Each Sunday five separate sermons are delivered at Westminster Abbey or St Margaret's. The Abbey's clergy and guest preachers address current theological issues, religion and world events, and the interpretation of biblical texts.
2009
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6 January 2009 A Common Word 1
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky,
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6 January 2009 The Feast of the Epiphany
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster,
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2 February 2009 Matins Sermon: Jeremiah
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon Treasurer
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8 February 2009 Matins Sermon: Jeremiah
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon Treasurer
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15 February 2009 Matins Sermon: Abraham Lincoln
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon Treasurer
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22 February 2009 Matins Sermon: Establishment
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon Treasurer
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25 February 2009 The Dean of Westminster’s Ash Wednesday sermon 2009
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
The Dean, in his Ash Wednesday sermon, said that, through the Lenten fast, the Christian is enabled to keep the body down so that the soul may flourish. Human beings tend to be self-obsessed. It is only by God’s love that they can be freed from self to love and praise God: the true human calling.
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31 March 2009 Sermon for the Memorial Service for Victorian Bushfire victims
The Right Reverend George Browning, former Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn
The Right Reverend George Browning's sermon given at the Memorial Service for the victims of the Australian Bushfires at Westminster Abbey on 31 March at 6.30 pm.
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5 April 2009 Matins: Palm Sunday 2009 sermon
The Reverend Professor Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon of Westminster
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10 April 2009 Good Friday sermon 2009 Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In his sermon in the Chapel Royal on Good Friday 2009 “lust for power” and the “rampant ego” were identified by the Dean of Westminster as the human reasons why most of his disciples as well as the authorities and the people, turned against Jesus, whose suffering on the cross destroyed human power.
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12 April 2009 Easter Day sermon 2009
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In his Easter 2009 sermon in Westminster Abbey, the Dean spoke of the contrast between the solemnity of Holy Week and the joy of Easter, between the reality of suffering and the joy of new life. Christians, he said, need to live and work on both sides of the contrast.
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6 May 2009 NAFAS 50th anniversary festival Address
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
The Dean of Westminster gave the address at a service to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies. The beauty of God’ creation was celebrated and the need for humanity to act as stewards not despoilers of the creation. Such an approach could be recovered through giving priority to the worship of God.
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12 May 2009 A Service to mark the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of Combat Stress: Sermon
The Right Reverend David Conner, Dean of Windsor and Bishop to Her Majesty's Forces
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13 May 2009 A Service to Commemorate the Life of Florence Nightingale: Sermon
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In a sermon addressed to 2,000 nurses and health professionals in Westminster Abbey on Florence Nightingale’s anniversary, the Dean argued that spirituality was fundamental to health care and to healing, that it was advanced by chaplains and should be embedded in the training of health professionals. He argued for spiritual leadership in the health service.
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24 May 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 24 May
The Reverend Robert Wright, Canon in Residence
In this sermon for Easter 7 Canon Robert Wright, the Sub-Dean & Speaker’s Chaplain, explores through a prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero, the importance of recognising that in everything we do we can only make small, but significant, contributions to the Kingdom of God.
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24 May 2009 Sermon at Eucharist on Sunday 24 May
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon of Westminster
Jesus’ prayer for his followers ‘that they may be one’ inspired the ecumenical movement in the last century, but what might it mean for today’s church? Divisions are often as much within the same communion as between churches. How can we live creatively with that diversity?
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31 May 2009 Pentecost Sunday 2009 Sermon
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In his Pentecost Sunday sermon in Westminster Abbey, the Dean contrasted the confused and misleading spirit of the age with the authority and truth that comes from the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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7 June 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 7 June
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence
A journalist recently said that the noise of the argument between the new atheists and their opponents is drowning out a more interesting engagement between those on the fringe of belief. This looks at an earlier example of that, Moral Objections in the 1963 book Objections to Christian Belief.
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21 June 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 21 June
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence
Are there psychological objections to being a Christian? This sermon examines that question in the context of a lecture on the subject given in the 1960s.
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28 June 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 28 June
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence
How does historical uncertainty affect a believer? The question is examined in the context of a lecture from 1963.
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29 June 2009 St Peter the Apostle sermon 2009
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In his sermon on Westminster Abbey’s patronal festival and on the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s coronation in the Abbey, the Dean of Westminster argued for the Anglican understanding of the place of lay people in the exercise of authority in the Church.
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5 July 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 5 July
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon of Westminster
The last in the sermon series on ‘Objections to Christian Belief’ a series of lectures given in 1963. This examines the need for a ‘new natural theology’ under the heading ‘intellectual objections.
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5 July 2009 Sermon at Evensong Sunday 5 July
The Reverend Dr Richard Major, Mylapore, India
WE DO NOT LIVE TO OURSELVES, AND WE DO NOT DIE TO OURSELVES: a sermon praught in Westminster Abbey at 3.00 pm Choral Evensong on Trinity IV by the Rev’d Dr Richard Major.
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12 July 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 12 July
The Reverend Dr Jane Hedges, Canon in Residence
Canon Hedges explores how Anglicans have remained within the Catholic tradition of the Church by retaining the three-fold ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. The ministry of deacons in particular is then discussed, looking at how it inspires and encourages the whole church to a ministry of service.
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12 July 2009 Choristers Valediction Evensong sermon 2009
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
At the end of the choir term, The Dean of Westminster spoke of the central importance of worship in the Abbey and of the role of music in lifting us all into the heavenly spheres.
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19 July 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 19 July
The Reverend Dr Jane Hedges, Canon in Residence
In this sermon Canon Hedges explores briefly the history of the priesthood looking at the links between the Old & New Testament understanding of priesthood and the calling of priests as outlined in the Church of England Ordinal. She ends by looking at the priesthood of all believers and at how the whole Christian community is called to be a channel of God’s love, offering the world to God in prayer and receiving from him through the sacraments.
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19 July 2009 Sermon at Sung Eucharist on Sunday 19 July
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon of Westminster
Being a Christian is as much about how you live as what you believe.
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26 July 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 26 July
The Reverend Dr Jane Hedges, Canon in Residence
In this the third sermon in a series on the threefold order of ministry of bishops, priests and deacons, a practice which has kept the Anglican Church within the Catholic Tradition, Canon Hedges explores the function of bishops and also addresses the question of how the Church of England can move forward to include women within the episcopate while caring for those who are opposed to this move.
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2 August 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 2 August: Caritas in Veritate 1
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon Theologian
This is the first in a series of five sermons responding to ’Caritas in Veritate’, the third Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, which is on ‘integral human development in charity and truth’. This sermon looks at Benedict’s first three Encyclicals as a coherent unfolding of a Christian vision, focusing on various aspects of love.
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9 August 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 9 August: Caritas in Veritate 2
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon Theologian
This is the second in a series of five sermons responding to Caritas in Veritate, the third Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, which is on ‘integral human development in charity and truth’. This sermon looks at the debt Benedict owes to Populorum Progressio (1967) and discusses experience of development in the last forty years.
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16 August 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 16 August: Caritas in Veritate 3
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon in Residence
This is the third in a series of five sermons responding to Caritas in Veritate, the third Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, which is on ‘integral human development in charity and truth’. This sermon looks at the theme of ‘gift’ in the Encyclical.
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16 August 2009 Sermon at Sung Eucharist on Sunday 16 August
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon of Westminster
A reflection on the meaning of the Eucharist as expressed in John Chapter 6.
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23 August 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 23 August: Caritas in Veritate 4
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon in Residence
This is the fourth in a series of five sermons responding to Caritas in Veritate, the third Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, which is on ‘integral human development in charity and truth’. This sermon looks at the theme of ‘truth’ and ‘the moral law’ in the Encyclical.
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30 August 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 30 August: Caritas in Veritate 5
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon in Residence
This is the last in a series of five sermons responding to Caritas in Veritate, the third Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, which is on ‘integral human development in charity and truth’. This sermon looks at the theme of ‘the common good’.
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6 September 2009 Sermon at Sung Eucharist on Sunday 6 September
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In a Sunday sermon on the healing of the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter in St Mark’s Gospel, the Dean of Westminster explored the question of the authority of scripture and how the bible should best be read.
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16 September 2009 A Service to Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Churches Conservation Trust: Address
The Very Reverend Victor Stock, Dean of Guildford
In his sermon, the Dean of Guildford gives thanks to God for all Trustees of the Churches Conservation Trust, the communities and campaigners who have fought against the odds to save the church they love from decay, vandalism and threats of demolition and for the thousands of volunteers who keep alive the rumour of God.
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1 October 2009 Judges Service Thursday 1 October: Sermon
Reverend Dr Jane Hedges, Canon of Westminster
In this sermon for the opening of the Legal year Canon Hedges draws upon passages from 1 Kings 3:16-18 and John 8:2-11 to explore the virtues of justice, mercy and truth.
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4 October 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 4 October
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence
An examination of some of the ethical issues surrounding the end of life.
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11 October 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 11 October
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence
Continuing the theme of ethical medical issues this looks at the issues surrounding contraception.
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13 October 2009 Sermon on the Feast of the Translation of St Edward the Confessor
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
Preaching on the 740th anniversary of the relics of St Edward the Confessor being enshrined behind the Abbey’s high altar, the Dean of Westminster spoke of the saint’s remains uniting Christians and pointing us to heaven.
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17 October 2009 Sermon at Festival Eucharist on the Octave of the Translation of St Edward the Confessor
The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop of London
In his sermon the Bishop of London celebrates St Edward the Confessor's life and holiness on the day of the national pilgrimage to his shrine.
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18 October 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 18 October: Feast of Dedication
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence
An exploration of the role of the Abbey on its Feast of Dedication.
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18 October 2009 Sermon on the Abbey’s Dedication Festival: Sunday 18 October
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
On the Abbey’s dedication festival, the Dean identified the ultimate purpose of the Abbey as to give greater glory to God. That test must be applied to the Abbey’s daily life and work and to any proposed changes.
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25 October 2009 Sermon at Matins on Sunday 25 October
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon in Residence
An investigation of some of the issues arising from the debate about abortion
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25 October 2009 Sermon given at Evensong attended by members of The Normandy Veterans’ Association
Revd. Canon Professor Martyn Percy, Principal, Ripon College Cuddesdon & the Oxford Ministry Course
In his sermon on the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Campaign, Canon Professor Martyn Percy remembers and gives thanks to all those who negotiated their way through the bocage and beaches of Normandy.
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2 November 2009 Sermon given at Sung Eucharist on All Soul's Day: Monday 2 November
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In his All Souls’ Day sermon, the Dean faces the inevitable truth that we shall all die and asks us to be prepared for our own death.
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11 November 2009 Sermon given at the Service to mark the Passing of the World War One Generation
The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr RowanWilliams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan
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15 November 2009 Sermon given at Sung Eucharist on Sunday 15 November
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon of Westminster
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17 November 2009 Sermon given at the Service to Dedicate a Memorial to the Founders of the Royal Ballet
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
The Dean said that the gift of artistic creativity reflects the creativity of God; the gift is to be used but to enlarge the souls of others and for the glory of God.
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29 November 2009 Sermon given at Sung Eucharist on the First Sunday of Advent: Sunday 29 November 2009
The Reverend Robert Reiss, Canon of Westminster
What Advent might mean for today
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6 December 2009 Sermon given at Matins on the Second Sunday of Advent: Sunday 6 December 2009
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon in Residence
In his sermon Canon Sagovsky reflects on the passage Isaiah 64:1-7 and our coming to God when we pray
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6 December 2009 Sermon given at Sung Eucharist on the Second Sunday of Advent: Sunday 6 December 2009
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
The Dean said that Advent is a time of preparation to work with God in building the future, not a time for optimism or pessimism but a time of confident hope.
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13 December 2009 Sermon given at Matins on the Third Sunday of Advent: Sunday 13 December 2009
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon in Residence
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20 December 2009 Sermon given at Matins on the Fourth Sunday of Advent: Sunday 20 December 2009
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon in Residence
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24 December 2009 Sermon given at the Christmas midnight service: Thursday 24 December 2009
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In his sermon in Westminster Abbey at the Christmas midnight service, the Dean of Westminster said that Christmas shows us that God in Christ can transform our weak and selfish human nature through union with his to make us like Christ.
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25 December 2009 Sermon given at Sung Eucharist on Christmas day 2009
The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
In his Christmas Day sermon, the Dean of Westminster said the Incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ shows that love is God’s motive in Creation.
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27 December 2009 Sermon given at Matins on Sunday 27 December 2009
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon in Residence