Dear St Mary’s,
This past Sunday we heard a lovely sermon from Revd Jacintha Danaswamy and then after our services celebrated the 25th wedding anniversary of Revds Tim and Linda Scott.
This Sunday, 14th July, Revd Alan Moss will lead and Rob Duddridge will preach at 9am (Holy Communion) and again at 10.30am (Morning Worship). There will be supervised children’s groups at 10.30am, and for those who are unable to attend in person, we will livestream the 9am service to our Facebook page (facebook.com/StMarysE17).
Our Youth Group will meet off site this Sunday at 5pm to celebrate end of term; for more information, contact Revd Jacintha Danaswamy at .
St Mary’s Cafe and Play Space to Reopen on Monday 22nd July
We’re excited to announce that our new cafe partners, Ruttle & Rowe, will begin trading at St Mary’s on Monday 22nd July. Mat and Grace Ruttle are members of our congregation and run a much-loved coffee shop and specialty coffee roaster in Chapel End, Walthamstow. Having Ruttle & Rowe at St Mary’s will mean that we can reopen our popular children’s Play Area and get our ancient building back open to the public during the week, Monday-Friday, 8.30am-4pm, and Saturday, 9am-4pm. We’re really looking forward to having church back open in the week, which has been a brilliant way of connecting with the wider community.
No Morning Prayer on Friday 19th July
There will be no Morning Prayer on Friday 19th July due to a lack of clergy availability. We usually say Morning Prayer in St Mary’s side chapel weekdays at 8.30am and all are welcome. We also livestream Morning Prayer to Facebook (facebook.com/StMarysE17).
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 groups at 10.30am. Instead, we will have activity packs each Sunday for children to work on during the service. We are so thankful for our children’s ministry team who run groups for the first three Sundays of the month, most of the year, at 10.30am. Supervised children’s groups will return on Sunday 8th September.
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 in September. We will share more information soon as to how you can join us for Jacintha’s ordination service.
Tickets Available for 20th July Ceilidh at St Mary’s
Join us on Saturday 20th July from 7.30pm as we bring St Mary’s Summer Festival to a close with a ceilidh featuring the band Stroma (purchase tickets here or go to eventbrite.com and search ‘Walthamstow ceilidh’). Tickets are £12.50 for adults and are free for Under 12s. Whether you’re familiar with ceilidh dancing or a total beginner, it should be a brilliant time.
Sponsor a Bible for St Mary’s Primary School Leavers
Every year, we give a Bible to Year 6 leavers of St Mary’s Primary School. It’s a gift from the church that we hope will bless them throughout their lives. If you would like to sponsor a Bible for £10, you can give via stmaryswalthamstow.org/donate (please write in the notes section that your donation is for a Leavers’ Bible) or via the tap-and-go system at the back of church. You can also put a cheque or cash in a marked envelope and leave it in the white box at the back of church, or if you’d prefer, you can make a direct bank transfer (please note the reason for your donation); our bank details are: Co-operative Bank, St Mary’s Church, Parish of Walthamstow; Account Number: 65579372, Sort Code: 08-92-99.
EcoTip: Talking About Climate Change
Dr Katharine Hayhoe is a Canadian climate scientist and professor at Texas Tech University who is also a Christian. One of her top tips to fight climate change? Talk about it, particularly about the solutions that are making a difference, such as heat pumps, renewable energy, electric vehicles, public transit and more. Katharine Hayhoe recently wrote the following:
‘The basic science of climate change…that explains how burning fossil fuels produces heat-trapping gases that warm the planet has been well understood for nearly two centuries; yet it is often publicly contested and scientists who study it (are) accused of venality and more. This isn’t due to any legitimate doubts about the scientific basis for climate science, but rather because of the implications it holds for individual and societal decisions.’
‘That’s why, when I talk about climate change with people, I don’t usually spend much time on the physical science of climate change, even though that’s my primary research field. Instead, I emphasise how climate change affects our everyday lives and I also spend a lot of time talking about what social science shows will catalyse action: positive updates on climate solutions, stories of people and organisations making a difference, and ways everyone can catalyse change where we live, work, or study.’
Please pray this week for:
- Benedictines and all monastic communities on the Feast of St Benedict (11th July)
- Victims of war, violence or terrorism, especially as we remember the 7/7 bombing
- Parents, carers, teachers, school staff and children as the school year finishes
- All those who are unwell in body, mind or spirit
- St Mary’s Summer Festival on 20th July
- The Church of England and all Churches around the world
- That more people would experience God’s love and peace
- An end to the violence in Ukraine and Gaza/ Israel
- The new Government as it gets to grips with the many problems facing the country
Next Week in the Welcome Centre (15-20 July)
Monday
Daphne & Friends Baby Loss Group, 10am-11am
Waltham Forest Community Choir, 7.30pm-9.30pm
Tuesday
Tai-Chi, 7pm (this Tuesday evening class has recently started and still has spaces available; if you’re interested in attending, email Alex Jukes at ).
Wednesday
There are no events this Wednesday; if you’re interested in hiring space in the Welcome Centre, or know someone who is, contact us at .
Thursday
Baby Massage, 10.15am-12.45pm
Boggle Beats, 10.30am-11.15am
Food Cycle (Free Community Meal), 6.30pm
Friday
Stone Soup Group, 10am-Noon
Saturday
St Mary’s Summer Festival (stmaryswalthamstow.org/festival)
Reflection: Hope in the Darkness
Revd Alan Moss writes:
Last week was a significant and hugely important week as 60% of the UK voted in the General Election on Thursday 4th July 2024, which saw the Labour Party win 411 parliamentary seats resulting in Labour leader Keir Starmer becoming the new Prime Minister. Saturday 6th July saw the England football team progress to the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-finals by beating Switzerland by way of penalties of all things! In both cases, there are some who celebrate, some who mourn and some who simply aren’t bothered.
Yet amid elections and football tournaments, another extremely significant and deeply important anniversary occurred. Last Sunday, the nation marked 19 years since the awful and terrifying London bombings of July 7th 2005, otherwise known as 7/7. The London bombings of 2005 were a series of coordinated suicide bomb attacks on the London transit system. At 8:50am explosions tore through three trains on the London Underground, killing 39. An hour later, 13 people were killed when a bomb detonated on the upper deck of a bus in Tavistock Square. More than 700 people were injured in the four attacks.
This week I listened to a YouTube interview from one of the survivors of this horrifying attack, a lady called Martine Wright who was sitting four feet away from one of the bombs on the Tube as it exploded, resulting in the loss of both her legs. Martine spoke of her experience that day and mainly of her confusion as she awoke in the train carriage not knowing what had happened. The event is mainly a blur of traumatic memories for her but one thing remains clear, the kindness of off-duty police officer Liz Kenworthy who was also a passenger on the same train and came to Martine’s aid and, after putting tourniquets on her upper legs, sat with Martine for almost two hours as emergency services made their way to them even as Liz struggled with her own injuries.
It was this act of kindness and bravery that, in Martine’s words, caused ‘the most selfish act to become the most selfless act’.
As I listened to this story and read others from that day, I was reminded of Jesus’ selfless act for us 2,000 years ago as he crawled through the wreckage of a broken world to sit with us in our trauma and pain and to give his life to save us all. As a result, we now have the living Spirit of God residing in our hearts, meaning that no matter what we are going through, we are never truly alone.
Over and over, Martine referred to both Liz and the emergency service first responders as her angels because in her deepest, darkest moment they crawled through the wreckage to bring her hope. The election – and even the football – are important for several reasons, and we should never undervalue the privilege and joy of the freedoms we have.
Yet through it all, we must also never forget our role as the hands and feet of God. There are people around us who are stuck in a different kind of wreckage – mental, physical and spiritual – and we are called to be each other’s angels in the darkest of times. I pray that we will never forget all those who lost their lives and livelihoods on July 7th, 2005, and I pray that we will all find the strength to ask for help and to offer help to those in need.
Let’s all strive to be a little bit more like Liz and a lot more like Jesus.
