If you’re wanting to find out what’s happening at St Mary’s during the current Lockdown, you’ve come to the right place.
St Mary’s is Open for Private Prayer Monday to Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm. You must wear a mask to enter, unless exempt.
Our Lockdown ‘Retreat’ and Journey with God
From Monday 11th January until Friday 29th January, St Mary’s offers you a spiritual journey through lockdown based on the Book of Psalms, the hymnbook of the Church. We are offering everything online – for the many who will want to wait before returning to the church building – but also offering this ‘retreat’ through gathered corporate worship, for those who either want or need to gather in prayer. The intention is to give shape to our lockdown experience by offering opportunities for prayer, worship, bible study, fellowship and reflection with others.
The most important thing is this: my colleagues involved and I are offering this not to encourage you to come to church more but to enable us to continue to have public worship as safely as possible, with more opportunities to come across the week, in the hope that there will be fewer people in church at any time. In any case all services will be online, and our main Sunday 11am time will be online only, to reduce the risk of large groups of people mixing. As well as the weekday services in this brochure, there will be three services over the Saturday & Sunday period (including, a novelty for St Mary’s, a Vigil Eucharist on Saturday at 5pm), which will include the same sermon. There is also an evening Communion Service at 6pm on Thursdays to catch those who have been working all day.
The theme of our Lockdown ‘Retreat’ is The Message of the Psalms. These ancient prayers and songs will enable us to explore the all-too-real experiences of their authors. The first week focuses on psalms of ‘Orientation’: the psalmist feels at peace with God and themselves; the second week will focus on psalms of ‘Disorientation’: the experiences are hard, full of doubt and struggle and where God seems distant or absent; and the third week will focus on psalms of ‘Reorientation’: the psalmist has moved through some experience of ‘disorientation’ to a new reality and experience.
On Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, to accompany these acts of worship, there will be opportunities to spend an hour with me and other church members on Zoom (if you can bear it!), sharing and listening to our different journeys. I’ll offer some reflections using the psalms and poetry. And, on Wednesday mornings, I’ll be available in church from 9.30am to 12.30pm for anyone who wants a chat – about nothing or something important or significant, whatever suits you! Just turn up: the Coffee Cart will have returned by then.
Join us online or in person, but above all: stay safe.
Canon Simon Butler
Vicar of St Mary’s
Sunday 10th January The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus
9.30am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer)
11am A Service of the Word (Online Only)
Junior Church/Godly Play on Zoom*
Week 1: Psalms of Orientation
Monday 11th January Holy Communion at 12.30pm: A Psalm of Creation: Psalm 8
Tuesday 12th January Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: A Psalm of the Law: Psalm 1
Wednesday 13th January Lectio Divina at 8.30am*: A Psalm of Wisdom: Psalm 37
Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: A Psalm of Wisdom: Psalm 37
An Hour with the Vicar at 7.30pm†
Thursday 14th January An Hour with the Vicar at 11am‡
Holy Communion at 6pm: A Psalm of Retribution: Psalm 112
Friday 15th January Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: A Psalm of Wellbeing: 131
Week 2: Psalms of Disorientation
Saturday 16th January Vigil Eucharist at 5.00pm: A Psalm of Personal Lament: Psalm 13
Sunday 17th January The Second Sunday of Epiphany
9.30am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer): A Psalm of Personal Lament: Psalm 13
11am A Service of the Word (Online Only): A Psalm of Personal Lament: Psalm 13
Junior Church/Godly Play on Zoom*
Monday 18th January Holy Communion at 12.30pmA Psalm of Personal Lament: Psalm 86
Tuesday 19th January Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: A Psalm of Corporate Lament: Psalm 79
Wednesday 20th January Lectio Divina at 8.30am*: The Hardest Psalm: Psalm 88
Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: The Hardest Psalm: Psalm 88
An Hour with the Vicar at 7.30pm†
Thursday 21st January An Hour with the Vicar at 11am‡
Holy Communion at 6pm: The Cruellest Psalm: Psalm 109
Friday 22nd January Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: A Psalm of Confession: Psalm 51
Week 3: Psalms of Reorientation
Saturday 23rd January Vigil Eucharist at 5.00pm: A Psalm of Community Thanksgiving: Psalm 66
Sunday 24th January The Third Sunday of Epiphany
9.30am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer): A Psalm of Community Thanksgiving: Psalm 66
11am A Service of the Word (Online Only): A Psalm of Community Thanksgiving: Psalm 66
Junior Church/Godly Play on Zoom*
Monday 25th January Holy Communion at 12.30pm: A Psalm of Personal Thanksgiving: Psalm 30
Tuesday 26th January Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: A Psalm of the New King: Psalm 96
Wednesday 27th January Lectio Divina at 8.30am*: A Psalm of Confidence: Psalm 90
Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: A Psalm of Confidence: Psalm 90
An Hour with the Vicar at 7.30pm†
Thursday 28th January An Hour with the Vicar at 11am‡
Holy Communion at 6pm: A Psalm of Praise: Psalm 103
Friday 29th January Prayer During the Day at 12.30pm: The Final Psalm: Psalm 150
*You can take part in the Wednesday Morning Lectio Divina on Zoom (Meeting ID: 815 2706 3986; Password: 259290)
† You can join in the Wednesday Evening Hour with the Vicar on Zoom (Meeting ID: 818 8322 2285; Passcode: 434974)
‡ You can join the Thursday Morning Hour with the Vicar on Zoom (Meeting ID: 851 2537 3843; Passcode: 598232)
For details of the Junior Church Zoom on a Sunday, please contact the Parish Office.
All acts of worship are live-streamed to facebook.com/stmarysbattersea