Dear St Mary’s,

As the summer begins to draw to a close, we hope to see you at St Mary’s this Sunday, 1st September, as we celebrate Holy Communion at 9am and again at 10.30am with Revd Alan Moss leading and presiding and Revd Tim Scott preaching. At our 10.30am service, Revd Jacintha Danaswamy will lead our Blessing of the Backpacks as we invite children, young people and school staff to bring their school or work bags to church. 

This week is the last in our Summer Sundays exploring the Parables of Jesus, which means that supervised children’s groups will return next Sunday, 8th September. This Sunday, we will again have activity packs for children to work on during the 10.30am service. 

There will also be evening prayer in the church at 6pm led by St Luke’s. 

Blessing of the Backpacks on Sunday 1st September 
This Sunday, 1st September, we will bless backpacks at 10.30am, praying for those who are beginning a new term at school, college or university. We’re encouraging all children, young people, teachers and school staff to bring their school and work bags to church at 10.30am. 

Vespers Returns on Wednesday 4th September at 7.30pm 
Vespers is our Wednesday evening contemplative service – 40 minutes of poetry, stillness, prayer, reflection and music. It’s a beautiful candlelit space where many have gathered over eight years to explore contemplative prayer. Vespers meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7.30pm in St Mary’s, including this Wednesday 4th September, with Holy Communion celebrated after each gathering. We unfortunately had to cancel Vespers last month due to the threat of far-right violence in Walthamstow and are really looking forward to being together again – please join us for this special monthly gathering if you can.

Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe on Wednesday 4th September, 10am-Noon
Our Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe will return on Wednesday 4th September from 10am-Noon. It meets in the Welcome Centre on alternate Wednesdays and Saturdays and is a free service for anyone who needs help with confusing paperwork, accessing services or is in need of a conversation and a cup of tea. For more information on the cafe, or to see upcoming dates, please visit www.stmaryswalthamstow.org/WalthamstowWelcomes. 

Funeral for Janet Hyde to be Held at St Mary’s on 5th September 
In late June, we sadly learned of the death of Janet Hyde who was a longtime member of St Mary’s but had been unable to join us in person for some months due to mobility issues; Janet’s funeral has now been set for Thursday 5th September at 11am in St Mary’s Church with refreshments in the Welcome Centre after the service. All who knew Janet are warmly invited to attend the service which will be officiated by Revd Jacintha Danaswamy. 

Tickets Available for Revd Jacintha Danaswamy’s Priesting on 28th September 
Revd Jacintha Danaswamy, who was ordained a deacon last year, will be priested on Saturday 28th September at 10.30am at St Edward’s Romford, and will preside at St Mary’s on Sunday 29th September. A group from the Parish will travel to Romford to support Jacintha at her priesting. There are a limited number of free tickets to Jacintha’s ordination service; if you would like a ticket, email Jacintha at . 

Refugees at Home is Looking for New Hosts in London 
Refugees at Home is a UK charity that connects those who have a spare room with refugees and asylum-seekers in need of a temporary home. The charity works to ensure that those who seek sanctuary in the UK don’t end up on the streets, and members of our congregation have stepped up to host refugees in the past. The charity contacted us earlier this month to say that they urgently need new hosts in London, especially ones who live near good transport links. Refugees at Home carefully assesses each guest and host, matching both according to their preferences and providing advice and support throughout the process. Placement lengths can vary from a few nights to several months – hosts decide. For more information on the scheme or to apply to host a refugee, visit www.refugeesathome.org. 

EcoTip: Eat a More Plant-Based Diet 
To meet the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, the CCC – the UK’s independent climate advisory body – recommends that the country reduce its meat and dairy intake by 20% by 2030. As Silvia Pastorino, Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, writes, ‘Compared to plant-based (foods), animal products have significantly higher carbon emissions and land and water footprints. A shift towards plant-based diets, rich in fruit and vegetables, nuts and wholegrains, would also reduce the risk of mortality and chronic disease morbidity, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.’ While it may be impractical for many to go entirely vegan or vegetarian, could you, for example, reduce meat consumption by adopting ‘meat-free Mondays’ as some others have done? For more eco-friendly eating tips, visit www.wwf.org.uk/betterbasket. 

Please pray this week for: 

• Parents/ carers, children and school staff preparing for the new school term 
• Deeper connections and friendships among members of our congregation 
• People exploring faith at St Mary’s and across our Parish 
• The Holy Spirit to move among us as we seek to share Christ’s love with all
• All who are unwell in body, mind or spirit or who are anxiously awaiting test results 
• Young people entering the workforce or continuing their studies this autumn 
• Those who are struggling with the cost of living 
• Those in poor or unsuitable housing situations or who lack any housing
• Clergy and Church leaders across the Parish and around the country, especially our Parish clergy team: Tim, Alan, Jacintha, Andrew and Vanessa  
• Peacemaking across the UK after the far-right violence we saw earlier this summer 
• Protection of civilians in war zones around the world, and for a cessation of fighting 

Next week in the Welcome Centre and Church (2-7 September): 

Monday (2/9) 
No events in the Welcome Centre; to book a space, contact us at . 

Tuesday (3/9) 
No events in the Welcome Centre; to book a space, contact us at . 

Wednesday (4/9) 
Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe (help with confusing paperwork), 10am-Noon 
Hula Fit, 6.30-7.30pm 

Thursday (5/9) 
Baby Massage, 10.15am-12.45pm 

Friday (6/9) 
No events in the Welcome Centre; to book a space, contact us at . 

Saturday (7/9) in St Mary’s Churchyard 
Outdoor Monoprinting & Mindfulness, 10am and 2pm. Join artist Fiona Fouhy in the churchyard for a monoprinting workshop, connecting with nature and making prints using leaves and plants. This paid, ticketed event is suitable for adult beginners. To book, search ‘outdoor monoprinting & mindfulness Walthamstow’ at www.eventbrite.com or click here. 

Reflection: Storytelling 
Revd Alan Moss writes: 

It’s been a while since our last St Mary’s newsletter went out as we took a break over the school summer holidays. Lots of people have been away either visiting family or taking a well-deserved holiday abroad or to some other sunny part of the UK. Some haven’t been anywhere but rather sought out all that Waltham Forest has to offer for day trips and activities. There are many others for whom the school six-week holidays are just business as usual, and the rhythm of work and life hasn’t changed too much except that perhaps the commute to work has been a little quieter on occasion.

As someone without children, I usually fall into the ‘business as usual’ category. Life continues pretty much the same except I have a little more time for Warhammer painting. One thing that did keep me busy towards the middle of the break was a free community retro video gaming day at St Mary’s full of old-school gaming consoles with a little modern twist in the mix. What I love about these gaming days is watching as parents bring their children to share in the experience of their own youth and getting to hear their stories of growing up. I often heard people telling stories about their childhoods and the lessons they learned about patience that only a 70’s and 80’s retro console can teach us.

I love real life personal storytelling because it opens up a part of our imagination that creates a bond with others through shared experiences. Over the summer weeks at St Mary’s Sunday services, we have been thinking about some of the parables that Jesus used to reveal the deep mysteries of heaven and life in general. What I love about Jesus’ use of parables is that so often they drew on the shared experiences of everyday people and used themes that everyone could relate to in order to heal deeper cultural wounds of division. But most of all, Jesus’ parables made room for other people to share their own stories and find common ground even with their enemies.

A retro gaming day isn’t the same as a parable, but it is a way to create communal space for strangers to share stories and memories that can bridge the cultural gaps between us. And sometimes that’s all we need, a little space for mutual storytelling. When the schools go back and the nation returns to ‘business as usual’, hopefully we will all have a few more stories to tell each other and a few more precious memories will have been created. Because that’s what life is, a series of stories we live out and share with others. And these stories can be our greatest tool for sharing not only our lives with others but also the love of Jesus Christ which brings communities together. I wonder how often we make space for storytelling, and by that I mean making space to listen to other people’s stories as well as sharing our own? Maybe that can be our goal as we enter the next season…to make space.

Today, as I write this reflection, our Tesco delivery turned up mid-sentence. As I lifted the first crate, the driver spotted my tattoos and complimented the art on my arms. He also had some ink himself, so I responded in kind and this led to us both sharing a little of our life stories with each other. I told him about some of the gospel stories on my arm and he told me about his journey. Two strangers stood on a doorstep sharing a common love and building bridges. Our stories are what make us unique, but they are also what make us a part of the community. Jesus taught us the depths of heaven using them – imagine what we will learn when we share God’s story in our lives with others.