It’s no secret that Dedication is my favourite festival and that I write about it every October so, the churchwardens having already addressed it, I tried to think of something else.
Of course there are lots of events this month and I know I have to mention November too – particularly preparations for the Christmas Market – but still my mind is on that Act of Dedication I shall say along with all of you during the service on Sunday 9th because really that encapsulates all that I, that all of us I suspect, do for the rest of the year. We may be knitting or cleaning, arranging flowers, serving coffee, any number of menial and sometimes, frankly, tedious tasks that we don’t entirely enjoy but that have to be done; or you may help at the Contact Club or the Night Shelters, drive people to appointments, take food to the Foodbanks; there are so many ways that we all serve God through our service to each other and to the community at large. Some of what we do is contained in this issue: the Contact Club, the Christmas Hampers, Shoeboxes, our charitable giving (this month we focus on PSALM and AgeUK Camden, two charities concerned with support of the elderly). And then there’s the entertainment we provide – the concerts, literary hours, plays. If all these are ‘peripheral’ to the worshipping life of the parish as it is represented day by day in our services, they are a no less valuable part of the life of HPC.
Dedication, too, has some of the loveliest hymns, though I was surprised to find one of my favourites isn’t in the NEH
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated Lord to Thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in endless praise
Written by Frances Havergal it’s based on Romans 12.1
So, having completely failed to avoid talking about Dedication let’s move swiftly on to events in October!
The diary pages cite two Sunday events not mentioned elsewhere, the celebration of Reader Ministry (and Handley Steven’s particular anniversary) on 16th and a small(ish) Booksale on 23rd of some of Father Stephen’s books (Father Stephen’s books ONLY, please don’t bring me any more!).
There’s a Literary Hour on 19th entitled ‘On the Journey’ and a dramatic reading of Alan Bennett’s ‘Forty Years On’ 21st and 22nd which marks the Hampstead Players’ journey from its beginnings 40 years ago. We absolutely didn’t anticipate anything quite so racy when we began! Jelena Makarova is giving the Lunchtime Recital on 5th – regulars will remember her from previous recitals and know that she’s well worth coming to hear.
The month ends with Choral Evensong for the Remembrance of All Souls, a poignant service for anyone who has lost a loved one recently, or indeed long ago but still wants to commemorate that loss. (And please don’t forget that the clocks go back the night before so Evensong reverts to its winter time of 4.30pm).
Following on from what is effectively a Social Action section including articles about two charities, appeals for Hampers and Shoeboxes, Christine Risebero writes movingly about her experience of leaving London and St John’s and how ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’.
Further ahead
Inevitably there’s quite a bit of looking forward to November as well (and, come to think of it, quite a few mentions of Christmas – sorry about that). There’s the Christmas Market: If you make things – jam, chutney, mincemeat, Christmas puddings, cakes – start thinking about it now! And put the date in your diary – 19th November. There’s an AgeUK fundraising concert on 1st November (which just happens to be a significant day for the parish in a completely different way – being the day of the interviews for our new vicar); there’s a concert on 6th November as part of the Hampstead Arts Festival which features members of our choir and the ‘Come and Sing’ Requiem on 12th – Fauré this year. And King Lear, a major production for the Hampstead Players’ 40th anniversary towards the end of the month. We all get busy at this time of year so check the back cover of the magazine and make a note of these and all the other events happening this autumn.
October
Judy East