The Devil’s Passion at St Luke’s

Our talented musical director Justin Butcher wears many different hats: as well as overseeing all the wonderful music at St Luke’s, he’s also an award-winning playwright, director and actor.

On Palm Sunday, 20 March, at 7pm, we have a chance to see Justin performing his hit one-man play The Devil’s Passion (or Easter In Hell) here at St Luke’s as part of its latest tour. Fifty per cent of the ticket sales for this performance will go to St Luke’s, so you’ll be raising funds for the church as well as enjoying a startling and imaginative performance.

A divine comedy in one act, The Devil’s Passion follows Satan’s ascent from Hell to stop Jesus fulfilling his ultimate destiny. A cosmic battle begins, for the very soul of humanity. By turns comical, gripping and heart-stirring, the play offers a fresh perspective on the timeless Easter narrative: an audacious ‘Hell’s eye view’ of the Passion of Christ.

The play is written and performed by Justin, and directed by Olivier Award-winner Guy Masterson, with music and sound by Jack C Arnold. You can learn more about this evocative production at http://www.justinbutcher.co.uk/devilspassion/. The play is also being published by Bloomsbury to coincide with the tour.

Tickets cost £12 (£8 conc), and are available from http://thedevilspassionstlukesholloway.bpt.me, or at Sunday morning services (avoiding the booking charge).

The Devil’s Passion promises to be a powerful experience to kick off Holy Week. Don’t miss it!

Open Bethlehem: a big film about a small town

An evening with Tipping Point Film Fundhosted by co-founders Justin Butcher and Deborah Burton

Programme includes the screening of cinema documentary OPEN BETHLEHEM by Leila Sansour and new videos from MAKE APARTHEID HISTORY, the campaign follow up to Bethlehem Unwrapped; the second half of the evening will include short clips from cinema documentary WE ARE MANY by Amir Amirani (‘The most important documentary film of 2015’ - actor Tim Robbins) and readings on the theme of conflict and peace.

Tipping Point Film Fund is the primary activity of Tipping Point North South - a co-operative that supports and initiates creative, campaign-driven projects that advance the global social justice agenda. With its first slate of projects having come to fruition, this fundraising evening offers an opportunity to share recent work as well as forthcoming plans with anyone and everyone interested in work that blends the arts, politics and social justice campaigning.

St Luke's, Friday 4th March, 7pm. Tickets - £10 on the door on night; £8 advance booking Book your tickets here: http://tpff0403.brownpapertickets.com

The Upper Room for Lent

Fancy a fun evening (in a Lenten sort of fun way) thinking about what the heck we mean by 'God' and other stuff? Get yourself along to the Upper Room -bring a bottle if you fancy! There is also a group meeting on Monday evenings at the home of Meg Warner and Richard Burridge - 23 Red Lion Street, WC1R 4PS. They are just 5 minutes' walk from Holborn Tube Station, an easy ride down the Picadilly Line from Caledonian Road - exploring Meg's book about Abraham. Also to be announced - a couple of evenings at Martin & Meg's home later in Lent.

The Gospel of Jean

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – the four gospels. But someone pointed out a fifth, ‘The Church’. Sometimes in our services at St Luke’s we feature a gospel reading from our own church and in February we heard The Gospel According to Jean Willson, which Jean sums up as ‘Turning Adversity Into Opportunity’. You can read the Gospel of Jean here

40 days at St Luke’s

Lent is a special time in the church calendar, signifying the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and praying before starting his ministry. Lent now falls in the run-up to Holy Week (Easter), and many people give up something, such as chocolate or TV, for 40 days, as a form of fasting or getting a new perspective on their priorities.

This year, Lent kicks off this Wednesday 10 February – the day known as Ash Wednesday. St Luke’s will be holding a Service of Ashing at 8pm. This moving ritual involves having a cross marked on your forehead with oil and ash (made from burning last year’s Palm Sunday crosses).

During Lent itself, there are several groups running at St Luke’s. Our vicar Dave will be running discussion groups at the vicarage on Thursday evenings, looking at various doctrinal themes – without the jargon. You might even find some of your thoughts appearing in his next book!

Associate vicar Martin will also be running a group in his home for discussion, sharing and prayer. Talk to Martin to find out more.

And our latest author at St Luke’s, theologian Meg Warner, will be running a series of discussions based on her new book, ‘Abraham: A Journey Through Lent’. This will be running on Monday evenings, at Meg’s home, close to Holborn. Speak to Meg for further details.

SPECIAL INVITATION: Meg’s book ‘Abraham: A Journey Through Lent’ will officially be launched this Friday 12 February, at King’s College Chapel at 6.30pm, and members and friends of St Luke’s are invited. This evening of Lenten reflection will include an art installation based on the Stations of the Cross. It’s free but you must reserve your ticket (which includes a glass of wine). Congratulations, Meg!

Nightshelter needs YOU!

Here at St Luke’s, one of our biggest projects each year is our part in the Islington Churches Cold Weather Shelter. From January to March (the coldest three months of the year), we open our doors each Saturday to offer a bed and meals to homeless people (six other churches in the area cover the rest of the week). As well as food, shower facilities and a safe, comfortable place to sleep, we also offer recreational activities and other services.

Last year, the Islington Nightshelter hosted around 90 guests. Over 6,000 hours of volunteer time went into making it run smoothly – as well as thousands of pounds’ worth of donations of food, clothing and toiletries. Without the involvement of so many members and friends of St Luke’s, the project wouldn’t be possible.

Nightshelter 2016 starts this weekend, 2 January, and we need lots of volunteers over the next three months to make it happen. There are different ways you can help. We’re looking for people to cover evening, night and morning shifts (serving food and making guests feel comfortable and supported). We also need volunteers to buy and prepare food (costs can be reimbursed), do laundry and other essential tasks.

If you’d like to help some of the most vulnerable people in our area, and enjoy getting to know fellow volunteers along the way, speak to Emma Leigh or Rose Gindele, or email stlukespcc@hotmail.com. Thank you – we couldn’t do it without you!

Christmas at St Luke’s

Christmas is one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, and here at St Luke’s, we’re looking forward to some wonderful services and events over the festive period.

We begin the celebrations with our annual candle-lit carol service on 13 December at 8pm. The St Luke’s choir will lead us in favourite hymns and carols, and wow us with some of their own stirring performances, too. Afterwards, there’ll be mulled wine and mince pies.

The 11am service on 20 December will be given over to the children’s nativity play. The kids are rehearsing hard on a fun and creative interpretation of the Christmas story – not to be missed! Afterwards, our monthly church lunch will be a special Christmas meal – a big thank you to Rajini and Dave for making it happen.

After Sunday morning services until 13 December, there’ll be stalls selling church members’ handmade and fairtrade gifts, so if you’ve got presents to buy, bring your wallet – 10% of takings go to the Street Child United Games. Don’t forget to pick up any Christmas orders from our Traidcraft stall, open after Sunday morning services.

On Christmas Eve at 11.30pm, we gather for midnight mass. We’ll see in Christmas Day with a beautiful candle-lit service, and more evocative performances from the choir. There’ll be an opportunity to remember absent friends, who we often miss more than ever at this time of year.

On Christmas morning, there’ll be a family service at 10.30am (earlier than our usual services, so you can head home to get the dinner sorted). It’s a joyous all-age gathering to kick off the big day with a celebration of the true meaning of Christmas.

We’ll be back in church on 27 December at 11am for our usual Sunday morning service.

Whether you’re a regular at St Luke’s, an occasional visitor, or you’ve never joined us before, you’ll find a warm welcome at all our services over the festive period. Season’s greetings to everyone in the parish of St Luke’s, West Holloway, and beyond.

A special welcome for newcomers

St Luke’s is a growing church, with new faces arriving every week, and although we endeavour to be friendly and welcoming, it can be easy for newcomers to get lost in the crowd.

So on Friday 4 December, at 8pm, we’re hosting a special welcome evening for those who are relatively new to St Luke’s – although anyone is welcome, even if you’ve been around for some time.

There’ll be fizz and nibbles, and a chance to chat and get to know each other. Our vicar, Dave, will give an introduction to St Luke’s, including a guided tour of the building to check out all the secret rooms and winding staircases you’ve never seen. You’ll learn more about the ethos of St Luke’s, and there’ll be opportunities to ask questions.

Regardless of how long you’ve been coming to St Luke’s, if you’d like an introduction to the church, you’re welcome to join us. Please email davetomlinson@mac.com to let us know you’re coming – we wouldn’t want to run out of fizz and nibbles!

Music On The Mind

Vox Holloway, our acclaimed community choir, is gearing up for a fantastic event on 29 November, when it will be presenting a brand new choral work written by Harvey Brough and our very own musical director, Justin Butcher. ‘Music On The Mind’ is a musical exploration of mental health, with songs of mania, madness and melancholy. It includes a new choral setting of Kay Redfield Jamison’s ground-breaking memoir, An Unquiet Mind.

This world premiere promises to be a remarkable evening exploring the agonies and ecstasies of the unquiet mind. But don’t just take our word for it. Vox Holloway patron Emma Thompson (yes, that Emma Thompson) says: ‘It’s fantastically refreshing to have visionaries like Harvey Brough and Justin Butcher commit their art to an examination of one of our most precious possessions: our minds.’

Meanwhile, Stephen Fry (yes, that Stephen Fry!) says: ‘A musical work that blends the voices of some of the finest poets in our language with the work of Kay Redfield Jamison, my own personal hero in the arena of bipolar disorder — well, that seems to me like a simply fantastic project.’


The 90-strong choir will combine the voices of Vox Holloway and Mind & Soul Choir (a community choir singing for mental wellbeing based in the Maudsley Hospital), plus leading soloists Clara Sanabras and Nicholas Garrett. It will be conducted by Harvey Brough. You can find out more at http://voxholloway.com/music-on-the-mind/ and see a video preview at https://vimeo.com/144363115

Music On The Mind is at 7.30pm, on 29 November, at St Luke’s. Tickets cost £15 (concessions £10) and are available at http://musiconthemind.bpt.me/ or by calling 0800 411 8881. All proceeds from the event go to Islington Mind and Soundwell Music Therapy Trust.