This month Revd. Roy Shaw writes about the fall-out of the Coronavirus pandemic. Roy also touches on the difficulties in Kenya - I really cannot imagine what it must be like for farmers seeing their livelihoods eaten in a few hours by plagues of locusts.Tony Service - for the first time since 2004 apparently - has “nothing to offer” and yet still manages to fill two pages! Good work Tony! Also, once again Tony has helpfully let me have some texts and images to help fill the pages, and although I hadn’t space for all of them they were very welcome. The rest of Connected is the result of me trawling the tinterweb plus some texts that I had considered or written, but not used, over the past few months.
Hi folksPlease see below. Some of you will know that I am really passionate about the dialogue between Science and Faith, and that unlike the prevailing and damaging message out there, actually Science and Faith are not in conflict, but are, in reality, great conversation partners! So, I am really excited about this free series of webinars. Please check it out, and register if you can! I am sure some of the science will go over my head, but it should be very interesting nevertheless. I think for a lot of men, the issue of science and faith being in conflict is a very real one, so I’m hoping you will find these webinars really helpful for your own thinking through the issues.Revd. PeteDear all,The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion will be hosting a free, online summer course:Telling a better story – why Faith and Science belong togetherFaraday Institute Summer Course June 2020Faith and science are often seen as uncomfortable bed-fellows. However, this has not always been so. In this series of webinars we examine the ways in which Faith and Science speak to each other in contemporary society and explore the theological and ethical issues which this dialogue raises. We aim to show that there is a better story to be told about faith and science than the prevalent one of conflict and mutual distrust.Each day, from Monday 29th June to Friday to 3rd July we shall be hosting two or three webinars each day given by an array of international speakers highly qualified in their individual fields. There will also be some opportunity for on-line discussion.It is completely free to attend and open to anyone, anywhere, who is interested. You are free to join us for as much or as little of our programme as you wish. For more information, see faraday.institute/TellingABetterStoryIf you could circulate this to those you know who may wish to join us, both within your diocese and beyond, we would be very grateful.Many thanks,Zoe
Hello allAs you will be aware, the government has announced that places of worship can be opened for private prayer from the 15th June. This is really encouraging news. However, we need to wait for detailed guidance from the Church of England and be aware that guidance for Methodist churches will not be available until after the Methodist Conference at the beginning of July.We’d like to assure you that the clergy and church officers at St Wilfrid’s and St Francis have begun to do some initial thinking and planning around this.As you can imagine, there is a lot to consider, and we will only open our church buildings when we are confident they are as Covid secure as possible, and only then for very limited periods. It is unlikely our church buildings will be open the week of the 15th June. Given that we are permitted to open from the 15th June, it doesn’t mean we obliged to open that week. We are sure you’ll agree with us that it is better the opening is managed as safely and responsibly as possible, and adhering to national church guidelines, rather than rushing the process.Many thanks for your understandingBlessingsPete Watson & Christine Gillespie
This month we focus on the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. The celebrations were most welcome; everyone did what they could under the lock-down and I think that the event was wonderfully colourful.Once again The Directory is missing, but fingers crossed that we might start to see events being planned again shortly.Jackie Jackman provides the Dear Friends ‘walking with God’ text this month, and Tony Service updates us on the Methodist Circuit. Once again Tony has helpfully let me have some additional poems and prayers to help fill the pages, and very welcome they are too. I particularly like Edith Stell’s poem about the Rainbow (page 8).Barbara Richardson writes about the Mothers’ Union’s support to NHS staff, and the MU Wave of Prayer to help build hope & confidence in the world.Yvonne Green reflects on Easter in lock-down, and in particular not playing the organ, and we also hear from Fred the spider who lives beneath the keyboards at St Francis.I report on the VE celebrations and the excellent generosity of Christine Sample and The Fox pub in supplying lunches for people in lock-down. I also report on the Saint Day of William of York that also occurred on the 8th May.Finally I report on the on-line services that have been created by a small dedicated team at St Wilfrid’s in response to the Covid virus.Please note that most of the paper copies will not be available this month because of problems with delivery. If you would like a paper copy please let me know, and I’ll let you have once we are allowed out again.John
