It is nearly two years since we had a vicar looking after the three churches of St Giles’, Whittington, St Mary’s, Weeford, and St Bartholomew’s, Hints. In that time, members of the congregation have stepped up to do those tasks that we would otherwise have expected our vicar to carry out. Obviously (not being ordained or trained in some aspects of pastoral care) we can’t do everything a vicar could do, and we have had to seek assistance from some great retired clergy to help, and take the services – including baptisms, weddings, and funerals – that even our own Lay Reader, Gill Hollis, is not licensed to lead. We are conscious that we may not always be able to provide the care to the village that a vicar could, and I apologise when we fall short of your expectations. We are in the process of trying to recruit a new vicar, but this is a slow process, and we are largely at the mercy of the Diocese of Lichfield. We hope to be able to advertise in early 2023. Realistically, it will be some months more before we might have a vicar. Even when that happens, this will be a part-time appointment, covering the three parishes. This is because, going forward, we cannot afford a full-time post. But, we are still here, open for God’s business, so to speak! You are all very welcome to come to our services (9.30am each Sunday) and I can assure you of a friendly welcome. We have an excellent Parish Administrator, Lynne Mills. Lynne can be contacted on lynnewwh@outlook.com or 07721 767963. Lynne works 13 hours a week and can usually be found, in person, in the Parish Office (Church Hall) between 10.00am and 3.00pm on a Thursday. Please do contact Lynne in the first instance if you have any query. My very best wishes to you all, David David Clarke – Churchwarden, St Giles’ Church
ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETINGS (APCMs) The APCMs for all three of our churches will take place in May on the following dates: St Bartholomew’s church Hints – Wednesday 18th May at 7.30 pm in church St Mary’s church Weeford – Thursday 19th May at 11.00 am in church St Giles’ church Whittington – Sunday 22nd May after the service, approximately 10.45 am in church If anyone is interested in joining one of our Parochial Church Councils (PCCs), including the position of Church Warden, application forms will be made available. Our council members play an important role in representing all of us in making key decisions within the parish. You must be on the electoral role to be considered for these posts, but other than that we welcome people who are passionate about growing God’s Kingdom in this place. People will be voted onto the PCC at the APCM. The powers and duties of PCCs are laid down in law. Key duties are to co-operate with the vicar in promoting the mission of the Church in the parish and to be responsible for the financial affairs of the church and the care and maintenance of the church fabric and its contents. It also has a voice in the forms of service used by the church and may make representations to the bishop and deanery synod on matters affecting the welfare and pastoral care of the parish. Our PCCs meet regularly to discuss matters about the life of the Church. Apart from finance and buildings, they consider the Church's mission and involvement in the community, support of missionary work, the social life and activities of the Church, the spiritual development of the congregation and our worship.
We would welcome you joining us in prayer for the future of St Giles’ Church – the church family, the wider community, the building, the proposed internal re-ordering of the west end (back of church, porch and vestry), and the possible effects of the ongoing Diocesan resourcing review ‘Shaping for Mission’ – in short, God’s plan for his Church in Whittington. Representatives from the Diocese of Lichfield will be visiting St Giles’ in early November to look at plans for the re-ordering. We will be praying together on the next four Mondays (11<sup>th</sup>, 18<sup>th</sup>, 25<sup>th</sup> October and 1<sup>st</sup> November) from 7.30pm to 8.15pm. We will join together via Zoom. We hope that you can be with us on one or more of these Mondays. If you would like to, please contact Gill Hollis on 01543 432107 or via gillhollis@cooptel.net for details of how to join. Of course, not everyone will be able to join us on Zoom, but please feel free to pray on your own, ideally at the same time. If you can’t please pray at any time that suits you. There are some ideas for prayer that you might find useful on the attachments. If you would like some background information to set your prayers in context, I will be in St Giles’ Church on Thursday 14 October, from 2.30pm to 6.30pm and I will be pleased to talk to you. Alternatively you can contact me by email on daclarke55@hotmail.com. St Giles’ is now open every day for prayer and reflection, should you wish to pray in the church building itself. Our very best wishes to you, David Clarke, Churchwarden, and the St Giles’ Church Bible Study Group.
