Celebrating Our Spring Return to the Mother Church 1 CONTENTS
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MARCH – MAY 2021 • FREE Life at St Mary’s The Queen during the pandemic in lockdown Emily Kolltveit’s Travels in COVID curacy the Holy Land David Gentleman’s 15 things we Camden crowds missed the most WELCOME BACK celebrating our spring return to the mother church 1 CONTENTS NEWS 3 A Letter from the Vicar 6 Parish News 8 Obituary: Jeanette MacDonald SPRING 2021 Editor Richard Benson STORIES Production Celyn Cooke 10 Tales from a Covid Curacy Design Christine Ayre by the Rev Emily Kollveit 14 A Journal of the Plague Year by the Rev Marjorie Brown St Mary’s Parish Magazine is published quarterly from the Parish Office, 26 David Gentleman’s Relish The Church of St Mary the Virgin, by Richard Benson Elsworthy Road, London NW3 3DJ TEL 020 7722 3238 32 Nightingales in the Holy Land EMAIL [email protected] by Judy Greengrass www.stmarysprimrosehill.com ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES 38 Fiction: The Crown and Corona Celyn Cooke (Parish Administrator) by Judy Greengrass Parish Office DIRECTORY 42 Church calendars, events and office holder contact details SUBMISSIONS WELCOME BY POST to Richard Benson, Editor, at the Parish Office address above BY EMAIL [email protected] or [email protected] 2 Dear friends, What a joy it is to be writing a letter for the magazine once more, after a year of many frustrations, stops and starts (described elsewhere in this issue)! We are in the season of Lent now, midway through at least by the time you read this. I don’t know about you, but I have been finding the shape of the Christian year quite helpful just now. We have entered into a six-week journey in the wilderness with Christ, leading to the events of Holy Week. But even as we focus on this sombre remembrance we know that we can look forward with hope and joy to the Resurrection. And in parallel with that, we have as a nation the hope that spring weather and mass vaccination will enable us to take further steps out of lockdown. We mustn’t rush it or count on a particular timetable, but won’t it be wonderful to hug our relatives, meet friends for a drink in a café or pub, even plan a holiday or a party? This year, more than ever, it seems that we are travelling through Lent with our eyes fixed on the horizon of Easter, while we anticipate the freedom from lockdown. Our online Lent group this year is about exactly that: living in the light of the Resurrection, even in the hardest times. Christians can fall into a trap of focusing all the time on the cross of Christ, as if that is the culmination of the story of Jesus. But Good Friday was not the last word. We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song (echoing a sentiment of St Augustine). There is an Episcopal church in San Francisco, St Gregory of Nyssa, where the saying goes that there are just two seasons in the liturgical year: Easter, and Easter’s coming! 3 This doesn’t mean we are dewy-eyed optimists who ignore suffering. Even the most fortunate of us have endured a difficult year, and for many people it has been nothing short of horrible. Easter isn’t about everything being lovely. The message of the Resurrection is that absolutely nothing can prevent God’s love from reaching us and rescuing us, no matter how awful our circumstances. When we live in the light of Easter Day, we see everything differently. Instead of a zero-sum world of winners and losers, we discover that grace is freely given to us all, and that the more we share, the more we have. When you thrive, I am not diminished, because the possibilities for human flourishing are limitless. God created us for the perfect happiness of sharing the love of the Trinity and becoming fully ourselves. Some of the grumpier psalms may best express our state of mind right now, and that’s what they are there for, so let’s not be afraid to use them. But even our bad days can be reviewed in the light of the risen Son. Never fear. Easter’s coming! 4 5 PARISH NEWS The return of public worship at St Mary’s, this year’s Lent course, an appeal for aid with Insta, growing the wonder in Primrose Hill – and marvellous Margaret Back in Business there is no requirement to read this book unless you want to; there will In line with the changing be plenty of material in the digital regulations, St Mary’s will re-open resources to inform the discussion. the church for public worship on If you would like register, email Mothering Sunday, March 14. We [email protected] will celebrate the Admission of Children to Holy Communion and Social media help two baptisms that morning. The needed list of forthcoming services can be Could you help the lectures found at the back of the magazine, and updated information will be carried on the St Mary’s website. Lent Course Our Lent course for 2021 is lead by Revd. Mark Wakefield, and is in series committee with your social participation with a group of local media skills? We’re on the hunt parishes and their clergy. The course for someone (preferably from provides an exciting exploration of Generation Z!) to volunteer around the resurrection at a time when hope three hours of their time each seems to be in short supply. We will week to help us manage and build ask how and why the resurrection of our social media following for Jesus Christ informs our faith and the lecture series this year. We’re what difference it makes to how we looking for someone with an affinity live our lives. Our resource text is to the kind of content we cover (ie Resurrection and Moral Imagination quite media/ literary/societal issue by Sarah Bachelard. However, 6 Most of us have had to celebrate a birthday in lockdown, whether by having a celebratory walk in the park, a cheeky glass of wine with friends over Zoom, or just relaxing at home. Showing us how to do it was St Mary’s Margaret Thornton, seen here celebrating her 98th birthday with her familiar smile. See you back in church soon! based), who can write good content improvements to our building to and understands how to really use celebrate our 150th anniversary all the social media channels to the in 2022, has been busy preparing max. If you think this might be its fundraising campaign, to be you (or someone you know), email known as Grow the Wonder. It is [email protected] for hoped that Grow the Wonder will more information. launch in April this year, and the committee is keen to hear from Grow the Wonder anyone who may be able to help raise funds. More information from The 2022 Project Steering [email protected]. Committee, which aims to oversee 7 Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette, who died in the summer, was a Camden native, and fondly- loved member of the St Mary’s family eanette MacDonald was a treasured from Jesus is able to overcome all member of our church family who the fears that trouble our hearts. Jdied suddenly on August 16 2020. That is something that Jeanette She missed church terribly during the discovered for herself in the latter lockdown and was one of the first to return part of her life. She attended services to public worship. Below is the homily that we used to hold at Mora Burnet that was preached by the Rev Marjorie at House, and then she began to come Jeanette’s funeral in St Mary’s. to our Thursday morning tearoom, hosted every week by Christine, and “Peace I leave with you; my peace to our Sunday morning service. At I give to you. first she was I do not give very quiet to you as the and reserved world gives. and kept to Do not let herself, but your hearts be gradually she troubled, and got to know do not let them us all and she be afraid.” relaxed. We When I spoke were delighted with Sandra when a couple of years ago she asked last week, we agreed that these if she could be baptized [pictures words from the Bible would be the from her baptism can be seen here], most suitable reading for Jeanette’s and then just before the lockdown service. They are, after all, the words she was also confirmed by the written on our big cross high above Bishop, here in this church. us: Not as the world gives give I Pauline, who read the lesson, was unto you. The peace that comes a mentor and friend to Jeanette and 8 encouraged her to take these steps day out she had visiting a farm and supported her as her sponsor. there. She loved animals and clearly Jeanette knew that she was a really enjoyed that visit very much. valued and loved member of this In 2011 she decided to come back church family. to her Camden roots and she moved It was very sad that during the into Mora Burnet House, where she pandemic she was unable to come enjoyed her flat and her shopping to church services, but she was trips. She particularly loved going one of the first to come back when to the cinema. We are so glad that we were able to start our early she also found a welcome here at Sunday services once again.