All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear friends,

I write on All Saints’ Day itself, and our celebration of the communion we share with all God’s angels and saints is already very much underway. Last night, first vespers of the feast was celebrated and a splendid evening of conviviality and celebration was had afterwards in our parish bar.

Tonight, the High Mass will take place at 6.30 pm and we are very pleased that the Rt Revd Stephen Conway will be preaching for us. He was until recently the Bishop of Ely, but has just been translated to the See of Lincoln. We look forward to hearing his words.

The music tonight will include, Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai, and O quam gloriosum by Tomas Luis de Victoria. There will also be the opportunity to sing the glorious hymns we all look forward to each year such as For all the saints. After the Mass, there will be a  drinks party in church so we can welcome visitors and friends and continue our celebration of the feast.

Tomorrow, the liturgical tone changes substantially as we keep the commemoration of All Souls with a High Mass of Requiem at 12 noon. The setting this year will be that of Maurice Duruflé. Our preacher at the All Souls’ Requiem will be Fr Reg Bushau, sometime Vicar of St Stephen’s, Gloucester Road, and a good friend of our parish who frequently says Mass for us during the week.

I want to thank in advance all those who will contribute to the series of swift “scene changes” in our sanctuary and sacristy that will need to happen in church over the coming weekend – from festal gold today, to sombre black on Saturday, and back to gold again on Sunday. We are grateful to all those who work behind the scenes in our sacristies – and especially to John Forde for the heroic work he does to make all this happen.

I also want to thank all those who have worked so hard to prepare the church for this weekend’s liturgies, especially those who have arranged such a beautiful display of flowers. They really look stunning. Thank you, Shawn and Charlotte, for getting the flowers so early yesterday morning and for creating such a exuberant series of lovely arrangements.

Because of the way the calendar falls this year, our Festival Sunday will follow swiftly on the heels of All Souls’ Day. I am very pleased that we will be joined by the new Archdeacon of Charing Cross, the Ven Katherine Hedderly. She is one of the two Archdeacons who have responsibility for the Two Cities Area of our diocese, in which we find ourselves. This will be the first occasion that she will be with us as one of our archdeacons. We look forward to welcoming her and to working closely with her in the future.

After the High Mass on Sunday 3rd, there will be a parish lunch. We are appealing for food and are specifically asking for “finger food” – i.e. buffet food that can be eaten without a knife and fork (i.e. canapés, sandwiches, sausage rolls, small quiches, mini pork pies, cakes etc) so as to keep washing up to a minimum. The parish lunch will be served and eaten in church as the courtyard will be pretty cold in November. Please be in touch with Kate Hodgetts to signal what food you are able to contribute.

The music at the Festival Sunday High Mass will include, as is our tradition, the Mass written by Norman Caplin, a former Director of Music, for the feast day. In addition to this, we will hear Justorum animae by William Byrd as the Offertory Anthem. Our Festival Sunday is, of course, the wonderful occasion when we sing the hymn In our day of thanksgiving each year, giving thanks after communion for parishioners gone before us.

The evening of Sunday 3rd November will bring our celebrations to a close with festal Evensong and Benediction. This is one of the three occasions in the year when Evensong includes a Te Deum sung in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. The office will be sung to Stanford’s setting in C; and The fair chivalry, by Robert Ashfield will be the anthem. The canticles at Benediction will include Caplin’s arrangement of Bortniarsky’s O salutaris and Harwood’s Tantum ergo. The Te Deum will be that in G – Herbert Sumsion.

As we keep our feast of title together with a series of celebrations this weekend, let give thanks for the fact that in Christ, we are one with all his saints. Let us also  pray that the hope of glory which we celebrate today, and which in this life we celebrate under sacramental signs, will one day be ours when we see the Lord face to face in his heavenly Kingdom.

Fr Peter

All Saints’ Festival 2024

All Saints’ Day – Friday 1st November 2024
6.30 pm: High Mass
Preacher: The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Lincoln.
Music: Missa Sancti Nicolai, Joseph Haydn; O quam gloriosum, Tomas Luis de Victoria.

All Souls’ Day – Saturday 2nd November 2024
12.00 noon: High Mass of Requiem
Preacher: The Revd Reg Bushau.
Music: Requiem, Maurice Duruflé.

6.30 pm Vigil Mass of All Saints’ Festival Sunday

All Saints’ Festival Sunday – Sunday 3rd November 2024
8.30 am: Low Mass

11.00 am: High Mass
Preacher: The Ven Katherine Hedderly, Archdeacon of Charing Cross.
Music: Mass of All Saints, Norman Caplin; Justorum animae, William Byrd.
Followed by a celebratory parish lunch.

5.15 pm: Low Mass

6.00 pm: Solemn Evensong and Benediction, with Te Deum.
Music: Service in C, C. V. Stanford; The fair chivalry,  Robert Ashfield; O Salutaris, Bortniansky, arr Norman Caplin; Tantum ergo, Harwood, arr Norman Caplin; Te Deum in G, Herbert Sumsion.

Parish Communication

Just a brief reminder that the best way to get in touch with the parish concerning regular enquiries is via the parish office email address (office@asms.uk). This will usually be seen and answered during office hours which are the mornings from Monday to Friday.

Emails to the clergy or other parish staff are best sent to this address and are promptly forwarded to the relevant individual. Emails sent after the close of the parish office on Fridays will usually not be seen until Monday.

If your communication is urgent or concerns an emergency which needs immediate attention, the parish telephone number is the best option: 020 7636 1788. The answer machine is regularly checked and your message will be responded to within 24 hours, even during weekends.

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.

The censing of the altar at the Magnificat, First Evensong and Benediction of All Saints’.

Zoom Theology

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.

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.

First Evensong and Benediction of All Saints’ Day.

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.

Attendance last Sunday

First Evensong and Benediction of All Saints’ Day.

For your prayers

The Friends of All Saints’ Margaret Street:

3rd – Ingrid Slaughter, Naomi Slippe, Vaughan Snook, Harvey Solomon-Brady
4th – Richard and Louise Stallwood, Iain Stewart, Madeleine Storer, Ian and Veronica Summers, Colin Symes, Ann Tacchi
5th – Sebastian Taite-Ellis, Michael Taylor, Kitty Thompson, Charles Thomson, Dr James Thomson, Jeremy Thorp, Jane Turner, The Rev’d Roger Turner, Dr Christine Vaughn Lillie
6th – Christopher Walsh, Philip Wayne, Fr. Benjamin Weitzmann, Fr. Mats Wendt, Michael Westcott
7th – Matthew Whittaker, Tim Widdowfield, David Wilcox, T. Bradford Willis, Ian A. Wilson, Fr Michael Witcombe
8th – Martin Woods, The Rev’d John Wylam, William Yale, Michael Young
9th – Mark Allan, Martin Amherst-Lock, Robert Austen, Richard Ayling, James Babington Smith, Ruth Baker

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:

3rd – Gilbert Pickering
4th – Jack Fallon, Rosemary Crawley
5th – Helen St Aubyn, Curtis Berk, Daphne Gordon, Terence Duggan, Glyn Thomas, Rosemary Crome
6th – Philip Gould
7th – Constance Peters
8th – Dudley Sholté, Arnold Fryer, Barbara Reynolds
10th – John Groves, Alan Bishton

Service times this week

Friday 1st November – ALL SAINTS’ DAY
12.00 noon Mass
6.30 pm High Mass

Saturday 2nd November – ALL SOULS’ DAY
12.00 noon High Mass of Requiem
6.00 pm Confessions
6.30 pm Vigil Mass

Sunday 3rd November – ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY
8.30 am Low Mass
11.00 am High Mass
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Evensong and Benediction with Te Deum

Monday 4th November – Feria
12 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass

Tuesday 5th November – of Requiem
12.00 noon Requiem
6.30 pm Requiem

Wednesday 6th November – Feria
12.00 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass

Thursday 7th November – Feria
12.00 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass

Friday 8th November – Feria
12.00 noon Mass
6.30 pm Mass

Saturday 9th November – Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
11.30 am Rosary
12 noon Mass
6.30 pm Vigil

Sunday 10th November – REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
8.30 am Low Mass
11.00 am High Mass
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Evensong and Benediction