You are invited to celebrate Advent and Christmas at St Mary’s Get ready for Christmas with the Fayre at St Mary’s from 5-7pm on Friday 1 December. There will be crafts and gifts to buy, and refreshments to enjoy. At 6pm on Sunday 3 December we will sing Advent Carols by candlelight. At 4pm on Saturday 9 December we’ll welcome St Mary’s School to their Christmas Carol Service.From 7pm on Thursday 14 December we’ll be singing carols in The Prince of Wales pub. At both 4:30 and 6:30pm on Sunday 17 December we will sing Christmas Carols by candlelight. There will be a family crib service at St Mary’s at 4pm on Sunday 24 December.Of course there will also be a service at 11:30pm on Christmas Eve and 10am on Christmas Day to celebrate this special festival. At 6pm on Sunday 7 January we will sing Carols for Epiphany in a creative and intimate atmosphere.The celebration of Christmas at St Mary’s will continue all the way to our All Age Messy Christingle at 10am on Sunday 4 February.
The new Community Halls at St Mary's were officially opened by HRH Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, on 29 November. A service of dedication and celebration for their completion was held on 19 February. They are now coming into use to provide space and facilities for church events and hospitality; co-operation with charity partners; and hires which are compatible with our charitable objectives, to serve the whole community.
Our new hall will transform the church’s ability to serve the whole of East Barnet. Its facilities will allow us to host more community organisations, and to offer groups and activities run in partnership with church volunteers. The church and new hall will both be fully wheelchair accessible. We will gain new WC facilities and a kitchen too. This work is all being funded by the generosity of the congregation at St Mary’s; the sale of part of the site of the old hall; and small charitable grants. All this means that St Mary’s, which is the oldest building in the borough of Barnet, will soon be the newest too! If you would like to be part of this exciting project, you can · make a special donation to support the community hall · apply to use the hall for your community group · partner with church volunteers to host groups or activities all by contacting administrator@stmaryseastbarnet.org We’d love to hear from you, and to welcome you to our new community hall soon. The Revd Dr A S Corio Rector of East Barnet
