Weekly Email – Remembrance Sunday
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Dear friends,
On Wednesday, a group from All Saints’ made their way to the American International Church on Tottenham Court Road and staffed the overnight homeless shelter which is organised there in the winter months.
This was put into action one of the key aims of the Mission Action Plan agreed by our PCC last year – that we would try to revive meaningful charitable action in our parish, and deepen our commitment to service, mission and outreach.
I can’t begin to say what a moving evening it was. I was so impressed by the individuals who had volunteered to be present and the wonderful way in which they made our homeless guests welcome, cooked a meal for them, shared the meal, staffed the shelter through the night, and then made breakfast the following morning.
I could sense clearly just how much love and care each person was putting into the work, how sensitively they interacted with our guests, and what a meaningful experience it was for all involved.
The charity C4WS organises homeless shelters in churches throughout the London Brough of Camden. Each church offers their building one evening a week so that between 7 churches, each night of the week can be covered for several weeks. A large number of church communities are involved in this work all over Camden, sending volunteers to staff the shelters. The American International Church hosted the shelter in their building and we went along to run it, and to use their excellent facilities to offer welcome, food and warmth to the homeless guests.
[Parishioners of All Saints’ prepare a delicious meal for the homeless guests and volunteers to share together.]
There was a tangible sense that those volunteering found this a hugely moving and rewarding way of putting their faith into action. The Lord tells us to help and feed those without food and shelter and this was an uncomplicatedly simple way of following his command.
To my mind, this sort of work is a crucial way of showing Christ lives in our hearts, and an indispensable way of showing to the world the value, reality and power of our faith in Jesus Christ as a force for good, contributing to the common good. To put it simply, serving our neighbour in practical ways is the easiest way to show God loves the world.
[Beds are prepared by volunteers from All Saints’ for our guests to sleep on overnight.]
For me personally, one of the most beautiful experiences of the night was the coincidence that our regular Holy Hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament fell just before the shift at the night shelter began. I spent the first half of the Holy Hour in the Lord’s sacramental presence, then had to leave early to go straight to the American Church to help with the set up of the beds and the dining room.
As I left the church, I felt a strong sense that the Christ I had just spent half an hour praying to in his sacrament was journeying with me through the streets of London to the shelter to be with me and the homeless guests through the coming night. It felt like a wonderful synergy: Christ encountering me in his sacramental, eucharistic presence; and then being just as present with me as we served the homeless and found him present in them too.
That twenty minute walk of mine from All Siants’ church to the shelter should stand as a metaphor for all our lives and the way we seek to put the love of God into action. The love of God we experience in our beautiful liturgy should pour out through us into the world as we live out the Gospel, and seek to serve others.
[Volunteers wash up after the delicious meal we had shared with our guests.]
For me, one of the most powerful privileges of the evening was meeting and getting to know our homeless guests. Many have had very traumatic paths to homelessness; many are refugees fleeing terrible experiences in other parts of the world; others are struggling with economic problems which often seem out of their control.
In many ways, it’s important not to pry into the guests’ lives nor make any judgement on who they are or what might have happened to them. The privilege given to us by the experience of volunteering for the shelter is the opportunity simply to encounter them as a fellow human being in the here and now. It represents nothing less than celebrating and recognising their dignity as a child of God through simple things like a shared cup of tea, or the chat exchanged over a meal.
I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who volunteered on Wednesday. I am very grateful for your time, care, sensitivity, and commitment. This work will have made a huge difference in the lives of the guests we sought to welcome and serve. Many thanks indeed to all of you.
There will be another opportunity to staff the night shelter in February (the evening/night of Wed 5th/Thurs 6th Feb). Please be in touch with the parish office if you would like to be involved. We hope to expand the number of times we staff the shelter next winter and look forward to more opportunities to serve our neighbour through this important work.
Fr Peter
Our team of volunteers preparing to welcome guests to the C4WS homeless shelter at the American International Church on Wednesday.
Remembrance Sunday
Please note that the High Mass begins five minutes early this Sunday, at 10.55 am, in order to allow us to keep the Two Minutes’ Silence at 11.00 am corporately at the beginning of the liturgy.
Confessions: Fr Jeremy Haselock
Fr Jeremy Haselock will be available to hear confessions at All Saints’ on Tuesday 12th November from 5.30 pm.
The parish clergy are also available every Saturday from 6.00 pm, before any Mass, or by appointment to hear confessions.
We were very pleased to be joined by the Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Lincoln as our preacher at the celebration of All Saints’ Day on Friday. You can watch the liturgy and hear his sermon here.
Zoom Theology – tomorrow!
Our next Zoom seminar will take place on Saturday 9th November at 7.00 pm and will focus on the theology of Soren Kierkegaard.
We’ll be joined from America by Fr Jeffrey Hanson who will introduce us to aspects of this compelling Danish philosopher’s thought. Fr Hanson is an academic philosopher and has researched and published widely on Kierkegaard.
We are pleased that this seminar is being advertised in both our parish and also in the parish of St Mary the Virgin Times Square. We are hoping it will be attended by parishioners of both churches as a shared teaching event.
You can find the Zoom link, plus further information about our Zoom Theology programme for the rest of the academic year here.
All Saints Festival – thank you!
Huge thanks should go to all who contributed in any way to our celebration of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day last week. It really was a wonderful few days.
Especial thanks go to our Director of Music, Associate Director of Music, choir, organ scholar and serving team for the amazing liturgies which we were able to offer.
The church looked amazing and we owe a significant debt of gratitude to all those who prepared, decorated and cleaned the church, along with those who worked so hard behind the scenes in the sacristy.
Our celebrations would have been nothing without the hard work of all those who organised the many drinks and lunches; without those who contributed food; without those who staffed the bar over the festival weekend; and those who acted as sidesmen at the liturgies. They made a huge difference to the way people felt welcomed and to the hospitality we were able to offer. Many thanks indeed to everyone!
Parishioners tuck into the splendid parish lunch after the High Mass on our All Saints’ Festival Sunday. Many thanks to everyone who contributed food and organised the lunch!
Flowers
We would like to thank those that donated towards the flowers for All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and Festival Sunday.
If anyone would like to make further donations to cover the cost of these flowers, it would be greatly appreciated.
Parish walking Group
Our next parish rambling day will take place on Saturday 16th November. Weather permitting, we’ll take a circular route from Guildford towards the Surrey Hills, taking in Albury, Shere and Blackheath. We’ll aim for the 09.35 train from Waterloo. All welcome.
Fr Alan tests the curry at Wednesday night’s homeless shelter before it is served and pronounces it to be delicious!!
Advent Silent Retreat
A silent pre-Christmas retreat will take place at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham from Friday 6th – Sunday 8th December 2024. The weekend involves arriving on Friday afternoon, and then keeping silence from Friday evening until Sunday morning. The cost of this pilgrimage is £250. This covers the cost of accommodation, meals and travel from Kings Lynn. Pilgrims simply have to pay for their train ticket to Kings Lynn.
To reserve a place, sign up via Eventbrite here.
At the High Mass of Requiem celebrated last Saturday for All Souls’ Day Fr Reg Bushau was our preacher. You can watch the liturgy and hear his homily again here.
Requiem Masses
November is the month of Holy Souls. There will be Low Masses of Requiem on November 5th, 16th and 27th. If you would like a departed loved one named at one of those Masses, please be in touch with the Parish Office.
Parishioners enjoying drinks after the High Mass on All Saints’ Day.
Confirmation
Please be in touch with the clergy via the parish office (office@asms.uk) if you would like to be confirmed and/or baptized. Our confirmation will take place on Sunday 18th May and is preceded by a course of confirmation preparation through the early months of next year.
Our serving team on All Saints’ Day. Huge thanks to them all for the amazing way in which they have worked so hard over the past week in the service of our parish’s liturgical life. They are a wonderful team and we are very grateful indeed for all they contribute to All Saints’.
Attendance last week
The Venerable Katherine Hedderly, Archdeacon of Charing Cross, preached at the High Mass for our Festival Sunday last week. You can watch the liturgy and hear her sermon here.
For your prayers
The Friends of All Saints’ Margaret Street:
10th – Stephen Baldwin, Stephen Barber, Jonathan Beck, Dr William Benefield, William Bonnell
11th – John Bristow, Paul Brough, David Blunden, Fr. Michael Bowie, Dr Graham Burns
12th – Derek Bussey, Katherine Butler, Maureen Cambrey, David Caplowe, Adrian Carlton-Oatley, Timothy Cassady, Kate Charles, Stuart Chillingworth, Robert Chote, Sandy Christian
13th – Roger Clark, Catharine Clarke, David and Mavis Cleggett, Graham Colville
14th – Karolyn Cooper, William Cooper Bailey, Peter Coulson, Steven Cox, Dr Yvonne Craig, Juliet Cridland
15th – Kirill Dashkovskiy, Christopher Davies, Peter Dennis, Laura Denton, Joshua Dolphin
16th – Linda Edwards, Pamela Edwards, Dr Terrence Ellsworth, Carolyn Farrar
The sick:
Theresa & Augustina Baier, Stewart Buckingham, Fr John Burniston, Bishop Christopher Chessun, David Craig, Tony Hawkins, Fr Stephen Heard, Fr Harry Hodgetts, Arthur Johnson, Katherine Lee, Elizabeth Lyon, James Rodger, Jan Smith, Fr Peter Strange, Christine Vaughn-Lillie.
The faithful departed:
John Donvan, Pauline Ellis, Caroline Gibbons, Graham Morgan Pr, Graham Norman, Elizabeth Rankin, Andrew Wagstaff Pr, David Weller
Those whose anniversaries of death fall at this time:
10th – John Groves, Alan Bishton
11th – Paul Leyland, Violet Vanbrugh, Malcolm McHaffie Pr, Dorothy Cavan
12th – John Mayo Pr, Miss CFR Keeble
13th – Arthur Hutchings
14th – Sidney Dines, Annie Searles, George Scott, Ethel Rawll, Sam Thorpe, Graham Hawke, Rachel Clayton
15th – Genge Frank Genge Pr, Herbert Brackley, Janette Brierly, Cecil Everton
16th – William Foster, Alfred Stephens
17th – Elizabeth Church, Jonathan Walker, Rodney Beasley
Service times this week
Saturday 9th November – Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
11.30 am Rosary
12 noon Mass
6.30 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday
Sunday 10th November – REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
8.30 am Low Mass
10.55 am High Mass (note earlier start)
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Evensong and Benediction
Monday 11th November – St Martin of Tours
12 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass
Tuesday 12th November – St Josaphat
12.00 noon Mass
5.30 pm Confessions: Fr Jeremy Haselock
6.30 pm Mass
Wednesday 13th November – Feria
12.00 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass
Thursday 14th November – Feria
12.00 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass
Friday 15th November – Feria
12.00 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass
Saturday 16th November – Monthly Requiem
12 noon Mass of Requiem
6.30 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday
Sunday 17th November – 2nd Before Advent
8.30 am Low Mass
11.00 am High Mass
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Evensong and Benediction