For Sunday 21th November 2021, Christ the King Sunday
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. Psalm 135:3
This Sunday, marked by some congregations as Christ the King Sunday, is the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, concluding the twelve-month cycle of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity.
The following Sunday (28th November) the wheel turns again, beginning with Advent Sunday. At the end of this church year, one of the things we can be particularly grateful for is the consistent pleasure, solace, and encouragement we have received, via our musicians at St Columba’s – our organists, Ben and Catherine and our choir members, either recording remotely in their own homes or returning to sing within the building. Grateful too for the return of congregational hymn singing – which many people said was the thing they have missed most during pandemic times.
Michael Leunig is an Australian cartoonist, writer, painter, philosopher and poet, who has commentated on political, cultural and emotional life for more than fifty years; his newspaper work appears regularly in the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.
https://www.leunig.com.au/ Like the words of the Psalmist, Leunig’s prayer for singers can help us recognise the blessings of song in worship and in wider life.
We give thanks for singers.
All types of singers.
Popular, concert singers and
tuneless singers in the bath.
Whistlers, hummers and those
who sing while they work.
Singers of lullabies; singers of nonsense
and small scraps of melody.
Singers on branches and rooftops.
Morning yodellers and evening warblers.
Singers in seedy nightclubs, singers in the street;
Singers in cathedrals, school halls, grandstands,
back yards, paddocks, bedrooms, corridors,
stairwells and places of echo and resonance.
We give praise to all those who give some small voice
To the everyday joy of the soul.
Amen
St Augustine wrote: “The Christian is an Alleluia from head to foot.”
Happy music making,
Angus.
Live Streaming of Worship
Services can be watched via the church website, https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream.
To access the live stream from the homepage (front page) click the Menu button in the top right-hand side of the page and scroll down and click on “Live Stream”. This will bring up the live stream to the church. The act of worship of approximately 60 minutes, includes include prayers, a sermon and music. The words for the hymns will be on the website.
We believe it is really important to continue to live-stream the Morning Service under its current format i.e. for the benefit of those joining worship from afar or those as yet unable to make the journey to Pont Street. For those without internet, the Dial-In facility continues. Many people comment that they do have a sense of worshipping together, even if invisible to each other.
Reminder: If you do not wish to appear on the live-stream please choose a seat in the rear half of the sanctuary.
Dial into Sunday Service
If you are aware of church members or friends who do not have access to internet please inform them that they can now phone in to join the Sunday service. No visuals clearly, but at least they can hear the service. Those interested should follow:
Step 1: At 10.40am call phone number 0203 051 2874.
Step 2: You will be prompted to enter a meeting ID.
Please type (using your telephone keypad) 266 883 5072#
Step 3: You will then be asked for a participant number - simply press the #.
Step 4: Enjoy the service! You will hear the organ music from 10.50am.
Hymns, Music & Readings, 21st November 2021
Hymn 129 The Lord is King! Lift up thy voice (Church Triumphant)
Hymn 449 Rejoice! the Lord is king (Darwall’s 148th)
Hymn 549 How deep the Father’s love for us (How deep the Father’s love)
Hymn 459 Crown him with many crowns (Diademata)
Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 4:9-14
Gospel Reading: John 15:9-17
Anthem: O Jesu Christ, meins lebens licht (Bach)
Anthem: Save us, O Lord (Bairstow)
Organ Postlude: Fugue in C Major, Buxtehude
Old Testament Reading: Joshua 6:1-7,15-21.
Gospel Reading: Mark 10:46-52
Guest Preacher, 11am, Sunday 21st November
We are delighted to welcome St Columba’s member, Revd Andrew Anderson, as our guest preacher this Sunday. Andrew was ordained as a Church of Scotland minister in 1981 and served at Greenside Church, in the east end of Edinburgh, for 30 years. He retired to Oxford in 2012 and took up the Chaplaincy at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, until recent retirement from that post. Hazel, Andrew’s wife, is also the OCMS archivist.
Short Service of Weekly Holy Communion
Following Morning Service there is a short service of Holy Communion, combined with prayers for those in need, at 12.15pm in the London Scottish Chapel. Worshippers can receive bread and wine; wine is distributed via small individual “thimble” glasses. The names gathered from the prayer cards, at the back of the sanctuary, are prayed for during the communion service. This is a very welcome return for a small but precious part of St Columba’s life.
Annual Bereavement Service, Sunday 21st November 2021, 5pm
We are very aware that the approach to Christmas can be a particularly poignant time in which we remember those who have died. Each year, therefore, we hold a Bereavement Service. We write to the families of those who have died, and whose funerals were conducted by one of the ministers of St Columba’s, over the last seven years. The invitation is to attend either in person or via the live-stream www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream. Specifically, we honour the names, and light a candle for those whose services were held between 1st October 2020 and 30 September 2021. The service is of course open to anyone, whether they are remembering a recent bereavement or one long past. The service is designed to be quiet and reflective and will last about forty-five minutes. As a congregation we pray for the family and friends of all whose funerals we call to mind. Relatives and friends who have attended in previous years have found the service to be helpful.
Annual Parliamentary Service, Wednesday 24th November 10.30am St Margaret’s Church, Westminster
As part of the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland’s “London Week”, the Moderator will preach at the annual Parliamentary Service. In past years members of St Columba’s have attended the service in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Houses of Parliament. Due to Covid restrictions, the usual venue is unfortunately unavailable; hence the service at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster. The Moderator would be delighted to welcome representatives of St Columba’s at the service.
Evening Service of Readings & Music for Advent, Sunday 28th November 2021
This year’s Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness, will join us for our Service of Readings & Music for Advent, at 5pm on Sunday 28th November. This will be the Moderator’s final stop in the traditional Moderator’s London Week. We hope many of you will be able to attend and take the opportunity to meet with the Moderator at the refreshments served after service. The service can also be viewed via the live-stream www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream The Moderator will preach at Crown Court in the morning at 11.15am, assisted on this occasion by our own Associate Minister, Revd William McLaren.
The Annual Office Hours
Contact details; Tel: 020 7584 2321
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.stcolumbas.org.uk
Facebook: @stcolumbaschurchpontstreet. Twitter: @LondonKirk
Pastoral Emergency Number (out of office hours): 07591926271
Please note that the Church Office will be closed on the 2nd and 3rd of December.
Sunday School Christingles and Carols by Candlelight
Please join us on Sunday 12th December at 3pm for Christingle-making, followed by a family tea, before we join the service of Carols by Candlelight (Lessons & Carols) at 5pm. All ages welcome. Please RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5th December for catering purposes.
Sunday Lunch Dates
A reminder that due to the reduced number of available lunch teams (9 down to 5), lunches will only be served on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month, and on the 5th Sunday where there are 5 Sundays in any month.
The dates for lunch until the end of 2021 are as follows – 21st November / 5th December / 19th December in the Lower Hall unless circumstances change.
Coffee will continue to be served every Sunday as usual in the Upper Hall.
These Hospitality Services are much valued in supporting Fellowship.
Advent Study
This year we are offering an advent study on the book “The Whole Christmas Story: An advent adventure through Genesis, Revelation, and points in between” by Jo Swinney. You can order the book through the Bible Reading Fellowship here https://www.brfonline.org.uk/collections/new-titles/products/thewholechristmasstory. William will lead the group on Wednesday evenings from 7pm (via Zoom) from the 24th November to the 15th December. Angus will lead the Thursday morning group from 10.30am on the 25th November to the 16th December. If you would like to take part please email the office to book a place (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Maintaining Community and Supporting Each Other
Everybody can play a part in maintaining contact with others via telephone, e-mail or letter, especially those who are particularly vulnerable. Our Elders are encouraged to make contact with those in their districts, and church members are welcome to contact the church office to request a contact from their elder or the Minister.
Congregational Offerings
Details on the many ways you can support St Columba’s can be found here https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/giving/supporting-st-columbas
Would anyone wishing to contribute to St Andrew's, Newcastle please contact the Session Clerk on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for bank details or other means of donating.
October/November Church Magazine
The current Church Magazine is available both in hard copy and via the website https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/news/. (Scroll down Latest News box to find.)
St Columba’s Coffee Mornings – Future Dates
The last Coffee Morning of 2021 will be on the 15th December (10.30am). Revd Dr John McCulloch, Minister St Andrews, Jerusalem & Tiberias will discuss Christmas in the Holy Land.
If you missed October or Novembers Coffee Mornings here https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/community-life/coffee-mornings
St Columba’s Book Club
The next online meeting of the St Columba’s Book Club is the 29th November at 7pm. The book this month will be 419 by Will Ferguson. The joy of the St Columba’s book club is that is all on Zoom so you can join from anywhere in the world in the comfort of your own home.
Happy Hour
Our last Happy Hour session of 2021 will take place in the library at St Columba’s on Wednesday 8 December at 6.30pm for a social evening with pizzas, wine and soft drinks, for a modest financial contribution. We’ll share ideas for next year’s programme which we hope will include visiting speakers, outings and interesting topics. Please join us and share your ideas.
Sounds of St Columba’s
The ‘Sounds of St Columba’s’ concert series will restart on Sunday 16th January 2022 at 1:15pm. Recitals will continue throughout the year on the third Sunday of the month (excluding April, August & December). Full details of the performers and repertoire will follow a little later this year. These recitals are free to attend, with a retiring offering. For more information contact Ben Lewis-Smith This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Stamps
If you would like to leave stamps for Crossreach, please pop them into the Church Office on Sundays.
RESTART's sleepout challenge! Friday 19 November
This Friday night, member and elder Robbie Mills will join 50 people spending the night on the pavement outside St Columba's Church.
They're doing it to raise much-needed funds for Restart Lives, the small homelessness charity that operates a drop-in dinner service from St Columba's every Friday night, serving 4,000 meals per year.
It's a sleepout challenge, and it's a big one, but they will have security, a closed road, warm clothing, companionship, access to a toilet inside the church....
We doubt they'll get much sleep, but one thing they definitely won't be doing is "sleeping rough". Although this challenge is helping people to understand some of the choices that lead to sleeping on the street, there are many, many factors that contribute to the complexity of homelessness - and Robbie and the others are sleeping out to fight against it, not to experience it.
Support the sleepout campaign and donate here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/restartsleepout2021
Volunteers needed for the Night Shelter
St Columba’s operates a Night Shelter on behalf of a Homeless charity called Glass Door and in co-operation with six other churches in the locality to offer supper and a place to stay to the homeless and street-sleepers between the end of November and the beginning of April. Our evening is Sunday and we would welcome Volunteers, who are needed for approximately two and a half to three hours on Sunday evenings between 6.30pm and 9.30.pm once or twice a month to help prepare and serve supper for 25-30 Guests and then clear-up. No expertise necessary – just people over 18 who have been double-jabbed and have a smiling face and kind words. If you are interested, please make contact via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Pea & Potato / Food Appeal for Night Shelter Season 2021 / 2022.
During the pandemic, Glass Door continued to care for the homeless people known to them, and are about to re-commence the Night Shelters, seven nights a week within 2 of their circuits – 14 venues in total.
Now it is our turn to help again at St. Columba’s. Commencing Sunday 28th November 2021, we can safety provide a three course meal for 25 homeless men and women (and a sleep-over). We now appeal again and ask for your support for what has become known as the “Pea and Potato” Appeal, but as you may know, through your generous giving, St. Columba’s has paid for all the food costs for the 22 Sunday nights of the shelter each Winter for the past three years.
It is a great help and much valued by the cooks to have the peas and potatoes provided for them and in situ, Sunday by Sunday.
If you would like to express your concern, you can make a donation by cheque made payable to “St. Columba’s Church of Scotland”, or in cash, to the church office, the Session Clerk, Heather Farwell who is the St. Columba’s co-ordinator for Glass Door, or myself.
Thank you so much.
Ben Gourlay, Convenor of Hospitality Committee.
The first Sunday for this season’s Night Shelter at St Columba’s is Sunday 28th November. Please keep our guests, staff and volunteers in your prayers this week.