Community

We are a diverse community at St Andrew Holborn, encompassing many different aspects of the church’s life.

 

CLERGY

The life of St Andrew's is supported by the work of our clergy. We have many clergy who help us regularly, but our resident clergy here are the Ven Dr Lyle Dennen, the Guild Vicar, and the Revd Richard Bastable, Associate Priest.

 

Guild Vicar - the Ven Dr Lyle Dennen

Fr Lyle has been at St Andrew's since 1999 when he was appointed Guild Vicar and Archdeacon of Hackney. In 2010 he retired from his work as Archdeacon, but remains at St Andrew's as our Guild Vicar. Before coming to St Andrew's, Fr Lyle was vicar of a parish in south London for over twenty years. Fr Lyle has overseen the growth of the community here and has pioneered the work to enhance the church as a place for worship and prayer.

 

Associate Priest - the Revd Richard Bastable

Fr Richard joined St Andrew's as Associate Priest in 2010, having served a curacy in west London. Fr Richard trained for ordination at Westcott House in Cambridge. Since coming to St Andrew's Fr Richard has developed our liturgical life to provide a greater number of services and opportunites for prayer across the week. Fr Richard is also responsible for coordinating the Listening Service and Friday Forum.

 

WORSHIP

Our congregation is made up of people who worship with us on every day of the week – whether at the Sung Mass on a Wednesday evening or at the said Masses on other days (please see the calendar for more details). Other people come into the church during the day as a place to pray, be quiet or simply to rest. In addition to our weekly pattern of regular masses, there are also additional services for feasts and special events that appeal to other people too. Our worship style varies from small and informal, to larger more solemn occasions, we make use of traditional hymnody, Taize and Iona chants and classical/choral repertoire – all within the Catholic tradition with the Eucharist at the heart of the Church.

 

SPIRITUALITY

We encourage people to go deeper with their Christian commitment and their spiritual lives and we try to provide resources for this development. Once a month we hold Lectio Divina – a period of contemplation and reflection on scripture that allows us to discover Jesus’ words to us as he speaks through the gospels. In 2011 we have developed this into an informal liturgy with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament – so that we can know Christ’s presence with us through the Eucharist as well as his presence in the scriptures. Lectio Divina is accompanied by chants and music and concludes with Benediction – the Eucharistic blessing.

 

LISTENING SERVICE

Our church is open every day to provide people with space and peace in a busy, and sometimes confusing, city. On Monday to Thursday of each week we also provide a Listening Service which is staffed by trained volunteers and provides the opportunity for people to be heard and unburden any problems they may be facing.

 

PRAYER

There is a prayer board in church, as well as online where people can leave their prayer requests – these are then prayed at one of the weekly services. There is also a statue of Our Lady, the Mother of Jesus, at which people can light a candle. The Blessed Sacrament is reserved in church for the Communion of the sick and as a promise of Christ’s presence with us. The church is enhanced by some icons which have been acquired in recent years and which help to provide a focus for prayer.

 

ECUMENICAL LINKS AND FRIENDSHIPS

At St Andrew Holborn we are keen to maintain ecumenical links and as such we offer hospitality to a Russian Orthodox congregation which uses our church for their liturgies on Sunday mornings and on their feast days. We also have a strong link with the monastic community of Vallechiara outside Rome. Members of their community have been to visit us, and members of our congregation have been to stay there for retreat – including an organised group retreat in October 2010. Some of the icons in church are also from the Vallechiara icon workshop.  We are also developing a link with the Roman Catholic parish of Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge. Their Rector, Monsignor Peter Leeming, preached for us in January 2011 and we are hoping to pay a return visit soon.

 

Locally, we are proud to be a partner of the Midtown Business Club. Please click the name to visit their website.

 

CHURCH LIFE

The life of our church is governed by our GCC (Guild Church Council) – this is the equivalent of the PCC (Parochial Church Council) in parish churches. The GCC is made up of clergy, churchwardens, lay officers and elected lay representatives. All members of the GCC are regular worshippers at St Andrew’s and each person contributes something unique to the life and leadership of the church.

 

CHARITIES

A number of charities operate from St Andrew Holborn which bring relief to many people facing financial hardship in the local area. Please see the charity pages for more information

 

EVENTS AND TRADING

St Andrew Holborn is also a thriving and busy venue for events. Our trading company co-ordinates the use of our rooms and facilities for meetings, conferences  and hospitality events which bring many people into our church and community and provides a source of income for the mission of the church. The trading company also retails some merchandise associated with our church – copies of the icons, umbrellas and postcards. Please click here to be directed to our shop.

 

MUSIC AND CONCERTS

Our church is also an excellent venue for music. Much of our music happens within the context of our liturgy – co-ordinated by our Director of Music, James McVinnie. But we also have regular concerts and recitals in church given by choirs, orchestras and soloists of international renown. We have good relationships with Coro, the Holst Singers and other groups who regularly use our church for their rehearsals. Please see the calendar for any upcoming events.

 

Many other events happen at St Andrew’s on a regular or occasional basis, check the website regularly to see our latest upcoming events and news, and get in touch if you have any enquiry – we will be pleased to help you.



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