Dear Friends,

Our dear sister Rita died on Sunday night. Her daughter told me that some of her last words were about how much she loved those she was leaving behind, including us. She died as as we approach the great feast of St Michael and All Angels.

When we die where do we go? We go into the unknown. Bishop Rowan Williams describes angels as “a powerful symbol for all those dimensions of the universe about which we have no real idea.” Whether we believe in angels or not, he writes, “It’s worth thinking of them as at the very least a sort of shorthand description of everything that’s ’round the corner’ of our perception and understanding in the universe—including the universal song of praise that surrounds us always.” Rita has gone ’round the corner’ now, into the unknown. But we can think of her as joining the universal song of praise of the glory of God that is led by the angels.

With love and my prayers,

James

Sunday and weekday Services

Our weekly service times are:
Sunday 10:00am Eucharist
Tuesday 10:00am Morning Prayer (BCP)
Thursday 10:30am Holy Communion (BCP)

Additional, Regular Services:
2nd Sunday of the month 6:30pm Choral Evensong
4th Sunday of the month 6:30pm Evening Praise – an informal service

We also provide a livestream of our Sunday Morning Eucharist Service. The link for the livestream page is
https://stmarymagdalene.church/livestream-service/

Change of date on the social calendar for the coming year

Tea Dance
was on 17th November, but due to a hall booking it has been moved to 9th November.

Prayers for the sick – ADVANCE NOTICE

Our list of people included in the prayers for the sick (below) and prayed for by name in the Sunday morning service is going to be refreshed beginning Sunday 6th October. This is a completely new list.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL THE CURRENT NAMES WILL NO LONGER BE INCLUDED ON THE NEW LIST.

If there is anyone you would like to be carried over and included on this new list please reply to this email or let me know BEFORE SUNDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER. Thank you.

THE WINTER FAIR
YES, IT REALLY IS TIME TO START THINKING ABOUT IT.

We are looking for donations of:

Bottles,    Toiletries,
Bric-a-Brac,
Cakes and preserves, jewellery,

raffle prizes.

Any suggestions for new stalls and volunteers to run them
 always welcome. Talk to Alison Reeve about your ideas.

Please don’t forget to put the date in your diaries
30th NOVEMBER

Charity Dinner

A huge “thank you” to everyone who supported the Charity Meal last month.
Your generosity meant we were able to donate just over £600 to Enfield Foodbank.
Alison

Community Café & Informal Singing

Community Café and The Informal Singing Group will be restarting on Tuesday September 17th.
Please note: The informal singing will be taking place as an activity during the Community Café instead of a separate activity Tuesday evenings. Please see below for what’s happening and when. If you are available to help in any way, it would be most welcome.

Rekindling – A Bible Study, Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30pm

We meet in the Vestry.

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:109

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at Mark’s Gospel together. When we come together, we’ll look at the chapter, sharing any thoughts and insights that the Holy Spirit gives.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16

Let’ u’s join together in the adventure of reading God’s Word.

Donate

Would you like to donate towards the work of St Mary Magdalene? If so, this QR code will take you to our donations page where you can choose the amount you wish to donate. Or simply click on this link: https://stmarymagdalene.church/product/open-donation/

Opening the Church on Saturdays

Our church is a valuable resource for people in our community to take some time out of their daily lives to reflect and connect with God. Not everyone is available on Sunday mornings and some just want a few minutes to pause and be still. We are hoping to make our church available for private prayer on Saturdays and are looking for volunteers who can give a couple of hours of their time. A minimum of two people will need to be always present. Names will be added to a rota, so the more people who are available to help us, the less often you will be called upon. If you are able to help with this, please see Alison Reeve.

Oktoberfest is back!

Following the success of last year’s Oktoberfest, it’s been decided we should do it all again on 5th October. This coincides with the last weekend of the real thing in Munich.

If you would like to come then please let me, Judy, know as soon as possible.
Don’t miss out on the fun!!!

Judy

Pilgrimage to Greece 2025

In the past it was always our custom to go to Launde Abbey one year and a pilgrimage elsewhere the next. Instead of going to Launde Abbey again, we are considering a pilgrimage to Greece for 2025 which includes St Paul’s time in Greece as well as some sightseeing of the ancient wonders of Greece including Athens and Delphi. Because this is likely to be expensive, about £3,000, we have deferred this to 2025 to give time to save, there is a monthly savings scheme now available. I have already had expressions of interest from about 12 people and, if you think you would like to come, please speak to Michael Smith for more details.

If you have not been on a pilgrimage with us before they are great fun, and serious too, help us all to get to know each other better and make us the family we are. Do give it a thought.

A PDF of the Pilgrimage schedule is available on our website here.

Michael Smith

Ladychapel Memorial book

Every week we remember the anniversaries of death for different people. Their names are taken from two Memorial Books we keep. One for those whose ashes are interred in the Memorial Garden and a second, in the Lady Chapel, for people we wish to be remembered on a certain date (usually their death).
If you would like the name of someone to be remembered in the Ladychapel Memorial Book please speak to Maureen Rew, the cost is £25.

Not one, not two, but eighteen nineteen twenty and growing!

Something to dip in and out of or play while ironing or relaxing! Instead of a single video, this week we have a playlist on our YouTube channel containing twenty videos with lyrics. Four have been shared in the emails before, a few of the others at Rekindling, while others you may have heard elsewhere. Hopefully there will be one, two, or more(!) that strike a chord with you, the words, the tune, or a combination of the two. There’s a variety of styles included so perhaps one day something upbeat works, another something quieter, more reflective resonates with you. Any feedback is welcome. Here’s a link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOS511gUMPpV2F1Lk-vDW5x9_UE_t_bVG

Dates for your diary

October
Sat 5th 7:00pm Oktoberfest
Tues 8th 2:00pm Rita’s funeral
Wed 9th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Sun 13th 10:00am Harvest Festival
Sun 6th 6:30pm Choral Evensong
Sat 19th 3:00pm Parish Concert
Sun 27th 6:30pm Evening Praise!

November
Sun 5th 4:00pm All Souls’ Service
Sat 9th 4:00pm Tea Dance
Sun 10th 10:00am Remembrance Service
Wed 12th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Sun 24th 6:30pm Evening Praise!
Sat 30th 10:00am Winter Fair

This magazine appears online only, with only a few copies available for archival purposes.