All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear friends,

I have further very encouraging news to report on our Music campaign as it enters its final weeks and comes to an end on All Saints’ Day. I also want to appeal afresh for your support as we seek to get this huge fundraising effort over the line and hit the target our PCC set itself a year ago of raising £1 million by November 2026.

You may remember that our goal was to raise an extra £2 million over the next ten years for the endowment of our Choir and Music Trust. The idea was that this would increase the income we receive to pay for music each year.  Our PCC’s plan was that the first £1 million should be raised during our year long campaign 2025-26 and the second million in the years that follow by 2035.

A number of significant new donations and contributions have come in over the past couple of weeks that have made a huge difference in getting us close to our £1 million target, for which we should all give huge thanks.

The first of these is the tremendous amount that was donated last Sunday to our Music Trust as part of our celebration of William Lloyd Webber. £1001.43 was taken on our credit card donation machines at the door in one day, which is a great achievement. Thank you to everyone who donated so generously last Sunday.

Our gala dinner has also already made a significant contribution to our fundraising efforts through ticket sales. I have been overwhelmed by the number of offers of sponsorship we have received. As a result, large amounts of the cost of the dinner are now covered, and we have already made something in the region of £8,000. Huge thanks go to all who have contributed to this in any way.

I am also able to report that a series of exceptionally generous gifts and pledges have been received from three parishioners in the past couple of weeks towards our Music Campaign. I am hugely grateful to the three individuals who between them have contributed a total of £33,000. This is truly sacrificial giving and our parish thanks them from the bottom of our hearts.

In addition to this, it has become clear over the past few weeks that the second tranche of funds we can expect from the estate of Biddy Baxter will be no less than a further £200,000. This has been directed to our Music Campaign by the PCC, and Biddy’s generosity will now take us very close indeed to our target.

When all these gifts are added up, along with the regular donations of £1,500 we now receive each month from the Music Patrons of All Saints’, our running total of funds raised now stands at £967,439.00. This is a magnificent achievement.

We now have four weeks to raise the remaining funds we need to get to our target of £1 million by All Saints’ Day – in other words just over £30,000 over the next month.

I am appealing to all our parishioners and friends to support these efforts and make one last donation to help get us to our target.

Our Festival Appeal this year will once again be dedicated to our Music Trust and I ask for your generosity in making a gift that will help us achieve the fundraising goal we set ourselves last year when we began this campaign. Our Festival Appeal goes live today in the run-up to All Saints’ Day and you can donate online to it here.

In addition, please remember that there are still remaining tickets to be sold for our fundraising gala dinner. If you have not already bought a ticket, please do. You can do so here. Be in touch with me directly if you would like to sponsor any of the costs of the dinner.

As we enter these final weeks of fundraising, please keep these efforts in your prayers and ask the Lord to prompt a spirit of generosity in the hearts of us all.

I give thanks for all that we have achieved over the past year in our efforts to re-endow the Music Trust and I pray that God will bless this last month of effort as we approach the end of our appeal.

Let us ask God to help us as we make one last push to get this campaign over the finishing line and achieve the target we set for ourselves last year when we began!

With huge thanks to you all,

Fr Peter

Zoom Theology – The kids are alright: How Gen Z found the Church of England

Our next Zoom Theology seminar will be given by Esmé Partridge on Tuesday 27th October 2026 at 7.30pm. Esmé is Senior Researcher at Civitas, and Fellow of Civic Future. Her work focuses on young adults, faith and the contemporary Church of England.

There has been much talk in recent years of a renewed interest in Christianity amongst younger people. But what does that actually look like? Why do some young adults turn towards faith, and what expressions of the Church of England are attracting them most?

Esmé Partridge’s research explores the experiences, relationships and questions along the journeys by which young adults are coming to faith.

In this session, she will introduce the findings of her recent report for the think-tank Theos, “Understanding Young Adult Journeys to Faith in the Church of England,” and invite us to consider what they might mean for the future of the Church, and the experience of our parish.

Participants are encouraged to read the document before the session. You can download it here, and the Zoom link to join the online seminar is here.

Parish Walk

Our next parish walk will take place on Saturday 24th October 2026. It will be around 8 miles long, mostly flat, between Paddock Wood and Tonbridge, taking in the Marc Chagall windows at All Saints’, Tudeley. Meet at Charing Cross Station for the 10.04 Dover Priory train to Paddock Wood. Be in touch with Fr Alan for further details

Gala Fundraising Dinner – tickets selling fast!

A gala dinner will take place at the Savile Club on Thursday 29th October 2026 to raise funds for our Choir and Music Trust. This will be the last great fundraising event of our Music appeal. Tickets are £100 each. Dress is black tie or equivalent for ladies. Tickets are selling fast and we only have 16 left! You can book your place here.

Homeless Shelter Volunteering

Each winter, we seek to show the love of God for our neighbour by staffing the nearby over-night homeless shelter at the American Church on Tottenham Church Road.

We now have the dates of the shelters which All Saints’ will be running:
11th – 12th November 2026
16th – 17th December 2026
13th – 14th January 2027
17th – 18th February 2027
10th – 11th March 2027

For each evening, we need a team lead to oversee the smooth running of the evening, a kitchen lead to cook, five other helpers, and a male and female overnighter. The following morning, we need a team lead and three further volunteers to run breakfast.

There are lots of different ways of taking part, and you don’t need any particular experience: making beds; preparing food; offering welcome; and helping to create a safe and hospitable space. If you would like to volunteer, please be in touch with Fr Alan (assistantpriest@asms.uk).

Visiting Confessors

A series of visiting confessors will be available to hear confessions over the coming months at the following times:

Tuesday 24th November 11.00 am – Fr Barry Orford
Saturday 5th December 5.00 pm – Bishop Peter Wheatley
Friday 18th December 5.00 pm – Bishop Peter Wheatley
Saturday 19th December 5.00 pm – Bishop Lindsay Urwin
Monday 21st December 5.00 pm – Fr David Houlding
Tuesday 22nd December 5.00 pm – Bishop Lindsay Urwin
Wednesday 23rd December 5.00 pm – Fr Barry Orford

In addition to these times, the parish clergy hear confessions each Saturday at 6.00 pm and are very happy to hear confessions at other times by appointment.

Attendance last Sunday

For your prayers

The Friends of All Saints Margaret Street

12th – Fr Michael Maine, Fr David Mason, Robert Mason, Graham Mather, Thomas McBryer, Fr Stephen McClatchie, John McWhinney, Peter Medine, Colin Menzies OBE

13th – Stephen Miller, Clark Mitchell, Thomas Moller, Barry Moore, Grace Morgan, Dr John Morrell, Fr Stephen Morris, Michael Mortensen, Inger Mosbery

14th – Carol Mundell, Brian Newman, Sasha Nixon, Elaine Norman, Fr Paul Ockford, Anna and Fr Peter Oesterby-Joergensen, Amanda Oldman

15th – Fr Barry Orford, Nicholas Page, Malcolm Parr, David Parrott, Bhaven Patel, Alma Pearson, Gladys Pearson, Pat Philips, Dr Colin Podmore

16th – Cecilia and Nicholas Powell, Sue Prain, Huw Pryce, Vasileios Psomas, Michael Readman, Carlos Rendon, Hekki Repo, Fr Steve Rice, Fr Peter Roberts

17th– Hilary Rodger, Charlotte Roueche, Greg Round, Jamie Rundle, Gianluca Ryan Smith, Mary Sherred, James Shrimpton, The All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor, Ingrid Slaughter, Paul Sorensen

The sick

Jean Castledine, David Craig, Fr Luke Demetri, Ingrid Slaughter, Juliet Windham

The recently departed

Fr George Bush, Harry Bramma, Dorothy Cruse, Joseph Cherian, Terry Gray, Danny Mather

Anniversaries of death

11th – Mark Carpenter-Garnier Bp, Barbara Schiefer

12th – Guest Blofeld Pr, Lilian Ditcham

13th – David Heffer, Elizabeth Hoare

14th – Vera Dyer

15th – Godfrey Dick

16th – Florence Kelly, Raymond McGrath, Jack Ridley, Richard O’Connor, Gelda James, Alan Osbourne

17th – Robert Hanvey, Evelyn Vandy, Margaret McKenzie-Edwards

Services this week

Tuesday 13th October – St Edward Confessor
12 pm Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass

Wednesday 14th October – Feria
12 pm Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass

Thursday 15th October – St Teresa of Avila
12 pm Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass

Friday 16th October – Feria
12 pm Low Mass
6.30 pm Low Mass

Saturday 17th October – St Ignatius of Antioch
12 pm Low Mass
6.30 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday

Sunday 18th October – TRINITY XX
8.30 am Low Mass
11 am High Mass
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Solemn Evensong and Benediction