Dear St Mary’s,

On 30th August – the last of our Summer Sundays – we will share Holy Communion at 9am and again at 10.30am, with Revd Vanessa Conant presiding and preaching. 

This is our final week looking specifically at the Sermon on the Mount, and this Sunday we will explore Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 7:13-29 on how to be a true disciple. There will be no supervised children’s groups at 10.30am, but we will have activity packs for children to work on as well as a Baby Lounge in the South Vestry for parents/ carers to use as needed. 

This week at 10.30am, we will also be blessing backpacks and school bags as children prepare to return to school. All children – even teachers and school staff – are encouraged to bring their school bags to church to be blessed as we pray for the new school year.

We hope to see you this Sunday at St Mary’s! 

Cafe and Play Area Closed on Bank Holiday Monday and on Tuesday 1st September 
Please note that St Mary’s Ruttle & Rowe cafe, as well as our Play Area for babies and toddlers, will be closed on Bank Holiday Monday (31st August) and also on Tuesday 1st September to allow our cleaning contractors to do a deep clean of the entire church.  

Vespers Returns on Wednesday 2nd September 
Join us on Wednesday 2nd September at 7.30pm for our monthly Vespers gathering – 40 minutes of stillness with Holy Communion celebrated afterwards in the side chapel. With the exception of our recent summer break in August, 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. 

Children’s Groups at St Mary’s: Classes and Registration
On Sunday 6th September, our 10.30am supervised children’s groups will return after taking a summer break. If you haven’t done so before, please register your child via our online registration form to help us make checking children in as safe and easy as possible. You can register your child here or via stmaryswalthamstow.org/childrenandyouth. If your child is starting in Year 1 this September, they will be joining the older group which meets in the smaller Welcome Centre lounge and is accessible via the ramp and side door to the Welcome Centre. Our children’s leaders will be there and ready to make children welcome. Please also note that, due to limitations on space, parents are not able to stay in the older group but are encouraged to join us for the service and return for collection at the end. 

Embers Returns on Sunday 6th September at 6pm 
Embers is our semi-regular evening service – an hour of sung worship led by our brilliant team of musicians and singers. The service, which will begin at 6pm, offers a beautiful space for prayer and worship and we warmly invite you to join us on 6th September. 

‘Discovering Christianity’ Book Group Begins 10th September 
If you are considering being confirmed this autumn, are preparing for baptism, or would simply like to explore the Christian faith, we would love to have you join us as we read and discuss the book ‘Discovering Christianity: A Guide for the Curious’ by Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. We will meet over four consecutive Thursdays in church from 10th September at 7.30pm. To register for the ‘Discovering Christianity’ book group, sign up here; you can also find the link on our website (stmaryswalthamstow.org) by clicking on the ‘Learning Community’ or ‘Calendar’ tabs. For more information on being confirmed on 4th October at 3pm, email Revd Vanessa Conant at . 

Confirmation Service with Bishop Guli on 4th October 
Confirmation is a special service in which a person confirms the promises that were made when they were baptised, and there will be a confirmation service on 4th October at St Andrew’s Leytonstone at 3pm with Bishop Guli. If you were baptised at a christening when you were a child, your parents and godparents made promises on your behalf; however, at a confirmation service, you make these promises for yourself in front of your friends and family as well as before the local Christian community which promises to support and pray for you. If you are interested in being confirmed on 4th October – or simply interested in exploring confirmation – speak to Revd Vanessa Conant or email . 

Women’s Interfaith Network Food and Friendship event on Thursday 16th September 
St Mary’s is delighted to welcome the Women’s Interfaith Network (WIN) as they host a Food and Friendship meal on Wednesday 16th September from 6-9pm in the church. Drop in or stay to swap stories and make new local connections in our ‘story café’ session. The Women’s Interfaith Network believes that sharing food breaks down the barriers and helps us find common ground. Learn about the network more here or at www.wominet.org.uk. 

Vestry Sessions Presents Dramatised Work of Dylan Thomas on 18th September
The Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’ is a celebration of language, people and place. Adapted for the stage by director David Abramsky, this version – which will be performed at St Mary’s on Friday 18th September at 8pm (doors at 7.30pm) – reimagines this dream about a long-remembered homeland as a parable of what it means to be a migrant, refugee or anyone who ends up far from where they started. As part of this special evening, Vestry Sessions are partnering with Waltham Forest Migrant Action to promote the charity’s important work. Expect beautiful language, charismatic performance, live music and a chance to connect with one of the classics of British literature. You can purchase tickets here or by visiting wegottickets.com and searching ‘Vestry Sessions’. 

Thank You from the Residents of 75 Shernhall Street 
On 12th July, a fire tore through part of our parish and scores of people had to be temporarily evacuated from their homes. We were able to open St Mary’s up to the whole community that evening, and in the days that followed, we set up an online donation page which ultimately raised about £30,000 – money which was evenly split between the two families who lost everything. The following is a letter from the residents of 75 Shernhall Street – the structure which once housed the two families: 

‘During last (month’s) fire, our homes were taken from us. For one of us, we’ve been a member of this wonderful community for many years. Two of us had only moved in two weeks before the fire. What followed was an outpouring of support and charity that has been truly overwhelming. From the moment the fire started, neighbours and strangers were there to help – evacuating us from the house, offering places to stay, dropping off clothing. Firstly, we’d like to thank the first responders in the police and the fire brigade, thanks to whom there were no casualties. We’d like to thank our wonderful neighbours. In particular, Emily and Cecilia, Esme and Roz, Danni, Jacintha, Vanessa and the team at St Mary’s for their kindness in the first few hours after the fire, donating clothing and other essentials.’ 

‘We have also been welcomed with open arms by small businesses in Walthamstow and beyond, in particular the teams at Big Penny Social, Wilde, the Hoxton, Word Store, the Good Egg, Wood Street Walls, Forest Eco Cleaners, Optical World, The Pet Vet Waltham Forest, and fundraising support from Arvo and East of Eden. We’re overwhelmed by the generosity of the fundraisers set up to support us, including by our incredibly thoughtful work colleagues. The generosity that was shown to us in our time of need has truly shown us the best of people, and this note is a small token of our gratitude which we’ll never be able to express in full. We simply couldn’t have managed without Stella and Jess from the MP’s Office, or our family and friends. We’re feeling very lucky and grateful in many ways, during a particularly vulnerable time, because of the support network we’ve had around us.’ 

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: Call on MPs to Attend Next Week’s Debate on Biodiversity & National Security
On Thursday 3rd September, MPs will debate the suppressed Joint Intelligence Committee report ‘Global Biodiversity Loss, Ecosystem Collapse and National Security’ – a report which has yet to be fully released to the public. The Climate Coalition, The Climate Majority Project, Zero Hour, and the team at the National Emergency Briefing that produced the film with Chris Packham which we showed at St Mary’s in June, are asking everyone to email their MP and ensure that they attend this vital debate, and for MPs to call on the government to release the report, written by MI5 and MI6, in full. Charities are also calling on the government to release the suppressed 2024 Defra Futures food security report, which warns of the risk of ‘catastrophic failure of UK food systems by 2030’ without urgent action. You can email our local MP Stella Creasy at . 

Please pray this week for:

• Children, parents, carers, teachers and school staff as schools prepare to return, as well as for young people who recently received their GCSE and A Level results 
• All those considering baptism, confirmation or exploring faith at St Mary’s
• All of the children and parents we met for the first time through our free summer activities which we put on for the whole community this week at St Mary’s 
• Those in our church and parish who are suffering ill health, praying specifically for those undergoing treatment, in hospital or awaiting results: for hope and healing 
• Our new prime minister and all who have been elected to serve the public, including our local Councillors: that they would serve in the interest of the Common Good 
• The government to stop the Rosebank oil field and all new North Sea oil and gas developments which are inconsistent with maintaining a safe, stable climate 
• British farmers and all who have had their livelihoods negatively impacted by this year’s extreme heat, as well as for those who have lost homes in the recent wildfires 
• The residents of 75 Shernhall as they rebuild their lives after the Walthamstow fire 
• All who are affected by war and violence globally, including the people of Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, the West Bank and Iran – for a just peace and an end to the violence 
• All attempts to bring people together across difference, find solutions to the problems we face, and resist attempts by extremist political actors to divide and distract 
• The Church to advocate for all who are persecuted and marginalised and to speak up on behalf of the Common Good, praying for our clergy team at St Mary’s as well as for our bishops Lynne and Guli; Archbishops Sarah and Stephen; and Pope Leo 
• Better regulation of AI, social media and Big Tech in order to protect the public 

Reflection: ‘Anger and Courage’ 
Revd Vanessa Conant, Rector of St Mary’s and the Parish of Walthamstow, writes: 

When I was a child, my family would sometimes borrow a friend’s static caravan in Dunwich in Suffolk and spend a couple of happy summer weeks playing ping pong in the games room of the campsite or climbing down the crumbling cliffs to the beach below. Some of my happiest memories are of taking our dog for long rambles across Dunwich Heath, a wild and beautiful landscape of purple heather and vibrant yellow gorse. 

This summer, in the endless blistering heat, a fire broke out and burned the Heath for six days. It is, as someone from the National Trust described it, ‘scarred beyond recognition’. Satellite images show an expanse of grey ash where colour once burst from every corner. 

In Scotland this summer, friends were evacuated from their Cairngorms village – a fire perilously close to their home, threatening all that they owned and had worked to build. 

Visiting family in America in July, we found ourselves landing in Michigan amidst the yellow haze of wildfire smoke from Canada, choking our lungs and stinging our eyes. For two days, we were advised not to go outside but to take shelter from the toxic air as best we could. 

This summer has felt bewildering, frightening and revelatory. All of us have had to reckon with the desert-brown dust of our parks and gardens, the disappearing rivers and lakes, the relentless heat and the fear such tinderbox conditions created. 

Our news feeds are full of sobering analysis and dire warnings and it can be hard to know how to respond. With terror? With denial? With despair? 

I have thought a great deal this summer about what it means to be a person of faith in a collapsing world. When the things that were normative and predictable begin to unravel – and when things become more unstable, more volatile – what does it mean to say we are followers of Jesus? What difference does that make? 

Over the coming months, I hope that we will think deeply about these questions, have time to talk about them, ask what it might mean for us as a church and as a community. But for now, I find myself returning to the quote (sometimes wrongly attributed to St Augustine): 

‘Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.’

Christian faith gives us a framework for an anger borne of love, an anger which refuses to accept the destruction of the created world, to accept the insatiable greed of the fossil fuel industry and their enablers, and to accept the disproportionate suffering of nations bearing the brunt of a climate emergency they did not cause. This is anger which means we do not give up, we do not despair, and that we work and pray and act together. 

And following Jesus strengthens us to find the courage needed for the change required. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, God is able to work in us, doing immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. To walk in the way of Jesus is to follow a cruciform path, one that prepares us for sacrifice and generosity, love and mercy – one which helps us to learn the truth of what it means to lay down our lives and which shows us that perfect love casts out all fear. 

This hope comes not to us in one handy dose; it is the fruit of rooting ourselves in worship and prayer, in loving community, in service of the other. Hope comes to us as the renewing of strength, the guiding of our steps, the comfort of communion. 

Experts say it may take decades for Dunwich Heath to fully recover. 

Its devastation is a deep sorrow and a powerful call to act quickly and decisively to protect our precious habitats and to adapt to a changing world. 

Amidst the losses, however, a flicker of healing, a glimpse of redemption. This week, a local birdwatcher spotted a rare Dartford Warbler on the Heath and together with it, muntjac deer and butterflies and reptiles. 

Perhaps this is what Christian hope feels like in these strange and perilous times – like a rare bird singing amidst the ashes, like the reminder of purple heather and yellow gorse in a charcoal landscape, like the imagination of a redeemed and renewed world, like resurrection.

I pray we might learn afresh to root ourselves in deep faith; I pray we might be alive with anger and courage; and I pray that we are filled with divine hope.