche and Ginevra, and the people of St John’s Wood, among whom Jeremy is to continue to serve. Jeremy will celebrate the Eucharist for the first time on Sunday 26 June at 6.30pm.

SPONSOR THE VICAR ON PILGRIMAGE
Fr. Alan began his 1000 km walking pilgrimage from Seville to Santiago de Compostela on Tuesday 31 May and has now reached a third of the way along the route and is on schedule. We receive regular reports of his progress and as they include photographs, are being put out as bulletins on the church table or will appear in the July Parish Paper while he is away. If you would like to sponsor him to help achieve a target of £20k in support of the Diocese of London’s projects for persecuted Christians and for refugees from the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the sponsorship form is available in church. You can also donate directly online through Give.Net where the specific fundraising page is: https://my.give.net/alanspilgrimage. With Gift Aid, Fr Alan is just about half way to the target now…please help close the gap. Thank you.

UPCOMING ORGAN RECITAL – Sunday 3rd July 2016, at 7.15pm after Evensong & Benediction – Timothy Byram-Wigfield, Director of Music. 
Programme includes: Praeludium über “Lobet den Herrn“ Niels Gade, Pastorale, from Seven Sketches on the Psalms Percy Whitlock, Prelude and Fugue in B flat minor No 22, BWV 867, from Book 1 of the ‘48’J.S.Bach, transcribed Max Reger, Puck’s Shadow Richard Popplewell and Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue Healey Willan (first performed 31^st July 1916).

ALL SAINTS’ STEWARDSHIP 2016 & your Regular Giving – Campaign Update 

We would like to warmly thank all who have already responded to the Stewardship Campaign, whether generously to increase their giving (as many have), to confirm their existing commitment (which is helpful as it allows the Church to budget more effectively) or to confirm that they have switched from envelope giving to standing order (which is more cost-effective and efficient for the Church).  Confirmation of Gift Aid payment is also very important as it increases the value of donations by UK tax payers by 25p for every £1 given (at no cost to yourselves). Please make sure we have your up-to-date address in order to be able to claim Gift Aid on your contributions.

The PCC on 24 May received a positive report on the encouraging response to the Campaign so far – achieving an approximately £10,000 uplift in stewardship donations per annum from a 20% response rate, which we are advised is good. However, if you have still to respond (even simply to confirm your existing commitment will be maintained) please do so by 20 June when the Standing Committee meets and will receive an updated report.  

If you are on the All Saints Electoral Roll, we hope you will have received the recent mailshot. Please contact the Parish Office on 020 7636 1788 or astsmgtst@aol.com if you have not yet had a Stewardship pack and would like one. They are also available on the table in Church.

SERVICES & EVENTS FOR JUNE and JULY 2016 BEYOND ALL SAINTS

ST ALBAN’S PILGRIMAGE takes place on Saturday 18 June, at the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban – full details at:  https://www.stalbanscathedral.org/worship-and-music/the-alban–pilgrimage.

ST MARY’S BOURNE STREET TALKS
One of London’s principal Anglo-Catholic churches, closely connected with the intellectual thought of the Catholic tradition in the Church of England, will be holding a number of lectures in memory of the distinguished personalities who were instrumental in the life of this church. On Wednesday 22 June at 7pm a talk will be given by the Right Hon the Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, President of the Supreme Court and his topic will be, The grace of God is in courtesy. The following one will be given by the Right Rev’d and Right Hon the Lord Williams of Oystermouth, former Archbishop of Canterbury on Thursday 22 September, when his topic will be, ‘The Malines Legacy: a vision for Anglican – Roman catholic dialogue?’ Admission is free and the lectures will be held in the church.

COMPLINE at ST CYPRIAN’S
Compline is a service of evening prayers forming part of the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church, traditionally said (or chanted) before retiring for the night. It is planned to recite the office of Compline at St Cyprian’s on the last Thursday of each month at 9pm. It is a short, reflective service, comprising psalms, prayers and a hymn, said or sung. We will observe silence before and after the service, which we hold in the choir, in candlelight and the minimum of artificial light. Laypersons will lead compline, and all are welcome. The dates for the next few services will be the following Thursdays: 30 June, 28 July and 25 August.

The All Saints Parish Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham takes place from Friday 15 to Monday 18 July this year, with the group of pilgrims being led by Fr Michael Bowie.  

ALL SAINTS MISSION ACTIVITIES:-
We have recently paid to the charities we had agreed to support through the Lent Appeal 2016 (and including applicable Gift Aid) the following sums:-

Marylebone Project – £2,666.67 – emergency refuge and rehoming project for homeless women.
Us (formerly USPG) – £2,666.67 – work with those experiencing Aids and HIV in Zimbabwe.  
London Diocese Lent Appeal – £2,666.66 – this year supporting Syrian and Iraqi refugees through charities Open Doors and Aid to the Church in Need.  
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this great achievement – a significantly enhanced total collected through the Lent Appeal compared with recent years – of £8,000.

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.   

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 donating £1,000 towards the Soup Kitchen at the American International Church in Tottenham Court Road this year. We also allow 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. 

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