Weekly Email – 3rd Sunday before Lent
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Dear friends,
Lent is not far away. Now is a good time to think about the various opportunities for worship, study, and formation which will be on offer in our parish over those forty days of renewal and penitence. It is always good to hit Ash Wednesday with a Lenten rule of life already formed in our minds so that we can be purposeful and recollected in the ways in which we seek to return to the Lord.
Ash Wednesday itself will fall on 5th March this year. All members of our congregation should aim to be present at Mass on that day if possible, in order to consecrate their keeping of Lent to the Lord.
There will be three Masses on Ash Wednesday: Low Masses at 8 am and 12 noon; and a High Mass at 6.30 pm. Every Mass will include the traditional imposition of ashes, and a priest will be available before each Mass to hear confessions. I hope this gives the largest possible number of people the opportunity to be present at the Eucharist at some point during the day.
The music at the 6.30 pm High Mass will include: Missa Emendemus, by Palestrina; Emendemus in melius, by Byrd; and Nolo mortem peccatoris, by Morley. The preacher will be Fr Julian Browning.
There will also other times when you can make your confession in the days running up to Ash Wednesday. Fr Graeme Rowlands will be available to hear confessions at All Saints’ next week on Wednesday 19th February at 5.00 pm; and then on Shrove Tuesday 4th March at 5.00 pm.
There will be extra opportunities for prayer and worship through Lent, including the Stations of the Cross, which will take place twice a week on Wednesdays at 12.30 pm and on Fridays at 7.30 pm. We hope the addition of an extra celebration on a Wednesday lunchtime will allow those to attend who might find it more difficult to come in the evening.
Do also remember that there is a Holy Hour every Wednesday at 5.30 pm, which will continue through Lent. This is a wonderful way of spending time silently with the Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament.
There will also be two formational events on offer to allow us to grow in our understanding of the Christian faith. The first is a visit to the National Gallery which will be undertaken jointly with the parish of St Paul, Winchmore Hill. This will take place on Tuesday 11th March at 2.00 pm. I will be giving a guided theological tour of the gallery, looking at a number of images. The idea is that we will be finished in time for tea at the Gallery tea room. All parishioners of All Saints’ are welcome to attend.
In addition to this, there will also be an online Zoom Theology seminar on Saturday 22nd March, 2025 at 3pm GMT (11am New York time). It will be entitled, “An Anglo-Catholic Tale of Two Cities.”
The seminar will be held jointly with our sister parish in New York, St Mary the Virgin, Times Square. Fr Peter and Fr Sammy Wood, the churches’ respective incumbents, will share their studies of aspects of and characters from the colourful histories of our two parishes.
We hope to explore what these histories can tell us about the future of Anglo-Catholic parishes like All Saints’ and St Mary’s, and what our parishes’ witness and traditions have to contribute to the life of the Church in our two cities. You can find more details about our Zoom Theology programme along with the Zoom link for the seminar here.
An important part of our Lenten pilgrimage is also about putting funds aside for almsgiving. Our parish Lent appeal this year will be split between the work done at the American International Church on Tottenham Court Road at their homeless shelter and the Bishop of London’s Lent Appeal. Bishop Sarah’s appeal this year focusses on “Climate Justice,” and seeks to raise funds for environmental projects run by the Anglican Church in Mozambique and Angola. A link will be available soon for you to make donations if you would like to contribute to this.
Whatever patterns of prayer, charity, and study you choose as a means of returning to the Lord and deepening your relationship with him, I pray that this Lent will be a springtime of the soul for you and that we may prepare well to celebrate together the Easter feast.
Fr Peter
British Museum trip: thank you!
A group from All Saints’ had a wonderful evening last Friday night at the British Museum. We had a parish trip to see the fascinating new exhibition entitled, “Silk Roads.” We are particularly grateful to Tim Moller for organising the tickets, and to Richard Blurton for giving us an introduction to the exhibition before we went in. The evening finished with a slap-up dinner at Le Beaujolais restaurant (with its legendary cheese trolley). Thank you to all who participated for a really interesting evening of learning, discovery, and fellowship!
Our group from All Saints’ at the British Museum. Richard Blurton gave us a fascinating introduction and explanation of what the exhibition was all about. .
Lent Walk
Our next parish walk will be a circular route of around 9 miles in the environs of Leigh-on-Sea and Hadleigh Castle and will take place on Saturday 15th March and include a Low Mass and the opportunity to eat together in Leigh after the walk. We aim to catch the 10am train from Fenchurch St Station, and to be back in London by 6pm. Please let Fr Alan (assistantpriest@asms.uk) know if you plan to join us.
Amaelia and Hugo began their confirmation classes last Sunday and are looking forward to being confirmed in June. Our adult confirmation class begins next week. Please keep all our candidates in your prayers as they seek to learn more about Christ and what it means to be his disciple.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Party
Fr Alan will be hosting a pancake party for our young adults after the 6.30 pm Mass on Shrove Tuesday (4th March). Please be in touch with him if you would like to attend.
Members of our group from All Saints’ inspect the wonderful array of artefacts and treasures gathered from across Asia, Europe and Africa in the “Silk Roads” exhibition at the British Museum.
Easter Flowers: sponsorship needed!
If you would like to sponsor an arrangement for the Altar of Repose on Maundy Thursday and for Easter, please contact Shawn directly or via the office. So far, only one arrangement has been sponsored.
The slap-up dinner at Le Beaujolais after our parish trip to see the “Silk Roads” exhibition at the British Museum, last Friday evening.
Attendance last Sunday
Dinner last Friday at Le Beaujolais, after our parish trip to the British Museum.
For your prayers
The Friends of All Saints’ Margaret Street:
16th – Linda Edwards, Pamela Edwards, Dr Terrence Ellsworth, Carolyn Farrar
17th – Sue Feakin, Adrian Felaar, Elizabeth Ferguson, Daniel Fielden, Janice Fielden, Julia Fielden, Nigel Fisher, Mark Fleming
18th – Stuart Fletcher, Christopher Forman, Matthew Foster, Antony Fox, Dr Ralph Donald Fram, Dr Jason Frost, Derrick French, Charlotte Gauthier, Dr Rebecca Gibbs, Margaret Goddard, Paul Golding, John Goldsmith
19th – Genevieve Gomi, Canon Michael Gudgeon, Sheelagh Gudgeon, Ginger and Del Hall, Monica Joan Hall
20th – Canon Richard Hanford, Paul Hannah, Jillian Hargreaves, Christopher Harlow-Jennings, Patrick Hartley, The Rev’d Canon Jeremy Haselock
21st – Eoghan Healy, Rebecca Hirst, Fr. David Hobden, James and Gwendoline Holdcroft, The Rev’d Canon Graham Holcombe, Rosy Holt, Bishop David Hope
22nd – Richard Hoskinson, Marissa Howard-McNatt, Fr David Hutt, Alfred Imhoff, David James, Andrew Jervis, Stephen Jury, Malcolm Kemp
The sick:
David Craig, Janet Crispin, Suzanne Goodstien, Eckhart Grimm, Tony Hawkins, Fr Harry Hodgetts, Elizabeth Lyon, James Rodger.
The recently departed:
Magdalena Grimm, Michael Brotherton, priest.
The faithful departed:
17th – Frederick Howard, Letty Attlee, Jack Hope
18th – Lill MacKay, Angela Thomson, Joan Bowie
19th – Mavis Symes
21st – Guida Crowley, Joan Williams
22nd – John Sanders Vickery
Services this week
Saturday 15th February – Monthly Requiem
12pm Low Mass of Requiem
6.00 pm Confessions
6.30 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday
Sunday 16th February – THIRD SUNDAY BEFORE LENT
8.30 am Low Mass
11 am High Mass
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Evensong and Benediction
Monday 17th February – Feria
12 noon Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass
Tuesday 18th February – Feria
12 noon Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass
Wednesday 19th February – Feria
12 noon Low Mass
5.00 pm Confessions – Fr Graeme Rowlands
5.30 pm Holy Hour
6.30 pm Low Mass
Thursday 20th February – Feria
12 noon Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass
Friday 21st February – Feria
12 noon Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass
Saturday 22nd February – Chair of St Peter
12pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Confessions
6.30 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday
Sunday 23rd February – SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE LENT
8.30 am Low Mass
11 am High Mass
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Evensong and Benediction