December2012

60p

THESWORD

PARISH CHURCH OF S ALBAN AND S PATRICKHIGHGATE, BIRMINGHAM 12

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Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, I am writing this special pastoral letter to inform you that, after much prayer, serious thought and reflection on the situation in my home country of Pakistan, I felt that I must now return to Pakistan. Also, as you know, my wife Ophelia’s knee surgeries are due; if they are done in Pakistan she would have more support from family and close friends in Karachi. Since I came in April 2011 to minister in this historic parish of Saint Alban and Saint Patrick as Priest-in-Charge and Chaplain of Saint Alban’s Academy, I have enjoyed every week, events and special days of celebrations of the Eucharist and other church services and events. I have equally enjoyed my rôle as Chaplain of the Academy.

I shall be taking over the same position, the Principal of Saint Thomas’ Theological College, which I left about two years ago. I shall be returning with some new experiences which include in-depth liturgical awareness in tune and engaging with young people of other faiths in particular. This should help me raise the level of theological education and help in the ministerial development of the ordinands which was an important part of my work in Pakistan.

It has been a very interesting and fulfilling experience to work in a traditional parish with lots of opportunities of relating with people of other faiths and

Christian denominations. I would like to state that you have been a very helpful congregation in terms of welcoming me and my family and supporting us in all situations. The way a team of people, mostly ladies and Ashlee, painted the vicarage and prepared to welcome us, was an amazing commitment. I must say many of you are

very practical people and are always ready to put your talents to work for the priest, the church and the congregation. Words cannot fully express my appreciation.

The way the business of the parish is run through committees and sub-committees is also very effective, as many people are involved in one way or the other. So may I just encourage you to keep up the spirit of supporting one another, as you are already doing to such good effect.

Thank you very much everyone, without distinction of the rôles you play in the Church. I shall be taking my annual leave in January for four weeks (from January 23rd to February 20th) and then leaving you finally at the end of March 2013, or just after Easter. I hope there will be some opportunities to keep our partnership in mission intact after I have left as your priest. We would like to keep in touch and request you to keep praying for us as I rejoin my work in Karachi, and for the College.

God bless you in your individual and collective calling at Saint Alban’s.

Fr Pervaiz

Pastoral Letter

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The sermon preached on November 25th

The Feast of Christ the KingBy Revd Dr Pervaiz Sultan

JESuS ChRIST our Lord is the King of the universe. One of the titles of Christ

in Isaiah is ‘Father of Eternity’ (Isaiah 9: 6) — that simply means that Christ in his Messianic rôle is not only the king of the universe but of Time and Space. he is the Lord over All and Everything that has ever existed or shall ever exist. his Lordship and Sovereignty has no beginning and no ending; that is what the word ‘eternal’ means.

What exactly is the meaning of Christ the King, because the greatest pride of Christian faith is that the Lord Jesus Christ, though he was divine in his nature, humbled himself as a slave (Greek: dulas) and submitted to the Father’s will to the extent of dying on a Cross. Choosing to be a slave is opposite to being a king. Different books of the Scripture depict Jesus in different rôles and statuses — even the four canonical Gospels individually portray Jesus as King, man, servant and Son of God. So Pilate in a way was right in asking, ‘what is the truth?’. What is the truth about the kingship of Christ which the Church celebrated to mark the end of its liturgical year?

The Church from the very beginning professed its faith in the Lordship of Christ. In the midst of Roman claims that Caesar was Lord, Christians declined that proposition and professed publically that ‘Jesus is Lord’. By that the Church believes that Jesus is the Lord of the universe, the same as the Father, and is sovereign over all the rulers of the earth.

Jesus is King but of a different kind: Jesus said when he faced Pilate, ‘My kingdom is of a different kind’. What exactly was the difference between his kingdom and that

of Roman Caesar? Caesar was a man but was claiming to be divine; he was ruler of a nation but trying to extend his rule over the whole world by the power of the sword. Jesus was God and was behaving as a servant showing solidarity with humans in the midst of their sufferings and exploitation. Jesus was Lord over the whole of the universe by virtue of his rôle as the Son of God and mediator in Creation order. S John says, ‘whatever was created, nothing was created without him’ (John 1: 3). This was the difference. The rulers of this world ask their soldiers to fight to defend them and their empires. Many a time this involves killing and bloodshed of other human beings. But Jesus’ followers were stopped from causing bloodshed. Jesus was the King of the Jews but not like a guerrilla warrior but as the Heavenly Messiah who reveals the mercy and grace of God. More than that he is the Lord of all nations, tribes and peoples because he is divine and has the rôle of restoring humanity to God.

Jesus was born to be a King: Again interacting with the Roman Governor who later on sentenced Jesus to death, Jesus said, ‘I was born for this’, that is, to be a king. This was to bear witness to the Truth. Stating that Jesus openly spoke prophetically, is to give spiritually pragmatic analyses of the political process. he said, ‘all who are on the side of the truth listen to my voice’. In John’s Gospel Jesus is recorded as saying that he is ‘the Truth’ (John 14: 6). That was a challenge to the whole of the Roman Empire, the superpower of the time, that they were not on the side of the truth because they were not listening to the King of the truth. It was an indication

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that his followers were and are the people of the Truth. In this context, when some people call us the ‘people of the book’ we could further develop on that saying that we are the people of the truth and not just of the book because we are the followers of Jesus, the Divine Truth. Truth is needed in political processes because they involve Peace and Justice at all levels of human existence.

Jesus the suffering King: The Apocalypse indicates that Jesus Christ is the faithful Witness. he is the witness to the Truth, the divine truth that sets people free from all kinds of oppression at the hands of the oppressors who impart injustice. Truth also sets us free from false hopes of salvation on the basis of human efforts of pilgrimages, alms and oblations and good works. The Truth is that God loves the World. The falsity is that God is indifferent to his world. The Truth is that God rules with justice and mercy, providing the final sacrifice to the sin of humans. Jesus is the suffering king who accomplishes that for all humans and proves his sovereignty. This was the final blow to the devilish claim that the world is his and he owns the world order, and that

disorder is the fate of the world. The Lord Jesus not only provided the final sacrifice as the Priest and King but also appointed the Church to be a line of kings and priests to serve God the Father and his creation. This brings all honour and glory to God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

The sovereign rulers demand of their people to be their subjects. The extension of their kingdoms has always been a desire of earthly rulers. Christ as King changed this practice and concept. he called his disciples his brothers. On one occasion Jesus said that a servant does not share matters of confidence with his master but a friend does, and he called his disciples his friends. Christ is King in the Kingdom of God which is the Commonwealth of Righteousness and Justice.

Let us look to God for his grace and mercy so that his justice prevails and his righteousness flourishes and the enmity of the enemy finishes, and the love of brothers and sisters develop all over the World. May Christ’s name be exalted and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord.

Saturday December 8th3.00 p.m.

Choral EvensongTo Celebrate the Life of Andrew Boyd Macqueen

Introit: Christ be with me — StanfordCanticles: Stanford in B flat

Psalm: 150 — StanfordAnthem: Praise to God in the highest — S.S. Campbell

This service is Saint Alban’s tribute to Boyd, and other churches with whom he was acquainted have been invited to take part. Due to the season of the year, it is being held in the afternoon to ease travelling. Please support this event.

Light refreshments will be available afterwards.

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Saint Barnabas’ in the Year of the Fire (1970)The entry in the Register of Services for Easter 2 (April 12th 1970) reads as follows: Major fire in the church starting after 2.30 p.m. and before 3.45 p.m. 6.30 at Saint Paul’s for Evensong (fire still in progress in the church)

This tells me two things. Firstly, the then vicar of Saint Barnabas’, Father Bill Lowndes, had not left the church before 2.30 p.m. following the 12.00 p.m. Mass, as was his usual practice. This was typical of his unhurried devotion. Secondly, if Fr Lowndes could not hold Evensong in ‘his’ church, unless he was prepared to risk being burnt to a cinder, he would attend Evensong at another church (Saint Paul’s, Balsall heath) whilst Saint Barnabas’ was still on fire. What a saint!

The selflessness and bravery of Father Lowndes, who had had to be ushered out of the burning church for his own safety, contrasts with Britain’s advancing materialism in the 1970s. After 25 years of post-war boom, Britons enjoyed more ‘freedom’, affluence and security than had previous generations. People came to expect full employment, better welfare facilities (free), and wealth sufficient to enable them to buy a home of their own. Edward heath, who had won the General Election on behalf of the Conservatives in June 1970, was the ideal man to lead Britain at this time. he was a grammar school boy who believed in meritocracy, and who tried to run the country like the chief executive of a family business. Mr Heath was obsessed with ‘taking Britain into Europe’. he admired West Germany’s efficient business practices, and wanted Britain to follow that country’s example. ‘Britain need not be an austerity socialist state, becoming poorer by the year; nor need she be a pathetic satellite of America. She could become, instead,

a partner in the European experiment, a grown-up modern state.’ (A.N. Wilson — ‘Our Times — The Age of Elizabeth II’.) holidays abroad became more common even for modest households. Wine drinking became the vogue (for some), and men’s fashions became more expressive. On a more sombre note the troubles in Northern Ireland were gaining momentum (25 killed in 1970). Everything seemed set fair for further prosperity, but sadly Mr Heath only had a vague idea of how to pursue his programme of modernisation for the country, leading to confusion and electoral defeat in 1974.

For Saint Barnabas’ the year started quietly and uneventfully. Two months before the turn of the year Canon Peeke (Vicar 1932 - 1941) preached at the All Saints’ Day services. One of the old sidesmen, Samuel Ashwell, had left the church a legacy, and it was decided to purchase four alms plates. These are still in use although only one is usually needed at any one time (a sign of the times). A lengthy discussion took place at the February PCC meeting in relation to the purchase of cupboards for the hall (size, position, etc) (all rather trivial in the light of what was to follow). A street procession in conjunction with Saint Agatha’s was arranged for Good Friday, and Saint Barnabas’ members were invited to see the Passion Play at Saint Agatha’s afterwards. Father Lowndes promised to start the 8.00 a.m. weekday Masses on time following complaints on behalf of the small number attending who had been

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kept waiting. The Sunday School, which had restarted in August 1969, was showing very encouraging signs of revival with an average of 25 children attending each Sunday.

Ironically, four days before the fire the PCC had accepted the wardens’ recommendation not to increase the church’s insurance to the full value of the building because the church could not afford to pay for any more insurance. It is conceivable that if the opposite decision had been made and the church had been rebuilt on the scale of the existing church building, then by now the congregation would not be able to afford its upkeep. ‘God moves in a mysterious way/his wonders to perform’ (W. Cowper).

On the morning after the fire church members and local people surveyed the burnt out remains of the church in disbelief. ‘Who could have done this?’, they asked. Father Lowndes stood amongst the still smouldering ruins apologising for what had happed although nobody knew quite why he was apologising. One local man who had known the church all his life was visibly shaken by the spectacle of so solid and unchanging a landmark devastated.

An emergency meeting of the PCC was called for Monday Aril 20th, and there was never any doubt that the PCC would rebuild the church although in what form would only evolve over many months. The determination of the PCC had been bolstered by the presence of the Bishop of Birmingham the day before when the Sung Eucharist was celebrated in the hall following a procession through the ruined church building when forty-five people attended.

Why was the PCC determined to rebuild the church in the face of a declining

congregation and the presence of an ever-increasing number of non-Christians living in the parish? A hand-out used for fundraising purposes explained as follows: ‘a) to continue the regular worship of

God in this small corner of his World,b) to enable men and women of this

neighbourhood to join in and play their part in this regular worship,

c) to continue a place for private prayer and meditation in this spot, accessible generally at all times of the day, and

d) as a centre for evangelism (getting the good news out and about) and of Christian teaching.’

under the leadership of Father Lowndes the PCC set about the task of rebuilding the church. Charles Grey, the architect, was present at the meeting on April 20th which was held in the hall. Father Lowndes said that the church building was too large for present purposes, and a smaller building would be more suitable, incorporating undamaged parts of the old building. The present building, the vicar said, was too lofty and expensive to heat. The west end of the church would probably be used since the roof at that end was less damaged than at the east end. Mr Grey said that a smaller building was desirable using to the full what was left of the old building, especially the west end of the church. The part from the chancel steps to the high altar could be used as an open courtyard or precinct. Mr Fletcher, a PCC member, advised that only the proceeds of the insurance would be available for the rebuilding, since large donations could not be expected from the parish. This source, he said, had been sucked dry over the last few years when the church was raising funds to build the hall. In the event Messrs Fletcher and holland, appointed joint treasurers of the

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Restoration/Rebuilding Fund, worked tirelessly, obtaining donations from local businesses towards the cost of rebuilding.

A visit was arranged to the Church of Saint Philip and Saint James, hodge hill. This was one of the many churches in the country where the church building had been designed for use as a parish community centre, to house other activities, besides the worship in church. It was decided in due course that the hodge Hill style of centre would not fit in at Saint Barnabas’. Shuttlecocks and sacred space did not mix!

The vicar had received a letter from the archdeacon who hoped that Saint Barnabas’ would rise again to its former glory. The vicar and Mr Cadby, the organist, at the invitation of the Archdeacon, had been to look at the organ in Saint Chad’s Church, Smethwick. The organ had been dedicated to those who had lost their lives in the Second World War. After consideration the PCC later in the year ratified the vicar’s decision not to accept Saint Chad’s organ because of the high cost of dismantling, storing and rebuilding it.

It was agreed to send letters of thanks to: 1) the Fire Officer in charge of Moseley

Road Fire Station. Many items, including the reredos and hanging rood, survived the fire through the action and care of the firemen.

2) the police at Kings heath Police Station.

3) Mr Johnson, the builder.At the May meeting of the PCC Father

Lowndes reported that intensive enquiries by the police from Kings heath Police Station had now ended. They had found no evidence as to the start of the fire (firemen described the cause as ‘doubtful’). The vicar was not entirely satisfied with

this, and had provided the police with a list of names which would help them with their enquiries. Malicious rumours, which had been spread by certain individuals, had been traced to their source by the police, but no further evidence had been unearthed. The police had said that enquiries had not been entirely closed, and if further evidence was produced the police would inform the vicar.

An appeal would be made later when it was known how much would be received from the insurance company. Collections were already being made in neighbouring factories and public houses.

Our friends at Saint Agatha’s had assured us that if the proceeds of their Annual Fair in November realised last year’s total we could expect a donation of £50 from them.

A small committee was set up at the June PCC meeting to work with the architect. This committee met many times over the following months, its meetings often going on late into the night as members pored over the architect’s drawings. Further, the PCC resolved not to restore the chancel. The archdeacon was welcomed to the meeting and suggested that the architect come to an agreement with the insurers as to the amount of compensation they were prepared to pay out, and he could, armed with this figure, and at the direction of the Chancellor of the Diocese, work out plans for the restoration of the church. A cheque for £22,000 was received from the insurers in November/December by which time Mr Grey was working on an alternative scheme of restoration which envisaged a smaller, more compact, church, perhaps set back from Ladypool Road with the altar at the east end and the floor level raised above the level of the present nave (the west end would be abandoned).

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At the December PCC meeting Fr Lowndes presented the amended scheme (Scheme III) for the restoration of the church building, which entailed dismantling the chancel arch, lowering the roof, setting the church back from Ladypool Road, raising the floor and extending it westwards to beyond the second pillar. This scheme formed the basis of the plans for the church as it was eventually rebuilt. The PCC gave the go-ahead for the amended plans to be put up on the noticeboards in the church. The amended plans had already met with the general approval of the Restoration Committee. Subsequently, the plans were approved by the PCC , the church at a general meeting, and by the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches.

It is not my intention to go into the fine details of how the restoration progressed, much of which lasted well beyond the end of 1970 in any event, but a few points may be of interest:

1. Provision of Stone AltarSoon after the fire, and after the decision had been made to rebuild the East end of the church (abandoning the West end) the idea was being sounded around that we might use the steps leading up to the former high altar to make the altar of the new building. These had been kept for this purpose in the wake of the demolition work. The former high altar was not destroyed, and was only slightly damaged, in the fire (of timber, presumably oak). It was thought not fully suitable, in the new position, allowing for the Westward position, by reason of its narrowness, its length (overlong for easy movement either side) and the fact of its portability (of no matter, against the East wall, but of some consequence in an ‘open’ position). The

design of the altar as submitted to, and approved by, the DAC is the one that now appears in the church.

2. Plan for the interior East wall (behind the altar)

The former building, above the high altar, had a reredos in the form of a carved relief and painted figure of the Resurrection Lamb, with swing doors (making it a triptych) bearing what were understood to be the emblems of the Apostles (Barnabas, his cousin Mark, etc). Additionally, there was a hanging rood over the chancel steps. Both these items survived the fire. It was decided that the Crucifix from the hanging rood should be placed on the East wall, with the lamb above it, giving the symbolism of Passion and Resurrection. Later, Father Boyd had the figures of Our Lady and Saint John restored to their positions on either side of the sanctuary crucifix in memory of Father Lowndes. As a result of this arrangement it became necessary to remove the Agnus Dei, which had been above the crucifix, to a position above the main interior door.

3. Provision of wrought iron screens inside the South Porch

The object of this was to provide a small part of the church which could be kept open through the main part of the day without placing the whole building ‘at risk’. There was a long tradition at Saint Barnabas’ of the church being open from first thing in the morning to last thing at night. It was not anticipated that large crowds would enter the building during these hours, but we did see small numbers of people coming in for prayer.

4. Treatment of internal wallsThe original plan for the restoration of

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the building provided for the internal walls (brickwork, new and old) to be cleaned down and painted with two coats of emulsion. The objects were (1) to improve the lighting, (2) to cover ‘bruises’, marks and scars from the fire and demolition. However, it was decided to clean down thoroughly the brick walls and leave them bare (a) to save cost and effort of periodical redecoration and (b) to keep the brick walls to which the church had become accustomed.

Whilst the rebuilding work was in progress the life of the church carried on much as before, subject to certain modifications and constraints. It was the usual practice to hold the 8.00 a.m. Sunday holy Communion and weekday services in the Lady Chapel and the 9.00 a.m. Sunday Parish Eucharist in the hall. The hall was specially licensed by the Bishop for Divine Service (including the Sacraments) during the repair of the church. The average attendance at the 9.00 a.m. Sunday Mass was thirty. The Bishop attended the Parish Eucharist on Tuesday June 8th in the nave of the church. The weather was kind, as at this time much of the church was open to the sky. The Sunday School flourished, a harvest Supper was held in the hall, a memorial service was held on September 23rd for the late Bishop, John Leonard Wilson, the Book of Remembrance was read through at 7.00 a.m. on All Souls’ Day, forty attended Midnight Mass (which followed procession to the West end of the church) and a Carol Service took place on December 27th in the hall. It was a difficult time, but services held in the ruined church were full of atmosphere. Father Leonard Schiff, the Bishop’s Chaplain for Community Relations, was a great help at this time.

An old boy of Saint Barnabas’, Robert

Stretton, was ordained priest by the Bishop of Jarrow in the parish church of Saint Ignatius, Sunderland. The vicar and churchwardens were present. Father Stretton was clothed as a Novice in December 1977 in the Abbey of Our Lady and Saint Benedict at Nashdom. The clothing amounted to a formal admittance into the Community. Reginald Pearce, sometime Verger at Saint Barnabas’ and caretaker of Ladypool Road schools, died in December. he is commemorated by the hymn board which is still in use in the church. The church was grieved to note the death of Geoffrey Beaumont in Cape Town in August. Father Beaumont had gone out to South Africa a few weeks after he visited Saint Barnabas’, the summer before last. The Community of the Resurrection (of which he was a member) was opening up a new house in Stellenbosch. The closing paragraph of an obituary note in ‘The Times’ said this: ‘The sight of this dynamic little priest performing his music on an English pub piano scarcely indicated the suffering mystic that must have been concealed within him: but the spectacle of a Jacob wrestling pervades his work.’ Father Beaumont composed a setting of the Mass, a copy of which is at Saint Barnabas’ (‘A 20th Century Folk Mass’).

The church was re-hallowed by the Bishop of Birmingham on the evening of September 21st 1972. It was a joyous occasion, the culmination of much hard work by many people for over two years. So, part of the old Saint Barnabas’ which belonged to the England of Edward Elgar and Joseph Chamberlain, lived on in the new church building, a ‘spiritual powerhouse’ much loved by those who enter its doors.

Graham McDonaldChurchwarden, Saint Barnabas’

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Constance Mary Winwood RIP

CONNIE was born on May 9th 1924 and spent a happy childhood with her

parents, Margaret and Austin Winwood, and brothers and sisters, in Gooch Street from where she attended hope Street School. There were eight children in the family, Bessie, Margaret, Billy, Lily, Leslie, Connie, Walter and Pat. There is no doubt that her immediate family was of supreme importance to Connie throughout her life.After school Connie had several jobs but her main career was with Lloyds Bank where she worked first at the Jamaica Row branch and later at the Head Office in Colmore Row from where she retired in the 1980s. She was very successful at Lloyds and was a respected member of staff. During her younger years Connie enjoyed walking and hiking and taking holidays both at home and abroad and on several occasions in the post war years visited with her Dutch pen pal hille. Connie enjoyed warm friendships through S Alban’s with Pat Evans, Daisy Dymock (latterly Daisy Edwards), Eveline Hall and Margery and Winnie Rogers. They were all to remain friends all their lives and supported each other as much as they could.

Saint Alban’s has played a central rôle in Connie’s life. As a child she had attended Sunday School at Saint Patrick’s but her adult life was was as a member of Saint Alban’s. In the 1950s and early sixties Connie was a Sunday School teacher, and leader of both the Brownies and Guides for the church. The Brownie Pack was active

for many years and Connie organised several week-long pack holidays, often at Tidbury Green School near Solihull, and once took the girls to Towyn in Wales for the week. Prior to each holiday, jumble sales were held to help finance the holiday so that all of the girls could attend. Connie participated in parish pilgrimages to Walsingham and retreats at the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Name in Malvern. For many years she helped clean the church brasses on a Saturday.

Connie had a distinctive, easily recognizable, handwriting and until recent years she wrote weekly letters to her sisters, Pat in the uSA and Lily in New Zealand. Over the years, Connie enjoyed many happy visits with Pat and her family in Texas. She was a keen reader and she and Bessie made weekly visits to the library to choose and renew their books.

As retirement approached Connie enjoyed weekends at the caravan located at Hanley Swan near Malvern where other members of the family also had caravans. When those years ended, Connie loved to be in the garden at the home she shared with Bessie in Woodbury Road, Quinton. She loved gardening and was still to be seen working in the garden into her eighties. After Bessie’s daughter moved to Brighton all of the sisters enjoyed many happy holidays there taking walks along the sea front and relaxing in the deck chairs on the pier. Connie loved being taken out for rides and lunches with the family. Connie

It was very unfortunate that, after all the years that she had worshipped at Saint Alban’s, the church was unable to be used at the time of her funeral. However, a significant number of the congregation were able to be present at the Lodge Hill Crematorium Chapel. The following was written by a member of her family, Margaret Haynes.

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In His Own Words — Bishop Welby at the Press Conference Held on November 9th

and outside the Church during this marvellous year of Jubilee and Olympics.

Because of that vast company of serving Anglicans, together with those in other Churches, I am utterly optimistic about

the future of the Church. We will certainly get things wrong, but the grace of God is far greater than our biggest failures. We will also certainly get much right and do so already. Taking the right rôle in supporting the Church as it goes on changing and adapting is the task where the collective wisdom of the bishops will be so important. The house of Bishops is very wise. I have had the great privilege of serving great bishops, Colin Bennetts in Coventry, James Jones in Liverpool and Archbishop Sentamu in York. The Archbishop has great communication gifts, wisdom and deep understanding of the global Church, and I am greatly looking forward to continuing to learn from him.

The Anglican communion, for all its difficulties, is also a source of remarkable blessing to the world. In so many countries it is one of the main sharers of reconciliation and hope in Jesus Christ. Anglicans

was always pleased when taken to Cannon hill Park, perhaps it brought back happy childhood memories. In her latter years Connie enjoyed seeing and playing with the youngest members of the family, the daughters of Richard and Tracy.

It had been anticipated that when Bessie, her eldest sister with whom she had lived

for over 50 years, died, Connie would be unable to cope and unfortunately that is exactly what happened. Her final two and a half years were unhappy ones but the memories of her mother and father and brothers and sisters remained with Connie until the end.

Margaret Haynes

“here are some things of which I am deeply confident. Our task as part of God’s Church is to worship him in Christ and to overflow with the good news of his love for us, of the transformation that he alone can bring which enables human flourishing and joy. The tasks before us are worship and generous sharing of the good news of Christ in word and deed.

The work of the Church of England is not done primarily on television or at Lambeth, but in over 16,000 churches, where hundreds of thousands of people get on with the job they have always done of loving neighbour, loving each other and giving more than 22 million hours of voluntary service outside the Church a month. They are the front line, and those who worship in them, lead them, minister in them are the unknown heroes of the Church. I have never had demands on me as acute as when I was a parish priest. One of the greatest privileges of this rôle will be the inspiration of so many grass roots projects that I will see around the country. We have seen the wonderful hospitality and genius of the people in this country inside

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today stand firm in faith alongside other Christians under pressure in many places, especially in northern Nigeria, a country close to my heart. I am very much looking forward to meeting the Primates of the Anglican Communion, and have sent them a message today. Many of them I know already, and again have learned from them and will learn more.

until early in the New Year I continue in Durham, and we have an Archbishop, so apart from the initial flurry I will just be doing what is in the diary already.

One of the hardest things will be to leave Durham. I work with a group of wonderful senior colleagues and remarkable clergy and lay people. It is an astonishing part of the country, one which as a family we were greatly looking forward to living in for many years. The people are direct, inspiring and wonderfully friendly. In many ways it has been the ancient cradle of British Christianity. It is a place of opportunity and an even greater future than its past. I will continue to do all I can to support the area.

This is a time for optimism and faith in the Church. I know we are facing very hard issues. In 10 days or so the General Synod will vote on the ordination of women as Bishops. I will be voting in favour, and join my voice to many others in urging the Synod to go forward with this change. In my own Diocese, and before I was a Bishop, I have always recognised and celebrated the remarkable signs of God’s grace and action in the ministries of many people

who cannot in conscience agree with this change. Personally I value and learn from them, and want the Church to be a place where we can disagree in love, respecting each other deeply as those who belong to Christ.

We also face deep differences over the issue of sexuality. It is absolutely right for the state to define the rights and status of people co-habiting in different forms of relationships, including civil partnerships. We must have no truck with any form of homophobia, in any part of the Church. The Church of England is part of the worldwide Church, with all the responsibilities that come from those links. What the Church does here deeply affects the already greatly suffering Churches in places like northern Nigeria, which I know well. I support the house of Bishop’s statement in the summer in answer to the government’s consultation on same sex marriage. I know I need to listen very attentively to the LGBT communities, and examine my own thinking prayerfully and carefully. I am always averse to the language of exclusion, when what we are called to is to love in the same way as Jesus Christ loves us. Above all in the Church we need to create safe spaces for these issues to be discussed honestly and in love.

I know these are major issues and will come back to them in due course, but I will not be saying any more about that today. I will stop there before this becomes a sermon, and am happy to answer some questions.”

A ReminderPilgrimage to Walsingham 2013, Friday May 3rd - Monday May 6th

Please put these dates in your diary, and note that it will soon be time to book your place and pay the deposit. Details of the cost etc will be available in January.

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The Transformation

I t is now twelve years since we first began to consider the upgrading of the

church lighting fittings, and the subsequent visits to many churches, many of them in Oxfordshire and Northampton, to study their particular lighting schemes. Eventually it became a necessity to replace most of the wiring in the church which, due to age, had become a dangerous liability, which was reported every time we had a mandatory quinquennial inspection. It was obvious that while we were having the wiring replaced it would be necessary to replace also the old lighting fittings, which were beginning to fail with age.

Many firms and consultants have been shown around S Alban’s over the past few years and a number of various schemes have been considered — and rejected. One particular design put forward incorporated a multitude of chandeliers suspended from the vaulting, in a manner similar to the end of the 1800s. In those days the church was lit by gasoliers, the pipes extending from the upper vaulting, the holes for which can be seen to this day.

It was obvious that, with the spectacular

architecture designed by Pearson, it was necessary to light the church in a sympathetic way, concealing the fittings as much as possible and producing a soft light with plenty of dark shadow areas to emphasise the mystery and glory of the stonework.

After years of debate within the church and a considerable amount of discussion with the Diocesan Advisory Committee, and others, we eventually were granted a faculty this year, and work began on October 15th. It quickly became obvious that our decision to strip the church of all its furnishings and fittings and close it down completely for the five weeks over which the contractors would be working, was exactly the right decision. Not only did this allow the work to be carried out without interruption, but the amount of dust and debris which was disturbed during the work produced the effect of a ‘snowstorm’ of white stone powder to be deposited on every surface and all over the floor. Even the contractors claimed they had never worked in such a dusty church, but members of the church are fully aware of the effect

Christmas 2012Saturday December 1st highgate Council of Churches Ecumenical Advent Service at S Anne’s 4.00 p.m.

Saturday December 22nd highgate Council of Churches Carol Singing in Horton Square. Members of all three churches are cordially invited to participate. 10.00 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.

Monday December 24th Family Service 4.00 p.m. at S Alban’s Midnight Mass 11.00 p.m. at S Alban’sTuesday December 25th Christmas Day Mass 10.00 a.m. at S Alban’s

Sunday January 27th Week of Prayer for Christian unity Service highgate Baptist Church 4.30 - 5.30 p.m.

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of having anything done in the building involving work on the original bath stone architecture.

What could not be moved out was covered with sheets, and all moveable items disappeared into the nooks and crannies of S Patrick’s room and the vestries.

The church was handed back to us on Tuesday November 20th and serious cleaning began on Wednesday 21st, with a substantial number of the congregation coming along to help. This was a really mammoth task, as it involved cleaning everything!

The project is not totally complete, as already it is clear that certain aspects of the lighting will need to be altered to be more in keeping with our requirements. The main programming of the installation will be carried out in the new year, after we have had experience of using the system, and determine ourselves exactly what “scenes” we wish to construct. The incorporation of multiple switching points within the church will give a degree of flexibility unknown in the history of the building and will certainly help to enhance our glorious liturgy.

At this stage any comments will be most valuable, but please do not say that they glare. The glare from the new lights is no worse than with the fittings we have had for the last fifty years, but what is different is the positioning and direction of the lamps, and the fact that they are very tightly focused with far less lateral spread. This, together with their efficiency, gives pools rather than an overall wash of light, and certainly the creation of deep shadows in places emphasises the texture of the stonework.

In particular, notice the soft pools of light which pick out each of the Stations. Suddenly these beautifully carved masterpieces have come to life, and in their glorious colour which has not been seen

fully before.Gone is the glare of the Baptistry and

instead a soft light illuminates the wall painting of Christ with the children and highlights the font itself.

The rood across the chancel is now picked out without the casting of ugly shadows, the stone pelican in S Patrick’s chapel is revealed and can now be seen more easily than at any time since the building was constructed.

The ambulatory is a relatively unknown part of the church normally found only in cathedrals, and mainly used for storage here, but now very sympathetic lighting has revealed the gothic arches in a new way.

And in the west porch, we now have much improved and welcoming lighting, and the great crucifix facing the street is prominently spotlit.

And so, after twelve years, we have a modern lighting system which has brought the church to life. The pictures on page 16 mainly speak for themselves and are a small selection of many collected during the installation and after.

A great deal of work by members of the congregation was subsequently necessary in order to restore the church, remove the thick layer of dust from everything and bring back all the furnishings, to regain this glorious worship space. We sincerely thank all those who volunteered to do all the hard work over the four days that proved necessary to achieve this.

Finally, we must remember that this great improvement has only been made possible by those former members of the congregation who generously left legacies to the church. It is intended to install a commemorative plaque in the building to acknowledge those gifts, and remember those former members in our prayers.

The Churchwardens

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The work begins

The Chaos…

…and the mess The bit not normally seen — new cable above the stone vaulting. The ‘floor’ of this picture is the stone

ceiling of a side aisle.

And the result!