I hope you and your family are well.
Well, here we are at the spring equinox. We can look forward to more hours of daylight and lighter mornings. Lets’ hope we get more sun compared to the last few days!
This Sunday is Passion Sunday which means that there only two weeks to Easter, I thought I’d start with a few reminders. Our Lent appeal is still open. To make a donation to USPG’s work with the Church in South India’s education project on ecological justice, please go to https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/15983 . For more information go to #forsuchatime or www.uspg.org.uk/forsuchatime.
This is the time when we ask you to return the Children’s Society boxes. Last year, we managed to send our collection to the Children's Society just before lockdown began, but this year is a bit different. However, they still do need our support. If you'd like to open your box yourself and count up the contents, you can go online and make your donation directly to them. The website is www.childrenssociety.org.uk, where you can get more information, or search for 'Children's Society house boxes'. If you'd rather not make a digital donation but would like your box emptied, please call Myra Fye on 01925 268288, to arrange collection from your house.
The Chapel is now open for every Sunday for private prayer between 2.00 and 4.00pm. At the moment we aren't putting any candles out as the church mice are taking them! Please remember to keep a 2m distance from those who are not in your family bubble and don’t forget to gel your hands as you enter and leave. Please also fill in the track and trace forms which you’ll find on the table as you go in.
We continue to make our Sunday morning services available on the telephone. The new number is 01925 980054. Please let me know if you have any problems in using it. Some of you have said that at times the service cuts out before the blessing. We think we have sorted this out, but please let us know if not.
We have had a good look at the seating layout in Church. As a result, we have been able to release 10 more seats for next week’s Palm Sunday service. We have been able to keep to using every 3<sup>rd</sup> pew, which is very generous! Every pew is 3 feet away from the one in front and behind. To use every 2<sup>nd</sup> pew means that we are only a few centimetres short of 2 metres! If only our predecessors used metric measurements! We would like your views if you would still feel safe with every other pew.
The other seats have been found by using some more chairs and by allocating seats to family bubbles. All that we ask is that when you come to Church, you wait to be shown to your seats, where we ask you to stay. We appreciate that the sightlines may not be perfect but we hope that you’ll understand.
I had hoped to be able to open the Eventbrite booking forms for the Easter Day 10.30am service in the car park. There are a couple of matters I need to sort out, so please be patient.
Our Holy Week special services follow the usual pattern using Zoom and Facebook. They are:- Maundy Thursday 7.30pm using the Iona Community’s worship style - Good Friday 10.30 am with dramatised reading of the Passion and 2.00pm The Last Hour.
Gavin is leading tomorrow morning’s 10.30am service. See attached. The afternoon service of Evensong at 4.00pm is being led by James.
I hope you have a good week.
With God’s blessing,
David