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THE Home Page MESSENGER From St. Michael & All Angels’
Church, Blackheath Park, SE3 SEPTEMBER 2004 |
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website text only version |
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S eptember 29th is the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, sometimes called “Michaelmas”. It is close to the autumnal equinox half way between the longest and shortest days, but that progress does not seem even and September is when the nights draw in and weather becomes harsh. The mediæval church saw Michael as a protector against the forces of dark, and he became very popular. There is an article about St Michael on page 2. Michael’s feast was celebrated by eating a goose specially fattened by being allowed to roam in the post-harvest stubble. The connection with harvest emphasises that time of year marks a re-start. Many leftovers from earlier periods remind us of this: the academic year starts in September, so does the legal, leases often begin on the quarter day (25th September), and until 1752 that was in fact the half-way point of the year, since civil new year was on 25th March and not 1st January. The full title of the parish is “St Michael and
All Angels”, and so 29th September is the patronal festival. That
is also why our newsletter is called The Messenger, as that is what
“angel” literally means, a messenger who carries God’s word to humanity. |
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Calling 5 to 12 year-olds! I Believe in Angels You
still have time to ENTER the ART COMPETITION at the Michaelmas Fête. Bring
your painting, on A3 paper, to the Parish Office before 9th
September. Just do it! |
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This
year on 11th September we revive an old custom of the church, the
Michaelmas Fête. There are full details inside. There will be lots of stalls
with food and crafts – a kind of “urban harvest” – and lots of events and fun
for children as well as adults. There will be stalls of organisations in
which we voluntarily join together (like Blackheath Society and Youth for
Christ) and in which we care for one another (like Greenwich Welcare,
Greenwich Nightstop and the Children’s Society). All of
this represents exactly what God wants for us: the world is full of wonder
and beauty which God wants us to enjoy; He commands us to join together into
one body (for example, Eph.3:6); most of all, Jesus told us to care
for the weak and helpless. If we
do those things, we are fulfilling God’s law, bringing His word to all around
us. Every one of us can be a member of the heavenly army. We can all be an
angel. |
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Saint Michael Our parish church is called St Michael and All Angels. Michael is both saint and angel (which is rare – there are only two others, Raphael and Gabriel), but what more do we know about him? Older readers will remember that Marks & Spencer used to label everything “St Michael”, which gave his name wider prominence than the four mentions in the Bible (Dn. 10:13; Dn. 12:1; Epistle of St Jude and Apocalypse 12:7). He is better off than Gabriel with 3 and Raphael with a single doubtful one. Michael’s name means “Who is like God?”. Nine East Roman emperors were called Michael. Michael holds the secret of the mighty “word” by which God created heaven and earth, according to Enoch. The word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels. It was for this reason that the previous Vicar, Henry Whyte, chose the name The Messenger for this newsletter, to reflect both its function and the name of the parish church. The Pope Saint Gregory the Great wrote in a homily: Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. The Jewish category of the archangels is recognized in the New Testament (I Thess. 4:15; Jude. 9), but only Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name. Many commentators, however, identify Raphael with the “angel of the Lord” mentioned in John 5. This conjecture is base both on the significance of the name and on the healing role attributed to Raphael in the Book of Tobias. Jewish tradition recognises seven archangels – the others are mentioned in the Book of Enoch: Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel This enormous bronze statue at Coventry Cathedral St Michael Subduing the Devil by Sir Jacob Epstein, weighs four tons and the figure of Michael is approximately 6 metres tall. It is a powerful symbol of the triumphant resurrection of the Cathedral despite the powers of evil and destruction. It represents the passage in Apoclypse, “And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon.” St. John speaks of the great conflict at the end of time, which reflects also the battle in heaven at the beginning of time. Michael has four offices: ► To fight against Satan. ► To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death. ► To be the champion of God's people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages. ► To call away from earth and bring men’s souls to judgment . Michaelmas Day, in England and other countries, is one of the regular quarter-days for settling rents and accounts; but it is no longer remarkable for the hospitality with which it was formerly celebrated. Stubble-geese being esteemed in perfection about this time, most families had one dressed on Michaelmas Day. In some parishes (Isle of Skye) they had a procession on this day and baked a cake, called St. Michael’s bannock. We share our patron saint with bakers, bankers, banking, battle, boatmen and Brussels |
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That Date with Fête There’s going to be something for everyone at the Parish’s
Michaelmas Fête on 11th September, 1.30 to 6pm – from the lucky
dip in the brantub for the youngsters to the inflatable bungee run for bouncy
people of all ages. The Mayor is coming, charities are running stalls, crafts
will be on sale, and we are running food outlets including a special
Africa-inspired buffet, pre-owned books, pre-owned toys and bric-a-brac
stalls. The pre-fête lunchtime concert at 12.45pm is not to be missed. And
there’s a fire engine, try-your-strength machine, bands and more besides. Fun
includes gauging the weight of the Vicar, guessing the number of pins on an
angel’s head and flower arranging. Look out for notices already on display in
local schools and elsewhere about how to enter the Children’s
Art Competition, with the theme I
Believe in Angels All this needs scores of helpers. Don’t hesitate to join the team, whether or not you attend church; speak with Chris Holland 020 8297 2411 or Leah Philbrick 020 8852 1205. But above all, get out your diary and... RESERVE 11th SEPTEMBER NOW! |
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NOTICES TEARFUND & SUDAN St.Michaels has had an appeal for Tearfund’s Sudan Emergency Fund. Tearfund have been helping digging wells, building toilets and providing tents for Bredjing refugee camp in Chad. In Darfur they have set up a feeding programme for at least 5000 children, provided mosquito nets for families and are giving sanitation and health education for people in six camps around Al Geneina. Marion Chittleborough SNEAKERS A youth group that is good for the ‘sole’ A new group for young people in years 5-8. Beginning this September! Every other Thursday 6-7.30 pm at St. Michael’s Church Hall Dates: 16/9 30/9 14/10 28/10 11/11 25/11 9/12 50p entrance fee Contact Leah on 8852 9564 or lphilbrick@btinternent.com for more info |
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Letter to the Editor The hierarchy of the Church ought to realise that this custom of
passing the peace is causing a lot of irritation to thousands of would-be worshippers.
You have no idea what lengths people will go to in order to avoid the
enthusiasts they see leaping over pews to have a Go at Shaking the Hand of
those who would remain Untouchable. This is not an unChristian way of looking
at things. The way to get people to be nice to each other is to allow
everyone to have dignity. If you strip it away by enforced familiarity people
will find all sorts of ruses to put up barriers. Judith Cresswell
The PCC has been invited to discuss this question – please add your views. Ed. |
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J- I - C # 48 Prince enrolled at Mr Turveydrop’s Terpsichorean Academy on the first Friday in April, and returned every third day thereafter for further instruction. Caddy enrolled on the first Saturday in April, and returned every fifth day for more lessons. Their lessons coincided only once that month, when they met, fell madly in love, married and lived happily ever after. What was the date of that meeting?
Oeufs Francis Picabia Break 8 eggs into a bowl and mix them
well with a fork, add salt but no pepper. Pour them into a saucepan - yes, a
saucepan, no, not a frying-pan. Put the saucepan over a very, very low flame,
keep turning them with a fork while very slowly adding in very small
quantities ½lb. butter - not a speck less, rather more if you can bring
yourself to it. It should take ½ hour to prepare this dish. The eggs of
course are not scrambled but with the butter, no substitute admitted, produce
a suave consistency that perhaps only gourmets will appreciate.
The Messenger is
published by the Parochial Church Council of St Michael’s Church on the last
Sunday of each month (except July and December), and delivered free by
volunteers to homes in the Parish. Printed by Westbrook Publishing, 55
Beechhill Road SE9 (Telephone 020-8859 4873). I love July: Jonathan Causer
(Telephone 020-8852 8226, j.causer@ukonline.co.uk). Copy date is the 10th
of the month. Items from The Messenger
may be freely reproduced (an acknowledgement is appreciated). Publication
does not imply approval by the PCC. Unattributed articles are by the Editor. |
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WHO’S WHO |
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Vicar |
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Revd Sandy Christie |
8852 5287 |
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The Vicar can be contacted at the Vicarage, 2 Pond Road, Blackheath SE3 9JL |
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Hon Curates |
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Revd Adam Scott Revd Michael Callaghan |
8852
3286 8318 7561 |
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Readers |
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Olive Kuhrt John Clark |
8857
3476 8852 2741 |
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Churchwardens |
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Maggie Holland Stephen Hingston |
8297 2411 8852 3063 |
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Children and Young People’s Worker |
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Leah Philbrick |
8852 9564 |
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Parish Office |
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Parish Hall, 1 Pond Rd., SE3 9JL |
8852 1205 |