The Friends gathered in St Mary Woolnoth last month for their harvest festival. This allowed those of us who live and work in the City to be reminded of the link between what we have on our plates and the labour of those on the land who with God’s help provide for our daily food. St Mary Woolnoth is the only City church designed by Nicholas Hawskmoor. The Rector reminded us that Hawksmoor’s inspiration for his churches was often taken from the Temple of Solomon in Old Testament times. Particularly in this church the architecture was modelled to reinforce this image of the Temple, albeit with protestant overtones. So the gates of the Temple were imitated in the twisting columns surrounding the altar. It was the practice of the Jewish people to bring the first offerings of the land to the Temple rather than celebrating the final garnering of crops as we were doing.

After the service we moved to take tea and cake in the neighbouring Church of St Edmund King and Martyr in Lombard Street. This church of 1670–74 is probably by Hooke, with a steeple perhaps by Hawksmoor but built under Christopher Wren’s supervision. It had twelve flaming urns in two tiers, which were removed in about 1900. This church is now The London Centre for Spirituality, encouraged in its formation by the Bishop of London, with a programme of events already planned for the rest of 2003 and well into 2004. It hopes to be a Christian resource for prayer, exploration, training and development to serve the wider metropolitan area. There will be spaces for public use including areas for exhibitions and a bookshop and library. Work on the church itself has yet to be completed. Funding for the necessary interior works has been secured but a further Ł850,000 is needed to restore the fabric of the building. We are delighted that it is hoped to replace the decorative urns on the spire. The Centre is a creative way to use one of our City churches, this one infrequently open to the public.

Friends of the City Churches, St Magnus the Martyr, Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6DN tel 020 7626 1555

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