The Church NewsletterJune 2020

The Temple Church,London020 7353 8559www.templechurch.com

We are looking forward with eagerness to the time when, at long last, we shall be able to

gather again with you in the Temple Church. But we shall have to be patient for a little longer.Although Church of England buildings have remained closed for public worship, very limited access to church buildings has been permitted over the past month for activities such as streaming of services, provided the necessary hygiene and social distancing precautions are followed. This much has allowed us to share recorded services from the Church on Sundays on our YouTube Channel and to offer a regular mid-week service of Evening Prayer on Zoom via the Church website: www.templechurch.com

The Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy envisages the possibility that churches could be open from July as part of a conditional and phased plan to lift the lockdown. In the meantime, in consultation with the Diocese of London, we are examining what steps we shall need to take to ensure we can meet safely when permitted to do so by the Government and the Bishop/ Dean of the Chapels Royal.

As we come through this worrying time we shall be anxious for ourselves, our loved ones and our world, but we remember that God is faithful, a very present help in time of trouble. Our Christian faith gives us confidence that in Jesus ‘We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul’ (Hebrews 6.19).

Worship

As the lockdown has continued, albeit with come easing of the restrictions, we remain apart and

yet we are together in Christ. Through the wonders of technology we have another means to share in the peace of God as we raise our hearts and minds to the throne of his grace and offer him our worship, prayer and praise.

We have added to our acts of worship on our dedicated YouTube channel recorded services of Holy Communion from the Church, latterly with choir and organ accompaniment. If you have a moment, may we encourage you to click on this link

We have continued our regular mid-week informal services which can be accessed on Zoom. These have included reflections on some well-known paintings, including for the Ascension, Stanley Spencer’s The Resurrection, Cookham (1926), part of which includes Lord Justice Slessor (a Bencher of Inner Temple) appearing to emerge from a flower-decked tomb in Cookham churchyard.

The Reader is filmed taking Holy Communion within the Temple Church and broadcast via the Church’s YouTube Channel

Music Department update

Lockdown has seen the Music Department in frenzied mode and with all our might we have

kept our choristers (all at different stages of musical development) active and trained. Remote theory has been a particular success with choristers learning new skills and having a greater understanding of the music they are learning.

Director of Music, Roger Sayer reports that the chor-isters are working on another exciting recording pro-ject: “We had high hopes for an excited summer term culminating with a Church Choir Concert on May 21 and a live BBC Radio 3 concert on June 16. We are not a concert choir but a choir which supports the liturgy of our church. However, it is a concert where we can ‘run the engine‘ on full power on the musical racing track.” He continues: “This hasn’t deterred us for planning for the future and we hope soon to have the opportunity of singing together again.”

Restoration and Renewal project

We are pleased to report that the development of proposals to restore the West Door of the

Church, to undertake some internal re-ordering, create a new choir school and to improve facilities ‘backstage’ is continuing at pace.

With our Architect, representatives of the two Inns’ Church Committee, and the Director of Estates of Middle Temple, we had a very constructive second meeting with officials from the Corporation of London Planning Department, the Diocese of London and Historic England to gauge their reactions to possible options for dealing with particular features of the masterplan which had been shared with them previously and which required further, more detailed development.

These included:

This is a complex and sensitive project which needs to engage with a number of different interests: the Inner and Middle Temple, their residents, professional chambers as well as statutory and heritage bodies, amenity groups and the wider public. We plan shortly to update the Inns’ Church Committee on progress to date and to invite their support for a recommended approach for consideration and approval of preliminary proposals. We hope to be in a position to bring proposals forward to the Inns for wider consideration over the coming months. This is an essential first step before any formal application could be made for approval to the statutory bodies and the necessary public consultation undertaken.

• improving access to the West Door through the churchyard to the north of the Church• providing improved disabled access through the South Door• improving access to the Triforium (to enable us to unlock the value of this currently beautiful, under-utilised space)• re-organising the space currently used mainly as vestries on the north side of the Church and • providing a new choir school and a suite of office space (to include the Temple Music Foundation) to enable all of us to be literally ‘under one roof’.

Great West Door recalled

The description of the Restoration and Renewal project in our last newsletter prompted a very

dear friend of the Church, Dr Joanna (‘Jo’) Sawdy to recall her early (and more recent) memories of the Church. It highlights the significance of the West Door for her in a most evocative way:

Catherine de Satge sent me the proposals for enlarging the Choir premises in The Temple. I remember entering by the South door, during the War after the bombing. My father worked in Clement’s Inn Passage, in the Department of the Government Chemist, and he hurried me down Inner Temple Lane to see the damage. I can remember standing at the

Congestion Charge Extension

Another challenge is the Mayor of London’s plans to

extend the Congestion Charge from 22 June to:• Increase the amount of the Charge by 30% to £15 per day (when the Government is advising people to avoid using public transport)

• Extend the operating hours of the Charge from 6pm until 10pm

• Extend the imposition of the Charge from 5 to 7 days a week.

door (no locks or guards!) and seeing bombed knights and the destruction of the altar. My father was in tears.

I could never understand why the 1950 Restoration side-lined The Great West Door. It ruins the vista of The Church, which is stupendous. When my husband, John, died (11 years after his original stroke) I asked Robin Griffith-Jones if we could use the West Door for the funeral. It was an amazing experience!

I had travelled from home with a big party of family and neighbours. They were all formally dressed but very jolly and light-hearted … a bit like “Bush Hill Park going to The Seaside” …. and we all piled into the back of The Round and joined the gossiping throng. I found myself beside Cynthia Langdon-Davis. The coffin arrived outside and I became paralysed. The Church looked monumental and magnificent in front of me and I didn’t know what to do! Cynthia took my hand and walked me eastwards to the Benchers’ pews, where she sat me beside her. The choir sang the same Mass that was sung at my wedding to John and our son, Rob sang with them. It was amazing! Then, as the coffin was ready to depart, Roger Fisher (of Chester Cathedral) let the Temple organ rip with some super Vierne; and, at that moment, the sun broke forth from the clouds and flooded the South windows with sunlight.

I feel sorry that so many people have visited The Temple and not seen its best glories.

Barristers are “essential workers”

In our last newsletter we highlighted the plight of many at the Bar and the challenges facing all those

involved in the administration of justice during the pandemic. It is good therefore to learn that barristers have been identified as “essential workers” by the Government, providing a vital public service to ensure the delivery of access to justice across the country. Although jury trials are resuming, with many courts still closed and others not operating at anything like full capacity, and a growing backlog of cases even with the Judiciary conducting remote hearings, there is a risk that access to justice, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable in society, will suffer.

Clerking teams and professional support staff are also affected by this terrible virus. The traditional chambers model and its distinct culture are facing many challenges, with some sets disappearing altogether as a result of financial pressures which the virus may have exacerbated, while others are consolidating or down-sizing and more remote working is being encouraged. These pressures will undoubtedly affect young barristers entering the profession who need space in chambers to work alongside more experienced practitioners for training and support in the early years of their career development.

Supporting Barristers

With most barristers being self-employed,

the financial impact of the coronavirus can be devastating for some. That is why we draw attention once again to the appeal, made jointly by the Inns of Court and the Barristers’ Benevolent Association (BBA), to help members of the Bar who have contracted the coronavirus and are unable to support themselves and their families. If you would like to find out about the BBA’s support, or how to make a contribution to their appeal, please click here.

The combined effect of these plans, if implemented as reported, could have a significant effect on the Cathedrals and larger Churches as well as places of worship in the Cities of London and Westminster. A number of those who attend our services at the Temple Church, especially on Sunday, travel by car, in some cases from some distance (including some members of the Choir). Many are invariably older people, living in retirement on limited incomes who depend on their cars to a significant extent to get about, especially in the winter months. A number of them may think twice about stumping up £15 to come to Church each time.

Others simply cannot rely on public transport (whether Overground, DLR or bus) to provide a reliable, regular service at the weekends not least because of the proliferation of weekend engineering works on the railways to say nothing of what seems like endless roadworks and diversions around the Temple.

We have been in touch with other Churches in the Deaneries of the City and Westminster through the Archdeacon of London, supported by Heidi Aiken MP and our local Ward Councillors, Gregory Jones QC and William Upton QC, to make representations to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple).

Keep us, good Lord,under the shadow of thy mercy.Sustain and support the anxious,be with those who care for the sick,and lift up all who are brought low;that we may find comfortknowing that nothing can separate us from thy lovein Christ our Lord. Amen.

Readers of the Temple: Molyneux Globes benefactor

Continuing his online research in the Inns’ archives, Mr Reader wanted to draw newsletter

readers’ attention to another of his predecessors, the Reverend William Crashaw who was appointed ‘Preacher’ in 1605 by Inner Temple. He was an eloquent speaker and a staunch Protestant, one of whose publications was entitled ‘Romish Forgeries and Falsifications’. He was also a member of the Virginia Company, a joint-stock enterprise set up by King James 1st to establish settlements on the east coast of America. In February 1609-10 Crashaw preached a rousing sermon, probably in the Temple Church, before Lord Delaware and other members of the company prior to their setting sail for Virginia. It is thought that Reader Crashaw gave a pair of what we know as the Molyneux Globes to the Benchers

of Middle Temple. Said to be among the Inn’s most valuable material possessions, these fine terrestrial globes can be seen in the gallery of the Inn’s Library. This benefaction is all the more remarkable when one learns that relations between the Reader and the Benchers of Middle Temple were often strained owing to their reluctance over several years to pay Crashaw’s stipend. He was married three times, his first wife being the mother of the poet, Richard Crashaw who, ironically in view of his upbringing, became a Roman Catholic.

Mark HatcherReader of the Temple

Robin Griffith-JonesMaster of the Temple

The Molyneux Globes

We know how much support the Mayor and local authority leaders give to faith and belief communities and the recognition of the important role churches and places of worship play in the civic life of our communities. The churches are calling for proper public consultation and impact assessment of the plans as well as consideration of appropriate exemptions from the charge for:

We will keep you updated.

• Key workers and emergency workers at this time

• Churches with Sunday and evening services, weddings, cultural activities, and social outreach projects that enhance the life of our city and address areas of social need

• Worshipping communities of other faiths with activities taking place in the zone

• Clarity on provision for those with access needs

Temple Music Foundation

As it is currently not possible for audiences to join us for

concerts in the Temple Church and Middle Temple Hall, the TMF have launched Temple Music at Home to bring world-class performances to our audiences while they are not able to be with us in person. Available through Facebook and Twitter and to TMF e-list members (sign up on TMF’s website at www.templemusic.org), Temple Music at Home has featured performances from Julius Drake, Gerald Finley, Grace Davidson, the Temple Church Choir, Choirmen Christopher Lowrey and Tom Guthrie and many more, with a line up of further exciting clips in the schedule for the coming months.

Thank you

Although the Church has been closed to the public our services continue thanks to the

unstinting work of the Temple Church team: Cath (Church Administrator), Elisabeth (Music Administrator), Matt (Verger), Roger (Director of Music) and Tom (Assistant Director of Music).

Our thanks also go to those of you who have been in touch over the past month with your comments. We want the Temple Church Newsletter to be as useful, interesting and stimulating as possible, and would like to hear your thoughts and suggestions for improvement. We welcome feedback. Please email Mark: reader@templechurch.com

Closing prayerSo, as we journey through this time, let us draw comfort in the knowledge and love of God, trusting that he is with us and loves us and holds us fast.