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News Guide
Clerk
to the Brothers Now available
'A model history' Gillian Tindall, The Daily Telegraph
Please send a cheque, payable to 'Charterhouse' to:
Clerk
to the Brothers 31st
Preacher of Charterhouse
The Reverend Canon Hugh Williams AKC has been appointed Preacher of Charterhouse and Deputy Master. He will be licensed by the Lord Bishop of London at Choral Evensong on Monday 26 April 2010 at 19:30. Canon Williams was educated at Christ's Hospital, Horsham and King's College London. He was ordained deacon in 1974 and priest in 1975. He served his title at St Leonard, Heston in the London Diocese and then was Chaplain to the City University when he also had responsibilities at St Mark, Myddelton Square and St Mark's Hospital. From 1984 until 1993 he was vicar of Newquay in the Diocese of Truro and from 1993 he has been Vicar of Christchurch in the Diocese of Winchester where he has been an Honorary Canon since 2004. Canon Williams
is married to Joanna who is a nurse and they have four children. MARCH Sunday
7 March - Lent 3
Concerto
in D, Charles Avison (1710-70) Variations
on Mein junges leben hat ein end, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) FEBRUARY Sunday
28 February - Lent 2 Wednesday
24 February - St Matthias Sunday
21 February - Lent 1
Wednesday 3 February 1730 Choral Evensong Sung by the Haileybury Singers (www.haileybury.com) directed by Quentin Thomas with Samuel Hudson organ. The music included; Responses William Smith of Durham; Psalm 18 Chant by Quentin Thomas; Canticles in F by George Dyson; Anthems - Lead me Lord by S S Wesley, Like as the Hart by Herbert Howells and A Gaelic Blessing by John Rutter. The Organ Voluntary was Allabreve in D major BWV 589 by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Tuesday 2 February - The Presentation in the Temple (Candlemas) 0945 Holy Communion with Candlemas Ceremonies Celebrant - The Reverend Prebendary Alan Tanner Emeritus Preacher 1730 Evensong JANUARY Sunday 31 January - Septuagesima 0945 Holy Communion Celebrant - The Reverend Prebendary Alan Tanner Emeritus Preacher Sunday 24 January - Epiphany 3 0945 Holy Communion Celebrant - The Right Reverend Michael Colclough Canon of St Paul's Monday 25 January - The Conversion of St Paul 0945 Holy Communion Celebrant - The Reverend Stanley Underhill Brother of Charterhouse Wednesday
20 JanuaryIs Art Healthy? A large audience assembled to hear Mr William Shand MA MD FRCS FRCSEd, Honorary Consulting Surgeon to St Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospitals and a former Governor of Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse deliver a lecture about artwork in hospitals; there for the benefit of patients and staff alike. His experience was gained as Chairman of the Artwork Committee of the Homerton Hospital, opened in 1986, and which had extensive areas of plain white walls - http://www.homerton.nhs.uk/about-the-trust/art-in-the-hospital An elegantly crafted lecture was supplemented by a series of excellent illustrations. Sunday 17 January - Epiphany 2 0945 Holy Communion Celebrant - The Reverend Donald Reeves former Rector of St James, Piccadilly Friday
15 January - Commemoration of Sir Walter de Manny KG d1372The Holy Communion was celebrated in the Chapel by the Reverend Oliver Ross, Rector of St Olave, Hart Street and Area Dean of The City after which a small company assembled in Chapel Court. A wreath was laid on the grave of Sir Walter de Manny where he was buried 638 years ago on 15 January 1372. Sir Walter acquired this land as a burial ground for the victims of the Black Death in 1349 and later with Michael de Northburgh, Bishop of London 1354 until his death in 1361, he founded a Carthusian Priory (The London Charterhouse) in 1371. His grave was discovered after World War II when the extensive war damage was being repaired under the guidance of the architects John Seeley and Paul Paget. The story of the archaeological work has been well recorded by David Knowles and WF Grimes in Charterhouse - The Medieval Foundation in the light of recent discoveries published by Longmans in 1954. Sunday 10 January - Epiphany 1 0945 Holy Communion Celebrant - The Reverend Canon Bill Ritson former Canon of St Albans DECEMBER Monday 21 December 2009 Feast-day of St Thomas the Apostle 11.30am Holy Communion with Hymns Celebrant and Preacher The Lord Bishop of London Governor The
Bishop of London celebrated the Eucharist in the Chapel, and delivered
the address, to mark the retirement of The Reverend Michael Stevens who
had been Preacher of Charterhouse for almost ten years. Fr Stevens had
spent almost his whole ministry as a hospital chaplain first at The London
Hospital, then at St Thomas' Hospital and finally at St Bartholomew's
Hospital when he was also Vicar of St Bartholomew the Less. He had trained
for the sacred ministry at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield and
was ordained deacon in St Paul's Cathedral in 1965 and priest the following
year. He served his title at All Saints, Poplar.
In recognition of his outstanding service as a hospital Chaplain he was awarded the Cross of St Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2004 and the Medal of St Mellitus by the Bishop of London in 2006. At
Charterhouse his main achievements have been the reintroduction of the
Daily Offices and fostering ecumenical relationships with the Methodist
Church at Wesley's Chapel (John Wesley was a Scholar of Charterhouse from
1714-1720) and the Roman Catholic Church at Westminster Cathedral (principally
through the annual Commemoration of the Carthusian Martyrs (1535-1540).
On his retirement the Governors of Charterhouse appointed Fr Stevens Emeritus
Preacher, a title also enjoyed by his predecessor Prebendary Alan Tanner. NOVEMBER Sunday
29 November 2009 11.30am-12.30pm Three Fantasy
Pieces Op 73 Schumann OCTOBER15 October 2009 Mendelssohn Festival 4 Concert with The Bartholdy Trio & Ensemble PIANO TRIO
No. 43 in C major Hob XV:27(1797) ANDANTE
and VARIATIONS for piano in F minor Hob XVII:6 OCTET in
E flat major Op 20 The Bartholdy
Ensemble Tom Norris violin, Ellie Fagg violin, Anna
Cashell violin, Victoria Mavromoustaki violin, Julia McCarthy
viola, Alexandros Koustas viola, Andrew Joyce cello, SEPTEMBER28 September 2009 Eve of the Feast-Day of St Michael and All Angels Choral Evensong was sung in the Chapel by the Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral (by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter), under the direction of Mr Simon Johnson. 27 September 2009 Coffee Concert with David Way violin and Angus Cunningham piano PATITA FOR VIOLIN No 2 in D minor BWV1004 Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750 Chaconne SONATA FOR
VIOLIN AND PIANO in G minor L140 SONATINE
in G major opus 100 JULY Thursday 23 July 2009 The annual visit of the Brothers of Charterhouse to the Brother's Burial Ground at St Mary the Virgin, Little Hallingbury in Essex.
Tuesday
21 July 2009 Monday
13 July 2009
The
following works were performed Allegro vivace - Andante - Allegro assai SONGS
WITHOUT WORDS JUNE SONATA
FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO in F minor Opus 4 Adagio - Allegro moderato - Poco adagio - Allegro agitato
RONDO CAPRICCIOSO FOR PIANO in E major Opus 14 Allegro energico e con fuoco - Andante espressivo - Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto - Finale: Allegro appassionat Wednesday
10 June 2009 Tuesday
9 June 2009 MAY
Historically, St Cross Hospital comprises two separate charitable foundations, which have since been merged. The Hospital of St Cross was founded in approximately 1132 by Bishop Henry of Blois and the Brothers from this Foundation wear the black robes, black trencher hats and silver badges in the shape of the Cross of Jerusalem. The Order of Noble Poverty was founded in 1445 by Cardinal Henry Beaufort and these Brothers wear the claret robes, claret trencher hats and silver cardinal's badges. Brothers from the two foundations are often referred to as the Black Brothers or the Red Brothers. 10
May 2009 ARIANNA
A NAXOS No 2 (1789) Frühlingslied
- Das erste Veilchen - Winterlied - Neue Liebe - Gruss - Reiselied Minnelied
- Auf Flügeln des Gesanges - Frühlingslied - Suleika - Sonntagslied
- There in myrtle shades reclined - Cease ruler of the day - Where shall I fly? 8
May 2009 Commemoration of the Carthusian Martyrs For the fifth year the day on which the last Prior, Saint John Houghton, and his Companions were martyred in 1535 was observed with Solemn Evensong, Sermon and Commemoration of the Carthusian Martyrs at the site of the High Altar of the Carthusian Priory Church (now Chapel Court). We were honoured to have a sermon written by His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor which he was unable to give personally because he was indisposed. We were grateful to Bishop George Stack, the senior auxiliary Bishop in the Westminster Archdiocese for delivering it. We also welcomed Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz Apostolic Nuncio, who read the second lesson, The Reverend Canon Jonathan Goodall who represented the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Reverend Prebendary William Scott who represented the Bishop of London and The Reverend the Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, Superintendent Minister of nearby Wesley's Chapel. A large congregation assembled for the service which was sung by the Thomas Sutton Singers, directed by Richard Stevens with Graham Matthews at the organ. The Preacher of Charterhouse, The Reverend Michael Stevens officiated. See also: www.rcdow.org.uk The following is the text of The Cardinal's sermon: Recently, I saw a quite remarkable film called "The Great Silence". Essentially, it was the life of the monks at the Monastery of the La Grande Chartreuse. One saw the harsh elements of the wind and the cold and the snow outside. Inside the monastery, one saw the monks in the chapel, but most of all in their cells, where each would spend most of the day, where he prayed and worked and ate. It was, of course, what happened here at the London Charterhouse for nearly 200 years, in the cells arranged around the retreat cloister. In the film, not a word of conversation is spoken. There is a Carthusian silence and, as one monk put it, "our silence is not just emptiness and death. On the contrary, it should draw ever nearer, and bring us nearer, to the fullness of life. We are silent because the words by which our souls would fain love cannot be expressed in earthly language". The intensity of each monk's communion with God is evident, as if they had individually heeded the words to Elijah in the First Book of Kings: "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. For at that moment the Lord was going by". But the Lord was not in the mighty hurricane, or the earthquake, or the fire, but in a light murmuring sound. And when Elijah heard this he covered his face with his cloak. That gentle breeze recorded in the Bible was recalled by Dom Maurice Chauncey in describing the events during the Mass of the Holy Spirit shortly before the arrest of St. John Houghton and his companions. Dom Maurice wrote that, after the Consecration, " ..there came from heaven a pleasant sound, like the voice of a gentle breeze, charming our outward ears as with a sweet breath, and gently striking them with a softly whispered murmur, but by some irresistible power appealing still more sweetly and more strongly to the inward ears". Silence is held in great esteem by spiritual people of all religions, and it is much more than the absence of sound. It is a precious means of access into the spiritual world. There is, we are told, especially by the Carthusian monks, an exterior silence and an interior silence. This monastery of the Charterhouse had few exterior sounds: the sound of nature, the sound of the bells, the sound of Gregorian chant. But the interior silence is something else. It is a silence of the mind and heart. It is that kind of silence in which one is able to be in communion with God, where he is at the centre of our universe and not our own egotistical self, when there is liberty and there is peace. How difficult for you and me to achieve this, living with the noise and distraction of our complex world. When I was Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, I would occasionally go to visit the Charterhouse at Parkminster. I was deeply edified by the monks there. I remember asking the Prior if I could encourage some of the priests of my Diocese to go there for spiritual direction and confession. The Prior thought for a moment and then said "I do not think it would be wise. You see, the life of the monk here is a very special one. Let me give you an example. If you throw a large rock into the sea, there will be a little splash. The sea moves on in its great course. But if you throw a pebble into a still pond, the ripples go backwards and forwards and the stillness of the pond is broken. That is what it would be like for our monks if the pebbles of the lives of priests who live in the world were to break the stillness of their prayer". I was very moved by that answer, reminding me that the stillness and the silence and the deep communication with God are not achieved without great effort and sacrifice, but they bring with them a great peace and joy. And looking at the face of the monks, whether in the film or at the Charterhouse in Parkminster, one saw a serenity, a peace and a joy that is quite remarkable. So it was no wonder that Thomas More, as he watched from the window of his prison cell in the Tower of London and saw John Houghton with his two companions, Robert Lawrence and Augustine Webster, strapped to their hurdles on their way to execution at Tyburn, said that they went with a joyful alacrity, as of men going to their marriage, with great serenity and with joy. Yes, today we give thanks for the witness of these extraordinarily brave Carthusian martyrs, whose very silence and prayer prepared them for the ultimate sacrifice. But what is the message for us today from the example of the silence and prayer of these great men of the past, and indeed of the present too, who devote their lives to a silence that is full of meaning and openness and joy? It seems to me there is one thing we need to assert time and time again. That is that each one of us has a soul made for God. We have been told time and time again, and rightly so, that we in the West have very great responsibilities for the wellbeing of our planet. Above all else, however, we must realise that there is also a responsibility for the stewardship of the spirit, which means the need to repair our fractured relationship with God. The return to things of the soul involves a return to its source and to its intended destiny. Heaven it is home. To experience and understand this means that we must be humble, for in perceiving the things of the spirit we realise that there is someone above us, beyond us, transcendent, but also very near to us in Jesus Christ. I seem to remember the words of Solzhenitsyn: "We have become hopelessly enmeshed in our slavish worship of all that is pleasant, all that is comfortable, all that is material. We worship things. We worship products. Will we ever succeed in shaking off this burden, in giving free rein to the spirit that was breathed into us at birth, that spirit which distinguishes us from the animal world?" We live in a postmodern world and the example of these martyrs, of these extraordinary men who devote their lives to silence and prayer and communion with God should be an encouragement to us to try to achieve some silence in our own lives. In doing so we give a silent witness to others of the fact that we have a soul and that we are made for God and we shall be restless until we find rest in him. The words of a Carthusian monk sum this up well. "Silence and memory go well hand in hand. We know that silence is not a void but, on the contrary, by its very nature, is fullness". That is why the world's speech, its conversation, the pressure of the media is so often wearying instead of being truthful, restful and peaceful. That is why in Charterhouse one experiences such peace. There everything emanates from the calm depths of the soul where all is recollected and silent. That is where God abides and where we ineffably find Him, if we abide in Him there too. Not everyone, obviously, can experience that same degree of recollection that exists in a Charterhouse, because of the circumstances of our lives. But we must surely, as far as possible, not be afraid to set aside at least some short moments for recollection and to give some time to Him who is within us. It is in that silence that he speaks to us and bids us listen to him. The motto of the great English Cardinal John Henry Newman sums this up well: Cor ad Cor Loquitur. Heart speaks to heart in the silence of the heart.
Photography by Brian Newble
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