Where could you go the week before Christmas and find a Brass Quintet, the local MP, an Archdeacon telling funny stories, a children’s choir, a famous actress, an entire church congregation, the Mayor, several solicitors, bank managers and estate agents, along with members of the Jewish and Muslim communities – oh, and a large marquee in the garden? Not only that, but at the same time arrange for a collection in excess of £1200 to be made in aid of the Bishop Gilpin School BiG Appeal? Well, St Marks of course! And that evening, on 16th December 2001, we stood back and heaved a sigh of relief as we realised that we had achieved what we thought at times was impossible – ‘In Excelsis Deo’ was well under way!

As with the organisation of any big event, there was no one task which was particularly difficult or even onerous, and as with any event at St Marks, there were plenty of people ready to join in and lend a hand. The only problem was the number of tasks, and the fact that many of them just couldn’t be done very far in advance. So the nearer we got to December, the more jobs needed to be done and the faster time seemed to tick past! Suddenly we realised that we should have got some training at the circus because there seemed to be far too many balls in the air. In fact, Jane and Liz suspected that Sheila had been to juggling evening classes on the quiet, because not only did she seem to be aware of all the balls, but was running around catching the majority of them, while Liz and Jane looked at each other in astonishment and wondered which ball to dive for next.

One of the most enjoyable things about being on the organising committee was the meetings. Meetings?? I hear you exclaim! – Enjoyable?! Let me explain – these were held in various coffee bars (well, we thought some thorough research was warranted!) and had the added entertainment of Jane’s eight-month old George, who wanted to contribute his bit and ensured we were given the full attention of the waitress. OK, so perhaps we ended up going off the agenda a few times but who cares?

So why all the different people attending? Well, the bank managers, solicitors and estate agents were our sponsors. St Marks has established a close working relationship with several of its neighbours in the business world, and many of these companies contributed to ‘In Excelsis Deo’ and were invited to bring their guests. The money went towards special lighting, hiring a huge marquee for a reception after the service in the church garden, paying for the brass quintet (who played Silent Night as you have never heard it before…) and the printing of invitations and orders of service. The children’s choir was from Bishop Gilpin, and their performance was stunningly professional. Celia Imrie was the famous actress, who provided the highlight of the evening by reading Joyce Grenfell’s ‘The Nativity Play’ – the Bishop Gilpin children participating as extras! The Venerable Nick Baines, Archdeacon of Lambeth, delivered a very amusing address, and the Mayor, MP, the Imam and the Rabbi were all guests of St Marks. At the reception afterwards the wine flowed and there were delicious snacks provided by another long-term friend of St Marks, the Alexandra pub. Our waitresses were volunteers from The Wimbledon Guild. The Guild also provided invaluable support in organising the whole event, in the person of Russell Humphreys, the General Secretary of the Guild, who was also one of the readers in the service.

All in all, then, there was a number of different strands to pull together, but in the end it did just that – it all came together, as we knew it would, given the enthusiasm and hard work of so many people. There we stood on the evening of 16th December. The church looked beautifully festive, thanks to the inspiration of Hilary Tooth, Jean Allen and a team of people who spent a whole day putting up decorations. People were crammed into every space where we could fit a chair. The candles were lit and the children of the Bishop Gilpin choir filed in. The music began and the service was about to start. There was nothing else to be done but sit down and enjoy what we were certain would be a wonderful celebration of the Christmas season. At that point we knew it was definitely worth the effort. So would we do it again? Yes, of course – but don’t remind us in the Autumn!

Sheila Dunman, Jane Robson and Liz Webber.