THE CLARION the Magazine of the Parish of St Mary the Boltons
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THE CLARION The Magazine of The Parish of St Mary The Boltons rooted in faith • open in thought • reaching out in service July/August 2018 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Confidence, Compassion, Creativity I wonder who recognises the following: St Mary’s is a community which aims to be rooted in faith, open in thought and which https://www.london.anglican.org/ reaches out in service. Now, in 2018, the end of Capital Vision is Our mission is to bear witness to the great nearly upon us, and a lot has happened here at commandment to love God with all our St Mary’s, as well as in the wider parish, and hearts and minds, and to love our across the city. It is time, therefore, for us to neighbours as ourselves. look once again at what we think St Mary’s is for and to see how what we do as a We will do this by: worshipping and congregation and community can be done proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ; more confidently, more compassionately and supporting all in their journey of faith more creatively. through teaching, discussion and study of God's Word; engaging openly and without In September, our PCC will be going off for a prejudice to promote social justice in our day together to ask ourselves that very community and the world; and caring for question, and I hope we will be able to the whole of God's creation develop our mission action plan – or at least our response to it – for a new time, and a St Mary’s will interpret its aim in the light of new context. Perhaps you may have some the London Diocese Capital Vision 2020 to ideas for what we might talk about and if so, be confident, compassionate and creative. the Wardens and I would be very glad to hear from you over the summer so that we can It is our mission action plan, our statement of bring your thoughts to the discussion as well. what we think we are for, here at St Mary’s. It Jenny Welsh was devised by the PCC in 2014, in response to Capital Vision 2020, the diocesan mission plan that was to encourage congregations to be more confident in speaking and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, more compassionate in serving communities with the love of God the Father, and more creative in reaching new people and places in the power of the Spirit. You may remember that my predecessor, Ginny Walking Madonna. Sculpture by Elizabeth Frink outside Thomas, wrote about its launch in July 2013, Salisbury Cathedral. www.google.co.uk when the year 2020 seemed a long way away. The Summer Fair Result The Fair could not happen without the Many prayers must have been answered as, involvement of many members of the contrary to most weather forecasts, we had a congregation. It requires a lot of preparation rain free day, which helped attract several and co-operation, including several planning hundred visitors to this year's Summer Fair on meetings called and chaired by the Vicar. lt 16 June. Some were even waiting at the gate for involves much hard work before and especially the Fair to open. We had the odd hiccup, but on the day. By the end, many of us were nearly every stall opened on time and, a first, feeling somewhat tired or exhausted, but the the BBQ was ready to sell very good meaty enjoyment we gave to people and thanks we burgers and sausages from a new supplier received made it all worth it. We will not within a few minutes of opening. The bric-à- know how much money we raised until all the brac stall and the children’s magic shows were biĺls are paid, but are hoping it will be at least as popular as they are every year. This year we as much as last year. Looking forward, please had three new attractions: a mini travelling think about being the lead petting zoo, which was just as popular with organizer/coordinator for next year's Fair. adults as with children, a judo display by You can be assured of lots of support and help teenage members of the Budokwai martial arts and the gratitude of us all, including the Vicar, club, and an exhibition of magnificent antique I am sure! lace. Our local police officers also attended Anthony Williams with a patrol car (for sitting in) and various pieces of equipment to be examined. The cake and produce stall completely sold out Photos of the Summer Fair by Yve Thorn and every bottle for the tombola was won well before the end of the Fair. Six valuable items and experiences were auctioned in the middle of the afternoon. This was a new time for the auction and it worked well as this year's auctioneer, Toby Brown, was able to secure bids totalling £2,900: a really excellent amount. Another first was financial support from Barclays Bank. They undertook to match the takings of the book stall and raffle, which raised an extra £834 for our Charitable Pot and the charities for which we are raising money this year. The Fair, though, is not just a fund-raising event, but is part of our outreach to the local community. We certainly welcomed many unfamiliar faces, lots of them children. Very pleasingly a large number of people stayed until the end of the Fair, perhaps because they wanted to find out if they had won something in the raffle. There were some excellent prizes, including a magnificent hamper and a magnum of champagne. 2 Above: The students of Collingham Sixth Form College at their stall. Photo with permission of Juliana Storey, Vice Principal 3 Update on the Charities The other letter is from the Family Friends, We were all taught to send a thank you note working in RBKC to befriend and mentor when we receive a gift. It is always good when families and young people who are vulnerable the charities we support here at St Mary’s send in RBKC, Hammersmith and Fulham, and one to us, and we always display them on the Westminster: board in church when they arrive. In case you ‘Thank you so much for your generous didn’t see them, here are extracts from two donation of £2930 for Family Friends. letters we have received a few weeks ago. One The funding will go towards supporting is from the McCabe Educational Trust, which families in need who live in deprived manages the funds for the Jeel Al-Amal School areas of Kensington and Chelsea. This in Palestine, providing funds for development of includes our work with families the school programme and plant, as well as affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy basics like food, heat and light: who are living in temporary ‘Thank you very much indeed for your accommodation. letter and the enclosed cheque for Since our mission is to ‘help families to £1,100, from help themselves’ rather than doing the congregation at St Mary’s. We very things for them we are able to much appreciate this donation and I empower families so that in the long shall be term they are in a much stronger grateful if you will pass on our thanks to position. This involves giving support all concerned in the congregation. around parenting; helping with A highlight of the Jeel year is the personal administration; introducing Summer Camp which is funded by the the family to local resources, e.g. local Trust, in partnership with an libraries and health centres; or doing organisation named Unipal, which cookery and taking exercise together. provides the expertise and the staff. A With children, Family Friends gives team of volunteers are resident at Jeel academic help, introduces them to new for a three- or four-week period. interests and activities and provides a During this time they organise projects, positive adult role model. outings and general fun activities for We couldn’t do our work without the children who have nowhere else to go generosity of funders such as you and during the school holiday periods. your congregation.’ None of the above would be possible Jenny Welsh without generous assistance from people and organisations like you.’ 4 Writing for The Clarion plain that the Jews who shouted those words I have been writing for The Clarion for fifteen were not the folk who had cheered Jesus on years. his arrival a few days earlier, but rather a rent- a-mob specially recruited by Caiaphas for the I moved to a flat in Barkston Gardens at around purpose. With anti-Semitism on the rise it the turn of the century, then in my late 70s. It seemed to me a point worth emphasising and was not difficult to hit upon St Mary the my article duly appeared in the Issue of Boltons as the church at which to worship. It is December 2004. a beautiful building in a unique urban setting with a strong and supportive congregation and In 2005 two more articles of mine appeared: was led by an excellent priest in the person of ‘Thoughts on the Creed’, which was an Gerald Beauchamp. More important, perhaps, attempt to trace some of the roots of our was the fact that three existing members of the belief in the Trinity, and ‘Einstein’, whose congregation were members of the Third views on God were summed up in his saying: Order of the Society of Saint Francis: Dorothy ‘The Lord is subtle but not malicious’.