As our church is dedicated to St Mary, we keep a Sunday near 8th September– the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary– as our patronal festival. This year, the celebrant and preacher was the Bishop of Dorking, the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, in her first parochial visit as since being consecrated Bishop. You can hear the Bishop’s sermon using the audio player below: Before the Eucharist, the Bishop blessed our new white High Mass set of vestments, donated by a parishioner.

On 5 June 2016, eight candidates from St Mary’s Ewell (four adults and four juniors) were confirmed by the Bishop of Guildford at St John’s Church, Stoneleigh. The week before the confirmation the junior group went on a trip to St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where we were given a tour by one of the military knights, Col. Barrie Fairman.

On 22 May 2016, we launched our campaign “Giving to Support St Mary’s”. Our aim is to encourage more people to become regular, planned givers to St Mary’s, and for everyone to review their giving. We hope that visitors to this website might also like to hear the presentation, and the contents of the packs given out in church are also reproduced below. Please do be in touch if you have any questions or if you would like to make a regular gift to St Mary’s.

The Spring Market is our annual sale of plants, cakes, books, and bric-a-brac with a cafe and raffle. Always popular, this year’s was no exception, raising the wonderful total of £846 towards the expenses of putting on Ewell Village Fair. Many thanks to all involved for a great day!

On 1 May 2016, some of us “beat the bounds” of our parish. It was a glorious day, and after a hymn and a prayer in church, we set off on our way from the church hall. The parish boundary runs along the railway line, but rather than take our lives into our hands, we walked along the nearest roads, and crossed the railway line at the footbridge. After a picnic at the Gibraltar recreation ground, we continued on our way enjoying the beautiful weather. We entered Nonsuch park where we recreated the ancient practice of beating boundary stones– hence the name, “beating the bounds.” Outside Nonsuch Park some of…

In April 2016, as part of our celebrations of Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday, we held a parish dinner called “April Reign.” As well as festive food and drink, we were treated to entertainment and a royal-themed quiz. Many thanks to all involved for a fantastic regal evening.

The Liturgy of Maundy Thursday begins with the reception of the Holy Oils (for the sick, for baptism, and oil of Chrism) blessed by the Bishop in the catheral that morning. At the end of the Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament is taken in procession to the side chapel- the Altar of Repose- where it remains as a focus for prayer throughout the evening. The high altar is then stripped bare, ready for the barrenness of Good Friday. The first service on Good Friday is the Stations of the Cross, which usually takes place outside. We follow Jesus on the day that takes him to the cross. From noon, the “preaching…

On Palm Sunday, we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week. The palms are blessed outside, and we enter the church in procession, usually accompanied by a donkey and the Children’s Hour children. During the Eucharist, the passion gospel is read dramatically. Even though Palm Sunday is not as great a festival as Easter Day (next Sunday) it was good to see well over 200 in church this morning.

On 12 March, the Revd Sue Ayling led a day pilgrimage in and around Ewell. The pilgrims discovered seven places and symbols revered as sacred in the Celtic Christian tradition. Reports from those who took past were that the day was an excellent opportunity for spiritual growth and to appreciate the history of our local area. We hope to arrange further pilgrimages in the future.

There was a bumper congregation at this year’s Mothering Sunday service. The Vicar spoke about how mothers’ love was, like Jesus’ love, always the same but always new. Members of the congregation, old and young, were invited to come forward to receive a bunch of flowers in thanksgiving for mothers. Mothering Sunday next year will be on 26 March and our all-age service will again be at 11am.