Dear Friends,

Is he going to be all right? Is it going to be all right? That’s a very urgent question sometimes. It may become an urgent question.
The Gospel is good news today because it gives us the assurance that – yes – it is going to be all right. In the end – yes – it’s going to be all right.

On the mountain Peter saw two men talking to Jesus. He heard what they were talking about. They were talking about his departure which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. That is, they were talking with Jesus about His death. For when He came down from that mountain His way led into darkness. His way led to Jerusalem and to His Passion and to His Death.

The Father loves His Son. On the mountain the Father shows His Son what is beyond the darkness. Beyond Crucifixion there is Resurrection. Beyond darkness there is light. The Father showed His Son that light. He shone with that light.

And so He showed us what is beyond the darkness too. Last week Michael spoke of the storms of life. Our journeys can lead into storm, into darkness, into wandering in darkness. But behind it all, and beyond it all, there is light: light and joy and everlasting love. Even when we fail, we “fail towards love”. For beyond all the darkness there is light.

This is our hope. And so we are called to shine, to shine like Jesus in His transfiguration when the appearance of his face was changed.

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)
Friday 5:00pm Prayer in the Choir Stalls

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

PLEASE NOTE:
Our Ash Wednesday Service is at 7:00pm,
not as previously advertised.

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

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Lent Course

Tuesdays during Lent immediately after Morning Prayer. A series of short videos from Jerusalem followed by reflections on a passage of scripture.
Beginning on Tuesday 11th March.

Community Café & Informal Singing

Lots of activities are planned for the Community Café, please see below.

Rekindling, Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30pm

Due to the Lent Course being run on a Tuesday Morning we will be pausing Rekindling until the Tuesday after Easter – Tuesday April 22nd.

Lunchtime Concerts

The coffee and cake organisers need help serving tea and coffee and washing up. The job is just for about 2 and a half hours once a month on the second Wednesday in the month. If you think you can help please speak to Lilian Gibbons or me. Thank you.
Eleanor Pritchard.

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Famous ex member of Enfield Jazz Band

Those of you who attend the Wednesday concerts will be familiar with the talented young musicians from Enfield Grammar School who perform each year. What you may not know is that Femi Koleoso , a former drummer with Enfield Grammar Jazz Band ,who I remember performing in Church, is leader and drummer with the Ezra Collective. This band performed at Glastonbury in 2023, and were recipients of the Mercury Music Prize, also in that year. In 2024 their song God Gave me Feet for Dancing was chosen by Barack Obama for his list of 25 favourite songs of the year. Ezra Collective have made several TV appearances, including the Graham Norton Show.

Continue supporting the EGS young musicians when they perform at St Mary’s. You could again be looking at stars of the future.

Diane Coxon

Christian Aid Week 2025 – 11th-17th May

Volunteers needed!

We are now beginning to prepare for Christian Aid Week which this year is the week of 12th – 18th May.
A huge thank you to all those who are on the team of envelope deliverers already.

If you are not involved yet, maybe this is the year to do so. It is not too late to join us and there are a lot of roads in our area that are not yet covered.

Why get involved with Christian Aid?

Christian Aid Week is the single biggest act of Christian witness in Britain and Ireland.

For thousands of people throughout the country it is a way of answering Jesus’s call to help people in need and showing the community just how much good the Church is doing in the world.

Maybe you feel you could just deliver envelopes but not collect. Maybe you feel you could not cover complete roads but just a few houses near where you live. Any additional collecting to what is already done could make a big difference.

If you have any concerns or queries or want to talk about how you can help do ask me.
Thank you, Alison Reeve

The Spring Fair

This will take place on
Saturday 10th May
10.00 – 12.00am

Please contact Alison Reeve if you can volunteer to help on any of the stalls, or to donate raffle prizes.

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.

Pilgrimage to Greece 2025

Join us on 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. It will cost around £3,100. If you think you would like to come, please speak to me 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 Ken Cope, the cost is £25.

YouTube Video Playlist

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

March 2025
Tues 4th 4:00pm Pancake Party
Weds 5th 7:00pm Ash Wednesday Service
Sun 9th 6:30pm Choral Evensong
Weds 12th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Sun 23rd 6:30pm Evening Praise!
Sun 30th 10:00am Mothering Sunday

April 2025
Weds 9th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Sun 13th 10:00am Palm Sunday Service
Sun 13th 6:30pm Choral Evensong
Mon 14th 7:00pm Stations of the Cross
Tues 15th 7:00pm Agape Meal
Weds 16th 7:00pm Stations of the Cross
Thurs 17th 8:00pm Maundy Thursday followed by The Watch
Fri 18th 12:00noon Good Friday Service
Sat 19th 9:00pm Easter Vigil
Sun 20th 10:00am Easter Morning Communion
Sun 27th 6:30pm Evening Praise!

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