Dear Friends,

I confess I always find it interesting to see what gigs a patron saint gets when they get to heaven. So St Lawrence is patron saint of chefs, because he was burnt alive on a gridiron. John the Baptist is patron saint of motorways, because he “made the paths straight”. Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of converts… well that makes sense; she’s also the patron saint of pharmacists… I’m not sure why, maybe because she cared for Jesus and the disciples. But—and this seems like cheating—she’s also apparently the patron saint of all women! Though maybe it isn’t that surprising, as after the Virgin Mary she’s probably the top female saint. She also happens to be one of my favourites.

And if I were asked what my favourite Bible passage is, the one set for Mary Magdalene’s day has been mine for a long time: John chapter 20 and the story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus just Resurrected. For me it’s the most beautiful passage in all of Scripture, and conveys the character and personality of Christ, like an arrow to the heart. And whenever people ask me what I think Heaven is like, I don’t have to think… I think it’s like the description of that meeting, in that garden, on Easter morning.

We don’t know what demons Mary Magdalene was freed from, but the description of a woman “from whom seven devils had gone out” may have been a poignant description of a woman who had been rescued by Jesus, as the sinful woman was, from her past life. But it also tells us that she had suffered real horrors, and encountered genuine evil in her life. Evil from which Jesus had saved her, mind and body.
On that Easter day, after the Sabbath, Jesus was dead and the joy of Mary’s life had now gone with him to the grave, and there hadn’t even been time to anoint the body in the awful confusion of the Crucifixion. And so “early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark”, we find Mary numbly working her way to the garden in the cold early morning, clutching ointment with her, as we learn from Mark and Luke’s Gospel—to at last give Jesus the decency of a proper anointing and burial.

But on top of that, when she gets there she sees that wildly the stone is missing and Jesus is gone, and she runs to Peter and to John. But after they have left, Mary remains, weeping outside the tomb. In the stillness of the now empty garden, with nothing for company but maybe the early birdsong.

And “she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

“And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’” It has been pointed out that these words, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”, the first ever words of the Risen Christ, are words which Jesus speaks to all of us, to all our hearts when they are grieved and sad. Jesus seeks our trust, and wants us to tell Him why we are crying. He wants us to see that all our griefs and all our desires in the end point to one Person—Himself. Jesus is the one real Object we are ‘seeking’; and when we are with Him, we don’t need to weep any more.

And Jesus cuts through all Mary’s emotions with just one word:—“Mary!” And their bond of friendship is restored again.

In the life after death, in the glory of the garden in early light, he calls her by her name, tenderly, lovingly, with a joyful face, smiling eyes, and perhaps laughter just below the surface. And it is a new day, in a new era. And that is why I see this as Heaven.

When Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday, the sky darkened, and evil was, it seemed, victorious—but on Easter morning in the early light of the new day Mary saw the Risen Christ; and as apostle to the apostles, ran and told them the Good News: “I have seen the Lord!”

“I have seen the Lord!”

God does and will convert the evil of this world to good, and lead us out to the Promised Land.
Our calling as people of St Mary Magdalene, is to be like her—to be faithful even when all seems dark, even when all is dark. To keep stumbling forward, stubbornly clutching our faith, like the precious ointment—to hold fast to who God is, and see the echoes of Easter morning in our everyday lives, in kindness to a stranger, in the birdsong of a new day. Because ultimately God brings good out of evil, and light out of darkness 30 times, a hundred times over, as we celebrate together (every week) in Holy Communion.

Be like Mary. Amen.

With love and my prayers,

Michael
(Excerpts from Michael’s Sermon on our Patronal Sunday.)

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 beginning in September
(please note the change of days):

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/

Community Café & Informal Singing
…will be continuing in September

Rekindling, Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30pm
we will be meeting at Mo & Malcom’s throughout
August.

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 Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 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 us join together in the adventure of reading God’s Word

Congratulations to Jean McDonald

Congratulations to Jean, who has been awarded a prestigious gold medal award by the BAUS (The History of The British Association of Urological Surgeons) for her tireless dedication to the national and international medical field of urology and her unstinting devotion to training new doctors and nurses to continue this good work. Well done Jean!

Jean’s acceptance speech.

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

Celebrate the Paris Olympics with us

As of 26/07 only 4 places left!

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/

Parish Picnic

At Alison and Paul’s, Saturday 17th August from 4pm

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.

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 also available on our website.

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.

All have great words that I encourage you to be active participants in rather than passive bystanders. Here’s a link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOS511gUMPpV2F1Lk-vDW5x9_UE_t_bVG

Dates for your diary

August

Sat 10th 2:30pm Mary’s Meals BBQ with Chris Dey
Sun 11th 12:noon Cheese & Wine Luncheon
Wed 14th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Sat 17th 4:00pm Parish Picnic
Sun 25th 1:00pm Katie and Patrick’s wedding

September

Sun 8th 6:30pm Choral Evensong
Wed 11th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Wed 18th 7:30pm PCC Meeting

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