St Mary's Twickenham

20/10/2024

At this morning's family service, the altar was decorated with the Celebration Sunday banner created in the 1990s and showing the handprints and initials of the children then attending St Mary's Sunday School.

Are there any 30- or 40-somethings viewing this who recognise their junior 'handiwork'?!

09/09/2024

Our Minnows group for parents and carers with children aged 0-4 years returns for the Autumn term 2024!

​Join us for a friendly welcome and relaxed time to chat, with refreshments, playtime and singing and a thought for the week to conclude.

When: Monday mornings 09:30 to 11:15 in term-time.

Autumn Term Dates:

16 September to 9 December

EXCEPT 30 September, 28 October, 4 November, and 18 November when we take a break!

Where: inside St Mary's Church, Church Street, Twickenham, TW1 3NJ

Cost: £3 suggested donation per family, including refreshments.

​All those caring for little ones are welcome, so do encourage partners / grandparents / other carers to come along if your little one spends Mondays with them - no booking required!

​Please contact Sarah Waller on [email protected] with any questions or to find out more.

03/09/2024

We are delighted to host Twickenham Guitar Society's forthcoming event - a recital by the outstanding Vickers Bovey Guitar Duo!

Hear this outstanding young duo perform in St Mary's superb acoustics!

10/07/2024

Check out our latest Parish Archivist's blog post https://wix.to/KljQ0o0

Edward (Ted) Morris* recalled in 1991 how the problems caused by the pigeons were handled in the 1930s… ‘While Assistant Tower-Keeper in the 1930s, I was asked by the Vicar (Rev. W.P. Cole Sheane, 1923-1949) to examine the inside of the roof, which no-one other than workmen had visited for years...

30/06/2024

We are delighted to welcome our new Assistant Priest and Chaplain of our School, The Reverend Donna McDowell.

On Monday 1 July at 11.30am, the Licensing of Donna McDowell by the Bishop of Kensington will take place in church, in the context of the Eucharist.

​On Sunday 7 July at 10am we will be welcoming Donna to our special parish Eucharist, followed by celebratory drinks in the Memorial Garden and then a shared lunch back in the church.

Do join us on both occasions if you are able. If you would like to contribute to the events on Sunday, either with offers of food to share or assistance with setting up and clearing away in the church afterwards, please get in touch with Charlotte West.

14/06/2024

Look up! The work to renew the wooden louvres on our church tower has been completed!

The photographs taken inside the tower show the new louvres with stainless steel mesh attached to each panel to stop pigeons getting in.

Each of the oak louvre panels is a work of art, individually made and fitted as no two openings in the stonework are identical. The smaller louvre panels face east over the main roof of the church.

The lower panels could only be accessed and installed by removing sections of brickwork wall and decades of compacted ‘pigeon waste’ in a confined space. Each of the panels together with the mesh can now be removed for maintenance and access purposes,

Our thanks to Jim Harper, who has done a tremendous job over a number of years to achieve this result, very much in the tradition of medieval cathedral builders!

09/06/2024

As we reflect in St Mary's on the commemoration of D-Day and the generation that served in those momentous times, while most are no longer with us, we can remember them...

Ernie Curtis took his New Testament with him to Normandy in 1944. They both came back. For many years he was our fellow parishioner.

Thank you Ernie and all who served with you in a noble cause.

19/05/2024

Delighted to be hosting this performance!

10/05/2024

Father Jeff introduces you to The Reverend Donna McDowell, who will soon join us as Assistant Priest and who will also act as Chaplain at St Mary’s School....
...The Reverend Donna McDowell will be Licensed by the Bishop of Kensington on 1st July and her first Sunday with us will be Sunday 7th July. We are hoping to have a "Bring and Share" lunch on 7th July to welcome Donna, for you to have a chance to meet her and speak with her. Details of how you can contribute to this will be given nearer the time.

I am sure you would all like to know a little more about Donna, so here are a few facts to be getting on with!

Donna comes to us from serving her Curacy at St Paul's Marylebone, a community-focused church in the liberal catholic tradition on the Lisson Green estate, with an emphasis on social outreach. As part of her Curacy she spent time working in Christ Church Bentinck Primary School and the Church Army's Marylebone Project (a housing and support hub for women in crisis). Prior to Ordination she spent 7 years as Head of Schools & Family Learning at St Paul's Cathedral, before which she taught Religious Studies and Philosophy in Croydon for 7 years.

Donna grew up on a rural council estate in Northern Ireland and lived in Japan and Canada for 10 years before coming to London 18 years ago to make her home. I know that she is thrilled to explore a different part of London and to get to know the people of the parish and St Mary's school. She says: “I am impressed at how St Mary's seeks to encourage faith through prayer and discipleship, and how much emphasis it places upon the nurturing of the spirituality of children and young people, and I am excited to participate in all of that. I am really looking forward to meeting you all, and to ministering alongside you as we share the Gospel together.”

Please keep Donna in your prayers as she makes the transition from Marylebone/St Paul's to Twickenham/St. Mary’s.

Father Jeff

21/04/2024

Our Minnows group for parents and carers with children aged 0-4 years returns for the Summer term 2024!

​Join us for a friendly welcome and relaxed time to chat, with refreshments, playtime and singing and a thought for the week to conclude.

When: Monday mornings 09:30 to 11:15 in term-time.

Summer Term Dates: 22 April - 15 July inclusive, except for 6 May, 27 May and 3 June (closed for bank holidays and half term)

Where: inside St Mary's Church, Church Street, Twickenham, TW1 3NJ

Cost: £3 suggested donation per family, including refreshments.

​All those caring for little ones are welcome, so do encourage partners / grandparents / other carers to come along if your little one spends Mondays with them - no booking required!

​Please contact Sarah Waller on [email protected] with any questions or to find out more.

04/04/2024

Guild of Bellringers - Striking Competition!

Four teams from the Middlesex County Association and London Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers will be holding their annual Striking Competition at St Mary’s.

When? - Saturday 13th April from 1pm to 3pm

Everyone is welcome to come and listen to 2 hours of quality ringing - spend some time in our grounds or garden and enjoy this centuries-old sound.

31/03/2024

Easter Sunday 2024. The flowers that decorate the church so splendidly were donated in memory of Frances Catling.

30/03/2024

Join us to celebrate Easter Day at our 9.30am Festival Eucharist.

'Alleluia, He is Risen'!

29/03/2024

Father Jeff sends you his Pastoral Letter for Easter 2024...

Dear Friends

I was listening to some people being interviewed on the lunchtime news on the radio a few days ago, as I was driving to see a parishioner. They were being asked what they would send into space to show alien beings what human beings were like. One suggested sending a beautiful painting in order to show what beauty we were capable of creating, another suggested sending Elon Musk's Twitter account, which really confused me, as I don`t really know what that would entail!

As I was stuck in a traffic jam, a not uncommon experience, I had plenty of time to contemplate what I would send were I to be asked. Actually it didn't take me long to decide what I think would convey the very best aspect of humanity. For me, the most extraordinary capacity human beings have, which mark us out from creatures which are more primitive and self-obsessed, is the capacity for compassionate empathy.

And compassionate empathy is one of the most compelling an attractive attributes I see in Jesus of Nazareth. His compassionate love for us in coming to share our experience of being alive; His compassionate response to those He meets who are suffering emotionally or physically; the empathy He displays to to those damaged by unhealthy relationships and the judgement and condemnation of others; His empathy for those who are frightened and facing death, hence being with them, being with us, when we are experiencing those things.

He wishes to be with us in all things which wish to erode or disfigure the experience of joy and wellbeing which first prompted our Creator to give us the gift of life, so chooses to enter the suffering of the Cross, overcoming its bite from within and forever changing where that experience leads into one which offers us the opportunity of knowing eternity.

Perhaps over the coming days you can contemplate what you would send into space which most powerfully depicts the best qualities of humanity, which best sums up human life, human achievement, human capacity.

But for now, as we keep these sacred days when Jesus joins us in the most intensely human experiences of loving friendships, fear of death, a sense of failure and abandonment, the desire to offer His life for the good of others, closeness to our desires for peace and wellbeing and so many other things besides, let us give thanks that He is with us whatever life has in store for us and take beyond outer space and into the depths of Heaven, the essential human aspiration to know life and know it abundantly.

With blessings and best wishes

Jeff

24/03/2024

One day more! We can't wait to welcome you to St Mary's Twickenham tomorrow for an evening 'At the Movies'🎬directed by Hilary Campbell with piano by Krystal Tunnicliffe 🎵Tickets/popcorn available on the door or snap them up via the link, see you there! https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/west-london-chamber-choir🍿

11/03/2024

As we approach Holy Week, we share an Easter message from our Vicar, Father Jeff, and details of our special services:

Dear Friends,

The news seems always to be concerning and many of us feel impotent in the face of such negative change. Perhaps like me your day begins and ends by listening to the news, hardly a recipe for a peaceful day or night.

Passiontide and Holy Week give us a framework where we can take the negativity of destruction and despair, personal and shared, into a landscape where people are valued and transformed, healed and forgiven.

As Christ continues to reach out to a humanity He loves, may I invite you to be part of that sacred sequence of services from Passion Sunday to Easter Day, as we pray for people throughout the world, in a place where all is changed for good.

With blessings and best wishes,

Fr. Jeff Hopkin Williams
Parish Priest of St Mary`s

***

Passion Sunday, 17th March
6pm - the Marble Hill Singers will lead us in a sequence of music and readings for Passiontide

Palm Sunday, 24th March
8am and 9.30am - Eucharists will be celebrated to include the blessing and distribution of palms

Maundy Thursday, 28th March
7.30pm - The Eucharist of the Last Supper and Gethsemane Watch

Good Friday, 29th March
12noon to 2.30pm - Meditations at the foot of the Cross
2.30pm The Liturgy of Good Friday

Holy Saturday, 30th March
3pm - A service of remembrance for those whose ashes are buried in our Memorial Garden, praying them into the death and resurrection of Christ

EASTER DAY, 31st March
Our Festival Eucharist will be celebrated at 9.30am

21/02/2024

We are pleased to host the Ukrainian Social Club Richmond for their charitable evening of classical music, poetry and dance at this “Evening of Invincibility”, to be held this Friday , 23rd February, sating at 7pm

Undoubtedly a difficult time for many, do join them on the second anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine in solidarity and compassion to support those in our community who need it most.

The programme encompasses some favourite classical pieces by F. Chopin, J. S. Bach, as well as Ukrainian classic composers M. Lysenko, V. Barvinsky and S. Hulak-Artemovsky.

Skilled and talented Ukrainian musicians will perform, including soloists of the Royal Opera House “Songs for Ukraine”, chamber choir "DZVIN.CO".

The evening will also feature an anthology of modern Ukrainian poetry, performed in English and Ukrainian, as well as a soloist performance from the “Stefania” dance ensemble.

Tickets: Adult - £22 / Child - £10 / Child Under 5 - Free

Booking in advance essential from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/evening-of-invincibility-tickets-814524834707?aff=oddtdtcreator

Charity concert of classical music, poetry and dance. Благодійний концерт класичної музики, поезії та танцю.

16/02/2024

This Lent we again invite you to our Lent discussion groups, to be held in church each Monday evening at 7.30pm for five weeks, beginning on 19th February with the last meeting on 18th March.

In the scriptures many significant events happened on hilltops - the receiving of the Ten Commandments, the giving of the Beatitudes, the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion and the Ascension.

These pinnacle moments of God's revelation of who He is call us to travel to such places in our prayer, there to encounter what He would have us know about who He is and how He would have us live.

Even if you have never come to our previous Lent courses, please do join us on these Monday evenings. The sessions will start with an introductory talk, then we will split into groups where you can just listen or take part. We will then break for refreshments after which we will come back to share our thoughts and conclude with a short time of prayer.

It would be marvellous to see you there!

08/02/2024

Join us for traditional pancakes with coffee, tea or juice!

St Mary’s Church Vestry - entry through main church

Shrove Tuesday, 13th February 2024
10.30 am to 11.30 am

ALL welcome – children’s toys will be available

Suggested donation £1.50 per person - Proceeds support church funds

06/02/2024

Father Jeff shares this prayer for His Majesty the King, following the announcement from Buckingham Palace on 5th February.

We commend to your care O Lord
The wellbeing of Charles our King.
Give him grace as he undergoes treatment;
Give discernment to those who attend him;
Give strength to his family and friends
Who surround him with their love.

We similarly entrust to your care
All those who are undergoing treatment
For illness, injury or other medical needs;
We pray for all who work in our National Health Service,
Asking that it may always be properly resourced;
We pray for all those who are concerned about their
Health and wellbeing and that of their loved ones.

May your hand of healing reach out
To all who are in need of your strength,
May they know your presence
Enfolding and empowering them,
In whatever they are facing.

All these things we ask and pray
In the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord.
AMEN.

JHW, 6th February 2024.

https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/15505/news/122389/a-prayer-for-his-majesty-the-king/

25/01/2024

We are delighted to host pianist Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh this Sunday, 28 January, when she will perform the only surviving compositions of Boris Pasternak, author of Dr Zhivago, alongside works by Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Chopin.

The concert starts at 5,30pm in St Mary's church, Twickenham TW1 3NJ.

Tickets £15 [£10 for U18 and students] from Eventbrite [booking fee applies] and on the door.

More about the event:
One of Russia's most beloved writers, Pasternak's first love was music. Raised amongst the Russian elite, his mother was a renowned concert pianist, and Scriabin and Rachmaninoff were regular household visitors. As a teenager Pasternak was an accomplished pianist with aspirations to become a composer; this concert provides a rare opportunity to hear his only surviving works.

PROGRAMME:

Boris Pasternak: Prelude No. 2 in G-sharp minor

Scriabin: Mazurka Op. 3 No. 6 in C-sharp minor

Scriabin: Prelude Op.11, No.15 in D-flat major

Boris Pasternak: Prelude No. 1 in E-flat minor

Scriabin: Etude Op. 42, No. 5 in C-sharp minor

Boris Pasternak: Piano Sonata in B minor

Chopin: Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49

Rachmaninoff: Morceaux de salon, Op. 10:

- Waltz in A Major

- Romance in F minor

Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F-sharp minor, Op. 23

New Zealand born Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh studied at the Royal Academy of Music, the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and the Royal College of Music, and has won numerous awards including the Harold Samuel Prize, the Florence Murray Award, the Lesley Holland Scholarship and the Ivy Corkill Recital Award.

As a concerto soloist she has performed around the world, including a premiere recording of Ross Harris’ Concertina for Piano and Orchestra with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and most recently making her Italian debut with the Master Orchestra in Brescia playing Saint-Saëns’ second piano concerto.

Supporting her musical life, Hannah-Elizabeth draws inspiration from literature and art and has a Masters in Philosophy from Birkbeck University.

Kettner Concerts