Dear St Mary’s, 

On 21st December – the Fourth Sunday of Advent – we will share Holy Communion at 9am followed by a 10.30am all-age carol service in which we will also share Holy Communion. At 9am, Revd Vanessa Conant will preside and preach, while at 10.30am, Revd Jacintha preside and lead. There will be no children’s groups at this week’s 10.30am service. 

Our lectionary readings this week are Matthew 1:18-end – a passage in which we learn more about Mary and Joseph and are told, ‘All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”)’ – and Isaiah 7:10-16, which says, ‘Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel’. 

For those who are unable to join us in person this Sunday, we will livestream our 9am service to Facebook. And then at 6pm, don’t miss Carols by Candlelight (doors at 5.30pm)! 

Last Newsletter for 2025 + Parish Office Closed from Monday 22nd December 
Please note that this is the final newsletter for 2025 – our next newsletter will be on Thursday 8th January 2026. Our Parish Office will also be closed from Monday 22nd December, reopening on 7th January 2026. If you have any urgent pastoral needs during the Christmas period, email Revd Vanessa Conant at .

10.30am Service Only on Sunday 28th December, Both Services on 4th January 
On 28th December, the First Sunday of Christmas, there will be a 10.30am Holy Communion service only, with no 9am Holy Communion service. Revd Vanessa Conant will preach and preside. On Sunday 4th January – Epiphany – Revd Tim Scott, will preside and preach, with Holy Communion at 9am and again at 10.30am along with a blessing of the Epiphany chalk. 

St Mary’s Cafe Closed from Monday 22nd December, Reopening 6th January 
Please note that St Mary’s Ruttle and Rowe cafe will be closed from Monday 22nd December and will reopen on 6th January 2026, Epiphany.  

Crochet & Knitting Group to Meet This Saturday, Return in Mid-January
Our drop-in crochet and knitting group, which meets on Saturdays from 10am-12pm in St Mary’s Exhibition Space, will meet for the final time this year on Saturday 20th December. The group will take a break after Christmas and will meet again on 17th January 2026. For more information, contact Revd Jacintha Danaswamy at . 

Carols by Candlelight this Sunday Evening at 6pm: Arrive Early to Get a Seat 
Join us for our second evening carol service in two weeks as we sing Carols by Candlelight. The service will feature St Mary’s Community Choir, led by our musical director Jonathan Rathbone. We will again open the doors at 5.30pm for a 6pm start, and while there is no booking required, please be aware that, like last week’s Orchestral Carols, this service is typically very well attended so please arrive early to ensure that you get a seat. 

St Luke’s Community to Host ‘Carols on the Market’ This Sunday at Noon 
The St Luke’s Community will sing ‘Carols on the Market’ on Sunday 21st December from Noon-1pm. They will set up at the top of Walthamstow High Street, near the library and the Farmers’ Market, and all are welcome to attend. 

Morning Prayer Schedule During the Week of Christmas and Beyond 
We will say Morning Prayer on Monday 22nd December, Tuesday 23rd December and Wednesday 24th December, with no Morning Prayer on Christmas Day. Morning Prayer will take a break after Christmas and return on Monday 5th January. Our typical pattern is that a member of our clergy team says Morning Prayer Monday-Thursday at 8.30am in our side chapel (which is also livestreamed to Facebook). You are always welcome to join us. 

Monday’s ‘Quiet Christmas’ Service for Neurodiverse Children: Booking Required 
Quiet Christmas is a special service for neurodiverse children and their families with sensory-friendly Christmas activities in a calm, peaceful environment. It will take place on Monday 22nd December at 2pm, but unlike our other Advent and Christmas services, it does require advance booking due to our need to keep the service small. You can book a free place here (places only need to be booked for children, not for parents or carers); you can also find a booking link by searching for the event at stmaryswalthamstow.org/calendar. 

Drop-in Activities for Children and Families in Christmas Week
In the week leading up to Christmas Day, we will have two drop-in activities for children and families: Messy Christmas on Monday 22nd December from 10am-11.30am, and Christingle-making on Tuesday 23rd December from 10am-11.30am. Messy Christmas is a relaxed and fun event for children and families featuring Christmas-themed crafts and storytelling – drop in for a half-hour or stay for the entire time – while Christingle-making will involve putting sticks of sweets and candles into our Christingle oranges in preparation for our three Christingle services (10.30am, 2pm and 4pm) on Christmas Eve. 

Carols at Whipps Cross on 23rd December at 5pm
We are pleased to join the Whipps Cross Interfaith Chaplaincy for carol-singing to staff and patients who are working or staying in hospital over Christmas. Together with friends from St Peter’s in the Forest, St Barnabas and Holy Trinity Leytonstone, we will try and bring some Christmas cheer to the wards. A group will walk from St Mary’s at 4.30pm or you can meet us at the Whipps Cross Chapel, 1st floor, Junction 5, at 5pm. Please email Revd Vanessa Conant at if you are interested in joining us. 

Free Meal in the Welcome Centre on Tuesday 23rd December 
Food Cycle is a charity which runs a community food project out of the Welcome Centre most Thursdays, inviting all to join them for a free evening meal; however, they will not be serving food next week, but we are so pleased that another group is coming into the Welcome Centre on Tuesday 23rd December, 5.30pm-8.30pm, offering free soup and freshly-baked bread alongside tea, coffee, mince pies and biscuits. All are welcome. 

Christmas Eve at St Mary’s: Three Christingle Services + Midnight Mass 
We will have three Christingle services for children and families on Christmas Eve: 10.30am (children 5 and under), 2pm (children 5 and under) and 4pm (children 5+). ‘Christingle’ is a service which tells the story of Jesus through the simple visual of an orange with a candle and sweets. The service will feature a short talk, carols, and the lighting of candles. We will also be raising money for The Children’s Society and will gratefully accept your donations as we look to support this important children’s charity. While there is no need to book, our Christingle services are very popular, so we would encourage you to arrive early if at all possible. We will also have a free buggy park at our Christingle services in order to keep the church as clear as possible. And then at 11.15pm, we will gather for Midnight Mass, with Holy Communion shared at midnight followed by a joyful celebration of Christmas Day. 

Christmas Day at St Mary’s: 10.30am Family Communion 
Join us for a joyful Christmas Day service at 10.30am at St Mary’s. This service is for all ages and will include Holy Communion, carol-singing and a Christmas reflection. 

Vespers Returns on Wednesday 7th January 2026 
Join us on Wednesday 7th January 2026 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 over eight 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.

Next ‘Discovering Christianity’ Book Group Starting in January 2026 
We are pleased to offer another opportunity to read and discuss Rowan Williams’ beautiful book ‘Discovering Christianity’ together. Beginning on the 15th January at 7.30pm and meeting over the following three Thursdays, we will explore this text which both introduces the Christian faith and allows lifelong Christians to deepen their understanding. These groups are also an excellent way to meet others at St Mary’s and are particularly recommended if you are new to the congregation. If you are interested in joining us in January, please sign up here or email . 

St Luke’s Community Prayer Morning on Saturday 17th January 2026
St Luke’s Community will meet at St Peter’s in the Forest on 17th January 2026, 10am -1pm, to pray and plan for 2026. All are welcome. 

Save the Date: Burns Night Community Ceilidh at St Mary’s on Friday 23rd January 
There will be more details in the new year, but please note that we will have a Burns Night Community Ceilidh at St Mary’s on Friday 23rd January 2026 featuring a live ceilidh band, and we’d love to have you join us. We had a great time last summer when the same ceilidh band that will be joining us in January helped us mark the end of our Summer Festival. 

St Mary’s Youth Group Returns on 25th January 2026 
Our youth group is now on a break but will return on Sunday 25th January 2026. For times and details, email Revd Jacintha Danaswamy at . 

Save the Date: Open Mic Worship on 12th February 2026 
After the success of our last Open Mic Worship evening, we are excited to announce our next event, planned for Thursday 12th February 2026. If you are interested in performing or would like to find out more, email . 

St Mary’s School Forms: Please Send All Forms to Josie in the Parish Office 
If you have recently joined St Mary’s because you are considering putting in an application for your child to attend St Mary’s School – welcome! We are delighted that you are exploring life at St Mary’s Church and pray you will find a place of belonging in our community. Please note that all school forms and enquiries must go via our Parish Office rather than handing forms to a member of our clergy team (please email our administrator Josie at to arrange signatures or to ask any questions). In general, school forms must completed in full before they are signed, including your level of church membership; please note that in order to select ‘at the heart of the church’ on your form, you must be able to demonstrate a long-standing commitment of at least two years to St Mary’s Church or to able to show a long-standing commitment to your previous church. 

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: Nationwide Customer? Encourage the Bank to Ban All Fossil Fuel Lending 
Christian climate charity Operation Noah along with the charity JustMoney Movement are encouraging Nationwide customers to contact their bank due to concerns over whether Nationwide is still refusing to fund planet-heating fossil fuels. The charities write, ‘Nationwide had previously been on our list of fossil fuel-free banks for the Big Bank Switch, the campaign we have been running to encourage Christians to switch to greener banks. However, Nationwide recently took over Virgin Money, meaning that it now has some indirect lending to the oil and gas industry. We have removed Nationwide from our list of green banks while we engage with them on the issue, and we are now encouraging Nationwide customers to write to the bank about their concerns. You can now contact Nationwide using this template message’. For more information on switching to a fossil-free bank, visit: justmoney.org.uk/the-big-bank-switch. 

Please pray this week for:

• The victims of the attack on the Jewish community in Australia, and for the safety of Jewish communities worldwide  
• Christian leaders in the UK and around the world to speak out against all forms of hate and bigotry, and that each of us would see Christ in those who are marginalised 
• All in Walthamstow and our borough who are lonely or struggling this Christmas and New Year: for comfort, peace and support 
• All who are unwell: for total healing and for the peace that passes all understanding
• The work of our Walthamstow Welcomes cafe, which meets in the Welcome Centre and helps people access much-needed support by assisting with difficult paperwork 
• The work of the Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter, giving thanks for the more than £1500 we raised in support of the charity at our Orchestral Carols service 
• Global conflicts, including in Ukraine, Gaza/Israel and Sudan: for a just peace
• Christ to be born again in us this Christmas – that we would be people who see the world as Jesus sees it and are transformed by his love 
• Anyone in our parish who is need of hope this Christmas 
• Our clergy team and the many lay leaders we have at St Mary’s, including our churchwardens and our various ministry leaders: for rest this Christmas 
• All who will enter our buildings this Advent and Christmas season: that they would experience God’s love at St Mary’s and would feel unconditionally welcomed
• All who are without a home this Christmas – that they would be supported – and for all who are serving meals or working at night shelters over the Christmas period 

Reflection: ‘Light a Candle’ 
Revd Tim Scott, Associate Priest at St Mary’s and Area Dean, Waltham Forest, writes: 

‘Better to light a candle than curse the darkness’ (attributed to Eleanor Rooselvelt and others)

Last Sunday evening in the Orchestral Carol service, we heard the reading from John 1: ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. 

And then later that evening, I watched accounts of Jewish Hanukkah celebrations, which included the lighting of candles and a determination to dance and sing despite the horrors of the anti-semitic attack on Bondi Beach in Australia. Gradually on Bondi Beach, more candles have been lit, and flowers laid. Amidst the darkness, the horror and the grief people have brought signs of hope, light and love.

There is something very tangible about lighting a candle or laying flowers – I can recall times when I have felt helpless, yet the lighting of a candle has at least been something I could do. But the lighting of a candle also invites us to reflect on things deep within the traditions and memory of faith communities and the story of God’s promise of hope whatever the circumstances. It invites us to focus on the possibility of hope, healing and reconciliation. 

There is a story of a prisoner in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. The prisoners were being systematically starved and one prisoner had kept a candle in a tin box. When his hunger became intolerable he would nibble at the candle to ease the pangs of hunger. One evening, the prisoners discovered it was Christmas and someone said: ’At Christmas candles are lit and bells rung’. The prisoner then took the candle and rather than nibbling at it, he lit it.  The prisoners then came and gathered around, and then one of the prisoners, a priest, said, ‘It is Christmas. The light shines in the darkness’, and someone else said, ‘and the darkness did not overcome it’. The story recounts that the prisoners felt uplifted and no longer hungry. The candle had fed them and made them all stronger. The lit candle was for those prisoners a living reality of light overcoming darkness,  a message of hope for that moment, penetrating despair and offering hope.  

The theologian Walter Brueggemann has said that ‘prophetic ministry seeks to penetrate the darkness so that new futures can be believed in and embraced’. I wonder if the lighting of candles is both a source of comfort and hope but also a prophetic witness. It leads us to continue to believe and embrace the possibility and promise of peace, reconciliation, hope and joy. The birth of Christ that we celebrate each Christmas was announced by the angels as ‘good news of great joy!’ May that truly be so for all of us, and may we light a candle rather than curse the darkness. 

I wish you a very blessed and joyful Christmas.

With my love and prayers,

Tim