The Church: what it is and what it does - the Vicar

Who will rid me of this turbulent priest? Words sometimes heard in the parish office, in whispers at the back of church, stridently over coffee. (Hopefully not.) But certainly, an expletive of Henry II leading to the untimely death of Thomas Beckett 854 years ago. Today is 6 years since I was first invited to come to a service – it was a Harvest service – as the incoming vicar, shortly before I began ministry here. In the scope of St Margaret’s we are 151 years as a place of worship, 112 years as a Church of England, 101 years as a parish and this year we have completed a century of St Margaret’s vicars, of which there’ve only been 10, which is pretty modest. My intention this morning is to reflect back on the last six years to gain a fuller understanding of what a church is and what it does.

2019 was the year in which St Margaret’s opened its doors. We developed relationships with 7 schools and nurseries, rekindled our connection with Ashmead care home, started a playgroup in church and began hosting concerts. Attendance at services grew by 30%, parish income increased by £35,000 and the constant refrain I heard was how good it was that our doors were open. It was the year we hosted a Glass Door night shelter for people affected by homelessness and raised £5000 for other charities. We also finished a £100,000 project of ridding the sanctuary of dry and wet rot. We began new initiatives to prioritise the environment and gained a bronze eco-church award. We had discussions and sermons on our ethos and joined the Inclusive Church network, which affirms and challenges injustice in the church on its treatment of LGBTQIA+, as well as issues of race, neurodiversity and disability. Our worship was regularised to maintain the same shape each week with a printed order of service to make our worship more accessible, and we brought forward a nave altar to better connect the Eucharistic liturgy with the congregation. We gained a new crib, introduced informal worship for children and expanded our children’s ministry. Parish music developed under the excellent Mark Biggins, with more carol services. We brought in a new website, developed our social media and rebranded the Church. We hosted a wonderful Confirmation Service shortly followed by an epic Christmas Tree festival.

2020 started in the same vein. We bought new robes for the choir; we put in new signage across the churchyard; we installed a new sound system. And, as this was happening, at the break of the pandemic, we made a bold choice which has paid off 100-fold to install a streaming system in church that has been invaluable since. The pandemic rocked the world but worship continued and many will still remember fondly services streaming from houses as we developed to move between bedrooms and kitchen around Putney and kitchens in Yorkshire. Virtual playgroups and activities abounded, a group of up to 20 gathered to say daily prayers and support one another. The church gained a tabernacle for taking out the sacrament and a votive candle stand for passerby’s prayers. A cross was set up outside with a sign “We’ll Meet Again”.

Pastoral needs surged. Within days of the lockdown we had over 100 volunteers engaged in sometimes 25 deliveries of food and medicine a day to people across South West London, having referrals from Age UK, Wansdsworth hub and GPs. We were able to buy a weekly shop for a number of households out of local generosity, having quickly raised £10,000 with a steady stream of donations of food. Charitable fundraising became central and we raised in excess of £30,000 for other charities. Every Thursday we ran soup and cake out to 80 houses, a wonderful initiative that would become our Lunch on the Lane. Music recovered under Nick and we had silent movies with improvised organ, and the beginning of our recital programme, sometimes without audience, and then with a growing community returning to church. This is now a delightful pillar of our work here. Just this September we have hosted 5 excellent concerts including a concerto with full orchestra. They’ve raised £1200 for musicians and £1200 for the church and given the people of Putney access to the highest standard of live music for free.

2021 was a year of rebuilding and weathering the pandemic. It was also a year for turning 90 with Roger, Gordon, Marie, Ted and Humphrey. We began our choral scholarship programme which lifted the music. The playgroup got so large we split it to meet twice a week. We improved our lighting by making the current set up dimmable and bringing in spotlights for services and concerts. This got a good run through as we supported the first Putney Festival. We finally put in new fencing around the churchyard. Anne’s Quiet Days resumed, although throughout the pandemic we kept up regular talks, discussion groups, a book club and an excellent Churches Together Lent Course.

In 2022 we came out of the pandemic hiatus and grew past our pre-pandemic records. We took on more civic roles, becoming a polling station for the first time, celebrating the Platinum Jubilee and then gathering the communities response to the death of her majesty, the Queen. Our environmental agenda continued and we replaced our boiler with a condensing boiler and began climate cafes. And in a critical move we developed the crypt which now houses a music school, Pilates, classes, one to one teaching, coaching and yoga. In the September just gone the crypt brought in £1000 for the church. Our director of music position seemed to have taken on the curse of Harry Potter’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, as Nick was replaced by Michael. In the Summer Rhiannon ran a second Putney Festival with four sold-out performances of La Boheme with professionals, a community chorus and a children’s chorus. The biggest change of the year was bringing in chairs for pews with a grand auction to see them off. Our three-fold pattern of community engagement in a very busy playgroup, community lunch and Sunday concert became set; flexible seating was pivotal. Charitable fundraising for other charities continues with an average of £15,000 raised each year.

2023 was a big year. Our services recorded the highest attendance this millennium, not counting up to 50 people who stream the service each week. Our children’s choir boomed into existence with a community choir now of over 50 and between 6 and 20 children singing in services each week. We’ve purchased a new piano from donations which pianists and audiences love. Musicians hiring the church has taken off – just this September church hire raised £2300. Concerts continue including this year a fundraiser for Sally’s Ukraine Ambulance Mission. raising over £13,000 each year since. Putney Arts Theatre came and performed in our garden for the first time; We gained a curate who was immediately taken to heart, And licensed a reader from a churchwarden. Rhiannon took over as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and our music immediately diversified to better represent our parish and its ethos, with an injection of great singers to aid the choir. Mark brought in our new beautiful Nave Altar which makes much better sense of our worship, As well as a choir wardrobe and toy cupboard to support our burgeoning activities. In this year the garden started to receive a wonderful make-over. Having created more light with the removal of trees our side garden has been transformed and is now also home to a forest nursery twice a day. The Worth project continued apace; the area around the halls cleared, a new shed built and the memorial garden transported to the West of the church, which has created a beautiful new area. The project concluded at the end of the year with refurbished halls, new toilets and kitchen, and the Worth Parish Centre. It was blessed at Epiphany by Bishop Christopher.

2024 has been a year of recovery for the parish funds but the gardens have improved dramatically under Sue, our fundraising and community activities are strong and our Sunday congregation continues to grow.

In 6 years church attendance and membership has increased by over 50%. We have driven up the church’s income by 50%. We’ve conducted, I think, 61 baptisms, 25 weddings, 117 funerals. More than 100 free lunches – proving the cynics wrong! A similar number of concerts making us probably the most notable live classical music venue in Wandsworth. We’ve contributed probably close to £100,000 to other charities – Glass Door, Rackets Cubed, Christian Aid, the British Legion, the DEC campaigns, and many others; Then there are the many contributions we make in the care and support of our community, And our hub that houses so many small businesses and community groups, creating space for faith, the arts, culture, community and the common good to flourish. If you were here yesterday lunchtime, in the sunshine, you would have seen a Putney-based children’s healthy food company filming in our halls and front garden, with children playing everywhere; You would have seen kickboxing in the lower hall. Music lessons in the crypt. Passersby investigating the church and saying a prayer, And a memorial service for a couple who were married here in 1959, taking place among the roses. That is church. What it is and what it does.

The Church we’re constantly told is in decline. riven with in-fighting. And yet the simple worship here, The careful stewardship of our inheritance, The hard work of building a community that is open, positive and engaged, Shows that the kingdom of God is there by the grace of God to be discovered.

And as we celebrate the dedication of our church today to an ordinary girl who stood up for her faith in a time of great darkness; We dedicate this service to those we remember from the last six years, and on whose work we build: Christopher Trott, Elizabeth Miller, Ralph Bonnett, Alan Fell, Ian Lechmere, Elizabeth Worth, Ann Fell, Jack Miller, Jean Brooker, John Tholstrup, Roger Power, Joyce Brooks, John Marston, Val Howdle, Juergen Simonson, John Driver, Les Farr, Joyce Brooks, Ernie Ordway, June Wakefield, Claire Fennell, Jean Bonnett and Ted Francis; To the glory of God. Amen.