We enter in early November a season of commemoration and celebration of our communion with all God’s angels and saints, and with the faithful departed who have gone before us. We celebrate this weekend the feast of All Saints, on Monday All Souls’ Day, and then next Sunday, Remembrance Sunday.
Our first reading at the Mass this Sunday reminds us of the way in which being a Christian involves both the promise of eternal life with Christ, but also a connection with all God’s saints who now live in Christ. In that reading, John tells us of the vision he had of all God’s saints:
“I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.'”
As we commemorate the departed and celebrate the saints over the next few days, we do not do so by simply calling a memory to mind, but by celebrating a living communion which we share with them through the saving Passion and Resurrection of Christ.
Fr Peter Anthony
Recording of this Sunday’s Mass
A recording of this Sunday’s Mass (All Saints’ Day) with a homily will be available here on our parish YouTube channel from the evening of 10th October.
This week’s pew sheet is available here.
Planning for Christmas 2020
We are beginning to plan our schedule of services for Christmas 2020. This will be made complicated by the need for social distancing and could be affected by regulations that may emerge closer to the time. At the very least, it will be necessary to book (entirely free) tickets for most of the main sung liturgies so we can predict how many people will be present in our building. We can fit a maximum of around 50 people in the church at the moment.
There will be no congregational singing at any of our Christmas liturgies, but there will be a choir singing at the main carol services.
Could we ask parishioners to start booking tickets NOW for the Christmas liturgies they intend to come to? Either sign up on the lists at the back of church, or send Fr Peter an email indicating how many tickets you need for which service.
It is with some regret that we have decided to cancel our German Carol Service, and the Children’s Crib Service in the light of COVID restrictions.
This is the schedule of choral services we are foreseeing at the moment:
Sunday 29th November 6.00 pm Advent Carol Service
Sunday 20th December 6.00 pm Christmas Carol Service
Thursday 24th December 9.00 pm Midnight Mass
C4WS Homeless Charity
It will not involve the “rolling” shelter with a different church hosting the shelter each evening. C4WS has decided to hire a hotel in Victoria, and to man the homeless shelter in one location, so it can comply with social distancing and COVID regulations.
We are all being asked to communicate to C4WS the numbers of volunteers we can provide to man the hostel through the winter. The idea is that we would aim to staff it on the same night of the week as we used to at Pond Square – i.e. Sunday nights. However, if you are able to offer you time on other days, I’m sure they would love to hear from you.
We need a range of people willing to do shopping, make meals, wash up, do overnight shifts, wash laundry, and befriend guests.
If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity this winter, please fill in this form and return it to Fr Peter to indicate your availability and time commitment so he can communicate that to C4WS.
Many thanks indeed to all our volunteers and to C4WS for responding so creatively to the present situation.
Online Theology Seminar cancelled
The online Theology seminar which was going to take place this Tuesday 3rd November has been cancelled. It will be re-arranged for a date in the Spring.
No German worship this Sunday & no German Advent Carol Service
For various reasons – largely to do with COVID – it has been decided to postpone worship in German until the New year. This means Evening Prayer in German which had been planned for today (Sunday 1st Nov) and the German Advent Carol Service planned for early December will not take place. We plan to resume worship in German after Christmas.
All Souls’ Day 2020
Our annual requiem for All Souls’ Day will take place on Monday 2nd November at 7.30 pm. Please list any names of the faithful departed on the lists at the back of church whom you may wish to be remembered at that Mass.
No Mass on Tuesday 3rd November
Please note that there will be no Mass on Tuesday 3rd November, and in a couple of weeks’ time, there will be no Mass on Tuesday 17th November.
Remembrance Sunday – Mass begins at 10.55 am
Please remember to arrive EARLY for Mass next week. We begin the liturgy at 10.55 am, so we are all assembled for the 2 minutes’ silence.
Services for the week beginning 1st November 2020
All Saints’ Day
11.00 am Sung Mass
7.00 pm Mass
Monday 2nd November
All Souls’ Day
7.30 pm Requiem Mass
Tuesday 3rd November
S. Martin de Porres
N.B. No Mass today
Wednesday 4th November
S. Charles Borromeo
7.30 pm Mass
Thursday 5th November
Feria
7.30 pm Mass
Friday 6th November
Feria
11.00 am Mass
Saturday 7th November
Feria
6.00 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday
Sunday 8th November
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Remembrance Sunday
10.55 am Sung Mass
7.00 pm Mass
Full details of all our Covid planning and liturgical arrangements can be found here.