Trinitarian

The Newsletter for the Congregation & Friends of

Holy Trinity Sloane Square
April - June 2010

An Easter Reflection
“When evening came, his disciples
went down to the sea, got into a boat,
and started across the sea to
Capernaum. It was now dark, and
Jesus had not yet come to them. The
sea became rough because a strong
wind was blowing. When they had
rowed about three or four miles, they
saw Jesus walking on the sea and
coming near the boat, and they were
terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I;
do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to
take him into the boat, and
immediately the boat reached the land
toward which they were going.”
John 6:16-21 (NRSV)
I remember the old ‘Gang Shows’
performed by the Scouts. At the finale,
they would join together and sing, ‘We’re riding along on the crest of a wave and the
sun is in the sky, keeping your eyes on the distant horizon…’
It seems that this is what Jesus is asking his disciples to do; look to the horizon and
see the risen Son. People may benefit from his miracles but never see the ‘sign’
pointing them to believe in Jesus. He knew that the crowds were attracted by his
miracles. They ate a miraculous meal, yet failed to see the significance in the person
of Jesus. They were looking for food, not faith, and soon they would be hungry again.
They needed to look beyond miracles to God’s new sign - Jesus.
Scholars are not sure whether he walked by the water or on the water, but for me the
‘People may benefit from his miracles but never see the ‘sign’ pointing them to
believe in Jesus.’
important truth is that he came to his disciples over the water, and said, ‘Do not be
afraid.’
Water is often a symbol of death in the scriptures - for example, Moses as a baby in
the basket overcomes death floating on the water, the Red Sea parts so the Israelites
might escape death, and of course Jesus’ baptism promises new life out of the waters
Page 2 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

‘They needed to look

Fundraising Concert for the
beyond miracles to Choir of Holy Trinity
God’s new sign - Charles Longbottom, Churchwarden
Jesus.’
The Holy Trinity Choir’s Concert on the 11th of February was
of death so that the a very happy evening. Sixteen choristers led by our most
world might be saved. talented Director of Music Andrew O’Brien gave us a
The feeding of the five wonderfully varied programme starting with some lovely
thousand reminds us anthems and ending with The Owl and the Pussycat, a
of the sharing of his splendid Jazz improvisation on the piano by Oliver Lallemant
life. His walk across and finally Somewhere over the Rainbow.
water reminds us of
our rescue from the The singing was magnificant throughout but special mention
fear of death. Jesus should be made to the three soloists Richard Wilberforce
invites us to accept who sang ‘This is the record of John’ - Gibbons, Elinor Rolfe
him as our guide and Johnson who sang Brahms’ ‘Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit’, and
companion, to lead us Samir Savant who sang Nunc Dimittis - Howells.
in the way of peace.
‘They took him into ‘We owe our special gratitude and thanks to all the
the boat and performers who freely gave their time to make this such
immediately the boat a successful and happy time’.
reached the
[promised] land’ (v21). There were also two very appropriate readings. The first
‘Holy Trinity, Sloane Street’ by John Betjeman read by Paul
de Thierry and the second ‘Betjeman Revisited’ a very
moving piece written by Janine Gillion and Darren Raymond
and beautifully read by Janine.

The event raised well over £2,000 towards the cost of the
The Revd Rob Gillion music at Holy Trinity. We owe our special gratitude and
Rector thanks to all the performers who freely gave their time to
make this such a successful and happy time.

I would also like to thank Andrew O’Brien and Alexandra

A reflection Stevenson for all their hard work in arranging the concert for
Holy Trinity.
‘Bless this water
that your servants
who are washed in
it may be made one
with Christ in his
death and
resurrection’
Page 3 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

Photos from the Fundraising Concert

images by
Janine Gillion
Page 4 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

‘Lent is Easter in disguise!’ Sermon preached at

St Pauls Cathedral, 2010 by The Reverend Rob Gillion
‘I can resist everything except temptation’ – this quote from Oscar Wilde tells us
much about the human condition.
My temptation this morning is to impress, after all this is St Paul’s Cathedral, I’ve
been invited to preach – I want to give a good account of myself. To be
acknowledged as a fine preacher, a biblical scholar, a theological superstar.
However, in the Bible I was given at my ordination by my Bishop there was this
inscription on the fly leaf – ‘Preach not yourself but Jesus Christ as Lord!’
St Paul reminds me that sin is always lurking at the door and although we are
reminded that we’re made in the image of God, we have to contend with the
knowledge that we so often want to walk our own way rather than the way of Christ.
The image of God in us is marred by sin.
The first thing to recognise is we are not Christ. That’s not an excuse but there is a
very real sense in which to be human is to fail and it is in our weakness and failure
that God can deal with us, broken before the Cross.
This is a paradox – to become someone in God’s eyes we have to acknowledge our
total reliance on him and our failure. Some of the spiritual giants of faith knew this
sense of complete worthlessness including St Paul who called himself a wretched
man for always finding himself doing the very things he wanted to avoid doing, and
failing to do the things he wanted to do.
So it is important surely to be realistic about what makes us tick and acknowledge
that we are not Christ. Having said that, we are invited to follow him, learn from him,
be a disciple.
In the story of the wilderness Jesus teaches us strategies to overcome the
temptations that he faced and shows how he defeated the enemy. Jesus is led by the
Holy Spirit into the wilderness in order to be tested, tempted yet without sin.
My wilderness?...
I knew I was called to be the Prison Chaplain to
Shek Pik prison in Hong Kong and it was confirmed
in a number of ways. No dove descending on my
head, no loud voice from heaven – but everything I
had experienced, from a placement in Pentonville
prison to a quiet day in Wormwood Scrubs seemed
to lead up to it. So I put myself forward as Chaplain
and entered the prison and the ministry with
enthusiasm.
I walked the corridors, listened to prisoners
problems, said prayers, struggled to learn
Cantonese, took services in the prison chapel. Two
years in as I wandered confidently on my usual
round of visiting, a note was pushed through the
Page 5 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

bars of one of the cells by a prisoner into my hand. On it was a picture of a pair of
shoes overshadowed by bars and underneath was written ‘Why don’t you step into
my shoes and find out how much it hurts.’
After years of retreats and conferences seeking strength to minister in various
situations and serve I was faced with the challenge of a wilderness experience which
would make or break, test or transform, would highlight my failure and fragility, would
frighten yet fascinate. I would be examined, rigorously tested. Here was a wilderness
indeed.
For Jesus his time in that wilderness, that desert was challenging the way to achieve
his ultimate goal. Jesus was invited to impose his own will by turning stones into
bread; never deal with people as persons but rule from above;
never get his hands dirty but rely on the miraculous. Jesus said ‘No’ to each one in
turn – a scripture backed no to each temptation. Why?
Because it would be impersonal, abstracted from relationships, and disengaging from
love.
The way of Jesus is always exercised in personal ways – creative, saving, blessing,
serving.
We cannot follow the way of Christ without love or intimacy – no matter how well we
do it no matter how accomplished – this is the Way, the way of relationships.
So reluctantly I accepted the challenge and invitation from Ah Tim, the prisoner, to
step into his prison shoes, not just to contemplate it, but live it – solitude, isolation,
loneliness, cut off from friends and family, and asked the Governor if I could spend
some time as a high security prisoner – unfortunately he said yes! It resulted in being
put into solitary confinement, threatened by someone who thought I was the
governor’s spy, and being given the job of a cleaner ‘a bejai’. But the most powerful
moment was when my name was changed by the inmates from Father Rob to Father
Robbery. Crime, not understanding – punishment, to experience life in chains. But
most important in some small way I was one of them.
From birth to death we are reminded of the gravity of our situation. It’s gravity which
brings us down to earth. To face reality. If only I could fly, a dream of the prisoner
with his clipped wings. But we all have our limitations, and yet through the limitations
of the Cross Jesus was ultimately set free. That is our saving grace. We mustn’t run
away from the reality of this world, we must embrace it, live in it, but seek glimpses of
his glory. The desert for all its arid dryness does have the occasional oasis, a desert
flower in bloom. The wilderness is a challenge and an opportunity. Not a place to
fear.
Lent is a season in which we are made aware of the need to prepare for that glorious
resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Day. Never let us lose sight of the fact that
Lent is Easter in disguise!
I pray that you find time perhaps in the light of this Lenten season to be drawn by the
Holy Spirit to step into someone’s shoes; enter into your wilderness and be
challenged and tested by a loving compassionate God, so you may serve him in spirit
and in truth, for the truth will set you free through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Page 6 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

The Chelsea Schubert Festival is happy to announce a broadening of

its layout in the coming year. The May – June season has always
been a buzzing time in London and Chelsea in particular, and we
have decided to organise a weekend of music which will coincide with
the magnificent Chelsea Flower Show.

The weekend will take place between 28th – 30th of May, 2010 at
Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street and this will come in addition to
our usual September activities, this year between 12th - 19th
September.

On Friday the 28th there will be an exciting concert with Tenor

Andrew O’Brien, Soprano Alexandra Stevenson and The Revd Rob
Gillion and Janine Gillion. It will be an inspiring combination of words
and music.

Also, during the May events, we will be collaborating for the first time
with a new group which specialises in performance on instruments
from Schubert’s time. The group is called the Guildhall Performance
Laboratory and is made up of teachers and advanced students from
the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

‘ … we will be collaborating for the first time with a new group

which specialises in performance on instruments from
Schubert’s time.’

They will be holding an education day on Saturday 29th May which

will include a master class with students from the London Colleges
and the group will play a concert itself on the concluding day, Sunday
30th May in the afternoon.

September will present a superb array of musicians both new to the

festival and some who have performed for us in the past.

The Chelsea Schubert Festival Song Competition will continue into its
second year involving students from across the country and a
Schumann day of concerts and lectures will be held to celebrate the
great composer’s 200th anniversary.

Please check our website closer to the time for more information:

www.chelseaschubertfest.co.uk

By Marc Verter
2010
Page 7 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

History in the Making

On Mothering Sunday a new Branch of Mothers’ Union was opened here at Holy
Trinity. The World Wide President of Mothers’ Union, Rosemary Kempsell, preached
at the 11am Sung Eucharist.
Branch Leader, Lynette Paul, former Diocesan President of Mothers Union, invited
local Branch Leaders from within the Diocese to share Lunch with the new members
who had been admitted into membership during the Eucharist.
This is the first time a Branch of Mothers’ Union has been formed within Upper
Chelsea. We welcome its partnership in mission as a grassroots worldwide
organisation with 3.6 million members working in over 78 countries.
Membership is open to women and men who are baptised in the Trinity, and who are
concerned with the strengthening of marriage and family life.
Information leaflets and a membership application form are available from Lynette
Paul or the Church Office.

Lynette Paul and Rosemary Kempsell

Page 8
New Composition by Richard Wilberforce
A member of Holy Trinity’s Choir
The forthcoming May/June
edition of Choir & Organ
Magazine will include a
'New Music' focus on my
latest piece, The
Incredulity of Saint
Thomas.
Commissioned jointly by
the magazine and the
Choir of St John's College,
Cambridge, I was asked to
set an Eastertide text for,
unsurprisingly, Choir (&
Organ)! I set about the
task with trepidation. To
begin with I find it
immeasurably m ore
difficult to compose
jubilant and joyous music
(haven't you seen how
grumpy I can get on
Sunday mornings!). So I
set about pouring through
the post-resurrection
gospel narratives in
search of a more visceral
encounter, and was
delighted to recall the
confrontation between
Jesus and his doubting
disciple, Thomas.
You'll remember that
Thomas refuses to believe
Christ's presence amongst
them (he has already
revealed himself to other
disciples) unless he sees
the crucifixion marks of
nails and spear in his
hands and side, and can
Trinitarian
place his finger into the
wounds. What an image,
and an extraordinary
requirement of faith, to
touch in the most invasive
and private way, inside
Jesus’ flesh.
After he has seen and
Richard Wilberforce
Image by Phil Dunlop
touched, he believes and
exclaims “My Lord and my
God!” It’s a very
advanced, credal outburst
of faith, to which Jesus
responds: “Blessed are
those who have not seen
and yet have believed.”
This is not a chastisement
of Thomas on Jesus’ part,
Holy Trinity Sloane Square
but is more designed
as a lesson to the
eleven disciples
present in the room to
spread the faith and to
encourage the faith to
spread long after they
have all passed away.
Having trained as an
opera singer, I'm of the
strong opinion that
drama should be
encouraged within the
choir stalls, and the
dramatic implications
inherent in this scene
are obvious. Just look
at Caravaggio's
gruesome painting,
from where I borrowed
my title, and we get a
great sense of the
tension and wealth of
emotion in the
confrontation. I
devised a would-be
dialogue between
Thomas and the Christ
risen and in doing so,
negated the role of the
evangelist. It was
important, therefore, to
establish a clearly
distinguishable
language for each
character - rather in
the same way that
you'd recognize the
voices of different
characters in The
Archers!
Page 9 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

Thomas' words are strictly
set to a repeating cycle of
eight chords. The effect of
this sometimes fast-
moving cycle is one of
restlessness, endless
pacing up and down -
nervous and unsettled. By
contrast, Jesus’ music is
an extremely simple
descending scalic phrase
rising by a tone at a time
for the duration of the
piece, closing with a final
treble solo on a top A. This
repeating melody is set in 9th May at Evensong
obstinate oblivion to the (6.30pm) by The Choir of
hum anis tic harm onic St John's College, and will
surround of the eight- be recorded and
chord cycle, and this broadcast on their website
serves to deify and thereafter.
transcend his words, as ( www.sj cc hoir .c o.uk ).
well as programmatically
hinting at his eventual The score will be available
ascension, as the phrase to download from the
rises and rises al fine. Choir & Organ website
(www.choirandorgan.
The Incredulity of Saint com).
Thomas will be premiered
in Cambridge on Sunday

Holy Trinity Sloane Square

presents the
Annual Trinity Arts and Crafts Guild Exhibition of 2010

Earth, Air, Fire and Water

normal church hours
Sunday 23rd - Sunday 30th May

OPEN EVENING AND LAUNCH

Tuesday 25th May 6.30pm - 9.00pm
Where art can be enjoyed and where wine can be sipped during a
performance of dance, music and word at 7.15 pm.
Page 10 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

Holy Week 2010

Sunday, 28 March Palm Sunday
8:45am Holy Communion
11:00am Sung Eucharist
Choir: Holy Trinity Choir
Setting: Missa Brevis - Ives
Anthem: Wash me throughly - Wesley
Introit: Hosanna to the Son of David - Weelkes

Monday, 29 March Monday of Holy Week

7:00pm Said Eucharist with hymns & devotional address

Tuesday, 30 March Tuesday of Holy Week

7:00pm Said Eucharist with hymns & devotional address

Wednesday, 31 March Wednesday of Holy Week

7:00pm Said Eucharist with hymns & devotional address

Thursday, 1 April Maundy Thursday

7:00pm Liturgy of Maundy Thursday
(followed by the Vigil until Midnight)

Friday, 2 April Good Friday

7:00pm Liturgy of Good Friday

Saturday, 3 April Holy Saturday

8:00pm Easter Vigil & Eucharist

Sunday, 4 April Easter Sunday

8:45am Said Eucharist
11:00am Sung Eucharist

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed Alleluia!

Page 11 Trinitarian Holy Trinity Sloane Square

DESIRE FOR LIFE

A Biblical Study Course Series
devised and led by
The Revd Rob Gillion and The Revd Graham Rainford

Desire for Life - Risen Life in Jesus

A Study Course through St John’s Gospel
Wednesdays 14th, 21st and 28th April
and 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th May

Desire for Life - Holy Spirit in the Church

A Study Course through Acts of the Apostles
2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th June

7.30pm – 8.45pm

Some Dates for your diary

Thursday 22nd April
7.15pm Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Including election of Churchwardens
Sunday 23rd May (Pentecost Sunday)
11.00am Confirmation
The Right Reverend Kenneth Stevenson, the retired Bishop of
Portsmouth has been invited to take a Confirmation Service at Holy
Trinity. If you would like to be confirmed please contact the church office -
020 7730 7270.
Monday 24th May
6.30pm Trinity Arts and Crafts Guild AGM
All welcome to attend
Thursday 10th June
7.00pm Mothers’ Union Meeting
Fleur Dorrell, the Head of Faith and Policy for the Mothers’ Union will be
the speaker. The talk will be about the Mothers’ Union’s work in
legislation.
Friday 11th and Saturday 12th June
Normal Gift Day
Church Gift Day envelopes will be available.
Hours Please support Holy Trinity Church.
HOLY TRINITY SLOANE SQUARE
Sloane Street
London
SW1X 9BZ
United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0)20 7730 7270

Fax: +44 (0)20 7730 9287
info@holytrinitysloanesquare.co.uk
www.holytrinitysloanesquare.co.uk

© Ann Dent

Rector & Area Dean of Chelsea: The Revd Rob Gillion

Email: rector@holytrinitysloanesquare.co.uk
Assistant Priest: The Revd Graham Rainford
Email: priest@holytrinitysloanesquare.co.uk

Awareness Foundation
Director: The Revd Nadim Nassar
Awareness Foundation phone: +44 (0)20 7730 8830
Email: director@awareness-foundation.com
www.awareness-foundation.com

Morning & Evening Prayer is said daily, Monday to Friday, at 9.00am & 5.00pm
Saturday 10.30am & 4.00pm
The Eucharist is celebrated on Wednesdays at 6.30pm, and Thursdays at 1.10pm
On Sundays, the Eucharist is said at 8.45am, and Sung at 11.00am.