Dear St Mary’s, 

On 3rd May, the Fifth Sunday of Easter, we will share Holy Communion at 9am and again at 10.30am with Revd Jacintha Danaswamy presiding, Revd Vanessa Conant preaching, with supervised children’s groups at 10.30am and a Baby Lounge at both services. 

Our lectionary readings this Sunday are Acts 7:55-end and John 14:1-14 – a moving passage in which Jesus, conversing with his disciples, says, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’ 

This Sunday, we will also take a moment to share more about opportunities to serve on our sacristan team, which helps set up for Holy Communion and performs other liturgical duties. For those unable to join us this Sunday, we’ll livestream the 9am service to Facebook.  

Blood Donation at St Mary’s on Friday: Play Area Closed, Cafe Seating Moved 
We’re looking forward to welcoming the NHS to St Mary’s this Friday 1st May as they again use the church for blood donations. Our Play Area will be closed but our Ruttle & Rowe cafe will be open, with service through the outdoor hatch and seating in the Exhibition Space. 

No Morning Prayer + Cafe and Play Area Closed on Monday 4th May  
On the early May Bank Holiday – Monday 4th May – there will be no Morning Prayer. St Mary’s Ruttle & Rowe Cafe, as well as our Play Area, will also be closed on 4th May.  

Next Vespers Gathering on Wednesday 6th May 
Join us on Wednesday 6th May at 7.30pm for our monthly Vespers gathering – 40 minutes of stillness with Holy Communion celebrated afterwards in the side chapel. Vespers is held on the first Wednesday of every month – a beautiful candlelit space in our ancient building where many have gathered for 10 years to practise contemplative prayer, explore faith or simply sit in silence. Whether you’re looking to deepen your prayer life or just need a quiet place to sit, please come along to Vespers; it would be wonderful to have you. 

Voting at St Mary’s on Thursday 7th May; Cafe Open for Hatch Service 
St Mary’s Church will be used as a polling station for the local elections on Thursday 7th May, which means our Play Area will be closed; however, our Ruttle & Rowe cafe will be open on 7th May, with outdoor seating-only and service through the outdoor hatch. 

Play Area and Ruttle & Rowe Cafe Closed on Friday 8th May 
St Mary’s Play Area and Ruttle & Rowe Cafe will be closed all day on Friday 8th May due to a wedding in the church. We apologise for any inconvenience. 

Annual Report Released in Advance of Annual Meeting 
In advance of our 10th May Annual Meeting, we have released our Annual Report which is a summary of nearly everything that happened in our church and parish over the past year. You can read it here or by visiting stmaryswalthamstow.org/annualreport2026. 

10th May Annual Meeting 
Annually our parish meets to review the year, give thanks and to pray. At our annual meeting, we also recognise the service and leadership of members of our churches, discuss our annual accounts, elect parishioners to serve, and talk about future plans. Our 2026 annual meeting is on Sunday 10th May, 3pm to 4.30pm in St Mary’s, during which time lay leaders, including members of our PCC (our parish trustee board), are elected. All are welcome, but you need to be a member of the Electoral Roll in order to vote. 

Ascension Day Holy Communion at St Mary’s on 14th May 
On Ascension Day – Thursday 14th May – we will share Holy Communion at 7.30am, with free coffee and pastries to follow. The service on 14th May will take the place of our 8.30am service of Morning Prayer, which we usually say Monday-Thursday in St Mary’s side chapel. 

‘Rooted in Community’ Gardening Day on 30th May 
Join us for the 2026 ‘Rooted in Community’ gardening event on Saturday 30th May, 11am to 2pm, held in and around St Mary’s Churchyard, with our Ruttle & Rowe cafe open as well. The day will include plant stalls, churchyard tours, a history tour, art workshops and more. Head gardener Tim Hewitt will lead two free tours of the churchyard, bookable on the day, at 11.15am and 12.30pm. For more details, including how to book either of the paid nature-inspired art workshops, visit stmaryswalthamstow.org/rootedincommunity. 

New Postpartum Fitness Class Class in Welcome Centre 
There is a new postpartum fitness class for ‘Mums and Bubs’ on Wednesdays at 12.30pm designed for mums and their babies, focussing on strength and mobility, with all levels and abilities welcome. For more on this class, visit @rubytutt_fitness on Instagram. 

Giving Monthly to St Mary’s 
Your financial support is crucial as we work to keep St Mary’s ancient building open to the whole community throughout the week, to support Walthamstow and to share the love of Christ with all. Your donations make this possible as we receive no direct, ongoing support for the day-to-day running of St Mary’s from the Church of England or from the government. Monthly giving is particularly transformative as it allows us to plan, budget, and even expand our work in the community. If you would like to become a monthly giver, we would encourage you to sign up via the Parish Giving Scheme which you can find here or by going to stmaryswalthamstow.org/donate and clicking on the Parish Giving Scheme link. 

Safeguarding 
St Mary’s takes safeguarding seriously and works hard to ensure that our church is a safe place for everyone. If you see anything that concerns you at St Mary’s, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Safeguarding Officer Emma Clements at . You can also contact the Diocese of Chelmsford at or Waltham Forest Council at 020 8496 2310. 

EcoTip: Climate Films at St Mary’s in June 
In late June, join us at St Mary’s for a thought-provoking weekend of climate films. We’ll start with the People’s Emergency Briefing on Thursday 25th June at 7pm – a film featuring contributions from Chris Packham, Deborah Meaden and leading scientific, energy and national security experts. Tickets are available by making a donation of your choice. And then on Saturday 27th June at 7pm, join us for Power Station by Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn, with tickets available for £6 each. This documentary follows the attempts by Hilary and Dan to turn their Walthamstow street into an energy-generating collection of solar-powered Power Stations. The film will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers. To book tickets to either film, visit stmaryswalthamstow.org/climatefilms. 

Please pray this week for:

• All who are unwell in any way, praying especially for those receiving treatment 
• All places of global conflict, including Ukraine, Mali, Gaza, Sudan, Iran and Lebanon 
• The upcoming elections in Waltham Forest and around the country 
• Those working for peace both locally and around the world 
• Anyone in our parish struggling with loneliness or isolation: for connection 
• The group of around 50 countries discussing a plan for fully phasing out fossil fuels 
• The recent meeting between Archbishop Sarah and Pope Leo in Rome – for Christian unity and ongoing Catholic-Anglican dialogue and partnership 
• Those in our parish mourning the loss of a loved one or a broken relationship 
• Challenges with our parish buildings: for a clear way forward 
• Anyone in our parish who is struggling financially: for help, hope and support 
• The movement of the Holy Spirit among us as we approach Pentecost 
• More people in our parish and community to know the love of Christ this Eastertide 

Reflection: ‘Hope Takes Courage’ 
Revd Tim Scott, Associate Priest at St Mary’s and Area Dean, Waltham Forest, writes: 

‘Optimism is the belief that things will get better. Hope is the faith that, together, we can make things better. Optimism is a passive virtue, hope an active one. It takes no courage to be an optimist, but it takes a great deal of courage to have hope.’ 

–Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference 

The message of Easter – that death is not the end, that there is life after death, that we are held in this world and in the next within the eternal love of God – is transformative and provides a framework for living which enables us to imagine a life in which all flourish here and beyond death. And yet the days after Easter can be difficult. 

We may be full of hope and yet faced with a reality that things seem not to have changed. I heard someone point out the seeming irony in the Gospel passage for this coming Sunday, a passage which begins with Jesus’ words, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled’, and ends with, ‘If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it’. Words of comfort, but also troubling words, for it often seems as if our cries for healing, peace and justice go unheard.

I find Jonathan Sacks’ reflection helpful because it reminds me that in order to proclaim the Easter hope, I have to do something as well as proclaim something. 

Maybe sometimes my prayers of longing require me to take a step of reaching out to others, thus becoming part of God’s healing work in the world through care, compassion and building community. I’m also reminded that whilst each of us has our own individual responsibilities to respond to the way that God is calling us, this is not simply an individual enterprise, and the way that we work courageously together, across difference, for the common good, is central to our proclamation of hope, healing and reconciliation. 

Last week, some of the readings for Morning Prayer talked about being strong and courageous. As I reflect on a world which seems increasingly fragile – where there is a great deal of fear, and where fragmentation seems only to increase – we need to act with boldness and courage as well as wisdom. To discern such wisdom and to discover what we can do together, we need to dialogue with each other – and sometimes with those who may hold different views to ourselves. In so doing we can challenge injustice and proclaim that, in working together, we can make things better. This is hope lived out. 

We are to be fully immersed in all of life’s beauty, pain and complexity whilst also modelling the way of Jesus, taking time to be with God in prayer as we seek refreshment, discernment and renewal. I also like to imagine Jesus with friends, resting, relaxing and laughing. 

I pray that together we may continue to be people of the Resurrection – people of hope who believe that together we can, in the power of the Risen Christ, play our part in making things better. And let us notice, rejoice and give thanks for the moments where we glimpse a new and hope-filled future.

With my love and prayers,

Tim