Dear Friends,You will now all be aware that there are new "stay at home" rules coming into effect on Thursday.This means that during the month of November we will not be able to have services in church or acts of worship in church premises (including churchyards) except for funerals.This means that all church services for Remembrance Day will not be able to happen.There will be a Civic Act of Remembrance at the Town Hall in Lynton on Sunday only attended by the representatives of the community who are laying wreaths on behalf of us all, but everyone else is encouraged to stay at their own doorsteps to pay their respects.We cannot go ahead with the corporate act of worship the church had planned in Parracombe, so if members of the community wish to pay their respects at the war memorial I would suggest that you do so individually on a walk through the church yard later in the day - keeping social distance apppropriately.I will send out my usual you-tube video and an Act of Remembrance to make at home. The London Cenotaph service will be televised and the Exeter Diocesan website also includes links to streamed services.So although this may not be the way we hoped mark our gratitude for all who have died and suffered in war, nevertheless, in our own way in this year of our own challenges: "We will remember them"God blessSamanthaThe Reverend Samantha StayteThe Lyn Valley Mission Community
Loving God, be with me on this special day of remembering. Amen
Dear Friends, November 2nd is All Souls Day, a time when we might have gathered in church to remember by name all whose memories we treasure and commend to God all who have died, especially in the last year. This year, instead, I am sending out at short, quite formal act of commemoration and some material produced by the Church of England with prayers to help us take a moment out of our day, to give thanks for those we love and see no longer, and affirm our faith in the hope of the resurrection from the dead and the eternal life in the presence of God for which we are all made. This year let us also pray for all those who, maybe, we do not know, but whose deaths have been a result of Covid 19 directly or indirectly. Let's remember all who have faced bereavement through these difficult days of restrictions, hold in our prayers all who mourn, and bring to the tender heart of God any of our own distress at this time. May the Lord be gracious to us and all for whom we pray; may the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon us all and give us his peace. Amen. Samantha The Reverend Samantha Stayte The Lyn Valley Mission Community
