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On Sunday 27 October we welcomed Bishop Richard, Bishop of Bedford, to All Saints’ for a special service of Baptism and Confirmation. It was great to welcome new brothers and sisters into the family of the Church and encourage those taking the next step in the Christian journey though Confirmation and the reception of Holy Communion for the first time. At the same service Bishop Richard commissioned Eucharistic Assistants to help with the distribution of Holy Communion during Mass, and (if needed) to take the Blessed Sacrament to the sick. The bishop also commissioned two Lay Leader of Worship to help with the liturgical life of our parish. Our congregation is becoming very diverse, and this was reflected by the age and background of the candidates for both the sacraments and the lay ministries. We give thanks to God the Father for his continuing blessings and graces to our parish community and for constantly bringing more people to new life in His Son. Photos Copyright: All Saints Houghton Regis PCC
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On Monday 26 June we had the great pleasure of welcoming Bishop Norman Banks, Bishop of Richborough and Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of St Albans, among us for a service of Confirmation and for the dedication of the altar triptych. Bishop Norman celebrated the Mass and administered the sacrament of Confirmation to six candidates. What is Confirmation? Confirmation is a response to God’s love for us, and a special way of receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of the bishop’s hands in preparation for a life of Christian faithfulness and service. Confirmation is also a step of personal faith: the candidates take on for themselves the promises made for them at Baptism, confirming their faith and their membership of the body of Christ, the Church. During the service the altar triptych was formally presented by Mr Terry Payne and dedicated to the glory of God, in memory of Fr Colin Gay, former Assistant Priest in our parish. We are very grateful also to our Town Mayor, Cllr Jimmy Carroll, for attending the dedication. The triptych’s central panel depicts the Lord Jesus Christ in glory with the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist. St George and St John the Baptist are one the right section, St Wilfrid and St Theodore of Amasea on the left panel. The piece was painted by Nechita Laurentiu, a talented Romanian icon writer, using authentic gold leaf. The artist has worked for the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and he has several pieces displayed in UK church. The triptych was commissioned in 2007 for Preston Minster and placed above the high altar, encased between the back riddel posts. However, it was sold off in 2020 and purchased by a parishioner. Images of the Pontifical Mass on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Holy Cross Day) with the celebration of Confirmations. The service took place on Sunday 15 September at conclusion of the five-day mission led by Bishop Richard Atkinson, Bishop of Bedford, in Houghton Regis. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, usually celebrated on 14 September, recalls three historical events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem by the emperor Heraclius II. However, in a deeper sense, the feast also celebrates the Holy Cross on which Our Lord Jesus Christ died as the instrument of our salvation. This instrument of torture, designed to degrade the worst of criminals, became the life-giving tree that reversed Adam's Original Sin. Inscribed upon the Cross we see in shining letters, 'God is love'; He bears our sins upon the tree; He brings us mercy from above. (Thomas Kelly, 1769 - 1855) The Sacrament of Confirmation is a response to God’s love for us, and a special way of receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of the Bishop’s hands in preparation for a life of Christian faithfulness and service. Confirmation is also a step of personal faith: the candidates confirm that they take on for themselves the promises made at Baptism, confirming their faith and their membership of the body of Christ, the Church. |
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