October2014

60p

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“…St Alban’s people will not wonder at St Alban’s defects and shortcomings, when they know how long it had to struggle to maintain its life … at what great hazard we have maintained such helps to reverence, and such ways of honouring God as we now enjoy. And no sane person will wonder that those who guide the work at St Alban’s feel the duty of preserving a consistent and unaltered course. May the Mission never suffer loss or be wrecked by any change in this respect!”

James S. Pollock (1890). Vaughton’s Hole: Twenty-five years in it. Chapter I.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on Sunday September 14th

The solemn and important feast of the Exaltation of the Cross this year fell on a Sunday. So, while our new Sunday School with a small contingent of children was having its second weekly session in the church hall, Fr Nicholas gave the following address explaining the relevance of this date for our parish:

“When missionaries brought the Gospel to regions of the Earth that had never heard of the cross of Christ, they often accompanied their preaching with the brandishing of a crucifix. Which at times required some explaining, given that gruesome depiction of a dead body nailed to wood. I heard anecdotes about this and I remember old missionaries confessing that only when challenged by people unaccustomed to this symbol of the Christian faith, it dawned on them that the cross must have been indeed a horrible instrument of torture and had nothing beautiful about it. So, why do we, on this solemn feast, talk in terms of “exaltation” of this horrible device? Isn’t the cross the same instrument inflicting a death that two famous political figures in ancient Rome, Cicero and Tacitus, described as “most cruel torture”? Doesn’t the Biblical book of Deuteronomy call “accursed” the one that has been put to death by “hanging on a tree” [21: 22 - 23]? And haven’t we just heard in the past few weeks horrifying accounts of Christians and others having been crucified by the so-called Islamic

State movement in Syria and Iraq? And yet, already in antiquity, the cross was given honour and glory so much so that soon it came to be decorated with precious stones and metals and to be defined as salus mundi, salvation of the world. Christ Himself, in the Romanesque artistic style of the Middle Ages, was clothed on the cross with royal garments, like a king on his throne. No longer a suffering tortured man with a crown of thorns, but majestic and victorious with His crown of gems, stressing therefore not the drama of His death but the effects that His cross has on the history of salvation and on us. This is the reasoning, the theology behind the introduction of this feast in the fourth century, when Emperor Constantine inaugurated two basilicas in Jerusalem, on the Golgotha and on the place of the sepulchre. Ever since, this solemn feast has been celebrated by Catholic and Orthodox Christians on September 14th. It was only with the subsequent Gothic style that began in Northern Europe in the late Middle Ages that our modern tendency to stress the sufferings of Christ over His

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glory prevailed.Today’s feast, therefore, is like a bridge

across the centuries that links us again to the spirituality of our ancestors. Even today’s second reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, reminds us with gratitude of the implications of Christ’s sacrifice for all of us, indeed for the whole universe: “He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name That is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bend, in Heaven, on Earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the GLORY of God the Father.” [2: 7 - 11]

The cross and the glory of Jesus here become synonyms. In fact the word glory in the Old Testament was rendered by the term kabod, that means also weight. The cross is the weight and the glory of

Christ. The cross is also the weight and the glory of the Christian, of every follower of Christ.

Today, we have another reason to celebrate. In fact, on this feast day falls the anniversary of the dedication of this parish, the opening of the Mission of Highgate on Leopold Street in 1865.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, on this solemn feast I ask in the Holy Name of Christ: let us take upon ourselves the weight and the glory of our cross, that was the weight and the glory of our ancestors, the Christians of old and the Christians of S Alban’s parish at the end of the 19th century; the weight and the glory of the martyrs of Christ today, killed for their faithfulness to Him on the sands of Iraq, of Syria, of Egypt, of Algeria, of Sudan, of Nigeria, of Pakistan. And may everyone who believes this, have eternal life in Him.”

Introduction To The Scriptures11. Introduction to the Historical Books

IN the Christian Bible, by Historical Books we intend: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1

– 2 Samuel, 1 – 2 Kings, 1 – 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, (Tobit), (Judith), Esther, (1 – 2 Maccabees). The names in brackets are Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha books. Since the late first century AD with Rabbi Gamaliel II the Jewish Bible has been divided into Law, Prophets and Writings (for Christians, Writings encompass Historical and Wisdom books). However, in Judaism the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings are listed with the Prophets (they are called Early Prophets, as

opposed to the Later Prophets, these being Isa, Jer, Ez and the 12 Minor Prophets). We call these books Historical because they resume the narrative of the events after the death of Moses.

In fact, Joshua seems to have been originated by the same J and E sources that we find in the Pentateuch, or by more recent ones very close to those. Some scholars are of the opinion that Joshua would sit comfortably in a Hexateuch… Deuteronomic influences are also rather strong in Judges and Kings, less so in Samuel.

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Deuteronomy provides us with the historical context to the doctrine of the election of Israel, as well as with its doctrinal elements inside a legal framework. The Historical Books show us how this election was made true by the conquest of the Promised Land, the subjugation of its indigenous inhabitants, the establishment of a nation and the building of the Temple, according to God’s promises in the Pentateuch. They also proceed to describe how the infidelity of the people and its leaders brought upon Israel the judgment of God, manifested in the crisis of the theocratic system, the subsequent crisis of the monarchy and finally the foreign invasion of the Promised Land.

The books underwent a number of editorial adjustments. Apart from the influences of J, E and D in some of them, another peculiarity is the unity of style in Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, evidently the work of the same author. Interestingly the last verse of 2 Chronicles is repeated verbatim in the first verse of Ezra.

Joshua — The book can be divided into three parts: 1) chapter 1 – 12: conquest of the Promised Land; 2) chapter 13 – 21: tribal partition of the land; 3) chapter 22 – 24: Joshua’s last discourses and death. Several traditions behind the composition of the book may be identified. In fact, even according to Jewish tradition it is unlikely that it has been written by the eponymous successor of Moses in the leadership of Israel. The first part contains several etiological narratives: i.e., aimed at providing an explanation for situations or facts still verifiable at the time of writing, with reference to past events. Many of these events have been confirmed by archaeological excavations, but the fall of Jericho is not one of them. Part two

deals essentially with geography and with tribal boundaries. Part three may have benefited from D and P editing. The book offers a picture of an ideally united nation under Joshua’s leadership, engaging in the occupation of the Promised Land. This is in sharp contrast with the content of the next book, Judges, which shows a different picture, with Israel’s tribes competing against each other for the possession of different regions. The latter is therefore probably closer to what really happened historically. The former is a more idealised version of events, reconnecting to theological motifs dear to the Exodus narrative, such as the miraculous crossing of the Jordan, the national identity of the people of Israel, the fulfilment of the promises, the adoption of the people on the part of God Who fights with and for them. However, the historicity of the conquest between 1,250 and 1,200 BC, and of the person of Joshua himself, is undisputed.

Judges — This book is also divided into three parts, with an introductory summary (1 – 2: 5), the main body of the book (2: 16 – 16: 31) and some appendices (17 – 21). The introductory summary is evidently an addition that gives the alternative narration of the events related to the conquest as already mentioned above; hence the repetition of the account of Joshua’s death. The main body deals with the works of 12 Judges (magistrates and rulers) called to succeed Joshua in the leadership of the people of Israel. Six of them were heroes whose deeds are recounted in detail. To one of them, Barak, is attached the only woman in the group (the 13th Judge), Deborah, a prophetess but also said to be judging Israel at the time of Barak (4: 4). Her song (chapter 5) is probably a later addition of a more ancient hymn. The

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narrative concerning the other six minor Judges belongs to a different tradition. The book was evidently edited by D, at least twice, obtaining the suggestive number 12 by adding to the list of Judges characters such as the hero Samson, who was not a Judge, and Shamgar (3: 31 and 5: 6) who was not an Israelite. D’s tendency to numeric symbolism is also given by the systematic enumeration of the years in groups of 40 (one generation) or its double 80 or its half 20 for a total of 480 years that are the years separating — according to the Deuteronomic tradition — the event of the Exodus from the building of the Temple. The theology of the book can be summarised in Israel being punished by God through its enemies, thus repenting and seeking reconciliation with God Who then sends Judges to lead Israel to its atonement. Historically, the events narrated here refer to about one and half century of otherwise undocumented warfare between the northern tribes (Judah and Simeon are not mentioned) and the native clans of Canaanites, their neighbours (Moabites, Ammonites and Midianites) and the recent invading waves of Philistines. A unifying element of their common worship of the God of Moses is given by the popularity among all tribes of the shrine of the Ark in Shiloh.

Ruth — This is a short book, usually read in its entirety by the Jews at Pentecost, as part of the Biblical collection of “Writings” (as opposed to “Law” and “Prophets”). It is the story of the Moabite woman Ruth, married to a man from Bethlehem who had migrated to Moab and now returns to Judah with her mother-in-law Naomi. In observance of the law of the levirate she marries her late husband’s brother Boaz and gives birth to their son

Obed, grandfather of David. The last paragraph (4: 18 – 22) is a later genealogy of David also found in 1 Chronicles 2: 5 – 15. The date of composition for the whole book remains uncertain. Famously Matthew 1: 5 includes Ruth in Jesus’ own genealogy.

1 – 2 Samuel — The name is due to the traditional attribution of the text to the prophet Samuel. However, in the Hebrew Bible these two books are collated into one volume, narrating the events that led to the crisis of the theocratic regime and the establishment of the monarchy, and composed before the Babylonian exile. The division of Samuel in two volumes is from the Greek translation called the Septuagint (LXX) of the third-second century BC, that grouped them together with Kings to form The Four Books of Kings. Therefore, in LXX these two books are called, confusingly, 1 – 2 Kings. To add to the confusion, Samuel is the most fragmented text in the Old Testament, with several Hebrew versions and LXX based on a different translation whose original in Hebrew we possess only in second century BC fragments recovered in 1947 – 1956 at Qumran, on the West Bank, together with about 900 documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Samuel can be divided in five sections: 1) with Samuel as the main character in 1 Samuel 1 – 7; 2) with Samuel and Saul in 1 Samuel 8 – 15; 3) with Saul and David in 1 Samuel 16 – 2 Samuel 1; 4) with David in 2 Samuel 2 – 20; 5) appendixes. The story is about the origins of the monarchy and the reign of Kings Saul and David. Different editorial traditions are recognisable (also thanks to frequent repetitions of narratives), often having divergent opinions on the monarchical institution e.g., 1 Samuel 8 and 10: 17 – 24 being rather critical of it as

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opposed to 1 Samuel 9: 1 – 10: 16. The last four chapters of 2 Samuel are documents of different origins providing information on aspects of David’s reign. Samuel illustrates the relevance that David’s kingdom has in the history of Israel, because it was during his reign that the unification of the country was completed and all the remaining Canaanite territories conquered, including Jerusalem that became the capital and the symbol of national unity, although the signs were already there of deep resentments between the North and the South that later it was no longer possible to contain and brought to the separation of the two kingdoms. David’s reign is described as the ideal one, against which neither the reign of Saul before him or of David’s successors can measure up. For this reason David becomes a figure of the messianic ruler that will restore Israel to the ideal standards of the Davidic kingdom and beyond.

1 – 2 Kings — Originally one book in the Hebrew Bible, redacted before and then again after the exile and listed as 3 – 4 Kings in LXX, they deal with the crisis of the monarchy, notwithstanding the peace and splendour of Solomon’s reign in the first 11 chapters. After his death in 931 BC the kingdom is divided between North and South and the narrative provides parallel accounts of the history of the two kingdoms up to the Babylonian exile in the 6th century. It is a period of intense warfare, between the two kingdoms and between them and their foreign neighbours: Judah (South) vs. Egypt; Israel (North) vs. Aramaeans and then Assyrians who, having subjugated Judah, occupied Israel first in 721 and then Judah in 701. When Assyria collapsed under the Chaldeans (Babylon) Judah tried to rebel but was swiftly dealt with and

occupied by King Nebuchadnezzar in 597 and much of its population taken to exile. Further rebellions ten years later caused further deportations and the destruction of Jerusalem in 587. Nevertheless, events are recounted as history of salvation, and a small remnant guarantees with its faithfulness that the covenant with God be upheld. Because Israel maintained a shrine in Bethel, all the Northern Kings are judged guilty of infidelity to the Lord; of the Kings of Judah only Hezekiah and Josiah pass with full marks, and only six others are praised, but with reservations for not having rid the country of the “high places”. Kings are judged against the standards set by the book of Deuteronomy, which was found in the reign of King Josiah. Interestingly, for these books we have good information concerning their sources: mentioned in the text are the Annals of Israel’s Kings, the Annals of Judah’s Kings and a History of Solomon. Furthermore, 1 Kings 1 – 2 consists of the concluding part of a Davidic document, 1 Kings 6 – 7 is a description of the Temple by P, a narrative originated with Isaiah’s disciples in 2 Kings 18: 17 – 20: 19, a 9th century Elijah account (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 1) and a more recent Elisha account (2 Kings 2 – 13).

1 – 2 Chronicles — This is the Hebrew name to the books. The LXX called them Paralipomena i.e., books of the things left out, or complementary books. They were composed after the exile, at a time of relative independence and self-rule, characterised by cult at the Temple, priests and Law. The author lived probably towards the end of the third century BC, after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah who are mentioned. Some later additions are evidently also part of the books. These texts deal mainly with the running of the

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Temple and its organisation, but they also contain a tension towards a restored unity of Israel under the Davidic dynasty. Which explains why after the genealogies of the first nine chapters the first book contains the story of David. The second book begins with Solomon, gives the narrative of the building of the Temple and from chapter ten deals exclusively with the Kings of Judah of the Davidic dynasty. The book ends with Cyrus’ edict allowing the reconstruction of the Temple. Of course much is based on the previous accounts of the books of Samuel and Kings, with some considerable variations on the story, but also on other lost books about the kings of Israel and Judah. Again, these books are of limited historical reliability, as their main purpose is to theologise on an ideal Kingdom of Israel under the rule of the House of David.

Ezra and Nehemiah — This classification is of Christian origin: the Hebrew Bible has these two books in one volume. They continue the narrative where it was left by 2 Chronicles (although they were composed earlier) with the return of the exiles, the rebuilding of the Temple that will be completed in 515 and the restoration of the Mosaic Law on the land. Ezra and Nehemiah are the two main characters in the story, respectively a senior scribe and the former butler to the Babylonian king, now Governor of Judah. The books contain some serious historical discrepancies. There are traces of the author of Chronicles editing parts of the text.

Tobit — This is one of the Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. The orig-inal now lost dating back to 200 BC was written presumably in Palestine in Hebrew or more likely in Aramaic, although fragments in both languages have been

found at Qumran. We do possess codices in Greek, Syriac and Old Latin, which is the most ancient. Tobit was a tenth century young man living in Niniveh at the time when the Kingdom of Israel became divided after Solomon. It is an edifying story of religious piety. The book contains historical and geographical discrepancies. Judith — Also one of the Deutero-canonicals/Apocrypha whose original in Hebrew — dating back to third century Palestine — is lost. It is now preserved in Greek and Latin. It contains severe geographical and historical inaccuracies. E.g., the story is placed at the time of Nebuchadnezzar King of the Assyrian (he was actually King of Babylon) in the city of Nineveh (actually destroyed by his father) after the return from exile (which actually took place under Cyrus). It narrates the victory of the Jews against the Assyrians when Judith (her name means “Jewess”) cuts off the head of their leader, Holofernes.

Esther — It exists in two formats: a shorter one in Hebrew going back to the second century BC and called Megillah (the scroll) and a longer one in Greek (numbered among the Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha), the latter in two slightly different versions. The story is set in Persia, where the Jews are threatened with extermination and the eponymous heroine becomes queen to obtain a significant victory for the Jews against their enemies. The feast of Purim was instituted to commemorate this episode (9: 20 – end).

1 - 2 Maccabees — Also part of the Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. The name derives from the nickname Maccabaeus (possibly from the Aramaic for sledgehammer) conferred to Judas in 1 Maccabees 2: 4 and then to his brothers. The first book deals with events

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surrounding the Jewish revolt against the dynasty of the Seleucids in the second century BC and their alliance with the Romans. It was written some time before the fall of Jerusalem by the Romans in 63 BC, originally in Hebrew although we only have it now in Greek. The book itself is a good enough historical source, notwithstanding its anti-Hellenistic and religious approaches. The second book, also historically rather accurate, recounts events that started a little earlier and parallel those described in the first seven chapters of the first book. It is a different book altogether, originally in Greek,

claiming to be the summary of a work by one Jason of Cyrene (2: 19 – 32). Despite the poor quality of its Greek, it evidently has a Hellenistic background, adding apparitions and other divine interventions to the historical events. It is written for the Jews of Alexandria and its main body is preceded by two letters from the Jews of Jerusalem. It is an important biblical source for the Christian doctrines of the resurrection of the dead (7: 9; 14: 46), sanctions in the afterlife (6: 26), prayer for the dead (12: 38, 41 – 46) and the intercessions of the saints (15: 12 – 16).

Fr Nicholas

A quiet crisis is causing some to worry about the future of ‘England’s Nazareth’

An article by the columnist Peter Stanford in The Tablet magazine of August 23rd 2014, page 10. Reproduced with permission of the Publisher. Website address: http://www.thetablet.co.uk

HIGH summer is when the rest of the country winds

down, increasingly falling in with the southern European model of a long lazy August, even if we do not have quite the weather to justify it. But here in Walsingham, north Norfolk, we have just experienced the busiest time of the year, with the Feast of the Assumption drawing the annual procession of pilgrims to this ancient Marian shrine.

For over a decade, we have been based as a family each summer down one of the long, narrow, windy lanes that spread out around Walsingham, into villages that were themselves once swept up in the early twentieth-century revival of this famous mediæval shrine, destroyed by the

Reformation.Today, though, that tide

has long since ebbed. And Walsingham is once more retreating in on itself. If it is busy in August, then for much of the rest of the year the tiny resident population of a few hundred is scarcely disturbed from its slumbers by the footsteps of

pilgrims walking up the old high street, which still boasts a more or less complete set of mediæval buildings.

Though few want to say it out loud, there is a quiet crisis going on, which is causing some to worry once more about the future of “England’s Nazareth”. A major factor has been the waning of the Catholic wing of the Church of England, key to the revival of Walsingham in the

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early 1900s. Today, many of its clergy and laity are drawn towards Rome. What that means is a stark choice, because this small village boasts not one but two shrines — separate ones for Catholics and Anglicans. To be strictly ecumenical, I should add that there is also an Orthodox church at the old railway station.

But ecumenical is not a word that is heard very often in Walsingham. Yes, and to be fair, there are perfectly cordial relations between organisers of the separate shrines — the Anglican one in the heart of the village, based on the site of the holy house that Richeldis de Faverches built after seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1061, and the Catholic one a mile out of the village, around the old Slipper Chapel, the last staging post on the pilgrim route that led here across East Anglia. They keep each other informed about what they are doing, and on high days and holy days even manage to coordinate their efforts. But that is about the limit of it.

There is, as a consequence, a tragic contemporary irony about the whole place. The original shrine at Walsingham, one of the greatest in pre-Reformation Europe, visited by every English king from Edward I to Henry VIII, was wiped off the map because of a dispute between two branches of the same Christian family. So what more powerful symbol for the modern age of the true purpose and rôle of religion, over and above petty denomination, than to run the shrine that was laid to ruin by an internal battle as a single Christian entity: one truly ecumenical administration, on two (or three) sites, where pilgrims of all faiths (and none) could share without any one

group having ownership?It would harness rather than dissipate

the energy that undoubtedly exists in this special place, as in other ancient sites of pilgrimage, “the intersection of the timeless moment”, as T.S. Eliot put it in “Little Gidding”.

My plea is not an original one: many others over recent decades faced with the slow decline of Walsingham have suggested it. Our new bishop in East Anglia, a former Anglican himself, has spoken of wanting “to do something” about Walsingham. But report after report has grown dusty on shelves because the local obstacles are judged too hard to tackle, even if the potential prize is so great.

The doctrinal differences that decades of Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, since the dawn of Arcic, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, have been examining may truly have proved harder to tackle than many once hoped. The advent of first women priests and now women bishops in the Church of England has only added to that task.

By comparison, there is surely nothing so very difficult about establishing a practical, everyday unity here in Walsingham, a real and living healing of the wounds of the past. All that appears to be lacking is courage and vision. Without them, what could be one of the modern glories of the English Church — a defiant statement all the year round that we are better together in a world where the internal divisions of the great faiths are such a cause for scandal and human suffering — is diminished.

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Value of C of E SchoolsSirRabbi Jonathan Romain of the Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education and the other signatories of his letter (August 14th) are right to celebrate the fact that religious education “has become increasingly diverse and inclusive of all faiths and none”. This is precisely because the settlement of 1988 serves pupils, schools and their communities so well.

The Church of England educates a million children in its schools. Even the Accord Coalition, in its more reflective moments, would be hard pressed to describe C of E schools as hotbeds of religious extremism or indoctrination. The former Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks, wrote of his own experience: “I went to Christian schools, St Mary’s Church Primary, then Christ’s College, Finchley. We Jews were different and a minority. Yet not once was I insulted for my faith.”

Examples of bad practice may exist,

and we must challenge them robustly. However, many more schools do a fantastic job — not least St Alban’s Academy, a C of E school in Birmingham. Its students are very diverse, with a well-above average percentage of students from a minority ethnic background and eligible for free school meals. Ofsted found “outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development that underpins students’ exemplary behaviour and makes an exceptional contribution” to pupils’ learning.

Rather than sticking to their oppositional dogmatism, I hope the Accord Coalition will recognise the good work of schools such as St Alban’s.Revd Nigel GendersChief Education Officer (Designate)Church HouseLondon SW1(Daily Telegraph August 16th 2014)

“History Is Bunk”Or Is It?

The Anglo-Catholic History SocietyHere’s a little test for you. How many of the following do you recognize and can you place in context? And what relevance can they possibly have for us in Highgate?T.S. Eliot ~ Walsingham Shrine ~ Charles King and Martyr ~ Frank Zanzibar ~ Francis Atterbury ~ Anglo-Catholic Conference ~ Henry Manning ~ The Clewer Sisters ~ The Non-Jurors ~ UMCA ~ John Henry Newman ~ Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament ~ Charlotte M. Yonge ~ the Hutchinsonians ~ Hurrell Froude ~ Conrad Noel ~ Viscount Halifax ~

Dr E.B. Pusey ~ John Mason Neale ~ Michael Ramsey ~ Ritualism ~ Tracts for the Times ~ Society of Ss Peter and Paul ~ Thomas Wilson ~ Guild of All Souls ~ The Hackney Phalanx ~ Mother Lydia Seddon ~ William Laud ~ Arthur Tooth ~ Public Worship Regulation Act ~ Henry Hobart ~ Edward King ~ Essays Catholic and Critical ~ William Gladstone ~ Christina Rosetti ~ Charles Lowder ~ The Caroline Divines ~ Charles Gore ~ Samuel Seabury ~ Gregory Dix ~ Lancelot Andrewes ~ Alfred Hope Patten

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What these names — of people, concepts, movements, publications, groupings and institutions — have in common is that they all appear on the cover of the newly published and elegantly produced introductory leaflet of the Anglo-Catholic History Society. And they appear there because they have all played their part in forming the great constellation of the catholic tradition in the Church of England. This is our tradition at S Alban’s and it is one of which we have reason to be proud and which, for me at least, provides much of surpassing resonance and interest, and of which the ACHS has proved to be a guardian.

To introduce the Society to those who do not know of it, I can probably do no better than to quote from the Society’s own account of itself:

The Anglo-Catholic History Society was founded in 2000 to promote the study of the Catholic and High Church movements in the Anglican Communion from 16th century to the present. Members are welcome from all those interested of any faith or none. Our remit embraces the influence of the Catholic movement in English church life in its broadest form — in theology, sociology, literature, liturgy, music and architecture.The society was set up by laymen seeking a means of presenting new academic research in an accessible form. Public lectures are held in London and printed for free distribution to members. Regular newsletters published bi-annually contain notices of events, book reviews and short articles. More substantial original works are published in book form as part of a series of Occasional Papers. A website is maintained listing our events and publications. We arrange coach

tours to places of interest as well as an annual church walk in London. We give financial backing to relevant publications, conferences and to independent scholars.

As a member you will keep in touch with the latest research on catholic influence in Anglicanism. You will have the satisfaction of supporting research in the field and enabling the publication of books unlikely to find a commercial publisher. You will have the opportunity to attend the lectures in London free of charge. You will receive the lecture in printed booklet form in your own home. You will receive complimentary copies of shorter papers. You will be notified of our new publications personally and be able to purchase copies at a reduced price.

My personal introduction to the ACHS was through the late Roy Waldron and since then I have been entertained and enlightened by my membership. I have enjoyed some of the strenuous but well-organized coach tours (one such tour visited S Alban’s earlier this year) and the even more strenuous walks taking in interesting London churches. On both the coach tours and the walks I have been able to visit buildings not easily accessible or which wouldn’t immediately strike one as being of interest (evangelical churches, for instance, saddled with protected neo-baroque fittings hidden behind the drum sets!).

Inevitably the Society is somewhat London-centric and I have never been able to attend any of the lectures in person but I have been happy to have the lectures in a — to me — more useful printed form. What a wide range they cover: Icons and Anglo-Catholics; the S Alban (Holborn) Burial Society; the Oxford Movement in the United States; Preserving the Thaxted Tradition; Communicants’ Guilds; Anglo-

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Catholicism in Australia; the Society of Retreat Conductors; J.H. Shorthouse, [Birmingham] Anglo-Catholic Novelist; the Evangelical Crusade Against the Ritualists, and so on. Perhaps this small selection of titles gives an idea of the range of the aspects covered. One title is The Outer Limits of the Church of England and, some would say, that, perhaps, says it all!

As you might guess, some members of the ACHS are pleasantly eccentric, some are very learned and, even, distinguished in their fields of expertise. A surprising number are now in the Roman church, either as priests or laymen, but who still value the tang and the salt of their old confession. Members’ interests vary widely. Some are interested in tangled questions of theology and church order; others are architectural historians and church musicologists; some are interested in liturgical matters; some in the great controversies of the past two centuries and there are others on the less scholarly level who, like myself, are fascinated by Anglo-Catholic social history, by its extraordinary personalities and by its literary and artistic manifestations. All tastes and levels of interest are catered for and, as always, you can learn much but stepping painlessly outside you own immediate familiarities.

The printed lectures come with the membership subscription. You do (usually) have to pay (at a slightly discounted price) for the full length books (the “Occasional Papers”) on individual churches, personalities and movements. But they are always full of recondite information, well-illustrated and, particularly those by the prolific Judge Michael Yelton, very well written. And, as they are usually

on subjects that would not appeal to the general reader, you might well not get to hear about them if you did not get the ACHS Newsletter. You would also get to know of specialized works of interest by other publishers.

I would recommend membership of the ACHS to anyone interested in the history of our end of the Church of England and particular to those who delight in all the little streams, brooks and rivulets — some delightful, some rather slippery and thorny — that flow almost imperceptibly into our great Anglo-Catholic river that flows, in its turn, on to the even greater ocean.

But to come down to earth, membership is currently £20 a year. Join after October 1st and your subscription will be good until the end of 2015. Payment may be made and details obtained from The Secretary, ACHS, 24 Cloudesley Square, London N1 0HN. Or I have some subscription forms.

About the little quiz, I must admit that, though I regard myself as not completely ignorant in this area, six names stumped me completely and a dozen more rang only the most muted of bells. The exotically named Frank Zanzibar is, of course, the former Bishop of Zanzibar, Frank Weston, who electrified the delegates to the 1923 Anglo-Catholic Congress with his call that they leave their newly won altars and tabernacles and “go out into the highways and hedges… and look for Jesus in the ragged, in the naked, in the oppressed and sweated …and when you see Him gird yourself with His towel and try to wash their feet”. This is, of course, the old conversation between Mission and Safekeeping which still exercises catholic parishes today.

Stephen Wycherley

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Heritage Open DaysSeptember 13th and 14th

Once again, we had only a trickle of visitors through the door, which allowed plenty of time to be spent for each visitor to take a leisurely walk around the church. Once more it was evident that the majority of people had chosen to visit out of genuine interest, and all were immensely impressed with the architecture and furnishings of the church. A number bought guide books and all were given the description cards to carry round with them.

Comments this year were:“Very interesting church with a

wonderful history. Enjoyed our visit very much.”

“Very beautiful church and the two gentlemen gave me a very good history of the church.”

“A fascinating church. I was shown many details that I might have overlooked. Thank you.”

People who visited came from Redditch, Sutton Coldfield, Edgbaston, Moseley, Harborne, Bearwood, Kingswinford, and Barton under Needwood, and so it is obvious that many had surveyed the HOD literature and website and decided to seek out this church situated in the back streets

of Highgate.It is this aspect which makes the weekend

each September so worthwhile. If only a few people find their way here, it is a few more each year who now know exactly

what we have here.

Our special event for the weekend was the Sunday a f t e r n o o n c o n c e r t , organised by C a t h e r i n e Wainwright and given by young

musicians, some from the Birmingham Conservatoire. This year i n c l u d e d p e r f o r m a n c e by some very young children.

Once again, this event proved to be a great success and attracted a quite reasonably sized

a u d i e n c e , who provided a p p r e c i a t i v e applause.

The perform-ers were each presented with a certificate recording their participation in this event.

15

Sunday October 5th

Harvest FestivalMass 10.00 a.m.

This year donations for the harvest thanksgiving will go towards the Food Bank which is operated in conjunction with the Academy. If you wish to donate, please bring tins or packeted food suitable for this purpose.

It is hoped to decorate the church this year with items representing the produce of the parish.

Presentation of Certificates

16

The Friends OF sainT alban and sainT PaTrick

Autumn Social Evening

saTurday 8Th nOvember

Audrey duggAn

on

“William shensTOne and his WOrld”We usually remember 18th Century Birmingham in connection with Boulton and Watt, with Baskerville and the other pioneer industrialists and entrepreneurs. Or with the scientists and intellectuals of the Lunar Society. At the time, however, our great local hero, friend of the famous and celebrated nationally, was the gentler figure of William Shenstone (1714 – 1763). A farmer’s son from Halesowen, educated at Solihull School, he developed literary tastes and a gift for literary friendships and correspondence.

In truth he was more prolific as a poet than he was distinguished and his circle, though a source of interest and delight, was not one that would shake the world. His great legacy, though, was the extraordinary landscape garden he laid out with very modest resources on his small estate of The Leasowes in Halesowen. It was a wonder of its time and was visited and admired by Dr Johnson, Wesley, Jefferson, Goldsmith and Gray and many other members of the 18th Century cultural elite.

And perhaps the most amazing thing is that Shenstone’s garden at The Leasowes still exists in large measure, as a Grade 1 Historic Landscape, a mile west of the Birmingham boundary as one of the public parks of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. It is now a bit municipalized, a bit battered and intruded upon, but with much of the same layout with its walks, groves, cascades and viewpoints as Shenstone intended 250 years ago. You can still walk much of it with one of the original guidebooks.

In his tercentenary year we are lucky to have Audrey Duggan, who has published books on Shenstone and his circle, as well as on the Birmingham Riots of 1791, to speak on Shenstone, his World and his Legacy.

Audrey’s IllustrAted tAlk WIll FolloW our usuAl CompAnIonAble meAl WIth plenty oF ChoICe oF mAIn Courses (including a vegetarian

option) And dessert.Tea, coffee and other beverages are included.

The evening begins at 6.30 and the eveningmeal and talk will cost £9 per head

(pay in advance or on the door)

All are welcome so please feel free to bring family and guests. You do not need to be a member of The Friends.

All profits go to fund church projects.

If you would like to come, please sign the sheet in Saint Patrick’s RoomOr let Stephen Wycherley know on 0121 550 0732 or otherwise.