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Celebration at St Mary's!
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Even more celebrations than usual on Sunday 4th October at St Mary's! Bishop Adrian led a service of Holy Communion with baptism, confirmation and reception into the Church of England.
Congratulations to Daniel, Sakir and Samantha who Bishop Adrian baptised and confirmed; Joanna, Jade, Alexandra and Michelle who he confirmed and Kaarina who was received into the Church of England.
Almighty and ever-living God,
you have given these your servants new birth
in baptism by water and the Spirit,
and have forgiven them all their sins.
Let your Holy Spirit rest upon them:
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding;
the Spirit of counsel and inward strength;
the Spirit of knowledge and true godliness;
and let their delight be in the fear of the Lord.
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More Celebration at St Mary's!
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We have also celebrated our Patronal and Harvest Festivals over the past month or so.
It was great to get together again after the summer as one congregation to celebrate St Mary's church and St Mary herself on 6th September. This was followed by a shared lunch. Many thanks to the Social Committee for all their organisation and work.
We celebrated Harvest together on 27th September and welcomed children, parents and staff from St Mary's school. The school choir performed two songs brilliantly! A huge amount of food was donated by the school and church to the Hackney Food Bank.
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St Mary's has a new website! Do take a look - it's the same address as before: www.stmaryn16.org.
Keep your eye on 'What's On?' and 'News' for what's been going on and what's coming up.
Many thanks to Elizabeth Smallman for all her time in getting it set up and for Graham Robson for all the work he's put into the website over the years (and thanks in advance for both their help in the future!).
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Many of us enjoyed a wonderful evening of classical, folk, jazz, musical theatre and music hall tunes in The Old Church at the beginning of October.
Sarah Warren's voice, Iwan Davies' piano and Sam Elwin's guitar combined to raise money for ALMA and the Church of the Epiphany in Tete, Mozambique.
St Mary's has a long relationship with the Church of the Epiphany in Tete and has helped them to build a new church that was completed this year with some St Mary's folk visiting Mozambique for the dedication ceremony. Funds will also assist in their outreach and community work.
Many thanks to Sarah, Iwan and Sam for a great evening's entertainment!
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Hackney Migrant Centre need local volunteers! This is a great way to support migrants from across London and beyond.
Food collectors:
People who have a car to help with food donations on Tuesday evenings. This involves collecting food from Wholefood on Stoke Newington Church Street at 9.30pm and then bringing the collected food to St Marys New Church Rooms at 9am the following day.
Volunteers are also needed to help with collections on Wednesday morning, this involves doing some food shopping locally, collecting food from Growing Communities at 9.15am and dropping everything off at St Mary's New Church Rooms for 9.30am. If you are available to volunteer please email.
Sessional setting-up volunteers:
HMC are also looking for people who could help set up the session on a Wednesday by putting out tables and chairs, setting up the laptops etc. and helping to pack away at the end. If you are free on a Wednesday between 9.30am - 10.45am and/or 4pm-5pm. Please email.
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There has been some great fundraising for St Mary's over the summer. Notably the very successful Pop-Up Boutique which raised over £800. The clothes left on the hangers by the time the Boutique shut up shop have been used by Hackney Migrant Centre, for migrants in Calais and the Salvation Army. Special thanks to Olamide, Sarah and Kaarina for organising and coordinating and to everyone else who (wo)manned the shop, the tea pot, the ironing board and the cake oven!
The Quiz Night in the Old Church was a great evening despite having fewer attendees than hoped. It raised around £140. Many thanks to Quiz Master Chris Baker and to all those who donated prizes for the Quiz and the raffle. Congratulations to Carol who was not only on the winning quiz team but also won half the raffle prizes.
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Organised by Just Peace N16, a band of St Mary's folk joined the demonstration against the Arms Fair at the Excel Centre in East London on 12th September. The following day a silent protest was held at St Mary's with people dropping in to light a candle, reflect and pray for peace.
To find out more visit the Stop The Arms Fair website or contact Just Peace N16.
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Wondering what to do with the scores of plastic carrier bags you have stuffed in a draw or hanging on the back of your kitchen door? Feel bad throwing them away? Want to see them used again?
The Hackney Migrant Centre give away a significant amount of donated food to users of the centre
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each week and they need carrier bags to put it in. Supermarkets will soon be charging 5p for each carrier bag which is a great way of encouraging recycling but that means HMC need to start collecting donated bags.
If you have bags you can donate then please bring them to the church office during the week or give them to Matt on a Sunday morning.
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We see violence all about us. Some of us have moved from our homes to escape it. Many of us live in fear.
In response to the United Nations' International Day of Peace on 21st September, take a moment to sit with these words regularly at midday.
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If you have ideas or a desire to act in building a more peaceful world then please contact Just Peace N16 (twitter @JustPeaceN16).
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OK... not that Breakfast Club... St Mary's Breakfast Club - for 10+ year olds - meets once a month on a Sunday morning for breakfast. The next one is at 10.15am (after the All Age service) on 6th November in the New Church Rooms.
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On the second Saturday afternoon of every month: fun and inspirational workshops in the beauty of The Old Church. Led by professional music workshop facilitators, we will make music together through our voices, drums or the space itself. No experience necessary.
Workshops suitable for ages 5 to 105.
Autumn / Winter dates: October 10th, November 14th, December 12th; 2-3.30pm
£6 per participant. £3 unemployed
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Watch this space for details of events happening during Advent and Christmas.
The first date for your diary is
Advent Sunday, 29th November.
Morning: Joint Service at 10.30am
Evening: Advent Carols at 7pm in The Old Church
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Parish Party
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Enjoy curry? Like dancing?
Guess what... the evening of 31st October is your lucky night! Please see Evonne or Gladys after the 11am service to buy a ticket. Raising funds for St Mary's.
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Babysong is back! Music for 0-3 year olds (and their carers). Every Wednesday morning at 10am in The Old Church.
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On the second Saturday morning of every month: fun and inspirational workshops in the beauty of The Old Church. Led by professional artists, we will explore different techniques and media, and make something new each time. All materials provided. No experience necessary.
Workshops suitable for ages 5 to 105
Autumn / Winter dates: October 10th, November 14th, December 12th; 10am-12noon
£6 per participant (incl children over 5). £3 unemployed
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