The Ark parent and toddler group starts back on Tues 12th Sept, 9.30am.

A memorial to four WWII servicemen was unveiled at St George’s at our Remembrance Sunday service this week.

The memorial was original displayed in Farm Road Church, which closed in 2014. The Church Management Committee asked St George’s to take the memorial when their building was threatened with demolition.

The plaque commemorates Gerald Rodgers, Laurence Frost, Percy Brown and Derrick Wood who lived on the St Helier Estate in Morden. All of the men were of a similar age and knew each other well. Rodgers was only 19 years old.

The plaque is said to have been made from materials from one of the WWII battlefields. Made from dark wood and metal, it has been hung next to a framed short biography of the men including photos of three of them (view).

Major Phil Shannon (above) unveiled the memorial at the St George’s Church Remembrance Sunday service. He spoke of the bravery of the men and hoped that the memorial would be a reminder of their sacrifice for our country.

We were delighted to be joined by members of Laurence Frost’s family, who laid wreaths at the memorial in loving memory of the men. One of the bouquets of flowers was from Rosetta, Laurence’s sister, who is still alive aged 95 years old.

Her hand-written card read, “To my dear brave brother Laurie so sadly missed. From your loving sister, Rosetta. R.I.P.”

(Click on photos to view)

The family contacted the church after it ran a campaign to try to find the relatives of the four servicemen. Over 18,000 people saw the church’s social media post and the South London Press and Church Times ran a story on the search.

A short video tribute to the men was played at the service (below). You can read more about the men and our search here. We are grateful for any further contacts with information about the other men and their families.

The tongue reveals a lot about your health. I discovered this some years ago when helping a friend revise for her medical exams.

Take the colour.  A white tongue can show Candidiasis, a yeast infection cause by stress or medication.  A raspberry-coloured tongue can show Kawasaki disease, cause by a vitamin deficiency.  A black hairy tongue…I will spare you further details.

The Apostle John wrote to his Christian friends of his prayer “that you may enjoy good health…just as you are progressing spiritually” (3 John v2).

The signs of physical health are obvious but how can you know whether you are in good spiritual health? What does spiritual progress look like in practice?

Some of us maybe anxious about our relationship with God when we have no reason to be.  Others of us maybe confident when there is cause for concern.

The booklet, ‘Spiritual Healthcheck’ by Carl Laferton addresses these questions.  It consists of 16 short reflections with a Bible reading.

We will be sending out a copies to families at St George’s, and will be encouraging the church to work through it this term.

There are two ways you could take part:

The Private Consultation

You could work through the reflections yourself on your own. Set aside time. Do no more than one reflection a day. Read the Bible passage. Answer the application questions. Then pray. 15 minutes a day, that’s all it takes. But like physical exercise, a little, regular and often can make a big difference to your spiritual wellbeing. 

The Group Work Session

Alternatively, you could go through the book this term with our Growth Group.  From this Wednesday, every week from 8pm to 9.30pm, you can take part over the phone or online through Zoom.  This is ideal if you are flagging in motivation and you’d benefit from other people’s insight. You won’t need to read anything in advance. We’ll discuss a chapter and end by sharing prayer requests. You are welcome to try it out to see if it is for you.  (Get in touch for the Zoom details)

So go on. Open wide. Say ‘Ahhh.’ And see what God can do through a bit of spiritual exercise this term.

Watch the video for more details. You can get more copies of the booklet at the Good Book Company, if you want to send a copy to a friend or family member (www.thegoodbook.co.uk, 0333 123 0880).