All posts by deanerysynod

Campaigns, Glass Door

Glass Door Winter 2020-21

Glass Door Meal Service Starts – 9 November 2020

Click here to donate to Glass Door. Click here to find out more about the Dinner Service.

Homeless charity Glass Door usually operates a circuit of homeless night shelters in Richmond & Twickenham, including at St John the Divine and St Matthias, Richmond and Christ Church and All Saints, East Sheen. Due to COVID-19 the communal shelters cannot be operated this year so instead, to offer some form of support and respite, a 7-night a week hot food service will operate from the Vineyard Richmond from Monday 9 November until April. Guests will be able to access a hot meal, somewhere to warm up for a few hours and practical support from the Glass Door case workers.

 
As the night shelter network stopped back in March, we now need help in spreading the word to those who could benefit from the service. If you see someone regularly sleeping rough in your neighbourhood we’d really appreciate it if you could print and share this leaflet to let them know the service is available. Glass Door is an amazing charity and alongside the emergency services like the food services they have a fantastic record of helping people into long term accommodation.
Click here to read more about Glass Door’s plans for the winter 20/21
Volunteers from St John the Divine, Richmond helping at the Vineyard Centre.

Update from March 2021

In the last 4 months, over 6,750 meals have been served at our community dinner service, run in partnership with local churches. These meals have been served by our lovely volunteers.
Thanks to all who have kept this service running during the pandemic!

But it’s not just a case of feeding the hungry. In the last nine months, Glass Door have offered advice and support to over 1,113 people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Click here to read some of the stories.

Thank you from Glass Door – May 2021

It’s been a challenging year for so many of us, but Glass Door has been blessed to continue receiving the generous support of the church communities in the deanery throughout this difficult time. Together, we are making life better for the many individuals we call our guests.

Events

Loving Others Course from Holy Trinity Richmond

The phrase ‘pastoral care’ can be very confusing. Just what is ‘pastoral care’? How is it different from any other kind of care? Who gets involved in pastoral care, and who doesn’t? It can all seem rather overwhelming and something that church staff do, so perhaps we should just leave it to them…

But pastoral care is the joy and privilege of every Christian and something that Jesus calls us to be involved with. This four week course is intended to break some of the misconceptions of pastoral care, encourage us to get involved and give some very practical advice on how to care for one another with the love of God. The course runs for four weeks on Thursday evenings, 6, 13, 20, 27 May, from 8pm to 9pm on Zoom. Each evening will consist of some teaching, discussion in small groups and whole group feedback. We would love everyone to be part of the course so if you don’t feel comfortable speaking or sharing via Zoom, don’t let that put you off. You will not be asked to do anything you are not comfortable with.

Anyone is welcome to join in with the course even if you don’t feel you are involved in church ‘leadership’ at the moment. You will get the most out of this course if you can attend all four weeks. However, if you need to miss a week there will be some course materials you can access.

You will need to register for the course so we can send you the relevant Zoom information and course materials. To register click here.

Events, News

Marking Rev Nigel Worn’s Retirement

Rev Nigel Worn will be retiring at Pentecost after twenty years as vicar of St Anne’s, Kew. Please join the livestream from St Anne’s, 6pm, Sunday 25th April, for an Evening in Conversation with Father Nigel as he looks forward to his retirement.  (Click here to watch).

During Lent, St Anne’s made a series of podcasts with members of their congregation who spoke about how faith has made a difference to their lives. The series ended with Father Nigel reflecting on faith, ministry and the joys of countryside life:

Events

Unity against Loneliness Event 26th April

Richmond Inter Faith Forum invites people from Richmond, Kingston, Hounslow and neighbouring areas – especially those from minority and refugee backgrounds – to join this online event. It follows the successful “Unity in Crisis” event last November.

As we look forward to the end of lockdown, “Unity against Loneliness” provides a unique opportunity for local people from different religion or belief backgrounds (including the non-religious) to consider a subject that can affect anyone, and is so often invisible to everyone else.

What is loneliness? (It’s not as obvious as you might think.) How do we experience it? What steps can we take to alleviate it?

For more details and to register for the event visit https://unityagainstloneliness.eventbrite.co.uk

Everyone living in south west London is welcome.

Events

Poetry Workshops at St Mary’s Barnes

St. Mary’s, Barnes is collecting poems that have helped individuals through lockdown and through times of difficulty. They would like to share these poems with each other through a series of informal poetry workshops on Zoom. If you have a poem which is special to you and which could help others who are experiencing challenging times, please join them.

The Zoom workshops will take place
on Mondays 19th and 26th April at 6pm.
To register, please send your choice of poem to: catherine.putz@googlemail.com

At the workshop we will read each other our special poems and discuss the aspects of the writing which appeal to us. Afterwards, our poems will be written on cards to be issued to those who would benefit from them, and printed on laminated, decorated sheets kept in church for
our visitors to enjoy.

Prayer

National Day of Reflection 23 March

The Church of England are supporting the National Day of Reflection on 23 March, the first anniversary of the UK lockdown, to commemorate this tragic loss of life and to stand together with everyone who’s grieving.

Organised by Marie Curie, the National Day of Reflection looks to reflect on our collective loss, support those who’ve been bereaved, and hope for a brighter future.

Pray…

Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end,
Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him, and all ages.
From the Easter Vigil, Common Worship

God of all that has been, that is, that is to come
as we reflect on the year that has past,
those we have lost,
those we have missed,
the contact not made,
the hopes dashed,
new things discovered,
new opportunities seized,
new love embraced,
we thank you that you have been with us
and brought us to this day.
Stay with us
as we step into your future
with faith and hope and love
and in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Dean Andrew Nunn

Light a candle…

Click here to light a virtual candle.

Support the bereaved

Phone someone or send a prayer postcard

Be silent…

Events, News

Holy Week and Easter Across the Deanery

St Michael and All Angels, Barnes

Email easter@stmichaelbarnes.org to book for Easter Day services.

St Mary’s, Barnes

Booking essential for 10am Easter Eucharist. Click here.

Mortlake and East Sheen Team Ministry

All Saints East Sheen

Email alexbarrow1@gmail.com for details to join Zoom services. The 10am Sunday Eucharists will be livestreamed on All Saints’ Facebook page.

Christ Church, East Sheen

St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake

Sunday 28th March, 10am –  Palm Sunday Eucharist
Monday 29th March, 8pm –  short reflective service for Holy Week
Thursday 1st April, 8pm – Maundy Thursday service.
Friday 2nd April, 11am – Good Friday Children’s Service via Zoom
Friday 2nd April, 2pm – An Hour at the Cross. Good Friday Service with music, art and poetry followed by liturgy.
Sunday 4th April, 10am – Easter Day Eucharist. Booking essential. Click here.
Services will be livestreamed on St Mary’s Facebook page.

Richmond Team Ministry

For details of Zoom services at St Matthias contact anne.crawford@richmondteamministry.org. Click the following links for booking Easter Day services at St Mary Magdalene, St Matthias and St John the Divine.

Holy Trinity, Richmond

Visit htrichmond.org.uk/easter for more details and to book Easter and Holy Week services,

St Phillip and All Saints and St Luke’s, Kew

Booking essential. Email office@kewparishes.plus.com

St Peter’s, Petersham

St Richard’s, Ham

Reserve a place by message on St Richard’s Facebook page.
Campaigns

Bishop’s Lent Call

Bishop Christopher writes:
As we begin Lent many of us will take up a discipline to help us to observe a reflective and prayerful time in preparing for Holy Week and Easter. Some of you, I know, will have decided upon a Lenten book and others of you will join a Lent Group through your church or decide to try a different daily prayer routine. Many – those who are a part of our churches and those who are not – will give up something as part of their Lenten discipline. It might be meat or alcohol or sugar or any number of things that you really enjoy. Others, too, might take something up for Lent such as trying to pray more or going for longer walks in order to have some time alone to reflect upon the day. Whatever you do I hope that you will find Lent to be a helpful time in which to reflect upon and grow in your faith.
 
Each year I invite individuals, churches and schools to join me in offering prayer and donations to my Lent Call projects. Usually the majority of the projects are in other parts of the world but, this year, my brother Bishops and I are so aware of the need here at home too that we have decided that we will feature projects in this Diocese for three weeks of Lent and projects in our Link Dioceses for the other two. We have decided to feature food insecurity because this is a real issue for many here in the Diocese and for people in Zimbabwe and the Diocese of Jerusalem.
 
The pandemic has changed many people’s lives in the last year as they have lost loved ones and found it harder to support themselves day by day. For some, the loss of income and security caused by the effects of the lockdowns has been the thing that has tipped them over into needing to use food banks and feeding projects both here and overseas.
 
I hope that you will feel able to support these projects generously in the coming weeks, giving what you can to help others who have less. I know that some will have been spending less as a result of the lockdown and I hope and pray that, if this is the case for you, you will feel able to be generous in giving to the Lent projects. I know that for some this year has been very hard and if you are not able to give to the projects, please do pray for them.
 
I have recorded this video which talks about the projects that we are featuring:
We have also produced some materials to help you to reflect upon the need for the work of the projects and the narrative of the feeding of the four thousand (Mark 8: 1-8), as well as a prayer. Do please follow the Lent Call material and consider how you can best support the projects featured. Thank you.
 
Creator God,
we give thanks for all that you have given to us.
We pray for those who are experiencing food insecurity
in the places featured in the Lent Call and elsewhere.
Help us to show compassion for them.
Give us the will to work with others to help to bring about change.
Help us to show our care and concern for those around us who are in need.
Bring justice and fullness of life to all your people.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen.
 
Lent Call 2021 projects
Projects in Zimbabwe
Initiatives supporting food security, water supplies, and infrastructure in our Link Dioceses of Central Zimbabwe, Matabeleland, Masvingo and Manicaland.
The Diocese of Jerusalem
Helping our new Link Diocese in Jerusalem to support up to 50 vulnerable families to feed themselves.
Projects in the Diocese of Southwark
St Matthew, Redhill Food Bank
Wandsworth Food Bank
Norwood & Brixton Food Bank
Together Southwark: Lunchbox Library
LewCAS
 
Click here to donate and to find out more.