|
It is really good
to be back ministering as the vicar of some Mary's. My thanks go to John, my
colleague and my other ministerial colleagues, to Hilary and Anne our
churchwardens and to all who have kept St Mary’s in such good heart whilst I
was away on sabbatical. I have almost finished writing up the research I
undertook and I will write an article about this for a future magazine.
Meanwhile, I just want to say how many people have commented on how well I
look; two thoughts about this, firstly I must have looked poorly before I
left and secondly what a good thing sabbaticals must be!
Musical news
Ever since James left us at Easter we have been relying on visiting
organists. We are grateful to them and in particular to Brian
Lamble
who covered three months of this period. I am pleased that
Karl Dorman has been appointed as our new director of music and he commences
his duties with us on Sunday September 4th our Patronal Festival. Elsewhere
in the magazine Karl has written about himself. I am sure you will all make
him very welcome.
My hope is that this will open another illustrious chapter in the musical
life of St. Mary's. Recruitment into all sections of the choir will be a
high priority during the autumn. Anybody interested in singing in the choir
should talk either to me or Karl.
Nelson events
2005 is the Year of the sea. The bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar is
commemorated on 21st October 2005. The London Borough of Merton has
coordinated a series of events around ’Paradise Merton’. Please look at
their website for full details -
www.merton.gov.uk/leisure/history/nelson.
Our website gives the dates and details of these events which affect St.
Mary's Church -
www.stmarysmerton.org.uk/trafalgar200. In September is the lecture by
Colin White on the 12th September. This is an occasion not to be missed and
tickets are selling fast. I draw your attention to the Commemoration service
to be held here in St. Mary's on Sunday October 16th at 11 o'clock. It will
be attended by the Mayor and other civic dignitaries and at least one bishop
will be present. The preacher is Geoffrey Hilliard a naval chaplain from
Portsmouth.
PCC
away day
This will take place on Saturday 24th September. High on the agenda will be
the needs of the younger members of the Church together with further out-
reach strategies. We will review the Family Praise service on this occasion.
It you have anything you would like the PCC to consider please let me know.
War memorial
2005 has seen the commemorations associated with the 60th anniversary of the
end of the Second World War. The war memorial which stands on the corner of
Church Path and Church Lane is in need of refurbishment. We have been
promised assistance by English Heritage but this will not be enough to cover
the estimated cost of restoration. The original memorial was built with
money raised by public subscription.
Ray Stanley has already done an enormous amount of work to get this project
off the ground. Now we are looking for people to come forward and help
launch and organize the fund-raising in order for the work to commence. The
money required for a public war memorial cannot come from church funds. So
in memory of those who died, who paid the ultimate sacrifice, can we
sacrifice some time and energy to raise the £3,500 for the War Memorial
Fund?
The PCC have discussed this with the local
Councillors
and they have given the public appeal their wholehearted support. We hope
that the Merton Park Residents' Association and the John Innes Society will
also work with St. Mary's to achieve this necessary restoration.
Harvest Festival
This year it
will take place on Sunday September 25th with an ‘All Age’ Harvest Eucharist
and baptism at 10 o’clock.
Patronal
Festival
This will be held on Sunday 4th September.
You can see that September promises to be a busy month hence this letter has
mostly been a giving out of information!
Your priest and friend
Tom Leary
Top
of page |
