Dear allGood morning, afternoon or evening to all of you! It is good to be writing to you again further to returning to work. Thank you so much for all the kind messages and cards etc… welcoming Bethany into the world; it has been greatly appreciated.General Situation:You will be aware from the national news that ‘lockdown’ restrictions are slowly being eased in certain ways as it appears that the virus slows its pace. This is obviously welcome news in one aspect and we hope and pray that things continue to abate. However, the virus is not gone and still poses a significant threat, particularly to the vulnerable. St Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 9 of the rights of the apostle; and to paraphrase his central message it is this, ‘just because I have the right, does not mean I should.’ Please continue to look after yourselves and, yes, follow guidance and enjoy greater freedoms as they come along, but please do so with great care and vigilance, especially with what may be differing needs and concerns of those around you.The Church:The House of Bishops have asked each Diocese to consider how they may plan and implement a phased easing of church restrictions. The Diocese have written to Clergy and Churchwardens on these measures and have published that letter openly on the Bath & Wells website. You can also access it here:https://www.bathandwells.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Letter-from-the-Bishops-Clergy-return-to-church-buildings-11.05.2020.pdfIt is very important to stress that the phased return to churches is going to be a long haul. It may yet be a very significant length of time before we are back to gathered services in the way we were before. The Deanery is actively discussing implementation of the first phase (clergy use of church buildings) and I will update you in due course. I will also be discussing these matters with the churchwardens and clergy to agree our response as a Benefice. I will of course keep you fully updated.Prayer & Worship:My thanks to Rev’d Judith for providing Sunday worship online for the past two Sundays. Going forwards Judith and I will share the workload of that provision. It has been really good recently to include recordings and videos from the wider church family. If you would like to record a reading or do something on camera then please do have a word with us and we try and use you!SundayThis Sunday I am taking advantage of having all the children at home and we are doing a service together on ‘The Promise of the Holy Spirit’, and which will be available from Sunday at:https://twoshires.wordpress.com/sunday-serviceLive ServicesAscension Day is on Thursday 21st May. Traditionally we have had a Benefice service at 7:30pm on that day. This Ascension day will be different – but the same! I will be live streaming an Evening Prayer for Ascension Day on Zoom at 7:30pm on the 21st. Below is the link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71784007120?pwd=enlWbXA0aWNUdkRqN2VOL3hpQ1g1dz09Password: twoshires I am also proposing to provide an Evening Prayer with Bible Study each Thursday at 7:30 on Zoom, and the above link should work for that too as it is set up as a recurring ‘meeting’.Do give it a go if it is something you are unfamiliar with. Scripture for the coming days:Sunday 17th – Acts 17:22-31; 1 Pet 3:13-end; John 14:15-21Monday 18th – Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26-16:4Tuesday 19th – Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11Wednesday 20th – Acts 17:15, 22 – 18:1; John 16:12-15Thursday 21st (Ascension Day) – Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:15-end; Luke 24:44-endFriday 22nd – Acts 18:9-18; John 16:20-23Saturday 23rd – Acts 18:22-end; John 16:23-28 To think about:Whilst we start to see glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, it is a good time to being to think about what ‘normal’ might look like in time to come. We will all have learnt things, about ourselves, our communities, our faith. There will have been challenges met, pains suffered, joys to be had. All of that will form part of the fabric of what it is to ‘be’, now and going forwards. Do think about that. Reflect on these things and spend time thinking about what a new normal might look like, what you would like to see!A poem from R S Thomas that I think is beautiful in thinking about new things to come:The Unborn DaughterOn her unborn in the vast circleConcentric with our finite lives,On her unborn, her name uncurlingLike a young fern within the mind;On her unclothed with flesh or beautyIn the womb’s darkness, I bestowThe formal influence of the will,The wayward influence of the heart,Weaving upon her fluid bonesThe subtle fabric of her being.Hair, hands and eyes, the body’s texture,Shot with the glory of the soul.With every blessing for the week ahead,Kind regardsPhilip
We are not able to hold a church service for the <span style="font-size: 1rem;">75th Anniversary of VE Day, but we will be remembering it in our online service any time from 9am </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">on Sunday May 8th 2020.</span>The theme of the service will be <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Peace after Conflict</span>
Why are we celebrating VE Day?VE Day stands for Victory in Europe Day, which took place on Tuesday, May 8 in 1945.It marked the end of World War II and was the day on which allied forces announced the surrender of Germany in Europe.The day before, Germany had surrendered, while Hitler had committed suicide a week earlier.This left Grand Admiral Donitz of the German army to admit defeat and surrender Nazi Germany.75 years later, Business Secretary Greg Clark said it is important we continue to 'honour our heroes'.Crowds celebrated VE Day in Trafalgar Square in 1945He said: "It will ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to remember and honour our heroes of the Second World War and reflect on the sacrifices of a generation."Sir Andrew Gregory, chief executive of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, added: "It is our duty to keep the events of the past alive in collective memory, including future generations - this is how we ensure that such a conflict never happens again."It is our hope that the nation takes a moment to reflect on the significance of this date, as a milestone that changed the course of history for the whole world.”
Holy Week in the Two Shires BeneficeThis is obviously a Holy Week with a difference. It is natural to ‘mourn’ what we won’t be doing this year that we would normally be doing; but do also use this time to reflect on the journey of Holy Week for you now. During this week every year we are entering into the journey that Christ and his followers went through from Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, through the Passion, and onto the Resurrection. In many ways this year, like no other in recent times, our own times follow this form. We are on a painful journey, but in the midst of that there is hope and there will be resurrection.‘In house’ there are a number of things that you can access to help observe Holy Week this year. Do keep looking at https://twoshires.wordpress.com to see new content. There is a special page for Holy Week, and the content relevant for the day will appear on the Prayer page also.· Compline – there is a recorded service of Compline that can be used any evening. https://twoshires.wordpress.com/2020/04/06/monday-in-holy-week/· Maundy Thursday – There will be ‘An Invitation’; an order of service you can follow at home in your own time whilst you have your main meal of the day. It uses prayers, songs and meditations before, during and after your meal as we remember the Last Supper together. It will be available to download from Wednesday night at: https://twoshires.wordpress.com/gallery-downloads-and-links/· Good Friday – There is a meditative Stations of Cross prepared using images from local hedgerows and the Good Friday Reproaches you can join in with. It will be available to use from Friday morning on the website here https://twoshires.wordpress.com/contact/· Easter Sunday – I will be pre-recording an Easter Sunday service in my garden which will include sharing in the breaking of the bread. I will also be blessing and lighting a candle to put in our Easter Garden at home which, once our churches are open again, I will use to take the Light into each church as part of that rejoicing when that happens. The Easter Sunday service will ‘go live’ on the site at 10am on Easter morning here: https://twoshires.wordpress.com/sunday-service/Do also have a look at the Deanery website; https://ilminsterdeanery.uk/ where there is content being made available all the time. Particularly you might want to sing some Easter hymns with our own Pamela Everitt who has recorded a hymn for each day. Thank you, Pamela.
