Dear St Mary’s, 

Last Sunday we heard a wonderful sermon from Revd Ola Franklin and also celebrated the success of our Summer Festival, which we estimate attracted over 1,000 local people with a craft fair, fete games, talks, tours, live music and an evening ceilidh. 

This Sunday (28th July), Revd Jacintha Danaswamy will lead and Revd Alan Moss will preach at our 9am (Holy Communion) and 10.30am (Morning Worship) services. 

Please note that this week is the first of our Summer Sundays, which means that there will be no children’s groups at the 10.30am service as our children’s ministry team will be taking a break until Sunday 8th September. For those unable to join us in person this Sunday, we’ll livestream the 9am service to our Facebook page (facebook.com/StMarysE17). 

Please also be aware that due to staff absences throughout the month of August, there will be a pause in our weekly newsletters, with our next newsletter scheduled for 29th August. For St Mary’s news and updates, please visit our website (stmaryswalthamstow.org) and social media channels, where we will post any changes to services or events. 

Congratulations to our Summer Festival volunteers  
We want to congratulate our brilliant team of volunteers for making our 20th July Summer Festival so successful, particularly Rebecca Branch, Tom Thompson, Isabel Lincoln, Jonny Hoyle and Fiona Fouhy, who were all involved in festival planning and delivering activities. But there were also volunteers who made incredible contributions on the day – some of whom arrived early in the morning to set up and were still helping late into the evening. We estimate that we were able to engage with over 1,000 people on the day and we’ve had very positive feedback from the wider community. Well done to everyone who helped us extend a warm welcome to all, letting our neighbours know we are a church for the whole community. 

Come and visit our reopened cafe run by new partners Ruttle & Rowe 
Our new cafe provider, Ruttle & Rowe, had a successful first day of trading on Monday 22nd July and is now open Monday-Friday, 8.30am-4pm, and Saturday, 9am-4pm. Owners Mat and Grace Ruttle are members of our congregation and have been a fantastic addition to our team. In the weeks ahead, if you are able, please consider coming into St Mary’s in the week for a coffee, pastry or light lunch. The cafe is a vital part of our mission to keep our ancient building open to all throughout the week as a place of prayer, community and connection, and your ongoing support is crucial as we work to make the cafe sustainable long-term.  

St Mary’s at Waltham Forest Pride on Saturday 27th July 
Waltham Forest Pride is on Saturday 27th July at Fellowship Square next to the Waltham Forest Town Hall from 3-8pm. It will be brought to life by the talent and contributions of the local LGBTQIA+ community and will feature a range of stalls, from crafts and face-painting to food and performances with plenty of activities for children and families. St Mary’s, along with several other local churches – including St Peter-in-the-Forest and St Barnabas – will host an inclusive space of Christian welcome, conversation, and prayer at Waltham Forest Pride. For details, contact Revd Jacintha Danaswamy at . 

Summer Sundays to begin on Sunday 28th July 
Our children’s ministry team will take a break during the summer, which means that from Sunday 28th July we will not have supervised children’s groups at 10.30am. Instead, we will have activity packs each Sunday for children to work on during the 10.30am service. We are so thankful for our children’s ministry team who run groups on the first three Sundays of the month, most of the year, at 10.30am. Supervised children’s groups will return on Sunday 8th September. Also, please note that while we do not have supervised children’s groups during the summer – nor do we have our regular intergenerational service on the fourth Sunday of August – our Sunday pattern will mostly continue as normal, with Holy Communion every Sunday at 9am alongside Holy Communion services on the first and third Sunday of August at 10.30am, and Morning Worship services on the second and fourth Sunday at 10.30am. 

Summer Lunch Club begins on Tuesday 30th July 
Every Tuesday from 30th July to 27th August, 11am -2pm, Donna Gwilliams will run the St Luke’s Family Lunch Club at 20 Melville Rd, E17 6QT. The cost is £1 per person. While there is no need to book, children must be supervised by a parent or carer. 

Worship Night at St Mary’s on Sunday 4th August, 6.30pm 
Matt Begg and St Mary’s music team will lead us in sung worship as part of a special Embers worship service on Sunday 4th August from 6.30-7.30pm. Join us in the church at 6.30pm on 4th August as we gather for a time of reflection, song and praise. 

Vespers returns on Wednesday 7th August, 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. With changes to our clergy team, Vespers now meets on the first Wednesday of every month with communion celebrated after each gathering. While in past years we have not met in August, Vespers will be held on Wednesday, 7th August, at 7.30pm in St Mary’s. 

Blessing of the Backpacks on Sunday 1st September 
On Sunday 1st September, we’ll bless backpacks at our 10.30am service, praying for those who are beginning a new term at school, college or university. We’re encouraging children, young people, teachers and school staff to bring their school and work bags to church. For more details, contact Revd Jacintha Danaswamy at . 

Save the Date: Revd Jacintha Danaswamy’s Ordination to Priesthood, 28th September 
Revd Jacintha Danaswamy, who was ordained a deacon last year at Chelmsford Cathedral, will be priested on Saturday 28th September at 10.30am at St Edward’s Romford, and will preside at Holy Communion at St Mary’s on Sunday 29th September. A group from St Mary’s and St Gabriel’s will travel to Romford to support Jacintha at her priesting. We will share more information in early September as to how you can join us for the service. 

Save the Date: Creation Saturday event in the Welcome Centre on 12th October 
Our EcoChurch team will hold a Creation Saturday event in the Welcome Centre from 10am-4pm on 12th October. This will be a day for us to reflect on climate change, thinking deeply about the hope the Spirit has given us and how we can make a difference. Led by pioneer priest and environmental campaigner Revd Vanessa Elston from the Diocese of Southwark, the day will include art activities, stories, and small group interaction. If you would like to help plan the day, contact Mike Forbes at . 

EcoTip: Reuse and Repair Directory 
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut down on waste, it’s important to think about how we can all be part of creating a circular economy, extending the life cycle of products by sharing, borrowing, repairing and finding ways to recycle that which can’t be reused. 

While we all need to buy new clothing and products occasionally, we may not realise that there are often alternatives to buying something new, either by borrowing an item for free, hiring something for a short period of time, repairing a product or item of clothing, or purchasing second-hand. Waltham Forest Council has an online Reuse and Repair Directory where you can find local ways to borrow, buy second-hand or get something repaired. Visit the directory here or go to walthamforest.gov.uk and search ‘Reuse and Repair Directory’. 

Please pray this week and throughout August for: 

• Rest and rejuvenation for those who are tired 
• Children and young people in need of positive summer activities and opportunities 
• People working for the Common Good in our community and around the world 
• Global elections, specifically for candidates with an inclusive, hopeful agenda 
• The new UK Government as it gets to grips with the country’s many problems 
• Carers and those in caring professions  
• Those who feel they lack purpose, meaning or direction 
• St Mary’s and our Parish as we work to share the love of Jesus Christ with all 
• A more equitable society, where resources are better managed and shared 
• Places of war and violence, that civilians might be protected and peace restored

Reflection: ‘I am with you always’ 
Revd Jacintha Danaswamy writes: 

This week as St Mary’s clergy led Year 6 Leavers’ Services in church, I was reminded of how lovely it is to welcome school children and their families to church! 

They are always such joyous occasions, celebrating how the children have grown and have flourished during their time at St Mary’s School. 

In the celebrations, there is a sense of excitement for their next steps, but as in all goodbyes, there is also a bit of sadness to see them go. I was reminded of how amazing and talented each child is, all the gifts they have brought to the school and shared with the wider St Mary’s School community. How in their own learning and development they have encouraged others and cared for our community. We reflected on what they carry with them as they move to secondary school – all that they have learnt over the past eight years inside and outside school, giving thanks to those who have supported their learning and growth, reflecting on each child’s strength and perseverance in the challenges they might have had to overcome, and thinking of the constant love of their family, carers, and friends. 

Our gospel reading from Matthew 28:20 encouraged us to remember Jesus’ words: 

‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

This verse with their name printed inside each Bible was a gift from our congregation to all Year 6 children at St Mary’s School – a reminder that God has been with them in all their learning, in the joy and challenges, in everything that they do and have done, and will always be with them, loving and encouraging them as they continue to flourish.

This is a helpful reminder for us too as many of us come to the end of school, college or university terms, and as some of us prepare for a different rhythm over the coming weeks. We might be organising holidays or visiting family, planning August activities as we balance a busy home and work life, or continuing with our daily routine, waiting for September and a quieter holiday. We each carry with us the reminder that God is always with us, in the busy moments and in times of rest, in the joys and the challenges – in our everyday and all we do. 

African-American writer and scholar Revd Dr Barbara Holmes writes, ‘the mysticism of everyday life is an opportunity to deeply mine the depths of human experience, relationships with others, and our encounters with nature’. She asks, ‘What “everyday” space has become a sacred chapel for you?’ Over these summer weeks, as we remember God is always with us to the end of the age, I pray that each of us will have moments to reflect on our everyday sacred chapel: Where are those moments of encounter when we see God in our lives? Where are our sacred spaces? How are we growing and flourishing in Christ? 

Love,

Jacintha