Dear St Mary’s, 

On 1st November – All Saints Sunday – we will celebrate Holy Communion at 9am and again at 10.30am, with Revd Jacintha Danaswamy presiding and Rob Duddridge, our reader (lay minister), preaching. Because many of our children’s volunteers are away for the half term school break, there will be no children’s groups this Sunday, but we will have activity bags for children to work on in the service and a Baby Lounge for parents to use as needed.

Our readings this Sunday are Deuteronomy 15:7-11 and Acts 2:42-47.  

This Sunday is the final week of our four-part series reflecting on resilient spirituality and helpful Christian practices in a time of ecological, geopolitical and technological change; this week, we will focus on the early church, reflecting on the ways in which the first Christians learned together, and shared with one another, all while living in a frightening, chaotic world. 

Vespers Returns on 4th November 
Join us on Wednesday 4th November 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.

No Newsletter on 5th November
Over this two-week half term, some members of our church staff will be taking annual leave. This means there will be no church newsletter on Thursday 5th November. However, our newsletter will return the following week, on Thursday 12th November. 

St Mary’s to Host Booker Prize-Winning Author Marlon James on 6th November 
St Mary’s is partnering with the Leyton-based independent bookshop Phlox Books to host Jamaican writer Marlon James – James is a former winner of the Man Booker Prize and is shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize – on Friday 6th November at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10 and there are still some seats available. St Mary’s will also run a bar on the night, with all proceeds from bar sales going to the church. Also, if you are able to help us set up chairs at 4pm, after the cafe closes on 6th November, please email us at . Purchase tickets here.

Remembrance Sunday Services 
On 8th November – Remembrance Sunday – we will celebrate Holy Communion at 9am with a service of Morning Worship to follow at 10.30am. Revd Ola Franklin will lead and Ian Drury will preach, with an Act of Remembrance at both services. We hope you can join us. 

Family Lunch + Singing on Sunday 8th November
On Sunday 8th November after our 10.30am Service, we will have a family and children’s lunch. Pack up your Sunday lunch or grab your favourite sandwiches as we eat together in the church at noon. And after lunch, our worship band will lead us in some intergenerational action songs! It will be a lovely time of friendship, food and worship. For more details, email or .

Embers Worship Service on Sunday 8th November at 6pm 
Join us for an hour of sung worship on Sunday 8th November at 6pm. ‘Embers’ is our semi-regular Sunday evening gathering led by a team of musicians and singers.

‘Refugees at Home’ Webinar on 10th November
Our friends at the charity Refugees at Home have been in touch about a webinar on Tuesday 10th November, 6-7pm, which coincides with Interfaith Week and will celebrate the role that faith communities play in welcoming refugees – something that members of our congregation have done in the past. Refugees at Home writes: ‘We’ll celebrate the positive impact of opening our homes and building connections across different cultures, faiths and experiences. You will hear first-hand from Rachel, a host of more than ten years, and have the opportunity to ask questions about what hosting is really like.’ To register for the 10th November webinar, click here or email Phoebe Green at . 

Board Game Evening in Church on 21st November
Join us at 7:30pm on Saturday 21st November in the church for a board game evening for adults. Around fifteen games will be provided but feel free to bring your favourites. Drinks and nibbles will be available from our bar, but also feel free to bring your own. This is a great chance to socialise and get to know people at St Mary’s who you may not have had the chance to speak to before. For details, email Matt Begg . 

Contributing to St Mary’s Christmas Festival
St Mary’s Christmas Festival is happening on Saturday 28th November, 10am-5pm, and we could use your help. Are you able to donate a prize, make a cake, or volunteer on the day? If so, please email Louise Wallis at . The festival – which includes a craft market in the church and a Children’s Zone with Santa’s Grotto in the Welcome Centre – is a great opportunity for us to welcome the local community into our buildings, raise funds for St Mary’s, and invite people to our Advent and Christmas services. 

Advent Book Group: ‘Sabbath as Resistance’ by Walter Brueggeman 
Every Advent we take time to reflect and study a book together and starting on Thursday 26th November at 7.30pm, and for the following three Thursdays, you are warmly invited to join us as we study the book, ‘Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now’ by the theologian Walter Brueggemann. In this powerful book, Brueggemann speaks to a society of consumption in which we are encouraged to want more, own more and use more. Keeping the Sabbath allows us to break this restless cycle and focus on what is truly important. Together, we will think a little more about what it means to live a more fulfilling, simpler life amidst the consumerism of the Christmas season. Register here or email or for more details. 

Admission to Communion on Sunday 31st January 2027  
Throughout the year, there are a number of services during which we welcome children to receive Holy Communion for the first time, and our next one will be on Sunday 31st January 2027 at 10.30am. Your child must be over 8 and baptised in order to take this next step of faith. There is also a compulsory preparation session. If your child would be interested in exploring this, please email Revd Vanessa Conant at or Revd Jacintha Danaswamy at . 

Volunteer with Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter on Saturday Evenings 
St Mary’s is one of founding members of the Forest Churches’ Emergency Night Shelter (FCENS) and every year when the shelter re-opens there is an opportunity for members of our church to volunteer. The shelter particularly needs cooks as well as volunteers to serve food, provide conversation and welcome guests at the St Mary’s-hosted sessions which happen at the FCENS location on Forest Road in Walthamstow every Saturday, 6.30-8.30pm. Volunteers are also needed on Thursday evenings. For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Corinna Creasy at or at 07957228019. 

Notice About School Forms: 1st December Deadline and Attendance Requirements
If you have recently started attending services at St Mary’s with the intention of putting in a school form to St Mary’s CofE Primary – our church school – welcome! Please be aware that school forms must be handed into our Parish Office by 1st December 2026 if at all possible. 

School forms should not be handed to a member of the clergy on a Sunday morning but should instead be given or emailed to our administrator, Josie Wilson, during the week; Josie will then have your school form signed by a clergy member. Once your form has been signed, Josie will then contact you to come and pick up your signed form. Please note that selecting ‘at the heart of the church’ on your form reflects a longstanding commitment to our worshipping community and will need to be confirmed by a member of our clergy team. 

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. 

EcoTip: Upcoming Screenings of the ‘People’s Emergency Briefing’ in Walthamstow
If you have yet to attend a screening of the solutions-focused ‘People’s Emergency Briefing’, presented by Chris Packham and featuring a range of experts on climate, nature, energy, agriculture and national security, there are two opportunities to see the film locally in November. The Epping Forest Heritage Trust will screen the film at 1.45pm on Saturday 14th November at Forest School, Oakhurst Gardens, E17 3PY. To reserve a free ticket, click here or visit eventbrite.co.uk and search ‘People’s Emergency Briefing Walthamstow’. There is also another screening of the film at Big Penny Social near Blackhorse Road on Wednesday 18th November at 6.45pm – get tickets for that screening here or by searching eventbrite. 

Please pray this week for:

• The victims of the deadly train crash in Spain and for all who have been impacted 
• All in our parish who are unwell in body, mind or spirit, praying especially for those in hospital, undergoing treatment, awaiting test results, worried, or in need of help 
• All impacted by war now or in the past, remembering those lost to armed conflict, those who have served in the military and those working to foster peace 
• Elections around the world, and for the upcoming American election 
• The UK government to reject the planet-heating Rosebank oil field 
• All in our parish and borough who are under financial pressure and struggling 
• Christians/ saints who have gone before us – that their witness, faith and example would continue to inspire us, and for all who mourn their absence  

Reflection: ‘Neighbouring is the Real Prepping’ 
Revd Vanessa Conant, Rector, St Mary’s and the Parish of Walthamstow, writes: 

This week, the speculation that has been circulating for some time became a formal government announcement: each household should consider having a small stockpile of food, water, batteries, a radio and basic medical or healthcare necessities in case of emergencies. In this way, our communities, the advice says, are more resilient to crises that may arise, be they related to extreme weather, cyber attacks or state-sponsored terrorism. 

Research shows that people have largely heeded this advice, with huge increases in solar and wind up radio orders and changes to the types of food which people are buying. 

All of this feels strange and alarming – even with the frequent reassurance that this is just good advice and would be wise at any time. The reminders of shadowy threats to safety and security feel disorientating and unnerving. 

In these times, I notice some temptations. I notice a temptation to fear and anxiety. I notice how strangely, bleakly reassuring it can be to add some tins of beans to a cupboard in my garage and watch a collection of water bottles grow. And I notice a temptation to hoard: Will it only be three days? How much will my family really need? What if I don’t have enough? 

But if I can slow down my primal instincts, if I can attend to the Holy Spirit at work in me, I am able to notice other things too. I hear the cries and concerns of those who are not in a position to stockpile – those whose income and circumstances make getting through a normal day or week already close to impossible. I can hear the fear and the sorrow of those for whom safety and security looks like a luxury. 

And I can hear the call of Jesus Christ to live differently and to love my neighbour as I love myself – to be neighbour-orientated and so to re-imagine the gathering of items as a communal act of love, not as an individual, cowering person, who is terrified of scarcity. 

In our last weeks at church, we have been thinking about what it means to be followers of Jesus in times of turbulence and uncertainty and have been reflecting on the inner spiritual and emotional resilience that is required of us for such a time as this. 

Elizabeth Oldfield, whose writing has helped frame my thinking, says: ‘The unlovely temptation that often kicks in in times of instability is to hoard. To clench our possessions to our bosom as if they could keep us safe. Generosity is the antidote. We are made to be each other’s safety and neighbouring is the real prepping. So share something. Your space, your stuff, a meal, your inner life. Let down the walls, open your doors. Don’t listen to the lie of isolation.’ 

On Sunday 1st November, we will reflect on what it means to be a people who learn and share, with one of our texts being Acts 2: 42-47. Here, the early church, in a precarious and perilous position, but empowered by the Holy Spirit, began to build a new life. And the features of that new life, the signs of the Spirit, were not only signs and wonders, but generosity and communal living – provision for one another, particularly for those in need. 

I wonder how we might bring an Acts 2 approach to the government guidance. What does communal preparation look like? If there are many who have no way of building up stockpiles, how will we ensure that everyone is cared for? When large scale trouble comes – if it comes – how will we be a source of hope and support and help for all in need? 

Following Jesus has always meant choosing to live out of a sense of abundance, not scarcity – choosing to live out of love, not fear, and to lay down our lives for others. These moments, troubling though they are, are opportunities for us to grow in faith, to draw closer to Christ and to inhabit our calling to follow in the generous, merciful, hopeful way of Jesus. 

I pray you will join us this Sunday, as we think about these things together, as well as next week, Remembrance Sunday, as we remember the sacrifices and severe impacts of war and conflict. I pray we will work this out together. I pray for God’s blessing and his help. 

With love 

Vanessa