Dear friends,

On Remembrance Sunday we do not only remember war. We remember Christ who is our peace. He has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross – perpetrators and victims. His sacrifice on the cross is the overwhelming of all our killing with forgiveness.

Christians believe that those who have killed can even be reconciled with those they have harmed and bereaved. This is the reconciliation made possible by the hard wood of the cross.

This reconciliation is being put into practice by an order of nuns in Sierra Leone in West Africa after the terrible civil war there that ended in 2002. They work with the perpetrators of terrible violence. The sisters visit former child soldiers who now live in camps outside the capital Freetown to help them to find forgiveness and reconciliation. They share the word of God with them and offer them counselling. Some of these young people mocked their message at first, but slowly they began to believe.

One day a few years ago, the sisters took a young man called Kemba to the outskirts of Freetown to meet a group of survivors. A woman called Sesay recognised him as one of a group of soldiers who had participated in killing her husband and who had attacked her and left her for dead. She started shouting at Kemba. Everyone turned to look at him. He was afraid and shaken. The sisters took Kemba and Sesay outside. He knelt down and began to weep. He begged her forgiveness for what he had done to her. At first she wanted to kill him. But in time she forgave him, despite her pain. Today they time she forgave him. Today they are neighbours and even friends in a town called Makeni.

The sacrifice of Christ restored us all to a life of peace. Let us share in this peace

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/

Little Church

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.

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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John Salmon

John Salmon’s Funeral Mass will take place on Saturday 14th November at 11 am. It will be held at St. Silas the Martyr, St. Silas Place, Kentish Town, London, NW5 3QP, the Anglo-Catholic church which John has attended for about 35 years, in addition to our long-term family connection to St. Mary’s. A reception will follow the service in St. Silas church hall. Janice would be delighted if anyone from our St. Mary’s family could attend. Street parking near the church is very limited, but it is accessible by public transport. It is about a 10-minute walk from either Chalk Farm station (Northern Line from King’s Cross) or Kentish Town West (London Overground, Mildmay Line). St. Silas Place is a turning off the Prince of Wales Road. Janice hopes to arrange live-streaming and/or recording of the service for anyone unable to attend in person.
Please let Joy Heywood know if you would like to attend, as it would help with catering.

Thank you.

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.

You may have seen banners for Bubble Church at St Luke’s and other churches across the country – perhaps you’ve attended a service – it really is a joyful and fun event!

Here at St Mary Magdalene, we are excited to start the training, so that we too can hold Bubble Church services. Training takes place in February in London – we are looking for 5 people to join us, who would then be able to help just once each month in the service.

If you would like to join us, please contact Ann Rolland annrolland3@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from 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.

Autumn Organ Recital Series

Autumn Organ Recital Series – Wednesdays in October and November at 12:30 (2nd Wednesday of each month is Eleanor Pritchard Concert Series at 12:30, coffee and cakes at 11:30)

18th November – Terence Atkins (Organist Emeritus, St John the Baptist, Barnet)
25th November – Mike Emerson (DoM, Chingford Parish Church)

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.

Choral Scholars

The church seeks to appoint choral scholars in all voice parts, especially Alto, Tenor, and Bass. The scholarship is open to singers aged 15-18, although exceptions can be made. The annual fee is £600. Please contact Manav at directorofmusic@stmarymagdalene.church for further information.

Organ Scholar

The church seeks to appoint an organ scholar, who will assist in accompanying services. The scholarship is open to those in 6th form, gap-year students, University students, and recent graduates. The annual fee is £1,500. Please contact Manav at directorofmusic@stmarymagdalene.church for further information.

The Band…

If you play an instrument and can read music, why not join the band? It plays on 3 pr 4 times during the year. The music for the hymns will be given to you a couple of weeks before the service so you can try it out at home beforehand. Please speak with Manav, who accompanies the band, Eleanor, or any of the other band members. Thank you.

The Ruby Dolls Charity Gig

Wrap yourself in tinsel, stick a sprig of holly in your hair and join us for a candlelit Cabaret! And not only that, it’s for a good cause! All profits from the show* will be donated to the amazing Magic Breakfast who provide breakfast to children and young people, to help end child morning hunger for good.

The Cabaret Before Christmas at 8 pm on 12th December at St Mary Magdalene Church in Enfield

There will be carols, cabaret and Christmas cheer as four divas unite to try to plan their perfect Christmas. What could possibly go wrong? The show is packed with Christmas bangers, old and new, while paying tribute to our favourite Christmas movies with just a touch of the late, great Dolly Parton.

Will this gathering of chosen family end in peace and goodwill? Or will we drink too many sherries and total the Christmas tree? Grab a ticket, order a tipple and find out.

*This cabaret event is being organised in aid of Magic Breakfast. Reasonable costs associated with delivering the event, including equipment, and ticketing fees, will be deducted from ticket sales. The remaining surplus will be donated to Magic Breakfast.

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.

Dates for your diary

November 2026

Sunday 1st 4:00pm All Soul’s Service
Sunday 8th 10:00am Remembrance Sunday with Act of Rememberance at 11 am then Sausage Sunday at 11:30 am
Weds 11th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by E.P. Recital – Samantha Ojokor (mezzo) Carey Annesley (piano)
Weds 18th 12:30pm Organ Recital – Terence Atkins (Organist Emeritus, St John the Baptist, Barnet)
Sunday 20th 9:00am Little Church
Sunday 20th 5:00pm Evening Praise
Weds 25th 12:30pm Organ Recital – Michael Emerson, Director of Music, Chingford Parish Church
Saturday 28th 10:00am Winter Fair
Sunday 29th 6:30pm Advent Carol Service

December 2026

Weds 9th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by E.P. Recital – Bush Hill Park Recorder Consort
Saturday 12th 8:00pm Ruby Dolls Charity Concert
Sunday 13th 10:00am Toy Service
Sunday 20th 6:30pm Candlelit Nine Lessons and Carols Service
Thursday 24th 4:00pm Christingle Service
Thursday 24th 11:15pm Christmas Eve Communion
Friday 25th 10:00am Christmas Morning Communion

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.