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In the afternoon of Sunday 30 June we were alerted by a concerned member of the public about some damage done in the churchyard of All Saints'. Father Diego and a churchwarden attended the scene to discover that the stonework covering the entrance to the old boiler room had been partly removed and broken. This silly act of vandalism has made the area potentially unsafe for anyone visiting the churchyard as the stairwell to the boiler room is now partially exposed. This could also be a costly damage to repair. Because of building restrictions on our Grade I listed building, the stones used in 2019 to seal the stairwell were made of Totternhoe cluch, the same material used in the construction and restorations of the parish church since the Middle Ages. Although this material is quarried locally, it needs to be cured for a few months before being cut and set in place by qualified stonemasons. The incident was reported to Bedfordshire police. The Crime reference number is 40/361/35/24. Anyone with further information is welcome to contact the police via the non-emergency service 101.
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On Saturday 10 June we celebrated our Corpus Christi Festival with our friends from the Church of the Holy Cross, Luton. Corpus Christi is the great solemnity in honour of the Holy Eucharist, and its Latin name literally means “Body of Christ”. The Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Lord’s Body in Blood and, in this Most Blessed Sacrament, the Lord Jesus is present in his fullness – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divine Nature. He is with us in the Eucharist to be our food, our sustenance, and our refuge. The Solemnity falls on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but we have been transferring it to the Saturday of the same week for a few years now to facilitate the participation of both people and clergy from other parishes. Corpus Christi is marked by a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, where the Body of Christ, the Risen Lord Jesus among us under the form of bread, is carried by a priest outside the church accompanied by singing, and preceded by servers with incense, and the scattering of fragrant flowers and petals. At our festival the procession also featured a canopy held over the Blessed Sacrament and carried by members of the choir and congregation. The service ended with Benediction, invoking the blessing of the Lord Jesus on our parishes and all our people. Blessed, praised, hallowed, and adored be Our Lord Jesus Christ in his throne of glory, and in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar! Sunday 19 February, the 7th in Ordinary Time, marked the last Sunday before Lent. After the Parish Mass and refreshments, a few of us gathered outside the Parish Church to burn last year's Palm Crosses to make ash for Ash Wednesday. In previous years the crosses were burnt on Shrove Tuesday without much ceremony by the Parish Priest and the Sacristan. However, this year we opted for a public rite, a shared moment of prayer, with parishioners, to highlight the link between the palm crosses and Ash Wednesday, between the Passion of the Lord Jesus and our Lenten journey that is approaching. The ceremony we followed is a very simple rite adapted from material produced by the Scottish Episcopal Church (available online). Father Richard Brown, Parish Priest of Holy Cross Marsh Farm, joined us for Mass. Photo Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis
The Parish Church and the churchyard looked like an enchanted winter wonderland in the fresh snow. However, the snow also kept churchwarden Steve and Father Diego very busy with clearing and gritting the paths so that worshippers and pupils from Thomas Whitehead Academy could visit the church as normal. Photos: Father Diego Copyright: All Saints' PCC Houghton Regis On Sunday 6 February we marked the 70th anniversary of HM The Queen’s accession to the throne, and the beginning of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Parish Mass on Accession Day at All Saints’ Houghton Regis was attended by the Town Mayor, Cllr Clare Copleston, by members of 1st/3rd Houghton Regis Scout Group, members of the Girlguiding Houghton Regis, and pupils from Thomas Whitehead Church of England Academy. After Mass 6 Jubilee trees were planted in the churchyard as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative. As part of our celebrations music with royal connections was played and sung before, during and after Mass. 'Nimrod' from Elgar's 'Enigma Variations' and Ronald Binge's 'Elizabethan Serenade' was played before the Service. The Introit Hymn 'Praise my soul, the King of heaven' is known to be a favourite of Her Majesty the Queen. During the distribution of Holy Communion movements from Handel's 'Water Music' was played, and the concluding Organ Music was John Stanley's Prelude and 'Bell' Allegro, an excerpt from his Concerto Op2 No3 arranged for organ, and played from a facsimile copy of a contemporary keyboard transcription. In 1924 Elgar succeeded Walter Parratt as Master of the King's Musick, a post which he held until his death ten years later in 1934. Ronald Binge's 'Elizabethan Serenade' was written in 1951, but was renamed in the early years of the Queen's reign. John Stanley, like Elgar, was appointed as Master of the King's Musick in 1779 until his death in 1786. Handel was never appointed master of the King's Musick, but his music was held in considerable regard by bothe King George I and King George II in the first half of the 18th Century. Jubilee Trees: Two Crataegus prunifolia (Hawthorn) Two Liriodendron tulipifera Snow bird (Tulip Tree), Two Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Glaucum' (Blue Giant Sequoia) |
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