Dear St Mary’s, 

Last week, on Pentecost Sunday, we celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit, the birth of the Church and the incredible experiences of the first Christians. 

This Sunday, 26th May, we’ll celebrate Trinity Sunday with a service of Holy Communion at 9am followed by our monthly Intergenerational Service at 10.30am with Revd Tim Scott leading and Revd Alan Moss preaching at both services. 

On Trinity Sunday, our focus turns to the uniquely Christian understanding of God as Three Persons in One: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What are the implications of this profound mystery? What does the Trinity tell us about God and about each other? 

For those unable to join us in person, we’ll live-stream this Sunday’s 9am Holy Communion service to our Facebook page (facebook.com/StMarysE17). 

There will also be evening prayer in the church on Sunday at 6pm led by Donna Gwilliams with a focus on future ministry opportunities around the High Street. 

St Mary’s New Cafe Partner 

With Froth & Rind closing soon, we are excited to announce our intention to move forward with Ruttle & Rowe (www.ruttleandrowe.co.uk) as our new cafe partner. Ruttle & Rowe is a specialty coffee shop and coffee roaster based in Chapel End, Walthamstow, and owners Mat and Grace are members of our congregation. We are thrilled to be able to work with Grace and Mat to keep our building open throughout the week while offering brilliant coffee and a warm welcome to all. Unfortunately there will be a gap in our cafe provision, with Froth & Rind’s last day of trading at St Mary’s on 1st June, but we look forward to announcing a future date for Ruttle & Rowe’s Grand Opening at St Mary’s, so watch this space! 

No Morning Prayer on Monday 27th May 

Due to the Bank Holiday, there will be no Morning Prayer on Monday 27th May but Morning Prayer will return on Tuesday 28th May. We say Morning Prayer in St Mary’s side chapel every weekday at 8.30am, and all are welcome. We also livestream Morning Prayer to our Facebook page (facebook.com/StMarysE17). 

E17 Art Trail at St Mary’s: Begins Saturday 1st June 

The E17 Art Trail is back with 150+ Walthamstow locations becoming art spaces over 16 days (1-16 June). St Mary’s is pleased to be participating in this year’s Art Trail and will host work by renowned artist Nancy Willis in our Exhibition Space. Nancy’s practice includes painting, printmaking, sculpture and mixed media and often reflects her experiences as a disabled woman. She currently has work featured in the ‘Women in Revolt!’ exhibition at the Tate Britain (www.nancywillis.co.uk). 

Walthamstow Welcomes Café: Help with Confusing Paperwork 

Our Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe is open every fortnight on alternate Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10am to Noon in the Welcome Centre, and is free for all. The goal is to help people with confusing paperwork or who need a chat. While the cafe is next open on 29th May for drop-ins, people can also book in advance, with available slots on Saturday 8th June. To book, visit our online calendar here, or visit the Walthamstow Welcomes page on our website (www.stmaryswalthamstow.org). 

Marriage Preparation Class: Sunday 9th June at St Mary’s, 2-4pm 

Are you getting married soon? If so, we would love to have you join us for our Marriage Preparation Class on Sunday 9th June, 2-4pm, in St Mary’s Church. Marriage preparation is a fun, relaxed time to talk about the things which matter most to you about your relationship and is led by a member of our clergy team. To join us, email our administrator Josie at . 

Half Term Family Lunch Club on Tuesday 28th May 

During half term on Tuesday 28th May, Donna Gwilliams will run a Family Lunch Club from 11am-2pm at 20 Melville Rd, E17 6QT. The cost is £1 per person. All children and young adults must be accompanied by an adult.

St Mary’s Summer Festival on 20th July: Save the Date, Sign up to Volunteer 

On Saturday 20th July, St Mary’s will host an all-day Summer Festival with activities, talks, food, tours and performances across all of our sites. Our activity programme has not yet been finalised, but we’re looking for dozens of volunteers to sign up now to help us greet people, clean and offer support on the day. This will be a wonderful way to engage with each other and with the wider community as we bring our version of a church fête to Walthamstow! You can sign up to volunteer here or email Dan Copperwheat, Operations Manager, at . 

EcoTip: ‘Creation Cries Out’ Ecumenical Service on Saturday 22nd June

As we shared last week, the Restore Nature Now march (www.restorenaturenow.com) will take place in Central London on Saturday 22nd June, gathering at Park Lane at Noon and marching to Parliament Square for a 2.30pm rally which will include talks from well-known campaigners. However, we’ve also learned that there will be an ecumenical service before the march called ‘Creation Cries Out’ at Farm Street Church in Mayfair from 11am to Noon, organised by A Rocha, Operation Noah and other Christian charities. If you’re interested in attending either the service or march – or both – contact Cameron at as we’re hoping to bring a group from St Mary’s.

Please pray this week for: 

• The safety and wellbeing of young people in Walthamstow 
• Ordained and lay leaders of St Mary’s and our Parish
• All medical staff, especially those working in conflict zones 
• For the safety of civilians in Ukraine, Gaza, Israel and other places of violence  
• For those in the UK and around the world who are working to alleviate poverty 
• For volunteers in our community, praying for more people to give of their time
• For those who are lonely, exhausted, without hope or grieving 
• That St Mary’s would be a place where people experience God’s love 
• For stronger political action on the climate and nature crises
• For the upcoming 4th July General Election 

Next Week in the Welcome Centre (27/5 – 31/5)

Monday: Daphne & Friends Baby Loss Group, 10am-11am 

Waltham Forest Community Choir, 7.30pm-9.30pm 

Wednesday: Walthamstow Welcomes Cafe, 10am-Noon 

Hula Fit, 6.30pm-7.30pm 

Thursday: Baby Massage, 10.15am-12.45pm 

Boggle Beats, 10.15am-11.15am 

Food Cycle (Free Community Meal), 6.30pm 

Reflection: ‘Windows into God’ 

Revd Tim Scott writes:

Some of you will know that Linda and I were fortunate last week to have a holiday close to Lake Garda in Italy. The scenery was spectacular and looking out on it offered a ‘window’ into the beauty of God‘s creation.

This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday and each year I am reminded of a particular icon, painted by the Russian iconographer André Rublev, sometime between 1411 and 1427. It’s an icon called the Trinity, or the Hospitality of Abraham, and it depicts three angels who visited Abraham at the oak of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-8). It has been interpreted as a depiction of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It’s well worth looking up on the internet if you don’t know it already.  

Icons are often described as ‘windows into God’. Someone has written that icons serve as invitations to keep our eyes open while we pray – to ‘just look attentively at an icon and let God speak’. 

Rublev’s icon of the Trinity depicts the three persons of the Trinity, seated around three sides of a table on which stands a chalice. Their eyes are turned towards each other and no one has their back turned completely to the other. We look at the icon from the fourth side, where no one is sitting, and the invitation is for us to be drawn in and be part of the community of God.

Much more could be said about it, but many people have found it a helpful way of experiencing the welcome or the beckoning call of God’s love to each and every one of us. It also offers a challenge that we might live our lives in such a way that we do not turn our back on others.

If, having looked up the icon, you find it useful as a focus for prayer, I encourage you to use it. However, it may be that it is not something you find helpful, but I would still encourage all of us to reflect on what things provide, for us, a ‘window into God’.

Being fortunate enough to spend time in the beautiful scenery of the Italian lakes was indeed for me one of those things. As the Spirit of God leads us deeper into our faith and awareness of God, I pray that each of us will find those things or people which draw us closer to God. 

With my love and prayers, 

Tim