150th Anniversary Celebration Mass
20 Jun 2015 • General news
On Saturday June 20 th, the Feast of Saint Alban, we marked the 150th anniversary of the starting by the brothers James and Thomas Pollock of their Mission in the district of Highgate, with a Concelebrated High Mass. The Rt Revd Dr Geoffrey Rowell, the former Bishop of Gibraltar, was Principal Celebrant, assisted by a number of other priests who have had very strong connections to Saint Alban's for several years.
In the congregation we had representatives from the Academy (the Principal — David Gould — and a student read the first two readings), from the Diocese and from local organisations including Stanhope Hall (at the offertory the bread, wine and water were presented by Monica Lee from the Stanhope Hall Community Centre and Maggie Tucker), besides Councillor Yvonne Mosquito (Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner) and many friends as well as members of our regular Sunday congregation.
Concelebrating with bishop Geoffrey Rowell were Fr Nicholas lo Polito, our Priest-in-Charge; Canon Jim Pendorf, our Vicar from 1995 to 2004 and now Priest-in-Charge of Saint Mary's, Capel St Mary; Fr Stuart Powell, Priest-in-Charge of Saint Stephen's, Wolverhampton; Fr Percil Cadogan, Priest-in-Charge, Saint Benedict's, Small Heath; Fr Malcolm Jones, Vicar of Saint Richard's Church, Heathfield; and Fr Roger Sheppard, Priest-in-Charge, Emmanuel, Wylde Green. Fr Anthony Murley, since ordained priest at All Saints, Small Heath, assisted as deacon.
The Mass setting was Haydn's Little Organ Mass, and a number of extra people had been invited to join the regular choir for the occasion under the direction of our Director of Music, Graeme Martin.
John Jenkin, the organist of the famous church of Great Witley, kindly donated his services for the occasion, playing the Choral and Fugue by S.S. Wesley as voluntaries before and after the service.
The regular team of servers, dressed in their festal red cassocks with lace cottas, was augmented by the presence of some former stalwarts who are no longer able to attend regularly, allowing us to carry the banner of St Alban and support the bishop's cope in the procession.
After his sermon, the Bishop consecrated a new plain silver chalice, which replaces one stolen last year.
After the service the celebrations continued with a buffet lunch at the Academy.