Mayor John Burmicz and recently elected town councillors were urged to put divisions behind them and work together for the good of Sawbridgeworth, at the annual civic service at Great St Mary's Church.

The service last Sunday (July 21), which dedicates the activities of the town council for the coming year, was attended by the mayor, councillors and invited dignitaries.

In her sermon, Bishop's Stortford area dean the Rev Mandy Brown, of Holy Trinity Church in Stortford, urged the councillors to take inspiration from St Paul the Apostle, who often warned against quarrelling.

"We do not want our councillors to bicker, but how do they work for unity?" she asked.

Discounting fear, intimidation, purges and charisma – "history tells us such big personalities eventually become dictators" – she urged them "to be honest and work together".

Cllr Burmicz read from the letter of Paul to the Corinthians, in which St Paul appeals "that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be of the same mind and the same purpose".

Since the May local elections, Independents dominate the town council, with seven of the 12 seats – although only Cllr David Royle, who is deputy mayor, attended the civic service.

Also present on Sunday were Cllrs Angela Alder, and Ruth and Eric Buckmaster, who retained their seats for the Conservatives, and Cllr Annelise Furnace, a Liberal Democrat.

Cllr Royle gave the second reading, from the Gospel according to Mark: "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant."

Mayors from neighbouring towns who attended included Bishop's Stortford's Cllr Norma Symonds, Cllr Emma Marcus from Great Dunmow and Cllr Graham Waite for Buntingford. Hertfordshire County Council chairman Cllr Colette Wyatt-Lowe and East Herts Council chairman Jonathan Kaye were also present.

Reflecting Cllr Burmicz's roots, Poland's vice-consul Tomasz Belcerowski made his first trip to Sawbridgeworth, offering the new mayor a book, The Polish Few, by Peter Sikora, an account of Polish airmen in the Battle of Britain. The mayor is also known as Count John Burmicz-Woznicki, a title inherited from his father, who was a navigator in RAF 301 Squadron during the Second World War.

"It's a very beautiful church," said Mr Belcerowski, speaking of Great St Mary's. "It looks like a great place to live – and it was a great sermon."

After the service, a light buffet was served in the town council chamber while the band of the 309 (Sawbridgeworth) Squadron Air Training Corps – originally a Polish unit and the mayor's chosen charity – played.

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