Celebrating 890 years of faith on 15th February 2026, All Saints Church Edmonton held a beautiful Solemn Evensong. Mother Roxane’s welcoming words gathered everyone into a shared fellowship, reaching past the church doors to embrace the entire Edmonton community and beyond
Even on a cold and wet day, and despite the heating system failing, the powerful organ and the beautiful choir filled the space, while the voices of the congregation brought life and warmth to the ancient fabric of the building.
The long and layered history of this church since its founding in 1136 reminds us that these stones and bricks have witnessed centuries of prayer, thanksgiving and lament, and have offered sanctuary to countless people.
Mthr Roxane, the vicar of Edmonton said:
For 890 years, All Saints has stood as a testimony to the love of Jesus Christ—a sacred sanctuary for prayer and the presence of God. Our worship charts the history of Edmonton and its people across the centuries. Today, we are a church that truly reflects our parish, welcoming all languages, ethnicities, and faiths. We strive daily to ensure this legacy continues for centuries to come
Ms. Ayaka Takaki, the architect who is caring for the building said:
From an architect’s perspective, it was a profound reminder that the building itself has continually served as a vessel for faith, shelter and belonging from one generation to the next.
As we look ahead to the coming decade, and towards the milestone of the 900th anniversary, we know that continued support will be essential to address the fundamental repair needs of the church. With the care and commitment of the wider community, we need to repair the roofs, secure the stones and bricks, restore broken windows, mend fallen plaster and safeguard this remarkable building for future generations. This is both our shared responsibility and our enduring mission.
Here is the homily preached at the service by Bishop Anderson:
Grace and peace to you all in the name of Jesus Christ.
Friends, we gather today in this church that has breathed the prayers of this community for nearly a millennium. To celebrate 890 years is not merely to admire old stones or dusty pews; but it is to recognize that we are part of a living, breathing lineage of faith that began in 1136 and continues through us today.
If you were to imagine Edmonton in 1136, I am sure it was very different to today, a rural landscape, far removed from the bustle of London. When Geoffrey de Mandeville, Lord of the Manor, endowed this church to Walden Abbey, he wasn’t just signing a legal document. He was planting a seed. Church planting of a different kind.
In the historical fragments, be it by the south door now resting in West wall or the stone arches, we catch glimpses of our ancestors in faith, a silent witness to those who first crossed the threshold to seek God’s mercy.
We hear it in the name of William the Priest (c. 1190), a man who stood where I and Mthr Roxane stand, perhaps worrying about the same human struggles we face today.
One thing we need to understand is that a church that does not change becomes a museum; a church that stays alive is a home. From the history books we see that All Saints has never been static. Over the centuries, I think each generation looked at these walls and asked: “How can this space better serve the people of Edmonton?”
In the First Letter of Peter, we are told:
“Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.” (1 Peter 2:5)
The physical history of All Saints—the Norman fragments, the medieval flint, the Georgian brick—mirrors our spiritual lives. We are all “fragments” of different eras, different backgrounds, and different stories. Yet, when we come together in this place, we are “encased” in the love of God, held together by a foundation that has stood for 890 years.
In the epistle to Romans (12:2-13), Paul challenges us to be a people of “holy non-conformity.” This isn’t a call to be rebellious for the sake of it, but to undergo a radical change of the mind—to stop looking at the world through the lens of status and competition and start seeing it through the eyes of Christ. In this new vision, the “pattern of the world” which demands we climb over one another is replaced by the Body of Christ, where the greatest among us is the one who serves.
Whether your gift is teaching, giving, or simply showing mercy with a cheerful heart, Paul reminds us that we belong to one another. As Jesus says in the gospel our faith is not a private possession but a public action; it is found in the “sincere love” that honours others above ourselves (Matthew 22:35-39).
Think of the “pattern of this world” in 1136—a world of feudal lords and rigid hierarchies. Yet, in this very spot, a different pattern was established: the pattern of the Body of Christ.
For nearly nine centuries, this church has been a place where the “Lord of the Manor” and the humble labourer were called to the same altar, reminded that they “belonged to all the others.
As we celebrate this incredible anniversary, we don’t just look back at 1136. We look forward to the years ahead. We are the “Living Stones” of the 21st century. What “fragments” of faith will we leave for the people of Edmonton in the year 2136?
Let us honour the countless unnamed parishioners who kept these lamps lit through plagues, wars, and social upheavals. We are the keepers of the flame.
Let us be a people who “practice hospitality” and “share with the Lord’s people who are in need,” ensuring that All Saints remains not just a monument to the past, but a beacon of Love in Action for the future of Edmonton. Amen.