All Saints Margaret Street.

Dear friends,

I have just returned from a fortnight’s holiday in North America, where it was my pleasure and honour to preach at two significant Anglo-Catholic churches in New York and Toronto.

My trip brought home to me just how wide the circle of our parish’s friends and supporters is. I met a truly diverse group of people from many different places who feel they have a close connection with All Saints’ and regard us as their church home when in London. I want to express my gratitude for the warm welcome I received at St Mary the Virgin, Times Square, New York, and at St Thomas’, Huron Street, Toronto.

On Sunday 2nd July I preached at the Solemn Mass at St Mary the Virgin, Times Square, NYC. Our parish already has a formal link with St Mary’s through our diocesan partnership scheme with the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Many parishes here in London have a church in New York with whom they are partnered, and we have been linked with St Mary’s for some years now.

St Mary’s is currently awaiting the appointment of a new rector, and I was very pleased to get to know their Interim Rector, Fr Sammy Wood, who is acting as their parish priest until an appointment is made. I was very impressed by all he is doing, and we chatted at length about ways in which our parishes might support each other.

In many senses, we are quite different parishes, existing in very distinct cultures and churches; yet in others, there is a strong synergy between our shared history, and the challenges we all face as we recover from COVID and seek to re-evangelise the cities in which we live.

We are both, to some degree, “gathered” parish communities which people often travel long distances to be part of. We both have a particular liturgical and musical heritage rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. We both find ourselves at the heart of two of the biggest and most complex cities in the western world.  We committed ourselves to praying for each other more regularly and to keeping in closer touch as we seek to grow in Christ.

In Toronto, it was a great privilege to preach at St Thomas’, Huron Street, where the current rector, Fr Nathan Humphrey, is a good friend of mine. I was pleased to be invited to preach both at the 9.30 am Sung Mass and at the 11.00 am High Mass.

I was struck by the number of people at St Thomas’ who came to speak to me over coffee to tell me of their love of All Saints’ and of the various occasions on which they had visited our church. It was touching to realise so many people in Toronto felt they had a strong connection with All Saints’ and had always made an effort to worship with us when they were in London.

In both New York and Toronto I also spoke to people who commented on how much they appreciated the live-streaming of our liturgies. Many said it had been a life-line during the COVID lock-downs, and that they continued to value this way of worshipping with us as a means of continuing to feel connected with All Saints’.

I return to London encouraged by my experience of these two parish communities. I also have a new appreciation of how important it is for us to connect, keep in touch with, and value those who worship with us online, or in other countries, and to be aware of visitors who have travelled long distances to be with us. I pray that through supporting each other within the Body of Christ, we might all grow into the image of Christ in whom, though in different  places and cultures, we are all one.

Fr Peter

Evensong this Sunday: Byrd’s “Great” Service

2023 is the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd, who is regarded by many as the finest of the numerous composers writing for the liturgy in the late 16th and early 17th century.

Byrd’s music features regularly in the lists at All Saints’, but to mark his anniversary year, there will be a rare performance of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from the ‘Great’ Service at Evensong and Benediction on Sunday July 16th.

The work was composed towards the end of the 16th century for the Chapel Royal, one of the few foundations able to offer the resources and expertise required for its performance; it is among the most magnificent works ever conceived for the liturgy. It’s not a work which receives many liturgical performances, and this may well be the first time it has been sung at All Saints; it may not appear on the music list again for quite some time.

Do come and hear this great masterpiece!

Parish trip to the Cinema

There will be a parish cinema trip to see a new comedy drama starring Maggie Smith called “The Miracle Club,” which coming out in late September of this year.

Set in 1967, the film follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) of Ballygar, Dublin, who have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to Lourdes. When the chance to win presents itself, the women seize it. However, just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her mother’s funeral. The women set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie, a skeptical traveler, joining in place of her mother.  Old wounds are reopened along the way, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they travel in search of a miracle.

A parish group will go to see the film in the early evening of Saturday 7th October (showing times to be confirmed). There will then be the opportunity to have dinner together after the film in China Town. Please be in touch with the parish office to book a place on the trip.

Zoom Coffee Hour

There will be an online Sunday Zoom coffee hour on three occasions through the Autumn, directly after the 11.00 am High Mass for anyone who wishes to connect online. These will be on: Sunday 3rd September; Sunday 8th October; Sunday 19th November.

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.

American Zoom Cocktail Hour

There will be an opportunity for our North American online worshippers and Friends to connect and catch up on Sunday 20th August at a time that takes account of the time difference between England and North America. This will be at 10.00 pm GMT, which should be 5.00 pm Eastern Time, and 2.00 pm Pacific Time.

The idea is similar to the other Zoom Coffee hours we hope to organise: if you are an online worshipper, simply join us online where one of our clergy will be present for chat and to hear news from anyone who wishes to share it. The slightly later hour promoted us to think it wouldn’t be too early to come to the computer screen with a cocktail, but please feel free to drink whatever you want!

Join us as we seek to get to know each other better and nurture the links we have with one another across continents.

Young Adults Group

Fr Alan is organising two events for our younger parishioners over the coming weeks.

On Saturday 19th August there will be a hiking trip to Lewes and the South Downs. The walking trip will leave London around 10 am and last most of the day, returning in the early evening. Please be in touch with Fr Alan if you are interested in going.

On Thursday 7th September Fr Alan will host a dinner for our younger parishioners at his home from 7.00 pm. Please email him if you would like to attend.

Feast of the Assumption 2023

Please put in your diaries that we will be keeping the feast of the Assumption this year with two important liturgies over several days in August.

There will be  celebration of Evensong and Benediction with an Assumptiontide procession of Our Lady down Oxford Street on Sunday 13th August at 6.00 pm. The preacher at Evensong will be the Rt Revd Glyn Webster.

On the feast day itself, Tuesday 15th August 2023, there will be a High Mass at 6.30 pm. The preacher will be the Vicar.

Attendance last Sunday