Celebration at St Mary's Cable Street
Tuesday 22 May 2007, 7.30 pm
Tuesday 22 May is the date of the anniversary of the dedication of the church in 1850, and Mass will be celebrated at 7.30 pm, both in thanksgiving for the past, and looking forward to the future.
This year St Mary's looks forward in a particular way. The past months have seen the completion of a new building to the rear of St Mary's Hall. This project has been done in partnership with the local council, and is designed to house the Tower Hamlets Drugs Intervention Project. As such, it builds on the range of drugs counselling services that have been offered from the upper floors of the existing hall building since the 1990s.
It will be a great pleasure to welcome Father David Paton, the Master of the Royal Foundation of St Katharine, to preach at the Mass and to bless the new building. Father Paton was the Parish Priest of St Mary's from 1986 until 1992, and in that time was responsible for the construction of the present Church Hall, and the establishment of drugs services there. In a very real sense we have built on foundations he laid.
The Mass and blessing ceremony will be followed by a party in the Hall. All are of course welcome; if you are unable to come, please remember the parish in your thoughts and prayers at this time.
The Reverend Peter McGeary
Work Placements Sought
This year as a part of the English and Lifeskills class for young BME women (newly arrived in UK) Arbour Youth are organising 2-3 days work placements. The idea for the students is to gain understanding of different professions and also to experience working outside of the Ocean Estate.
All participants are over 18 years old and have reasonable English. In general, students are happy to do anything from filing, photocopying and cleaning to event organisation and working with young people.
Do you think your church or organisation could take one or two people? Placements will start at the beginning of June so, if you think you can help, please contact Jitka Markova at Arbour Youth at jitka@btconnect.com.
The Latest News for Faith Organisations
Many Christian websites are now using an RSS newsfeed from Ekklesa. The Html is copied into the website and daily news relating to church and politics are posted. It has a good reputation and is broad in outlook.
Look out for the link in future on the front page of our Deanery site for convenience.
Mustard Seed Grants Available
Need to test the waters? Try a £5,000 ‘Mustard Seed’ grant
Church Urban Fund. ‘Mustard Seed’ grants enable faith-based projects and organisations to develop their ideas and pilot projects, including existing networks, new networks and work to establish a voice for faith-based social action in your area.
Grant requests up to £5,000 will be considered via a rolling programme with no deadlines. The application form is simple and can be tailored to the individual project.
For detail on how to apply visit http://www.cuf.org.uk/default.asp?id=58
The Youth Interfaith Project
e Synod meeting last week, the Project Leader, Vas Hirani, gave a presentation on the work of the youngsters, including a round up of the trip to the Sanai. (A press release is currently being prepared and will be posted here soonest!)
At the meeting, Vas explained how some of the work with the kids had centred around The Book of Questions. The book is a collection of questions which challenge moral, ethical and social thinking in a very interesting way! After a selection of questions at the meeting, you asked for the book! Here are the details...
ISBN 1-85336-026-0
by Gregory Stock
Click here for a link to Amazon...
Deanery Day
The venue for Deanery Day has now been confirmed. The meeting will take place at St Margarets House, 21 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, E2.
The date, just to remind you is Saturday 7th July. Timings will be confirmed but the meeting is likely to run from 10am to 2pm.
A formal invitation will be circulated to incumbents and Deanery Representatives soon, and asking for numbers of those attending from each parish.
The importance of each parish engaging in this process cannot be stressed enough so please think about who will attend and what should be discussed. Any thoughts or queries to Dawn please at towerhamletsdeanery@yahoo.co.uk.
Sacred - World Faiths Brought to Book
Also mentioned at the Synod meeting was this exhibition at the British Library. And though we have mentioned it before, this is just a reminder that it runs until September...and is thoroughly recommended.
Some of the world’s most important and beautiful religious texts have been brought together for the first time in a groundbreaking exhibition at the British Library. Rare examples of Jewish, Christian and Muslim sacred texts from the Library’s collections - considered to be one of the greatest in the world - are being presented alongside treasures on loan from other institutions in a unique and compelling modern context.
The exhibition is open from 27th April 2007 to 23rd September 2007, open every day. Admission is free. Exhibition hours are: Monday, Wednesday-Friday 09.30-18.00, Tuesday 09.30-20.00, Saturday 09.30-17.00, Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays 11.00-17.00. All galleries are accessible by wheelchair. Information can be requested from Visitor Services staff on: 020 7412 7332. For further information about the British Library and its exhibitions please see www.bl.uk
A Church Near You
Church Near You is a website run by the Diocese of Oxford which lists churches by postcode and place, not only in the UK but also in Europe. It provides a search facility for specific requirements, such as wheelchair access, crèche, hearing loop facilities, etc. It is free and a local parish can upload useful information and provide a link to its own website. Here is the link - www.achurchnearyou.com.
