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

Rev Dr Melanie Harrington has been announced as the new incumbent of St Philip and All Saints and St Luke’s, Kew.  Melanie is currently Assistant Curate, St Michael’s Lichfield & St John’s Wall in the Diocese of Lichfield, where she also serves as a Vocations Adviser. Melanie  will be instituted by the Bishop of Kingston on Wednesday 23rd June.

Christ Church, East Sheen

We welcome Rev Chris Griffiths who was licensed as the new team vicar of Christ Church, East Sheen on Wednesday 24th February by Bishop Richard via a Zoom service. The service was also attended by clergy from the Mortlake and East Sheen Team Ministry, Church Wardens from Christ Church and the Archdeacon. And many more people watched it live on Facebook.

Christ’s School is a fantastic school which strives for the very best in the children who go to the school, the development of the staff and how they care for the local community. They are looking for Foundation Governors who passionately believe in the values of the Gospel who want to get involved in a secondary school who has those values too. If you would like to know more you can contact Canon Wilma Roest (rector@richmondteamministry.org) or the Senior Clerk to the Governing Body, Mrs Sally Chapman (schapman@christs.rschool). 

Upcoming Events

Tracey Welding – Safeguarding
The annual Harmful Practices Virtual Learning Morning – this will be on 26th of February and around Child Abuse Linked to Faith and Belief (CALFB).  The event details will be sent out across the South West Boroughs (Richmond, Wandsworth, Kingston and Merton),  Please do sign up for this event here.

Mike Derry – Healthwatch/LBRUT Vaccination Seminar
Healthwatch Richmond, in partnership with NHS Richmond and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, will be hosting COVID-19 Vaccinations in Richmond: What you need to know a free event featuring a panel of the top local experts delivering the vaccination programme to answer questions from the community about the vaccine and its rollout in the Borough.

Our panel will include:

• Dr Patrick Gibson, GP Clinical Chair Richmond, NHS South West London CCG 
• Tonia Michaelides, Locality Executive Director NHS South West London CCG
• Julie Risley, Chair of Healthwatch Richmond (Event Chair)
• Mike Derry, Chief Officer Healthwatch Richmond
• A local Public Health Expect (tbc)
• This event will be a live Zoom webinar (also accessible by phone) from 3.30 PM to 4.30 PM on 3rd February 2021.

Residents are invited to submit their questions to the panel in advance when they register or by calling us on 020 8099 5335 or emailing us at info@healthwatchrichmond.co.uk. 

To register for this event please click here to fill in the form. The link to the event will be shared with you by email closer to the event.

The event will be available to watch later here.

Diane Mills – Faithful Friends
Chris Hewer is giving an on line webinar on Thursday 4th February at 7:30 pm on the subject of ‘Three Abrahamic Faiths:- elements of Unity and Diversity’. Email dianamills@phonecoop.coop for details

On Wednesday 20 January, the Archbishop in Jerusalem, The Most Revd Suheil Dawani, and the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, signed the Jerusalem- Southwark Covenant Agreement, linking both Dioceses formally.

“We in the Diocese of Jerusalem look forward to formalizing our companion relationship with the Diocese of Southwark later this month, especially in that we have already enjoyed a close association between our two dioceses through St. George’s College. This Covenant Agreement will deepen that partnership, opening new opportunities for prayer, theological reflection, pilgrimage, and mutual support of our respective ministries between the clergy and people of our two dioceses,” said Archbishop Suheil.

Linking both Dioceses in this way formalises a long-standing relationship. Bishop Christopher is regularly invited by the Roman Catholic Bishops Conferences to participate as an Anglican Bishop in the “Holy Land Coordination”, making annual visits to Israel and Palestine. He is also a Patron of Embrace the Middle East, together with the Balfour Project, as well as Friends of the Holy Land, which funds sustainable and immediate relief work in the West Bank, Gaza and Jordan. The Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem, Richard Sewell, was previously Team Rector of Barnes Team Ministry. Archbishop Suheil’s previous chaplain, David Longe, moved there from North Lambeth Team Ministry. Bishop Christopher and the Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark, regularly lead pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Andrew also leads courses at St George’s College.

Bishop Christopher said, “Formalising our links in this way, builds on existing friendships and partnership in mission between the two dioceses. It is a historic moment and I am looking forward to strengthening our ties in the years to come.”

The Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham, Bishop of Kingston, has worked very closely with St George’s College Jerusalem over many years and chaired its British Regional Committee until recently. Among other things, he has helped to instigate and co-lead the College’s hugely successful and ground-breaking “Sharing Perspectives” course which now engages Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders reflecting closely together in the Holy Land to gain better insights into each other’s perspectives on both the Holy Land and their faith. Bishop Richard said, “It has been a huge privilege to engage with the Diocese of Jerusalem for several years and this new Covenant opens the door for even closer relationships into the future which I hope and pray will enrich both Dioceses and the wider Church.”

Virtual Posada from St John the Divine

Over the last few years, members of St John the Divine  have participated in the Posada in which the (knitted) Holy Family travel around from house to house during the lead-up to Christmas, symbolising the journey to Bethlehem.
Sadly, it can’t happen in the usual way this year, so they have devised a virtual Posada instead! They will be sending out pictures with Mary, Joseph and the donkey travelling around familiar local scenes, culminating in their arrival at St John’s on Christmas Eve.

Click here to follow the Posada.

Christmas Stable at St Mary’s, Barnes

Carol Singing

Christmas Lights from Holy Trinity, Richmond

Christmas Windows

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Nativity play from Holy Trinity, Richmond

Nativity from St Mary, Barnes

Retelling of the Christmas Story from St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake

Lights and a Snow Machine at St Michael and All Angels, Barnes, Nativity

Oh Christmas Trees!

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Christmas Cribs

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Christingles

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Daily Bell at St Mary Magdalene, Mortlake

A single bell has been rung at St Mary Magdalene, at 6 o’clock each evening since the beginning of the current lockdown.

On All Saints Day, the Archbishops wrote to all the clergy in the Church of England. In this letter, they stated their conviction that the first and primary response of the Church at this time was prayer.
“Bearing in mind our primary vocation as the Church of Jesus Chris is to pray and to serve, we call upon the Church of England to make this
month of lockdown a month of prayer. More than anything else, whatever the nation thinks, we know that we are in the faithful hands of the risen Christ who knows our weaknesses, tiredness and struggles and whose steadfast love endures for ever.

The Archbishops, in consultation with the House of Bishops, decided that this call would take the form of an invitation to every Christian
and person of goodwill to pray at 6 pm every day, beginning on Thursday 5 November for the period of this present lock-down.

In order to stimulate this time of prayer, where it is possible, churches are encouraged to ring a single bell at 6 pm.

Daily Lockdown Pictures from St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake

St Mary the Virgin, Mortlake is posting daily pictures of the local area on Facebook and Twitter.