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 26th November 2023
Christmas Market
THIS FRIDAY between 3.30 pm and 6 pm. All our usual fun but on a different day. You can join in the effort by offering prizes for the grand draw, bottles for the tombola, cakes for the produce stall, and by selling your raffle allotted raffle tickets (and even more are available). Or just by coming along with your friends and neighbours.
MCK Christmas Tree Festival
From this Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd December MCK is holding a Christmas Tree Festival at Greenhithe church with Stone sponsoring its own tree for the occasion. Opening times are 1pm to 4 pm on Friday and 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
MCK Donations
Tinned meat, fish, and fruit, plus toiletries, are all much-needed items as we keep the cupboards stocked for those on low or no incomes this winter who are referred to us. The trolley is the place to put them. Thank you.
CHRISTMAS SERVICES
Saturday 23rd December – 5 pm Parish Carol Service
Sunday 24th December – 10 am Holy Communion
4 pm Christingle Service for children
11.30 pm Midnight Mass & Blessing of the Christmas Crib
Monday 25th December – 10 am Holy Communion
GIVING
During each service a collection of money is taken to support St Mary’s, its life and its ministry. Through the scriptures God encourages us to give regularly. Most churchgoers will have set up a standing order to support the church and therefore place a purple token in the collection plate to show this. One-off donations can be made in the collection plate which is presented at the altar or in the Offerings box. If you are able to, please use one of the Gift Aid envelopes and complete the declaration. Cashless giving is also possible through the digital “CollecTin” donation point in church. Thank you.
This Week at St Mary’s: -
Daily (except Tuesday)
9 am Mattins (not Monday)
5 pm Evensong (not Friday)
Wednesday 29th November
1 pm Mothers’ Union
2 - 4 pm Open Church
Thursday 30th November ~ St Andrew’s Day
7.30 pm Bell-ringing practice
Friday 1st December
3.30 pm – 6 pm Christmas Market (at the school)
Next Sunday is Advent Sunday
9 am Mattins
10 am Holy Communion
with Holy Baptism Oscar Carfora-Wilson
5 pm Evensong
Calendar & Dates
In accordance with the very practical Epiphany tradition of announcing the year’s moveable feasts, please note the following dates for 2023: 8th January – Baptism of Christ; 22nd February – Ash Wednesday; 9th April – Easter Day; 16th April - Annual Parochial Church Meeting; 6th May – Coronation of His Majesty the King; 18th May – Ascension Day; 28th May – Pentecost; 10th June – Summer Fair; 11th June – Corpus Christi (transferred); 24th September – Harvest Thanksgiving; 3rd December – Advent Sunday.
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
A Guide to getting on to Facebook
1.Type ‘Facebook’ into your computer or tablet or phone search box
2. Click the link ‘log into Facebook’ and you will arrive at a screen which will let you create your own account.
3. Enter your email address as directed and create a password that you will remember (e.g. an old address or phone number or a car registration number)
4. Enter a birth date
5. Click ‘sign up’ and an email will then be sent to you with a number code to enter into the box on the next screen.
6. Enter the code from the email into the box and click ‘continue’.
7. A message should appear to say your account is confirmed and that you will use your email address to log in. Click OK.
8. To find the St Mary’s page type st mary the virgin church stone-next-dartford into the search box at the top of the screen and then click the first post on the screen that appears next to see the most recent posts.
9. To make sure you see all new posts from St Mary’s as they appear, click the ‘Like’ button (the thumbs up symbol).
10. If you only want to follow St Mary’s this is all you have to do.
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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.