Weekly Email – Trinity 19
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Dear friends,
In our Gospel reading this Sunday, Jesus teaches us that it is more difficult for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples are, unsurprisingly, taken aback by this. ‘Then who can be saved?’ they ask him.
There is much in this reading that seems impossible to achieve. It would appear to be a counsel of perfection for the super holy. So how do we start to make sense of Jesus’ teaching?
Perhaps one way into this passage is Jesus’ assertion at the end of our Gospel reading that whoever has left house or brothers or sisters for Christ’s sake will receive a reward. Although it seems like a very harsh teaching to fulfil, it does point to the fact that sacrifice and giving lie at the heart of what it means to respond to Jesus.
If we have families or children dependent on us, it would be fool hardy or even negligent simply to give up all our belongings. Yet, we can still live out our faith with a spirit of sacrifice and generosity.
These readings prompt us to ask ourselves, for example, how much we regularly give away to charity, and how much we contribute to the mission of the church through regular giving. They prompt us to ask whether we volunteer generously enough by giving of our time and skills when they are needed. They prompt us to consider how we treat those around us in need, and whether we make time for those who need our time or emotional support more than they do our money.
Any life that is lived with loving sacrifice and generosity at its heart echoes and models the life Christ himself led. And Christ’s life reveals to us the reality at the heart of God – divine love giving of itself.
We may not be able to give up all we have or sell our belongings, but we can live generously and sacrificially. Our readings this week prompt us to question whether we take that idea seriously enough so that we may call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ in deed and not just in word.
Fr Peter
What an amazing musical feast we had last Sunday at our 11.00 am High Mass: Vierne’s Messe Solonnelle with Mascagni’s Easter Hymn as the offertory motet. Thank you to our wonderful director of music and choir for all they contribute to our liturgy.
All Saints’ Festival 2021
Please put the many events of our All Saints’ Festival in your diary. It is a wonderful week of celebrations in which we give thanks for our parish’s life. It is particularly good to be joined by friends from far and wide who may perhaps find it difficult to get to London at other times.
First Evensong of All Saints’ Day – Sunday 31st October 2021 6.00 pm
Preacher: Fr Justin Hutcherson, Vicar of St James, Clacton-on-Sea
Canticles: Dyson in D; Ashfield, The Fair Chivalry; Caplin, O salutaris & Tantum ergo
High Mass for All Saints’ Day – Monday 1st November 6.00 pm
Preacher: Fr Philip Barnes, Vicar of St Stephen’s, Gloucester Road
Mozart, Krönungsmesse; Victoria, O quam gloriosum
High Mass of Requiem for All Souls’ Day – Tuesday 2nd November 6.00 pm
Preacher: Fr Andrew Zihni, Canon Precentor of Southwark Cathedral
Duruflé, Requiem
High Mass for All Saints’ Festival Sunday – Sunday 7th November 11.00 am
Preacher: The Vicar
Caplin, Missa Omnium Sanctorum; Whitlock, Glorious in heaven
Evensong, Te Deum, and Benediction for All Saints’ Festival Sunday – Sunday 7th November 6.00 pm
Wood, Collegium Regale; Moore, O quam gloriosum; Henschel, Tantum ergo.
Our parish club bar is open after the High Mass and Evensong most Sundays. Here we were last week. Come and quench the thirst after righteousness. All are welcome to join.
London in Bloom Gold prize
We are very pleased to announce that our parish courtyard has won gold prize again in the London in Bloom Churchyard of the Year award.
We are very grateful indeed to Shawn Welby-Cooke and Craig Williams for creating our lovely courtyard garden and for all the hard work they invest in keeping it looking so beautiful.
The judges commented extensively on how well conceived the garden is and how cared for the plants and flowers are. Many thanks Shawn and Craig and many congratulations indeed!
How proud we are of our beautiful courtyard space, and how grateful we are to all who keep it looking so welcoming and verdant.
Pusey House comes to All Saints’
All parishioners of All Saints’ are welcome to join former members of Pusey House at their reunion on Saturday 23rd October 2021 at All Saints for a High Mass at 3.30 pm to celebrate the life of the House. The Mass will be sung by former musicians and choral scholars and will be followed by refreshments.
We are so pleased Pusey House has chosen to hold this event at All Saints and look forward to working together more in the future.
Fr Peter spent a few days this week undertaking academic research at Pusey House Library. He was very impressed by the young people he met there, who all said they look forward to being at All Saints on 23rd October.
Church welcoming Training
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help with church welcoming as we reopen All Saints in November. There will be two training sessions for those who have volunteered for this important work on Saturday 9th October and Saturday 30th October, both at 10.30 am.
Please be in touch with Fr Peter if you can’t make either of those two dates and a third session will be organised by Skype at a convenient time.
Opportunities for study: Ravenna
Please put in your diary two teaching events fast approaching, focussed on the history and theology of the city of Ravenna in antiquity.
Study Day: Friday 29th October 2021, 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
The first is our study day led by Professor Judith Herrin. She will explore the history of that remarkable city in the early Christian centuries and speak about its significance as one of the first truly “European” city that emerges in the early medieval period from the “Dark” Ages.
Our second speaker will be Fr Anders Bergquist, vicar of St Johns Wood. He will reflect on the interaction between theology, politics and history in the city’s life.
Fr Peter Anthony, our own vicar, will offer a third lecture focussing on the mosaics to be found in a significant church in Ravenna, S. Apollinare in Classe.
The day will begin at 10.00 am and be finished by around 4.00 pm. There is no need to book a ticket for this – simply turn up.
Zoom online theology seminar: Tuesday 16th November 2021, 7.00 pm
A fortnight or so after our study day, there will be an opportunity to discuss in greater depth Judith Herrin’s recent book on Ravenna, entitled, “Ravenna: Capital of Empire; Crucible of Europe.” We will have much to reflect on in response to the study day, and people will have had the chance to read Professor Herrin’s work.
This online Zoom seminar is a particularly good opportunity for people who couldn’t attend the study day to come together online and discuss issues and ideas that the book raises.
Join us as we learn more about the fascinating history and breathtaking cultural patrimony of the ancient city of Ravenna.
Walsingham Devotion & Monthly Requiem
Tomorrow our monthly Walsingham Devotion, in the form of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary with intercessions, will be offered at 1130 before the noon Mass.
A week tomorrow our monthly Requiem Mass will be celebrated: please let Fr Michael have names of those you’d like remembered at that Mass.
Refreshments took place in the courtyard after the High Mass last Sunday whilst the beautiful autumn weather is still fine.
Links for Sunday
The link for the Propers for Trinity 19 is at the end of this email.
And click here for the YouTube live stream.
Evensong and Benediction is at 6pm on Sunday, and is in memory of Mark Bushby. The music includes Parsons Ave Maria, Howells Collegium Regale canticles, Harris Faire is the Heaven, and Sumsion Benediction hymns. This service is not live streamed.
Flowers
We are looking for volunteers to help with the flowers in church. If you have a particular talent for flower arranging and would like to help from time to time or on a regular basis please contact Shawn on 07988 287 663 or shawnwilbe@outlook.com
If you would like to make a donation for flowers, please contact Shawn or speak to Chris Self.
Prayer list
Prisoners and captives
Nazanin Zhagari-Ratcliffe, Ismaeil Maghrebinejad, Nasrin Sotoudeh
Maira Shabhaz
Rohingya Christians in Pakistan, Karen Christians in Burma, and Tigrayan Christians in Ethiopia
The sick
David Fettke, Vallery Tchukov, Sara Vice, Katherine Lee, Lorna Smith, Beth Klausing, Hilary Porter, Bruce Ross-Smith, Benjamin Woolf, James Shrimpton, Tony Rodger, Fr Michael Gudgeon, Chris and Carole Radley, Fr Harry Hodgetts, Rosemary Orr, Martin Berka, Barbara Schiefer, Joan Anna SLG, Sheila Wood, Jennifer Spreckley, Sue Yesnick, Elizabeth Lyon, Rosina Sargon Eskrya, Malcolm Brown, Geoff Vardy, Fr John O’Brien, Max Fernandes, Craig Williams, Ross Dixon, Bernard Holmes, Elaine Bishop, Kathleen McMorran, Muriel Woodhead, Sabria Systermans, Peter Hoyle, Bishop Andrew St John, Emily Borland, Hazel Duckett
Those known to us recently departed
Rachel Pereira, Henrietta Osler, Colin Urquhart, Derek Mathews
Anniversaries of death
10th – Suzette Shores
11th – Mark Carpenter-Garnier Bp
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
Supporting All Saints
Parish Giving Scheme
You can set up a regular donation to All Saints here.
We use the Parish Giving Scheme, which allows contributions to be anonymous and deals with Gift Aid, saving our office a lot of time. You can read about how the scheme works here.
Donations for general church purposes
To give by BACS please use the following details, advising the Administrator to collect Gift Aid:
PCC All Saints (Charity no. 1132895)
Sort Code 60-09-15
A/C 04559452
Parish Legacy Policy
We are always delighted to hear from anyone who wants to support us with a donation. Our PCC Legacy Policy encourages people to leave bequests specifically to one of our two related charities to be used for purposes of lasting value (rather than day to day costs):
All Saints Choir & Music Trust (Charity # 802994)
or The All Saints Foundation (Charity # 273390).