All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear Friend,

This Sunday is our Lenten mid-point, Laetare or ‘Rejoice’ Sunday. As far as the world is concerned (well, England, anyway), it is Mothering Sunday, increasingly just Mothers’ Day (elsewhere a May secular festival).

The Gospel for Lent 4 is the teaching usually referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. As, in that narrative, there isn’t a mother in sight, many churches pick up a different option this Sunday (usually the very short Gospel of Mary at the Cross). But we have the traditional Lent 4 provision.

Earlier readers were untroubled by the absence from this story of any reference to a mother; if they noticed at all, some suggested that of course she must have been preparing the fatted calf, or saying her prayers; or perhaps she’d already died. None of those suggestions is especially convincing or credible. You could say she just isn’t part of the story (it is a story after all!).

But one way to salvage something maternal from this narrative is suggested by the Dutch priest Henri Nouwen (perhaps best known for his connection with L’Arche, the network of Christian communities for people with learning disabilities). In 1992 he wrote a book called The Return of the Prodigal Son; at one point in it, Fr Nouwen invites us to look again at Rembrandt’s famous painting of the Return of the Prodigal Son (you can see it at: http://www.soulshepherding.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/loving-father-prodigal-son-rembrandt.jpg. It will also be on Sunday’s High Mass order of service).

Nouwen draws attention to the father’s hands:

The two hands are quite different. The father’s left hand touching the son’s shoulder is strong and muscular…That hand seems not only to touch but, with its strength, also to hold. How different is the father’s right hand! This hand does not hold or grasp…It lies gently upon the son’s shoulder. It wants to caress, to stroke, and to offer consolation and comfort. It is a mother’s hand… As soon as I recognised the difference between the two hands of the father, a new world of meaning opened up for me. The Father is not simply a great patriarch; he is mother as well as father.

This is a reading of Rembrandt’s painting and Luke’s text which would probably have surprised both of them, but no matter. As with the canvas, so with the Gospel, we ask what they say to us today, as well as what was intended. What we hear from the bible is often more than its writers understood. That can be a good thing if we read scripture prayerfully and thoughtfully, rather than looking for our prejudices to be confirmed.

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 Bailey, Fr Allan Buick, Vivien Caplowe, James Cary-Elwes, Dennis Davis, Elizabeth Day, Mark Dougly, Kate Down, David Fettke, Jonty Gordon, Adrian Gunning, Ghislain Hamelin, Lewis Harvey, Minnie Hodgetts, Julia Holland and family, Myrtle Hughes, Pat Hunt, David Jewkes, Alice Jullien,  Julie Knight, Andrew Laird, Tom Leader, Miriam Nelson, Oliver Orr, David Pearce, Canon John Rees, Jock Scott, Patricia Searle, Stella and Helen Skinner, Rose Stephens, Christine van Dyck, Robert Walmsley and Joy Wright.   

For the recently departed:  Gaby Grace, Richard Wood, Dora Parsons, Dorothy Laird, Christine Loffty, Margaret Humphries,  Ellen Hirschberg and Rod Jones.

Remember past priests, benefactors, friends, and all whose year’s mind occurs this week including: Alice Sutton, Phyllis Wickner, Brigid Beattie-Moriarty, George Gorse, Hope Harris, John Cook, Arthur Smallwood, Alice Styan, Dorothy Gregory, Dennis Cooper (Priest), Charles Mills, Rosie Bullock, Peter Harding (Priest, one time Vicar of St Cyprian’s and former Area Dean of Westminster (St Marylebone), William Whitworth (third Vicar of All Saints), Emily Woodard, Peter Brealey, Rosemary Lloyd and Barry Blacklock.                                   

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

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY 6 MARCH – LENT 4
Laetare, Rejoice/Refreshment and Mothering Sunday
HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: Fr Michael Bowie
Missa Brevis in
B flat K 275 – Mozart
Ave virgo sanctissima – Guerrero

Flowers in church this Sunday have been given by Shawn Welby-Cooke in gratitude for all mothers and especially his own. 

There is no Sunday Lunch service this week– but there will be next week, when Dan Fielden is the chef. Tickets £5 on sale in the Parish Shop in the Parish Room before and after Mass (subject to availability).

CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION, 6pm 
Preacher: Fr Julian Browning 
Stanford in G 
Ave maria – Bruckner

WORSHIP NEXT SUNDAY 13 MARCH – LENT 5
HIGH MASS, 11am
Preacher: The Vicar, Prebendary Alan Moses
Missa Pange lingua –
Josquin des Prez  
Jesu, grant me this I pray – Bairstow 

A Sequence of Passiontide Music and Readings, 6pm
followed by Benediction, with the Choir of All Saints
– including the Palestrina Stabat Mater

PARISH NOTICES

The Marylebone Project has delivered the latest newsletter – copies of which can be found on the table in Church – in which they advise of their new Patron singer Ellie Goulding and make an Easter Egg Appeal. Following the success of their first Egg Appeal in 2015, they ask if anyone is able to donate a chocolate Easter egg to the Project for their residents and Day Centre service users? If you can help, please deliver your egg as you would clothes contributions and we will get them to the Project for Easter.

REVISION OF THE ALL SAINTS’ ELECTORAL ROLL
The Electoral Roll has to be revised before the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) on 10 April 2016. Inclusion on the Roll is the qualification to attend, participate and vote at the Meeting, or to be nominated for office. The Roll will be closed for revision between Thursday 17 and Thursday 24 March. No further entries may be made to the Roll between 18 March and the close of the APCM. Would members of the Roll please check their entries on the copy of the Roll available in the Parish Office? Alterations should be notified to me, c/o the Parish Office. Anyone else who wishes to be included on the Roll, and who fulfils the qualifications, is welcome to apply. Completed forms (to be found on the table in Church) should be returned via the Parish Office.

Catherine T Burling,
Electoral Roll Officer

ALL SAINTS LENT APPEAL 2016
As part of Lenten almsgiving, collections for our Appeal will be shared equally between the following three charities:  

1. Bishop of London’s Lent Appeal 2016
   Fundraising for two reputable charities active among the beleaguered Christian communities in Iraq and Syria:
   Open Doors – providing emergency food supplies and hygiene kits to 10,000 families every month in Syria and
   Aid to the Church in Need – focusing in Iraq on urgent needs for housing, medicine and education to allow the Church to maintain its Christian presence and witness Jesus Christ. 

2.         Us (formerly USPG)

Supporting the church in Zimbabwe working with those affected by HIV and AIDS and providing local clergy and lay leaders with skills and training to undertake that work.  

1. The Marylebone Project – our regular year-round mission project, run by the Church Army – empowering homeless women into independent living. Our money goes towards the emergency bed unit, providing urgent accommodation for women escaping domestic violence, financial crisis, sexual exploitation and mental health issues.

In 2015 we raised a total of £3,900 (including applicable Gift Aid). Please give generously this year so we can try and raise over £4,000 in 2016.

Lent Coin Boxes are now available in church and plate collections will take place at particular services in Holy Week. Please make cheques payable to: Parochial Church All Saints (Lent Appeal). Please Gift Aid donations wherever possible – signing and completing a yellow envelope to accompany cheque or coins to increase the value of your donation by 25%.  

Please return donations to the Parish Office by Sunday 3 April.

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

UPCOMING SERVICES & EVENTS – at ALL SAINTS

LENT at ALL SAINTS – Reading and Meditating on God’s Holy Word
In addition to our normal reading and preaching on scripture in the liturgy at All Saints, we are providing some opportunities for study:

MARCH FILM NIGHTS
The last in the series of films will be shown in church on Thursday after the 18.30hrs Evening Mass.
There is no charge for these viewings, but a retiring collection will be taken in support of the All Saints’ Lent Appeal. Please give generously, using Gift Aid wherever possible if you are a UK tax payer – which increases your donation by 25% at no cost to you.

10 March – Of Gods and Men Xavier Beauvois’ film of the life and death of Trappist monks in Algeria amidst Islamist violence.

The devotion of STATIONS OF THE CROSS will take place after the Evening Mass at All Saints at 7.05pm on Fridays during Lent.  

NEW STATIONS FOR A ‘NEW JERUSALEM’ (exhibited at 14 locations across London)
On the day he died, Jesus walked the Via Dolorosa through the streets of Jerusalem, a holy city for Jews, which would later become sacred to Christians and Muslims. Jesus’ journey is traditionally commemorated by the Stations of the Cross. Across the chasm of two thousand years, this tortured path resonates with current events for people of many faiths and cultures. In particular, it calls to mind the hazardous journeys of refugees from today’s Middle East.

This unique exhibition – held in 14 locations across London – uses works of art to tell the story of the Passion in a new way, for people of different faiths. In this pilgrimage for art lovers, viewers will travel across London, mapping the geography of the Holy Land onto the streets of a ‘new Jerusalem.’ The Stations will weave through religious as well as secular spaces, from cathedrals to museums. The art on display runs the gamut from Old Master paintings to contemporary video installations. Artists include Christians, Jews, Muslims, and atheists. Instead of easy answers, the Stations aim to provoke the passions: artistically, spiritually, and politically.

Commenting on the Pilgrimage, The Bishop of Stepney, The Rt Revd Adrian Newman, said:
“These remarkable Stations of the Cross represent an iconic Lent pilgrimage across the landscape of contemporary London.  They navigate a journey filled with modern meaning – dispossessed communities, fleeing refugees, displaced identities, and all who suffer injustice and oppression. This is visual art which melts the distinctions between sacred and secular, past and present, material and spiritual, offering up a liminal experience here on the streets of this culturally diverse capital city. Art and Christianity have a wonderful history, and I’m delighted to see this exhibition bring them together in such a creative way.”

Supporting the exhibition, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, said:
“For many centuries, the Passion of Jesus has inspired artists to some of their most outstanding work. I warmly welcome this innovative ‘Stations of the Cross’ project, bringing together Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist churches, as well as museums and public spaces around London, to enrich with new artistic endeavour our meditation on the redemptive suffering and death of Jesus Christ. 

“The narrative of the Passion, embodied through these 14 impressive works of art, provides a powerful encouragement to think about not only the suffering of Jesus in this Lenten season, but the suffering of innocent people around the world. I pray that this exhibition will be a great success and wish to thank most sincerely the curators, artists, and institutions who have made it happen.”

Visitors can take this tour by downloading maps and podcasts from the Coexhist House website, along with a new app, ‘Alight,’ Details about prayer services, lectures, performances, and other associated events at the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection, and churches across London are available on the site and cash donations can be pledged online for Syrian refugees. The exhibition is supported by King’s College London, Cambridge Inter-faith, Programme, Coexist House, and Art & Sacred Places.

PARISH RETREAT, 6 – 8 May 2016
The 2016 All Saints Parish Retreat will be from 6 – 8 May at Bishop Woodford House in Ely.
It will be conducted by Fr Barry Orford. If you want to come, or would like further information, please contact Martin Woolley on 07976275383 or at m.g.woolley@btinternet.com. Rooms will be allocated in the order in which bookings are received.  

SERVICES & EVENTS FOR MARCH 2016 BEYOND ALL SAINTS

St Cyprian’s Church, Clarence Gate NW1 6AX
CHORAL EVENSONG & BENEDICTION
Saturday 5 March, 3pm 
Responses – Byrd 
Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis – Walmisley in D minor 
Anthem – Finzi ‘Welcome sweet and sacred feast’
With the St Cyprian’s Singers, directed by Julian Collings

St Cyprian’s Church, Clarence Gate NW1 6AX 
Wednesday 9 March, 1.10pm – ORGAN RECITAL 
Matthew Bladen (St Mary Magdalene, Richmond).

St Paul’s Rossmore Road NW1 6NJ 
invites us to the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Centre 
Friday 11 March, 7pm. 
Preacher: Rev Jack Maple. All welcome.

St Cyprian’s Church, Clarence Gate NW1 6AX 
Saturday 19 March, 7.30pm 
CAMDEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Concert of Russian Music (Glazunov, Rachmaninov & Shostakovich) 
Tickets: £12/£10 concs

HUGH PRICE HUGHES LECTURES 2016 
All lectures will be held at Hinde St Methodist Church at 7.30pm.  Admission is free & all are welcome! www.hindestreet.org.uk/hph

This series will invite you to reflect on how other ways of knowing and seeing – “faith” commitments for some – relate to their Christian faith. These alternative and complementary ways of knowing and seeing, sometimes portrayed negatively by people of faith, have the potential to deepen our understanding of our faith commitments and enable us to engage more constructively with the wider world.

Thinking globally, act locally
8 March – Polly March
Head of Campaigns & Policy at Global Justice

12 April – Rev Ric Stott
Artist & Methodist Pioneer minister

Identity, Modernity and Faith 
10 May – Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Journalist

Living as Christians in Multi-faith Britain and
the Importance of Religious Literacy
14 June – Michael Wakelin
Religion & Media Consultant

ALL SAINTS MISSION ACTIVITIES:-

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 during the cold weather.  

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 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