We will be uploading a small piece for your thoughts every week. These may be in the form of video, prayer or a some brief thoughts. If you would like to contribute, you are welcome to send them to the Parish Office at [email protected]. Please note that we cannot guarantee everyone's submissions will be posted but we will do what we can to share your thoughts.
Wednesday February 15th 2023
Next week, we will mark the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday – a Holy Day traditionally marked with fasting, and with receiving the sign of the cross on the forehead in Ash. But where does the ash for Ash Wednesday come from? And why do we use ash at all?
Every year we collect together all of the blessed palm crosses that we used last year for Palm Sunday – those that we carry in procession as we remember Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem in the week leading up to his death and resurrection. Those palm crosses are then burned, and mixed with a little water (and sometimes oil) in order to form an ash paste that is then used to make the sign of the cross on Ash Wednesday.
A clue as to why we use ashes can be found in the words that are said as the cross is applied: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Lent is a penitential season – a season in which we remember all the things that we have done that separate us from God, and from each other, and say sorry for them. We remember that we do not live in the fulness of God’s kingdom and everlasting life just yet, but that bad things do still happen, and that one day we too will die and return to the dust. You might spot the parallels with the words that are used in a funeral service: “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
Ashes don’t just have the meaning of mortality and death, however. Although we might think of it as a waste product now, in the past ashes were actually a very useful thing. They could be used as fertiliser, or to make lye which is used in soap and a variety of other things. Not only that, but in the instructions for how to make a sacrifice in the Old Testament, the Israelites were told to take the ashes left from a sacrifice, and to use them to purify the drinking water of the community. From a symbol of death and mortality came something that gave people life, just as we believe that Jesus died so that we may have life, and life everlasting.
So, next week, come and receive the sign of the cross to mark Ash Wednesday. It is a symbol that we are sorry, but also a sign of what is to come: Jesus’s death that we may live. And you may also notice something different on our website from next week. We are partnering with our friends in New York in a community art project, so each week a picture will be put up that you will be able to comment on! Tell us how it makes you feel, what it might remind you of, how it speaks to your faith, or just whether you like it or not: everything is welcome. And at the end of Lent we will gather all the pictures and comments together on Good Friday, to explore the Passion in art together.
Revd Helena Bickley-Percival
Curate at St Stephen's
Next week, we will mark the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday – a Holy Day traditionally marked with fasting, and with receiving the sign of the cross on the forehead in Ash. But where does the ash for Ash Wednesday come from? And why do we use ash at all?
Every year we collect together all of the blessed palm crosses that we used last year for Palm Sunday – those that we carry in procession as we remember Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem in the week leading up to his death and resurrection. Those palm crosses are then burned, and mixed with a little water (and sometimes oil) in order to form an ash paste that is then used to make the sign of the cross on Ash Wednesday.
A clue as to why we use ashes can be found in the words that are said as the cross is applied: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Lent is a penitential season – a season in which we remember all the things that we have done that separate us from God, and from each other, and say sorry for them. We remember that we do not live in the fulness of God’s kingdom and everlasting life just yet, but that bad things do still happen, and that one day we too will die and return to the dust. You might spot the parallels with the words that are used in a funeral service: “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
Ashes don’t just have the meaning of mortality and death, however. Although we might think of it as a waste product now, in the past ashes were actually a very useful thing. They could be used as fertiliser, or to make lye which is used in soap and a variety of other things. Not only that, but in the instructions for how to make a sacrifice in the Old Testament, the Israelites were told to take the ashes left from a sacrifice, and to use them to purify the drinking water of the community. From a symbol of death and mortality came something that gave people life, just as we believe that Jesus died so that we may have life, and life everlasting.
So, next week, come and receive the sign of the cross to mark Ash Wednesday. It is a symbol that we are sorry, but also a sign of what is to come: Jesus’s death that we may live. And you may also notice something different on our website from next week. We are partnering with our friends in New York in a community art project, so each week a picture will be put up that you will be able to comment on! Tell us how it makes you feel, what it might remind you of, how it speaks to your faith, or just whether you like it or not: everything is welcome. And at the end of Lent we will gather all the pictures and comments together on Good Friday, to explore the Passion in art together.
Revd Helena Bickley-Percival
Curate at St Stephen's
Wednesday February 8th 2023
Traveling toward Lent.
Now that we have passed Candlemas I am again making the familiar journey between St Stephen’s and St Saviour’s for the next few months. This time till Pentecost 2023. This journey, though only ten minutes in walking time, is always a bit of a wrench because for the next four months I leave one set of day to day relationships for another set of relationships. Fortunately there are two things that stop it being disjointed; I’m not that far away and I have continuity in worship through the wonderful people in both parishes, a unique gift of this curacy.
In my own personal bible reading I have been reading through Acts and find myself struck by how mobile the apostles Peter and Paul were, along with their companions, seemingly to be constantly journeying, visiting churches around the Mediterranean. My ten-minute walk between St Stephen’s and St Saviour’s is nothing compared to what they did and in crossing the Vauxhall Bridge Road it’s not as though I’m going to be shipwrecked like Paul was in Acts.
The other Sunday Helena preached at Evensong how Candlemas is a beginning and an ending; an ending because we say goodbye to Christmas and Epiphany and a beginning because we soon journey toward Lent and Easter. But the thing that gives us space to consider this is that it is now Ordinary time, a journey space that enables contemplation. The thing about undertaking any journey is that it both invites and allows contemplation usually tied to where we have been and where we are going so we perhaps can look upon Ordinary time as a journey within our own faith.
Candelmas sets the scene for a journey of contemplation because after the presentation of Jesus in the Temple Luke records Mary and Joseph returning home with Jesus and Jesus growing as a child. So they had a family life in which they had time to contemplate what had happened while getting to know Jesus as child and watch him grow. So we can use the journey of Ordinary Time for our own knowing of Jesus and where that might lead as we come into Lent and Easter.
And I’ll be back after Pentecost.
Revd Jeremy Cavanagh
Traveling toward Lent.
Now that we have passed Candlemas I am again making the familiar journey between St Stephen’s and St Saviour’s for the next few months. This time till Pentecost 2023. This journey, though only ten minutes in walking time, is always a bit of a wrench because for the next four months I leave one set of day to day relationships for another set of relationships. Fortunately there are two things that stop it being disjointed; I’m not that far away and I have continuity in worship through the wonderful people in both parishes, a unique gift of this curacy.
In my own personal bible reading I have been reading through Acts and find myself struck by how mobile the apostles Peter and Paul were, along with their companions, seemingly to be constantly journeying, visiting churches around the Mediterranean. My ten-minute walk between St Stephen’s and St Saviour’s is nothing compared to what they did and in crossing the Vauxhall Bridge Road it’s not as though I’m going to be shipwrecked like Paul was in Acts.
The other Sunday Helena preached at Evensong how Candlemas is a beginning and an ending; an ending because we say goodbye to Christmas and Epiphany and a beginning because we soon journey toward Lent and Easter. But the thing that gives us space to consider this is that it is now Ordinary time, a journey space that enables contemplation. The thing about undertaking any journey is that it both invites and allows contemplation usually tied to where we have been and where we are going so we perhaps can look upon Ordinary time as a journey within our own faith.
Candelmas sets the scene for a journey of contemplation because after the presentation of Jesus in the Temple Luke records Mary and Joseph returning home with Jesus and Jesus growing as a child. So they had a family life in which they had time to contemplate what had happened while getting to know Jesus as child and watch him grow. So we can use the journey of Ordinary Time for our own knowing of Jesus and where that might lead as we come into Lent and Easter.
And I’ll be back after Pentecost.
Revd Jeremy Cavanagh
Thursday February 2nd 2023
Stop. Pause. Consider this.
A sermon I heard on Christmas Day over in East London spoke of many things, including a mention of the word ‘Selah’ that you may have seen in its peppering of the Psalms. It is a Hebrew word that is likely to ‘stop’ or ‘pause’ , ‘consider this’.
I’d like to take this word out of context a moment and ask that you might join with me a moment in pausing and considering some of the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and asylum seekers who meet together here in this wonderful church once a week to create, learn English, receive counselling, have a warm meal and heal.
I teach art to this group and I remember one morning feeling rather virtuous for rising early to paint and work on my own artwork before coming to work. Normally beginning the lesson with a bit of chat and a question, I asked what time people had got up that morning (to come here). Most of the group had risen close to 5am to ensure they’d be here, with participants travelling from as far as Liverpool to arrive for the 11 o’clock start. The final attendee trumped all though and I learnt that he hadn’t slept but had been working all night and come straight on simply to be here for the day.
Paintings are often made that reflect upon the natural world and beauty of creation. During the next month a selection of artworks will be on show at St Stephens.
The people who form this project and work being done under this roof once a week is exceptional and highly valued by all involved.
Selah.
And thank you.
Prayer:
‘Father God, thank you for the Sri Lankan Tamils and for all involved with this project. We pray for strength, comfort and healing. Amen.’
Mary Steward
Stop. Pause. Consider this.
A sermon I heard on Christmas Day over in East London spoke of many things, including a mention of the word ‘Selah’ that you may have seen in its peppering of the Psalms. It is a Hebrew word that is likely to ‘stop’ or ‘pause’ , ‘consider this’.
I’d like to take this word out of context a moment and ask that you might join with me a moment in pausing and considering some of the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and asylum seekers who meet together here in this wonderful church once a week to create, learn English, receive counselling, have a warm meal and heal.
I teach art to this group and I remember one morning feeling rather virtuous for rising early to paint and work on my own artwork before coming to work. Normally beginning the lesson with a bit of chat and a question, I asked what time people had got up that morning (to come here). Most of the group had risen close to 5am to ensure they’d be here, with participants travelling from as far as Liverpool to arrive for the 11 o’clock start. The final attendee trumped all though and I learnt that he hadn’t slept but had been working all night and come straight on simply to be here for the day.
Paintings are often made that reflect upon the natural world and beauty of creation. During the next month a selection of artworks will be on show at St Stephens.
The people who form this project and work being done under this roof once a week is exceptional and highly valued by all involved.
Selah.
And thank you.
Prayer:
‘Father God, thank you for the Sri Lankan Tamils and for all involved with this project. We pray for strength, comfort and healing. Amen.’
Mary Steward
Wednesday January 25th 2023
Last week Lucy Barker invited me to see her school, The Grey Coat Hospital’s production of “Emilia”. I knew very little about the person the play was based. Luckily Lucy’s mother, Christina, wrote a short piece about her in the program to aid my curiosity. She noted:
Aemilia Lanyer nee Bassano (1569-1645) was perhaps the closest historical woman poet to providing the role model Virginia Woolf sought when she asked to find "Shakespeare's sister." Her magnum opus Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum was printed in 1611 with her name clearly listed on the title page, a first for women's writing. Her version of biblical history has been dubbed proto-feminist, with a good defense of Eve, the Queen of Sheba and Pilate's wife among others. Lanyer was perhaps better known in society circles and as a London poet than Shakespeare would have been. It is ironic, then, that the more established Lanyer was forgotten for centuries (as too many women writers, artists, scientists, etc have been neglected) by critics and historians, only for her to be "rediscovered" by an academic in the 1970s as a possible candidate for the historical inspiration for Shakespeare's Dark Lady. Scholars now think it is highly unlikely that Lanyer could have been the model for the Dark Lady in Shakespeare's sonnets --- the mistress whose eyes are nothing like the sun. But Lanyer did live in the same time and place as Shakespeare and she did seek recognition as a professional writer; a link between the two that has inspired much "bio-fiction" about her, among them Sandra Newman’s novel The Heavens and play you are about to see.
As an academic, I have studied her poetry and marvel at her willingness to ignite religious debate, and applaud her clear address to women both of the past and in her own time. She was an extraordinary woman of her time, and she still has lessons to share with us all.”
Thank you Christina.
Last week Lucy Barker invited me to see her school, The Grey Coat Hospital’s production of “Emilia”. I knew very little about the person the play was based. Luckily Lucy’s mother, Christina, wrote a short piece about her in the program to aid my curiosity. She noted:
Aemilia Lanyer nee Bassano (1569-1645) was perhaps the closest historical woman poet to providing the role model Virginia Woolf sought when she asked to find "Shakespeare's sister." Her magnum opus Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum was printed in 1611 with her name clearly listed on the title page, a first for women's writing. Her version of biblical history has been dubbed proto-feminist, with a good defense of Eve, the Queen of Sheba and Pilate's wife among others. Lanyer was perhaps better known in society circles and as a London poet than Shakespeare would have been. It is ironic, then, that the more established Lanyer was forgotten for centuries (as too many women writers, artists, scientists, etc have been neglected) by critics and historians, only for her to be "rediscovered" by an academic in the 1970s as a possible candidate for the historical inspiration for Shakespeare's Dark Lady. Scholars now think it is highly unlikely that Lanyer could have been the model for the Dark Lady in Shakespeare's sonnets --- the mistress whose eyes are nothing like the sun. But Lanyer did live in the same time and place as Shakespeare and she did seek recognition as a professional writer; a link between the two that has inspired much "bio-fiction" about her, among them Sandra Newman’s novel The Heavens and play you are about to see.
As an academic, I have studied her poetry and marvel at her willingness to ignite religious debate, and applaud her clear address to women both of the past and in her own time. She was an extraordinary woman of her time, and she still has lessons to share with us all.”
Thank you Christina.
How was the playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm going to do this justice to such an extraordinary woman? Well it was truly a wonderful production, full of wit, pathos, and with hard hitting issues of race and gender inequality - was performed with a passion that one could almost feel reverberate the walls of the hall. Emilia herself, was brilliantly played by three different actors, representing the three ages of her life. The male and female roles were played by a diverse cast of female-identifying actors, the reversal of the casting of Shakespeare's day.
The director of the play stated that the issues raised in this play are still relevant and alive today and “has resonated deeply with our cast of young people” who “have enjoyed grappling with its themes through an often humorous, irreverent lens”.
I was so pleased not only to have seen it but also to be challenged by it too. Thank you Lucy and your friends for doing so. For we all need to step out of our comfortable protection at times and be challenged by the assumptions society places upon us…it’s what Jesus did, and should continue to do. So let us not shy away as a community from the prophets in our midst, but embrace what they have to say and give us:
Creator God, help us to embrace the challenges in life. May we listen to those who utter your Words in unexpected ways; That they might stir in the fruits of your kingdom here in earth as in heaven: This we ask for your great Love’s sake, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Extract by kind permission from article by Dr. Christina Barker; Images of the production program and of Aemilia Lanyer - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Lanier
Revd Graham Buckle
The director of the play stated that the issues raised in this play are still relevant and alive today and “has resonated deeply with our cast of young people” who “have enjoyed grappling with its themes through an often humorous, irreverent lens”.
I was so pleased not only to have seen it but also to be challenged by it too. Thank you Lucy and your friends for doing so. For we all need to step out of our comfortable protection at times and be challenged by the assumptions society places upon us…it’s what Jesus did, and should continue to do. So let us not shy away as a community from the prophets in our midst, but embrace what they have to say and give us:
Creator God, help us to embrace the challenges in life. May we listen to those who utter your Words in unexpected ways; That they might stir in the fruits of your kingdom here in earth as in heaven: This we ask for your great Love’s sake, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Extract by kind permission from article by Dr. Christina Barker; Images of the production program and of Aemilia Lanyer - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Lanier
Revd Graham Buckle
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Thursday January 19th 2023
What a delight to meet up with my old Benedictine friend Br Patrice today. He had some encouraging words for me and it was good to catch up with him. He is a monk at the community of Solesmes in France and I have visited him in the beautiful Abbey and enjoyed its renowned Gregorian Chanting of the psalms and office https://www.solesmes.com He was meeting an Abbot from another French Community in the railway station. He offered a little prayer for us outside Victoria Railway Station, which I offer to you for this weeks Weekly Devotion. Please remember his community as they remember us at St Stephen’s in their prayers. Revd Graham Buckle |
Graham and Br Patrice finally find his brother Dom Jean Pateau from Fontgombault
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