Guy and I managed to grab a few days in Bruges after Easter - we didn't as far as we know bump into any "resting" assassins but we did meet some people from Hackbridge! The city was absolutely beautiful - glorious canals, amazing architecture. Somehow it managed to maintain a medieval feel, giving you an impression of what the city might have been like centuries ago. Of course it's a tourist trap, but a very beautiful one to be caught in.

One of the things that impressed us most was the ability of so many of the local people we met to speak fluently in at least two or three languages. People seemed to move effortlessly from Flemish (Dutch), to French, to English. Their knowledge of the language was detailed and colloquial (at least judging from the English) and they could even joke in a language that wasn't their own. We reflected on how hard it is to joke in another language - humour doesn't seem to translate well - yet also how much that put us at our ease. We knew we were going to be understood, we didn't need to miss out the subtleties of English (our Dutch stretches only as far as "hello", "goodbye" and "thank you"). It's only when someone speaks our language that we feel we can truly communicate, only then can we feel at home.

That must have been what it felt like on that first Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended and people felt they heard the Gospel in their own tongue. They no longer needed an interpreter, they knew, they understood. They didn't have to stumble their way towards God: rather God came to them through the apostles, speaking to them in words they could understand in a language that meant something to them. The words weren't a barrier, they could concentrate on the message.

I think that there is in this a challenge for today. How do we speak in a language that the world around us understands? How can we communicate so that the words and images we use don't become a barrier to faith but help people come to God? How can we do all that and yet not compromise the message - being in the world but not of it?

Perhaps we need to start with ourselves. What are the words, the pictures that shape our image of God? Are we brave enough to share them with others, or is there something stopping us? Do we communicate them with others directly, or do we feel we have to dress everything up in "God-language". How can we fulfil our calling to proclaim the Gospel afresh in this time, in this place? How is God calling us to speak today?

Justine

What's on in May
THU	1	ASCENSION DAY. Eucharist	7.30 pm
Sat	3	Flower Festival in Church Bell Tower open.	10.00 am - 5.00 pm
"	"	Choral and Instrumental Concert by the Choir	7.30 pm
SUN	4	EASTER 7 Flower Festival in Church	11.30 am - 5.00 pm
Mon	5	Bank Holiday Flower Festival in Church Bell Tower open Rotary Club May Fayre in Beddington Park	10.00 am - 5.00 pm
Wed	7	St Mary's Guild meets at St Mary's Court	2.30 pm
Thu " "	8 " "	Praise & Play for pre-school toddlers Mothers' Union & Open Group meet in the Centre. Speaker: Jill Pidler on Labour, Pregnancy and Running the Marathon Churches Together meeting at Holy Trinity, Wallington	10.00 am 7.30 pm 7.30 pm
SUN	11	PENTECOST (Whit Sunday) Christian Aid service at St Paul's, Roundshaw to mark the start of Christian Aid Week	6.30 pm
Mon " "	12 " "	Staff Meeting at the Rectory Magazine Panel meets at 35 Vanguard Way Social Committee meets at 9 Caraway Place	9.30 am 2.30 pm 8.00 pm
Tue "	13 "	Time for God Quiet Worship. The Carew Chapel PCC Meeting. The Centre	9.30 am 8.00 pm
Wed	14	Mothers' Union Festival Services at Southwark Cathedral	11.00 am-7.30 pm
SUN	18	TRINITY SUNDAY
Wed "	21 "	Mothers' Union Corporate Eucharist. Poetry for Pleasure. The Centre	2.30 pm 2.00 pm
Thu	22	Praise & Play for pre-school toddlers	10.00 am
SUN	25	TRINITY 1
Mon	26	Bank Holiday
Fri	30	Kith, Kin & Kanine. The Centre open for coffee and cakes	10.00-11.30 am

Thinking of you

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

The roads in May will be:

Sunday, 4 May

Bristow Road & Collyer Avenue

Sunday, 11 May

Bedlow Way & Nicholas Road

Sunday, 18 May

Willoughby Avenue & Oakley Avenue

Sunday, 25 May

Claydon Drive

Readings for May

Thursday, 1 May, Ascension Day

Acts 1 : 1-11

Ephesians 1 : 15-end

Luke 24 : 44-end

Sunday, 4 May, Easter 7

Acts 1 : 6-14

1 Peter 4 : 12-14; 5 : 6-11

John 17 : 1-11

Sunday, 11 May, Pentecost

Acts 2 : 1-21

1 Corinthians 12 : 3b-13

John 20 : 19-23

Sunday, 18 May, Trinity Sunday

Isaiah 40 : 12-17, 27-end

2 Corinthians 13 : 11-end

Matthew 28 : 16-20

Sunday, 25 May, Trinity 1

Leviticus 19 : 1, 2, 9-18

1 Corinthians 3 : 10, 11, 16-end

Matthew 5 : 38-end

Our Assistant Curate

We’re delighted to announce the appointment of the Revd Paul Goodridge as Assistant Curate of St Mary’s Beddington

Paul will be Licensed by the Ven Tony Davis, Archdeacon of Croydon at Choral Evensong

on Sunday 15th June at 5pm.

All welcome

The service will be followed by a party to welcome Paul and his family to St Mary’s.

“Receive the Cure of Souls which is both yours and mine…”

… or, will the real Curate please stand up!

One of the things that is wonderful about the Church of England is the titles it gives to its clergy. What exactly is a Vicar? And how are they different from a Rector? (The answer is that these days they are practically interchangeable, but a Rector tends to be associated with an Ancient Parish where there was glebe land. Rectors also used to be entitled to the tithes payable in a parish while a Vicar, who was there vicariously for someone else (geddit?) had to pass them on). But one of the most interesting and confusing titles in the Church of England is “Curate”.

The Church of England operates on a geographical parish system. That means that everybody in the country, whether they identify themselves as Anglican or not has a parish priest who has the responsibility for the “cure” or care of their soul (a responsibility shared with the Bishop). So the Curate of the parish is in fact the Rector or Vicar. This is the sense in which the word is used in the Book of Common Prayer when we pray for grace for “all Bishops and Curates”. However, additional staff might be appointed to a parish (an assistant curate) who, as their title suggests is there to assist the person responsible for the parish. Over time, the title “Assistant Curate” dropped out of use, being replaced by the term Curate and that’s the way we normally use it today.

So, after Paul arrives in June, who will be the Curate of St Mary’s? Technically Justine, because she shares with the Bishop the Cure of Souls of the Parish of Beddington. But in common usage, Paul.

Trollope eat your heart out!

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The TRIO Campaign

a big "thank you"!

Rather later than we meant to (for which Ian apologises), we are writing to let you know the outcome of the TRIO campaign at the end of last year.

At the beginning of 2007, our committed Stewardship giving stood at just over £29,000 per annum, which was about £9,000 less than our Fairer Shares assessment for the year.

By the end of the year, after the TRIO campaign, Stewardship commitments for 2008 stood at almost £42,000, an increase of just over 40%. Thank you!

This is an excellent and generous outcome, for which we thank God and all those of you who felt able to increase their giving to make the life and work of St Mary's more secure.

However, the Fairer Shares assessment has gone up again, and will be covered only this year and perhaps next by the new giving level, so we shall probably have to have a smaller-scale Stewardship campaign in the autumn.

Commitments continue to trickle in, and if you'd like to increase your regular giving but didn't get around to filling in your form, or have (understandably by now) lost it, it's not too late - Heather Cosgrove, Pierre Delahunty or any member of the TRIO team will be happy to let you have the necessary pieces of paper.

But for now, once again - thank you so much!

Babs, Chris, Ian, Lizzie, Marion and Mike

The TRIO team.

Pat Kingsbury

As noted elsewhere in this issue, Pat Kingsbury stood down as Churchwarden at the APCM on April 20th. She had been my colleague for five years, and we had formed a close working partnership. From that vantage point, I was able to see Pat doing, as Sue Ardley said during the service that morning, not only those things which wardens are required by law or expected by custom to do, but so many other things as well.

Pat is interested in just about everything that happens at St Mary’s: she is a strong supporter of the Choir, and an indefatigable traveller with them; she is concerned with the well-being of the youngest members of the congregation; she is keen to greet new worshippers, find out who they are and make them feel at home; her horticultural knowledge is always at our disposal; she cares deeply for the church building and its surroundings; she is a tireless organiser and supporter of our social activities; and she always knows who needs extra care or concern.

From my point of view, one of the things I most valued about Pat was that it was fun working with her, particularly during the Interregnum, which could have been a very trying time for the wardens, and wasn’t – mainly because of the superb support we had from all of you.

I shall miss her greatly as a colleague, though happily all her admirable skills and qualities will still be available to us, and she will continue, for example, to be responsible for organising readers for Evensong. But, doubtless to her relief, light bulbs, loose tiles, suspicious smells, infestations, leaks and floods are no longer her responsibility.

With which in mind, please join me in giving the warmest possible welcome to Chris Morgan, our new Churchwarden. I am delighted that she has agreed to serve: I very much enjoyed working with her on the TRIO campaign and I know from that experience that she is also tireless, enthusiastic and committed - and, what’s more, on line! She will need some time to work her way into the role, but I have no doubt that she will make the job her own as Pat did – and I know that, like me, she will value your support. Please pray for us.

Ian Akhurst

Snippets

International Dawn Chorus Day 2008, part of a BBC initiative, will be the biggest and best ever. All around the globe people will be rising early to greet the sun and enjoy nature's daily miracle. You can join our local Dawn Chorus Walk on Sunday, 4 May meeting outside the church at 6 am. Experience one of the noisiest times in Beddington Park. Tea/coffee and buns in the Centre afterwards. For further details call Melanie on 07944 833605.

A new Facebook Group dedicated to Beddington Village has been set up by Matthew Darby, a 38 year old who has lived in Beddington all his life. His aim is to collect photos and share memories from days gone past. The link page is www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13644691573 if you have anything to contribute to his 'labour of love'.

The Diocese is holding a course in the September term this year called Understanding Islam, led by Dr Chris Hewer, an expert in the area of Islam and Islamic/Christian Relations. The course runs on Tuesday afternoons from 2 to 4pm at Trinity house (Borough High Street), beginning on 30th September until 9th December. Dr Hewer ran a similar course for Churches Together in Coulsdon which was very warmly received. For details see Justine.

The Poetry for Pleasure group will meet in the Centre at 2.00 pm on Wednesday, 21 May. They will be discussing the First World War Poets, so please bring along one or two poems that you would like to read and share with us. Newcomers, as always, are very welcome.

It was good to have our friends from St Elphege Roman Catholic Church at St Mary's again for their Patronal Festival. As usual, the Mass was followed by the tea (or coffee), biscuits and chat which have now become essential elements of this annual celebration.

'A great day for the Cathedral' said one of the Rochester Cathedral stewards at the end of Saturday, 19. The Cathedral had been a‑buzz all afternoon for a Spirituality Feast planned around Choral Evensong. The service was sung by St Mary's Choir, led by Andrew and James high up in the organ loft, and Neil conducting in the Quire. Parents, young siblings and supporters of the choir joined the congregation of 400 for the service which for many in the Cathedral was the highlight of this really great day.

Fingers and Bows

David Tabbat and Guy Middlemiss treated a small by intensely appreciative audience to an informal evening of music for cello and piano on 16 April. Their programme demonstrated their amazing virtuosity in the music of Bach, Schumann and Brahms. After their opening piece - a Bach Sonata originally written for viola da gamba and harpsichord - David enthralled us with Bach's unaccompanied suite in G Major and Guy followed with two equally entrancing Schumann pieces, Romanze in F sharp major and the Novellette in D major.

Then, fortified with a drink and some 'nibbles', players and audience returned for the Brahms piece - the Sonata No 1 in E minor for cello and piano. As Mike said in his 'thank you' remarks, it was a pity when the programme and the encore were finished. No-one wanted the evening to come to an end.

Pat Kingsbury

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Christian Aid Week

11-17 May 2008

Christian Aid was founded in 1945 when Christians wanted to offer relief and reconciliation in post-war Europe. From its early days Christian Aid has assisted people and communities on the basis of need, regardless of race and religion.

Today it is the official relief, development and advocacy agency of 41 sponsoring churches in Britain and Ireland, and it is part of the worldwide church community.

Christian Aid is, self-evidently, a Christian organisation. The board, appointed by the sponsoring churches, is trustee of the vision, purpose and values of Christian Aid, supplying a mandate to work for poverty eradication. We are active in some of the world’s poorest countries.

At St Mary’s last year our house-to-house team collected over £1000. Can we do the same again this year? Collecting is not an easy task and it does take time to deliver and collect the envelopes. If you would like to take part this year please sign up (the list will be found on the table by the West Door ).

Jane Seymour

‘If we come together, we can achieve amazing things.’

Rekha Biswas from Bangladesh provides the most humbling and inspirational example for Christian Aid Week. This courageous lady goes from house to house, talking to families about the problems they face getting water. And vitally, she challenges gender roles. She encourages women to come to meetings of the local pani parishad, the village water council.

Getting clean water is a problem throughout Bangladesh. In the northeast, water scarcity and lack of infrastructure create difficulties for the many landless communities living there. In the central low-lying wetlands, the land is flooded for more than half the year and underground water sources can be contaminated with arsenic. In the southwest, the rise in sea-levels, partly as a result of climate change, is making fresh water salty. People often have to walk for up to 24 hours to collect water to drink.

And when water’s not on tap, as it is for most of us in the developed world, it’s women and children who suffer the most. They spend hours carrying heavy pots of water to their families. Lack of water can also lead to family disputes, with women and children bearing the brunt of their husbands’ or fathers’ short tempers at the end of a day’s labour, and risking abuse. Women also have no economic independence as their lives are spent collecting water. And they end up caring for family members who become sick through drinking dirty water. Children lose out on education because they have to spend long periods fetching water.

Rekha has voiced this injustice and given hope to the whole village. Salt water has replaced most of the fresh water sources in her village. But she believes there is a solution to this problem, and the lack of basic human rights in the coastal region of Bangladesh where she lives. Rekha believes that it’s through communities – and especially women – finding their voices that change can be instigated.

Christian Aid partner The Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies has set up pani parishads in villages throughout Bangladesh. These community organisations discuss and agree the best water supply solutions for their particular villages. The water councils also provide a forum for addressing other community issues. Now that the village has clean water, the pani parishad is working to establish schools, as well as looking at plans to reconstruct roads and take action to stop child marriage. The villagers now have the power to make their lives better.

And the pani parishads encourage women to take an active role. Each council must have more than 50 per cent female membership and the president must be female.

Rekha explains that: ‘In the pani parishad, we give training to help [people] understand what they need and then how to achieve it. But most importantly, they understand that they can do things for themselves.’

Rekha tells people that if they come together, they can achieve things that they couldn’t if they were alone. By giving up a couple of hours during Christian Aid Week, you are collecting so much more than money. Your gifts can mean water, rights and courage. By coming together, we can achieve amazing things.

Find out more about Christian Aid Week by visiting www.caweek.org

Easter Vestry and Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Sunday, 20 April 2008, 11.15 am

The Easter Vestry meeting, dealing with the appointment of churchwardens for the coming year, said a fond and very grateful farewell to Pat Kingsbury who had served in the role of churchwarden for six years and was thus not eligible to stand for a further term of office. Ian Akhurst, being eligible and willing to stand for one more year, was duly re-appointed. Christine Morgan was nominated for the vacant position and was elected as churchwarden.

We then moved on to the business of our APCM:

Electoral roll:

The number on the electoral roll stood at 129, of which 76 were not resident in the parish. Eileen England, who had been responsible for maintaining the roll for many years, had expressed a desire to retire. Lizzie Atkins was thanked for having volunteered to take the job on.

Sutton Deanery Synod:

Jenifer Davison had said she would appreciate a break from being one of our representatives on the Deanery Synod and so did not stand. As Heather Cosgrove is now an ex offficio member of the Synod, there were four vacancies to fill, but only two nominations; Jean Kimber and Ian Akhurst were therefore re-elected. A question was raised as to whether there was a time limit on how long someone could stand as a Deanery representative and Justine confirmed that there was no such limit. Reflecting on Deanery Synod later in the meeting, Jean said that the two main topics of discussion over the past year were violence in the home, and the continuing tragedy of Zimbabwe.

PCC:

There were four vacancies to be filled following the standing down by rota of Derek Whiting who was not eligible for re-election, Pam Akhurst, Hugh Crozier and Chris Morgan (who on becoming churchwarden was automatically a member of the PCC). Pam Akhurst and Hugh Crozier stood for re-election and nominations had been received for Roz Gammie and Liz Vernon. As there had been no requests for postal votes this year, we were able to elect these four nominees to the PCC with immediate effect.

Sidespeople:

Pat Kingsbury had received the resignation of Reg and Sheila Willis from the sidespeople teams. On this the occasion of Reg's 90th birthday, both were thanked in their absence for their dedication over the years. Pat was delighted to say that Linda Walters had offered to join the sidespeople.

Rector's Report

Justine invited comments on the Rector's Report in which she had expressed the challenge of continuing to make St Mary's a church for the 21st century that is more open to all. She noted the progress we had made during the past year: Praise & Play for pre-school children and their carers, had been set up through the hard work of Catherine Lawrence, Helena de Ritter and Charlotte Potter. Many of those who bring their children have had very little or no contact with the church since they were young children themselves and these families are introduced to some of the stories of the Christian faith. The Teddy Bear Abseil built up a huge amount of goodwill within the community and proved Christians aren't all weird and threatening but people just like them that enjoy a good joke. Kith, Kin & Kanine, thanks to Carolyn Churchyard and her team of cake bakers, has broken down yet more barriers and at the same time, as Pat said later, produced the best cakes in Wallington.

Justine's report goes on to thank the many people - too numerous to mention here - who work so hard to make St Mary's the place it is.

St Mary's Guild

Speaking about the Guild, Margaret Freeman was sorry to report that numbers attending were mainly from St Mary's Court and had dropped to such a level that it was in danger of folding up. She appealed once again for more people to get involved in the Guild. Margaret Treasurer pointed out for those who may not already know, that the Guild was held at St Mary's Court in Bute Road.

Financial Report

Ian Akhurst presented the Financial Report for 2007 on behalf of Hugh Crozier. He noted that at the start of year, the PCC had agreed a budget with an income shortfall of £22,000, and this had led to the decision to hold a TRIO campaign in the autumn. The response to that had been magnificent, with nearly £42,000 pledged in Stewardship Giving for 2008, an increase of 40% over 2007. He cautioned, though, that while this meant that our Fairer Shares contributions for 2008 and probably 2009 would be covered by Stewardship, the money for all St Mary’s other activities – worship, maintenance, outreach – would have to be raised from other sources. It was likely therefore that Stewardship campaigns, on a smaller scale than the TRIO campaign, would be a regular feature in future.

The actual outcome in 2007 had been a surprising surplus of £16,000, which was partly the result of an underspend against budget on some items, and partly because of very generous one-off gifts during the year, which amounted to £19,000. Ian echoed Hugh’s written, heartfelt vote of thanks to these donors, who had enabled the PCC, for the first time, to establish sinking funds for major repairs to church fabric and the organ in years to come. He pointed out, however, that we could not plan for such donations and the church had to be able to function fully without them.

We still faced a substantial outlay to renew the heating system, and some expenditure would be necessary as a result of the Quinquennial Review which Brian Drury had carried out last October, but none of the latter appeared urgent. The PCC would ensure that more details were given to the congregation as plans were drawn up. Finally, he was delighted to be able to report that the Faculty giving approval to renew the chairs, carpet and curtain in the Carew Chapel had been received the previous day.

The new Independent Auditor, Robert Cunningham, was introduced and spoke briefly about his function and his willingness to stand as our independent examiner for next year. He was thanked for his hard work on the accounts.

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Saints

Philip and James

2 May

… the Mayday Saints

Philip and James -

We know their names.

What did they do?

We haven't a clue!

Quite. Who exactly were they and why are they linked?

We'll take James first. There were two apostles called James. The one we are considering is James the Less (which probably means the younger) as opposed to James the Great, the brother of John the Baptist. In Galatians chapter 2, StPaul refers to him as "the pillar of the church", which scholars believe meant James the Less was James of Jerusalem.

James, the bishop of Jerusalem, was martyred between AD 62 and 66 by being thrown from the temple and bludgeoned to death.

In Philip's case, the gospel references to him give us a small insight into his personality. He appears to have been a prosaic, matter-of-fact man but not always sure of himself. When he first discovered Jesus, he was so sure of who he was that he went straight to his friend Nathaniel (known as the apostle Bartholomew) and invited him to come and meet Jesus. However, at the feeding of the 5,000, he is not so sure when Jesus asks him how they can feed the people. And, again, at the Last Supper, he misunderstands the relationship between Jesus and his heavenly Father. But Philip comes over as being very earnest, dedicated and loyal.

Following the resurrection of Jesus, it is believed that Philip and Bartholomew went to preach in Greece, Syria and Phrygia (now part of Turkey). In Hierapolis, Philip converted the wife of the proconsul of the city. He was so enraged that he had Philip and Bartholomew tortured. They were then crucified upside down. Philip preached from the cross and the crowd released Bartholomew. Philip died on the cross like his Master.

The close association of the two apostles in the church's calendar seems to spring solely from the fact that both their remains were taken to Rome and enshrined in the Church of the Holy Apostles there.

Philip is often depicted carrying a basket of loaves and it seems appropriate that on his day, we should pray that the many thousands of hungry people throughout the world may be fed.

Jean Kimber

(For anyone interested: Hierapolis - Greek for Holy City - was the ancient city on top of the Pammukale Hot Springs in SW Turkey. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

Helena

21 May

c255-230

Helena, or Helen, was the mother of Constantine the Great. When he became Roman Emperor in 306, Helena was raised to a position of great honour, and zealously supported the Christian cause.

In 326 she made a visit to the Holy Lane, where she founded the basilicas on the Mount of Olives and at Bethlehem. According to later traditions, she discovered the cross on which Christ was crucified.

In London, the Church of St Helen, Bishopsgate is dedicated to her. On her special day, let us pray for all Christians in the Holy Land.

Betty Walker

Who Are They?

Where did all the Christian denominations come from? Continuing our look at other Christian churches, it is the turn of:

The Congregational Churches

Congregational Churches date back to the time of Elizabeth I and take their name from their form of church government. The Elizabethan Settlement of 1559 directed that the Church of England would conduct all its worship and services according to the plan laid down in the Book of Common Prayer and no other form of worship was permitted.

Many ministers and pastors were unhappy with these restrictions. They believed that the New Testament did not prescribe a precise liturgy for worship. They were also unhappy that the Church of England was so closely connected to the state and that the monarch was the Supreme Head of the Church. Those who held these views became known as Dissenters and Independents and Separatists. They were all Nonconformists in that they were unwilling to conform to what the Established Church demanded.

While these Dissenters were not unanimous in every point of their belief, they believed very strongly that each local church should have the authority to call its own minister and take care of its own affairs. So ‘Congregationalism’ eventually emerged as the belief that the local church is fully autonomous and that this was the pattern laid down in the New Testament.

The first Congregationalist writer and theologian of note was Robert Browne (1552-1633). He argued that the authority claimed by bishops has no scriptural foundation and that every local fellowship of the people of God, called ‘the gathered church,’ has the right to make its own decisions about leadership and ministry.

When the ‘Mayflower’ sailed for America in 1620, many of those on board were of separatist persuasion. Known in history as the Pilgrim Fathers, they established Congregationalism in the New World. It grew rapidly in the number of congregations and members. These Congregationalist churches, particularly numerous in New England, embraced the Puritan emphasis on education and both Harvard and Yale Universities were originally Congregational institutions.

Congregationalism has produced many famous names – David Livingstone the explorer and Isaac Watt the Hymn Writer to name but two.

In 1972 about 75% of the English Congregational churches united with the Presbyterian Church of England and formed the new denomination, the United Reformed Church. More than 500 Congregational churches did not join this union. Later some of these came together to form the Congregational Federation in 1972. Others remained in the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches which had been organised in 1967 to ensure the continuance of pronounced evangelical doctrines among Congregationalists.

Whether in larger or smaller federations, all Congregational churches continue the principle for which they first emerged in Elizabethan times, ie the independence of the local congregation.

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Women's World Day of Prayer

The Wallington Branch of the WWDP needs representatives from the following churches:

St Mary's Beddington

St Paul's, Roundshaw

St Michael & All Angels

Holy Trinity

Wallington Methodist

All Saints, Hackbridge

The Committee meets just three times a year in October, January and March, to arrange the services, slide presentation and coffee morning.

The WWDP is a wonderful ecumenical movement through which we form close links with all Christian churches in our area: Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, United Reform Church and Roman Catholic.

I joined the Committee in 2003 as secretary, and could really do with another person from St Mary's to come onto the committee to help when it is our turn to host one of the services. Mary Tapp was a staunch supporter of the WWDP for many years, but due to ill health has now had to step down.

Anyone interested in joining the committee from any of the above-mentioned churches, can contact me on 020 8773 2004.

Jenifer Davison

Wallington Branch Secretary

Organ Transplant

I read with interest the article in last month's magazine about organ transplant. Every Monday I visit the Renal wards of St Helier Hospital as a Chaplain's visitor. My patients are nearly all on dialysis. Three days athey come to the hospital, some from quite a distance, to be connected to the dialysis machine which cleanses their blood as their kidneys can no longer fulfil this function. This takes up half of every week.

Sometimes, I am delighted to meet a patient either awaiting a transplant or recovering from one. The donor kidneys may come from someone who has, but some very brave people donate one of theirwhile living: a mother for her daughter, a father for his son, twin brothers, a mother-in-law so that her son's family had a future, and a life-long friend. What a friend!

I carry a donor card and have registered as a donor. My family know my wishes. It is so difficult when facing the death of a loved one to make these decisions unless their wishes have been made clear beforehand.

When my husband died, I assumed that as his cancer had spread nothing could be given. But his corneas were used. Months later I had a wonderful letter of thanks telling me that two people had been given back their sight. It is wonderful to think that part of a loved one lives on and is giving life or sight to another.

Please carry a donor card. Please register as a donor and inform your family. One day, somebody will be eternally grateful. To register call 0845 60 60 4000 or go to www.uktransplant.org.uk.. Thank you

Pam Vernon

Focus on Zimbabwe

As I write this article, Church leaders in Zimbabwe are expressing fears about “violence on a genocidal scale”, our Foreign Secretary has accused President Mugabe of beating his opponents to death and the Government newspaper has proposed that there should be a “transitional government of unity”, under President Mugabe, because in the current conditions, the run-off cannot be held as a free and fair election.

All of this fills outside observers with despair and we, who have a special calling to pray for our link diocese of Central Zimbabwe, wonder if there is anything at all we can do. The people themselves have spoken and this is not enough. What can we do from our safe homes in South London?

I believe that we owe it to Bishop Ishmael and his people to keep ourselves informed of what is going on – looking beyond the news in order to gain a real understanding of their situation – and to keep praying. Like Mary and “the disciple who loved Jesus” (sometimes said to represent the Church) who did not look away from his suffering on the Cross, we can only look on, keep praying and trust in the God who shares our sufferings to bring those of Zimbabwe to an end.

Being informed

On 29 March 2008, Joel Edwards, giving us Radio 4’s “Thought for the Day”, said this:

“Today the people of Zimbabwe go through the motions of democracy. Doing democracy well is challenging enough for any state. But this is a nation with mass unemployment; an inflation rate which makes money meaningless and an electoral process which few people trust. I'm no political analyst but I imagine Zimbabwe's current distress has a long history beyond Mugabe and what ails Zimbabwe will take more than today's ballot box to put right.”

We need to keep these things in our mind as we pray meaningfully for the people. In addition to what we hear in the news, there are websites full of information, including the Southwark diocese website. Some of them are listed at the end of this article.

Keep on praying

During the particular crisis of the elections, additional prayers will be put in the weekly church notices. You may also like to use the following, which come from our diocese.

God of justice,

You were not afraid to take the risk of proclaiming your new kingdom.

Strengthen all those who are longing for change in Zimbabwe.

We pray that, through the elections, your will may be done. Amen.

A prayer for general use:

God bless Zimbabwe

Guard her children,

Transform her rulers;

And give her peace. Amen

Webwise about Zimbabwe

For general background information about Zimbabwe, the Country Profile from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk) is a good starting place. For additional information about the country of our linked diocese, why not try the following:

http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/ (website giving daily news updates on the Zimbabwe Situation, with links to other sources of information)

http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/ (Website of the Zimbabwe Vigil Coalition UK – plenty of information, including situations and people to pray for: e.g., a list of those killed in the violence so we can pray for their homes and families; a rogues’ gallery of known human rights abusers, so we can pray that they may ‘turn from their wickedness and live’; details of the weekly Vigil outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, WC2, so we can bear witness)

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

http://www.zvakapressa.com/

Zimbabwe Association (ZA) - a support network for Zimbabwean asylum seekers and refugees. For information, contact:

zimbabweassociation@hotmail.com.

1a Waterlow Road , London N19 5NJ;

Tel: 020 7281 3029; Fax: 020 7702 7617.

Araba Taylor

23 April 2008

Who’s calling?

A man opened a newspaper and was amazed to read his own obituary. Much amused, he telephoned his best friend - who asked him rather hesitantly where he was ringing from?

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Twenty Years Ago

May 1988

In the 1988 magazine for May, I see that the Rectory phone had still not been connected! This must have been a most frustrating and difficult time for Rector and parishioners alike.

Who remembers Ted and Jonny Kerby? They had barely been in their new home at Barton-on-Sea a month, when they had had to return for the funeral of Ted's mother, Catherine, who had died aged 102.

John Sharples, our organist and choirmaster, had handed in his resignation. He was to leave in August to take up a post at St Mary's in the Boltons, South Kensington.

Joan Walker and Norah Miles were to take over the organisation of the church flowers in succession to the late Margaret Powell. Joan retired from that job not so very long ago, so she certainly fulfilled her commitment.

In Carousel was an advance notice for a Masked Ball. It was to be held in Carew Manor in June. Watch this space.

A short article entitled "Be Warmed", pleaded for help to raise money for a new heating system. Things don't change, do they?

There had been a Mid-Lent Social in Rectory Lane Hall, the idea being for people to socialise and get to know each other better. The SMYF members had risen to the occasion and had set up the hall, served the food and washed up afterwards! Several of them were members of the choir and having just endured a freezing Evensong, decided that any money made should go towards the heating!

To thank them for their help, SMYF themselves had been given an evening's entertainment in the Rectory Lane Hall. Two bands had come along to give a concert. Matthew Newton had shared his thoughts:

"Sons of Cain" were an established group who wrote all their own pieces. They played well together and the lead singer's powerful voice was complemented well by the rest of the band. The main attraction was the group "Afterthought", playing their first live performance. This band had been brought to our attention by its drummer, Chris Kimber."

In Twenty Years Ago I see a group from St Mary's were off to the Holy Land, to spend six days in Tiberias and eight in Jerusalem. So this year's trip was a sort of 40 year anniversary (with one in between 12 years ago).

There were articles from the MU, the Guild and the Boys' Brigade plus a report from the APCM.

Jean Kimber

Praying in May

As a change from the usual Daily Prayer Topics, we are suggesting some themes linked to the diary and current world events which you may like to include in your prayers. Your feedback on this new approach would be welcomed by Justine and the Magazine Panel.

Our local community

3, 4 & 5 May

All who are involved in the Flower Festival and the Rotary Fayre; all who visit the church and the park over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The Church

11-18 May

The work of Christian Aid; people helping with house to house collections during Christian Aid Week; the poorest of the world whom Christian Aid projects seek to help.

13 May

St Mary's newly elected Parochial Church Council meeting tonight

A prayer for the Church

Almighty God who on the day of Pentecost sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples, filling them with joy and boldness to preach the Gospel, send us out in the power of the same spirit to witness to your truth and to draw all to the fire of your love

from one of the Collects for Pentecost (Whit Sunday), 11 May.

The World

That every nation may be guided into ways of justice and peace. At this time please pray especially for all the people of Zimbabwe and of Darfur.

A simple prayer

God bless Africa

Feed her hungry ones

Heal her sickness

Guide her rulers

And give her peace

for Jesus Christ's sake

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Talk Talk

What's on in May

Top of the Document

Saints and Commemorations in May

From the Registers

Funeral

Thinking of you

Readings for May

Our Assistant Curate

The TRIO Campaign

Pat Kingsbury

Snippets

Fingers and Bows

Christian Aid Week

Easter Vestry and Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Saints

Philip and James

Helena

Who Are They?

Women's World Day of Prayer

Organ Transplant

Mothers’ Union

Focus on Zimbabwe

Who’s calling?

Twenty Years Ago

Praying in May