All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear friends,

I write on a day full of significance and anniversary. Today is not only the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but is the first anniversary of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and therefore also Accession Day, when we pray for the King, giving thanks for the moment when he became our Sovereign.

This concatenation of commemorations prompts us to think about continuity and change, commitment and dedication, vocation and service – both in our nation’s life, but also in our own individual lives as we seek to be faithful Christians.

The 12 noon Mass today was just offered as a Mass of Requiem praying for the soul of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and the evening Mass at 6.30 pm will be offered as a Mass of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Prayers for the King commemorating his Accession will be said at both celebrations.

The feast of the Nativity of Our Lady has its origins in a strange apocryphal text called the Gospel of St James, which was probably written some time in the 2nd century. This apocryphal gospel acts a little like a “prequel” to the birth narratives of the canonical gospels. Although unreliable in many ways and ultimately not accepted as part of the canon of scripture, it nonetheless reveals to us a number of early traditions associated with of Mary’s birth and early life. It is the first place, for example, where we learn of her parents being called Anna and Joachim, and of the early association of the young Mary with the life of the Temple.

The liturgical celebration of Our Lady’s birthday emerges with the first flowering of Marian devotion that follows in the wake of the Council of Ephesus. Hymns praising her birth emerge in the 6th century, along with the dedication of the church of St Anne in Jerusalem, thought to have been built on the location of Mary’s childhood home. The keeping of a feast of Mary’s birth gradually spreads throughout the Greek Mediterranean world from the Holy Land and Syria in the 6th century, only reaching the Latin West by the 7th century.

The feast gives us an opportunity to thank God for his providence in preparing Our Lady for her vocation of being the “God bearer,” and signals the first moments of our salvation beginning to dawn.

But just as we celebrate Mary’s calling, so we can reflect on our own to be faithful disciples of Jesus, and indeed on that vocation of service so nobly exercised by our late Queen over the many years of her reign. All these commemorations prompt us to remember that any calling or vocation comes from God, and can only be exercised in his strength and in his power.

As we pray for King Charles on the anniversary of the day on which he became our Sovereign, let us give thanks for the way in which God calls every one of us, before we were even born, and equips us for whatever needful service he has in store for us.

Fr Peter

Welcome back, Fr Michael!

We look forward to hearing Fr Michael Bowie, our former assistant priest, preach at the High Mass this Sunday. Fr Michael is now the Vicar of St Peter’s, Eastern Hill, Melbourne. A parish lunch will take place in his honour at Pierre Victoire restaurant on Dean Street. All the tickets for this are now taken. Those participating are asked to get to Pierre Victoire for 1.15 pm.

Parish Office Administrator

All Saints’ is seeking to appoint a new parish office administrator. The post is half time. Salary: £17,820 per annum. Closing date for applications: Sunday 17th September 2023. Interviews will be during the week beginning Monday 25th September 2023. More information available here.

Please be in touch with Fr Peter if you wish to apply for this post. Please let anyone know who might be interested in this role, and share our advert on social media if you are able.

Many congratulations, Jeremiah!

We congratulate Jeremiah Stephenson on his recent appointment as Organ Education Lead at St Paul’s Cathedral.

This post involves music outreach and organ work with children on behalf of the Music Department of St Paul’s. He will combine this exciting new role with continuing to act as our Associate Director of Music.

You can read more about this appointment in a press release here. We wish Jeremiah well in this new work and assure him of our prayers and best wishes for this inspiring and worthwhile project.

Mystagogy Course

The first session of our mystagogy course is fast approaching on Thursday 31st September, taking as its focus Books VIII-XI of Augustine’s Confessions. If you have agreed with Fr Alan that you will be taking part in the course, please make sure you have read and prepared the set texts in order to get the most out of the evening.

The expectation is that those who sign up commit to attendance at all of the sessions – we’d like this to involve a sense of momentum and growing together as we study different areas of Christian life. Full details of dates and topics can be found  here.

Next Virtual Coffee Hour – 8th October

Our next virtual coffee hour after the High Mass will take place on Sunday 8th October (Zoom link here).

The idea behind this is simple: if you are an online worshipper, grab a cup of coffee and join us online via Zoom for a chat and catch-up directly after the end of the High Mass.

Parish lunch on Sunday 1st October

A parish lunch will take place after the High Mass on Sunday 1st October at 1.15 pm at Pizza Express on Dean Street. The cost of the lunch (two courses) will be £25 (to be paid beforehand to the parish office via our Paypal account here) – diners buy their own wine. To book a place, please email the parish office.

Next Zoom Theology Seminar

Our next Zoom Theology Seminar will take place on Tuesday, October 10th, 2023. It will be entitled, “Sitting on top of chaos: Dr Megan Dent on the religious life and times of Benjamin Disraeli.”

Historians have long assumed that the Victorian prime minister was indifferent to the various religious and moral changes of his time as he pursued political advancement. Yet in his novels Disraeli expressed a range of ideas about Judaism, Catholicism, and the Church of England. Sybil, or The Two Nations in particular explores the value of orthodoxy within contexts of economic inequality.

In this session, our discussion will be led by Dr Megan Dent, a published historian of this period, who will explore the novel’s treatment of various religious ideas, and how Disraeli drew on Scripture and historical tradition to posit a way forward for a struggling nation. Sybil is available in the Oxford World’s Classics line.

Attendance last Sunday

Flowers

The flowers by Our Lady are given by Antonietta Russomando, in loving memory of David Robin, whose first year’s mind falls at this time.

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

Links for Sunday

Prayer list

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
12th – Genevieve Gomi, Fr. Thomas Greene, Fr. Michael Gudgeon, Sheelagh Gudgeon, Ginger and Del Hall, Monica Joan Hall
13th – Roger Hancock, Jill Hargreaves, Christopher Harrison, Patrick Hartley, Canon Jeremy Haselock, Eoghan Healy, Fr. David Hobden
14th – Canon Graham Holcombe, James and Gwendoline Holdcroft, Fr. Andrew Hollins, Edwin Holmes, Bp. David Hope
15th – Roy Hopkins, Richard Hoskinson, Fr. David Hutt, Andrew Jervis, Arthur Johnson, Malcolm Kemp, Alan Kimbrough
16th – Roger Knight, Brenda Koupis, The Very Rev’d Harry Krauss, Deirdre Laing, Graham Last, Christopher Laws, Cornelius Logue
17th – Henry Macey, Dirk Maney, Bp. Michael Marshall, John Martell, Robert Mason, Judith Mather