Epiphany 2021
Latest news from the Parish of Goring by Sea. 7th January 2021
Parish Office. Email: [email protected] Tel: 01903 709163
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him” §
The temporary suspension of public worship:
Bishop Martin has reminded us “ the rapid spread of the new strain of the COVID virus demands our prayers, our attention to regulations, and patience in our care for each other and for ourselves”. You will be aware that public worship is allowed to take place under the current national restrictions but the decision as to whether this happens is incumbent upon each parish in relation to the risks that they face.
We believe that whilst we are able to provide a safe environment for worship, it is much more challenging to retain social distancing without further interaction when dispersing at the end of worship, both in church and outside. We are also mindful of the rapid spread of the new strain of the virus and the pressure on the NHS and Worthing hospital. It is our responsibility to minimise the risk of infection by adhering to the government requirement that we stay at home as far as possible. Therefore, due to the increase in cases in our area we made the decision to postpone public worship. We made this decision after prayerful consideration, as we believe that the most effective way to love our neighbour was to protect them from this risk. We are required to confirm this decision with a PCC resolution, which we hope to do when we meet next Monday (11.1.’21). We will keep it under constant review and open again for public worship as soon as we feel it is safe to do so.
St Mary’s church building remains open from 9am to 2pm each weekday and we hope to be able to extend this to the weekend as soon as possible. This is a good time to remember that the church is more than the buildings. It is the people of God and we are the church no matter how or where we meet. Zoom meetings, telephone calls, one-to-one walks, and personal prayer when the church is open are all wonderful ways to continue to be the church community in this parish.
We will continue to use social media to stream our services and to meet together for worship. More details of our online services times and social coffee time can be found below.
This week’s online services
10.00am Sunday. 10th. January. Said Eucharist – Baptism of Christ (Epiphany 1) from St Mary’s Church. Streamed on https://www.facebook.com/StMaryAndStLaurenceGoringBySea/
10.00am Wednesday. 13th January. Morning Prayer will be said via Zoom.
https://www.zoom.us Meeting ID: 955 2642 8233 Password: 386017
08.00pm Tuesday 12th and Friday 15th January Compline / Night Prayer
Streamed on https://www.facebook.com/StMaryAndStLaurenceGoringBySea/
Coffee Time. Thursdays at 10.00am via Zoom https://www.zoom.
Meeting ID: 949 5590 0058 Passcode: 847352
A call to prayer
During this time of national lockdown we are being called to prayer as a church, for our nation and for our community. Therefore, this week’s newsletter is focusing on resources to support personal prayer and worship.
Praying at all times and for all things is the way we are told to live; and the good news is that prayer is real and it works! During this time of great challenge and anxiety we are called to prayer. Developing a regular prayer pattern will help give you peace and stability, and it will release you from fear and worry and give you cause for hope and joy. As you draw near to God he will draw near to you and you will be transformed. Let us pray without ceasing for those we love, for our church, our community, our town, our nation and our world.
If you have resources that you would like to recommend to others in the Parish please let us know so that we can continue to expand these resources.
Firstly we want to draw attention to resources for those who do not have Internet access:
‘Daily Hope’ is a free phone line and can be called on 0800 804 8044<span style="font-size: 1rem;">. It has a number of options including hymns, </span>
prayers, reflections and advice about Covid-19. When a caller
phones the phone line they will receive a message from the
Archbishop of Canterbury welcoming them, and they will then
have a variety of options- they can listen to rolling hymns, or
prayers, or a session taking the caller through old hymns and
explaining their meaning. There is also be an option to listen
to a Sunday service. So something for everyone hopefully.
Created together with the Church of England, Faith in Later
Life and the Connections group of Holy Trinity Claygate, in
Surrey, it is available for anyone but is designed particularly
with older people in mind – many of whom do not have
access to the Internet.
Reflections for Daily Prayer is a highly valued daily Bible
companion based on the Common Worship Lectionary. Each day,
Monday to Saturday, some of the very best writers from across the
Anglican tradition offer insightful, informed and inspiring reflections on
one of the day's readings for Morning Prayer, bringing together
exciting new voices and familiar names. Their reflections will appeal
to anyone who values both the companionship of daily Bible notes
and the structure of the Lectionary. For every day (excluding
Sundays) of the 2020/21 church year, there are full references and a
quotation from the day's set of Scripture readings, concise and
challenging commentary on the readings and a collect. In addition,
the book includes a simple order for morning and night prayer, an
introduction to the practice of daily prayer by Bishop Rachel Treweek
and a guide to reading the Bible reflectively by Bishop Stephen
Cottrell.
Published Church House Publishing. ISBN: 9781781401798
Prayer Apps
If you have an iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or tablet (5.1.1+) you should able to find these on your preferred App store.
Reflections for Daily Prayer (subscription required)
Providing daily Bible reflections based on the Common Worship Lectionary readings, the app edition contains exactly the same content as the printed edition, but also allows you to:
- Read the text of the day's Morning Prayer Bible readings in full
- Integrate the Reflection into a simple pattern of Morning Prayer
- Search by Bible reference, contributor and date
Daily Prayer (subscription required)
Daily Prayer is the official app to help you follow Morning, Evening and Night Prayer, wherever you are. For every day of the year, it presents the three services in full and include Bible readings (NRSV translation), psalms, canticles and seasonal variations. It allows you to:
- Access Morning, Evening and Night Prayer for yesterday, today and a month ahead - Switch between Contemporary and Traditional formats with one click
- Find details of Feast Days, Festivals and Commemorations from the Common Worship Calendar - Read Bible passages in full (NRSV translation) without the need for a separate Bible app
Lectio 365 (free)
Lectio 365 is an easy-to-use way of meditating on the Bible that's been used by Christians for centuries. Each day we read the same passage twice, expectant that God will speak through it into our lives. https://www.24-7prayer.com/dailydevotional
Pray As You Go (free)
Pray as You Go is a daily prayer session, designed to help you pray whenever you find time. https://pray-as-you-go.org/
Time to Pray (free)
Time to Pray is a traditional worship app with everything you need. Follow a simple pattern of day or night prayer that varies according to the season and day of the week. It has guidance on sustaining a pattern of regular prayer.
https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/time-to-pray
Also find further resources on the Church of England and Chichester Diocese websites: https://www.churchofengland.org/ https://www.chichester.anglican.org/prayerandintercessions/
§
Pastoral visits
Please let Fr. Keith, Fr. Neill or the Wardens know if you have a personal pastoral concern or may know of someone in need.
Wishing you all a Blessed and Peaceful New Year
Gill, Janice, Ruth and Geoff.