Stone Church, St Mary the Virgin
13th Century parish church of Stone-next-Dartford, Kent
A place of welcome, prayer, healing and peace.
Notices for the week beginning Sunday 13th September
Charity of the Month
The Diocese of Rochester Poverty and Hope Appeal 2026, supporting a mixture of projects in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, Palestine, Brazil, central America and the Caribbean, Myanmar connected to agriculture, prisons and earthquake relief. Special collection today or throughout the month in the Offerings box.
MCK Donations at Harvest
Thank you to those who regularly donate to MCK’s foodbank in the trolley. At present toiletries aren’t needed, but tinned meat, pies, fish and other high-protein foods are always welcome.
27th September Harvest Thanksgiving & Lunch
Please signal your attendance for this year’s harvest with lunch in the church afterwards (for the last time, we pray).
Men’s Breakfast
Ian Packer is exploring a new initiative on the second Saturday morning of the month, beginning on Saturday 10th October. Let him know if this would be of interest to you.
Friends of Kent Churches Ride and Stride
Thanks to all for their efforts in yesterday’s event, striders, riders, church sitters and, not least, sponsors. Time to pay up! Half the money raised comes back to St Mary’s Stone.
Season of Creation 2026 – Living Water
Take a look at the Eco-Church board this morning because it has been refreshed to reflect this year’s theme ‘Living Water’; a powerful biblical vision of hope and ecological healing. Through living water comes healing; but in order to receive new life, we too must step into the water and also become part of God’s river of life, taking part in the healing of creation. With a focus on water, the Eco-Church Board suggests some ideas for how we can contribute to a more just and life-giving world. Thank you to the Eco-Church Steering Group for putting the board together.
‘Hope for All Creation – a theological response to the environmental crises’
This new resource has recently been published by the Church of England’s House of Bishops as a contribution to discerning how we exercise wise, responsible stewardship of the planet we share. You can order it as a book from the usual places or download it for free here:
https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/hope-for-all-creation-for-web-new.pdf
Sponsor-a-Floorboard
Please encourage all your friends to sponsor a floorboard in the main hall of the new Lantern Centre. We have many floorboards to lay in the final phase of the building fit-out. Boards are about a metre in length and can be sponsored for a donation which you can then Gift Aid (we suggest £25 each but it’s up to you) and, when available, you will be able to sign the underside of them and be part of the new centre for ever.
This Week at St Mary’s
Daily (except Tuesday)
9 am Mattins (not Friday)
5 pm Evensong (not Thursday)
Tuesday 15th September
2 pm Wedding of Rudolph Jones & Sue Giddings
Thursday 17th September
2-4 pm Open Church (ending with prayer at 3.45 pm)
7.30 pm Bell-ringing practice
Friday 18th September
7 pm Choir practice
Saturday 19th September
10 am Parochial Church Council (at the rectory)
Next Sunday is Trinity 16
9 am Mattins
10 am Holy Communion with Holy Baptism Noah Davidson & Cody Tilly
12 noon Holy Baptism Lorena & Danilo Barrera
5 pm Evensong
Hymns, Reflections & Prayers
Daily hope from the Church of England. Do share the following free phone number with anyone, especially those without access to the internet: 0800 804 8044
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
You are invited to give consent that we may contact you from time to time. To continue hearing from us or to join our contact list for the first time please complete the online form on our website or the sheet available in church. Our privacy notices are on the noticeboard in church and our website here www.stmarystone.org/gdpr.