'You matter!' is our mission theme
during 2007, 2008 and the beginning of 2009.
You will notice our unique yellow and black 'estate agents' style publicity signs fixed to the church fence which
draw attention to our theme and website.

We present below the full text of a leaflet which we 
are now delivering to homes in Summerstown parish.
We are presenting the theological case that everyone matters despite what happens in the world around us...

You can't help noticing that no one seems to care nowadays about anyone apart from themselves.

The pace of modern life often demonstrates
that people don’t matter.

Not that it's all bad. Sometimes London can be a vibrant place with lots of opportunities for people of all ages.
At other times—when the news is grim—our
city becomes a place of gloom.
We are advised to take care so that we do not become victims of crime. People seldom look you in the eye—unless of course you are a lottery winner, then, suddenly
you matter to everyone!

MAKING THE CASE
THAT WE ALL MATTER

Our community has changed and
not necessarily for the better.
Life is not as convenient as it once was.
Our local police station has been closed as have our post offices. We have lost the convenience of 
gas and electricity showrooms.
Driving in London is suddenly very expensive.
When you telephone a company or a business to pay your bills or complain, you are often held in a queue while you listen to their music at your expense.
And it can be so annoying when a voice says
your call is important to them.
It’s a battle to get things done.

No wonder modern life turns us into grumpy individuals. There is such a lot to complain about.
As a consequence we may wonder from time to
time if we matter.

We are members of St Mary’s (Church of England) in Wimbledon Road. This parish is called Summerstown.
We are part of the community
and some of us have lived here for many years.
We believe that everyone matters, despite what happens around us, everyone has importance, value and significance. No one is expendable.
Everyone is to be treated with respect by everyone else because everyone matters.

As a local Christian congregation, we can think of many reasons why you matter. For example:

• You matter because you were created by God.

• Its because you matter that Jesus died on a cross for people like you. The death and resurrection of Jesus means
that you are worth dying for and worth living for.

• Because you matter, you can be forgiven. You are worth forgiving no matter what has happened in the past.

• It's because people matter that there is a time coming when Jesus will return to put right all
the unfairness we see in the world.

We do not want to force our beliefs on anyone.
It just seems to us that we would do well to think carefully about the Christian faith in order to keep
ourselves renewed and hopeful for the future.

We would simply like to create local discussions about how
people treat and regard one another.
No one has any right to put you down or to diminish your self-esteem with their bad behaviour and rudeness.
We would like to see an end to bad manners and impatience, violence and rudeness which are considered by many to
be the cool options for problem solving.
 
We would like our parish to be a peaceful place, a desirable place, where we all enjoy a good quality of life and
get on well together.
Attitudes like respect, tolerance and
friendliness should never go out of fashion. 

Our aim is for good life choices to be considered which are worth adopting, because
we all matter to God and to each other.
You matter!

The 'You matter!' theme is featured on most Sunday mornings at St Mary's and can be followed-up in informal conversations over a cup of tea or coffee after the service.
Join us.
Every Sunday morning 10.30am.

© The Parochial Church Council of St Mary's Summerstown, 2007.