News & Events - Parish News

June Pastoral Letter from the Vicar

The Call to Unity and Peace

Posted on Monday 1 June 2026 at 11:15am

Fr Nicholas

June brings before us two great festivals of the Church which, in different ways, invite us to reflect upon the heart of our Christian faith and the cost, privilege, and calling of discipleship.

On Sunday 7 June we shall celebrate Corpus Christi, not strictly a feast-day but a ‘Day of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion’. In recent years we have transferred this observance from its traditional place on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday to the following Sunday, so that a greater proportion of our worshipping community may have the opportunity to reflect upon the central act of our parish life: the celebration of the Holy Eucharist – the Mass.

This year’s celebration will take the form of an All Age Eucharist, presenting both a challenge and a precious opportunity. We live at a time when many people, not least the young, are searching for meaning, belonging, and spiritual depth. The Church’s sacramental life speaks directly into that longing. In the Eucharist, Christ gives himself to us under the outward signs of bread and wine: a sacred meal, spiritual nourishment for the journey of this earthly life, and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet prepared for God’s faithful people.

At the heart of this gift stands the command of Christ himself: “Do this in remembrance of me”. The Eucharist is not merely a recollection of something long ago, but a living participation in the saving love of Christ, offered for the life of the world. It is my hope that many of our younger members will take part in the liturgy with fresh understanding this year, and perhaps witness for the first time the beauty and devotion of the Corpus Christi procession and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Such moments can leave a deep and lasting impression upon the soul, awakening wonder and reverence before the mystery of God’s presence among us.

Then, towards the close of the month, on Sunday 28 June, we celebrate the Feast of St Peter. Peter, so often impetuous and flawed, was nevertheless called by Christ to be the “rock” upon which the Church would be built. His story is a reminder that the Church rests not upon human perfection, but upon God’s grace working through fragile human lives surrendered to Christ.

The ministry of Peter continues in the Bishops of Rome, and so this feast naturally invites us to pray for Pope Leo and for the unity of Christ’s Church throughout the world. In an age marked by fragmentation, suspicion, and division, the call to Christian unity remains urgent. We may not yet share full visible communion between our churches, but we can and must pray and work for that unity for which Christ himself prayed on the night before his passion: “that they all may be one”.

Both Corpus Christi and St Peter’s Day also remind us that faithfulness to Christ is never without cost. Christ gave himself sacrificially in the Eucharist. Peter bore witness to Christ ultimately through suffering and martyrdom. Their witness speaks powerfully into our own troubled times.

We look around the world and see the terrible consequences of hatred, prejudice, and religious intolerance. The continuing conflicts in the Middle East have exposed deep wounds – political, cultural, ethnic, and religious – with suffering borne above all by ordinary people, families, and children. We have also witnessed with sorrow the growth of antisemitism and hostility towards people of faith in many places, including within our own society. As Christians, we are called to resist every temptation towards hatred or careless speech. Our vocation is not to inflame division, but to seek truth, peace, reconciliation, and the dignity of every human person. This does not mean ignoring injustice or abandoning conviction, but it does require us to speak truthfully, charitably, and prayerfully. The Gospel calls us always towards de-escalation rather than bitterness, towards understanding rather than caricature, and towards peace rooted in justice.

In the Eucharist we receive the Prince of Peace himself. In St Peter we see a disciple transformed by grace into a servant of reconciliation and steadfast witness. May these observances renew in all of us a deeper love for Christ, a greater devotion to his Church, and a renewed commitment to be instruments of his peace in a wounded world.

Your sincere friend and parish priest,

Fr Nicholas

May Pastoral Letter from the Vicar

A Quiet Hope in Troubled Times

Posted on Friday 1 May 2026 at 7:00am

Fr Nicholas

As we continue in the joy of Eastertide, the Church sets before us three great feasts – Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday – through which we are invited not only to believe more deeply, but to live more faithfully the life we have received in Christ.

The Ascension of the Lord lifts our gaze heavenward, yet not in escape from the world. In Christ, our human nature is taken into the very life of God. The wounds of the Cross are not erased, but glorified; suffering is not denied, but redeemed. For those who endure quietly, who carry burdens unseen, or who persevere in faith amidst uncertainty, this feast speaks a steady and consoling truth: that our destiny is not loss, but fulfilment – our life hidden now with Christ in God.

And yet, our Lord does not leave us to make that journey alone. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Church, the fire of divine love, the breath of God animating his people. The Church is born not as a human society sustained by effort, but as a living body, sustained by grace. That same Spirit is given to us still: in the sacraments, in the quiet prompting of conscience, in the strength to continue when we feel we have little left to give.

Then, in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, we glimpse the source and end of all things: the perfect communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here is no domination, no rivalry, no distortion of truth – only co-equal, self-giving love. The life of God is not power grasped, but love shared; not confusion, but harmony; not isolation, but communion. And it is into this life that we are baptised and drawn.

Set against this vision, the realities of our world can weigh heavily upon us. We are daily confronted with accounts of conflict, suffering, and the misuse of power – in Ukraine, in Iran, and in so many places where truth is obscured, dignity diminished, and language itself pressed into the service of division or control. There are times, if I may speak plainly, when I find I cannot watch or listen to it all. There are days when, for the sake of one’s own spiritual and emotional well-being, one must turn away – not out of indifference, but out of a need for preservation, for silence, for prayer.

And perhaps that, too, is a deeply Christian instinct. For we are not called to carry the whole weight of the world unaided, nor to immerse ourselves endlessly in that which diminishes hope. Rather, we are called to root ourselves again and again in the life of God, in Word and Sacrament, in prayer, in the fellowship of the Church so that we may be renewed and strengthened for the part we are given to play.

That part is not insignificant. Indeed, it is quietly prophetic. In a world where words are often careless or manipulative, we are called to speak truthfully and graciously. Where power is misused, we are called to exercise whatever influence we have with humility and integrity. Where others are diminished, we are called to honour the dignity of every person. Where there is noise and confusion, we are called to be people of prayerful attentiveness. To live in this way is not dramatic, but it is deeply faithful. It is to bear witness, however simply, to the Kingdom of God already at work among us.

The feasts of this month do not remove us from the world as it is, but they do remind us of the world as it is called to be, and of the God who is even now at work bringing all things to their fulfilment in Christ. May we be given grace to share in that work: to live with hope, to act with charity, and, in all things, to reflect the life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Be assured of my prayers for you all, especially for those who are carrying burdens at this time. May this month bring you strength, peace, and a deepening awareness of God’s presence.

Your sincere friend and parish priest,

Fr Nicholas

Children at Work!

Posted on Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 11:48am

Daffodil painting in front of the Madonna

Here’s a photo of the daffodil painting in front of the Madonna which formed the Prayer interaction on Mothering Sunday. It was created by Rachael Drouet and her Junior Church children. The flowers used to decorate the stripped-down Christmas Tree cross in the porch (pictured in the next article) were made by Junior Church on Palm Sunday. Rachael organised it and both children and adults got involved in creating the flowers. Junior Church children also decorated plant pots and planted pansies/violas – these were placed on the window ledges along with the candles to brighten up the church ready for Easter Day.

From Cross to Resurrection

The Story Continues

Posted on Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 11:52am

Stripped-down Christmas Tree cross in the porch

At the beginning of Lent, Fr Nicholas invited us to see our Christmas tree in a new and deeper way – not simply as a seasonal decoration, but as part of a single unfolding story of faith. As he wrote, the tree that once stood adorned in light and joy was stripped back and reshaped into a cross, reminding us that Christmas and Good Friday are not separate moments, but one continuous act of God’s love.

Throughout Lent, that cross stood in church as a focus for prayer and reflection – familiar wood, now carrying a different and more challenging meaning.

At Easter, however, the story did not end there.

The same cross was transformed once again, this time through the creativity and care of the children of the parish, who decorated it with flowers and colour. Now placed in the porch and draped with cloth, it has become a sign not only of sacrifice, but of resurrection and new life.

In this simple yet powerful journey – from Christmas tree, to Lenten cross, to Easter symbol of life – a we see the whole arc of the Christian story held together in one piece of wood. What was once stripped bare is now made beautiful again, echoing the promise that life, not death, has the final word.

Additional photographs relating to this article that capture this transformation can be seen in the May edition of the St Matthew's Mail

The 1895 Walker Organ in St Matthew’s

by Tom Moore, Director of Music

Posted on Sunday 19 April 2026 at 8:40pm

The 1895 Walker Organ in St Matthew’s

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the rebuilding of the grand Walker Organ in St Matthew’s.

It is well documented that the instrument, considered a masterpiece of Walker’s work and of international significance due to its largely original specification and unaltered pipework, was by the early 2000s starting to become unreliable and difficult to maintain due to age and component parts simply having worn out. The organ needed a major rebuild, and the Vicar and PCC at the time saw fit to invest some £360,000 into its complete renovation. The organ underwent major ‘surgery’ in 2005/2006 and was ultimately restored, rebuilt and rededicated at the Dedication Festival in September 2006.

To mark this 20 year milestone, we are planning a number of events and recitals this year to showcase the organ, and to give those who have an interest in the instrument an education in how the instrument works, how the pipes make sound, and to show you around the instrument into parts of the organ that you never see from your seats in the nave. It is a fascinat- ing instrument and can very easily be taken for granted each time we come for services where the organ is in use. We expect to be able to turn it on, for the organist to sit at it, and for music to come out; but its unbelievably complicated systems mean that it is a pure wonder that such a thing ever makes the beautiful sounds we hear and appreciate each week.

The celebration of this organ which St Matthew’s and its people should feel so rightly proud of will initially take on the form of a series of recitals by organists who have a connection to St Matthew’s, which will take place on certain Sunday evenings after Choral Evensongs. Later in the year, we are planning a ‘meet the organ’ event and, at St Matthew-tide, a silent movie will be presented where the organ will be used to accompany a film on a big screen. Keep an eye out for dates being released soon.

Building a More Generous Church

Posted on Friday 13 February 2026 at 11:01am

Over the coming weeks you will receive a handout outlining the financial position of our parish and the very real need to grow our regular income if we are to remain sustainable for the long term. Alongside this, during the Sundays of Lent, Fr Nicholas will be preaching and teaching about the meaning of Christian stewardship. This is about far more than balancing accounts. It is about the shape of a Christian life. What does generosity look like in our time, our gifts, our attention, our hospitality – and yes, in our giving? Each week these themes will connect with the season of Lent and with the Sunday Gospel readings, helping us to see stewardship as a spiritual response to God’s grace. The future shape of our life together in God’s name depends, in part, on how each of us responds. Please take time to read the material carefully, to pray, and to reflect. A simple question to hold before God might be: “Is it generous?”

We believe in a generous God who pours out his love without measure. A generous life is therefore one of the clearest signs of Christian faith. As generosity grows, so does our likeness to the God we worship. The ministry and mission of St Matthew’s are sustained through the faithful generosity of parishioners – thank you for all that is already given, and for all that is prayerfully considered in the weeks ahead.

A reminder that we need your consent

Live-streaming, GDPR and Your Consent

Posted on Monday 16 September 2024 at 11:30am

Online live-streaming of services

Some of St Matthew's services (most Sunday mornings and some special services) are live-streamed or recorded for those who cannot attend church in person. Under GDPR, the church must gain the consent of anyone whose image may be captured, as this constitutes collection of "personal data". This includes clergy, readers/intercessors, musicians and congregation.

Whilst every attempt is made not to capture the faces of members of the congregation, this may occasionally happen if people turn around or move around the church during the service. The exception is communion, when the congregation is not filmed. The side aisles and back of the nave are so far as possible film-free areas not covered by the camera. Anyone whose personal data is collected must give their consent. Consent forms are available in church and online . The full policy can be read on our parish website or on the noticeboards in church.

Please read Our Privacy Policy - Filming & Photography and if you are happy to, give your consent by downloading, printing, signing, and handing in the form to a church representative or the Parish Office on your next visit. The consent form can be found at the bottom of the page.

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