Dear Friends,Tomorrow morning in keeping with tier 3 regulations we are able to welcome people back to the church building for worship with the now familiar covid secure practices of face coverings, hand sanitizer and social distancing. It will be lovely to see those who feel able to gather for our all age <strong>Celebration Communion </strong>service in the church but we shall also be live streaming on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNymtzHV8G_EfZprXch9RIg mindful that not everyone will be able to come. Doors will open at 10.00am, please follow the directions of the stewards and at the end of the service disperse promptly keeping distance from those not in your household. For those watching at home tune in to Youtube for 10.30am.The order of service is on our website https://allsaintsloughborough.org.uk/jml02/on-line<strong>Morning Prayer </strong>will be led Liz Piki on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/allsaintsloughborough at 9.00am and she will also be hosting our <strong>social 'coffee and chat' on zoom after the communion service. </strong>https://leccofe.zoom.us/j/93376239538?pwd=aGdzei9YMXhzZXZLeWpCSXpYSGRCZz09Meeting ID: 933 7623 9538 Passcode: 946534In the evening we have the second of our <strong>Advent reflections 'Waiting for the Light' </strong>led on zoom by Penny Pullen at 6pm including music, readings and prayer. This service is <strong>not live streamed </strong>so please join on the zoom link below to join in with this service or phone in instead:Join Zoom Meeting at this link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88362102409?pwd=WnZxYVlDR3hrTlpXamYyVFVJT29NUT09Meeting ID: 883 6210 2409Passcode: 749201Dial in instead: 0203 901 7895 or 0131 460 1196 Using Meeting ID: 883 6210 2409Passcode: 749201Now that we have a clearer picture from the government regulations and the Church of England on what is permissible over the coming month, I can announce that we have planned a week of special services in the run up to Christmas and I do hope you will be able to join in either by coming to the building or watching from home. To help us manage these services safely <strong>admission will be by ticket only, </strong>which can be obtained free of charge or by making a donation. The link for tickets is by each event but you can also get tickets by calling the parish office on 01509 217029.Monday 21st <strong>Mayor's Community Carol Service </strong>7pmhttps://bit.ly/3mAFO6NTuesday 22nd <strong>Folk Carol Service</strong> 7pmhttps://bit.ly/37vX1IhWednesday 23rd <strong>The Christmas Blues</strong> 7pmhttps://bit.ly/2Jzf9sOThursday 24th <strong>Christmas Eve</strong>Carols on the Green 4pm - no ticket neededMidnight Mass 11.30pmhttps://bit.ly/2VypIipFriday 25th <strong>Christmas Day </strong>Celebration Communion 10.30amhttps://bit.ly/3g7GRZBIn addition, the church will be festooned with Christmas Trees from 19th December to 3rd January and we aim to open the building each morning if we can to welcome visitors for this mini <strong>Christmas Tree Festival.</strong>All of these events require the help of volunteers so if you think you could offer to help either at a service or for visitors please contact Gwyn Bates on churchwardens@allsaintsloughborough.org.uk Lastly this weekend we are launching our <strong>Christmas Gift Appeal </strong>which I do hope you might feel able to support. This year more than ever before we have all realised the value of technology to enable us to stay connected. Thanks to the generosity of members of our church we have been borrowing equipment and experimenting with live stream services so that everyone has access to worship, concerts and community events. With your help we would now like to make this a permanent feature of our work by upgrading our struggling sound system and installing equipment that will enable us to live stream and record services and events with ease. Your gift will help us make this investment so that even beyond the pandemic we can continue to make worship and concerts accessible to everyone in our community. If you would like to make a gift to this campaign please use the link below or make a donation when you come to church. https://givealittle.co/campaigns/37c0759e-edf2-4572-8276-e8e003489758 And very lastly.... for those who like a bedtime story I have begun reading The Christmas Mystery each evening on Facebook at 6.45pm - a children's book but I think it's great for grown ups too!Best WishesRevd Wendy
Dear Friends,In a break with tradition, I have this afternoon been installing a Christmas tree into the front room. The decorations can wait till tomorrow but this is the earliest I have ever reached for the tinsel! Like lots of people the run up to Christmas is already feeling very strange, so I think that's why I have unpacked the Christmas lights already.However, we shall not hurry the journey to Bethlehem and instead I invite you to enter the season of Advent, a time of waiting and preparation. For the best explanation of Advent I know check out this 2 minute video, it might not apply to advent in 2020 in quite the same way but you'll get the general idea!https://youtu.be/eC0FGQLBp7wThis year, with no small children at home to read to any more, I am going to share our family advent tradition of reading The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder with my church family. Each evening starting on 1st December at 6.45pm I shall read a chapter live on our All Saints Facebook page. Like all good children's stories it can be enjoyed by any age so do please join me for a bit of home grown story telling that I hope will help people of all ages make the journey to Bethlehem in their hearts.Here are the details for worship and church gathering tomorrow on Advent Sunday9.00am Morning Prayer on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/allsaintsloughboroughTune in live and share any prayer requests via the comments if you wish. Emily will be leading tomorrow from her shed, possibly wearing a Christmas Pudding hat if a photo I saw earlier today is anything to go by! 10.30am Parish Communion live streamed from the church building on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNymtzHV8G_EfZprXch9RIgWe shall be lighting the advent wreath at the start of the service so you might like to light a candle at home as part of our worship together. Our preacher tomorrow is Suzanne Hanson who is the Intercultural Mission Enabler for our diocese and has been working with us over this year to help us kick start our journey to becoming an intercultural worshipping community. After the service Revd Emily will be hosting a social drop in on zoom so do drop by and say hello.https://leccofe.zoom.us/j/92880359820?pwd=M2cyWkZpdjFXLzdqTWdnZ2NLMjlkZz09Meeting ID: 928 8035 9820Passcode: 8110323.00pm Advent Meditation in music, readings and poetry live streamed on YouTubeSimon Headley our principal organist has once again put together a beautiful service of organ music and readings for the Advent season. 6.00pm Advent Reflection: Waiting for the LightThis weekly evening worship will not be live streamed or recorded but you are invited to gather with others on zoom for a service that will include reflections on the different biblical characters of the advent season with music and readings. Here is the zoom link for those joining via computer or smart phone/tablet:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88362102409?pwd=WnZxYVlDR3hrTlpXamYyVFVJT29NUT09Meeting ID: 883 6210 2409Passcode: 749201Alternatively, you can use your normal telephone to dial in:020 3901 7895 or 0131 460 1196 Using Meeting ID: 883 6210 2409Passcode: 749201 Service sheets for all these services can be found on our websitehttps://allsaintsloughborough.org.uk/jml02/on-line I hope that whether you are putting up lights this weekend or not you will find your own way to keep these days of Advent and be able to connect with others for worship, prayer and fellowship. Christmas will look and feel very different this year but together may we find ourselves able to wait with joyful expectation for the true light that is coming into the world.Yours in the peace and hope of ChristRevd Wendy
Dear Friends,This week's bulletin starts with the wonderful news of the birth of Henry Patrick Trounson born in the early hours of Monday 16th. Emma and Mark have sent this lovely picture of their son to share with you. We look forward to meeting Henry in due course and send all our love to Mark and Emma.Tomorrow our worship continues online, morning prayer on Facebook at 9.00am and both morning and evening services on YouTube. Please do tune in from home and join in.At 10.30am Liz Piki will be our preacher and Dominic Remedios, our organ scholar, will be providing music with Howard Jones singing the hymns. Tomorrow we keep the feast of Christ the King which marks the end of the liturgical year. It is also the feast of St Cecilia, the patron Saint of musicians so a good day to give thanks for the gift of music and for all those who have kept giving that gift during lock down.Immediately after the service Emily Sharman will be hosting a social time on zoom for that all important after service 'coffee and chat.' Zoom link is:Contact office for joining details.At 6pm I will be hosting a <strong>'Conversation & Compline'</strong> with Angela Woodward and Gwyn Bates who were elected as Church Wardens at our APCM last month. I shall be asking them to share something of their faith journey along with sharing a little bit about what church wardens get up to! I shall also as part of this service be formally investing them into their role.<strong>Christmas is coming!</strong>Next Sunday is Advent Sunday and as we shall still be under the current restrictions all our worship will be online. However, it will still be a very special day and I do hope you will feel able to tune in for one or more of the services we shall be offering next week. In addition to our regular morning communion service, when Suzanne Hanson will be preaching, we have a special Advent organ meditation at 3pm put together by Simon Headley and at 6pm we have the first of our weekly zoom evening services led by Penny Pullan on the theme of 'Waiting for the Light.' This reflective service won't be broadcast so you will need to be present on zoom to join in. It will include music, readings and reflection on some of the key biblical characters in the Advent journey. The theme of waiting that runs through Advent will resonate with us all this year I'm sure and Christmas is going to feel different in our homes and at church. Hopefully by next weekend you will have received from All Saints pastoral and ministry team a little something through your door with some resources for Advent and Christmas. If we don't have your address on file, or you have recently moved house, and you would like to make sure you receive this please get in touch with caroline@allsaintsloughborough.org.uk so we can update our records.And lastly Charnwood Arts are putting together a pantomime for our local community to which we are all invited to join in. They will be sending out a<strong> 'panto in a box' </strong>with lots of instructions. See their Facebook page for details:https://www.facebook.com/Charnwood-Arts-112938797211312/?ref=page_internalIt would be great to see lots of All Saints folk getting involved in this little bit of festive cheer and all from the comfort of your own home. Best Wishes<strong>Reverend</strong> <strong>Wendy Dalrymple</strong>Rector of All Saints with Holy Trinity
Dear Friends,Here is a quick update from me (before Strictly which as you may know I am a big fan of!)Our communion service tomorrow will be broadcast live on our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNymtzHV8G_EfZprXch9RIg at the usual time of 10.30am. A small team will be in the church building to make this possible for which I am very grateful.The readings tomorrow are 1 Thessalonians 5.1-11 and Matthew 25.14-30I will be preaching and music will be provided by Simon Headley and Motje Wolf.After the service there will be a <strong>social time on zoom</strong> hosted this week by Liz Piki who will be very pleased to see you. Drop in for 5 minutes to say hello or stay a while. The call will open once the service finishes so sometime between 11.15 and 11.30 and will finish by 12.30 at the latest.<strong>Zoom link</strong>https://leccofe.zoom.us/j/92203451507?pwd=cDFnMkowWkVWdXRLOW1EVEQ1ZGJidz09Meeting ID: 922 0345 1507Passcode: 349886<strong>Zoom phone number for those dialling in:</strong>Either 020 3481 5237 or 020 3481 5240 Meeting ID: 922 0345 1507<strong>Connections with local charities</strong>To help us deepen and strengthen our relationship with our local community we would love to know what connections people from our congregation already have with local charities and organisations. Have a look at the document attached and please fill in if you can and return to suzanne@allsaintsloughborough.org.uk. <strong>Church Community</strong>A reminder for those who use Facebook that we have a Facebook church social group which in a pre-covid world was a space to arrange to do social things together but this year has become a great place to just stay connected and encourage one another. Search All Saints Social and send a request to join.<strong>Prayer</strong>The ministry team continues to lead prayer every day on Facebook praying for our church, community and the wider world. If you have a particular prayer requests you can send it to <strong>prayer@allsaintsloughborough.org.uk</strong> or phone me and leave a message. Prayer requests are shared with all those who lead Morning Prayer through the week. You can ask for your prayers to be held confidentially by us if you wish.<strong>Coming Up.....Christmas is coming!!!</strong>Despite everything that is going on we are still making plans for Advent and Christmas worship and events both on and offline for all eventualities! The delayed Herald will be out in the next couple of days with lots of updates so do look out for that.Revd Wendy
