London's 100 Best Churches

The Rector of St Mary-le-Bow, George Bush, is to be one of the new Lord Mayor’s chaplains.

The Lord Mayor Elect, Alderman Roger Gifford, plans to attend  Choral Evensong at St Mary-le-Bow on the eve of the Lord Mayor’s Show. He will have become Lord Mayor of London just three hours earlier during the Silent Change ceremony at Guildhall so this will be his very first engagement in a busy year.

Choral Evensong is at 6pm on Friday 9 November. The music will include the evening canticles in C by Stanford and a specially composed anthem by Alan Wilson. All are welcome.

Surprise news from the York Diocese that Philip North is to be the next Bishop of Whitby. He succeeds Martin Warner who has become Bishop of Chichester.

Fr North is currently based at St Michael’s Camden Town as Team Rector of the Old St Pancras parish.

The church was revived by the dynamic Nicholas Wheeler, now in Rio de Janeiro, and Fr North has taken that work forward with vigour.

This is a good appointment for Yorkshire but finding the right successor at Camden Town to continue growing the mission growth and building restoration will be difficult.

Todays’s Sunday papers have photos of guests at the marriage of Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Kate Garvey.

The marriage took place at Wesley’s Chapel and since the bride had been Tony Blair’s diary secretary at Downing Street there were plenty of former cabinet ministers and other Labour figures present. Alastair Campbell played the bagpipes.

Margaret Thatcher married Denis here in 1951.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9591824/Wiki-wedding-Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-marries-Tony-Blairs-former-aide.html

Sunday 30 September: 3pm The Costermongers’ Harvest Festival at St Mary-le-Bow EC2.

Sunday 14 October: 11am Fish Harvest Festival at St Mary-at-Hill, Lovat Lane EC3.

St Mary-le-Bow is open during the London Open House weekend Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September.

It is rare for this City church to be open on a Sunday.

There will be guided tours of the church and crypt by the Rector at 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm and 3.30pm.

“A fusion of controlled austerity and splendour” is how Anthony Symondson describes St Cyprian’s Church, Clarence Gate, in Glentworth Street NW1.

The annual patronal festival is being held on Saturday 15 September with a Solemn Mass at noon followed by a reception.

This will be an opportunity to appreciate the lovely Norfolk-style church by Ninian Comper.

At 3.30pm there wil be Sung Evensong and Benediction.

We are now within the forty days of St Swithun’s summer weather.

The 40th day is Friday 24 August which is St Bartholomew’s Day.

There will be a Festival Eucharist followed by an outdoor party on the day at 6pm at St Bartholomew the Less in Smithfield.

Nearby St Bartholomew the Great is keeping the feast on Sunday 26 August at 11am with a Solemn Eucharist and Procession of the Icon followed by a wine reception in the cloister.

Late summer is festival time in Smithfield.

The Feast of Dedication of the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great is on Sunday 2 September when there will be an outdoor procession and Solemn Eucharist at 11am.

Sunday 23 September is Founder’s Day, a celebration of Prior Rahere who returned from St Bartholomew’s in Rome to found the Smithfield Church. The procession and Solemn Pontifical Eucharist is at 11am.

St Bride’s choir sang Jerusalem on Channel 4 News tonight.

The full version, more than broadcast, is on the website.

St Bride’s, the journalists’ church in Fleet Street, is staging a pre-Olympics week of celebration and culture as part of its welcome to sports journalists from around the world.

The congregation is giving bed and breakfast hospitality to sports journalists from poor countries whose papers are unable to afford expensive hotels.

The week starts on Sunday 22 July with the Eucharist at 11am and concludes with a summer party (admission free) on Thursday evening from 5pm to 9pm -the day the torch comes through the City.

Full details are on the St Bride’s website.

St James’s Day is on Wednesday 25 July and St James’s Spanish Place will have a Solemn Mass at 7pm with the Abbot of Farnborough presiding and preaching.

St James Garlickhythe is keeping their patronal festival on the preceding Sunday 22 July at 10.30am.