Curate Dr Sara Batts said goodbye on Sunday 11 February, after 18 months with us in her first curacy. She helped us to look at what we do and how things might be done differently, especially in exploring prayer and in welcome.

She now takes up post as Assistant Curate at Coggeshall in Essex, to gain wider experience of ministry.

We thank her for all she shared with us and her contribution to the life and work of this church and community. We wish her well in this next step in her ministry.

© St Edmund, Chingford

Each year, we explore different ways of doing liturgy. This year, Local Preacher Dee Gürfer created a service entitled “Welcoming the Light” comprising readings, poetry and music, as well as a fun creative element with those attending creating a decoration to take home made of sand, sticks and lights. The service ended (following a German Candlemas tradition) with branches – laden with chocolate bars – lopped from the Christmas Tree for all to take home. (Admittedly, not all chocolate bars made it that far!)

© St Edmund, Chingford

On 23rd August Chingford Mount came to a standstill as fire blazed in the Poundland store. Thankfully, no-one was hurt. The fire, paramedic and police services were all involved in putting out the flames. It was an all-nighter and they were, in turn, supported by the Salvation Army’s incident response tea van.

We give thanks for the emergency services, and those who support them. We call to mind those lost at Grenfell Tower, praying for healing for those traumatised by that terrible fire.

© 2018 St Edmund, Chingford