Dear St Mary’s, 

It was a joy to celebrate Harvest with you last Sunday as we collected food for Mill Grove Children’s Home. This Sunday, 20th October, we’ll share Holy Communion at 9am and again at 10.30am as Revd Tim Scott leads and presides and Rob Duddridge preaches. 

At 10.30am, we’ll have supervised children’s groups in the Welcome Centre for children ages 2-11, with a Baby Lounge in the South Vestry at both services. For those unable to join us in person, we’ll livestream the 9am service to Facebook (facebook.com/StMarysE17). 

And then from 6.30-7.30pm, join us as Matt Begg leads us in sung worship as part of our quarterly Embers service. We hope to see you this Sunday at St Mary’s! 

East London Brass Band to Partner with St Mary’s on 19th October Concert 
This Saturday 19th October, the renowned East London Brass Band will perform at St Mary’s at 7.30pm. Entry is free but we will run a card-only bar to raise money for the church and the band will encourage people to donate via a retiring collection. Join us if you can! 

Saturday Crochet and Knitting Group at St Mary’s to Begin 2nd November, 10am-Noon 
St Mary’s is starting a crochet and knitting group which will meet for the first time on Saturday 2nd November, 10am-Noon, in the church. Crochet and knitting are both brilliant ways to relieve stress and anxiety, make friends and get creative. The group, which is open to the whole community, will initially meet for six consecutive Saturdays, with the exception of Saturday 23rd November, but the hope is that this could be extended if there is sufficient interest. Bring wool, needles, crochet hooks and whatever you’re working on; if you’re a beginner, come along but let us know in advance so we can provide wool and crochet hooks! For more details, email Revd Jacintha Danaswamy at . 

Volunteers for 23rd November Christmas Fair at St Mary’s 
St Mary’s will host a Christmas Fair on Saturday 23rd November, 11am-5pm, which will include a craft market, refreshments and family activities in and around St Mary’s, and we’re looking for volunteers to help us run several St Mary’s stalls as we welcome people into our ancient building. We’re looking for people to take one of two shifts – 10am-2pm or 2pm-6pm; can you help? It should be a great day! Email Louise at . 

Advent Book Group at St Mary’s Starts 28th November 
Revd Jacintha Danaswamy will lead an Advent book group on Thursday evenings, 28th November to 19th December, exploring Revd Dr Rachel Mann’s book, Do Not Be Afraid, which is this year’s Archbishop of York’s Advent Book. If you’re interested in joining our Advent book group, email Jacintha at . There is a recommended £10 donation for the book, but no one will be excluded due to the cost.  

St Mary’s School Forms Needed by 1st December
St Mary’s Primary School forms requiring a clergy signature must be handed in by 1st December. If you have a form, you can drop it off at the Parish Office during the week, in the day. We will aim to sign forms within a week and then have them available for pickup. 

Supporting our Church Cafe 
A number of independent Walthamstow businesses have recently expressed concern about the difficult business environment, particularly in the hospitality sector, with some notable closures. While our St Mary’s cafe which is run by our brilliant partners Ruttle & Rowe has been well supported, we are aware of the need for ongoing support in the weeks, months and years ahead. By supporting Ruttle and Rowe at St Mary’s, you are not only helping us to keep our ancient building open during the week but are also keeping money in our community by supporting local people and our life as a church. Come in during the week for a coffee, pastry or light lunch and please encourage others to do so!  

EcoTip: Sharing Climate Solutions 
The climate crisis isn’t hopeless – there are plenty of proven solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but we must act fast, something oil and gas companies (as well as some of our politicians) are not prone to do. Scientists say we must nearly halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in order to avoid the most serious impacts of global heating, and fortunately, there are ways to do this – from moving to electric hobs/ cookers for home cooking to using air-source heat pumps to heat our homes to electrifying transport/ industry. We must also build out a vast network of offshore and onshore wind farms, connect much of the UK’s renewable energy to the national grid, and make it easier for homes/ businesses to generate their own electricity with solar panels (with batteries to store the electricity). 

The more we share climate solutions, the more motivated people will be to tackle the crisis and demand that our politicians do the same. Last month, Britain – which is the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution – showed that real change is possible by closing its last coal plant, becoming the first major industrialised country to stop burning coal for electricity. 

Please pray this week for:

• St Mary’s and the Parish as we begin to prepare for Advent/ Christmas 
• Children, young people, parents, teachers and school staff as half-term approaches 
• Politicians to regulate fossil fuels and speed up the transition to renewable energy 
• All who seek refuge in the UK or in other safe countries 
• Clergy, staff and lay leaders at St Mary’s and across the Parish 
• Those in our community who are in food poverty or energy poverty 
• The world to know the love and peace of Christ, especially at this tumultuous time 
• St Mary’s congregation – that we would grow in love, faith, outreach and number 
• Anyone who is unwell in body, mind or spirit in our church or wider community 
• The work of our Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe in supporting vulnerable people 

Next Week in the Welcome Centre (21st October to 26th October: Half-Term)

Monday 21st October 
Waltham Forest Community Choir, 7.30-9.30pm 

Tuesday 22nd October 
Tai Chi, 7-9pm 

Wednesday 23rd October 
HulaFit, 6.30-7.30pm 

Thursday 24th October  
FoodCycle (free community meal), 6.30pm 

Friday 25th October 
Sing and Sign, 11am-12.15pm 

Saturday 26th October 
Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe (free help with confusing paperwork), 10am-Noon (www.stmaryswalthamstow.org/WalthamstowWelcomes) 

Reflection: ‘Faith in the City’ 
Revd Tim Scott writes: 

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of the ‘Faith in the City’ report, commissioned by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. It was a call to action to both the Church and the nation to address divisions within society and our urban communities. It concluded that there was a ‘grave and fundamental injustice’ within areas of multiple deprivation. 

As the 40th anniversary of that report approaches, it’s worth reflecting on the title and the importance of faith within our urban communities, and also – at a time when over half of the world’s population now live in cities – the belief that cities can be environments for flourishing and creativity for all. Reading again the recommendations of that 1985 report, it is sobering to reflect that many of them are still very relevant, but we also rejoice that there have been some improvements made as well as greater awareness of the issues. 

Over the past 40 years, we have seen many changes, not least an increase in globalisation and the way in which the world is interconnected. This has brought many benefits but we have also discovered that decisions made many miles away, particularly in the financial industry, can have profound effects on local communities. Paradoxically, we have also become aware of the importance of the local. We touched on this in our 9am service at St Mary’s on 6th October when we marked Homelessness Sunday, reflecting on the importance of local initiatives in working alongside people who are homeless.

From its beginnings, St Mary’s has been at the heart of the local community. Situated between the historic core of Walthamstow, which has in recent years undergone significant regeneration, and an area in which there is still severe deprivation, it continues the tradition of being a place of meeting, community engagement, welcome, hope, prayer and faith.

The Christian Gospel challenges us to take seriously the sense of place and of the local. One writer has observed that, ‘space becomes place when it has stories and memories associated with it’. St Mary’s is a place which holds many stories and memories for people. 

As we look towards a season of  Remembrance and then Advent (a time of waiting and hope), may we continue to have faith in this community of Walthamstow and may we continue to reflect on the issues raised 40 years ago by the ‘Faith in the City’ report regarding divisions within our communities and injustices that need to be challenged. 

May we also give thanks for the many examples we see of flourishing, creativity and working together, and may we all wait, with faith and without fear, on the prompting of God’s Spirit. 

May God bless you all in this season.

With my love and prayers,  

Tim