Dear friends,

I pray not only in lament for the Church’s involvement in the slave trade, but also for hope – hope that the God of healing can bring justice and reconciliation to all who are still impacted by its legacy. In the name of Jesus Christ, who came to set people free, I pray that we have the courage to continue our journey of repentance, and to strive for a world in which all of God’s children are treated with dignity.
Dear Friends
A month ago the Archbishop of Canterbury visited a former British slave castle in Ghana and prayed at the shore where slave ships departed for the Americas.
She visited Cape Coast Castle, where at the height of the transatlantic slave trade enslaved Africans were held before being transported to the Americas on British slave ships.
The Archbishop visited the underground dungeons where prisoners were kept, and walked through the Door of No Return where enslaved Africans would pass before boarding the ships. After passing through the door, Archbishop Sarah turned and prayed in front of it.
Last week I was in Ghana and also visited one of the slave castles. I wanted to share her words with you. Archbishop Sarah said: “Being at Cape Coast Castle and seeing the horrific conditions that thousands of people were kept in, it is impossible not to feel the weight of the immense evil that drove the transatlantic slave trade.
“We have a God who loves each one of us, who created each of us with an individual value and worth, and yet that was not recognised here.
“I pray not only in lament for the Church’s involvement in the slave trade, but also for hope – hope that the God of healing can bring justice and reconciliation to all who are still impacted by its legacy. In the name of Jesus Christ, who came to set people free, I pray that we have the courage to continue our journey of repentance, and to strive for a world in which all of God’s children are treated with dignity.”

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:
Choral Evensong: 1st Sunday of the month 5:00pm 
(Not during August and December)
Little Church: for 7’s and under 3rd Sunday of the month 9:00am
Evening Praise! An informal service 3rd Sunday of the month 5:00pm

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

Hymns and Pimm’s: Choral Evensong
Sunday 6th September at 5pm.

This is the first Choral Evensong of the new academic term and we will be welcoming new Choral Scholars as well as returning Scholars and our Choir with their colleagues from other churches who join us each month. It is a lovely contemplative service and we have an exceptional Choir and Director of Music who give us music comparable to that which you hear in our cathedrals. It would be wonderful to have a good congregation to appreciate them and afterwards, you are invited to Pimm’s and nibbles (and soft drinks or tea and coffee) in the Church Hall to welcome the new Scholars and their families to our community. Do please join us.

If you would like to talk to someone or would like to share a quiet, private prayer, then look out for someone wearing a badge like this. We are always ready to listen.

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Little Church – Please note, there is no Little Church in August

Little Church, is a family friendly service for babies, toddlers and children under 7. The service lasts 30 minutes and includes songs, Bible stories with puppets, and an activity. It is designed to be both fun and a time for families to worship together.

Do join us for a morning of fun, laughter, singing and joy for the family.


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This is a wonderful opportunity to meet friends and new people in a relaxed, informal setting for an afternoon of tea, coffee, biscuits and a chat. We also have a variety of table top games such as cribbage, dominos and cards.

If you are able to help, please see Alison Reeve or Michael.

Rekindling, Tuesdays from 3:30pm

An open Bible Study in the Vestry following on from the Community Café.

A time of encouraging one another in our walk with God.

Questions:

• Would you like to join a group that looks at life together through the lens of Jesus’ words?
• The current day and time for our Rekindling group may not suit your schedule. What day(s) and time(s) work for you?

Please reply using the webmaster contact form: https://stmarymagdalene.church/contact/ if you are interested, including days and times that fit your schedule. Thank you.

Prayer Garden

We now have a dedicated area in our garden for prayer and quiet reflection. Ribbons are provided should you wish to tie one to the netting on the tree and say a quiet prayer.

The Eleanor Pritchard Concert Series

Join us at 11:30 am on Wednesday, 8th July, in the small hall for tea or coffee, cake, and a chat before going into the church for our 12:30 pm lunchtime concert, where Kayla Nicol will be performing.

Special Concert Wednesday 16th 12:30

A voice and piano recital including opera, jazz, and folk’, featuring Martha Sykes accompanied by Manav Paul.

Open Church
Saturday 19th September 10am – 5pm

Parish Concert – 4 pm 17th October

Autumn draws nigh and so does the Parish Concert! So, whatever your age, solo or with others, if you can sing, dance, play an instrument, recite, act or in any way entertain your friends for about 5 minutes maximum, please offer your services to our director of music, Manav, or to me. Thank you.
Eleanor Pritchard

Our YouTube Video ‘Praise and Worship’ Playlist

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.

Prayer…

What exactly is it? How do we pray? Why pray?

If these questions echo your thoughts in any way and you would like to find our more, there is a really good website to visit that will begin to answer these, and more questions. Born out of an event that went viral during Lent 1999 (over 25 years ago!), 24-7 Prayer has become an international organisation that has encouraged people to pray.

Their website https://www.24-7prayer.com/ has teaching and resources available to aid understanding and help in building a prayer life centred upon teaching handed down throughout the ages. There is even a free app that can be downloaded for the iPhone or for Android called Lectio 365. This provides a series of up to three daily prayer times, morning, midday, and evening (you don’t have to do all three) that last no more than 10 minutes each if you listen to the audio recordings.

I encourage you to have a look – and be encouraged to join in!

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.

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 Ken Cope, the cost is £25.

Website Treasures – Vicar’s Vlog

Have you looked at our website lately? Someone recently remarked that it was the most informative of all the Enfield church websites!

This month, we look at some of our ‘Vicar’s Vlogs’, a selection of reflections by both James and Michael on a variety of topics that are not covered in sermons. Most come with a video and are quite short, 3-5 minutes long. Michael’s reflection on St George is the latest. You will find them here:
https://stmarymagdalene.church/resources/vicars-blogs/

Dates for your diary

August 2026

Sunday 2nd No Choral Evensong
Saturday 15th 4:00pm Afternoon Tea
Sunday 16th NO Little Church
Sunday 16th 5:00pm Evening Praise

September 2026

Sunday 6th 5:00pm Choral Evensong
Weds 9th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by E.P. Recital
Saturday 19th 7:00pm Quiz Night
Sunday 20th 9:00am Little Church
Sunday 20th 5:00pm Evening Praise

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

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