At All Saints we have invited Gay Maynard, retired priest in the deanery and a member of the Maridi link group in the deanery, to come and tell us more about Maridi Diocese in South Sudan and especially about the child sponsorship scheme which we are invited to take part in. We shall be taking a collection for this over coffee at the back of the church, so please come prepared!At Holy Trinity Dilton Marsh, we have our Rural Dean, the Revd Clifford Stride coming to preach on Pentecost. We shall be using a special order of service for this Sunday. Looking forward to seeing you.
The VE Day 80th Anniversary ‘Tea, Cake and Company’, held at All Saints Church on Tuesday 6 May, was very well attended and provided an enjoyable and memorable event to commemorate the occasion. Those who attended enjoyed refreshments and company, with a background of bunting and 1940’s music. The event concluded with a period of reflection and prayers, lead by Revd Rebecca Harris, for our armed forces, both past and present. Many thanks to those who baked cakes, decorated the church and assisted on the day. £105.50 was raised in donations for the Royal British Legion.The next Tea, Cake and Company’ takes place on Tuesday 24 June from 3pm to 4pm at All Saints Church. All are welcome!
Thank you to those who attended our annual parochial church council meeting on Sunday 18 May. Ruth Hann was re-elected churchwarden for the 6th year. Our PCC members are: Ruth Hann, Judith Newton, Jenny Wray-Bliss, Brian Osborne, Lily Munday, Deanery Synod Members - Beth Thomas & Simon Thorne and LPA Ashley Jones.Debbie McEntee has stood down and finishing her time on the PCC. We are very sorry to hear this, as Debbie has done a fine job as our PCC Secretary over several years and we shall miss her.We are therefore looking to appoint a new PCC Secretary as soon as possible. We are looking for someone with good IT skills, who is efficient and organised and would be available to attend our meetings six times a year in the evening. We could co-opt a new person onto the PCC at any time. They don’t have to be a regular church member, but at least in sympathy with the church. If you know anyone suitable or would like to know more about this role yourself, please be in touch with either myself or churchwarden Ruth Hann. Thank you. Rebecca
Holly will be leaving her curacy at the White Horse Team at the end of July. She has been offered a place on an MA course on Disability and Theology which will start in September. She will, however, be leaving the curacy house at the end of this month, as they family have a secured a suitable property in Staverton. Holly will therefore be commuting between Staverton and Westbury during June and July. Holly’s last Sunday will be 27th July when we hope to arrange a suitable leaving event for her, to show her our thanks and appreciation for her four years with us, and to wish her well for the future. Details to be announced. Please include Holly in your prayers as she prepares to move house and go on to pastures new.Please note that Revd Holly's telephone number from 30 May will be 07835 915580.
You are are invited to pray during Ascensiontide starting on Ascension Day which is on 29 May through to Pentecost on 8th June. We are invited to pray specifically for any friends, family members, people in our communities etc to come to know the Lord. There are booklets to go with this: a Prayer Journal and also a booklet with reflections every day on the Lord’s Prayer which have been written by the Archbishop of York.I have sent away for a few copies of each which are free but I’ve paid for the postage which works out at £2 each. I have these available and can show people and can order some more if any people would like them. They are also available to download from the website. https://www.thykingdomcome.global/new-2025Since we are looking to grow our churches and want to invite new people along, this seems like a good idea to use these resources and invite people to pray during this time and see what happens. I will have the booklets available to view in our churches over the next couple of weeks. They came quite quickly, so happy to take orders in advance. Please contact me.We will hold a special service of Holy Communion for Ascension Day on 29 May at 11.00 am at Holy Trinity, DM. All welcome.We pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit on all our hearts and lives: that we may recognise the Spirit in our midst, inspiring us and enabling us to be witnesses in the places in which we are set.Rebecca
St Philip and St James Church ChapmansladeBishop Andrew is our local area Bishop. He is a poet and musician with a keen love for our natural environment and posts regularly on YouTube talking about Place, Faith, Identity and Landscape from different local landmarks. The event is by donation. Funds will go towards the planned new kitchenette for St Philip and St James' Church in Chapmanslade.Drinks available before concert and intervalTo help the organisers plan, please contact candcchurches@gmail.com or 07455 349 161 to let them know you wish to attend.