Ray Anglesea shares the next installment of his sabbatical experiences
Holy
Trinity Brompton, often referred to as HTB, is an Anglican church in Brompton Road, London. HTB is hidden behind
the Brompton
Oratory and
flanked by museums. Behind it are expensive flats and houses leading up to Hyde
Park. Close by is Imperial College, Harrods and the Brompton Hospital. Its
congregation is not only from the locality; people come from all over London.
The
church consists of four church buildings, HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square,
HTB Queen's Gate and HTB Courtfield Gardens, as well as being the home for Worship Central,
St Paul's Theological Centre and the Alpha course (it is where the Alpha course was
first developed and is one of the most influential churches in the Church of England). Over 4,000 people regularly attend
Sunday worship across the four sites. Because of the size of the congregation it
is divided into pastorates, which are small groups of about 20-30 people run by
members of the congregation, most of whom are not in full time ministry. They
meet fortnightly for prayer, worship, teaching, Bible study, food and
fellowship.
St
Pauls’ Onslow Square (Grade II Listed, Gothic in style in Kentish Ragstone and
designed as an integral part of the Square) is where my son and daughter in
law, Jamie and Gemma worship regularly. First opened in 1860 the church was
declared redundant in the late 1970’s. With the permission of the Bishop of
London HTB Brompton Road planted a congregation; the congregation has now grown
to several hundred.
Sunday
29th June was the date set for my granddaughter Gracie’s baptism:
morning worship took place in HTB Paul’s Onslow Square, the baptism in HTB
Queen’s Gate. My wife and I love going to Onslow Square. The worship is informal,
welcoming with an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, with many young, friendly
families, coffee and croissants are on hand at the start of the service, seats
available on nave chairs or leather armchairs/couches or a floor cushion if you
prefer. The words for the songs and prayers are projected onto a
large screen and on numerous TV monitors. (Revd) Nick Lee’s sermon (trained in
Cranmer Hall, Durham) was excellent, delivering a witty, sincere, thought
provoking and biblically based sermon. And of course the worship was
marvellous. It was a Spirit-filled time of rejoicing, praise and worship. The
leader of the musical group was superb, sensitively directing the singing, and
there was some clapping and arm raising, which was done with feeling and
sincerity. The worship blew me away, moving me to tears.
If worship was held
with family and friends at Onslow Square, the baptism of my granddaughter took
place not far away at HTB Queens Gate (it’s complicated – don’t ask). A whiff
of incense greeted us as we walked through the main door of the church. Formerly
St Augustine’s Queen's
Gate, Kensington, high Anglo-Catholic, the former church began to be
administered from Holy Trinity Brompton following an invitation by the Bishop
of Kensington in 2010, where Nicky Gumbel was made priest-in-charge. In March
2011, St Augustine's was formally merged into the parish of HTB. St Augustine's Church (Grade II*) was
a favourite of Sir John Betjeman. The tall, narrow nave has a lovely west end
on Queen's Gate, with alternating bands of brick and stone rising
to a double belfry. Designed by the celebrated Victorian church architect
William Butterfield, it was completed in 1876; it is a high Gothic masterpiece. Although the exterior is decorative, it is hardly a
preparation for the interior. This is an amazing example of polychrome work,
worthy of the nearby Natural History Museum. Everything is coloured, using
stone, mosaics, tiles and marble: walls, floors - even the pulpit. Geometric
patterns frame a series of biblical scenes on the walls and clerestory, leading
you towards the spacious and dramatic chancel, and an astonishing gilded
reredos.
Widely appreciated as probably the second-best surviving church in London by William Butterfield, St Augustine’s church at Queen’s Gate, Kensington hides a special surprise for 20th century fans. Alterations and re- ordering in the late 1920s and then post- war repairs resulted in some impressive church fittings linked to a movement retrospectively dubbed ‘Back to Baroque.’ The immense reredos and altarpiece, the backdrop and tester for Butterfield’s pulpit, the Stations of the Cross and the Lady Chapel altar and triptych in the north aisle, are all very distinguished interventions by Howard Martin Otho Travers (1886-1948). It is argued that Travers’s fittings of counter-reformation extravagance are “just as worthy of preservation in their own right as Butterfield's work.” Precisely for these reasons, and wearing my synod LBAC hat, the upgrade of the Grade II* building to Grade I should perhaps be considered.
It was a real joy to be present at my granddaughters baptism with
family and friends. Jamie and Gemma felt so supported; a beautiful lunch in the
church hall followed the service with their (top tier) delicious wedding cake
magically turned into a baptismal cake for my beautiful granddaughter. It too was a real joy
to be to see how historic and architecturally important Listed Buildings can be
adapted to contemporary forms of worship, attracting hundreds of people weekly
to hear the gospel preached in an easy going manner, to enjoy a variety of
traditional and modern-day liturgical styles whilst pastoral groups engage in
numerous programmes of social/inner city outreach. HTB is of course the home of
Justin Welby, many influential speakers, sports and TV celebrities, politicians
and world statesman and inner city bankers worship there; it is a rich diverse
international community, attracted to Jesus Christ and his enduring love message
for our times.
Ray Anglesea
Sabbatical Blog
6: One Baptism: Two Churches, Knightsbridge,
London.
29th
June 2014
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