What’s on in July?
SUN	1	TRINITY 4
Wed	4	St Mary’s Guild. A talk by Jenifer Davison	2.30 pm
Thu	5	‘Praise & Play’ for pre-school toddlers featuring ’A Sleepover with Lions’ - the story of Daniel. MU&OG. Dining Out Evening (Last meeting before summer break. Recommences 6 September)	10.00 am 7.30 pm
Fri	6	‘Preludes, Rhapsodies & Picturesque Pieces’ - a piano recital by Guy Middlemiss	7.30 pm
Sat	7	May Queens Service	2.00 pm
SUN	8	TRINITY 5 Evensong will be at the earlier time of ………………..	5.00 pm
Mon	9	Social Committee meets at 2 Caraway Place	7.30 pm
Tue	10	Magazine Panel meets at 35 Vanguard Way	10.00 am
SUN	15	TRINITY 6 ‘Teddies in the Park’ ‘Praise in the Park’ - Your Favourite Hymns. In Church Evensong	1.30-3.30 pm 4.00 pm 6.30 pm
Mon	16	PCC Meeting. The Centre	8.00 pm
Tue	17	‘Time for God’ quiet worship. The Carew Chapel	9.30 am
Wed	18	MU Corporate Eucharist Zimbabwe Challenge, All Saints, Sanderstead	10.00 am 7.30 pm
Thu	19	Praise & Play’ for pre-school toddlers featuring ‘Of Dreams and Colours’ - the story of Joseph	10.00 am
SUN	22	MARY MAGDALENE (Last Choral Evensong before choristers’ summer break. Recommences 2 September)
Fri	27	‘Kith, Kin & Kanine’ - Centre open for coffee and cake	10-11.30 am
SUN	29	TRINITY 8 Evening prayer will be said	6.30 pm

Saints and Commemorations in July

Tue 3 THOMAS THE APOSTLE (see below)

Fri 6 Thomas More, Scholar, and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Reformation Martyrs,

1535 (see below)

Wed 11 Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, Father of Western Monasticism, c550

Sat 14 John Keble, Priest, Tractarian, Poet, 1866

Sun 15 St Swithun

Mon 16 Osmond, Bishop of Salisbury, 1099

Wed 18 Elizabeth Ferard, First Deaconess of the Church of England, Founder of the

Community of St Andrew

Thu 19 Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, and his sister Macrina, Beaconess, Teachers of the Faith,

c394 and c379

Fri 20 Margaret of Antioch, Martyr, 4th century

Bartolomé de las Casas, Apostle to the Indies, 1566

Sun 22 MARY MAGDALENE

Wed 25 JAMES THE APOSTLE

“ “ St Christopher

Thu 26 Anne and Joachim, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Fri 27 Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, Teacher of the Faith, 1901

Mon 30 William Wilberforce, Social Reformer, 1833

Tue 31 Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of The Society of Jesus, 1556

Readings for Sundays in July

Sunday, 1 July, Trinity 4

1 Kings 19 : 15-15, 19-end

Luke 9 : 51-end

Sunday, 8 July, Trinity 5

Isaiah 66 : 10-14

Galatians 6 : 7-16

Luke 10 : 1-11, 16-20

Sunday, 15 July, Trinity 6

Deuteronomy 30 : 9-14

Colossians 1 : 1-14

Luke 10 : 25-37

Sunday, 22 July, Mary Magdalene

Song of Solomon 3 : 1-14

2 Corinthians 5 : 14-17

John 20 : 1-2, 11-18

Sunday, 29 July, Trinity 8

Genesis 18 : 20-32

Luke 11 : 1-13

Thinking of you

Every Sunday we pray for people living and working in two or three roads

in the parish. The roads in July will be:

Sunday 1 July

Guy Road & Manatee Place

Sunday 8 July

Church Paddock Court & Church Lane

Sunday 15 July

Church Road & Archway Close

Sunday 22 July

Streeters Lane & Gisbourne Close

Sunday, 29 July

The Brandries & Whelan Way

From the registers

Weddings

26 May Steven Varney and Natalie Martin

“ “ Benjamin Armitage Lighting and Lucinda English

2 June William Frank Kemp and Susan Elizabeth Marie Ellis

Baptisms

9 June Amy Grace Woolterton

10 June Ruby Dawn Clarke

“ “ Brooke Suzannah Sharp

Funerals

5 June Alfred William Sales, age 95

11 June Sara Lina Neal, age 81

20 June Marjorie Florence Webb, age 76

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Snippets

The ringers held their Annual Outing on May 19 this year. They visited Buckland, Reigate, Horley, Charlwood, Newdigate and Kingswood, lunching in the Half Moon at Charlwood. We left about 9.30am and were home just after 6.00pm, unlike a certain Outing of the past. Stewart Kimber had noted in his Twenty Year Ago that the ringers' Outing of 1967 had left at 8.00am and returned at 11.30pm. Now that really was an Outing!!

The Friends of Beddington & The Grange Parks met on 15 May, when they had a talk from Peter Dankert, Unit Manager at Viridor’s Beddington landfill site. Here Viridor process 400,000 tonnes of waste each year - which is a substantial proportion of the waste from the whole of London. The good news is that the increase in the amount of recycling in this area means that this landfill site is not filling up as fast as had at one time been expected.

Overheard at the church: "Where's the car, dear?" "Don't know, you had it last". "No I didn't! Oh, wait a minute….. didn't we leave it in the car park last night? You remember - we had to walk home after that bottle of wine". (No names, no pack drill!)

In the right place and just in time. The chandeliers from St Mary’s north aisle which went to St Michael’s Church, Burgh-by-Sands, are now up and ready for use in their new location. St’s are delighted and say the chandeliers look as if they had always belonged there. They are up just in time for Burgh-by-Sands’ week of commemoration of the 700th anniversary of the death of King Edward I and succession of King Edward II. King Edward I died at Burgh Marsh on 7 July 1307. His body was laid in St Michael’s Church and his son, Prince Edward, came there to pay his respects before being proclaimed king at Carlisle 14later

Keeping out the rain! The choir vestry window which was damaged by high winds earlier this year has now been replaced. Specialist glaziers have done the job so that the new window is in keeping with the others in the same set. The cost of this repair will be about £500. (More about looking after old buildings below)

Our choir has been working very hard over the past week or so. So we thank them and wish them happy holidays when they take a break after Choral Evensong on 22. They will be back refreshed and in fine voice on 2 September.

Zimbabwe Link The recent group trip to Central Zimbabwe passed off safely and healthily for all concerned. Bishop Nick and other group members will be sharing their experience of the generosity and welcome from people whose whole country is descending into chaos on 18 July at Sanderstead. If you are interested in going along please speak to Justine.

Sticker-happy - but it’s the law

From 1 July virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England will be smoke free. Not only will it be illegal to smoke in these places, but those who control the premises have a legal responsibility to prevent people from smoking. This includes the requirement to display non-smoking signs, and the regulations clearly state the required size and siting. Churches and church halls are not exempt and the penalties for non-compliance are heavy

Fairtrade grows

Britons are helping create a Fairtrade revolution, according to the American-based Christian Science Monitor, with sales in 2006 up 46% from the previous year.

According to Traidcraft, Britain has overtaken Switzerland to become the largest Fairtrade market. The Fairtrade Foundation’s website is: www.fairtrade.org.uk

A year in the life of the Mayor of Sutton

Sue Bailey, one of our tower bell ringers, has recently completed a year as Mayoress to her husband, Richard’s, Mayoral rôle. We asked her to tell us something about the experience …..

"How do you get to be Mayor" "What is your most interesting experience?" "Why do you have a bigger necklace than my Mummy?" "What does a Mayor do?" These were all questions we were asked during our year as Mayor and Mayoress. The first one was easy enough - you have to be a Councillor and are then eligible to be elected by your fellow Councillors as Mayor for the year. The second and third questions were quite impossible - at least on the spur of the moment. The answer to the final question, we decided, was 'that the Mayor is the public face of the Borough and is there to make people feel appreciated'. The only function the Mayor must by law carry out is to chair Council Meetings, usually about seven a year.

The work is roughly divided into three parts. The first is the invitations to attend functions, open things, close things, prop things up, knock things down, school speech days, church services, special occasions in the life of the Borough. Primary school events are particularly enjoyable as the Mayor usually attends in robes, along with the Mace, which fascinates the children. It would be nice to be able to accept everything but that is just not possible and that is where the Deputy Mayor comes to the rescue.

Next are the functions we organised in the Mayor's Parlour. The Carers' Centre as one of our charities was invited to a number of receptions - carers, young carers, black and ethnic minority carers, volunteers and staff, etc. During the year we also invited a number of other groups to the Parlour - Conservation volunteers, Scout leaders (it is their centenary this year), volunteers from the Vine Project, Meals on Wheels, Age Concern, Parks Staff and volunteers, bellringers (after all who would invite them if we did not) as well as residents picked at random from the electoral register.

The Mayor decides whether a float will be entered in the New Year's Day Parade in Central London, and organises the workforce. As the Parade is a week after Christmas and the lorry takes several days to decorate it is a good idea to put Christmas on the back burner for the year. We were very lucky - our four children, plus partners and grandchildren were all visiting for Christmas, so while we went off to visit two Christmas lunches organised by local Churches they prepared and cooked our Christmas lunch. At least the children did - the grandchildren merely got in the way!

The day after Boxing Day preparation of the lorry started, with Val and Stan Coleman doing a sterling job along with sundry councillors and two members of Carshalton Rotary. Floats entered by the Boroughs are judged and the prizes are generous enough to cover the costs - provided you win one! We were lucky and were awarded 4th prize, which brought in £4000 for our charity fund. It was a wonderful day with a great atmosphere. We were so lucky with the weather - it poured down on New Year's Eve, was beautiful for the Parade and was raining again by the time we left London.

The final set of events are referred to as OMJs (Other Mayors' Jollies). These are events organised by London and Surrey Mayors to raise money for their charities, and included such events as dinner in the Painted Hall at Greenwich Naval College, dinner at the Tower of London, a guided tour of Wimbledon Tennis and Croquet Club, a trip to the Boat Race etc. Some Mayors are very lucky and have a wide range of historic buildings in their Boroughs - we had to scratch our heads rather to decide what to invite Mayors to in Sutton. In the end we decided on a guided tour of Bed-Zed, together with a vegan lunch, followed by a trip to Little Holland House.

Altogether we completed 460 functions during the course of the year. We went to places we had never before visited in the Borough and met a fascinating range of people. Interestingly the same faces would pop up time and again wearing different hats.

For an almost complete list of functions those of you with access to the internet can look up richardbailey.me.uk which is our website, complete with photos. We only started the website in September so the earlier part of the year is missing.

As a complete change from all the formal events, we spent such free days as we had walking the London Loop to raise money for our charities, the Carers' Centre and the Friends of Orchard Hill College. The London Loop, known as the walkers' M25, is a series of footpaths right round the edge of London. We started the walk in October and finished in March, taking 17 days altogether, walking anything between 8 and 12 miles each day - the whole walk being somewhere between 140 -150 miles, depending how often and how seriously you got lost.

We have recently been given some money from members of the congregation for which many thanks. We did not put the sponsorship form in the Church so until the money came in were not aware people were taking an interest otherwise we would have provided a running commentary on our whereabouts.

Will you miss it? Yes to a certain extent. It is nice to have the car to take you to places, to be greeted as if you were someone important, to have the opportunity to visit so many interesting places, and meet so many people, but it is very demanding. You are either changing to go out, going out, or not being able to go out because you are worried about not having time to be ready for the next function. Whole free days were a luxury. Since finishing in May Richard has been very busy with the garden. I have been able to go out walking, look after the grandchildren, and we are soon off on holiday - so yes life if different but no less enjoyable.

Sue Bailey

A Tale of Two Thomases

Thomas the Apostle, 3 July

The apostle Thomas is probably best remembered as Doubting Thomas because of his refusal to believe Jesus had risen unless he could touch him and see his wounds. In his gospel, St John refers to Thomas as Didymus, which is Greek for twin. Interestingly, the name Thomas itself comes from the Aramaic word for twin - "Toma". So it seems that using both words, "Thomas" and "Didymus", is in fact tautological and his real name is never mentioned. Historical writings speculate his name was Jude, but the apostle Jude is referred to quite separately.

There are various stories of where Thomas journeyed to after the resurrection but he is best known as the missionary to India. He is believed to have landed at a place called Maliankara, on the banks of the Arabian Sea, about AD52. There he spread Christianity and several churches were built and dedicated to him.

Thomas More, 6 July

Thomas More was born on February 7, 1478. He was a lawyer, author and a statesman. He was Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532. It was Thomas More who coined the word "Utopia", a name he gave to an ideal imaginary island nation, whose political system he described in a book published in 1516.

He is chiefly remembered for his principled refusal to accept Henry VIII's claim to be supreme head of the Church of England, a decision which ended his political career and led to his execution as a traitor.

In 1935, 400 years after his death, he was canonized in the Roman Catholic church by Pope Pius XI and was later declared the patron saint of lawyers and statesmen. He shares his feast day in the Roman church calendar (June 22) with St John Fisher, the only Bishop during the Reformation to maintain his allegiance to the Pope. He was added to the Anglican calendar in 1980 and his feast day is kept on July 6.

More married his first wife, Jane Colt, in 1505. The marriage was happy and they had three daughters and a son. They also adopted an orphan girl. He was apparently a devoted father and, unusually for the time, put as much effort into educating his daughters as for his son, claiming that girls were just as intelligent as boys.

Jane died in 1511 and More remarried quite soon after, in order to provide his children with a mother. They had no children together but he adopted his second wife's daughter.

More's biographer was William Roper, his son-in-law. He had married More's daughter Margaret, who was a translator. After More's imprisonment in the Tower of London, Margaret visited him frequently, often accompanied by her husband. When More was beheaded for treason, his head was displayed on a pike for a month. At the end of this time, Margaret bought the head and preserved it in spices until her own death in 1544, when the head was buried with her.

The story of Sir Thomas More is brought to life in the play A Man for all Seasons by Robert Bolt.

Three schools, in the old parish of Beddington, are named after Thomas More, Margaret Roper and John Fisher.

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Watch an old building with an anxious care; guard it as best you may

and at any cost, from every influence of dilapidation.

……so said John Ruskin in 1859. But how can we provide that anxious care today

Question: Who are the three most important guardians of Britain’s building heritage?

Answer: The National Trust, the Churches, and British Waterways (who look after the country’s network of canals).

Some simple statistics, published by English Heritage, illustrate the scale of the church’s historic legacy. In England there are over 16,000 Anglican Parish Churches and about 13,000 of these are listed buildings. The Roman Catholics, Methodists, URC, Baptists and Society of Friends together are responsible for 11,962 places of worship. Over 2,000 of these are listed. There are also 30 listed synagogues and one listed mosque.

The criteria for giving a building ‘listed’ status are decided by English Heritage. There are three categories (which cover buildings of all kinds, not only churches):

Grade 1 are considered of exceptional interest. There are 6,000 of these in England and Wales.

Grade 2* are particularly important and of more than special interest. There are about 18,000 of these.

Grade 2 are of special interest and worth making the effort to preserve them.

When listing churches, ‘A’ and ‘B’ are usually substituted for ‘1’ and ‘2’, so St’s Beddington is a listed Grade B* - ‘particularly important’. Like so many other parish churches, St Mary’s is one of the oldest buildings in the local landscape. It is important to local people of all walks of life and to visitors from further afield who may be interested in architecture, history, many aspects of art, and in their own family history. All this, of course, is in addition to its special value to the regular congregation and to many who come here for special events or looking for a place of quiet and peace.

All churches are expensive buildings to maintain. Listed buildings are very expensive. The work on them has to be of a high standard and in keeping with the original fabric. Contrary to public opinion, there is no government subsidy - local congregations are expected to meet the bills, which for many parishes has now become impossible.

About this time last year, English Heritage launched a campaign called “Inspired”, aiming to help some of the Grade A listed churches which are facing an uncertain future - usually in spite of the valiant efforts of their own congregations. But “Inspired” was not set up to help the many other very special church buildings whose congregations are facing rising costs and have decreasing funds to meet them. We all have to find the difficult balance between spending on the building and spending on our other essential work of being the church for the people of the parish.

This is where SPAB comes in. SPAB, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, was founded in 1877 by William Morris to care for and preserve Britain’s architectural heritage. It is still a dynamic organisation, and SPAB has this year launched its own campaign, “Faith in Maintenance”, funded by a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This grant money is being used to run a series of free one-day seminars for people responsible for church buildings, ie clergy and churchwardens, all over the country; for opening a technical advice line, and for encouraging ‘networking’ which will enable us to help each other to tackle building maintenance matters before they become too big and too expensive.

The first seminar was offered to us in the Croydon Area in May. We ‘guinea pigs’ gave it a Grade A marking. Concentrating on churches in Southwark Diocese, one of the architect members of the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches showed a series of slides illustrating the wealth and variety of church buildings in our area and their use of materials and construction techniques. Southwark’s oldest is at Farleigh, its newest at Walworth. And there are many unusual, even eccentric buildings in between. Another session was illustrated by slides showing ‘problem’ buildings. We at Beddington have to think ourselves lucky, our gutters are reasonably accessible and we don’t have to contend with the wilder excesses of some of the late nineteenth century builders of the inner South London suburbs. Useful practical sessions covered various aspects of using and dealing with specialist professionals, ‘regulations’, and sources of grants. Then we were let loose on our very kind host church (St Michael’s, West Croydon). Walking round, inside and out, we were asked to identify vulnerable areas of the fabric and signs of defects and to suggest possible reasons and remedies.

So - it all comes back down to us, but with the free support of SPAB with its 130 years of experience in the treatment and care of old buildings. Their manifesto includes William Morris’s advice - almost their motto - “Stave off decay by daily care”. In other words, ‘A stitch in time ……’.

Every participant came away from the seminar with a copy of the ‘Faith In Maintenance’ handbook, full of more useful, practical information. Its introduction brings us back to the equally important questions of ‘why’ and ‘who for’, as well as ‘how’. Statistics from a quite different source indicate that churches which are open and used by their local community are the ones least likely to suffer vandalism or decay.

Our heritage of church buildings is for the present as well as being a memorial of the past. Maybe the twenty-first century churches care of our buildings should begin by exploring appropriate ways of staving off decay by daily use

Pat Kingsbury

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Saturday 23 June.

St Mary’s Choir performed a concert in Carshalton Methodist Church, a venue noted for its excellent acoustic. They performed to a large and very appreciative audience, who thoroughly enjoyed the varied programme.

The adult and treble sections sang some items together and others separately. Not only was it a delight to listen to them all, but also to see such a large and enthusiastic group of boys. They produced a strong, clear sound and I was very impressed with their diction and the way they responded to Andrew’s direction.

We were taken on a musical magic carpet through Europe, finally ending up “Somewhere over the Rainbow” – a version sung in close harmony barber-shop style and very different from regular church repertoire! We also travelled through time with music spanning four centuries, showing the choir’s versatility in adapting to a wide range of styles.

The concert opened with Stanford’s majestic Magnificat in C and this was followed by some contrasting unaccompanied anthems, the serenity of Palestrina, the drama of Bruckner, as well as music from Taizé. After the more traditional religious items it was a very effective contrast to hear the boys sing “Walking in the Air” and Rutter’s version of “All things Bright and Beautiful”. The choral items were interspersed with instrumental solos from Guy Middlemiss - Rhapsody in G minor by Brahms, and James Pedrick - a Bach organ trio and a Chopin Polonaise for piano. Then Archer’s “Rejoice the Lord is King” brought the first half to a close with great panache.

During the interval drinks and delicious home-made cakes were served.

The second half began with Saint-Saëns – an organ arrangement of Danse Macabre played by Andrew with his customary touch of humour and ended very appropriately with Rutter’s “The Lord bless you and keep you”.

As you enter Carshalton Methodist Church you are greeted with words from Psalm 100, “Give thanks to Him and praise His name.” On Saturday night the church was filled with a wonderful sound which certainly did just that! Thank you to everyone involved in making the evening such a memorable one and reminding us how fortunate we are to have such an accomplished choir enhancing our services week by week. Proceeds from the concert will go towards choir funds and also support the Methodist Outreach Work.

Rosemary Pedrick

Sunday, 24 June.

WOW! That was the response I heard to a number of participants at this year’s Churches Together in Beddington and Wallington Music Festival, once again masterinded by Carolyn Churchyard. There were a huge number of participants, and I was astounded by the range of styles of music presented to us, all of which honoured God.

The range of music went from Tudor motets to numbers from ‘Sister Act’, with every stop from Stanford to Kendrick in between (including, St’s Handbells’ rendition of ‘My Grandfather’s Clock’ which had brought about a serious WOW! from those around me). But what was obvious was the commitment and enthusiasm of the performers from the youngest to the oldest.

We heard from the Messenger Choir who sang in a variety of languages – French, English and a number of African languages; from a number of “traditional church choirs” including our own choir and St Michael’s; from the Junior Choirs of the URC, St Patrick’s and St Michael’s, as well as two choirs from St Elphege’s School. Who could forget the sight of hands being violently (or should that be enthusisatically) thrown out to the left and the right to remind us that God loves us all. Indeed, that seemed to be the theme of the evening, that no matter who we are, where we worship or what we like singing, we are all beloved children of God.

£326.10 was raised for St Raphael’s and the Diamond Riding Centre and the response has been fantastic both from both audience and performers alike. The Messenger Choir had travelled from as far as north London and Heathrow to be there and said they felt so welcome and fulfilled by taking part.

Thank you Carolyn and to everyone who took part for reminding us in such an enjoyable way about one of the most important aspects of our faith.

Justine

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Sutton Deanery Synod

St Nicholas Church, Sutton

Thursday, 24 May 2007

The Area Dean welcomed to the Synod the new members of clergy and laity who were there for the first time. Then the Revd Sarah Mullally gave us a parish overview. She said they were a team ministry which included three churches: Christ Church, Sutton, St Barnabas, Sutton New Town, and St. Sarah is the Team Rector and Mark Pullinger the Team Vicar, and they share the cure of souls. They are now beginning to work out what it means to be a team, and they are encouraging their congregations to say what they want to focus on for the coming year and what it means for each of them to be church. They are also asking what they can do to strengthen their weaknesses and to improve their strengths. They are focusing upon learning together, working on Christian discipleship, and mission outreach. They have one Reader, five SPAs, one NSM and two Hospital Chaplains.

Next we were introduced to the Revd Will Cookson from Springfield Road church who is on the committee for promoting “Back to Church Sunday” which is to take place on Sunday, 30 September 2007. His task is to encourage all the churches in the diocese to take part in this event. The idea is to invite people back to church who used to attend at some time in the past and who for various reasons have stopped coming. We want to let these people know that without them our church is incomplete. Statistics show that out of every ten people who leave, five go elsewhere and five stop going to church altogether. The ideal situation is to encourage them to come back to their own churches. The Manchester Diocese ran a “Back to Church Sunday” and across the diocese 1,500 people came back to church. People are just waiting for someone to invite them back.

In the resource packs which each church can obtain there are two-part cards; on one half we invite someone to church on that Sunday, and the other half is retained in order that we can pray for them. Other dioceses have also had “Back to Church” Sundays with similar excellent results. People lose contact for all sorts of reasons and are nervous about going back and welcome an invitation to return. Also, people want to belong to a community.

Following on from Revd Cookson’s talk, the Venerable Dennis Ede asked us to break up into groups to talk about what we were going to take back to our churches for discussion and decisions in the light of what had been said at the Synod. We were to look at every aspect of the welcome that we give to people who come to our churches; what newcomers might find off-putting and what makes them feel at home. Also, we were asked to think about how we use the media to make ourselves known.

The next meeting of the Deanery Synod is to take place on Wednesday, 7, at St Dunstans, Cheam. The topics will be on domestic violence issues and on our Zimbabwe Link

Jenifer Davison, Deanery Representative

Worship and mobility

If money is one of the great objects of popular worship today, then mobility is another. A few years ago Professor John Adams of London University coined the term ‘hypermobility’; fifty years ago the average British citizen travelled five miles a day, but today he or she travels 28 miles. And of that distance, nine miles is abroad, mostly by air. These are average figures, and include many who travel very little but others who do vast amounts of travel; one of our neighbours commutes weekly to New York.

So we expect to be mobile, often without considering the effects on ourselves, our families, the community or the environment. Ann Morisy has pointed out that this mobility becomes a spiritual matter when a very large proportion of the population can organise its mobility without having to encounter any strangers. The flexibility, comfort and power that a car gives us has fed our egos like nothing else, and the more overblown our egos, the more consumer props we need to reinforce the impression and lend security.

Belatedly, politicians are now recognising the environmental problems that are fuelling climate change. Secular prophets like Mayer Hillman warn us that if carbon dioxide emissions need to be reduced by 60% to stabilise the world's climate, the affluent West must cut its emissions by 90%. He suggests an 'energy ration'; you could heat your house for the winter or have a return flight to Florida. But not both.

This means drastic changes in lifestyle. But no more drastic than those experienced by Noah when he entered the ecological covenant with God in Genesis chapters 8 and 9, following the chastening experience of the flood and the ark. Curbing our mobility may well help us to find our wellbeing in community, under God, where we are.

Elizabeth Goodridge and Ian Yearsley of Southwark Diocese

Daily prayer topics in July

Sun 1 That we may be faithful followers of our Lord

Mond 2 The Church in Papua New Guinea

Tue 3 For an increase in faith and trust in our Lord

Wed 4 The people of the USA and their Independence Day

Thu 5 The Methodist Conference, 5-12 July

Fri 6 The General Synod, 6-10 July

Sat 7 The severely handicapped and their carers

Sun 8 Sailors, Fishermen and the Royal Navy

Mon 9 Aids orphans and those who care for them

Tue 10 The safety of all on holiday

Wed 11 All Benedictine Monastic Communities

Thu 12 Holiday clubs for children and their leaders

Fri 13 All who teach the faith and pass it on by example

Sat 14 The Diocese of Salisbury

Sun 15 Churches Together at St Mary’s

Mon 16 Our PCC meeting tonight

Tue 17 India’s rural farmers trapped in debt

Wed 18 Deaconesses and the Community of St Andrew

Thu 19 Vocations to the religious life

Fri 20 All who are imprisoned for their faith

Sat 21 Prison Chaplains and Visitors

Sun 22 Thanksgiving that in Christ we are a new creation

Mon 23 The Anglican Communion and its leaders

Tue 24 Counsellors and all who seek to reconcile and guide others

Wed 25 The United Nations and all who work for peace

Thu 26 The Samaritans and those who seek their help

Fri 27 Our ‘Kith, Kin & Canine’ Coffee Morning

Sat 28 Our Link Diocese in Zimbabwe

Sun 29 Thanksgiving for God’s mercy and love

Mon 30 The sick, the lonely and the bereaved

Tue 31 Our families and friends

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Come into the Garden, Maude

What’s on in July?

Saints and Commemorations in July

Readings for Sundays in July

Thinking of you

From the registers

Weddings

Baptisms

Funerals

Snippets

Sticker-happy - but it’s the law

Fairtrade grows

BacktoChurchSunday

A year in the life of the Mayor of Sutton

A Tale of Two Thomases

Thomas the Apostle, 3 July

Thomas More, 6 July

Mothers' Union

Watch an old building….

Mercy Ships to Set Sail for Africa

Singing to the Children of God

Sutton Deanery Synod

Worship and mobility

Church may expand its role in welfare field

Twenty Years Ago

Hoarders Wanted

Testing Times

Daily prayer topics in July