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THE MAGAZINE Candlemas & Lent 2024

All Saints, All people. www.allsaints-fulham.org.uk

All Saints Fulham

Welcome to

The Magazine All Saints, All people. www.allsaints-fulham.org.uk All Saints Parish Office Pryors Bank Pavillion Bishops Park, Fulham London SW6 3LA 020 7736 3264 info@allsaints-fulham.org.uk www.allsaints-fulham.org.uk

Magazine Volunteers Editor: Paul McCarroll

Design Night Owl: So-Jin Holohan

Picture Editor: Nicky Thomson

Photo Contributors: Jess Armstrong Julia Chittel Rebecca Davidson Mike Dudgeon Emily Richardson Nicky Thomson Nicholas Young Shutterstock Free Images The section of stained glass in this issue’s front cover, which depicts Mary’s presentation of Christ to God in the temple, can be found on the right side of the east window in the Lady Chapel. It was designed by Margaret Rope in 1938, a British stained glass artist who was part of the Arts and Crafts movement in the early part of the 20th century.

Proof reading: Christina Thomas

Production heroes: Tina Ellis

Karina All Saints is a registered charity: 1130273

Situated on the north bank of the River Thames at Putney Bridge, All Saints Fulham is a vibrant and thriving church. Anyone who is seeking to worship – whatever age, gender or sexuality, whatever marital status, whatever their interest in Christianity – will find a warm welcome.

I received a rather delightful Christmas card from the wonderful Christopher Day which made reference to the seasonal Quiz in the Christmas issue of this magazine (you’ll find the answers, by the way, on page 16). Christopher, when considering the quiz question about George Clooney and his aunt, clearly felt I had failed to honour the appropriate hierarchy within the relationship. For me, and I suspect most people my age and younger, George Clooney is the name we know and it comes as something of a surprise to know that he had a famous aunt. For Chris, and I suspect many more of the readers of this magazine, the real star is Rosemary Clooney and the nephew a mere upstart youngster. The original Clooney starred, alongside Bing Crosby, in White Christmas.

A prayer for the year This reversal of taxonomy led me to think how different perspectives sometimes throw up completely antithetical ways of making moral judgements. And that, if we were better at seeing the other point of view, as a species, then the world might be a better place. So maybe my prayer for 2024 is that for Palestine and Israel, Ukraine and Russia, North and South Sudan, old and young, Brexiteers and Remainers, Democrats and Republicans, Conservative and Labour, everyone who has suffered in the Post Office disaster, show the empathy and understanding needed to bring us all closer together.

On a local level, it’s also worth hoping empathy and perspective are to the fore. We pray for the PCC as they seek a replacement for Penny – a new vicar who will continue to represent the diverse needs of our congregation. We pray for those who are leading the project to refurbish the Church Hall and transform it into a venue we can all enjoy once again. And we pray that this is the year that so much of the country’s poverty and discord of the past couple of years can be alleviated – that food banks become less of a necessity, refugees no longer die at sea and hospital waiting lists return to manageable levels.

Well versed Our bellringers got the new year off to the best possible start. And, to keep that optimistic tone going, we’re focussing on poetry rather than prose in this issue of the mag. Mike Travis looks at the power of poems to provide new direction and impetus. Douglas Downie examines the spiritual and human power of Robbie Burns. And we even have a Chaucerian moment as we examine how the story of St Valentine evolved to a point where he has become the unofficial patron saint of romantic love. So, with love and hope in the air, I wish everyone a happy, healthy 2024 full of empathy and understanding. Paul McCarroll

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VIEW FROM THE PULPIT Rev’d George An amazing moment If you speak to any new parent, I’m sure they will have a thing or two to say on the difficulty of looking after a new baby for the first forty days of their life – about just how tired and unprepared they feel. Whether looking after a new baby or in the midst of another testing journey, it can be hard to get a sense of life outside of that struggle and it can be easy to lose perspective.

Candlemas is a great festival where the church is flooded with candles. The gloom of January is behind us and although we are still in the dark months of winter, the joy of good weather, beautiful colours and the new life of spring and Easter is just about visible on the horizon. A festival of great hope as we journey on through the new year. We can use Candlemas, and indeed the whole of the Epiphany season (the period from Epiphany, after the twelfth day of Christmas up to Candlemas on 2 February), to think about our own journeys and callings. Candlemas marks the end of the forty days from Epiphany to the date we remember Mary, now fully purified, presenting Jesus in the temple. Forty is a significant number in our scriptures. Genesis tells of forty days in which Noah and his household survived the flood. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai before his forty-year journey leading Israel through the wilderness and Jonah had forty days in Nineveh to convince the people to repent. In the New Testament too, Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness and the forty days between his resurrection and ascension. For us, celebrating Candlemas, the forty days falls at the midpoint of the journey from the shortest day of the year and the spring equinox; the beginning of spring. In each of those accounts, the forty days (or years) are a period of significant testing and hardship, before the characters emerge blessed by God. They are all journeys that the central characters must follow God through to reach blessing and the next change of direction.

When Mary brought Jesus to the temple, doubtless exhausted from looking after a new-born baby, we get this amazing moment, through the words of Simeon and Anna, when past and present is held together. God gives us that unity in Jesus, the Great Light that holds everything together and gives us direction. God’s great gift is a light that is bright enough to spread to all and bright enough to give us back our hope and perspective when we are close to losing it. For Mary, it wasn’t the end of her journey, but it was a moment of blessing and refreshment. A moment to remember and be re-centred on the Light of God, before journeying on, carrying him further into the world. Those moments that we celebrate at Candlemass, Simeon and Anna holding Baby Jesus in their arms and realising that God is changing everything, links us back to the start of the Epiphany season. When the Magi found Christ and fell on their knees in wonder and worship, they also knew that everything now was changing. For Simeon it was the end of his journey, seeing the Christ and holding him in his arms was his life’s purpose. For Anna, like Mary, it was a moment of extraordinary blessing from which to journey on with the light of God, spreading his light to others. Epiphany gives us journeys that people were called to take with a star to follow. As you go further in 2024, what journey are you called to and how will God keep you heading in the right direction?

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OPEN AGE. A WONDERFUL LOCAL RESOURCE FOR THE OVER 50s Mike Travis

Their website is : https://openage.org.uk If you happen to be passing Pryor’s Bank on a Tuesday afternoon you may notice a group of people, including some All Saints parishioners, doing chair-based exercises. This is one of the many varied activities organised by Open Age, who have been championing an active life for older people across Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham for the last 30 years. They provide over 350 weekly activities from more than 60 sites so there’s something for everyone. As they put it, “We provide opportunities for our members to take part in meaningful activities, strengthen their sense of community, rediscover old hobbies, find new ones, make new friends and, most of all, have fun! By doing this we can combat loneliness and isolation and improve the health and wellbeing of older Londoners.” Cost is no barrier with £3 as the maximum for a session – less than a cup of coffee these days!

Poetry classes I don’t feel quite ready yet for the chair-based exercises, but I have much enjoyed various Open Age activities over the past few years. The latest activity that I’m doing with my brother Mark is a poetry class in the Second Half Centre at the St. Charles’ Centre for Health and Wellbeing in North

Kensington. When we first signed up for this we thought we were going to be learning about different forms of poetry and would be revisiting some of the poems we had learnt by heart some 50 years previously. So it was a bit of shock when our teacher announced in the tea break “What have you got for me today?” It’s been quite a challenge to write a poem each week and then to recite it to the class. But we’re a small group of about 10 and have got to know each other pretty well. We’re generally forgiving in our feedback and encourage each other. It’s been a lot of fun. Tracey, our teacher, has taught us about Villanelles, Petrarchan sonnets, Pantoums, performance poetry and much more.

King Lear dividing up the prizes Recently one of our group, Douglas, suggested we might like to enter for the King Lear Poetry Prize for the over 60s individually and as a group. I must say that initially most of us were rather reluctant and there was a general sense of “I’m not sure this is for us!“ However after much encouragement we all agreed to participate and submit two or three poems for the individual prize and also as a group, calling ourselves The Open Age Poets. No individual prizes were won but two members of our group received honourable mentions. However, much to our surprise and delight, the Open Age Poets won the 2023 Group Award. We’re still not sure how many entrants there were – possibly better not to know! The photo shows our group and I’ve also included two of the poems I submitted. The whole exercise has given us all a great deal of pleasure and I would encourage other senior citizens to look at the Open Age website and see what might be of interest to them.

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The Grey As we turned the corner behind the bus The racecourse stretched out ahead of us Magnificent in its autumn glory Providing an inviting story. With sunlit hills a panorama A lively scene filled with drama. The morning suits and fancy hats The local punters in brown cloth caps. The bookies chalking up their boards Swiftly changing all the odds A portly figure in bowtie Does his best to catch my eye. “Come sir come and place a bet “ I told him, “I’m not ready yet.” As we walk towards the ring We pass the ladies in their bling And scan the runners on parade

Led by the boys so underpaid. The jockeys in their coloured caps Look so young, these tiny chaps As they walk beside their steeds Impatient to perform brave deeds. And then I saw him walking round Small, quiet, composed and sound The only one for me that day Was the unobtrusive grey. I left the ring with studied haste There was no time for me to waste Indeed I was at last all set To go and place my chosen bet. Rushing past their noble lords I scanned the bookies and their boards And there I saw it clear as day Fifty to one I bet on the grey. And so I watched scared to death My eyes glued with bated breath The clattering hooves as they

thundered past With whoops and hollers they jumped the last. Where was the grey? In second place behind the bay “Come on,” I shouted. “You can win.“ I think he heard me through the din. And as he galloped on beside He suddenly increased his stride And as he passed the winning post All the rest were left for toast. I made my way through the crowd The cheers were long and very loud And then I saw him saw the grey Who looked at me as if to say We did it, we both won today!

My granddaughter’s pink tutu Saturday morning in Herne Hill, I’d grab a coffee And you’d have a toffee and off to Stagecoach we’d go. It was a rite of passage for you and for me Your little hand in mine, hurrying to get there on time. We’d go through the door and there they all were The girls and some lads with their mums and their dads. On with the ballet shoes and the pink tutu Beautifully ruffled and looking so frou frou Twinkle toes Primrose stepped onto the dance floor. What beauty what joy as you twirled to the music Each girl and each boy entranced by the magic. Like a Degas painting with stretching and pointing With such composure for dancers so young. Where is that tutu now? In the dressing up box I’ll wonder, patiently waiting for the next generation. Now you are ten and have swapped your ballet pumps and tutu For football boots and an iPad. It seems like yesterday. Where has the time gone?

Degas, Dancers in pink

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LET’S RAISE THE TEMPERATURE Rev’d Penny As the thermometer suggests, we’ve made good progress since launching the Hall Appeal with some very generous donations from long standing members of the congregation helping us get past the 100K mark over Christmas. Huge thanks to those who have already given, but if you haven’t got round to that, please do follow through on your intentions because every contribution takes us a step closer to a new Hall for All. We need to hit the target of £345K before the end of 2024 to ensure that building work goes smoothly, so the best way of helping, if you can’t give a lump sum, is to donate an affordable amount online spread over time. This can be set up via the QR code below, or via the home page of the church website. As a guide, if everyone on the electoral roll was able to give £50 a month before next Christmas, we’d be worry free, by 2025. That is not an unreasonable sum for those who are able to buy a pint of beer or bottle of wine without missing a rent payment but may represent a much higher proportion of income for those on lower budgets. We pray those who enjoy a season ticket at Craven Cottage, or the odd night out, might therefore be willing to give more to even out the spread of donations. Such treats also usually raise substantially more than face value when auctioned so if you have access to tickets that might appeal, holiday accommodation, or are prepared to donate professional skills etc, to an auction of promises, please let us know as soon as possible. We hope to arrange this shortly after Easter at a fundraising event which will be publicised as soon as details have been finalised. In the past, those who have had a glass or two of wine too many, have paid a ridiculous sum for dinner at the vicarage so I hope there will be a real bidding frenzy, as well as many other opportunities to enjoy the rewards of your giving in the hall when its finished.

YOU CAN GIVE RIGHT NOW, USING THIS QR CODE

If you prefer, pay by cheque or bank transfer and add a Gift Aid form if applicable. Simply pick up a leaflet in church or contact the office.

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CHRISTINA’S SACRED SEVEN Christina Thomas shares the pieces of music that are most spiritually significant to her. Choices, choices The next choice is difficult because it has to be Stanford. But Stanford in C? Or Bb? Or G? Mag and Nunc or Te Deum? An impossible choice. I joined my parish church choir when I was 10 and Stanford settings were our staple. I loved singing them. Later on Evensong at Durham or Salisbury, Worcester or Gloucester cathedrals put me in touch with this timeless, and oh so Anglican, music. It makes me feel safe and grounded and that with God all things may, possibly, be possible. I want to include a hymn in my sacred seven. Maybe it would be something a bit jolly I can sing along to: Shine, Jesus, Shine, maybe. However, I am going for Holy, Holy, Holy, which we had at our wedding and my husband’s funeral. It’s a magnificent hymn of praise, and I can still sing along to it. I sang in the choir at an amateur performance of Verdi’s Requiem about twenty years ago. It is a profoundly moving work, again I’m wavering in my decision making, but ultimately it has to be the Libera Me as the soul pleads for mercy. Although La Boheme was not the first opera I went to, it was a performance in Berlin that opened my ears to the amazing power of this art form. This was in 1977 or so when the Wall was firmly in place, and I could see the Russian patrol boats on the Havel at the end of Schloss Glienicke’s garden. Maybe it was the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the city in those days: the tortuous border crossing into East Berlin, the blanking out of the years 1933–1945 in a tour of the Reichstag. Anyway, come the end of the opera I was in floods of tears overwhelmed by the sadness of it all, and when I went off with young friends for a beer I was still weeping. In the noughties, All Saints had a gospel choir, and I loved singing gospel music. I found a spirituality in the simple harmonies and repetitive phrases. It’s hard to single out a song, so I’ll choose So Good, which tells of God’s goodness: ‘not enough time to tell you, how he saved my soul, not enough time to tell you how he made me whole, not enough time to tell you how he set me free, he’s been so good to me’.

My sixth choice is silence. Shortly before I left London, I went to a workshop run by the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer (FCP) in the Lady Chapel. After a talk about the history and practice of the Fellowship we sat in silence (as much as the Lady Chapel can be silent). It’s hard to describe the effect of keeping silence, concentrating on a ‘word’ (short phrase of Scripture) with others, not moving or speaking. Afterwards I felt as if everything inside me had been gently shaken into place. Nowadays there are regular meetings of the FCP still in the Lady Chapel. And finally, jazz. How clever are people who play it: stating a theme, improvising round it and ending together not quite in the place from which they departed? I heard Binker and Moses playing a track, Fete by the River, on the radio recently. It has everything I love about jazz: fun, exploration, energy, resolution of a slightly different sort than you expect. A paradigm for life, perhaps?

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CHRISTIAN MONTHS AHEAD Rev’d George As we look forward from Christmas and Candlemas, Easter seems the next major festival in many calendars. There is of course Lent before the great celebration of Easter. This year Lent begins on Wednesday 14 February, Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday on 24 March and Easter Sunday falls on 31 March. It is traditional to take up some form of self-denial or fast, to replicate the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness before beginning ministry, to spend time contemplating our own mistakes, brokenness and need for the forgiveness and love of God. It is also common to take up extra reading, good deeds or spiritual disciplines. Ultimately, it is a time to prepare ourselves for Easter.

Night, to ensure much merriment and frivolity is out of our systems before our Ash Wednesday service and the fast begins the next day! This year, the bell ringers are hosting and setting the questions. Do think about either joining or forming a team, it’s always great fun and just to ensure we’re fulfilling our pastoral duty, the office team often finishes in the bottom three places!

There will also be Lent groups to think about joining. These are a great way to engage a bit more deeply with Lent. In the coming weeks, do look out for which groups will be running and think about which one might be right for you this year. It is really worthwhile using this season to prioritise and ensure we are putting time, thought and prayer into our faith. Lent groups are a great way to do that and There will be numerous opportunities to engage in get to know other people from All Saints in a this season ahead of us, at All Saints. The day before different way. Lent begins is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day. We will be putting on our annual Shrove Tuesday Quiz

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CANDLE IN THE SUN Laura Auckland, always a font of knowledge, looks back on the day of her boy’s baptism and reflects on one unforeseen consequence of a house move in the heat of summer 2021. original cardboard sleeve, and stowed it lovingly (and as it transpired, stupidly) in the glove box of our car. As a contrast to the weather of February of 2010, this was the blazing heat of August 2021 and when I went to retrieve the candle some two weeks later, it was alarmingly flatter than its former cylindrical self. I believe I felt a guilt similar to those unfortunates appearing on The Repair Shop programme, having let a purportedly beloved item fall into such a parlous state. However, despite its difficult journey and mishappen appearance (and without the help of Jay Blades and his colleagues), the wick still lights, the symbols are still clear, and the flame burns as brightly and hopefully as it did the day it was first lit. Baptism, the sacrament from which all the other sacraments flow - surely? Even after four years as churchwarden, I am still nervous at making such a bold theological statement, but it feels true to me. It formalises the beginning of a person’s journey with Christ, and I find it a thoroughly uplifting thing to witness at All Saints, not least because of the age of our font. It is believed to be somewhere between four to six hundred years old, and even at an extremely conservative estimate of one baptism a week, that must be tens of thousands of Christian souls connected in part by that ancient rough stone bowl. One of those souls is our son, who was baptised by Penny in that font on a chill blustery day in February 2010. If I am honest, both of us were fairly oblivious to the entire event – him because he was 10 months old and me, well, because he was 10 months old! But one lasting tangible symbol of the day is his baptismal candle. Over the years we have attended the Candlemas service and relighted his baptismal candle to remind us as a family of the start of his journey of faith. Does anyone else do that, I wonder?

A treasured possession The candle is a treasured possession now, so much so that the last time we moved house, to prevent it from being crushed or lost in the myriad of moving boxes, I carefully wrapped it in tissue, still encased in its

Dropping the Christening cake After the baptism service we crammed our family and friends into the downstairs part of Pryors Bank, which was then running as a café, and they helpfully catered for us. It was – I am told – a lovely party, but all I remember is being hot and squashed with nowhere to sit and the caterer dropping the Noah’s Ark Christening cake because of the fray. Fourteen years on, both Pryors Bank and the church hall have become bleaker and shabbier. However, the hall is about to start its long-awaited rebirth and I hope, over the course of time, will host hundreds if not thousands of baptism parties, and other celebrations. Of course, it can never catch up with the numbers the font has seen, but the church hall is our parish family gathering place and like any journey in faith we have to trust that God will provide us with the strength and wisdom to raise the funds, do the work and see it through to the end. Next time you are in church, take a moment to look at the font, revisit it with any children too young to remember the special moment of their official welcome into the Christian faith and the All Saints community. They are connected spiritually to the centuries that have gone before, and with continuing faith, to the centuries to come. Candlemas will be celebrated on Sunday 4th February 2024 – all baptismal candles welcome, however misshapen!

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CANDLES Rev’d Penny This moment throws light on the age old tradition of processing with candles, whilst recalling the Nunc Dimittis, the last song of Simeon, when he catches a glimpse of the child in Mary’s arms: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel. There is a moment in the candlelit service at 6pm on Sunday February 4th, when the choir surround the congregation, singing Michael Bojesun’s arrangement of ‘Faithful Vigil ended’ at the end of the Feast of Candlemas, which celebrates the Christ’s Presentation at the Temple forty days after Christmas and the day before we put the crib away for another year.

AN EXTRACT FROM EAMON DUFFY’S ‘THE STRIPPING OF THE ALTARS’

In medieval times, the Feast of Candlemas which coincided with the winter solstice was more elaborately choreographed, because every parishioner was obliged to bring a candle and reward the priest, with a penny for each one blessed during the service. These candles were then used to light the church, or burn before a shrine, or image of Mary for the rest of the year, with additional ones being taken home, for reasons The Blessed Virgin herself led the procession and offered a candle. Angels gave the dreamer a candle to offer in her turn to the priest, according to custom, but she refused to part with so great a relic: the angel tried to wrest it from her grip, and she awoke to find the broken stump in her hand. This piece of holy candle was henceforth reverenced as a “a grete jewel, tresoure and a relyck”, so that “alle the seke whomever it touchid afterward were there-through hole delyvered”.

The Tudor jest-book, A Hundred Merry Tales, tells the story of John Adoyne, a Suffolk man who unwittingly terrifies his neighbours by wandering around the town in his demon’s costume after a local religious play. The squire, on being told that the devil is at his door, “marvelously abashed called up his chaplain and made the holy candle to be lighted and gat holy water” to conjure him away. This story, almost invariably included in The beliefs suggested in the jest were no laughing matter. The Golden Legend has a story of a devout woman who, unable to attend the Candlemas celebrations at her local church, was granted a dream vision of a heavenly celebration of the Candlemas liturgy, in which Christ was the priest, assisted by the deacon saints Laurence and Vincent, while a company of virgins sang the Candlemas antiphons.

that blur the distinction between faith and folk lore: ‘Whose candelle burneth cleere and bright, a wondrous force and might. Doth in these candelles lie, which, if at any time they light, They sure believe that neither storm nor tempest dare abide, Nor thunder in the skie be heard, nor any divil spide, Nor fearfull sprites that walk by night, nor hurt by frost and haile’ Thankfully, there is no call for a sermon these days about such superstition which played into the hands of those who practised witchcraft, but cradling the flame of a candle in a drafty church, reminds us of how careful a mother has to be to ensure the light of her child’s life, doesn’t wane and die. When Mary presented Jesus to the priests in the temple, she sought their blessing for his protection, but simultaneously symbolically gave her Son to God so that his light, might bring solace to those living in darkness, in all far-flung parts of the world.

Candlemas sermons and vividly illustrated at Eton and in the Winchester Cathedral Lady Chapel series of frescos of the miracles of the Virgin, was clearly designed to impress on congregations the solemnity and importance of the Candlemas observances, and the rewards of devotion to the Virgin. But the celestial candle-stump must also have provided a paradigm for lay perception of the holiness and power of the candles, the “highly prized sacramental” which they took away from the ceremony.

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YOUNG JOURNALISTS

Baptism is a ceremony which takes place in a church when you are born or if, as an adult, you choose to convert to Christianity. The forms and rituals of the various Christian churches vary, but baptism almost invariably involves the use of water. For a baby, the parents meet with the vicar and discuss their beliefs and the beliefs they wish to share with their child. The vicar/priest anoints you with holy water to connect you to the Lord, Jesus Christ. The vicar then says, “I baptize you: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism is a ceremony that symbolizes a commitment to living a life as a Christian. It’s a picture of what Jesus did when he took the punishment for our sins. In a baptism the priest pours water over the child's head (or immerses the child in water) and says, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". The water is a sign of life, because without water nothing can grow - a sign of the new spiritual life into which the baptized person is entering.

Baptism is an important part of being a Christian as it cleanses people from original sin and marks a person's official entry into the Church. Some religions other than Christianity have a ceremony similar to baptism including Hinduism where they perform a sacrament called upanayana where the child is ritually said to become dvija Baptism is a rite of passage for (twice-born). Christians: it is a symbol of their commitment to Jesus and to living a life Baptism is often considered to be a following His guidance. Baptism is new beginning. Some examples of new something that should not be entered beginnings could be starting school or into without thought and care. It is a even trying a new hobby that you are time of celebration and great hope for destined to love for many years to all the Christian family and something come. One of my experiences with for each Christian to consider starting new is when I first moved prayerfully and thoughtfully as they house. It was nerve-racking but all journey through life. worth it in the end because it meant that I could move closer to All Saints Nina church and its wonderful community. During baptism we are "cleansed" of original sin (the fact that we are born without original holiness and justice), but Baptism doesn't take away the tendency towards sin. It only restores our ability to have access to holiness and justice.

George

Baptism is a sacrament that is initiated by the Christian religious rite of sprinkling holy water onto a person’s forehead or of immersing them in a Baptismal pool, symbolizing purification and regeneration, while holding Admission to the Christian church. Baptism is anointing and being baptized with a special shell and the other is being immersed in a baptismal pool. It happens when there are multiple hymns and prayers, then the candidates come to the altar, make promises to the congregation and to God, then those persons are baptized. Baptism is an important part of being a Christian because Baptism cleanses you of your sins and leads you down the path of God and it marks a person’s entry into the church. It’s also a remembrance of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. A non-religious baptism is called a humanist naming ceremony. Some Christians believe can't go to heaven without being baptized and there are a few ways of being baptized. Some other religions carry out different versions of baptism including Hindus.

Kendal

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SHAPING FAITH Rev’d George talks about his new podcast which explores God, Life and the Church of England. In our last edition of the magazine, I wrote an article about a new project I’m trying out with a friend who is a self-supporting priest, serving across the river in the Diocese of Southwark. It is a sort of new year’s resolution, which we began last month for Advent – the beginning of the Church year. Both John and I enjoy listening to podcasts and we think it could be a good way of the Church reaching out and engaging on platforms that people both within and outside of the church use. So we decided to have a go at making one. The concept is that the two of us will meet once a month to discuss the part of the Church year we are in or coming up to. We’ll look to make connections with faith, practice and life generally through our conversation. We are hoping that this will offer a link between questions of life and faith with the Church of England and her themes, teaching and practices. We are aiming to enable people to think more deeply about their faith, life, questions and doubts, through the lens of journeying through the Church year and engaging in what themes and practices come out of each season.

First Episodes In our first episode we discussed Advent and Christmas. We explored some significant themes around apocalypse, death, heaven and hell. We also spent time thinking about what it means to wait, prepare and anticipate, particularly with the tension of Christmas starting commercially after Halloween and being over in many people’s minds before the turkey is digested on the afternoon of the 25th. We dwelt on the core good news of the gifts of God with coming at the darkest time to give us hope and a way back to God and light. January’s episode will conclude the twelve days of Christmas and delve into Epiphany and what the revelation of Jesus as full God and the journey of the Magi following their star might mean for our own journeys and callings as we go further into

2024 and a new start or turning point. John and I will reflect on our own calling and journeys into faith and ordination into the Church of England.

Enriching faith Time will tell, but we hope this project will be useful and help the two of us, as well as those who go to church but would like to think more deeply about what they are doing and why. Help to link those practices and questions and beliefs with their everyday life. We hope it will also be interesting for those not currently engaged but who might have questions and are interested in thinking about God, life and how the Church might enrich and give meaning. We hope it will help shape our faith.

I particularly like podcasts because one can listen whenever its helpful and time permits. If you would like to read more but find it hard to make time, then why not give podcasting a go? You can listen while out for a walk, sitting quietly by yourself somewhere, in bed or the bath, driving or when out for a jog. If you haven’t picked a New Year’s resolution, or the one you have chosen isn’t working out, give this a go and let me know what you think. If you listen to podcasts, you should be able to find this by searching for ‘Shaping Faith’ wherever you listen (Spotify, Apple Podcasts etc). If you don’t currently listen to podcasts, just ask me and I’ll show you how and where you can listen.

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LOOKING BACK AT 2023… A SNAPSHOT

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ROBBIE BURNS. A POET WITH A SPIRITUAL SIDE? Douglas Downie investigates… When our editor issued the challenge of writing about Burns and Religion, I eagerly and foolishly accepted. The detail in the article is taken from Wikipedia, the BBC website which has a very helpful section covering 69 of his poems called Burns Works With a Theme of Religion, which section interprets religion very widely, and an article by Don Paterson (no mean poet himself) that he wrote about Burns for the Guardian in 2010. This is written a few weeks before Burns night on 25th January, the date of his birth when, in honour of my Scottish parents and forbears, and Burns himself of course, we will feast on haggis, neeps and tatties (mashed swede and mashed potatoes) accompanied by a glass, or two, of whisky. Here is the Selkirk Grace (generally accepted not to have been written by Burns, but it might as well have been written by him) that is traditionally said before the meal: Some hae meat an canna eat, Amd some wad eat that want it; But we hae meet and we can eat, And sar the Lord be thankit

We see here Burns compassion for the poor, a recurring theme in his poetry which we’ll come back to. Burns was born in Alloway in Ayrshire on 25 January 1759 in south-west Scotland, the most fiercely protestant and presbyterian part of Scotland, indeed of the whole of the United Kingdom, still filled with memories of the ‘Killing Time’ when the extreme protestant Cameronians were ruthlessly and bloodily suppressed in the reigns of Charles II and James II and VIIth of Scotland. The Kirk in Burns’ time ruled social and moral behaviour in a way that is almost unimaginable today. Burns had to perform ‘public repentance’ during two Kirk services in 1786 after he admitted to the Mauchline Kirk Sessions that he was the father of two illegitimate children of Jean Armour, whom he later married. He also had children by two other women.

Part of Burns’ attitude to religion was, having submitted to the Kirk, to then make fun of the hypocrisy of those who presumed to sit in judgement on others. Here are a couple of verses from Holy Wullie’s Prayer. In case there’s any doubt I Burns wrote poetry both in the South Scottish should make clear he is mocking the idea of the dialect (what was called “Lallans”) for which he is ‘chosen’ sitting in judgement, in this case on Gavin best known, but he also wrote some perhaps more Hamilton. serious poetry in standard English. Here is his Sonnet Lord, bless Thy chosen in this place, on Hearing a Thrush Sing For here Thou hast a chosen race: Sing on, sweet thrush, upon the leafless bough, But God confound their stubborn face, Sing on, sweet bird, I listen to thy strain, An' blast their name, See aged Winter, ‘mid his surly reign, Wha bring Thy elders to disgrace An' public shame. At thy blythe carol clears his furrowed brow. Lord, mind Gaw'n Hamilton's deserts; Thus in bleak Poverty’s dominion dreas, He drinks, an' swears, an' plays at cartes, Sits meet content with light, unanxious hearts; Yet has sae mony takin arts, Welcomes the rapid moments, buds them part, Wi' great and sma’, Nor asks if they bring aught to hope or fear. Frae God's ain priest the people's hearts I thank thee, Author of this opening day! He steals awa. Thou whose bright sun now gilds the orient skies! An' when we chasten'd him therefor, Riches denied, thy boon was purer joys – Thou kens how he bred sic a splore, What wealthe could never give nor take away! An’ set the warld in a roar O’ laughing at us; Bur come thou child of poverty and care, Curse Thou his basket and his store, The mite high heav’n bestow’d that mite with thee Kail an’ potatoes I’ll share

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Burns speedily became very popular, Burns mania spreading across the English-speaking world and across Europe via translation. Both Clara and Robert Schumann set some of his poems in their German translation to music. As a ‘man of the people’ he became a very popular poet in the Soviet Union, selling more than 600,000 copies of the translations by Marshak.

poetry, our editor asks? It’s not just an excuse to have a good time accompanied by haggis and whisky, of which he would surely have approved, but it’s because, sinner as he was, he knew the downs and ups in life, and expressed them in usually, but not always, kind words, in direct, memorable and often humorous, but always heartfelt words, words which strike straight to the listener’s heart, sometimes in love poetry as in that red, red rose, Alongside the lampooning of the hypocrisy, was the sometimes in contemplation even of a mouse, but concern, love and respect for the ordinary person, always written with a full awareness of God’s, all too well aware of this own failings, that concern presence and love for the mouse and the sinner. derived I’m sure at root from some of my favourite verses in scripture Galatians 3 v 26 “So in Christ Here are some words of comfort from his poem Jesus you are all children of God through faith” and Written in Friars’ Carse Hermitage Mark 10 25. “It is easier for a camel to go through For the Future be prepar’d, the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to Guard, wherever thou canst guard, enter the kingdom of God.” But thy utmost duty done, Welcome what thou can’st not shun: Here’s a verse from The Cotter’s Saturday Night Follies past, give thou to air; From scenes like these, Old Scotia’s grandeur Make their consequence thy car: springs, Keep the name in Man in mind, That makes her lov’d at home, rever’d abroad: And dishonour not thy kind. Princes and lords are but the breath of kings, Reverence with lowly heart “An honest man’s the noblest work of God;” Him whose wondrous work thou art; An certes, in fair virtue’s heavenly road, Keep His Goodness still in view, The cottage leaves the palace far behind; Thy trust and thy example too What is a lordling’s pomp? A cumbrous load, Stranger, go! Heaven by thry guide! Disguising oft the wretch of human kind Quod the Beadsman of Nid-side. Studied in arts of hell, in wickedness refin’d! Do read him. But further, why do those who read him love Burns’

Holiday flat for rent Verdi, cheese, ham – to say nothing of Correggio and violets My flat in Parma offers two double bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen and an enormous terrace overlooking a small park. The central square, stunning duomo and baptistry are a 20-minute walk or short bus ride away. Parma itself is rich in art and history as well good food, cafés and bars. The nearby train station links to Milan, Bologna and Rome. If you would like to know more contact Christina Thomas, ckthomas@christinathomas.co.uk

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ON NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS Does Paul Hall need medication? Let’s find out Having never made a New Year’s Resolution in my life, I have always liked to think of them as the work of the devil. This was borne out in a recent visit to the doctor. I gained an appointment on the pretext of a sore toe, and after treating me for this the doctor rashly enquired whether I had any other complaint. “Yes, Doctor…..” “Mephisto” he said, “I’m Doctor Mephisto, the locum. They import doctors like me these days.” He had a winning smile, a steady eye, and a voice of velvet. “Yes,” I continued “I would like to live forever and to remain healthy.” “Then what you need,” he said, “is a few good New Year Resolutions.” “What? You mean like the Prime Minister?” I asked. “No, not like his ones – yours must be entirely private – just between you and me.”*

“I will write a prescription which you may collect from Boots tomorrow”, said Doctor Mephisto.

The third bottle contained yellow pills and was marked “Practice Mindfulness through Meditation.”

“Next patient!” He gave a wry wink, with which I was wafted out of his surgery.

When I was next chatting to the Vicar, I told her about this remarkable treatment. After careful consideration she advised that in her opinion the red pills and the green pills would do me no harm, but that the yellow pills were really excellent and meant that I should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). At that point I realised with horror that I had breached the doctor’s instructions on confidentiality, and that therefore the pills were no longer effective.

I could hardly wait. The next day I hurried to Boots where I was handed a small bag with three bottles, each containing brightly-coloured pills. The first had red pills and the following instruction: “Daily Exercise Routine. These pills may be redeemed at the finest and most modern gym in the whole of Fulham where you shall sit on a cycle for 30 minutes every day and pedal continuously without travelling anywhere or breathing any fresh air.” The next bottle contained green pills and the instruction: “Eat more fruit and veg and less processed food”. These pills could be exchanged at the vast new health food shop in Fulham Broadway where everything costs twice its normal price. “Thank goodness for the NHS,” I thought.

Moral: If you ever feel that you may have had a brush with the devil, do not linger in discussing it with the Vicar. *Just over a year ago the Prime Minister made five New Year Resolutions “so that you can hold me directly to account.” Oh silly PM, I thought, he must have failed to follow his doctor’s instructions.

CHRISTMAS QUIZꟷTHE ANSWERS TRUE

TRUE

Placing a satsuma in the Christmas stocking goes back to the twelfth century, when French nuns left socks full of fruit and nuts at the homes of the poor.

T.S. Eliot wrote a poem entitled The Cultivation of Christmas Trees.

FALSE

As Christopher Day will tell you, the part of Betty in the movie ‘White Christmas’ is played by Rosemary Clooney – who has a nephew.

The building taken over by baddies in the first Die Hard film was owned by the fictional Nakatomi Corporation in Century City, Los Angeles.

FALSE

TRUE

There are no manger-side animals mentioned in the Gospels

Eating at KFC is establishing itself as a Christmas tradition in Japan where tables for December 25 need to be booked well in advance.

TRUE

Technically, it’s illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day in the UK. Oliver Cromwell’s law has never been repealed.

In Southern Italy, during the run-up to Christmas, carols are often accompanied by bagpipes.

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SO, WHO EXACTLY WAS ST VALENTINE? Our gallant editor saddles his horse and sets off across hill and vale to find out

A tradition begins Poor Valentine was beaten and stoned before being beheaded. But by bringing love to so many couples and restoring Julia’s sight, he ensured he was remembered. In 496, the Christian pope Gelasius, designated February 14 an official feast day.

Unlike Candlemas which precedes it and Ash Wednesday which, this year, coincides with it, St Valentine’s Day is usually celebrated with little regard for its religious significance. So I went off to explore its history and, as it turns out, Chaucer is largely to blame for the romance which now dominates our thinking on February 14 every year. The Catholic church recognises at least three martyrs named Valentine but it was the St Valentine executed on February 14th in AD 270 that’s been the basis for all the romantic mythologising. The Anglican church recognises the date as a commemoration within its calendar of saints. However, even this date is contested and, in the Eastern Orthodox church, St Valentine’s Day is celebrated on July 6th. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that the ancient Lupercalia festival of fertility was held on February 15th and the Christian feast introduced as a way for the church to take ownership of a pagan celebration.

Wedded to marriage A priest and doctor, our St Valentine lived and worked in 3rd century Italy where he incurred the wrath of Roman Emperor Claudius II due to his enthusiasm for officiating at weddings. There are various stories around why Claudius found this objectionable. One narrates how marriage provided a way of avoiding military service. Another that it made existing soldiers less inclined to fight. Either way, it was enough to land Valentine in prison. The story continues that Valentine’s guard had a daughter, Julia, who was blind. Valentine restored her sight and this ‘miracle’ was enough to win a potential pardon for the gifted prisoner. However, Valentine’s terms of parole were that he had to renounce Christianity – something he resolutely refused to do. Even this might have been forgiven but, when Valentine tried to convert Claudius himself, the poor priest was sentenced to execution. Writing a letter of farewell to Julia, he signed off with the immortal words, “From your Valentine.”

Move on 900 years and Chaucer writes his “Parliament of Foules.” This (almost) epic poem sets off as a home counties version of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Instead of Virgil we have Scipio Africanus and we linger at a gate full of foreboding. Yet Chaucer then moves on quickly through the jaws of hell and takes up residence in a parliament of birds choosing their mates. In the midst of a yes/no marriage debate Chaucer reinforces the medieval idea of St Valentine’s Day when “every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.” The notion of love birds is immortalised.

In 1415 (forty or fifty years after Chaucer) Charles of Orleans was sending Valentine’s Day greetings from the Tower of London (he’d been captured at Agincourt) to his wife. By the 18th century, people were sending cards to their loved ones. We can blame the Victorians for those dodgy pictures of cupid. And nowadays there are more ways than ever of passing on your love.

Just between you and me This February 14th will start with a nod to Ash Wednesday but, in the evening, I shall put aside contemplation in favour of a little wine and romance. Don’t tell the vicar but my real Lent observances will probably start a day late. However, if you’d like to connect with St Valentine on a more spiritual level, you don’t need to travel far. In Whitefriar Street Church, Dublin, beneath a statue of St Valentine, a wooden box contains his heart. Here, on February 14, couples come to pray and ask for their engagement to be blessed. At the Duns Scotus Friary in Glasgow, couples book in advance to reserve a time to renew their wedding vows. Because, amongst all the clutter and commercialisation, the true spirit of St Valentine really does live on.

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CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER Spend time in silence with the Word of God. The Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer will meet in the Lady Chapel on the following Saturday mornings from 9.15 – 10am: Saturday 2nd March Saturday 4th May Saturday 6th July Saturday 7th September Saturday 2nd November Saturday 4th January 2025 Be Still and Know that I am God’ Psalm 46.10

LOOKING BACK Memorials Robert Elliott Barry Gane George Harcourt

Monday 18th December, 3:00 pm Thursday 25th January, 11 :30 am Wednesday 24th January, 02:00 pm

Weddings

Baptisms Percy Agace Noah Painter Sara Cooper

10th December 2023

Marina Phelan and Charles Beddington

10th December 2023 3rd December 2023

Ted and Millie Kelly Spencer Horne Alba Moore Henrietta Hackman Luke Francis Toby Guthrie Lydia Roberts

Sunday 7th January, 10:30 am Sunday 21st January, 10:30 am Sunday 25th February, 03:00 pm Sunday 25th February, 03:00 pm Sunday 3rd March, 10:30 am Sunday 17th March, 09:30 am Sunday 17th March, 09:30 am

April 6th, 2:00 pm

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UPCOMING DATES February Saturday 3rd 9.30 am th Sunday 4 9.30 am th Sunday 4 6 pm th Monday 6 Tuesday 13th Wednesday 14th Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th Thursday 22nd Sunday 25th

Pray-ers Group meeting in the Lady Chapel Candlemas with Christingle Service of Light and Candles Baptism Preparation Shrove Tuesday Quiz Ash Wednesday. Services at Noon and 8pm Choir Tour to York Bridge Afternoon, Fundraising for the Hall Youth in Community Social Event

March Saturday 2nd Sunday 10th Wednesday 13th Friday 15th

9.15 am

8pm 7.15pm

Sunday 17th Sunday 24th Thursday 28th Friday 29th Sunday 31st

Contemplative Prayer in the Lady Chapel Mothering Sunday Baptism Preparation Music By the Bridge – The Fulham Belles with Bishop Gilpin School Passion Sunday Palm Sunday School term ends Good Friday Easter Sunday

April Saturday 6th Tuesday 9th Friday 12th Monday 15th Tuesday 16th

9.30 am 8pm 7.15pm

Pray-ers Group meeting in the Lady Chapel Baptism Preparation Music by the Bridge School term begins PCC meeting

9.15 am

Contemplative Prayer in the Lady Chapel Ascension Day APCM Pentecost & Admission to Holy Communion

May Saturday 4th Thursday 9th Sunday 12th Sunday 19th

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JASS AND SELF-EXPRESSION

Throughout the Michaelmas term it’s been a major goal to get JASS expressing their own creativity, enabling them to speak with their own voice. This has involved choir members taking on responsibilities like choir librarian, and accompanying or rehearsing pieces we are learning. The culmination of this was our outing at evensong, performing a set of preces and responses with music and text composed by the group. To reflect this approach, here are two of JASS's longest serving and most committed members, Anton and Charlie, to describe the term in their own words. Sam Poppleton

JASS Evensong It was very exciting when Sam told us to perform our own responses and sing some songs at Evensong. As something we had never done before (as we usually perform at the Sunday morning services), we were pretty nervous, although we also felt excited. We started creating our JASS responses by working in small groups of 3 and coming up with some ideas for what to say. We then met for the next

rehearsal (which we have every Monday) and combined and edited our lines to improve them. After weeks of hard work, we reviewed the responses and added appropriate music to it. Since the service was at 6pm, we had to get there much later than usual. When we got there, we started practising our responses (to the prayers) and our song 'View me Lord' with the parish choir. They sounded so beautiful and harmonious that it was overwhelming to sing! It felt quite cool that the parish choir had sung the responses we had created. But after some run-throughs, it turned out to be incredibly fun and groovy! The singing was followed by some biscuits as we talked about what we were going to try to do at the service. The service was fantastic and sounded amazing! JASS is brilliant as it gives you opportunities that you would probably never have for example playing piano in church, singing with the parish choir and having lots of fun and making new friends. Anton Nolan

JASS Second Half of Term The Christmas carols in the churchyard were really friendly for everyone. Regular JASS members, plus a few friends, all helped out. My friends Felix and Elouise sang the start of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ very bravely. It was great having the brass band playing along with us, and I saw one of my trombone teachers playing along, making it feel like a real local community event. We also participated in the Evensong where we all stayed up and sang with the parish choir. It felt incredible: the atmosphere was amazing and it really inspired me. JASS has really helped me in singing and has boosted my confidence greatly. It is lovely to see my sister (who has just joined) singing her heart out. At the end of term we all had a party to get ready for the festive season. JASS really is a heartwarming place to be. I am sad that it’s my last JASS Christmas, but happy that for me it has been the best! Charlie Brocklehurst

STOP PRESS MUSIC NEWS – HOLD THE DATE Come and hear the choir sing Handel’s masterpiece Dixit Dominus, his Organ Concerto Op. 7 no. 5 (played by our assistant organist Tom Dilley) and psalm setting Nisi Dominus. The choir is joining period-instrument ensemble the Tamesis Consort. Do bring your friends for what will be an exciting evening of music. Sunday 25 February, 6pm. There will be a retiring collection, no tickets needed.