197 PICCADILLY · 2020. 3. 20. · Printers: Seacourt Designer: William Talbot Picture Research:...

197 PICCADILLYCHURCH WITHOUT WALLS WINTER 2015 • ISSUE 9

BETHLEHEM UNWRAPPED TWO YEARS ON £2 REFUGEES

LOST IN MIGRATION

Contributors

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197 Piccadilly Winter 2015

Dear 197

About the Apple Store in Regent Street (197 Piccadilly, Summer) let’s raise a cheer to Czech-born architect Eva Jiricna, CBE RA. It is she who created the celebrated glass staircase that forms the centrepiece to the story. She is recognised as the queen of glass design, with pioneering designs all over the world.

Yours, Finna Ayres

Readers Write

Sharp-eyed regulars will observe that this edition of 197 Piccadilly comes with a £2.00 cover price. Though we are still content to hand copies out for free, readers often wish to contribute, and we are more than happy to suggest a £2.00 – or more! – donation. The magazine is expensive to produce: we pay contributors who are not part of our community; we use Seacourt Printers, who are about as environmentally friendly as it is possible to be (they even have tiger worms to digest their old tea bags) and we refuse to compromise on quality. As St James’s Church is contemplating a tricky financial year ahead, it seems time for the magazine to start to pay its way. So if anyone reading this can help with advertising or distribution, the editorial team would love to hear from you! Next year we intend to sign up for bar codes so that 197 Piccadilly can be sold for us in neighbouring shops and venues. Again, any volunteers with expertise in this direction, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

And for any who can’t afford to pay, the magazine will always remain free!

Money Memo

Overheard at St James’s: ‘Suppose I don’t want eternal life?’

Steve Innes is an academic philosopher who is currently working with the Council of Christians and Jews.

Carol Bialock RSCJ has worked in Chile and the US, as a teacher and with the poor, and is a member of the Catholic Women’s Network.

Natasha Cooper is a novelist and reviewer and a former chair of the Crime Writers’ Association.

John Russell was a solicitor-advocate and Senior Lecturer in Law; he is in his second year of full-time training for the ministry at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield, Yorkshire.

Deborah Burton (left) is a director of Tipping Point North South which supports and initiates creative, campaign-driven projects that advance the global social justice agenda.

Linda Ramsden is Director of the UK branch of the Israeli Campaign Against House Demolitions.

Tracey Elliott is a specialist cancer nurse who recently visited Gaza with a group from the Amos Trust.

Ruma Mandal (left) is a senior research fellow at Chatham House who has worked on public international law issues with both the UK government and with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Andrea Wood is a Casework Coordinator, with the International Family Tracing Service, British Red Cross.

Mick Twister’s daily limericks can be followed at @twitmericks. His Biblical limericks are exclusive to 197 Piccadilly.

Miriam Mackie is a musician and composer whose work has been widely played over the last 15 years.

Melissa Kite is contributing editor of the Spectator and a regular contributor to 197 Piccadilly.

Catherine Tidnam is a horticulturalist and environmentalist with a particular interest in community gardening and sustainable green space. She is a volunteer co-ordinator and is responsible for the continuing development and care of the garden at St James’s.

Finna Ayres is an artist and architect, and former Site Manager at St James’s.

Old Pew can sometimes be found rummaging through the archives at St James’s Church.

Leah Hoskin (left) is a writer and actor who trained at the Bristol Old Vic.

Additional material by Jane Preest and Jo Hines. Market images by havenessence

Lucy Winkett, Rector, St James’s Church

First Thoughts

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197 Piccadilly is edited by a team led by Lucy Winkett and Jo Hines. From an original idea by Sandra Heavenstone.

The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those held by St James’s Church.

This magazine is viewable online. For back issues and much more information about the church and its activities, go to: www.sjp.org.uk

Twitter: @StJPiccadilly

We welcome letters and feedback.

St James’s Church, 197 Piccadilly, W1J 9LL

Tel: 020 7734 4511 Email: [email protected]

Volume 9 Winter 2015 © 197 Piccadilly and contributors 2015

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Subscription: 3 Copies a year posted to a UK address for £12 (or more).

The shell symbol that 197 Piccadilly uses as an end mark is not an indication that the magazine is being subsidised by an oil company. It has been the symbol of St James for many centuries.

“The last edition of our magazine was the first one to have a theme: global warming and climate change. We did not intend to make themes a regular feature, but the way this edition has worked out, a theme seems to have emerged anyway. We planned a feature on refugees and migration, as the tragedy of thousands of people searching for a safe place to settle is on everyone’s minds and hearts at the moment. On the centre pages we have a thoughtful overview from Ruma Mandal of Chatham House, as well as an article showing how, through organisations such as the Red Cross Tracing Service, individuals can make a difference even when the scale of the problem seems overwhelming.

This time two years ago St James’s Church hosted a unique and controversial arts festival, Bethlehem Unwrapped. The centrepiece was a full-scale replica of the Separation Barrier in Israel/Palestine, and we had a full programme of music, comedy, dance, poetry and fine dining to accompany it. We wanted to catch up on what some of our partners have been doing in the two years since. At its core, the spiralling horrors in that region have their roots in previous refugee crises: the forced migration of Jewish peoples fleeing persecution, pogrom and Holocaust to find security in a homeland, and the consequent expulsion of Palestinians from their homes, turning them into refugees in their own lands. These are perhaps weighty subjects for the season of tinsel and mince pies, but the events that Christmas commemorates are as weighty as any.

On a lighter note, we have introduced a ‘children’s’ section —children in this case being anyone from 2 to 102. The Christmas spider makes an appearance in these pages for the first time.

We wish all our readers a joyful Christmas season and a hopeful year to come. ”

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• The CCJ was set up in 1942 by Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz and Archbishop William Temple, who had been Rector of St James’s Church 1914-17.

• Its aim was for Christians and Jews to meet together in local groups, to understand each other better and to recognise the humanity in the other.

Talking to �OthersʼSteve Innes talks about his present work with The Council of Christians and Jews, Britain’s leading forum for Christian-Jewish engagement.

Q - What drew you to working with the CCJ?

A - My PhD was on a Jewish philosopher

named Emmanuel Levinas. Through my research I built relationships with a number of Jewish scholars and clergy, and became interested in Jewish thought and practice. One of Levinas’s core ideas concerns what it means to ‘welcome’ the ‘Other’. He was interested to explore the possibility of a relationship in which the ‘Other’ is not coerced into becoming the same as me, but is allowed to remain ‘other’. I grew up in a Christian tradition that seeks to convert all those ‘others’

to Christianity, so Levinas’s idea led me to reflect more deeply about the relation between faith traditions, and the possibility of entering into a mutually transformative relationship which seeks understanding as its goal. CCJ is very much committed to this type of work.

Q - What is your work at CCJ?

A - I am one of the Programme Managers,

responsible for programmes related to Education and Dialogue. So I write educational resources, give talks and lectures, organise events, and facilitate

conversations between Christian and Jewish clergy and laypeople.

Q - Has your association with St James’s, and

especially the connection to Bethlehem Unwrapped, had any impact on your work at CCJ?

A - When Bethlehem Unwrapped took place

I was not yet a full-time staff member at CCJ. However I did have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I felt it sought to raise an important issue in a very brave way, and also that the dinner prepared by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (an Israeli and a Palestinian) was a great witness not only of friendship across political divides but also of the power of sharing a meal to facilitate peaceful dialogue. But I did feel uncomfortable with the tone of many events where the rhetoric seemed too simplistic or one-sided: there was too much uncritical support for the Palestinian cause without taking into sufficient account some of the deeply problematic issues (corruption, advocating violence, persecution of Christians, to name a few) that undermine the Palestinian narrative—especially from a Christian perspective! There are so many Israelis doing fantastic work on the ground who care deeply about Israel but who also care about the occupation and the corrosive effects it has on their society.

Q - How do you manage the tensions that result

from differing views on the place of Israel?

A - This remains the most difficult and contentious

issue that CCJ faces in its work. The reasons are complex, but one of the main problems is that the Christian community in the UK, by and large, tends to view the conflict as a social justice issue whereas the Jewish community tends to see it as an existential issue. So any dialogue that hopes to be productive must acknowledge this difference and its implications. We are currently working on a resource, co-authored by myself and an Orthodox Rabbi, about some constructive ways for us to talk about Israel. We hope to publish this early next year.

Q - How big are the elephants in the room?

A - This is a good question, because whether we

like it or not, there are always elephants in the room which risk harming the dialogue if they are not repeatedly named, affirmed and discussed. For Jews, the elephants in the room include Christian history (antisemitism, Crusades, Inquisition, etc.); the punitive idea that Christianity replaces Judaism as God’s chosen people due to their rejection of Jesus as Messiah (supersessionism), and the Church’s marginalisation of the Old Testament—the Hebrew Bible.

For Christians, the elephants include the role of Israel, especially the paradox that Jews have gone from being the oppressed to the perception that they are now the ‘oppressors’ (or at least the people of power who don’t

�Another area in which we have considerable common ground is social action.ʼ

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always use it well) and the feeling of guilt over the past as a motivation for engaging in dialogue.

Q - How much common ground have you

established?

A - A unique aspect of Jewish-Christian

relations is that both traditions not only share belief in the same God but also important ethical principles. The historical fact, of course, is that Jesus and his earliest followers were Jews, not Gentiles. Moreover, one of the most urgent questions of the earliest Christian communities was not about whether Jesus was Messiah but whether the good news of the Gospel was for Gentiles and not simply for Jews. Ironically, this history seems to be more readily acknowledged by Jews than it is by Christians.

Another area in which we have considerable common ground is social action. One can think here of the myriad ways in which Jews and Christians work towards the common good in areas such as the health service, in schools, in Parliament, in charities and other social action organisations.

Q - Does your work with CCJ make you more or

less optimistic about future relations between the two faiths?

A - In many ways Christians and Jews

interact in ways that would have been unthinkable 50 years ago. Today we collaborate on many social action projects, and there are fascinating dialogues taking place in several areas of theology and practice. But there is still much work to be done.

Breathing Under Water I built my house by the sea.Not on the sands, mind you;not on the shifting sand.And I built it of rock.

A strong houseby a strong sea.And we got well acquainted, the sea and I.Good neighbors.Not that we spoke much.We met in silences.Respectful, keeping our distance,but looking our thoughts across the fence of sand.Always, the fence of sand our barrier,always, the sand between.

And then one day,-and I still don’t know how it happened-the sea came.Without warning.

Without welcome, evenNot sudden and swift, but a shifting across the sand like wine,less like the flow of water than the flow of blood.Slow, but coming.Slow, but flowing like an open wound.And I thought of flight and I thought of drowning and I thought of death.And while I thought the sea crept higher, till it reached my door.And I knew, then, there was neither flight, nor death, nor drowning.That when the sea comes calling, you stop being neighbors,Well acquainted, friendly-at-a-distance neighbors,And you give your house for a coral castle,And you learn to breathe underwater.

Sr. Carol Bieleck, RSCJfrom an unpublished work


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Meeting an AngelNatasha Cooper describes the moment she discovered that angels come well disguised.

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Quoted at St James’s (during the Born Free service of celebration for all animals): ‘What happens to beasts will happen to man. All things are connected. If the great beasts are gone, man would surely die of a great loneliness of spirit.’ Chief Seattle of the Nez Perce, 1884.

�I was snivelling into my red wine from the train's trolley in the almost empty carriage, and wondering what on earth we ought to do.ʼ

The trouble with you, dear, is that you think of an angel of the Lord as a creature with wings, whereas he is probably a scruffy little man in a bowler hat.' When I first read this pronouncement of Aunt Lin's in The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey, I was

bemused and sceptical to say the least. But that was before I met an angel on the train from Dorset to London. She wasn't a scruffy little man at all, but an upstanding woman in her sixties or seventies, dressed in a brown tweed coat and black suede gloves. I was sitting in First Class, having paid a modest sum to upgrade my ticket because I was rather snivelly after a distressing weekend with my elderly parents. They were unhappy and frightened, and in rather worse health than the doctors knew at the time; they were both prone to falling and neither could pick the other up; anything that went wrong in their old and listed house was a source of tormenting anxiety. Clearly they could no longer live at home, in spite of the residential carers my siblings and I had found. But they dreaded the thought of moving into a nursing home. I felt miserable and guilty that neither I nor any of my siblings could take on their care at home, and so I was snivelling into my red wine from the train's trolley in the almost empty carriage, and wondering what on earth we ought to do. A figure from a few seats away got up and asked if she could join me. I mopped my eyes, said yes, and offered her some of the wine. She declined and told me a little about herself. She was a widow of a railwayman, she said, which meant that she could

travel free in First Class for the rest of her life. She'd been staying with a friend and was on her way home to Woking. When she asked me whether I had been on holiday, I told her a little of my dilemma, if only to explain the state of my face. Instead of asking intrusive questions or giving advice, she told me of her aunt, who had never married, and who reached a stage in her life when living alone at home was no longer easy. This aunt booked herself into a nursing home and never looked back, finding friendship and security. Before I could ask any more, the train pulled into Woking and my companion got up from her seat. As she left, she took my right hand in hers – I can still feel the suede of her glove against my skin – and said, 'They're lucky to have you.' My guilt went and, with it, some of the sadness.


Priestʼs ProgressJohn Russell is a member of our congregation who started training for the priesthood at Mirfield College of the Resurrection in Yorkshire in September 2014.

Sold on GOLD by mick twister

Three weeks ago I came back to Mirfield all psyched to start my second year’s training. I’d just preached at St James’ on

the Way of the Cross, passionately arguing that God does not intend us to suffer, and chuckling at the 1940s film The Song of Bernadette (see left) where the hard-faced novice mistress insists that suffering is the only true road to heaven (and Bernadette dutifully manifests a tubercular abscess and dies).

Then I promptly got knocked off my pushbike by a car on the road outside college, landed up with a concussion and a fractured

collarbone. Much hilarity from my systematic theology tutor that I was groaning �F-ing hell! F-ing hell! F-ing hell!ʼ from the pain, as ambulancemen asked her �What do you train people for here?ʼ and she replied, �Oh, he's a trainee priest.ʼ

Now I’m waiting for surgery to bolt my shoulder back together with a titanium bracket and do some ligament reconstruction. Last Thursday, I had pre-surgery communion, laying on of hands and anointing with oil from one of my college tutors (one of the perks of being a Mirfield student) and then spent three and a half hours waiting in the day surgery watching Dinner Date and Jeremy Kyle before they told me I’d been gazumped by a more urgent case. I’m hoping to be called back this week for my titanium upgrade.

So I’m not sure whether God was busy watching the Sunday morning Corrie omnibus last month and missed my sermon, or whether he thought it might be instructive for me to reflect on the redemptive value of suffering a little more. Or maybe he’s just a huge fan of Gladys Cooper in The Song of Bernadette…

At time of going to press John Russell has undergone a successful first surgery and is being bullied by a wonderful female physiotherapist who keeps joking about men not being able to multitask.

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To see the new child come three kings,Each one with a present he brings:Myrrh, Frankincense, Gold (The shops having soldTheir stocks of more practical things).

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Bethlehem Unwrapped Two Years OnIt is now two years since St James’s Church, together with several partners, including artist and playwright Justin Butcher, put on Bethlehem Unwrapped, a celebration of Bethlehem at Christmas. The centrepiece was an eight-metre high replica across our courtyard of the separation barrier that cuts Bethlehem and the West Bank off from Jerusalem and Israel.

For ten days over Christmas and New Year, the space in front of the wall became a place of education and debate-and sometimes, inevitably, of heated argument. A rich programme of music, comedy, discussion, poetry, art and dance was put on inside the church. On one evening Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi created a memorable dinner celebrating the cuisine of the Palestinian and Israeli traditions. On the final night, after a concert featuring, among others, Nigel Kennedy and the Tallis scholars, part of the wall was lowered to make a bridge and dancers emerged into the courtyard and the rain.

Loud voices were raised in opposition to this event, but St James’s Church also forged deep and lasting relationships. In October 2014, in collaboration with groups including Jewish Social Action Forum, a Sukkah was built in the garden and a joint Sukkot and Harvest Festival ended with a shared al fresco meal and music.

Here, three of our partners in Bethlehem Unwrapped describe a little bit of their activities in the two years since our own controversial wall was dismantled.

Amos Trust in GazaTracey Elliott is a specialist cancer nurse who recently visited Gaza with a group from Amos.

I went, I heard the same plea: ‘Tell people there must be an end to the blockade, so we can rebuild our country and live normal lives.’ I met strong, beautiful and remarkably resilient people doing their very best under the circumstances.

I was particularly interested in the screening programme for breast cancer, which I found to be the equal of any. But if women are diagnosed with cancer and need radiotherapy treatment they have to cross into Jerusalem (which they have to apply to do, taking time), meaning they are far from their families for months during this difficult time.

But what surprised me most of all was the high status and achievements of the women of Gaza. Far from being the underclass citizens brow-beaten by Hamas that the Western media had led me to expect, these women were skilled professionals, ran many of the major projects, and were taking the lead in their communities. During our trip we visited a human rights organisation run by women who had recently protested vigorously outside the Hamas HQ against the abuses that certainly do take place within their country.

http://www.amostrust.org


It was my first visit to Gaza. I was expecting a Third World feeling

country. I was expecting a society which subjugated women. I could not have been more wrong.

In June this year I was part of a team of five Amos Trust supporters led by Chris Rose who visited Gaza, the first time Amos had been able to visit this troubled strip of land since April 2011. My particular interest was to see the situation at Amos’s partners in Gaza: the Diocese of Jerusalem-run Al Alhi Hospital and the Sabah Clinic run by the Near Eastern Council of Churches. My background as a specialist cancer nurse meant I’d be able to understand the medical details of the situation.

What I found astonished me: teams of doctors and medical staff with qualifications and expertise to match anything in the West. All that was lacking was the equipment and infrastructure. The Israeli blockade and the bombing during the summer of 2014 meant the dedicated staff were working under impossible conditions-not just lack of medicines but even water and electricity are in short supply-that makes workingin the NHS feel like a dream. Everywhere

Overheard at St James’s: ‘This is really boring.’ Six year old, half way through a sermon.

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House DemolitionsLinda Ramsden, director of ICAHD UK, describes their continuing work to raise global awareness of the reality of life for Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank

For the last 18 years the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) has been on the frontline in raising

global awareness about the reality of Israel’s occupation and its grave violations of international law. Founder Jeff Halper spends around six months each year on international speaking tours. ICAHD guides provide tours of East Jerusalem and further afield so participants can witness the matrix of control that Israel has implemented over the Palestinian people: the separation wall; Israeli-only roads; checkpoints, gates and boulders closing roads; demolished homes; uprooted olive and fruit trees and the massive settlements that house over 600,000 Jewish settlers.

Home demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory now exceeds 46,000 since the Occupation began in 1967, while within the state of Israel it has reached more than 52,000 since 1948. The Palestinian population is being confined to crowded, impoverished and disconnected enclaves. Only one government effectively rules the entire country: Israel’s. Only one army controls it: the IDF. There is but one official currency (the Israeli shekel), one water and electrical system, one highway system, etc. We believe that the Zionist dream of conquering the entire Land of Israel has been accomplished and that through the current rise of violence Israel is violently suppressing the Palestinians before they are permanently locked up in their enclave-prisons.

This is the information that ICAHD UK communicates in its lobbying activity within the British parliament, at the EU and the UN. Our annual spring conference features Israelis and Palestinians and during the year ICAHD UK sponsors other tours around the UK for our Jerusalem staff. This year, our 189th rebuilt home was for a family that was forced to do a ‘self-demolition’ to save the cost of paying the demolition bill.

So how does Israel get away with these violations? That was the question that Jeff Halper asked in the subject of his new book which was launched in London in October. In War Against the People, Jeff explains that Israel has used its military and security prowess to create international authority as 157 countries, including Britain, the US and China, queue up to learn from its experience.

http://icahduk.org

Make Apartheid HistoryDeborah Burton explains why Tipping Point are now promoting the movement to Make Apartheid History.

Make Apartheid History (once and for all) is our follow-up to Bethlehem Unwrapped. We know that many

people are yet to be convinced that the term ‘apartheid’ applies to Israel/Palestine, but a growing number are in no doubt that it does. That lead is taken from the UN; from the many Palestinians who daily experience ‘apartheid’ at first hand; from Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and other South Africans, as well as some Israelis, all of whom are in no doubt that the term apartheid applies to many of the policies Israel imposes on Palestinians.

When leading South African figures today speak to the Israel/South Africa comparison, we must take notice. One such person is Ronnie Kasrils, Mandela’s former Deputy Minister of Defence and Intelligence, who recently said, ‘In both cases- Israel itself and the OPT-a clear system of apartheid-style rule operates…’. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said, ‘I am a black South African, and if I were to change the names, a description of what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank could describe events in South Africa under Apartheid.’

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) is a call by Palestinian Civil Society to citizens around the world and takes inspiration from the anti-apartheid movement, which had the same call. We launched Make Apartheid History in 2015 because it marks 10 years since that BDS call-it also marks 25 years since Mandela’s release, 60 years since Rosa Parks sat down at the back of the bus, 800 years since Magna Carta.

Things are tougher now for Palestinians than they have ever been. The BDS movement shows Palestinians they are not alone. We are taking action. Martin Luther King said, ‘The arc of history is long but it bends towards justice.’ And so it does. It’s time to Make Apartheid History, once and for all.

For more information and video gallery visit www.makeapartheidhistory.org

�Things are tougher now for Palestinians than they have ever been.ʼ

�We believe that the Zionist dream of conquering the entire Land of Israel has been accomplished.ʼ

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Refugee CrisisThe Legal ToolkitAt a time when the crisis of migration and refugees can seem almost over-whelming, Ruma Mandal offers a legal perspective to this ongoing tragedy.

�The European debate on refugees and migration has suffered from much distortion, including the reasons why refugees are heading here.ʼ

Q - The outgoing UN High Commissioner

for Refugees has stated that we are facing 'the highest levels of forced displacement in recorded history'. Is international law failing to provide solutions?

A - The number of people forced

to leave their homes reached almost 60 million at the end of 2014. While the majority are displaced within their own country, over 19 million are refugees. International law can provide a framework for responding to their plight but, ultimately, a solution rests on political will.

All states are obliged under international law to refrain from returning refugees to a country where their lives or freedom are at risk. This is key to states keeping their borders open to those seeking asylum. International law also sets out the minimum rights refugees are entitled to in the countries hosting them. But it leaves open how states can work together to share responsibility for refugees so there is space for states to show creativity in the

own country but in the future more may be forced to seek safety elsewhere. Earlier this month a group of states met in Geneva to endorse a ‘Protection Agenda’ for people forced to move across borders as a consequence of natural disasters. This Agenda is not legally binding but it does set out practical ways in which such displacement can be prevented and addressed more effectively. This includes efforts to improve the resilience of communities vulnerable to disasters.

Q - What can we best do as concerned individuals?

A - Contributing to an informed debate is a vital

act we can all undertake. The European debate on refugees and migration has suffered from much distortion, including the reasons why refugees are heading here. Political responses in this area are heavily shaped by public opinion so we all have a role in that. And we can help to raise the profile of refugees and others who are displaced in other key areas, such as development and climate change-for example, making sure human mobility is not ignored at the COP 21 climate change negotiations in Paris in December. If we have the means we can donate to those organisations providing humanitarian assistance to refugees. We can also volunteer with charities closer to home that support refugees and asylum-seekers.

way they cooperate. In the case of the Syrian refugees, solidarity with the countries neighbouring the conflict can be on many levels, including sizeable resettlement programmes and funding support for humanitarian assistance.

Q – What is meant by the statement there are no

humanitarian solutions to humanitarian crises?

A - Ultimately, only a political solution to a

conflict can bring peace, end refugee flows and allow refugees to return home to build their lives in safety and dignity.

Q - Given that more and more people are being

driven from their homes by the effects of climate change are the existing criteria for assessing refugee status still adequate?

A - It’s true that the refugee definition in

international law does not extend to displacement caused by natural disasters. (Although, exceptionally, an individual’s specific circumstance may bring them within the refugee definition).

However, states have other tools at their disposal to provide protection for people forced across their borders because of natural disasters, such as humanitarian visas that allow beneficiaries to stay until conditions have sufficiently improved.

Understanding how best to use these tools is preferable to attempts to renegotiate the UN Refugee Convention which carries many risks.

Millions are displaced every year by disasters such as flooding and droughts. At the moment, most of these people move within their

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Lost in MigrationFor over 70 years the Red Cross has been helping people who have lost touch with family members as a result of war or migration. Now they are busier than ever. Andrea Wood describes this important and challenging work.

Nasrudin, a slight young man in his early 20s, has not seen his family since he left Afghanistan in 2013. He got separated from his cousin Zakerullah when they were both en route to the UK. He does not know what has happened to other family

members (widowed mother, younger brother and uncle). Nasrudin feels preoccupied and depressed. He also doesn’t know if his asylum claim will succeed or whether he will be sent back.

Lidia is a refugee from Eritrea. Her sister Rada was thought to be on a boat leaving Libya for Lampedusa in the autumn of 2014, but has not been in contact. Lidia thinks Rada died, because of information from friends, but her relatives will not accept that Rada is dead unless her body is identified. Lidia is extremely stressed, and feels reluctant to talk to neighbours or play with her daughter.

Both Nasrudin and Lidia are with struggling what psychologist Dr Pauline Boss named ‘ambiguous loss’. Ambiguous loss can imply loss of a person, but also loss of a country, of security or identity, even loss of a relationship, where, for example, the person is present physically but emotionally absent through dementia or mental illness. Ambiguous loss has little or no prospect of ‘closure’. Unlike ‘simple’ loss (for example the known death of a loved one), the wide and confusing mix of feelings which accompany the lack of certainty means that people may experience isolation, paralysis, preoccupation, hopelessness, and an inability to engage in the demands and pleasure of everyday life.

The British Red Cross recognises the tremendous distress caused by the uncertainty of separation. Working in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and National Societies of the Red Cross/Red Crescent, our International Family Tracing Service helps people look for family members worldwide who are separated by conflict, political upheaval, migration and natural disaster. We help people think through what information they have about their relative’s last known address, whether it is safe to trace, and to complete the necessary forms.

BRC also provides psychosocial support whilst individuals are waiting for news. And we recognise that what will also help them is supportive friends and communities amongst whom their anguish will be accepted and understood: so that gradually, whilst continuing to honour those who may be lost, they can begin to build a sense of belonging, new relationships and fresh experience.

�Ambiguous loss can imply loss of a person, but also loss of a country, of security or identity - even loss of a relationship.ʼ

St James’s Church has entered a three year partnership with the Red Cross to promote their tracing service; a workshop was held on September 6th. For more information go to: http://www.redcross.org.uk

‘May every parish, every sanctuary in Europe host a family. In the face of the tragedy of thousands of refugees fleeing death in war or from hunger, the Gospel calls us to be near the littlest and the abandoned.’ Pope Francis September 2015

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Miriam Mackie’s work is often woven into the liturgy at St James’s and a new piece, ‘Seen a great light’ will be premiered at Christmas. Here she talks about epiphanies, illness and a lifetime of music making.

I came from a musical family. One of my father’s distant relatives was the hymn

writer JM Neale, so I always knew that writing liturgical music was a possibility. My father was a Baptist minister. He played the piano by ear, so he was always making things up, playing hymns, trying out new things. The Baptist musical tradition is more limited than the Anglican, so I didn’t really discover the wealth of church music till I started coming to St James’s.

There was lots of music at school and I was encouraged to follow a musical career when I was at secondary school, but I spent my gap year volunteering in a community setting in Liverpool and that changed everything. It was a very exciting, flowering time, with many new experiences after a rather restricted family background, and I realised I didn’t want to spend the next three years writing about the life of Beethoven, which is how I perceived a music degree, after having done one term. So I changed to Sociology and Theology. What interested me most was the anthropological side of it, the sociology of religion. And I still sometimes realise I’m seeing things with a sociological overview.

This led to various social work type jobs, but then in my mid 20s I was at home for quite a few years to look after my son. Music then took off in a more pop music direction, with classical music on the back burner for a while. I played keyboard in various bands and duos,

In 2005 I had a serious illness which affected my brain and meant that although I’ve made a good recovery, I couldn’t return to my work in the NHS. Although my recovery was slow in some ways, it did give me the most fantastic opportunity to focus on my music, as the musical part of my brain has not been affected at all, and I am very thankful for that.

When I was starting to recover, my friend Kerry Prest suggested that maybe when I got better he could conduct and we could record some of my pieces. It was therapeutic for me, though I didn’t have much energy, but the project was definitely propulsive. At the end of 2005 we set up the choral group Illumination, so November this year we celebrate our tenth anniversary with a concert of Rachmaninov’s Vespers at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

In the ten years since my illness I’ve found a remarkable teacher, Edward Nesbitt, and my work has expanded in all

sorts of different directions. In June this year my piano concerto was performed by Rolf Hind at St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch. I’ve written for string quartet, organ, piano and chamber orchestra.

I’ve just finished working on a piece I’m excited about. It’s for a large choir and juxtaposes the text of Tantum Ergo (the end of a hymn by thirteenth century Thomas Aquinas) with a poem by Kathleen Raine called ‘Change’. Aquinas’s piece is about how the old forms give way to the new in the transubstantiation in the Eucharist, but I’ve taken it into secular territory with Raine’s poem. So there are two different types of music that are brought together, segueing from one to the other, as the text moves from Latin to English.

Piccadilly People

from reggae to pop. For several years I worked for an organisation called Community Music, not formal music therapy, but working with, for instance, people with learning disabilities, so music ran through a lot of my life.

The first time St James’s came on my radar was in the 1980s. I came to a gig that Bronski Beat was doing here and Donald Reeves was walking up and down the queue, chatting. I was impressed by that. I thought, that’s interesting; two worlds coming together. And I filed away the experience for future reference. If I need a church, this might be a place that could interest me. Then someone died and I came in and lit a candle. That must have been 20 years ago.

About 15 years ago I had an epiphany-type experience outside Wells Cathedral. I heard the organ and thought: this is where I need to be. It was transforming. The power and majesty of the music in a devotional setting somehow awakened something in me. In a simple way I knew that I was musical enough to perhaps start to contribute something to that tradition. My early work was small scale. Lil was very encouraging and some of it was sung here by the Lay Singers.

�The power and majesty of the music in a devotional setting awakened something in me. In a simple way I knew that I was musical enough to contribute something to that tradition.ʼ

Quoted at St James’s: ‘I like to start each day with a smile. Get it over with.’ One of the Marx Brothers.


ʼAppy New Year

JACOB'S ANIMAL CRACKERS by mick twister

Old Jacob used animal skinTo pass himself off as his twinAnd trick their blind dad,So Esau got madAnd set out to do Jacob in.

13

As a committed pessimist, I love to make resolutions as the year draws to a close. There is always so much wrong with

modern life and my handling of it that I invariably have a great time singling out areas that are ripe for improvement. This year, I can sum up my dearest ambition for myself in six simple words: I want to come off Facebook. But it goes further than that. My new year’s resolution will be to take a leap in the dark and cease to exist virtually at all. Of course, it’s going to take a while to dismantle my online identity. It may not even be possible. But I am going to try, because I have the strongest feeling that I’ve never been so connected with so many people in such a relentless way– while feeling so utterly alienated. I don’t do much social networking but I still have more friends online than I ever see face to face and I don’t much like any of them. I just have to make out that I like them because, well, that’s what you do on Facebook. The whole thing is monstrously dishonest. The idea behind it, though no one admits it, is a sort of ego-defining experiment governed by mob rule. You are meant to ‘like’ something a ‘friend' does, such as posting a picture of their child dressed up as a cucumber, for some reason, and then they ‘like’ something you do. You become hooked on this strange ritual until you find yourself photographing your dinner, a plate of pasta in a seafood sauce, in the hope that your peers will approve it. If only 15 rather than the hoped for 30 plus ‘friends’ do so, then that will plunge you into a depression for the evening. And if another ‘friend’ posts a picture of their dinner, let’s say sausage and mash, and they do get 35 likes, or worse still 135, then you will be virtually suicidal, because it will be clear that you are a defunct human being who is utterly irrelevant. To look on the bright side, as I attempt to extinguish my sorry virtual life, at least I don’t have to worry about Apps. I don’t have any Apps, not a single one.

I disagree with them on principle, although I’ve no idea what that principle is. I’m too technophobic to even get a basic enough understanding of Apps to understand why they appall me. All I know is that I don’t want to order an Uber instead of flagging down a black cab. I don’t want my cleaner to be a different stranger every week, downloaded from the internet. I don’t want to talk on WhatsApp just to save a few pence on a normal text message. And I don’t want to be busy doing other things while Hive controls my heating at home. Alright? I just don’t. I suspect it will all lead, TalkTalk style, to a moment in time when everything blows up in one big hacking frenzy and I suddenly realise I am no longer in command of anything to do with myself at all, and that my entire life – my bank, my phone, my boiler - is now controlled by a cyber terrorist called Vaslav.Call me decrepit but I like turning my thermostat up and down at the wall. I like having a cleaner who is a Jehovah’s Witness who spends all her time warning me the judgement day is

coming (it had better not come via an App), and telling me off for not making the flat dirty enough to give her job satisfaction. I like using the motor skills in my body to walk down a street waving my arm at black cabs and then being sworn at because I want to go to Balham. It’s what life is all about. I was with a friend recently as she ordered an Uber. It didn’t arrive, or rather it did arrive, but it went to the wrong end of the street because the driver, whilst speaking a little English, didn’t read or write any and so couldn’t understand her texted instructions, nor the sign on the pub she had given as a landmark. We stood on the street, black cabs passing us with their lights on, as she tried to teach the Uber how to read the words ‘Prince Albert’ and in the end I flagged down a black cab and dragged her into it, kicking and screaming. She insisted she was perfectly happy with the situation and that all would have been well if I’d just given her a bit longer to teach her App taxi the basic principles of English grammar. All I can say is, she didn’t look very ʼAppy to me.

�You become hooked on this strange ritual until you find yourself photographing your dinner.ʼ

Melissa Kite takes a leap in the dark


Green CorridorCatherine Tidnam celebrates a new initiative to make the West End ‘Wild’.

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The garden at St James’s Church has long been one of the secret green

oases in Central London, and now it has a new status: it is a significant spur on the new ‘green corridor’.

Last month the Crown Estates, working with the largest landlords in the area (Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Shaftesbury, the Howard de Walden Estate and The Portman Estate), launched their Wild West End project aimed at enhancing green space in the heart of London’s West End.

A ‘green corridor’, starting in Regent’s Park, running down Regent’s Street and ending in St James’s Park, is the first stage of this initiative which is supported by London Wildlife Trust and the Mayor of London. It not only looks to improve the quality of existing green space but to create more-a total of eight million square feet of brand new greenery.

How will it do this? In an already intensely developed area with pressures to maximise land use, where would any new green space go? The Crown Estates has developed a green infrastructure

Red Dot is St James’s Church.Buildings marked brown are Crown

Estate properties.

plan which extorts every opportunity for greening, from large expanses of roof

top to modest street level planters, thrown up by existing properties and new developments.

‘This is a fabulous step,’ said Gordon Scorer, Chief Executive of London Wildlife Trust. ‘We need nature in the heart of our city, and in the heart of our lives no matter where we work, live or play. The Wild West End demonstrates how wildlife can flourish amidst the hustle and bustle of the city centre.’

Whilst not on the green corridor itself, St James’s Church Southwood Memorial Garden is a significant feature on a branch line running east to west (see left). In spring this year, a rooftop nearby was used as a recording point to establish the Crown Estate’s baseline of wildlife activity. The results threw up some interesting findings including two types of bat -the common pipistrelle and the Leisler. They recorded a

blackbird, blue tit, great tit, greenfinch, long-tailed tit, song thrush and wren. And when the green corridor team came in to meet representatives from St James’s in the garden, a kestrel chose that moment to fly past.

Green roofs typically incorporates planting into a substrate placed on top of the roof and can be mainly aesthetic or encourage biodiversity.

Map showing proposed route of the Green Corridor

Brown roofs are designed to mimic brownfield habitats which support rare species of invertebrates.

Trees and foliage act as a buffer to reduce wind turbulence.

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During 2007 a gigantic arch rose over Wembley. Just as the spires of cathedrals dominated the city skyline in the Middle Ages, now the soaring curves of football stadiums stamp their importance on the urban landscape. Wembley is a spectacular piece of architecture: the roof hangs down from the arch, rather than being supported on columns, giving the arena uninterrupted 360 degree views and a wonderful open feeling.

‘Football is our religion’ by Swedish band Rednex was the unofficial anthem of the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship.

Cathedrals for a New Century # 2 - WembleyFootball grounds are such a popular location for ashes to be buried in that many clubs now have specially designated areas for interment.

The Church of Maradona in the Argentinian city of Rosario celebrates Christmas in October, Maradona’s birth month: the tree is decorated with images from his playing days.

‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death’ Bill Shankly famously stated. ‘I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you, it is much, much more important than that.’

St James’s PCC has won the prestigious Corporate Linguistic and Intellectual Certificate for Higher Excellence Award (CLICHÉ) for being the most business-like PCC in the Anglican Communion. There was particular praise for the PCC Strategic Plan and its use of progressive business language over the more common sludge of dreary church drivel.

A spokesman for the PCC said, ‘We are challenged by this award to pursue and implement cooperative critical thinking as we envision bottom-up convergence in the continued use of dynamic manipulatives to revolutionise discipline-based risk-taking and proactive systems in building the Kingdom of God.’

When asked to elaborate, she continued,

‘Our aim is to engage authentic paradigms and to repurpose faith-centred infrastructures in order to generate compelling synergies.

Our product is God. In promoting Her we must utilise mastery-focused functionalities, streamline subjective relationships and somehow find the money to fix the church electrics.’

But not everyone welcomed the CLICHÉ award. Ms Betty Crump, who has served on the PCC since 1956 and has faithfully performed under seven rectors, feared the PCC was losing the plot. ‘Jesus said, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” That is short and clear. Can you imagine how long the parables would be if he had been a recipient of this ridiculous award?.’

Old Pew

Finna Ayres

NEWS FROM THE PCC - Compelling Synergies

Overheard at St James’s: ‘Eternity isn’t a future state. It is the ocean in which we swim now.’


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My main profession is music. I’m a percussionist: ethnic, hand drums, bongos. I had a long career in professional

music, but it became too unpredictable. Obviously, I’m not one for being a struggling artist, so I decided to utilise one of my skills to create my own shop. As I had experience of leather working in Camden Market back in the ʼ80s I came back to the leather business, making very high end, bespoke, items, but in the recession it wasn’t easy without a brand name. I decided to go back to basics, to be a demonstrator and offer a made-to-measure service in full view of the public.

So here I am!

My relationship with this church began with Alternatives. I was involved with the Mind Body Spirit movement for some time, with a particular interest in medicine and the healing arts. And yoga as well.

My clients can become a part of the design process. They create their own belt by choosing

which skin the leather is cut from. There is a selection of fittings for every width of belt. Everything is made to measure which means the belt is perfectly balanced for their size. I use traditional techniques to create the highest finish: the edges are all sealed with a mixture of water-based inks and natural resins. I have designed a little machine so I can do the sealing here.

The idea on this stall is to have an entire workshop in a confined space, so everything has to be very efficient. On a busy day you’ll find a little crowd watching me work, which of course satisfies my performance tendencies! Basically, I get into character as ‘the Belt Man’.

I’ve worked with a couple of Savile Row tailors and, as well as belts, I make customised leather accessories for established designers. The leathers I use are all naturally tanned, using exclusively the best cowhide and the softer vegetable tans. My main fascination with leatherwork is its durability. If the quality is right, and if the craftsmanship is right, a leather belt should be an item for life.

Idris de Angeli was talking to Jo Hines

Tucked away in a modest corner of the market, you can find jewels of Tibet; the history of the stall holder, Ugyan Norbu,

and the journey he made to arrive here is a jewel in itself.

Mr Norbu’s family were nomads, herding yak, cows and sheep from mountain to valley for generations. He recalls his terror when, aged nine, he fled his home with Chinese soldiers in pursuit. Like many exiled Tibetans, his family found refuge in India.

He came to London in 1976, via Norway and France, and was appointed Secretary to the Tibetan Society Social Office. He continued working there for 14 years until the office closed. On a visit to his family in 1990 he was persuaded to take back to London FREE TIBET T-shirts to sell in aid of Tibetans in Nepal. To his surprise they were eagerly snapped up. Serendipity! This happened to coincide with the Royal Academy’s Tibet exhibition. Through the RA and the popularity of the T-shirts, Ugyan became aware that Tibet and its culture had international importance. He was to begin with a reluctant stall holder, thinking that the Tibetan garments would be too old-fashioned for a Western market, but to his surprise they sold out. Having been here since 1993, Piccadilly has grown on him. ‘It’s the only market I’d consider working in,’ he declares.

The stall he runs now with his wife is vibrant with Tibetan artefacts and jewellery: turquoise, amber and pearl are just a few of the stones, some set in brooches, earrings or necklaces. The carvings and the subtle colours and quiet designs seem to typify the essence of Tibetan philosophy. A bonus is the beautiful hand-made bags and colourful garments made to withstand the cold of the mountains, so perfect here for the cold days to come.

Leah Hoskin

Market TreasuresPiccadilly Market has many treasures tucked away in its stalls - not least, the stallholders themselves.

Leather for a Lifetime Jewels from Tibet

Overheard at St James’s: ‘I don’t normally approve of women vicars because they tend to have such appalling haircuts, but yours … ’.

Ugyan Norbu (far left) with His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The Belt Man at work


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Spidersʼ TinselSpun GoldA poor family lived in a small hut. One summer’s day a pine cone fell on the earth floor and took root. It grew into a fine tree. As Christmas drew near the children were sad because there was no money for decorations. But when they woke on Christmas morning the tree was covered in cobwebs. They threw open the shutters to let in the light, and as the first rays of the sun touched the tree, the cobwebs were transformed to gold and silver, the most beautiful decorations they could imagine. And that is why we put tinsel on our trees at Christmas.

Q -W

hy d

o sp

ider

s spi

n w

ebs?

A

- Be

caus

e th

ey c

an’t

knit.

Saved by a webWhen King Herod learned that the Wise Men had seen a baby who would become a great king he was filled with fear and rage, and ordered all the babies in the land to be killed. Mary and Joseph learned about this in a dream and decided to escape to Egypt with their child.

A legend is told about their journey. The little family was tired, and needed somewhere to rest, so they took refuge in a cave. Herod’s soldiers were close on their heels and would soon find them. So a friendly spider wove a huge web across the entrance to the cave and hid them from view. The soldiers went by and did not see them; thanks to the spider’s quick thinking, they were kept safe.

Q - W

hat do spiders eat in Paris?A

- French flies.

A page for children of all ages

How many robins can you find? Now colour it in!

PICCADILLY EYE

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SLEEPING OUT FOR THE HOMELESS

One evening in October 35 volunteers swopped the comfort of their own beds to spend a night (sleep was optional) in the garden of St James’s Church. They raised nearly £25,000 for the night shelter run by the West London Day Centre, which St James’s is part of - and donations are still coming in.

(Left, the rector roughs it.)

MIDWINTER LIGHTS

Artichoke is an organisation that specialises in creating extraordinary events that bring large numbers of people out onto the streets. (Remember the Sultan’s Elephant?) Between 14th and 17th January they will be working their magic with lights and installations in the Piccadilly area as part of Lumiere London, with a special innovation planned for St James’s Church. Whatever it is, it will not be boring …

BAEBES AT CHRISTMAS

A unique contribution to the feast of music at St James’s Church in December features an appearance by the Medieval Baebes. This choral ensemble’s music has been described as ‘a beguiling musical beauty and outstanding talent’. They will be performing songs from their recent album ‘Of Kings and Angels’, which promises to be ‘a celestial collection of carols innovatively arranged’ for our seasonal delight. December 3rd at 7.30 pm. Tickets available through their website: http://www.mediaevalbaebes.com

EXODUS

An abandoned rubber dinghy and a handful of life jackets make an unusual addition to the traditional church decorations this Christmas. They are the work of war artist and portrait painter Arabella Dorman, who says of this piece: ‘My interest lies in the men, women and children behind the headlines, the individual stories behind the politics. I attempt to illuminate and the reveal the human face of conflict. In essence, I seek to find God in the darkest corners of existence.’

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MAP DATA© 2014 GOOGLE

SHAREACTION: A WORKSHOP AT ST JAMES'S CHURCH

Is it possible to use investments to create change? ShareAction is the UK’s leading NGO that monitor and engage with the investment system. They run campaigns on issues the investment industry has the power to influence, like protecting the environment and they train individuals to attend company AGMs and hold directors to account. Come to a workshop run by founder Catherine Howarth (see 197 Piccadilly Summer 2015) which will focus on this innovative and exciting work.Sunday 31st January 1.30-3.00 in the church hall.

EXCELLENT NEWS

Congratulations to the Piccadilly Market on receiving a certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor, because it has consistently been given glowing reviews by visitors. And quite right too!

For further information

www.sjp.org.uk • 020 7734 4511

Services & Events

Sunday 29th November11.00 am Advent Sunday Parish Eucharist6.00 pm Churches Together in Westminster Ecumenical Advent Service

Tuesday 1st December7.00 pm Amos Trust Carol Service

Sunday 6th December6.00 pm Taizé Christmas Service

Sunday 13th December3.00 pm Blue Christmas (a service for those who find celebrating difficult at Christmas)

Sunday 20th December6.00 pm Parish Carol Service

Monday 21st December5.30 pm Carols for Shoppers

Thursday 24th December5.00 pm Carols for Christmas Eve11.30 pm Midnight Mass

Friday 25th December11.00 am Christmas Day Eucharist

Weekly ServicesSUNDAY09.15 EucharistUsually 30 mins; in side chapel

11.00 EucharistOur principal weekly celebration, usually just over 1 hour, followed by tea and coffee to benefit Christian Aid

6.00 Sunday at Six: a rolling pattern of evening services to offer a variety of ways in which to worship (see website for details)

MONDAY08.30 Morning Prayer in Side Chapel

TUESDAY08.30 Morning Prayer in Side Chapel13.05 to 13.40 Eucharist in Side Chapelwith short reflection on the Gospel

WEDNESDAY 08.30 Morning Prayer in Side Chapel

THURSDAY08.30 Eucharist in Side ChapelA simple celebration lasting c30 minutes

FRIDAY08.30 Morning Prayer in Side Chapel

Piccadilly Market at St James’s Church

Arts & Crafts • Antiques & Collectables Open Tuesday - Saturday 10.00am - 6.30pm

Good Food Market every Monday

11.00am - 3.00pm

www.piccadilly-market.co.uk

St James’s Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL • 020 7292 4864

• Antique and contemporary jewellery • Ceramics • Glassware • Kitchenware • Knitwear • Leather goods • London souvenirs • Postcards and greetings cards • Prints • Silverware • Soaps and essential oils • Watches

FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERTS: MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAYS. 1.10 - 2.00Monday 7 December at 7pmG4: CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHTSumptuous harmonies in an idyllic, festive setting by X-Factor stars and operatic multi-platinum selling vocal quartet G4. Phone: 0844 844 0444Online: www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Thursday 10 December at 7pmA FANFARE FOR CHRISTMASLondon Orpheus ChoirMusical Director: Richard JenkinsonCarols and festive music for choir and audience and celebrity readings in aid of Phab.Phone: 020 8667 9443

Friday 11 December at 7.30pmCORINTHIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRAAdrian Brown, conductorVashti Hunter, celloBeethoven, Saint-Saëns and Dvořák.Online: www.wegottickets.com (search ‘Corinthian’) Saturday 12 December at 7.30pmCHANTAGE: FESTIVE CHORAL MUSIC FOR CHRISTMASJames Davey, conductorA programme of choral music to get you right into the spirit of Christmas. Online: www.ticketsource.co.uk Thursday 17 December at 7.30pmA CANDLELIGHT CAROLThe London Oriana ChoirJoin London’s most exciting choir for a magical evening of Christmas music and congregational carols.

Friday 18 December at 7.30pmTHE PICCADILLY CHRISTMAS CONCERTPianist Warren Mailley-Smith celebrates Christmas with a programme of popular piano music, and the launch of his new CD ' Rhapsody in Blue'Online: www.smitf.org Saturday 19 December at 7pmMESSIAHThe Joyful Company of SingersThe Brandenburg Sinfonia Online: www.ticketweb.co.uk Monday 21 December at 5.30pmCAROLS FOR SHOPPERSRCM Junior Department Chamber Choir and Brass Dectet with the Vigala SingersTake a break from your last minute Christmas shopping with this service of popular Christmas carols and readings.Free entry: all welcome

Wednesday 23 December at 7pmSOUTHEND BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ CHOIRBritten’s “Ceremony of Carols” including seasonal music by Rutter, Chilcott, Will Todd and audience carols.Phone: 0800 411 8881

Saturday 16 January at 7.30pmPorcupine Productions present:MENOTTI’S AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS (concert performance)Programme will also include performances of Britten ‘A Ceremony of Carols’, and ‘Journey of the Magi’Phone: 0800 411 8881

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1.10pm (except bank holidays), we hold free lunchtime concerts. Featuring young professionals and the top students from London music colleges, our lunchtime series offers the chance to hear a diverse programme by extraordinarily talented musicians in the world class acoustic of our beautiful church.

All are welcome and no tickets are required. Just turn up on the door.

For details of these and all other concerts, go to www.sjp.org.uk/concerts.html

EVENING CONCERTSWednesday 2 December at 7.30pmCONCERT FOR PEACEMusicians for Peace and Disarmament present their annual chamber orchestra concert for peace.Phone bookings: 020 8455 1030 Thursday 3 December at 7.30pmMEDIAEVAL BAEBES SACRED SPACES CHRISTMAS TOUR

Friday 4 December at 7.30pmCLASSICS AT CHRISTMASChamber Ensemble of LondonPeter Fisher, directorFrom Bach to Jingle Bells.Online: www.wegottickets.com Saturday 5 December at 7.30pmBRAHMS – EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEMa new arrangement for choir & chamber ensembleCollegium Musicum of London Chamber Choir and PlayersPhone: 07812 599340Online: www.collegiumchoir.com

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