Lent 2
TODAY
8am No Service
10am Morning Worship
Preacher – Dr John Godfree
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no service in the church building. You can join us in one of two ways:
– On the Telephone (Phone: 03300 945 940;
Room number: 60527473#; PIN: 2656#)
– Live on our YouTube channel
(search for ‘Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish Church’)
4pm Church at 4 via Zoom
Join the Church at 4 group on our Facebook page for the meeting invite and password
NEXT WEEK
Sunday 7th March
Lent 3
10am Morning Worship
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no service in the church building. You can join us in one of two ways:
– On the Telephone (Phone: 03300 945 940; Room number: 60527473#; PIN: 2656#)
– Live on our YouTube channel (search for ‘Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish Church’)
Preacher Revd Phill Harrison
Reading John 2. 13-22
Reader Veronica Garside
Intercessor Margaret Penfound
4pm Church at 4 via Zoom
Join the Church at 4 group on our Facebook page for the meeting invite and password.
Private Prayer – Wednesday lunchtime
During the current lockdown, the church building will be open for private prayer between 12pm and 1:30pm on Wednesdays.
Friday 5th March, 11am – World Day of Prayer service
This service has been prepared by the Christian women of Vanuatu. We hope you will join us. Many of you have already got the order of service in an email sent on 10th February. If you need a ‘non electronic’ booklet please phone me on 525856 and I will get one to you.
Before the service Please find a small stone in your garden or while out walking. You will need this for the Act of Commitment on p14. Please read ‘Listening to the voices of Vanuatu’ pp 7 to 9 as this will be omitted from our service.
On Friday 5th March Join us on the telephone dial 03300945940 ( standard national rate call), then Room Number 60527473# and the pin 2656#.please dial in about 10.55am. There will not be a livestream of this service. We are unable to sing together but you will be able to join in responses and prayers.
After the service (or anytime really) please consider making a donation to The World Day of Prayer organisation for their worldwide projects.
This can be done via the website www.WWDP.org.uk
Or by post to World Day of Prayer, Commercial Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2RR
Or by text to 70085 using the phrase 2021WDP and then the amount eg 2021WDP 5.
Tuesday 2nd March, 7.30pm – Our Lent course for 2021: The Prayer Course
If you were thinking of joining in with our Lent course but couldn’t make it last week then it’s not too late. You can begin the course part way through and you will still get lots out of it. It’s also really easy to catch up on missed sessions, as they are all available online. Sessions will take place on Zoom and last for 1 hour; we will start promptly, so please try to join a bit before 7:30. No need to book, just turn up! You will need these two links to take part:
The session videos: https://prayercourse.org/sessions/
This course has been created by 24-7 Prayer, an international, interdenominational movement, reviving the church through non-stop night and day prayer. The course lasts eight weeks (so it will continue after Easter…) and will take us on a journey through the Lord’s Prayer that will help us to grow as a community and deepen our prayer life. Each week of the course is made up of a video, discussion questions and practical prayer activities.
Extraordinary PCC meeting
There will be an additional PCC meeting on Thursday 4th March to agree when we should re-open the church building for Sunday worship. Most people will have an opinion about this – if you would like your voice to be heard in the meeting then please do speak to a PCC member. Please pray for the PCC as they make this important decision.
Church closure
Unlike the last lock-down, the Government has chosen not to dictate a general closure of all places of worship in England. This reflects the fact that there have been very few cases of Covid-19 transmission in places of worship and also the importance of corporate worship to the general wellbeing and morale of people of faith. In the Church of England, the decision about whether or not to remain open is being taken at local parish level.
The PCC met on 1st February to review the Standing Committee’s decision not to hold services in the church building during January and to decide whether it should now be re-opened. After some discussion, it was unanimously decided that it is not yet the right time for us to meet in person. The church building will therefore remain closed for Sunday Worship (but open for private prayer each Wednesday lunchtime).
We are thankful to God that the Coivid-19 case rate in Wroughton, and in Swindon more generally, has fallen significantly and that we are now below the UK average. However the situation remains serious and it was felt that by opening the church building we would be sending the wrong message. There was also a concern that by opening the building we would be indirectly encouraging people to gather together. It is natural to want to stop and say hello to friends and neighbours when we see them and there was some concern about the possibility of people talking in the car-park before and after services. It was also noted that during lockdown the majority of people seem to be content with our online and telephone offerings.
10am Telephone service
- To join the Sunday service first dial this number: 03300 945 940.
- When prompted, enter the room number, followed by # on your telephone keypad: 60527473 #
- Finally, enter the guest PIN: 2656 #
- You may have to listen to some announcements, but you will then be automatically joined to the conference call. Join in with the responses in the liturgy as you would normally.
Calls to ‘03’ numbers are charged at the standard national rate and are included in your ‘free minutes’ if you have a call-plan.
Live streaming the 10am service
The 10am service will be live streamed on You Tube. As well as getting video, the sound quality should be better than the phone. However, unlike the telephone option, you will not be able to interact with other people or to be heard in the service. We don’t recommend trying to use both You Tube and the phone at the same time as this could cause an echo on the phone line, there is also a delay of about 30 seconds which is very off-putting. Please visit our YouTube Channel on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc6wnuTqXBYTixq-NpQgeLQ and press the ‘subscribe’ button.
A suggestion for Lent
Have you counted recently how many copies of the Bible, including electronic versions, you have in your home? We take for granted the easy access we have to the scriptures, but there are many people in the world who long to own one in their own language. The Bible Society normally has many outlets in 88 countries to help meet this need, but because of the pandemic these have had to close, leaving the staff in very difficult financial circumstances, since they have no help from their governments.
As part of your Lent discipline, can you please consider making a donation to the Bible Society’s ‘Rescue and Recovery fund’ in order that they can continue to meet the basic needs of their staff abroad? You could perhaps put aside an amount every time you read the Bible during Lent, or donate the price that we would pay for a Bible, or even give £1 for every version of scripture you own. Details of how to donate will follow shortly. Thank you.
Please put your donation in an envelope indicating what it is for and place in the church letterbox in the Church Hall. If you prefer to give by bank transfer, please let our secretary Janet Burchell know so that the money is sent to the right place. Thank you.
Transforming Church. Together.
Bishop Viv has launched a new initiative ‘Transforming Church. Together.’ – seeking to discern God’s vision for our Diocese in the coming years. The first part of this is all about engagement and hearing from one another and from people outside the church, she said: “In the weeks ahead, there will be many opportunities to get involved, to contribute ideas and to share what you long for, for God’s Church and for the communities you serve. I want to encourage you to seize this opportunity wholeheartedly and to share openly, frankly and confidently.” You are invited to share your views by completing the online questionnaire on the website: https://www.bristol.anglican.org/transformingchurch/
Spring Harvest Home 2021 (4th-8th April)
In a year when we could all do with things to uplift and inspire us, why not join us for Spring Harvest Home, from the evening of 4th April (Easter Sunday) to 8th April? The theme this year is “Unrivalled – why we worship”. Like last year, you’ll be able to watch all the content from the comfort of your own sofa, and throughout the week we’ll be connecting with each other via group chats and Zoom to share with each other what we’ve been watching (or possibly even meet in person, depending on Covid restrictions at the time). This year you will need to buy a ticket to be able to access the content (£55 for up to two devices, £75 for up to 3 devices; discounts available to those on benefits). The link for buying tickets and more information about the event can be found at https://springharvest.org/springharvesthome21 ).
If you’re planning to join in, do let me know (karenlindaharrison@gmail.com) so I can add you to our Messenger or WhatsApp chat. Karen Harrison
Church Hall roof
The Church Hall roof has reached the stage where it needs to be replaced. Whilst we do this necessary work, it makes sense to take the opportunity make some improvements to that will also reduce the environmental impact of our building. This includes things like insulation (not a priority for the Victorians!) as well as thinking about rainwater drainage and using the roof to capture energy from the Sun. We are delighted to announce that the Wiltshire Community Foundation have awarded us a grant of £20,000 towards the cost of installing solar panels on the Church Hall and installing sustainable drainage to create a “rain garden”. This is great news. The grant money, which is linked to the nearby Wroughton Solar Park, will fund a substantial part of the upcoming eco renovations to the building.
Eco Top Tips – practical ways to take better care of God’s creation
Getting to grip with your bills ….
If you already have a full set of heating controls, turning down your room thermostat by just one degree can save around £80 a year. Jumpers are in this year!
Funerals
We commend to God’s care and keeping those who have died recently especially Betty Leighfield, Bill Burlison , Brenda Alexander and Ron Lucas. We pray for all who mourn the loss of loved ones.
