St Peter s Review. In this Advent and Christmas 2018 Review... Advent and Christmas Edition 2018

Transcription

1 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas Edition 2018 Dulwich Picture Gallery Outing See also page 9 Page In this Advent and Christmas 2018 Review... Story 3 Anthea on Evensong 4 Step over the Threshold Update 6 Playing on the Merry Organ A day in the life of a local councillor Tom Sutcliffe lays down a challenge 14 Christmas Word Search 8 News updates 16 Dates for your diary

2 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 2 The Parish Church of St Peter s Streatham Vicar Fr Peter Andrews St Peter s Vicarage, 113 Leigham Court Road, SW16 2NS Telephone: FrPeter@stpeters-streatham.org Churchwardens Josephine Dapaah j_dapaah@hotmail.com Simon Launchbury 3 Dodbrooke Road, London SE27 0PF Telephone: simon@dodbrooke3.plus.com Secretary to Parochial Church Council Sheila Launchbury 3 Dodbrooke Road, London SE27 0PF Telephone: secretary@stpeters-streatham.org Treasurer Val Bowley treasurer@stpeters-streatham.org Director of Music Nick Graham Telephone: music@stpeters-streatham.org Magazine Editor and Web Master David Chapman Telephone: magazine@stpeters-streatham.org Crypt Hire To discuss your needs and to check the availability of The Crypt please contact Angela Newby crypt@stpeters-streatham.org Telephone: (number for crypt hire only) Choir Please contact the Director of Music (see Director of Music in left column for details) or speak to him after Parish Mass at 10.30am or Evensong at 6.30pm Servers To enquire about joining, come along to the Parish Mass on Sunday at 10.30am and speak to Fr Peter after the service. 1st and 100th Streatham Brownie Packs If you would like to find out more about Brownies at St Peter s, please send an to 1stbrownies@stpeters-streatham.org and 100thbrownies@stpeters-streatham.org 1st Streatham Guide Company For more information, contact Sophie Woolf on Telephone: or stpetersguidesstreatham@hotmail.co.uk Weddings, Baptisms, Blessings To discuss arrangements for a special service such as a wedding, baptism, a blessing or make arrangements for confirmation preparation, then please come to St Peter's between 10.45am and 11.30am on Saturday mornings. Using your talents and time There are always lots of activities and jobs at St Peter s where members of the congregation are encouraged to help: e.g. Flower Arranging, Sidespersons, DIY, Cleaning, Copying, Administration and more. If you would like to help, please make contact with Fr Peter or a churchwarden. Disabled Access and Hearing St Peter's has permanent wheelchair access from the front of the building. An induction loop is provided for those with hearing aids. If you have any special access requirements, do not hesitate to contact us in person, via telephone or . All enquiries will be in confidence. The Sick and Housebound Please do not hesitate to advise the vicar or churchwardens of any cases of sickness, so that they may be added to the intercessions and also of people who are house-bound and wish to receive the Blessed Sacrament at home. Items for the Weekly Bulletin By to: bulletin@stpeters-streatham.org before Thursday. Items for the next St Peter s Review to David Chapman by Sunday 17th February 2019 To advertise in the St Peter s Review Contact David Chapman magazine@stpeters-streatham.org

3 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 3 What are you doing at 6.30pm on Sunday? by Anthea Eastoe If you are free at that time then you might want to check out Evensong & Benediction here at St. Peter s. I discovered the service a couple of years ago. I d had a pesky cancer diagnosis and started coming along following a couple of operations. Any kind of health issue out of the blue can leave you a little discombobulated and throw you a little off balance. I felt both these things and so sought out opportunities for calm. Evensong was one of those opportunities. Not having been brought up with a tradition of Evensong, the order of the service took a little bit of getting used to (tip: sit behind a regular!). Initially I just sat and let the service wash over me I was surprised that the effect was almost meditative but as the weeks went on the service made more sense to me. Mainly sung by our wonderful choir, we have Preces and Responses, a psalm, the celebratory Magnificat and the quiet prayer for our peace and protection, the Nunc Dimittis. The choir also sing an anthem, there are readings, prayers said by Father Peter and a couple of hymns. At Benediction, with solemn ritual (and the accompaniment of the organ, usually) the host is enthroned on the altar as an invitation for us to adore the presence of Christ among us; a visible sign of God s love. It s quite dramatic! On the weeks when there is no Benediction we are sometimes blessed by the addition of the Youth Choir last Sunday the anthem And I saw a new heaven by Bainton was just lovely, or we get an occasional special series of choral music. It s a truly beautiful service, with gorgeous music. I have found it comforting, healing and ultimately uplifting. Maybe I ll see you there one Sunday?

4 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 4 Step Over the Threshold an update by David Chapman Communication consent Giving Further to the presentation on 7th October about members of the congregation providing consent to St Peter s to hold contact information about them: 66 people have responded and our thanks to them. We know there are more who haven t returned their forms or who weren't at church on that Sunday. Please ask one of the Sides People or Churchwardens to give you a form if you need one. And please return it as soon as you can. A number of people have responded generously to the appeal for increased giving from the congregation to meet our weekly bills. An enormous thank you to those that have responded. We are not quite at the level to meet our 308 a week shortfall though, so if you haven't been able to respond, please consider if you could give more. Perhaps you could give by standing order rather than putting money in the plate or using envelopes so that St Peter s can rely on your giving.

5 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 5 Grand Christmas Draw Have you got your tickets for the Grand Christmas Draw? Tickets cost 1 each (you must be aged 16 or over) Prizes: 1st 300 2nd 100 3rd Six bottles of wine 4th Christmas Cake and a Bottle of Champagne The Draw will be called after the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on Sunday 23rd December at 6.30pm The Presence When the choir was singing in Edinburgh Cathedral in August, we were struck by this painting entitled The Presence hanging in the cathedral. Painted by the Edinburgh artist A E Borthwick in 1910, it has an intriguing history. The scene is the Cathedral itself, where communion is being distributed to the faithful in the distance at the High Altar. In the foreground though, a kneeling penitent is comforted by the presence of Christ behind her, bathed in radiant light. The painting was the subject of a celebrated legal action after it was illegally sold while being exhibited in Europe during World War I. The painting was eventually returned to Scotland and Borthwick presented it to the Cathedral in It now hangs alongside another painting of the same title (but set in St Paul s Cathedral, London) and painted by Borthwick in 1940.

6 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 6 Playing of the merry organ by David Chapman On the Feast of Christ The King, our Director of Music, Nick Graham was able to demonstrate that the organ was back working so that we could sing a full accompanied service for the first time since the latest stage of organ works started in July. Very fitting to be able to literally have a fanfare to acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ as King. The latest stage of work to the organ (number 4 in six stages) is not yet complete. But we were keen to ensure we had a working organ in time for Christmas and for Opus XVI to be able to use for their concert on 24 th November. This stage of work is restoring the Swell Department of the organ. All of the pipes are to be removed and cleaned. The reed pipes (Clarion, The stop panel on the left-hand side of the organ console is removed pending work in James Richardson-Jones s workshop. Oboe, Cornopean and Double Trumpet) have been taken away for voicing and cleaning. They are now returned and sounding really even and beautiful. The organist Jonny Davies was able to exploit them during then Opus XVI concert on 24 th November and Nick Graham brought them to prominence for Christ the King. Ten of the Swell Department pipes have not been worked on at this point: Bourdon, Open Diapason, Salicional, Voix Céleste, Stopped Diapason, Rohr Flute, Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth and Mixture. Not only are the pipes being worked on, but the whole process of making the pipes speak via the organ stops is being converted from the original pneumatic action (operated on wind) to electrical action. The installation of all of the new mechanism to allow this to happen is now complete on the left hand side of the console. All of the stop knobs have been cleaned up and the new action is very much evident when you pull or push a stop. If you are interested, Nick Graham would be very happy to demonstrate this. Inevitably for such a large and historic instrument, there are many things that can decay, and as they are working through this six stage plan, the organ builders will find extra parts which need to be worked on. There are two now rather visible examples of this. Firstly, surrounding the hole that each stop goes into there is a bush - like a washer made out of wood. These have eroded over the course of the last 148 years, and need to be replaced. If you look at the console, they have been removed pending reinstatement on the

7 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 7 (Continued from page 6) left hand side. We will need to replace the ones on the right hand side too. Secondly, there is a large section of wooden decoration which sits immediately above the organists head underneath the large Great pipes that overlook the choir stalls. This now has a pronounced lean and has been propped up with props for safety pending a plan to deal with this. We will be discussing the cost of these additional works with the organ builders and doing some maths to work out how much we need to raise to complete our six stage plan. The new stop solenoids are fitted behind the left-hand stop panel Kathryn Chapman School of Dance Principal: Kathryn Chapman LIDTA BALLET TAP THEATRE CRAFT FREESTYLE IDTA EXAMS and SHOWS CHILDREN FROM AGE 3 Come and see us and have your first lesson free! Saturdays: 9am to 1pm St Peter s Church Crypt, Leigham Court Road, SW16 2SD Contact us to find out the best time for your child kategc@hotmail.com facebook.com/kathrynchapmanschoolofdance

8 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 8 Remembrance Sunday 2018 A wreath was laid, by Richard Holdaway, at the calvary war memorial on Remembrance Sunday 11th November 2018 after the Parish Mass. The altar party, choir and congregation processed to the newly restored memorial to those who lost their lives in the Great War which ended on that day exactly 100 years ago. Derek Downs carried the Union Flag. Fr Peter read a description of the procession of the Unknown Warrior who was buried with full military honours in Westminster Abbey on 11th November 1920 followed by a prayer by the Right Reverend Herbert Ryle Dean of Westminster who gave permission for the Unknown Warrior s tomb.

9 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 9 Dulwich Picture Gallery Outing Outing to the Ribera Art of Violence Exhibition on 17th November at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Front: Hilary Gaster, Mikaela Musat, Rosemary Best, Sally Smith, Sheila Launchbury, Anthea Eastoe Back: Vilma Maduro, Mark Polglase, Winston Trotman, Richard Holdaway, Brian Freeman-Birch, Sonia Freeman-Birch, Joyce Trotman, David Chapman, Simon Launchbury (not pictured: Dusty Lori and Michael Maduro) Our enormous thanks to Hilary Gaster for arranging the fascinating visit to the exhibition and gallery Update on the Bees We have three hives, and the bees all survived all through the last winter, but sadly the dampness at the beginning of the year got to one of the hives and that swarm didn t survive. Phil Clarkson, our beekeeper, is planning to repopulate this. The bees didn t produce enough surplus honey this year for Phil to be able to take any off for putting in jars. But he has some honey from the 2017 crop which he intends to put into jars when he can.

10 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 10 A day in the life of a Streatham Councillor by Rezina Chowdhury [In September St Peter s were asked if we would like to promote our church choirs at the Re-Discover Streatham event hosted in Streatham Library as part of the Streatham Festival. At the event I asked Rezina Chowdhury who was there representing Streatham Councillors if she would be able to write an article for the St Peter s Review about the regular activities of a Streatham Councillor. Our thanks to Rezina for the following. David Chapman] Rezina (second from right) with her fellow councillors (centre) There are usually three councillors in a ward and in Streatham Hill we work together very closely. As local councillors we can be contacted by residents about anything that affects day to day life in the local area. In our ward these requests for help and assistance can range widely, from helping with housing, environmental issues such as car parking and green spaces, children s services which can include help with school places, as well as ensuring vulnerable adults get the care and support they need. We have also helped residents get compensation from utilities companies after a disruption in services and responded to residents interests and opinions with regards to a position on Brexit! In the four years or so that I have been a councillor I have found that no two days are the same. What follows is an account over a few days spanning summer and autumn. A spate of car crime across the ward was troubling local residents who wanted to see some visible policing on the issue. So, I ed the safer neighbourhood team and requested a public meeting as soon as possible. It just took a few s to confirm a date, time and venue before I could start inviting people. I have a few local residents who are particularly active in various networks and I tend to contact them first to get the word out quickly. Very soon there are posters and flyers pinned to trees and walls alerting people to the public meeting. The meeting was held about four days later in a local church. The safer neighbourhood team comprised three officers and they listened to residents worries. As well as addressing the immediate concerns about car thefts and break-ins, the local policing team helped us to set up a neighbourhood watch and regular ward panel meetings so that

11 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 11 residents could continue to raise issues and stay updated. At the most recent surgery three residents attended, two wanted to discuss overcrowding and the possibility of moving to a larger accommodation and the third visitor just wanted to come and thank us for something we had helped her with in the past. It was a really good opportunity to catch up with ward colleagues and have a chat about local issues, away from council chambers. Tomorrow evening my ward colleagues and I will be attending a community reception at Lambeth Town Hall to celebrate local residents and businesses and thank them for all their hard work and dedication to the community. This will be an excellent opportunity to bring members of the community together and help strengthen our ties to one another. Given the times we are living in right now, this can only be a good thing! The choir after evensong at St Paul s Cathedral on 22nd October

12 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 12 The first thing to say about Tom Lehrer s satirical irreverence, which preceded but perhaps influenced such British phenomena as Beyond the Fringe (which launched the careers of Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett) and the BBC That Was The Week That Was (which made David Frost into a star), is that the references to The profundity of genuflection and profound bows Tom Lehrer, the humourist and author who is now 90, and who retired decades ago to teach Math and Music Theatre at the University of California, Santa Cruz, used to include in his programmes at the time of the Second Vatican Council a naughty and very funny song called The Vatican Rag. It went like this: First you get down on your knees, Fiddle with your rosaries, Bow your head with great respect, And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect! Do whatever steps you want, if You have cleared them with the pontiff. Everybody say his own Kyrie eleison, Doin' the Vatican rag. Get in line in that processional, Step into that small confessional, There, the guy who's got religion'll Tell you if your sin's original. If it is, try playin' it safer, Drink the wine and chew the wafer, By Tom Sutcliffe physical posture in his lyrics about Catholic (Roman or Anglo-) postures in church no longer make any sense because by the end of Vatican II genuflection was more or less out, and double genuflection was increasingly rarely to be seen - even during the Liturgy on Good Friday, and furthermore almost nobody in church these days ever sinks to their knees or prays kneeling down. Why is this? One can see that - fair enough - some old people if they kneel down find it very challenging to be able to get up again. But people are living much longer and remaining fit much longer. So perhaps it is not just physical realities that have led to the virtual abandonment of kneeling down in church. Perhaps it has happened because of the modernisation of the Liturgy. Until the 40 years of liturgical experiments to update all church texts (apart from Bible readings), Cranmer s Book of Common Prayer - as revised in 1662 following the Restoration of the Monarchy and the re-establishment of the Church of England (which our Anglican church is still called) - all regular worshippers were used to hearing an invitation to General Confession in these words: Ye that do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: Draw near with faith, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to

13 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 13 Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees. Today nobody kneels - or very few. We mostly stand or sit to pray, and to say the words of the confession in the Pope John Missal which we use at St Peter s. And a very good modern language version of the Mass it is too - or seems to be to me - much better than what our Roman Catholic neighbours now have to use, since the Pope John Missal is no longer permitted in the Roman Catholic church. Our use of it here is permitted by our Anglican Bishop of Southwark, so long as we use the Anglican prayer of consecration with it as we do. Nor do we genuflect much, or even bow profoundly at the words in the creed about the Virgin Mary - at which point (in the old days) RCs used to genuflect. Few of us cross ourselves at the blessing or when we see the sacraments. Perhaps all such signs do not matter. But they are an indication of what is going on and its significance. They are an outward sign of an inward grace. Personally, I think it is a pity that we have forgotten or rejected these old manifestations of respect - including kneeling to say the confession. After all we need to kneel to remind ourselves what we as (all of us) sinners are asking for. The physical act helps to put us in mind of just where we are and what we are doing and why. If we continue to stand when asking for God s forgiveness and stating in general terms what we know we have done wrong and how we have fallen short, it is as if we are quite perky about it - rather than being in a state of wishing it could be not as it is in the world, that things might be better if they were not as they are. In fact, we believe the ransom for God s forgiveness has been paid once and for all by Jesus Christ as God himself on the cross, and we must surely wish it had not been necessary and that we were not and are not sinners who without God s grace would be condemned to the failure that meets all human endeavours in the end. Our sense of what is going on matters deeply inside us. Kneeling to pray and to make our confession seems to me to be absolutely appropriate. Same as turning to face the altar to say the Creed - as if that were specially where God was (which of course it isn t, even if it is useful and effective to pretend to ourselves that it is - just as we also mean something similar when we genuflect to the Tabernacle where the blessed sacrament is reserved Why did kneeling almost vanish as a sign? I think we do not want people to be uncomfortable and to do things they find awkward to do - like genuflecting to kiss the crucifix held up for us by two servers at the Liturgy on Good Friday. To kiss the crucifix, and perhaps exactly to kiss Jesus s feet as portrayed on that crucifix, seems such an overt demonstrative thing to do. We are not Spanish. We are British. We don t go in for that sort of extroversion. But perhaps it is a good discipline for us to revive some of these old habitual ways of acting which in their form are so meaningful - such as also, after private confession to the priest for instance, to do the Stations of the Cross on our knees - those impressive 14 images that are on the walls of St Peter s. I ve not ever done that. But perhaps I should. Perhaps I will, the next time I make a private confession which I did for the first time when I was to be confirmed by Bishop George Bell in the Lady Chapel at Chichester Cathedral on March 10th in 1955 aged 11. Signs and symbols matter both for what they are and for what they represent. Bring them back!

14 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 14 Christmas Word Search Can you find these words in our Christmas Word Search? Clue: Horizontal and Vertical only CHRISTMAS NATIVITY SANTA CLAUS TREE JOSEPH MARY JESUS BABY CRADLE STABLE SHEPHERDS ANGELS STAR THREE KINGS BETHLEHEM DONKEY CRACKERS TURKEY CARDS MISTLETOE HOLLY AND IVY Y H Z S A N T A C L A U S E O B G N A K D A C W A C K L A N Q T E E R T K S R N L U I O I N Z D E Y M A O Y E K Y V R E S I E S D D A T E W I L Q Y B A B L G N R E C T R U R S B A E R D O R H Y P R A N L O M T I C H R I S T M A S C I U V R T I W N P L I T F S R Y A S U S E J F L A V T K L C A H P E S O J B F L E U K H O U A N G E L S E Y B E T H L E H E M E G T C X R A T S J O D Z C R O W T S D R E H P E H S I E

15 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 15 St Peter s Church Choir Youth and Adult Choirs, supported by wind group Aeolus X, will sing a programme for Christmas on Thursday 20th December at 8pm Following last year's success, St Peter's Choir and wind decet Aeolus X are joining forces to present a Christmas Celebration on the Thursday before Christmas. Entry is completely free, with a retiring collection in aid of the St Peter's Organ Fund Music will include carols by Richard Rodney Bennett and John Rutter, a set of songs for our Youth Choir by Jonathan Dove, and the world premiere of 'Until the Son of God Appear' - a work for the combined forces by conductor Nick Graham. Christingle Service Saturday 12 January at pm children s Christingle Service A workshop in the Crypt followed by a short church service Church Cleaning We are looking for volunteers to help clean parts of the church building on a regular basis (once a week, once a month depending on your availability). If you think you might be able to help please speak to a Churchwarden or Fr Peter

16 St Peter s Review Advent and Christmas 2018 Edition Page 16 Dates for your diary Copy deadline for the Summer- St Peter s Review St Peter s Day Sunday 17th February 2019 Pass items to David Chapman (magazine@stpeters-streatham.org) Day Date Time Event Venue Thursday January pm Standing Committee Vicarage Thursday January pm PCC Parish Room Wednesday February pm Buildings and Finance Committee Parish Room Thursday February pm Standing Committee Vicarage Wednesday March pm PCC Parish Room SPECIAL SERVICES & EVENTS Thursday 20th December 8pm A Christmas Celebration Concert St Peter s Youth and Adult Choirs + Aeolus X wind group Free entrance with retiring collection for the Organ Fund Sunday 23rd December 6.30pm Service of Nine Lessons and Carols followed by the Grand Christmas Draw Monday 24th December 4pm Crib Service - (with rehearsal for children from 2pm) Monday 24th December 11.30pm (choir sing carols from 11.15pm) Midnight Mass Christmas Day 23rd December 10.30am Mass of the Nativity Sunday 30 December at 8.00 and 10.30am Masses celebrating The Holy Family Tuesday 1 January at 12.00noon Mass celebrating Mary, Mother of God Sunday 6 January Masses at 8.00 and 10.30am and 6.30pm Choral Evensong & Benediction celebrating The Epiphany Saturday 12 January at pm children s Christingle Service (workshop in the Crypt followed by short church service) Christingle Service Saturday 12 January at pm children s Christingle Service A workshop in the Crypt followed by a short church service Church Cleaning We are looking for volunteers to help clean parts of the church building on a regular basis (once a week, once a month depending on your availability). If you think you might be able to help please speak to a Churchwarden or Fr Peter Editorial Control Views expressed in St Peter s Review are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the editors. Articles are placed onto St Peter s website as well as being published in the Magazine. Advertisements are placed at the request of the subscribers and the goods and services of the advertisers are in no way endorsed by St Peter s.