Author: Fr. Matthew

Seeing the cross in everything. 

On holiday last week Catherine, Edmund and I visited the Fleet Air Arm museum down in Yeovil. It’s an amazing place full of amazing planes, helicopters and other fascinating navy flying hardware.

Edmund and I were in our element… Catherine said she was happy but I’m sure her mind was on other matters!

As we walked around I spotted a yellow cross on the side of ‘Humphrey’ – a veteran Wessex Helicopter from the Falklands war.

As we stood and listened to the guide tell the amazing story of this machine and the heroes who flew her I was fixated on the cross on the side. 

Why on earth was the cross pained on this machine of war? What had happened that resulted in this symbol of Christian Hope being painted on the side?

The talk didn’t help and so I prepared myself to ask the guide when I noticed it everywhere – it was on all the helicopters! What on earth was going on….!?

Then I noticed the small black text underneath ‘picket here’ – it wasn’t a cross… it was an anchor! It is painted on the side of helicopters to show where they should be anchored to the deck in high winds and rough seas! 

It wasn’t the cross after all. 

But then I thought, actually, I can’t think of a better symbol in a time of high winds, of rough seas in our lives to turn to – the cross as an anchor point. 

When things are rough, tough and very difficult we can turn to the cross and find the anchor point we need to stay safe and see our way through the storm.

Fr. Matthew

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The PCC meeting planned for this Sunday is postponed until our accounts are finalised. 

Did you know you can support the parish by giving via Direct Debit? It’s super easy to set up and you can control it over the phone or via the website. It has a HUGE upside for the church as it means we automatically collect the Gift Aid on it (at no cost or fuss to you, the money comes direct from the Government). There are currently only 4 of us set up for Parish Giving but that brought in over £600 in additional Gift Aid last year, imagine if we were all doing this!

You can set it up by calling 0333 002 1271 and giving them our Parish Giving Code – 230 623 503 

Envelopes are still also available – please do speak to David if you don’t have a giving envelope and would like to help fund our mission.

Talking about Jesus, Part 2. 

In the second part of a series on how to grow the church – and therefore the Kingdom of God here on Earth (inspired by Bishop Robert Barron in the USA) we pick up ideas three and four.

3 – Invite people to ask questions. 

Many people, even those who say they don’t like anything to do with church, are actually deeply interested in religion. 

Ask why they no longer come to Mass or why they’ve never even come to church to find out more. You might be surprised how ready they are to tell you.

But be ready to answer their questions with an open heart and honesty. Don’t be defensive, be genuinely happy to feed their hunger to know more.

4 – Be kind. This seems like such a simple thing to say but we so often forget it. 

Be kind. Both online and in real life, be kind. No one will be interested in hearing about the faith of an obviously bitter and unhappy person.

So there it is – invite others to Mass, pray for the Church, welcome questions (and have answers!), and be kind. These four steps can change lives. 

Will you join me in this new effort? Will you pray for its success?

Fr. Matthew

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Mass for All Souls will take place at 6pm on Wednesday 2nd November. If you would like your loved one to be remembered at the mass please add the name to the list at the back of church or email Fr. Matthew or Fr. Josiah. 

Did you know you can support the parish by giving via Direct Debit? It’s super easy to set up and you can control it over the phone or via the website. It has a HUGE upside for the church as it means we automatically collect the Gift Aid on it (at no cost or fuss to you, the money comes direct from the Government). There are currently only 4 of us set up for Parish Giving but that brought in over £600 in additional Gift Aid last year, imagine if we were all doing this!

You can set it up by calling 0333 002 1271 and giving them our Parish Giving Code – 230 623 503 

Envelopes are still also available – please do speak to David if you don’t have a giving envelope and would like to help fund our mission.

Talking about Jesus. How to start. 

Last week I encouraged you to talk to a friend about Jesus and to invite them to church. 

I explained that evangelism is a good and wonderful thing and that all of us have a role to play in it. 

It’s easy enough to say but what does it mean in practice?

I’ve been thinking over how best to explore this and Bishop Robert Baron came to my rescue on Twitter!

In his diocese in the USA he has set out four ways in which we can all play a part in growing our church – and in doing so growing the Kingdom here on earth.

I’m going to explore two this week and two next week. 

1 – Every family who comes to mass should invite another family. Imagine how many more people will come to know how amazing a Christian life can be through a simple invitation. 

Bishop Philip North has a great way to do this, he suggests we say to people,

“I’m going to church on Sunday, it’s great – you should come. What time shall I pick you up?!”

2 – Pray for the return of the lost sheep. 

There are many people who used to come to church but who have somehow lost their way. 

It could be that something happened, that somebody upset them, that things just changed in their life and so they no longer come. 

You know who these people are – so invite them back to church. Tell them about the amazing things we’re doing. Christmas is an ideal time to do this.

More next week!

Fr. Matthew

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Did you know you can support the parish by giving via Direct Debit? It’s super easy to set up and you can control it over the phone or via the website. It has a HUGE upside for the church as it means we automatically collect the Gift Aid on it (at no cost or fuss to you, the money comes direct from the Government). There are currently only 4 of us set up for Parish Giving but that brought in over £600 in additional Gift Aid last year, imagine if we were all doing this!

You can set it up by calling 0333 002 1271 and giving them our Parish Giving Code – 230 623 503 

Envelopes are still also available – please do speak to David if you don’t have a giving envelope and would like to help fund our mission.

Evangelism, It’s not a dirty word. 

I’m sure that at times you get sick to the back teeth of me going on about evangelism. Or rather, you get sick of me writing, preaching and teaching telling you to go out and tell people about Jesus. 

We pray that more people will come to know Him every day at mass, but we also have to DO it. Pray, then do – that’s how we build the church and in doing so build Christ’s body here on earth. 

I know that talking to people about Jesus can be tough. People don’t want to hear it. They’re quite happy to sit and gossip with you about Doreen down the road who hasn’t washed her front step for two weeks or some other social misdemeanour, but to sit and talk about their eternal life is just a step too far. 

Why? Well because whilst Jesus calls us as we are – exactly as we are – as we get to know Him we are drawn into a relationship that compels us to become more like Him, rather than more like us… and who wants to be told that!?

We are called to change. It’s not a case of being told that what we are doing or how we are living is wrong, it’s a case of discovering that there’s a much, much better way of living and that a life lived following Jesus is a life that results in an eternal life beyond imagining. A life that lifts us from whatever the world throws at us and raises our gaze heavenwards.

So try to talk to some friends about Jesus this week, be like St. Luke the Evangelist. A disciple of Jesus who called people to Him by showing them the amazing life that awaited them. 

Fr. Matthew

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Did you know you can support the parish by giving via Direct Debit? It’s super easy to set up and you can control it over the phone or via the website. It has a HUGE upside for the church as it means we automatically collect the Gift Aid on it (at no cost or fuss to you, the money comes direct from the Government). There are currently only 4 of us set up for Parish Giving but that brought in over £600 in additional Gift Aid last year, imagine if we were all doing this!

You can set it up by calling 0333 002 1271 and giving them our Parish Giving Code – 230 623 503 

Envelopes are still also available – please do speak to David if you don’t have a giving envelope and would like to help fund our mission.

We’re currently planning services for Christmas, if you have any requests or ideas please do speak to Susan, Fr. Matthew or Fr. Josiah. 

Morning Prayer & Mass return to their usual times this week and streaming of those services resumes. 

We have a new Priest!

What a joy it is to be growing. 

Last Sunday – as many of you who were here will be aware – Bishop Jonathan Licensed our new Mission Priest, Fr. Josiah.

It was a joyous event and I feel draws to a close just over two years of hard work in the parish by everyone to get us on the right path.

Two years ago we could’t pay our electricity bill. We couldn’t afford to put the heating on and the church was to all intents and purposes closed, open for only a few hours on a Sunday.

Now, the church is open every single day, we can pay our bills and our growth and the love of Christ is so strong here that we’ve been sent a helper for the harvest.

The mission now is to explode out of St. Anselm and into the parish. To fulfil the mission Jesus himself gave to us, to reach out to those who need His love the most – the sinners and most broken of Hayes.

This will mean more hard work, it will mean feeling uncomfortable, it will mean reaching deep and providing the resources to make things happen. 

It will mean more love, more labour in the fields, more generosity… but, the rewards in Heaven will be worth it!

Fr. Matthew

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Did you know you can support the parish by giving via Direct Debit? It’s super easy to set up and you can control it over the phone or via the website. It has a HUGE upside for the church as it means we automatically collect the Gift Aid on it (at no cost or fuss to you, the money comes direct from the Government). There are currently only 4 of us set up for Parish Giving but that brought in over £600 in additional Gift Aid last year, imagine if we were all doing this!

You can set it up by calling 0333 002 1271 and giving them our Parish Giving Code – 230 623 503 

Envelopes are still also available – please do speak to David if you don’t have a giving envelope and would like to help fund our mission.

We’re currently planning services for Christmas, if you have any requests or ideas please do speak to Susan, Fr. Matthew or Fr. Josiah. 

Morning Prayer & Mass will not be streamed this week – Evening Prayer will be available online as usual. 

Welcome! This week we welcome Fr. Josiah and his wonderful family.

It is a rare thing to be able to welcome a new Priest into a parish – never mind a parish that already has a Priest!

But the Hillingdon Deanery, the Diocese of London and the people of this parish have worked hard to build on the tiny flame of hope and love that they see burning in Hayes. Fr. Josiah (and additional cash investment) is our attempt at fanning that tiny flame into a burning inferno. 

Fr. Josiah will join Susan, myself and you in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in Hayes – in word and in deed. 

He will enable us to work and concentrate in specific areas of need – like the Red Brick Estate – and to show people that there is a home for them here at St. Anselm’s. 

He will bring a new perspective, new energy, and new ideas. We must be ready to listen to him and what the Holy Spirit is saying through him.

We must be ready to be challenged.

You’ll see changes to the daily and weekly schedule in the coming weeks (the most obvious being the launch of our weekly 8am BCP Mass). So take a fresh look at how you engage with church and listen afresh to God and what He is calling you to.

Fr. Matthew

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No 10am Parish Mass this Sunday as we will be coming together at 4pm to celebrate and welcome our new Priest!

2nd October at 4pm – we will be licensing and commissioning Fr. Josiah into St. Anselm at a special service of Evening Prayer & Benediction with Bishop Jonathan & Bishop Lusa. Thank you to everyone who has signed up to provide food and help.

This Sunday we start a new 8am Book of Common Prayer Mass. It’s a beautiful spoken service with no hymns – just the beautiful language and prayer of the Prayer Book. We’ll be looking to make this a regular service (along with Evening Prayer & Benediction) as Fr. Josiah gets more settled.

With our new organist starting we need to look to our giving.  Strictly speaking we can’t afford Alexander, but we step out in faith and I know that you will look to increase your weekly giving to enjoy his amazing music here at St. Anselm. A small increase of £2.50 will enable us to continue to have live music on a Sunday morning.

Rooted in the parish, in scripture & sacrament and a love of proclaiming Christ.

When I first arrived in the parish just over two years ago it was clear that we needed to focus on the most important things in our life as a community of Christians. 

I told you that we should be rooted in the parish, rooted in scripture & sacrament and rooted in a love of proclaiming Christ.

As we have journeyed together we have kept to this simple vision and everything we have done has been rooted in either parish, scripture & sacrament or evangelism. 

Through these very simple things we have seen our congregation grow – quite significantly over COVID – then shrink as the omicron variant came for us – and now grow again as we step out in faith once more.

We have attracted new people not because we have a new flashy building or because have new flashing initiates or a new flashy Priest! 

No, we have grown because we have kept to the simple love of Christ around us, concentrated on the parish, concentrated on our bibles & our daily prayers and mass and concentrated on simply telling people how amazing a relationship with Jesus is. 

As we step forward into the next phase of our life together, as we welcome a second Priest and look to the future we must not lose site of these simple truths.

We are a growing and loving family of Christians who care for one another and those around us because Jesus calls us to do so. It’s that simple.

Fr. Matthew

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Next Sunday there will be no 10am Mass in order to give you an opportunity to come to the 4pm Evening Prayer & Benediction service for Fr. Josiah. There will be an 8am BCP Mass in the Lady Chapel.

2nd October at 4pm – we will be licensing and commissioning Fr. Josiah into St. Anselm at a special service of Evening Prayer & Benediction with Bishop Jonathan. I’d like to throw a huge party for him afterwards – Can you please sign up to help provide food on the sheet at the back of church or let Fr. Matthew or Susan know what you can do to help.

Please make sure you’ve given Susan your photo and a short description of who you are for the book she is preparing for Fr. Josiah. 

With our new organist starting we need to look to our giving.  Strictly speaking we can’t afford Alexander, but we step out in faith and I know that you will look to increase your weekly giving to enjoy his amazing music here at St. Anselm. A small increase of £2.50 will enable us to continue to have live music on a Sunday morning.

Keep an eye on weekday services this week as they’ve moved around a little.

Death claims us all. But has no power over us.

It has been a very difficult week for many.

Our Queen has died and that seemed impossible. Her Majesty had somehow claimed immortal status in many of our minds. So her death has caused shock and a great sense of sadness and loss. 

I have seen it in the hundreds of people who have come into church this week to light a candle, say a prayer and watch the live stream of Her Majesty lying in state in Westminster Hall. 

For many it has reminded us that death is a reality that none of us can avoid. 

As a great wit once said, ‘there are only two certainties in life – death and taxes’!

But the thing about the reality of death is that as Christians we know – for certain – that it has no power over us. 

Yes we will leave this earthly life, but in doing so we will make our way to the heavenly life (we pray).

That is why it is so vital that we pray for the souls of the dead. 

We pray that when they face the final judgment they will be held in the infinite mercy of God our Father and enter His kingdom.

Her Majesty may have left this kingdom, but an even greater one awaits.

Death, hopelessness, despair – they all share the same root – BUT – we destroy them, they have no power over us because we believe in Jesus Christ and in Him we are saved.

Fr. Matthew

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Alexander will be returning to church this Sunday (and indeed for the coming Sundays) as our new organist. Please do make him feel welcome and get those singing voices in tune!

2nd October at 4pm – we will be licensing and commissioning Fr. Josiah into St. Anselm at a special service of Evening Prayer & Benediction with Bishop Jonathan. I’d like to throw a huge party for him afterwards – Can you please sign up to help provide food on the sheet at the back of church or let Fr. Matthew or Susan know what you can do to help.

With our new organist starting we need to look to our giving.  Strictly speaking we can’t afford Alexander, but we step out in faith and I know that you will look to increase your weekly giving to enjoy his amazing music here at St. Anselm. A small increase of £2.50 will enable us to continue to have live music on a Sunday morning.