Dear Friends, As you know, Marilyn Sanders is with us for the final year of her formation for ministry. I am delighted to be able to announce that she will serve her title at St Andrew's, Cullompton where they will also receive that news today. We keep Marilyn and her family in our prayers during this time of learning and preparation (grateful for all that she is sharing with us) and we pray for the clergy and people of St Andrews as they anticipate her arrival. God bless Samantha
Dear Friends,Blessings for the new Church year and a holy Advent!As I have been reflecting on anticipation of this very different December, I have become aware that the sense of waiting and uncertainty and the hopes arising for a better future which are part of our daily news connect with the deep themes of the Advent season. These deep themes run through Advent miusic and readings and traditions - especially that of lighting the candles of the Advent Wreath to remember the stories of our ancestors in faith as they longed for change in their own generations. Over the next weeks I hope to explore these connections, so we can bring all that we are feeling, with honesty, into our life of faith and prayer. You might like to creat your own Advent wreath, or gather five candles to count down the weeks to Christmas day (or even just have one candle that you light each Sunday). Traditionally we remember Abraham and Sarah (the patriarchs and matriarchs) on Advent 1, the prophets on Advent 2, John the Baptist on Advent 3 and the blessed virgin Mary on the last Sunday of Advent.In the last week the government has announced that communal worship will be allowed in churches, and we also know now that Devon is in Tier 2 with most of the rest of the country. The current response to this on the Church of England web site is as follows:The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, has welcomed the publication of the Government's Covid-19 Winter Plan, detailing that places of worship will be permitted to reopen for public worship from 2nd December.Bishop Sarah, who Chairs the Church of England's Recovery Group, said: "We are encouraged by the confirmation that places of worship will soon be able to reopen for public worship in all tiers and in all parts of the country."Churches and cathedrals can now approach Advent and Christmas with more certainty; a time when we know many people will look forward to attending services celebrating the birth of Jesus."We await more detailed guidance and will update our own advice once this is published." The plan in this diocese is that the Archdeacons will brief clergy on the updated advice on December 2nd and I will continue my conversations with Church Wardens and PCCs once I have recieved that full briefing. <div>In the meantime, I will be sending out the link for the Zoom Advent tea shortly, and will catch up with emails that have been awaiting me while I was on leave, as swiftly as is possible. Let's keep one another, our communities and all those who are suffering in our prayers.The Archbishops' prayer for the nation this week is:Loving God,your Son Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly;pour out your blessing upon our nation;where there is illness,bring your healing touch;where there is fear,strengthen us with the knowledge of your presence;where there is uncertainty,build us up in faith;where there is dishonesty,lead us into truth;where there is discord,may we know the harmony of your love;this we ask in Jesus’ name.Amen. God bless, Samantha
Dear Friends,This weekend brings us to the end of the Church year, with the feast of Christ the King. It is perhaps reflective of so much this year that we will each be worshipping in our own homes. This year we have shared, as a whole nation and in our local communities, levels of uncertainty and anxiety that are often only felt privately by people going through hard times. While we celebrate Christ as King we cannot dismiss either our personal suffering or the challenges in our world, rather, I think Jesus’ invitation is to contemplate the mystery at the heart of our faith that through his entering into our suffering and death and coming to resurrection, Jesus has shown us that the power of God’s love can hold the Creation in and through all that is not God’s will for it, and bring newness of life. May this feast inspire us to hold our nation in prayers of hope and love at this time. This week’s prayer for use at 6pm is at the end of this letter.As we look toward Advent, naturally our thoughts turn towards planning for Christmas and as so much national discussion shows, what will be possible is still unclear but there is hope that by the first week in December we will be in a better position to know what is going to be possible for us as church communities to offer in worship together. I hope to arrange some Zoom meetings with PCCs after I have been briefed by our Archdeacons. I know Zoom can be a little daunting to some, which is why I use it sparingly, but I think we have reached a time when we need to have a regular means of practical meetings that don’t depend on us being able to meet face to face. To begin to make this a little less daunting I’d like to suggest an Advent Sunday Tea-Zoom at 3.30 – 4.00 next Sunday (29<sup>th</sup>). This will just be a chance to meet others socially, and try out the technology without having to worry that we are transacting business. If you would like to try it out let me know and I will send out individual invitations next Saturday.I was due to take some annual leave through the middle of this week. With the regulations as they are I am not going away to see family – but I will be taking a break from phone and email between Monday-Friday this week. If there is anything you urgently need to talk to me about, do try and contact me over this weekend.God bless,SamanthaLord Jesus Christ, in these dark and difficult days, we turn our hearts to you. In ages past, you have delivered our nation from disaster. Do it again, we pray. Give wisdom beyond human wisdom to our leaders, Give strength beyond human strength to the NHS and all our frontline workers. Give comfort beyond human comfort to the elderly and all who grieve. Lord Jesus Christ, in these dark and difficult days, turn your face towards us, have mercy upon us, and heal our land, we pray. Amen.
Dear Friends, I am keen to forward this letter that Revd Jean has sent out to all local churches as she works on creating a network of prayer for NDDH. Do get in contact with her if you would like to be part of this really important way of offering our support for those who we are all so reliant on at this time. God bless, Samantha I have been involved with the Chaplaincy team at NDDH for many years, but with the arrival of Covid 19, and it’s increased demands on an already busy Northern Devon Healthcare Trust, it has become part of my regular prayer time, to bring before God the nurses and doctors, the Chaplaincy team, and all who work in our local Hospital; and to pray for patients, both out-patients, those who attend A & E, and those staying in Hospital and their relatives, especially at this time, including those who have been unable to visit and to be alongside their loved ones. During a recent conversation with Julie Cartwright, Chaplain at the Hospital, the idea of encouraging prayer for the Hospital within it’s catchment area was discussed. While we may pray for individuals whom we may know to be unwell, we wondered how often our churches pray for the work of the Hospital. During this time we have been made aware of the tremendous commitment of those serving our communities, but the Hospital is always busy 24/7 every day of the week, and regular prayer is something the Church could, and should, offer. NDDH covers a large area of approxiimately 800 square miles, and according to data in 2016, serves a population of around 160,000 in North Devon and Torridge, together with patients from parts of North Cornwall, and tourists. As we know there has been considerable expansion of properties built since that time, so numbers will have increased considerably. The intention is to eventually reach out to all the churches within the Hospital’s catchment area, but I am beginning locally and building up from there. I am therefore approaching you to ask whether you might feel able to commit to praying for our Hospital on a regular basis, daily, or weekly. Perhaps you have someone in your congregation whom you feel might wish to offer this valuable ministry; it could be a small hub who meet together for this purpose. We are simply the messengers - it is God who hears and acts. If you would like to take part I will send you a copy of the Hospital’s prayer directory and am happy to discuss this with you further, and my tel. no. is 01598 752699: jean.loveday35@gmail.com I trust you are keeping well, and waiting for 2nd December to see what Boris will instigate then. Best wishes, Jean The Reverend Samantha Stayte The Lyn Valley Mission Community
