All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear friends,

The Friends of All Saints’ has experienced a remarkable rejuvenation over the past twelve months since it was re-founded in January 2022. By the close of 2022, 181 people had joined the renewed Friends Scheme. Of those 181, 105 are “Friends,” contributing £25 per year, and 76 are “Benefactors” contributing at least £120 per year. This represents annual giving of £11,745 to All Saints’.

I want to say a huge thank you to all whose hard work has made the re-founding of our Friends scheme possible, especially to Chris Swift, the Secretary of the Friends, and to Jonathan Pease, our parish administrator. I also want to express my gratitude to all who have so generously joined it.

I am very pleased to announce a number of changes to the Friends which were agreed at a meeting of the PCC this week. These are aimed at helping us to expand and grow the Friends of All Saints’ further over the next 12 months.

The first of these is the announcement of two new categories of membership will exist from the beginning of 2023 onwards.

The first of these new categories of membership is a new “Legacy Fellowship.” This is to recognise and thank the generosity of people who wish to pledge a financial contribution to All Saints’ in their will. There is no lower limit to the amount needed for membership – simply the assurance that provision has been made for All Saints’ in your will. Those enrolled in the All Saints’ Legacy Fellowship will be remembered in perpetuity after their death at a special Requiem Mass once a year. It will, of course, be possible for people who are already members of the Friends to be enrolled in this extra category.

The second of these changes is the creation of a third category of benefaction, to be known as the “Patrons” of All Saints’ Margaret Street. This category will exist to recognise and celebrate exceptional generosity and sacrificial giving to the Friends Scheme. Membership of this category will be open to people who contribute at least £1000 per year to the Friends, or a one off gift of £5000 or over. “Patrons” of All Saints’ will be personally thanked for their generosity each year through a lunch or dinner at All Saints’ Vicarage on a date of their convenience.

I would particularly encourage members of our online congregation to think about joining the Friends of All Saints’ if they have not already. It is a particularly suitable way for people who don’t live close to All Saints’ to keep in touch with us, be kept abreast of news and events, and to support the life of our parish through their financial generosity. More details along with the online application process can be found here.

It would also be great if online followers of our parish could help us expand the Friends scheme to others they know who might want to join. It may be that you know someone who follows us online, or who used to worship with us but no longer lives in London, who might like to support us financially. It might be the case that Friends are aware of people who don’t yet know the Friends scheme has been renewed and might wish to become members. If you are a Friend who lives outside the UK, do you know other members of our online congregation near you who would like to receive the Parish Paper and preserve a link with All Saints’?

Another area we committed to explore more and look into at the PCC meeting this week is making it easier for American Friends and online followers to contribute to the work of All Saints’ in a way that is tax efficient. We have repeatedly heard from North American Friends that it is particularly difficult for them to donate to All Saints’ online. I want to acknowledge these problems and say that our PCC committed on Wednesday to working out some solutions to these issues over the coming months.

We are so grateful to our family of Friends, Benefactors, and online worshippers for their heartfelt prayer, exceptional generosity, and constant support. All Saints’ wouldn’t be the same without you. We are so lucky to be able to form together a parish community which includes all parts of the UK, and spans distant shores, several continents, and many international time zones.

Fr Peter

Bishop Paul Thomas

Fr Peter was very pleased to attend the consecration of Bishop Paul Thomas in Canterbury Cathedral yesterday, as were many other members of the All Saints’ congregation. We send our best wishes and prayers to Bishop Paul as he begins his new ministry as Bishop of Oswestry.

At the beginning of the liturgy a remarkable document was read out by an emissary bringing personal wishes from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

The Patriarch wrote fondly of his visit to St James’, Sussex Gardens, a few months ago when Bishop Paul was vicar of that church. His All-Holiness wished him well in his new vocation, and said, “We are certain of your success and pray that your journey in this capacity will bear the fragrances of virtue and holiness and that your preaching from the pulpit will resound the eternal melody of ageless Patristic tradition and teaching.” What remarkable words for Fr Paul to hear as he begins his ministry as a bishop.

We are grateful to Bishop Paul for the support and kindness he has shown our parish over the years as a neighbour and for the period in which he was acting archdeacon. Indeed, he celebrated his last Mass as a simple priest at All Saints’ on Tuesday night, very kindly covering the evening celebration of the Eucharist.

Our thanks and heartfelt congratulations go to Bishop Paul, along with many prayers.

British Library visit

A group of parishioners from All Saints’ had a wonderful visit to the British Library on Tuesday evening to see its exhibition on the reception of the life and myth of Alexander the Great.

We were very pleased and honoured to be greeted by the curator of the exhibition, Dr Peter Toth, who is also the Library’s Curator of Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts. After hearing Dr Toth’s introduction, and seeing the exhibition, we had a slap up pizza supper at Pizza Express. We would particularly like to thank Rachel Foss for all she has done to organise and facilitate the visit. Many thanks, Rachel!

Licensing of Fr Alan Rimmer

Please note that our new Assistant Priest, Fr Alan Rimmer, will be licensed to our parish at Evensong and Benediction at 6.00 pm on Sunday 12th February 2023. Please put this in your diaries and make a special effort to attend that liturgy in order to welcome Fr Alan to All Saints’.

Last week’s sermons

We have experienced a wealth of excellent sermons over the past week from various different visiting preachers.

In last Sunday’s sermon at the High Mass, Fr Robin Ward explored the dyothelite controversy. This was the heated debate in the early church about how many wills Christ has. The church discerned he must have two: one divine; and one human.

The controversy reveals to us the way in which a human will untouched by original sin would naturally be in harmony with that of God its maker. This is what the Church sees in Christ when we assert he has two wills, rather than a fragmented psychology at war within itself.

Fr Robin pointed out that Chrysostom uses the Miracle of Cana to describe how God transforms our wills to conform to his will through the Eucharist in order to counter the inconsistency and despondency inherent in our fallen condition. The tasteless, insubstantial water of our fragile sinful intentions is transformed into the full bodied wine of a life attuned to the will of God.  Watch Fr Robin’s homily here.

On Monday, Fr Nicholas Johnson preached the sermon at the annual commemoration of the death of Charles I organised by the Society of King Charles the Martyr. He drew on the fact that Charles I’s coronation took place on Candlemas Day 1626. Now we find ourselves, similarly, both in a coronation year and very close to Candlemas, that coming together of connections meant there was much to explore in the symbolism of the rite of coronation.

Fr Nicholas argued that the rich pageantry and sacramental meaning of a coronation show that all authority ultimately comes from God. A king receives his authority as a divine gift, not from a plebiscite or election. The presence of a king a the nation’s life, therefore, reminds us that human society should be ordered in accordance with God’s divine will rather than the caprices of human greed or the shifting opinions of politicians. You can watch Fr Nicholas’ sermon about Charles I here.

Last night, Fr Matthew Duckett, Priest-in-Charge of St Matthias’, Colindale, preached for us on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, otherwise known as Candlemas. He explored the meaning of large range of symbols and mysteries present in Luke’s account of the Presentation.

Fr Matthew revealed through a typological reading of last night’s Gospel how the story presents the birth of Jesus as the return of the Ark of the Covenant and the Glory of God to the Temple in the persons of Mary and Christ, described by Simeon as the Glory of Israel. Our task is to be incorporated into Christ and to live out this mystery of God’s presence in the sacramental life of the church. You can watch Fr Matthew’s sermon again here.

All Saints’ in the Evening Standard

All Saints’ has made it into the Evensong Standard again, this time on Tuesday evening in a report on Monday’s Society of King Charles the Martyr Mass in commemoration of the saintly king’s death:

Confirmation

Please be in touch with Fr Peter if you would like to be baptised and/or confirmed this Easter. Confirmation classes will begin soon for those wishing to receive the sacraments of initiation. The confirmation will take place on Saturday 8th April at 9.00 pm at the Easter Vigil, which Bishop Jonathan will celebrate.

All Saints’ Lent Lecture:
Fruits of the Spirit – Art from the Heart

We are very pleased that the curator of the National Gallery’s virtual exhibition entitled, “Fruits of the Spirit – Art from the Heart,” the Revd Dr Ayla Lepine, will give our Lent Lecture in March on the topic of this interesting project.

The lecture will take place at All Saints’ in person and online on Thursday 23rd March at 7.30 pm.

You “visit” the exhibition by clicking on the link here to enter a virtual gallery in the comfort of your own home wherever you are in the world. You can see pictures side by side each other which in reality live hundreds of miles apart!

Parish Outing to the National Gallery

On Friday 26th May 2023 at 5.30 pm, there will be a parish visit to the National Gallery to see their forthcoming exhibition on the figure of St Francis.

We are thrilled that the Director of the Gallery himself, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, has agreed to speak to our parish group about the exhibition, which he has personally curated.

As usual, the visit will be followed by dinner at Le Beaujolais restaurant for those who wish to stay on for supper.

The exhibition will bring together some the earliest devotional images of St Francis with manuscripts, relics, and modern depiction of him. Extensive loans of pictures from major collections will allow us to see a wealth of art, telling the story of the way in which St Francis has been depicted, his life received, and his reputation developed and moulded throughout the ages. You can read more on the Gallery’s website here.

The exhibition is absolutely free, and we will meet at the Gallery at 6.00 pm. Please be in touch with the parish office to book a place. The cost of dinner at Le Beaujolais will be £50. The total number we can take is capped at 20, so book early!

Walsingham National Pilgrimage

The National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham will take place on Monday 29th May 2023. The pilgrimage consists of a large outdoor Mass in the Abbey grounds at 12 noon. This is followed by a picnic lunch, and then at 2.30 pm an afternoon devotion, sermon, procession of Our Lady and Benediction.

As usual, we will be organising a coach for the day to take pilgrims to Walsingham and back. It will depart from Margaret Street at 7.30 am, and return to London, setting off around tea time, and arriving back in London by the late evening. The cost is £20 per head.

In order to book a place on the coach, please contact the parish office and make a payment to our office administrator, Jonathan.

Attendance last Sunday

Flowers

The flowers this week are given by Francis Davis in memory of his mother Barbara, whose anniversary falls on Candlemas.

We are looking for volunteers to help with the flowers in church and the Courtyard Garden. If you have a particular talent for flower arranging or gardening, or can even help with watering or sweeping the courtyard, please contact Shawn on 07988 287 663 or shawnwilbe@outlook.com.

If you would like to make a donation for flowers or the garden, please contact Shawn.

Links for Sunday

The links for the livestream and service sheet for this Sunday’s High Mass are at the end of this email.

Evensong and Benediction takes place at 6pm this Sunday. Music will include Morley’s First Service and Palestrina’s Sicut cervus.

Prayer list

The sick

Fr. Harry Hodgetts, Amanda Barrett, Greg Loveday, Theresa Moses, Joseph Lavelle (Marist Brother), Don McWhinney

Pavel Kaidalov

Anniversaries of death

February 5th – Dorothy Collins, Philip Morrell, George Venn, Sarah Hudson, Iris Harrison, Norman Holden, Rond Pethers
6th – Donald Scott
7th – Beatrice Reed, Jane Twinch, Dorothy Dent, Grahame James
8th – Bernard Anslow, Armorel Griffiths, Robert Streit
9th – Joan Adams, Pamela Brett, Hazel Otway, Eileen Mann
10th – Margaret Booker, Diana Juniper, Caroline Farrer
11th – Phyllis Woodcock, Frank Walker Pr., Winifred Bloomer, Victoria Nettey

The Friends of All Saints’

February 5th – Stuart Chillingworth, Sandy Christian, Laurence Clark, Roger Clark, Catharine Clarke, Sr. Jane Cledwyn-Davies
6th – David and Mavis Cleggett, Graham Colville, Alan Cook, Patrick Cook, Eliza Coomber, Karolyn Cooper
7th – William Cooper Bailey, Tony Coote, Peter Coulson, Steven Cox, Yvonne Craig, Kirill Dashkovskiy
8th – Christopher Davies, Robert Davies, Francis Davis, Jack de Gruiter, Laura Denton, Suzanna Eaton, Linda Edwards
9th – Pamela Edwards, John Eldridge, Terrence Ellsworth, Sue Enoch, Carolyn Farrar, Sue Feakin
10th – Adrian Felaar, Julia Fielden, Janice Fielden, Nigel Fisher, Gloria Fleming, Stuart Fletcher
11th – Christopher Forman, Anthony Fox, Charlotte Gauthier, Margaret Goddard, Paul Golding, John Goldsmith

Service times this week