St Cuthbert's Church Earl's Court

Dear Friends in Christ

We have been in lockdown for over hundred days and in that time we have been through the last part of Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, Corpus Christi and more recently the Feast of St Peter and St Paul. Some of our congregation have been afflicted with the Covid virus, some have spent time in hospital and very sadly James Turner and Charles Wright have died, as have many others in our local community.

In our extended family beyond Earl’s Court we have heard of loved ones dying, losing jobs and being very fearful. We have seen the streets of our city and the world being rocked with demonstrations and some places with terrible violence. All of us have needed to live and work in a very different way. The stress and isolation have been very overwhelming.

We now face, with a glimmer of hope, our city and nation “opening-up” a bit and we have to think afresh how to associate with each other and keep safe. We know that we cannot live quite in the same way as we have before. There will be an extended time of needing to keep our distance from one another, we will need to be more vigilant about hygiene, and we will slowly introduce some normal activity. It may be quite a time before we can sing together again.

In the lockdown with less use of cars, planes and other things we have seen it has changed the environment for the good and we need to think about our everyday impact on the planet, this beautiful world given to us by God. The “Black lives matter” movement has shown the terrible impact of racism and ethnic prejudice in our society and we need to create a society where all are appreciated and valued. It is important that we give opportunities for all people to flourish, be creative and contribute to our communities. Nothing will change in our society until people of all races and ethnic groups are represented in all parts of our society. We know that we are all created in the image of God and we are loved and redeemed by him.

In the recent demonstrations the past history of slavery has been highlighted and the horror of using fellow human beings in this way has been correctly condemned. I am glad that this nation was in the forefront of bringing an end to slavery in some parts of the world. However there are many parts of the world where slavery still happens or where the working environment of so many is no more than slavery because of poverty, exploitation, substandard conditions, and poor wages. This sort of exploitation happens in our own city. We must ensure that slavery of this kind does not continue. Many have lost jobs and livelihoods in the pandemic, jobs will be scarce and the vulnerable will be greatly at risk from exploitation. We need to be very vigilant and if we see such things happening we ought to highlight this to the local authority and to our politicians.

During the feast of St Peter and St Paul the gospel reading tells of St Peter’s experience of being freed from his chains of imprisonment. John Wesley reflecting on this gospel reading wrote the wonderful hymn “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour’s blood?" The hymn also reflected the conversion experienced by Charles, his brother and later John himself. In the fourth stanza we hear:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;

I woke - the dungeon flamed with light.

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

At some point in our lives we all need those moments of conversion, where our life needs to change direction and reflect more closely the life of Christ. For some it will be a dramatic moment of change and in others a slow process of conforming their lives to Christ. St Benedict encourages us to have daily conversion and a daily reminder to reflect Christ in our life. I hope that this period of lockdown has also been a time of refection for you all.

I look forward to seeing you back in Church. We will begin to celebrate the Mass again on Sunday at 10am and 11am. The first Sunday it will be a very short said Mass. The following Sundays with organ accompaniment and later weeks with one singer. The Church is open every day from 9am to 10am and 5.30pm to 6.30pm (except Monday). We will begin to have the Mass at the usual times every week with all of us following the guide lines of social distancing and safety. The seats in Church will be spaced out, there will sanitiser at the door, we will ask you to leave your names and details for tracking and tracing. A slip of paper and pen will be available to write your name and contact details, the paper and pen can be dropped into a bucket. These details will be sealed in an envelope and destroyed after three weeks. However will be used if needed for tracking purposes.

When we come to Church you will see some very positive changes. The Kitchen facilities have been installed. We now have running water, a place to serve refreshments and wash-up afterwards and there is some improved storage. I am very grateful to all who have contributed to this and made it possible. It will mean that we are able to give improved hospitality after Mass on a Sunday, for our other days of celebration and for the many events that take place in the Church. However we may not be able to use them fully just at the moment as we are not allowed to offer coffee and tea after Mass just yet. The Bishop of Fulham is coming to bless the new Kitchen on Sunday 16th August at 11am Mass when we will keep the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady.

I am glad that while the Church has been closed things have not been static. We have been able to implement some much needed improvements. I hope too, that our fellowship in Christ has improved as we have grown to value each other more deeply and value each other as God values us.

Every blessing and prayers

Fr Paul

St Cuthbert's Church Earl's Court

News and notices

A July Message from Fr Paul

Mid-June Message from Fr Paul

Church Opening Times

A Pentecost Message from Fr Paul