Dear St Mary’s, 

On 18th May – the Fourth Sunday After Easter in the season of Eastertide – we’ll share Holy Communion at 9am and again at 10.30am with Revd Vanessa Conant leading and presiding and our churchwarden Natalie Burwell preaching. There will be supervised children’s groups at 10.30am, with a Baby Lounge in the South Vestry at both services. For those unable to join us in person, we’ll livestream our 9am service to Facebook (facebook.com/StMarysE17). 

Our lectionary readings for this week are Acts 11:1-18 – a passage in which Peter hears a voice from heaven saying, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean’ – and John 13:31-35, where Jesus says, ‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.’ We hope to see you this Sunday at St Mary’s! 

St Mary’s Churchyard and Volunteers Featured on ITV 
It was brilliant to see our Head Gardener Tim Hewitt and some of St Mary’s Churchyard volunteers, including David Keane, feature in this week’s episode of ‘Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club’ (ITV). In the episode, presenter Errol Reuben Fernandes helps St Mary’s volunteers plant a microforest in the churchyard. The segment also includes beautiful shots of our churchyard alongside moving interviews. Watch the episode here or visit itv.com and search for the programme. St Mary’s segment comes at the end of Episode 10, Season 2. 

Outdoor Art Workshops for Children and Adults This Saturday, 17th May 
As part of this Saturday’s 17th May ‘Rooted in Community’ gardening day at St Mary’s, there will be two outdoor art workshops for children and adults with advance booking encouraged. There will be a Willow Weaving Workshop with artist Angela Baker where you can weave your own willow butterfly or crown (Times: 11:15-12:00, 12:15-13:00, 13:15-14:00). The workshop is suitable for adults and children aged 6+; tickets are £12.50 per person. And there will also be a Newt Workshop with artist Fiona Fouhy in which you can learn about newts and make your own newt from recycled materials. Fiona’s workshop is suitable for adults and children aged 10+ (Under 14s must be accompanied); tickets are £10 per person. Book workshop tickets and learn more at stmaryswalthamstow.org/RootedInCommunity. 

‘Ground Level’ Gardening Event at St Mary’s on 20th May  
Be inspired by some of the UK’s foremost wildlife gardeners at ‘Ground Level’ – a ticketed 20th May event at St Mary’s featuring talks by TV presenters Kate Bradbury and Errol Reuben Fernandes, with everything you need to know to garden better for wildlife. Wherever your plot is – balcony, ground or pot – you can help biodiversity. The 6.30pm talks will be followed by a panel discussion with gardener and writer Susanna Grant and Wild City Studio’s Jon Davis and Steve Williams, all chaired by our head gardener Tim Hewitt with a Q&A to follow. There will also be a paid bar and a chance to tour St Mary’s Churchyard. Tickets are £13.70 and available here or by searching ‘Ground Level’ at eventbrite.co.uk.

Funeral for Desmond Wade on Wednesday 21st May at 11am 
All are welcome to join us at St Mary’s on Wednesday 21st May at 11am for the funeral of Desmond Wade. Desmond was a much-loved member of our 9am congregation. Please pray for Desmond’s wife, Heather, and for his son, Marlon, at this time. The family has asked that any donations given in memory of Desmond be made to St Mary’s Church. You can make a one-time donation to St Mary’s via our website: stmaryswalthamstow.org/donate.  

Ascension Day on 29th May at 7.30am 
St Mary’s will mark Ascension Day at 7.30am on Thursday 29th May – an early morning service which will also include Holy Communion. Join us as we celebrate this significant day in the Church calendar. Due to the service, there will be no Morning Prayer on 29th May. 

Vestry Sessions Returns on 29th May with Jazz Trio Playing Lerner & Loewe 
A jazz trio will play some of the biggest hits from Jay Lerner and Frederich Loewe – the duo behind the music of ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Brigadoon’ – on Thursday 29th May with doors at 7.30pm for an 8pm start. Vestry Sessions are thematic, one-hour shows held regularly at St Mary’s with a short intermission and a card-only bar. For tickets, click here, or visit wegottickets.com and search ‘Vestry Sessions’. 

Matthew Lloyd Architects Win RIBA London Award for St Mary’s Renovation 
Congratulations to our friends at Matthew Lloyd Architects for winning the prestigious RIBA London award for their sensitive renovation of our ancient church building, with the jury finding the renovated St Mary’s ‘warm, bright, uplifting and full of life’. We want to particularly acknowledge the work of architect Alex Spicer who worked closely with us for years on the project, which was generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Read the article on St Mary’s here or visit architecture.com and search ‘RIBA London Awards 2025’. 

Lost Property: Collect it Before it’s Gone! 
We keep lost property in the Parish Office, however, we are doing a clear out next week and are asking anyone who may have left something behind in the church to collect their item before we rehome or recycle it! The largest item we are currently holding is a children’s scooter; we also have children’s water bottles, lunch boxes and more. Visit our Parish Office by Tuesday 20th May to collect any items you may have lost; if you’re unable to stop in during the day, email our administrator Josie at . 

EcoTip: Book Now for ‘Gentle Craftivism’ Event on Saturday 7th June 
Our Eco Church team will host award-winning activist and maker Sarah Corbett in the St Mary’s Welcome Centre on Saturday 7th June. Sarah will give a free talk (recommended £3 donation) from 10am-11am about her ‘Gentle Protest’ methodology which combines neuroscience, positive psychology, campaign strategy and beautiful handicrafts. After her talk, Sarah will lead a two-hour ticketed workshop (£20 per person) from 11.30am-1.30pm inviting participants to practice gentle craftivism under her supervision. To book tickets to either event, click here, or visit stmaryswalthamstow.org/Craftivism.

Please pray this week for:

• Pope Leo XIV, for his ministry and leadership at this crucial time 
• The Church of England as it looks to appoint a new Archbishop of Canterbury 
• The many global conflicts and for all who are impacted by war 
• The people of Gaza – for their safety and for an immediate end to the blocking of aid 
• Immigrant communities and refugees in the UK and around the world 
• Many more people to come to know the love of Christ this Eastertide 
• All who visit our church, churchyard or church hall, that they would feel welcomed 
• People in the UK struggling to make ends meet: for help, hope and policy changes 
• Those who work with children or young people in a professional or volunteer capacity 
• Anyone who is unwell in body, mind or spirit, and for those who care for them
• Those who feel hopeless, lonely or isolated: for connection, hope and healing 
• Clergy, staff and lay leaders at St Mary’s and around our Parish: for encouragement 

Next Week in St Mary’s Church and Welcome Centre (19th-24th May)

Monday 19th May
Morning Prayer, St Mary’s Church, 8.30am 
Daphne & Friends (baby and child loss community), Welcome Centre, 10-11am 
Waltham Forest Community Choir, Welcome Centre, 7.30-9.30pm 

Tuesday 20th May
Morning Prayer, St Mary’s Church, 8.30am 
Funeral, St Mary’s Church, 9.30am
Ground Level Gardening Event, St Mary’s Church, 6.30pm 
HulaFit, Welcome Centre, 6.30pm 
Tai Chi, Welcome Centre, 7.30pm 

Wednesday 21st May    
Morning Prayer, St Mary’s Church, 8.30am 
Funeral for Desmond Wade, St Mary’s Church, 11am
Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe (free help with confusing paperwork), Welcome Centre, 10am-Noon (stmaryswalthamstow.org/WalthamstowWelcomes) 
Ninja School, Welcome Centre, 4-7pm 

Thursday 22nd May  
Morning Prayer, St Mary’s Church, 8.30am 
Baby Massage, Welcome Centre, 10.30am
FoodCycle (free community meal), Welcome Centre, 6.30pm 
Singing Room, Welcome Centre, 7.30pm 
Discovering Christianity, St Mary’s Church, 7.30pm 

Friday 23rd May    
Sing and Sign, Welcome Centre, 10am 
Ninja School, Welcome Centre, 6pm

Saturday 24th May 
Crochet and Knitting Group, St Mary’s Church, 10am-Noon 
Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe (free help with confusing paperwork), Welcome Centre, 10am-Noon (stmaryswalthamstow.org/WalthamstowWelcomes) 

Reflection: ‘Plant Something Else’ 
Revd Vanessa Conant writes: 

I was so proud to see St Mary’s Churchyards on ITV this week – and even prouder of Tim Hewitt, our Head Gardener, and the people who make the place so beautiful, peaceful and soothing. I was touched by the stories of comfort in grief, friendship, community and healing which emerged through the programme. I am immensely thankful to have Tim and the team tenderly caring for ‘God’s acre’ (as churchyards are sometimes known), and though an appalling gardener myself, I am always trying to learn and absorb the lessons of responsible, environmentally-sensitive and creative management of the land. 

Not featured in the programme was the Vinegar Alley churchyard, a large, much wilder expanse which, at certain points in the year, becomes awash with cow parsley – its delicate white sprays serving as a haven for bees and other insects. Every year, there is also a moment where Tim and his team manage the cow parsley to prevent it from overtaking, overrunning and dominating the churchyard. Sometimes even a good thing can become overwhelming and even damaging. Tim always says, however, that no amount of strimming or digging can really control this plant; what you have to do is plant something else. 

There are many gardening metaphors in Scripture, not least because many of the first audiences were subsistence farmers for whom those images would resonate profoundly. In John 15, Jesus describes God as the gardener who tends to the vine, pruning and cutting to bear fruit. 

There is much that is helpful in this imagery – scriptural and horticultural –  and much which can help us in our spiritual life. When I think about what is difficult or oppressive, those things that cause anxiety or distress, whether in my life or the life of the world, I often realise that they cannot be managed by attempting to simply dig them out and eradicate them. 

Violent and divisive political rhetoric cannot be cut off or shut down, for example. It simply grows more, like cow parsley, and becomes wild and overwhelming. Similarly, in our personal lives, intrusive, anxious thoughts or patterns of thinking cannot be stopped by simply not thinking about them – or at least, I’ve yet to meet someone who was able to successfully do that. Instead, we have to find ways to plant something else, something which can flourish and grow around it and begin to reduce the dominance of the unwanted thought, culture or discourse. 

In the letter to the Philippians, St Paul writes to a congregation to encourage them in the midst of persecution and suffering. As he closes his letter he says, ‘Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.’

In effect, Paul is exhorting the church to plant something else. In the midst of fear, or pain or terror, they are to plant joy. Only in this way can they recognise the peace of God amongst the hardship. 

So I think it is with us. Even something as simple as humming some words of liturgy through the day, or the all-age song that’s become an ear-worm, can sometimes draw our hearts and minds away from anxiety and towards the reassuring presence of God. Reading Scripture, joining in morning prayer, finding even the shortest moment of stillness, can gently steer us away from despair and towards a new hope. Likewise, acting for justice or showing mercy, speaking and showing love to those who are marginalised  – all of this offers something different, in our hearts and minds and in the world, countering hatred with love. 

I hope you will have the chance (if you haven’t already) to spend time in the churchyard, to be comforted, soothed and delighted by the space. And I hope, if you catch sight of the cow parsley, you will be reminded by the Holy Spirit of the gifts and possibilities of planting something else.