Newsletters

A very warm welcome to all

Psalm 146: “I will praise the Lord as long as I live.”

Season of Creation Week 2

Readings: Isaiah 35: 4-7a; James 2: 1-10, (11-13), 14-17
Gospel: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

In our Gospel today

Fairness, justice, God transforming the land and people’s lives, particularly the poor and challenging stories about Jesus’ actions are part of our scriptures set for this Second Sunday in the Season of Creation. In the reading from the Prophet Isaiah, we hear that God promises to deliver and heal, transforming the afflicted and the barren landscapes into flourishing life. Our Psalm is one of the Psalms of Ascent, meant for pilgrims to sing on their way to Jerusalem for the annual feast days. This Psalm looks forward to a time when justice will prevail, and God will establish his Kingdom of justice, love and peace. In the Epistle we hear from the Book of James that treating people differently based on wealth contradicts faith in Jesus Christ. God honours the poor in spirit, promising them the Kingdom of God, we’re also reminded that it is faith not our actions that are the path to eternal life.

As we view these readings in the context of the Season of Creation what does it mean for us, as Christians, to think of fairness and justice in the midst of the Climate crisis, in the context of differing impacts of climate change across the world and the places with different historical responsibilities for changes to our planet?

Season of Creation

During the five Sundays of September, we plan to use the Season of Creation (Creationtide) theme. This is an ecumenical idea that has been growing over recent years and seeks to raise the profile of our understanding and action about climate and biodiversity issues as Christians. The series culminates with the service of Harvest. You can find out more about Season of Creation here: https://seasonofcreation.org/about/

All Saints

Please note the autumn dates for All Saints children’s Sunday club for those aged 4-12 years old. Sundays September 15th, October 20th and November 17th from 3:30pm to 5:00pm at St James, Holburn Street, AB10 6BS. Bible Stories, Games, Craft, Songs, Food and Fun. A joint initiative with St James and St John’s.

Quiz night at St John’s, Thursday 19th September at 7pm

St John’s are hosting a fun quiz night in their church hall on Crown Terrace. Teams from other churches are very welcome. Tickets are £5 per person, and this entitles you to some refreshments too!

Updates to St Mary’s Social and Fundraising Calendar

Our Quiz Night, was originally scheduled for Friday 13th September, has now been moved to combine it with the Pizza Evening on Friday 11th October. Please see our noticeboards for the updated calendar.

Church Grounds Tidy Up

Thank you very much to all who have done the excellent weeding work over the past few weeks. The church grounds to the north, west and south of the St Mary’s are all looking really neat and tidy! Our architect, Dave Chouman, is hoping to lodge our project plan for the East End Garden Project in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have the energy, please feel free to tackle the meadow at the east end of the church grounds. How do you fancy some fellowship while weeding? Please join us for a weeding gang on Saturday 14th September between 10am and 12 noon.

Photograph Competition 2024

Our Photograph Competition is currently running and will now have a new deadline for entries of Monday 30th September. Please send any nice photographs to our webmaster, David Rose. Donations of £2 per photograph entry go to church funds. Thank you to all who have sent in photographs so far! You can view the latest entries here: https://stmaryscardenplace.org.uk/photograph-competition-2024/

Services and events commencing this Sunday and for the coming week

Sunday 8th September 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Sunday 8th September 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Wednesday 11th September 10am Holy Communion: Revd Roger Dyer
Friday 13th September 6pm Compline: Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 15th September 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 15th September 10am Service of the Word: Leading Dr Nicola Mills and preaching Revd Godwin Chimara

Next Sunday’s readings: Isaiah 50: 4-9a; Psalm 19; James 3: 1-12
Gospel: Mark 8: 27-38

“O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so previous in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may see beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Amen.”
(A Prayer from Pope Francis (2019))

For any pastoral matters please contact our Assistant Priest Revd Roger Dyer on 07719 458571 or revrogdyer@btinternet.com

A very warm welcome to all

Psalm 15: “Through the greatness of your mercy, I will come into your house.”

Season of Creation Week 1

Readings: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-9; James 1: 17-27
Gospel: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

In our Gospel today

The celebration of the Season of Creation began in 1989 when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios 1 established September 1 as a Day of Prayer for Creation in the Orthodox Church. The World Council of Churches extended the celebration to October 4th, the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi. We belong to this ecumenical movement as the Scottish Episcopal Church, part of the world-wide Anglican Communion.

The theme for 2024 is To Hope and Act with Creation.

In the letter of Paul to the Romans he pictures the Earth as a Mother, groaning as in childbirth (Rom 8:22). Francis of Assisi understood this when he referred to the Earth as our sister and our mother in his Canticle of the Creatures. The times we live in show that we are not relating to the Earth as a gift from our Creator, but rather as a resource to be used.

And yet, there is hope and the expectation for a better future. To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but rather groaning, crying, and actively striving for new life amongst the struggles. Just as in childbirth, we go through a period of intense pain but new life springs forth.

Season of Creation

During the five Sundays of September, we plan to use the Season of Creation (Creationtide) theme. This is an ecumenical idea that has been growing over recent years and seeks to raise the profile of our understanding and action about climate and biodiversity issues as Christians. The series culminates with the service of Harvest. You can find out more about Season of Creation here: https://seasonofcreation.org/about/

Quiz night at St John’s, Thursday 19th September at 7pm

St John’s are hosting a fun quiz night in their church hall on Crown Terrace. Teams from other churches are very welcome. Tickets are £5 per person, and this entitles you to some refreshments too!

Updates to St Mary’s Social and Fundraising Calendar

Our Quiz Night, was originally scheduled for Friday 13th September, has now been moved to combine it with the Pizza Evening on Friday 11th October. Please see our noticeboards for the updated calendar.

Church Grounds Tidy Up

Thank you very much to all who have done the excellent weeding work over the past few weeks. The church grounds to the north, west and south of the St Mary’s are all looking really neat and tidy! Our architect, Dave Chouman, is hoping to lodge our project plan for the East End Garden Project in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have the energy, please feel free to tackle the meadow at the east end of the church grounds. How do you fancy some fellowship while weeding? Please join us for a weeding gang on Saturday 14th September between 10am and 12 noon.

Photograph Competition 2024

Our Photograph Competition is currently running and will now have a new deadline for entries of Monday 30th September. Please send any nice photographs to our webmaster, David Rose. Donations of £2 per photograph entry go to church funds. Thank you to all who have sent in photographs so far! You can view the latest entries here: https://stmaryscardenplace.org.uk/photograph-competition-2024/

Services and events commencing this Sunday and for the coming week

Sunday 1st September 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 1st September 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Kate Gibson
Wednesday 3rd September 10am Holy Communion: Revd Kate Gibson
Friday 5th September 6pm Compline: Iain Stewart
Sunday 8th September 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Sunday 8th September 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden

Next Sunday’s readings: Isaiah 35: 4-7a; Psalm 146; James 2: 1-10, (11-12), 14-17
Gospel: Mark 7: 24-37

“If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.”
(Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179))

For any pastoral matters please contact our Assistant Priest Revd Jason Hobbs
on 07446 113014 

A very warm welcome to all

Psalm 34: “I will bless the Lord at all times.”

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Readings: Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18; Ephesians 6: 10-20
Gospel: John 6: 56-69

In our Gospel today

This Sunday we finish our readings from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John – the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse. The readings for this week all focus on faith, commitment, and unity. They show us the importance of choosing to follow God and living according to God’s teachings.

In the Gospel, Jesus acknowledges and addresses his Bread of Life teachings are difficult and acknowledges disbelief among his followers. After many leave, Peter reaffirms their faith, recognizing Jesus as the Holy One of God. In the readings from the Old Testament in Joshua we hear Joshua challenging Israel to choose their allegiance at Shechem; the people reaffirm their commitment to the LORD, recalling His deliverance and protection throughout their history. In the Psalm, the refrain reminds us that “The Lord is near to the broken hearted.” as the Psalm speaks of the Lord, who, listening to the righteous and rescuing them from trouble, delivers and protects them in their adversity. The Epistle speaks of relationships, particularly marriage and how Christ’s role should guide how we act in relationships.

St Mary’s 160th Anniversary Service and St Mary’s Gift Day

Last Sunday we enjoyed a lovely celebratory service led by The Very Reverend Graham Taylor to mark 160 years of St Mary’s. It was great to see you back Graham and thank you from all at St Mary’s for presiding and preaching for our special anniversary service. Thank you also to everyone that contributed to the excellent bring and share lunch and to those who helped set up, clear up and wash up. Also, many thanks to all that made special gifts to St Mary’s, including to Judith Stephens for the two paintings that were donated that day. Please remember that its not too late to think about and donate that special gift for St Mary’s funds.

Season of Creation

During the five Sundays of September, we plan to use the Season of Creation (Creationtide) theme. This is an ecumenical idea that has been growing over recent years and seeks to raise the profile of our understanding and action about climate and biodiversity issues as Christians. The series culminates with the service of Harvest. You can find out more about Season of Creation here: https://seasonofcreation.org/about/

Church Grounds Tidy Up

Thank you very much to all who have done the excellent weeding work over the past few weeks. The church grounds to the north, west and south of the St Mary’s are all looking really neat and tidy! Our architect, Dave Chouman, is hoping to lodge our project plan for the East End Garden Project in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have the energy, please feel free to tackle the meadow at the east end of the church grounds. Look out for a new weekend weeding gang session.

Diocesan Library

Earlier this week Nick Mills arranged for James A. Dickson Books of Kilsyth to look at the remaining books in the Diocesan Library. Good news! The Kilsyth bookshop took away about seven shelves’ worth of books and paid a nice sum for the privilege. This will now help to tidy up the space to the south side of St Mary’s. The next step is most likely to have the remainder of the library books taken away for recycling. Well done, Nick!

Photograph Competition 2024

Our Photograph Competition is currently running and will now have a new deadline for entries of Monday 30th September. Please send any nice photographs to our webmaster, David Rose. Donations of £2 per photograph entry go to church funds. Thank you to all who have sent in photographs so far! You can view the latest entries here: https://stmaryscardenplace.org.uk/photograph-competition-2024/

Services and events commencing this Sunday and for the coming week

Sunday 25th August 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Sunday 25th August 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Tuesday 27th August 10am Morning Prayer: Revd Roger Dyer
Wednesday 28th August 10am Holy Communion: Revd Roger Dyer
Friday 30th August 6pm Compline: Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 1st September 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 1st September 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Kate Gibson

Next Sunday’s readings: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-9; Psalm 15; James 1: 17-27
Gospel: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

“I was, as the prophet said, hungering and thirsting for righteousness. I found it at the eternal and material core of Christianity: body, blood, bread, wine, poured out freely, shared by all.”
(Sara Miles, Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion)

For any pastoral matters please contact our Assistant Priest Revd Roger Dyer. Please see email or paper copy of noticesheet for contact details.

A very warm welcome to all

Psalm 45: “I will make your name to be remembered through all generations.”

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Readings: Isaiah 7: 10-15; Galatians 4: 4-7
Gospel: Luke 1: 46-55

In our Gospel today

Today’s gospel reading brings us to a very familiar passage. The Magnificat is Mary’s response to the loving action of God. She gives thanks and praise.

Mary gives us a model for prayer. She is rooted in the past but open to the future. The prayer invites us to give time to recognise and ponder on the good things we have received, so that we can thank God for them. Perhaps we could write our own Magnificat and pray over it, recognising the great things God has done for us in each of our lives and together in the life of St Mary’s.

Mary is a figure of hope for all of us as we journey in faith. Even though she didn’t know where that journey would take her, she trusted that God knew.

St Mary’s 160th Anniversary Service and Lunch: Sunday 18th August

This week at St Mary’s we have a very special anniversary to celebrate as the church is 160 years old this year! We will be celebrating the occasion with a special service led by the Very Reverend Graham Taylor on our patronal festival day. Following the service, we will be having a celebratory bring and share lunch. This special celebration also coincides with our annual St Mary’s Gift Day, so please reflect on your annual giving and consider giving a special gift to the church on this day. Thank you to everyone who has organised items for the lunch. Looking forward to seeing you all there on Sunday!

Thursdays @ 7

Thursday @ 7 will be taking a break and returning for a five-week run from the 31st of October. Thursday @ 7 meets in the crypt and is a mid-week opportunity to meet for Bible-study, prayer and fellowship. ‘Hope you might be able to join us when we restart’, Revd Roger.

Church Grounds Tidy Up

Thank you very much to all who have done the excellent weeding work over the past few weeks. The church grounds to the north, west and south of the St Mary’s are all looking really neat and tidy! Our architect, Dave Chouman, is hoping to lodge our project plan for the East End Garden Project in the next few weeks. Look out for more detailed information at church soon.

Kitchen windowsill plants for sale!

Fancy some basil for a nice caprese salad or some parsley for your chimichurri sauce? Please help yourself to the plants in the Choir Vestry for a donation towards church funds. Thank you!

St Mary’s Magazine

The latest issue of our church Magazine was published on Sunday 4th August to be closer to our anniversary celebration service on 18th August. In this issue you’ll find lots of interesting articles and an especially interesting one on the 16 decades of St Mary’s. If you haven’t got a copy yet, you’ll find one at the back of church or why not read it online.

Photograph Competition 2024

Just a brief reminder that our Photograph Competition is currently running and will now have a new deadline for entries being 30th September. Please send any nice photographs to our webmaster, David Rose. Donations of £2 per photograph entry go to church funds. Thank you to all who have sent in photographs so far!

Services and events commencing this Sunday and for the coming week

Sunday 18th August 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Jason Hobbs
Sunday 18th August 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Very Revd Graham Taylor
Tuesday 20th August 10am Morning Prayer: Revd Roger Dyer
Wednesday 21st August 10am Holy Communion: Revd Kate Gibson
Friday 23rd August 6pm Compline: Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 25th August 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Sunday 25th August 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden

Next Sunday’s readings: Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34: 15-22; Ephesians 6: 10-20
Gospel: John 6: 56-69

“If the only prayer we ever say is thanks that will suffice.”
(Meister Eckhart)

For any pastoral matters please contact our Assistant Priest Revd Roger Dyer. Please see email or paper copy of noticesheet for contact details.

A very warm welcome to all

Psalm 34: “O taste and see that the Lord is gracious.”

Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

Readings: 1 Kings 19: 4-8; Ephesians 4: 25-5:2
Gospel: John 6: 35, 41-51

In our Gospel today

As we have been baking cakes (and other fancy pieces!) over the last weeks for the Gallowgate Festival, we might want to ponder on the angel in today’s Old Testament reading, bringing cake to Elijah. Cake and water and a good night’s sleep are what Elijah needs for the next part of his task, his work for God, and once he has taken all three, he’s much more inclined to get on with it and face what he has to do. Food as sustenance, food as community, as a gesture of love and generosity to others, all these come together in Jesus’ ultimate gift to us of Himself as the Bread of Life.

St Mary’s 160th Anniversary Service and Lunch Sunday 18th August

Next week at St Mary’s we have a special anniversary to celebrate as the church is 160 years old this year! We plan to celebrate the occasion with a special service led by the Very Reverend Graham Taylor on our patronal festival day. Following the service, we will be having a celebratory bring and share lunch. This will also coincide with our annual St Mary’s Gift Day. Please make a point of putting this date in your diary and let us know if you will be able to bring items for the lunch. Please see the sign-up sheet at back of church. Thank you!

Thursdays @ 7

Thursdays @ 7 meets in the church crypt for bible-study and prayer. Up to 15th August we are endeavouring to complete a speed tour of Paul’s letters. You’d be very welcome wherever you feel you are in your faith journey. Bring a friend if you wish. We aim to be an hour – longer if you stay for refreshments.

Church Grounds Tidy Up

With our anniversary celebration coming up soon it would be good to have another Saturday morning weeding session ahead of the special day. Please come along on Saturday 10th August if you can between 10am and 12 noon. Please feel free to come along at any other times. It’s surprising what you can achieve in half an hour. Thank you!

Kitchen windowsill plants for sale!

Fancy some basil for a nice caprese salad or some parsley for your chimichurri sauce? Please help yourself to the plants in the Choir Vestry for a donation towards church funds. Thank you!

Vestry Meeting Tuesday 13th August at 7:30pm

Please contact a member of the Vestry if you have any matters that you’d like to raise at our next Vestry Meeting. Thank you!

St Mary’s Magazine

The latest issue of our church Magazine was published last Sunday 4th August to be closer to our anniversary celebration service on 18th August. You be able to pick up a paper copy at church or why not read it online.

Photograph Competition 2024

Just a brief reminder that our Photograph Competition is currently running and will now have a new deadline for entries being 30th September. Please send any nice photographs to our webmaster, David Rose. Thank you!

Services and events commencing this Sunday and for the coming week

Sunday 11th August 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 11th August 10am Service of the Word: leading Louisa Donaldson and preaching Dr Nicola Mills
Tuesday 13th August 10am Morning Prayer: Revd Roger Dyer
Wednesday 14th August 10am Holy Communion: Revd Roger Dyer
Friday 16th August 6pm Compline: Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 18th August 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Jason Hobbs
Sunday 18th August 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Very Revd Graham Taylor

Next Sunday’s readings: Isaiah 7: 10-15; Psalm 45: 10-17; Galatians 4: 4-7
Gospel: Luke 1: 46-55

“God never asks you to do more than he equips you to do.”
(Anon)

For any pastoral matters please contact our Assistant Priest Revd Roger Dyer. Please see email or paper copy of noticesheet for contact details.