Dear Friend 
Last Sunday after Trinity

As the year turns and we get our extra hour’s sleep this Sunday morning, we are also looking forward to our Festival, our thankful celebration of what All Saints Margaret Street means as a Christian community and also our ‘day of thanksgiving’ for all the saints, known and unknown, past and present, who are the backbone of the Body of Christ. We may also reflect on where we are on that spectrum of sainthood.

Many religious people are not saints because they never succeed in being themselves. They are taught and pursue a pre-packaged form of religious or moral observance which is at odds with the person God has created them to be. To be a saint you don’t have to be an ascetic, or go on a missionary journey, or die for the faith: you may be or do any or all of those things if they are consonant with the true you, but you don’t need to look like someone else. You have to be yourself, as well as you can be and with God’s help.

It is true that in the saints we can see human beings at their brightest and best; but they are more than just examples. We should avoid the besetting sin of modern life, which is trying to copy the image without the content; trying to be famous rather than good. The saints are teachers, friends and advocates. That last word, ‘advocate’, is the key: this Feast, and the Commemoration of All Souls, yoked with it, remind us that Christians who die are not ‘dead and gone’. Their lives are ‘changed not ended’ and they live, and pray for us, to God.

We are called, each of us, to be saints. That means to be ‘our own person’ but with a particular understanding of ‘person’. We are to be that person in the knowledge that our personhood is from God. We are not asked to refuse life, nor to try and be someone else, but to grow from the baptismal seed of life within each of us. That is our journey home.

In the end, of course, none of us can help being ‘our own person’. In fact that should be a redundant statement for a Christian. It is unhealthy and counterproductive to repress who we are in service of pretending to be good (that is not being ‘pure in heart’, straightforward, as the Beatitudes will recommend to us next weekend). St Paul would say to each of us: ‘you are all called as saints and your life’s work is to become what you are.’

Yours in Christ, 

Fr Michael Bowie
Assistant Priest
All Saints Margaret Street

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: Sybil Fox, Pamela Lloyd (Priest), Emma Walden, Christopher Tambling, Sue Lloyd Roberts, John Streetling (Priest), Marjorie Pass, Wayne Beresford, Jacqueline Lady Killearn (whose Funeral Requiem Mass takes place at All Saints at 11am on Tuesday 27 October 2015) and Brian Johnson.

Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: Reginald Thompson, Gwendoline Freeman, Joseph Harding, Dorothy Gartside, William Lloyd Webber (5^th Organist of All Saints), Phyllis Richards, Sister Dorothy Hilda ASSP (former Sacristan), David Trendall, Tharu Tharakan, John Todd (Friend of All Saints), Marian Ross and Frank Leeman.

BRITISH SUMMER TIME ENDS THIS SUNDAY 

Please remember to change your clocks back an hour overnight Saturday 24/Sunday 25 October.

WORSHIP THIS 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  

THIS WEEK at ALL SAINTS: 
Tuesday 27 October, 11am – FUNERAL REQUIEM MASS for Jacqueline, Lady Killearn

Thursday 29 October, 2.30pm – MEMORIAL SERVICE for Ruth Rendell 

Saturday 31 October, 5pm
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

WORSHIP NEXT 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

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

FESTAL EVENSONG, TE DEUM & BENEDICTION 6pm 
Preacher: The Venerable Jonathan Smith, Archdeacon of St Alban’s 

Canticles: St Pancras Service – Philip Moore
All wisdom cometh from the Lord – Moore

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 to be split between two important causes:
All Saints’ mission the Marylebone Project (run by the Church Army) – empowering 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 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%). If you can’t visit All Saints at Festival time, please send cheques payable to: Parochial Church All Saints in an envelope marked FESTIVAL APPEAL to:
Dee Prior, Parish Administrator, All Saints Church, 7 Margaret Street, London W1W 8JG.

PARISH NOTICES

REGULAR YOGA CLASSES run at All Saints in the Parish Room between 6 and 7pm (please note revised time) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Drop in price £12 per class (£9 per class for committing to the term). 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. 

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 NOVEMBER

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 has been installed and we are now 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