Dear friends,
(Fr Richard remains on annual leave, until Tuesday, 18 November: please contact Fr Mike in case of pastoral need; and please speak to the churchwardens about any other matters concerning St Mary’s.)
This coming Sunday is Safeguarding Sunday – with the theme, “Action Speaks Louder” – when churches are encouraged both to build on the ways in which we support those who may have been hurt by the actions of others, and to highlight all the good work being done behind the scenes to protect vulnerable people. Please speak to our Parish Safeguarding Officer, Joanna Service, to discover more: the creation of a robust Safeguarding culture is an outworking of our faith in a just and loving God, and an integral part of the scriptural mandate to protect the vulnerable from harm, and to champion the rights of the voiceless. Care for those in distress is woven through the teachings of the Old and New Testaments, given to us by a God who is attentive to the cries of the poor.
Our “Countdown to Christmas” Table-Top Christmas Market will take place in the Hall on Saturday, 22 November, between 10am – 5pm: please spread the word!
A new intercessions list will be produced in time for Advent Sunday, 30 November: before then, please (re-)add the names of those for whom prayer is requested, and please PRINT these names clearly.
We continue gratefully to receive items for inclusion in Christmas “care boxes” for St Luke’s Hospice: please bring these to church before Christ the King Sunday, 23 November.
Our young people (in school year 6 and above) are invited to “Source and Summit”, an Anglo-Catholic Youth Event at St Alban, Holborn on Saturday, 6 December: please register your interest on the sheet in church.
You can also sign up in church to join the parish Christmas outing to the pantomime, on Sunday, 14 December – to enjoy “Dick Whittington” at the Harrow Arts Centre, at 3pm: tickets are £20 for adults, and £5 for 18yos and younger.
May the Lord God Almighty, who hears our prayers and knows our innermost thoughts and pains and desires, lift your burdens, cleanse and restore you – and speak to you in love, “My child, go in peace”,
Fr Richard