Dear St Mary’s,

On 8th February, the Second Sunday Before Lent, we will share Holy Communion at 9am followed by a Morning Worship service at 10.30am which will include children’s groups. 

As part of our commitment to being an Inclusive Church, both of our services this Sunday will spend time reflecting on how our church welcomes everyone, particularly thinking about disabled people and the gifts of divine imperfection. 

We are excited to welcome Dr Naomi Lawson Jacobs, a social researcher and co-author of, ‘At the Gates: Disability, Justice and the Churches’, as our guest preacher; Revd Vanessa Conant will lead at both services. And for those unable to join us in person, we will livestream our 9am service to Facebook. We hope to see you this Sunday at St Mary’s! 

Recent Break-Ins and Attempted Break-Ins at St Mary’s 
St Mary’s Church has been broken into or vandalised on four occasions since Christmas, with numerous windows smashed – this despite the recent installation of CCTV cameras. If you see any suspicious activity in or around St Mary’s, particularly in the late evening or early morning, please do not hesitate to phone the police as soon as it is safe to do so. We are now looking into what else we can do to prevent future break-ins and are in touch with the police and other local leaders. Please pray this criminal activity would stop as it has put significant pressure on our staff, clergy and churchwardens, and also caused wider concern. 

Open Mic Worship Evening 12th February: Book Your Free Ticket 
After the success of our last Open Mic Worship evening, we are excited to announce our next event on Thursday 12th February at 7.30pm. Join us for an evening of poetry, music, storytelling and reflection. Support the participants by booking your free ticket here. You can also find a booking link at stmaryswalthamstow.org/calendar. 

Ash Wednesday at St Mary’s on 18th February 
The season of Lent – forty days of preparation and reflection leading up to Holy Week and Easter – begins on Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on 18th February. Our Ash Wednesday services will be at 7.30am (for morning commuters and early risers), and later in the day at 7.30pm, with Holy Communion and the imposition of ashes at both services. These services are always moving and are beautiful ways to begin the season. Throughout Lent we will also be offering opportunities to explore and deepen your faith through book groups and one-to-one meetings with clergy. We will soon share more information about our Lent programme and hope you will join us as we journey through this meaningful season. 

Embers Returns on Sunday 22nd February, 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 you are warmly invited to join us. 

2026 Lent Book Group ‘Dancing at the Still Point’ Begins on 26th February  
Our Lent Book this year is ‘Dancing at the Still Point: Retreat Practices for a Busy Life’ by the Jesuit sister, theologian and writer Gemma Simmonds. Accessible and engaging, the book explores how we can find spaces of retreat in the busyness of life. Each week, we’ll be discussing the book and offering time to practise and ‘retreat’ at the end of the session. Our first meeting will be on Thursday 26th February at 7.30pm with subsequent meetings the following three Thursdays. Sign up here or email . 

Sign up for a Spiritual MOT during Lent 
Lent is a time of self-examination and reflection and this year we are offering another opportunity to speak to a member of our clergy team about your life of faith and areas of struggle, hope or joy. Prior to meeting, we will give you questions to reflect on, but the idea is that the time is to be used as you need or would find helpful. We have only a handful of remaining spaces to offer, so please book soon to avoid disappointment. Timings are flexible and appointments can be booked by completing this form. 

Taize Service of Lamentation and Hope on Sunday 1st March at 6pm 
Join us for a special service, ‘A Lament for Our Habitat’, led by the Eco Church Team and members of our congregation on Sunday 1st March at 6pm. Taizé worship is a contemplative prayer style developed by the Taizé community in France. Using simple chants, periods of silence, readings, poetry and candlelight, the service invites you to join us as we lament the ecological crisis we face and as we seek hope, forgiveness and healing for the future. If you play a musical instrument and would like to join our small ensemble, please email our Music Director, Jonathan Rathbone, at . 

Building connections at St Mary’s: Join us for ‘Weaving Trust’ on Sunday 8th March 
St Mary’s is a large congregation and it can be challenging to get to know people through Sunday mornings alone. ‘Weaving Trust’ is an opportunity to have guided conversations with different people in the church, allowing you to meet and make meaningful connections with more people in our community. Our hope is that all who attend will make new friends and feel a greater sense of belonging. The event will take place after the 10.30am service on 8th March with a sandwich lunch provided for those who would like to attend. Please register your interest here, or email for more information. 

Follow St Mary’s WhatsApp Channel
In addition to our social media channels, we are now on WhatsApp. For the latest updates about St Mary’s services, events and ministries, follow our channel here or find us by searching WhatsApp. However, we understand that we may not immediately appear in WhatsApp searches until our channel has been established for a certain period of time. 

Building Repairs at St Mary’s and St Gabriel’s 
As a Parish, we are facing significant challenges related to the repair and management of our buildings, which include not only the church but also the Welcome Centre – our church hall – as well as St Gabriel’s Church and Family Centre on Havant Road. St Mary’s Welcome Centre is in need of a new roof as well as additional work to address possible subsidence which we believe may be causing significant cracking throughout the building.  

At St Gabriel’s, the large hall is no longer structurally sound, requiring temporary reinforcement and a longer-term plan to make it safe again. St Gabriel’s is also in need of a new roof and has also needed some improvements to its toilets for some time. If you could pray for our staff, churchwardens, clergy and PCC (parish trustees) as they navigate the many issues with our buildings, which are not only used by our two churches but are also heavily used by the wider community and are an important source of revenue for us, supporting our mission and ministries. We are struggling to know how we will afford all of the expensive repairs which may be needed, but are trusting God will show us a way forward. 

AV Volunteers Needed 
A key volunteer role at our 9am and 10.30am Sunday services is running AV, which involves controlling the sound and managing the screens which display our liturgy and song lyrics. We are in need of volunteers, including those who may only be interested in volunteering once per month or possibly every six weeks. The system is entirely controlled via an iPad and is more straightforward than you might imagine – and training is available! To enquire about helping, please email Revd Vanessa Conant at . 

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: New Year, New Bank? 
The start of a new year is a good time to ensure your money is not being used to overheat the planet. Last year saw the UK’s Big 4 Banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest – fall short on climate action, with money still flowing to companies involved in drilling for new oil and gas. But by switching to a more ethical bank this year, you can help shape a more liveable future. A coalition of Christian charities, including Operation Noah and JustMoney Movement, are encouraging Christians to join the Big Bank Switch campaign and switch to a bank that refuses to fund the climate crisis. Pledge to switch here or visit justmoney.org.uk. 

Please pray this week for:

• All in our parish who are unwell in any way: for help, healing and the peace of Christ 
• The doctors, specialists, nurses and support staff at Whipps Cross Hospital 
• Schools in our parish, including Henry Maynard, St Mary’s, Walthamstow School for Girls, Emmanuel, Holy Family and Woodside – for the wellbeing of students and staff
• An end to the break-ins/ attempted break-ins at St Mary’s and for police to find those responsible; we also pray for those who feel desperate enough to steal from a church  
• People of all backgrounds – including those who are disabled in any way – to find a home at St Mary’s and for all churches to be communities of loving inclusion 
• The UK government, the GLA and Waltham Forest Council: for wise decision making and policies which promote the flourishing of all, especially those on lower incomes
• Leaders of character to emerge in our local and national communities/ politics, and for a strengthening of civil society as it advocates for the changes we need 
• Our new member of staff at St Mary’s, Harry, who recently started as our Operations Assistant and is helping us set up the church on weekday mornings and on Sundays 
• Places in the world impacted by war and conflict or which are threatened with war and conflict, including Sudan, Minnesota, Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine, Iran and Taiwan 
• Funding challenges related to the repair of our parish buildings – for a way forward 
• Refugees and asylum seekers, remembering how the Holy Family also sought refuge
• Our Rector, Vanessa, our Area Dean, Tim, Archdeacon Mike, our Bishops Lynne and Guli, our Archbishops Sarah and Stephen, and for leaders of other Christian communities, including Pope Leo  

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

Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Presentation of Christ – or Candlemas – and light was one of the themes in that service, with the lighting and blessing of candles at the end of the service. 

One theme running throughout the scriptures is the idea of light bringing things into the open or making them visible. Recently I’ve been reflecting on this and on the theme of ‘invisibility’.  There is sometimes a link between inclusion (or the lack of it) and invisibility and the way in which people are ignored or treated as ‘invisible’. This coming Sunday at St Mary’s, we will explore the subject of disability and inclusion and I am really looking forward to being there. 

But I’ve also been reflecting on ‘invisibility’ in the way in which news stories are reported.  The pace at which 24 hour news moves means that often stories are only in the headlines for a very short space of time, only to be overtaken by new events, no matter what they are and irrespective of previous headline situations continuing. 

And the desire to flood the headlines with stories which will grab our attention, combined with the use of algorithms to direct us to stories which re-inforce our particular world views, means that important ongoing situations quickly fall out of the headlines and become ‘invisible’. An awareness of the ongoing devastation that war, conflict and the abuse of power brings, demands that we should be attentive to what may have fallen off the news headline. The courageous and often fragile moves towards peace require a deeper understanding and critique than short soundbites can provide. Pro-active initiatives are needed to provide the opportunity for nuanced and important conversations that can lead to reconciliation. 

What might it look like for the light of Christ to shine on the news headlines and also ‘bring to light’ those things which have fallen out of the headlines but require ongoing prayer, action and understanding? What might it look like for the light of Christ to shine on the social media algorithms and challenge us to be alert to things which are becoming ‘invisible’? In what ways can we be pro-active in providing opportunities for honest, important conversations? 

In order for there to be justice there needs to be truthtelling. It seems to me that this is becoming ever more difficult in a world of manipulation and short sound bites. We give thanks for those people who work in our media who strive to find and report the truth.They are courageous beacons of light and hope. May we all be people who strive to engage in the hard work of uncovering the truth so that truth telling may lead to justice, and justice lead to an end to the treating of people as ‘invisible’. 

With my love and prayers,

Tim