Vicar's News - 2 November 2025

Fr Ian
23 minutes ago
4 min read

You can see our 10am service on-line by clicking this link

All Saints Day

All Saints Day, is the feast day observing the lives of the many saints for whom there is no specific feast day during the year. This is usually followed by All Souls Day, a day of prayer for, and remembrance of, all the faithful departed, relatives, friends and strangers who are no longer living. This year we have transferred All Souls Day to Saturday week where we will hold a special service for the faithful departed prior to the Sat@6 service.

If you would like someone remembered on All Souls Day, with their name read out, there are forms to record their name at the back of the church at each service this weekend, or email office@standrewsbrighton.org.au and we will add the name to the list.

Music on Sunday

Lay Clerk Choral Eucharist (Choir md-term break)

Prelude: Jesus, meine Zuversicht BWV 728 (Jesus, my redeemer, lives)

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Hymns: Processional For all the Saints

Gradual Dear Lord and Father of mankind

Thanksgiving Now we come, our heavenly Father

Post Communion Jerusalem the golden

Setting: Parish Eucharist – Michael Dudman (1938-1994)

Psalm: 149 RSCM

Anthem: A simple Song (from Mass) – Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Motet: Father in Heaven – Camille Saint–Saëns (1835-1921)

Postlude: Prelude to a ‘Te Deum’ – Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)

8am service location

Pioneer or Lady Chapel?

Last Sunday the 8am service returned to the Pioneer Chapel but it was a very cold morning. A suggestion was raised that perhaps this service should remain in the Lady Chapel on Sundays. This affords that congregation with both heating and cooling. This Sunday it will return to the Lady Chapel and a survey will be held to see what location is preferred.

If you missed it last Saturday, then you missed something special. A stunning and intimate performance by Saralouise Owens, accompanied by Kathleen Loh. 13 pieces interspersed with an account of the life of opera diva Anna Bishop who visited Australia 3 times. Catch this show if it comes again.

The Greening Project

A draft Master Plan for the upgrading of the church surrounds, including the installation of water retention tanks and irrigation, were put on display at last week's services and remain on display in the Narthex. The Churchwardens welcome any feedback - by email me on vicar@standrewsbrighton.org.au or ask after any of our services.

Click on the images below to enlarge.

Parking

The Churchwardens are concerned about the number of people with no connection to St Andrew's who are parking in our car park and on the grass at the front of the church. As we move towards the implementation of The Greening Project with security entrance and exit bollards, the current parking arrangements are changing. The car park and church site are to become a tow away area for unauthorised vehicles. Those who currently use the car park will be warned by letter, of the need to display a parking permit attached to the windscreen.

These permits will be available to all current parishioners and café employees. We will begin distribution of the permits from next weekend at each service when we will collect name, phone number, vehicle make, colour and rego number for the car to which the permit is to be attached. They are not transferrable.

After a period of grace, tow-away signs will be installed and tow facilities will be activated against vehicles not displaying the Parking Permit sticker.

Parish Annual Meeting

This year's meeting is on Saturday 22 November 2025 in the church at 10am.

This was decided at a Parish Council meeting in September and two month's notice was given in the Vicar's News of 21 September - where it was suggested that parishioners note that date in their diaries. I have been asked for a more fulsome explanation of why it is not on a Sunday after the 10am service, and so please read below:

1. We are obliged to hold the Parish Annual Meeting by 30 November 2025.

2. Those parishes who need to have their financial statements audited usually hold their meeting on one of the last 2 weekends in November in order to allow sufficient time for the audit to be completed.

3. The documentation must then be signed by the Churchwardens and returned to the auditor for signing.

4. Once signed, the financial statements are added to the Annual Report, which in turn, has to be distributed 7 days before the meeting.

5. Ideally the meeting would be on either Sunday 23 or 30 November after the 10 am service as this is the service with the most attendees, who hopefully might stay on for the meeting. This year there are several other things happening on those Sundays which makes changing the day unavoidable.

6. 30 November is both Advent Sunday and St Andrew's Day. During the 10am service we have a baptism, and a visit from the choir of Brighton Primary School who will be singing during the service. After the service we plan to have our Patronal Festival lunch before the clergy are obliged to attend the installation of the new Archbishop of Melbourne at 4pm.

7. On 23 November there is a wedding in the church for which set-up arrangements commence at 11.30am. The Parish Hall is being used that day for a long choir rehearsal in preparation for Christmas. That rehearsal has already been rescheduled from another date.

8. As a consequence of these prior arrangements, Parish Council opted for Saturday 22nd, noting that to have held it on a weekday evening would have been less popular than a Saturday morning.

Next year we will keep Sunday 22 November 2026 free so that the Parish Annual Meeting can be held on that day.