Lent Course 2024: Exploring the Stations of the Cross

This year the Ministry Team in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry have once again written our own Lent Course, which looks more deeply into the Stations of the Cross which we use during Holy Week, including images, readings, reflection and prayer. 

These sessions will be offered on Tuesday evening and Thursday afternoon and evening, depending on numbers, starting the week of 19th February. We also have the opportunity to share these sessions with Christ Church, giving additional days and times (Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings). 

Please think about whether you would like to join or even host a group. The sign up sheet below is available at all our churches now. All are most welcome to join a Lent group.

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Ewan McColl - Ballad of the Carpenter.

Churches Together in Westminster Ecumenical Advent Service

 

Churches Together in Westminster held its Ecumenical Advent Service this evening. Kindly hosted by St James’s Church, Piccadilly, this service of readings and carols was led by Revd Dr Ivan Khovacs with readers from American International Church, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, Hinde Street Methodist Church, London Prisons Mission, St James Roman Catholic Church Spanish Place and St Martin-in-the-Fields. The service included poems by Andrew Hudgins and U.A. Fanthorpe from whose 'BC:AD' the title of the service, 'Walking by Starlight' was taken.

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St James Church Piccadilly - 'Walking by Starlight'.

Sermon Preparation workshop

HeartEdge is currently offering a weekly online workshop live with Revd Dr Sam Wells and Revd Sally Hitchiner which may be of interest to church practitioners. 

Every Tuesday at 4.30pm there is a live Facebook preaching workshop focusing on the forthcoming Sunday's gospel.

In today's workshop Sam suggested, "This is a great passage for this Sunday... We are in a Lenten quarantine..."

"Our congregations think about death all the time if we're not preaching about death we're not scratching where they are itching... Nobody ever talks about it... Both of the main readings are about resurrection... "

This Sunday is about feeling grief and lament rather than 'buck up', cheer up. Watch the workshop in full here.

At the first HeartEdge sermon workshop on our Facebook page, Sam and Sally discussed the lectionary readings for Sunday 22 March.

Those who joined them from around the world posed questions that included:

• Has Covid-19 revealed that our perception that we were in control in the world was an illusion, before this crisis?
• What is the difference of writing for people to read and hear on-line rather than in a church building?
• How does discussion feed in to the preparation for those preaching on the theme of Mothering Sunday?

Those who joined the workshop online said:

• 'Thank you for this wisdom.'
• 'Such an encouragement to be finding creative ways of connecting. So helpful to share our experiences in this way.'
• 'Great to have your wisdom. Lots of food for thought about how we can share the Word of God in these challenging times. Thank you.'

View the first workshop discussion here and join back here next week for the next workshop.

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Bob Dylan - Hard Times Come Again No More.

Discover & explore: Reformation 500 & Londinium

Discover & explore services at St Stephen Walbrook feature music and liturgy with the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields. These services explore their themes through a thoughtful mix of music, prayers, readings and reflections:

• “A perfect service of peace in our busy lives.”
• “Spiritual food in the middle of the day.”
• “Beautifully and intelligently done.”

The current series of these services of musical discovery has explored Reformation 500 themes and comes to an end on Monday 3 July at 1.10pm by exploring the theme of 'Life of Repentance.' The Choral Scholars will sing: Ach, arme Welt – Brahms; The Lord's Prayer – Joshua Pacey; Anthem – Leonard Cohen; and Beati quorum via – Stanford.

Our autumn Discover & explore series will be part of the ‘Londinium’ programme organised by the City of London and will explore Rome, London & Christianity through music, prayers, readings and reflections. Highlights include St Paul in Rome, Constantine and The Temple of Mithras & St Stephen Walbrook:

• 25th September - St Paul in Rome 
• 2 October - St Peter in Rome 
• 9 October - The Early Church in Rome 
• 16 October – St Alban 
• 23 October – Constantine 
• 30 October – Christianity in Roman London 
• 6 November – The Temple of Mithras & St Stephen Walbrook 
• 13 November – St Augustine 
• 20 November – St Mellitus 
• 27 November – St Erkenwald & St Ethelburga

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Joshua Pacey - The Lord's Prayer.

Discover & explore - Summer 2017 series

Discover & explore services at St Stephen Walbrook feature music and liturgy with the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields. These services explore their themes through a thoughtful mix of music, prayers, readings and reflections:

• “A perfect service of peace in our busy lives.”
• “Spiritual food in the middle of the day.”
• “Beautifully and intelligently done.”

The next series of these services of musical discovery will explore Reformation 500 themes. The first service (on Monday 24th April) will feature: 'This joyful Eastertide' arranged by Charles Wood, 'Ave Maria' by Robert Parsons, 'Amazing Grace' arranged by Will Todd, and 'Magnificat' from The Short Service by Thomas Tallis.

All Discover & explore services begin at 1.10pm:

• Mon 24th Apr - Grace not Works 
• Mon 1st May - Bank Holiday – Church closed 
• Mon 8 May - God's written Word 
• Mon 15 May - Through Christ alone 
• Mon 22 May - God loves you 
• Mon 29 May Bank Holiday – Church closed 
• Mon 5 June - Baptism saves 
• Mon 12 Jun - The Lord's Supper 
• Mon 19 Jun - The Cross alone 
• Mon 26 Jun - Forgiveness is free 
• Mon 3 Jul - Life of repentance

Other comments which have been made about Discover & explore services include:

• ‘They are thought-provoking and inspiring services and the music is amazing.’ 
• ‘I really enjoy the Discover and Explore Services. I find the atmosphere very peaceful and the beautiful music enhances that feeling. I like the fact that it is a different type of service and there is time to contemplate and pray.’
• ‘I personally like the Discover & Explore services very much. I will admit that I have a great love of choral music so the service format is winner on that ground alone for me. However looking at it objectively, I like the format very much. It hits the right note of a serious but lighter touch, but it is not too light. I like the idea of taking a topic and shaping the rest of the service around that theme. It’s great for example to have excerpts from Shakespeare. The length is right too. I come to church amongst other reasons to think, reflect and learn and I feel this service format is excellent.’
• ‘Discover & explore brings me into the City. Entering the church feels like entering another world – one which is, though, very much part of its surrounds as well. The thing I most enjoy is hearing the choir’s anthems in a historical site whose acoustics are perfect for that. That said, I probably wouldn’t make the effort if it were just concerts: I like the integration of the music into the themes of the reflections and readings as well. It’s a coherent entity. And the emphasis this term on figures from St. Stephen’s history, the collaboration with the Guildhall Art Gallery – those are the kinds of things that ground the series in its community. But again, the extraordinarily high quality of the music is what really draws me in. I would feel like I’d wasted a wonderful opportunity if I didn’t come to Discover & explore!’ 
• ‘I discovered this treasure recently. The choir fills the Dome, as does the tiny organ. I am a keen singer and in that space feel (in the hymns) you are with the choir. The service sheet is very good and I was signed up on first visit to reading. The weekly foci are interesting and often relate to remarkable previous incumbents.’
• ‘The Discover & Explore format is great - sorry I haven't made it before! You are v fortunate to have the choir in the week! Even better in real life today. Lunchtime service @StStephenEC4N with choral scholars from @smitf_london conducted by @JeremyColeUK.’

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Charles Wood - This Joyful Eastertide.

At the Heart. On the Edge.

This year at St Martin-in-the-Fields we've invited our congregation to write pages for our #Advent2016 booklet. Each day a new reading, reflection and prayer on the theme, “At the Heart. On the Edge.”, will be posted on our twitter account and facebook page.

Today read Sam Wells's reflection - "We want to be where God is, and God's on the edge, so we want to be there too."

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The Advent Of Our King.

Discover & explore: St Peter

This Monday's Discover & explore service at St Stephen Walbrook, beginning 1.10pm, is the last in the current series. I will be reflecting on the life and thought of St Peter using a poem by Malcolm Guite and a meditation by Alan Stewart. The service will feature the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields singing:

• Introit - Duruflé, Tu es Petrus
• Anthem - Britten, A Hymn of St Peter
• Anthem - Bairstow, The King of Love my Shepherd is
• Closing - Palestrina, Agnus Dei (I & II) from Missa ‘Tu es Petrus’

Discover & explore services explore their themes through a thoughtful mix of music, prayers, readings and reflections:

• “A perfect service of peace in our busy lives.”
• “Spiritual food in the middle of the day.”
• “Beautifully and intelligently done.”

The next series of Discover & explore services will explore themes of stewardship & finance:

• Monday 3rd October: Time 
• Monday 10th October: Talents 
• Monday 17th October: Treasure/Gold 
• Monday 24th October: Guidance 
• Monday 31st October: Promises (All Souls Day) 
• Monday 7th November: Safety 
• Monday 14th November: Money 
• Monday 21st November: Security 

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Benjamin Britten - Hymn To St Peter.

Discover & explore: hope, faith , life, love, dreams, joy, truth and soul

Discover & explore: A service series of musical discovery exploring themes of hope, faith , life, love, dreams, joy, truth and soul

St Stephen Walbrook, 39 Walbrook, London EC4N 8BN
Mondays from 1st February – 21st March, 1.10 – 1.50pm

Music and liturgy with the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields, based on Eric Whitacre's anthem 'Hope, Faith, Life, Love'.

Discover & explore services explore their themes through a thoughtful mix of music, prayers, readings and reflections.

• “A perfect service of peace in our busy lives.”
• “Spiritual food in the middle of the day.”
• “Beautifully and intelligently done.”

Discover & explore is “like a little jewel with a number of facets drawing us in and lighting our path.”

All Discover & explore services begin at 1.10pm:

• Monday 1st February: Hope
• Monday 8th February: Faith
• Monday 15th February: Life
• Monday 22nd February: Love
• Monday 29th February: Dreams
• Monday 7th March: Joy
• Monday 14th March: Truth
• Monday 21st March: Soul

The Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields have an essential musical role at that great church. Every year twelve scholars are appointed to sing regular services while also gaining concert experience, benefiting from an extensive training in all aspects of sacred and secular choral music.

St Stephen Walbrook is an Anglican Parish Church which is rich in heritage, but one which remains actively involved in the City of London. With an almost perfect acoustic for choral singing and a renowned organ famed for its regular Friday recitals for City workers, St Stephen Walbrook stands witness next to the Mansion House at the heart of the City it was built to serve.

Opening hours, Monday – Tuesday, Thursday - Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm, Wednesdays 11.00am – 3.00pm. Recitals on Tuesdays (1.00pm) and Fridays (12.30pm), Eucharist on Thursdays (12.45pm).

St Stephen Walbrook - Tel: 020 7626 9000; Email: office@ststephenwalbrook.net; Web: ststephenwalbrook.net.

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Eric Whitacre - Hope, Faith, Life, Love.

Discover & explore: A service series of musical discovery

Discover & explore: Music and liturgy with the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields and Revd Jonathan Evens.

A service series of musical discovery exploring themes of beauty, faith, home, imagination, leisure, love and work. Includes music by Thomas Tallis, Moses Hogan and James Whitbourn, and readings from the Bible, Brother Lawrence, Ernesto Cardenal, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, W.H. Davies, Magna Carta, among others.

15th June - 27th July 2015, 1.10-1.50pm St Stephen Walbrook: 15th June: Faith; 22nd June: Home;
29th June: Love; 6th July: Work; 13th July: Imagination; 20th July: Leisure; 27th July: Beauty.

The series is a partnership with Guildhall Art Gallery using themes from the recent rehang of their collection. Join us for a guided tour of the Guildhall Art Gallery collection, as part of the Discover & explore series, which will take place on 21 July at 1.10pm. Meet in the main entrance of the Guildhall Art Gallery.

To coincide with its 15th anniversary, Guildhall Art Gallery has undergone a complete rehang of its permanent collection. Many of the works now on display have not been shown before at the Gallery. The collection of the Victorian paintings demonstrates changing attitudes to fine art in the 19th century. Artists turned their attention to the reality of modern life as their main inspiration, With its focus on everyday subjects, such as home, work, leisure, love, beauty, faith, and imagination, the new Victorian re-hang offers surprising relevance to life in the 21st century and challenges pre-conceptions about Victorian art being ‘dated’.

The Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields have an essential musical role at this great church. Every year twelve scholars are appointed to sing regular services while also gaining concert experience, benefiting from an extensive training in all aspects of sacred and secular choral music. They are led by the Director of Music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Andrew Earis.

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James Whitbourn - Give Us The Wings Of Faith.

Start:Stop

Start your day by stopping to reflect for 10 minutes.

Every Tuesday morning there will be a rolling programme of work-based reflections at St Stephen Walbrook from 28th April onwards.

Every 15 minutes between 7.30am and 9.15am, a 10 minute session of reflection will begin. These sessions will include bible passages, meditations, music, prayers, readings and silence.

Drop in on your way into work to start your day by stopping to reflect for 10 minutes.

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Arvo Pärt - The Beatitudes.

Advent Reflections

We've had a very good Advent Sunday at St John's Seven Kings with a much appreciated Advent Reflections Service this morning featuring a Holy Land reflection plus readings, poems and prayers from Malcolm Guite, Joyce Huggett and Helen Steiner Rice, among others. This evening an excellent Seven Kings Fellowship of Churches Advent Service was led by Kate Lovesey and the combined choirs of St Peter's Aldborough Hatch and St John's. The photographs above show the three different Nativities we have this year at St John's.

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Winchester Cathedral Choir - Still Still Still.