This week we enter what is described by the church as ‘passiontide.’ It is the last two weeks of Lent in which we look more and more towards the passion and death of Christ, and in which we prepare with even more heartfelt love for our celebration of Holy Week. In this period, the statues in church are veiled to give our worship an even more austere feel. The plain, stripped back character of our church and our liturgy mirrors the stripping back from our lives of those things which separate us from God.
This Sunday also marks our Annual Parochial Church Meeting. This will take place in person in St Benet’s Church after our 11.00 am Sung Mass. In this time of Coronavirus, our APCM will be kept as short as possible and will transact the minimum business necessary so as to keep the COVID risk low.
I wish to thank all those who have served on our PCC over the past year, and especially those who have served as church wardens and who have helped organise the finances of our parish. The next few months will be a time when the PCC will take charge of our parish’s life whilst you await a new vicar, so it will be particularly important to pray for them over this time.
The PCC also met (without me present) for what is described as a “Section 11” meeting on Tuesday. This is a meeting which takes place in preparation for the appointment of a new vicar. The PCC has drawn up a document called a “parish profile,” which outlines the needs of our parish and describes the skills and qualities our PCC wants in a new vicar. The PCC also elected two members to represent the parish in the appointment process – these will be Craig Allen and James Farmer. We await the nexts steps of the appointment process, which should happen in Eastertide, once I have left St Benet’s.
Fr Peter Anthony
Masses this week
St Benet’s remains open for public worship during the present lockdown. Our Sunday morning 11.00 am Mass continues to take place, with weekday Masses at the following times over the next week:
Sunday 21st March 2021
5th Sunday of Lent
11.00 am Sung Mass
Tuesday 23rd March 2021
Lent feria
11.00 am Mass
Wednesday 24th March 2021
Lent feria
7.30 pm Mass
Thursday 25th March 2021
Annunciation of the Lord
11.00 am Mass
Friday 26th March 2021
Lent feria
11.00 am Mass
Sunday 28th March 2021
Palm Sunday
11.00 am Sung Mass
Our Lady Of Walsingham
Our statue of Our Lady of Walsingham has been restored and returned to the wall in our side chapel on a new bracket.
The corbel is made up of a pair of 18th Century angels, which Fr Peter happened to come across, and which have been expertly incorporated into a new plinth for the statue to sit on. The statue itself has been re-painted, and gold work undertaken in gold leaf.
The statue and plinth really fit in well with the rest of the fittings and fixtures in the side chapel.
Feast of the Annunciation – Thursday 25th March 2021
Please note that Fr Peter will be preaching at All Saints’, Margaret Street, on Thursday 25th March, which is the feast of the Annunciation. As a result of this, there will be no evening Mass here at St Benet’s, and the Mass will be moved to 11.00 am.
Holy Week 2021
St Benet’s Church remains open for public worship during the present lockdown. We will celebrate Holy Week and Easter this year with the following liturgies in conjunction with our neighbouring parishes.
Services are open to all and do not require tickets or booking. However, we ask that you wear a face mask, observe social distancing whilst in St Benet’s, and sanitise your hands upon entry into the church building. A number of small changes have been made to our Holy Week schedule to ensure our services are as COVID secure as possible, such as omitting the Watch until Midnight on Maundy Thursday.
HOLY WEEK SERVICES 2021
Palm Sunday 28th March 2021
11.00 am Blessing of Palms and Mass at St Benet’s Church
The liturgy will begin in St Benet’s Church and the procession of palms will be omitted this year.
Holy Monday 29th March 2021
7.00 pm Mass at St Mary Brookfield
Holy Tuesday 30th March 2021
7.00 pm Mass at All Hallows’, Gospel Oak
Holy Wednesday 31st March 2021
7.00 pm Mass at St Benet’s, Kentish Town
Maundy Thursday 1st April 2021
7.30 pm Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper at St Benet’s, Kentish Town
There will be no altar of repose or watch until midnight this year.
Good Friday 2nd April 2021
3.00 pm Liturgy of the Passion at St Benet’s, Kentish Town
There will be no children’s activities on Good Friday this year.
Holy Saturday 3rd April 2021
8.00 pm Easter Vigil at All Hallows’, Gospel Oak
Easter Day 4th April 2021
11.00 am Sung Mass at St Benet’s, Kentish Town
