All Saints Parish Newsletter 3rd November 2016
Dear Friend,
“When the procession comes chugging down the south aisle smoking like a steam train, you know you’re in a proper church.”
Not a text from Sunday’s readings, but a comment on Facebook by a priest who was in the congregation at High Mass on All Saints Day.
So what’s proper church?
The Sub-Dean of St. Albans, for it was he, clearly meant a church which knows how to conduct worship properly. The Vicar of a church which has a long-established reputation for this can be expected to nod in agreement and take some quiet satisfaction from such an approving testimony. We must be doing something right.
On the following evening, All Souls Day, the Bishop of Liverpool gave his testimony to the influence of All Saints in his life and ministry; being fed through worshipping regularly at Evensong and Benediction when he was a student chaplain, and in the confessional.
So “proper church” means more than simply putting on a good show, as if we were a West End theatre. Fr. Kevin Mowbray spoke of the importance of the polychromatic bricks which support the decoration of All Saints.
The living bricks which make up the life of All Saints are worship and prayer, teaching and spiritual counsel, the care of people in physical and spiritual need, the business of getting on with each other, which go on day in day out. It is these everyday things which give to special events like our Festival their spiritual authenticity. That places a considerable responsibility on those who work and worship here all the time. It is often at special times like All Saints Day that people express their appreciation of our church’s ministry, but it is the ordinary days which make that “proper church” possible and real.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Alan Moses
Prebendary Alan Moses
Vicar, All Saints Margaret Street
Area Dean Marylebone
Please pray for those who have asked for our prayers: Asia Bibi, David Pearce, Gareth Chester-Jones, Bishop Michael Perham and Paul Curno.
For the recently departed: William Petter (Director of Music, St Magnus the Martyr, Concordia Voices and Sine Nomine Singers), John Lippiatt (whose Funeral took place on Tuesday 25 October), John Hudson (Priest), Frank Owen, Bernardina Pontoglio and Dilys Thomas (former All Saints’ PCC Secretary for a great many years, who died on the Eve of All Saints and whose Funeral Requiem will take place on Tuesday 22 November at 3.30pm).
Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: Philip Gould (Baron Gould of Brookwood), Dudley Sholté, Arnold Fryer, John Groves, Alan Bishton, Paul Leyland, Violet Vanbrugh, Malcolm McHaffie (Priest), Dorothy Cavan, John Mayo (Priest) and C. F. A. Keeble.
For full service information: www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk.
WORSHIP THIS WEEK:
SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER 11am
ALL SAINTS FESTIVAL SUNDAY – PROCESSION & HIGH MASS
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Mass Setting: Missa omnium sanctorum – Hutchings
Beati quorum via – Stanford
Celebratory drinks are served in the Courtyard after Mass, when bottle raffle tickets, sold in aid of the Festival Appeal will be available £1 a ticket . The All Saints Licensed Club/Bar will be open as usual after these drinks.New members are welcome.
There is no Sunday lunch service today and until the new cookers can be fitted in the kitchen.
SOLEMN EVENSONG, TE DEUM & SOLEMN BENEDICTION 6pm
Preacher: The Reverend Dr George Westhaver,
Principal of Pusey House
Canticles: Magnificat à 8, Op. 164 – Stanford
I heard a voice from heaven (Requiem) – Howells
The ALL SAINTS FESTIVAL APPEAL 2016 will run over the period of the Festival, collecting at each service and running a bottle raffle – tickets £1 each – to be drawn on Festival Sunday.
The Appeal is raising funds for THREE important causes:
The Marylebone Project (run in London NW1 by the Church Army) –‘empowers homeless women into independent living’. Our money supports the emergency bed unit, providing emergency accommodation for women escaping domestic violence, financial crisis, sexual exploitation and mental health issues.
THE SOUP KITCHEN (run by the American International Church in Tottenham Court Road) ‘helping the homeless in central London’, providing 17,000 meals a year, to some 400 people, with an average of 70 people being fed each day.
UMOJA HIV PROJECT, (run by USPG – the United Society Partners in the Gospel) working in the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland Zimbabwe. This project ‘enables people living with HIV and Aids to live positive lives’ by reducing stigma and boosting HIV prevention. The programme mobilizes the local community, in partnership with local churches and HIV services, raising awareness of the lack of care and support for these people and their families.
Further information about the three charities will be displayed in the baptistery of 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, please send cheques payable to: Parochial Church All Saints in an envelope marked FESTIVAL APPEAL to: All Saints Church, 7 Margaret Street, London W1W 8JG.
WORSHIP NEXT WEEK
ALL SAINTS CELL OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM: UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday 12 November 2016 at All Saints
11.30 am Rosary and Walsingham Devotions
12 noon Low Mass of Our Lady of Walsingham
Saturday 12 November at 3pm – EVENSONG & BENEDICTION in celebration of Dr Harry Bramma’s 80th Birthday
[All Saints Director of Music 1989 – 2004]
Stanford in G
If the Lord had not helped me – Bairstow
We hope that friends old and new, from All Saints and further afield, will join us to help Harry to celebrate this milestone. The Very Revd. Nicholas Frayling, Dean Emeritus of Chichester, who has an unrivalled fund of Bramma anecdotes, will speak after the service, when refreshments will be served.
SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER – REMEMBRANCE DAY
HIGH MASS, 10.58am
Preacher: Fr Julian Browning
Darke in F
Thou knowest, Lord, the secret of our hearts – Purcell
There is no Sunday lunch service today and until the new cookers can be fitted in the kitchen.
EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Dyson in F
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem – Howells
PARISH NOTICES & NEWS
RAY ORAM would like to thank everyone at All Saints for their kind wishes while he was ill and even more for the very warm reception he has received since he returned to Church.
REQUIEM MASSES in November
Please print the name of anyone you would like to have remembered at these Requiem Masses in the black folder in the Baptistery:
Saturday 12 November 12 noon, Tuesday 15 November 1.10pm or Monday 21 November 6.30pm
NEW ALL SAINTS GREETINGS CARDS SELLING WELL – Over £1000 worth of the beautiful new cards have been sold in aid of All Saints in the first few weeks, with more stocks ordered.
The images are: the traditional Tile Nativity Scene; a new and dramatically lit shot of Our Lady of Margaret Street and a new and beautifully coloured image of the Sanctuary. Cards can be bought from the Parish Shop on Sundays and from the Parish Office in packs of 6 cards (all one design in each pack) for £5. Fridge magnets are also available of the image of the Sanctuary, which we hope will prove a popular small memento for visitors to the Church at £3 each. If you are with us this Sunday, they will be on sale in the courtyard after Mass.
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN WESTMINSTER remind us of their forthcoming “Meet the Neighbours” event which, by kind invitation of Westminster Quakers, will be from 7-9pm on Monday, 14 November 2016 at Westminster Quakers Meeting House, 52 St. Martins Lane, WC2N 4EA. All are very welcome to attend. (These events are always very enjoyable, and are an excellent opportunity to visit other Westminster churches and find out more about their ministries, style of worship, and buildings. The opportunity to socialise is, of course, also an important feature). The event starts at 7pm with light refreshments in the Library – there will be two short talks and a period of worship and reflection and the event concludes with tea, coffee and biscuits. Enquiries please contact: Olivia Hewitt westminsterclerk@gmail.com | Phone: 07914633887.
NEXT PCC MEETING – the next regular meeting of the PCC is to be held on Monday 14 November at 7pm in the Parish Room and an outline agenda of its business will be published in church about a week beforehand. The meeting now rescheduled from Monday 28 November to Tuesday 29 November at 7pm in the Parish Room will only consider the matter of the Resolutions in place at All Saints.
DR JOHN BIRCH ORGAN SCHOLARSHIP from September 2017
Laurence Long continues as our current Organ Scholar, but the search for his successor has begun. Please see the advert on our website: http://www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk/news/403
CAROL SINGING 2016 – UPDATE
All Saints will NOT be carol singing around the parish this year as the Plaza shopping precinct, our main venue, is being reconstructed and the shops are closed. However, the following extract from the website of the London Churches Refugee Fund gives details of their carol singing at Oxford Circus so anyone wanting to sing to help raise money should contact the organiser.
Friday 25th November, 3-8pm, Oxford Circus Underground. We are always under cover, down in the ticket hall. Best way to find our “pitch” is to go down the steps by Benetton at the south-western corner of Oxford Circus. Choose a shift: 3-4.30pm, 4.30-6pm, or (the heroes’ shift) 6-8pm. Bring an instrument to swell the volume. Wear sparkly clothes to draw people’s eyes. Come even if you can’t sing well, because we need people to shake buckets and give out leaflets as well. Contact Maggie at maggie.hindley@londoninterfaith.org.uk, 020 7372 1765. She is organising the rota and will be glad to hear from you.
SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND –
PILGRIMAGE OCT/NOV 2017
Bishop Stephen Platten will be leading a pilgrimage from the City Deaneries to the Holy Land in the autumn of 2017 not only visiting the Holy Places, but also meeting with the Christian community who face daily difficulties in living their faith. Travelling from 30 October to 6 November the cost of the pilgrimage is £1400 per person sharing a twin room. For more details or to book, please contact Pilgrimage People on 0800 6123423 or email: info@pilgrimagepeople.org or join us on Monday 28 November at 6pm for an information evening at St Michael’s Cornhill ECV3 9DS.
Thursday 8 December 2016 – Conception of Our Lady at St Mary’s Bourne Street – 7pm High Mass
You need not be a member of the Cell to join in this event. They are organised by the Cell members for all to join as they wish.
Saturday 10 December, 3pm – CHRISTMAS POETRY TEA at Pamela Botsford’s home – the theme for which is Seasonal. Tickets: £6 sold in aid of the All Saints’ Restoration Appeal. Please see Pamela or Sandra Allan in the courtyard to obtain further details.
** MISSION NEWS** Men’s clothing is badly needed by the Jesus Centre in Margaret Street and also by the Soup Kitchen at the American International Church, both of whom provide a daily range of services to homeless people. As you prepare for the winter season, if you have men’s clothes to give away, please bring to Church and leave at the Parish Office so we can continue to help support our neighbour’s efforts predominantly with homeless men.
The Soup Kitchen specifically calls for: men’s trousers (sizes 32-36) and men’s sturdy/athletic shoes (sizes 9-12 especially) and say ‘we are also beginning to need men’s outerwear of all varieties and we always need rucksacks and duffle-bags to help our guests carry their belongings!’
Miranda Suit, Director of the Soup Kitchen (part-time, usually in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays) says: Please drop me a line if you are planning to drop things off here. As always, many thanks for your support.
Soup Kitchen at the American International Church, 79a Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TD. T: 020 7580 2791 www.amchurch.co.uk/soup-kitchen/
SERVICES & EVENTS FOR NOVEMBER BEYOND ALL SAINTS
Saturday 5 November, St Cyprian’s. Clarence Gate
3pm EVENSONG
Responses: Ayleward
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis: Stanford in G
Motet: Arvo Pärt The Beatitudes
ALL SAINTS MISSION ACTIVITIES:-
The charities we had agreed to support through the Lent Appeal 2016 (and including applicable Gift Aid) received the following sums:-
Marylebone Project – £2,666.67 – emergency refuge and rehoming project for homeless women.
USPG – £2,666.67 – work with those experiencing Aids and HIV in Zimbabwe.
London Diocese Lent Appeal – £3,001.66– this year supporting Syrian and Iraqi refugees through charities Open Doors and Aid to the Church in Need. The certificate of appreciation is on the Church noticeboard. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this great achievement – a significantly enhanced total collected through the Lent Appeal compared with recent years – of £8,335 (including some late funds generated by the Queen’s 90th Birthday Raffle). To this sum must now be added the further £20k raised by the Vicar’s Pilgrimage of earlier this year.
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 allowing them to sleep there in the daytime and signposting them to other agencies who can offer help 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 and as the cold weather starts to bite, 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/virtual tour – 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
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