Palm Sunday
TODAY
8am No Service
10am Morning Worship
Preacher – Tracy Mason
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
Palm Sunday
This week is Palm Sunday. The fact that we won’t be all together physically means that we can’t give out palm crosses in the usual way. The people who have a service sheet delivered to them by hand each week will get one through their door. They will also be available to collect from the church porch. Or you could make your own out of paper: https://www.origami-resource-center.com/palm-weaving-simple-cross.html
NEXT WEEK
Friday 2nd April
10am Good Friday Service
Reading Mark 15: 1-39
Reader Jean Ford
– Live on our YouTube channel (search for ‘Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish Church’)
2pm Hour at the Cross – Private Pray and Reflection in Church
Led by Revd Phill Harrison
Sunday 4th April
Easter Day
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 Acts 10. 34-43
Reader Clive Parker
Intercessor TBC
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.
The Prayer Course
Our Lent course ‘The Prayer Course’ continues on Zoom each Tuesday evening until 13th April (two weeks after the end of Lent!). All of the material is available for free online, so you can catch up on any missed sessions when convenient. As a reminder, you will need these two links to take part:
The Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/94087275907?pwd=b2hneFZJaHg0UzhmQWRWSGJEcGtLZz09
The session videos: https://prayercourse.org/sessions/
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.
Church Closure and Easter Day services
As you will be aware, the Government chose not to require all places of worship to close during this period of Covid-19 lockdown. The decision about whether or not to keep our church buildings open is being taken by PCCs at local parish level.
Our PCC met on 4th March to decide whether the building should be re-opened and it was unanimously decided that it was not yet the right time for us to meet in person. We very much hope that we might be able to open the church building for worship on Easter Day, possibly as a one-off. The PCC will meet again on Wednesday 31st March to make a decision about this. The impacts of the schools re-opening and the vaccination programme will both be better understood by then.
If the PCC does decide to open the church for worship on Easter Day then reduced capacity in the building means that you will need to book your place. Information about how to do this will be available in the notice sheet next week.
Exciting news!
I’m delighted to announce that Chris Hunter will be joining us as our new curate in the summer this year. Chris will be ordained Deacon in Bristol Cathedral at the beginning of July and he and his family will move into the curate’s house on Perry’s Lane in Wroughton. I first met with Chris to talk about the possibility of joining us back in August last year, so it is great to finally be able to share this news with you! Chris will introduce himself in next week’s notices. Please do pray for him and his family as they prepare to move; for practical things like schools and moving arrangements and also for them as they leave their home community. Revd Phill
Churchyard Update
Our Churchyard has served as the parish burial ground since the church was founded, sometime before 956 A.D. However, visitors to the churchyard will have noticed that after 1,100 years there is now limited space for new graves; we estimate that the remaining space will be exhausted in around 18 months. When a churchyard becomes full it needs to be formally closed by order of the Privy Council. As you may imagine, this is not something that happens very quickly… We are therefore beginning the process now, in anticipation that it may be completed by the time the space runs out. One consequence of closure is that the PCC will pass responsibility for maintenance to the Local Authority and we have already engaged with Swindon Borough Council and Wroughton Parish Council about this. It is important to note that closure of the churchyard will not prevent further burials in existing family plots, only the creation of new graves. If you have any questions or concerns about this then do please speak to me. Revd Phill.
Electoral Roll Revision 2021
We are approaching the time of our annual Electoral Roll revision (21 March to 25 April 2021). The roll is open to anyone over 16 years old, who is baptised and is either resident in the parish or who regularly attends our services. Being on the roll allows you to attend and vote at the Annual Meeting and, if you are not resident in the parish it gives you certain rights otherwise only given to residents. If you regularly attend our services and are not already on the roll, we would like to encourage you to join the electoral roll. Application forms are available from the Parish Office- tel 01793 812050 or email office@wroughton.com. If for any reason you attend our services, but do not feel able to be on the electoral roll please would you complete just page 1 of the form and return it so we have your consent to hold your details so we can keep in touch with you. All completed forms to be returned to the Parish Office by 25 April.
‘Heartfelt thanks for gift of Parish Share 2020’ – We have received a letter from Archdeacon Christopher and a certificate from Bishop Viv to thank all of us for our gift of Parish Share (£90,000) in 2020. They recognised that it was a most difficult year and were hugely encouraged that we looked beyond ourselves and continued to support ministry across the Diocese. Our gift helped provide the vital ministry of our clergy and curates across every parish in the diocese, including our own, as well as contributing to the crucial training of new ordinands and diocesan support. Archdeacon Christopher’s prayer for all of us is that we are encouraged in our mission and ministry despite the challenges and find God’s presence and blessing throughout it all.
Transforming Church. Together.
The Diocese of Bristol, which incorporates Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Wiltshire and Swindon, is inviting everyone in the region to be part of an open conversation about its future direction. Everyone is invited to join a conversation about the future as we develop a new vision and set of priorities for the coming years. We want to hear from as many people as possible. Please ask your friends and family to fill out the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TCTquestionnaire. We are keen to ensure we listen to voices that we don’t often hear. As part of this aim there are a series of workshops for specific groups of people to provide space for discussion about specific issues and identities. Anyone is welcome to attend any or a number of these workshops. Join a workshop: https://www.bristol.anglican.org/transformingchurch/jointheconversation/.
A suggestion for Lent
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.
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
Lynn Hezlett
Just to let you all know I have now moved to 54 Priors Hill, Wroughton, SN4 0RW, and when connected, my new phone number will be 01793798195. Lynn
Eco Top Tips – practical ways to take better care of God’s creation
Going Shopping ….
Tempted to buy in impulse when you are shopping? Get in the habit of coming back the next day or week when you have thought through if you really need to buy it.
Funerals
We commend to God’s care and keeping those who have, died recently especially Josh Jubb, Glenn Mills and Brian Strange. We pray for all who mourn the loss of loved ones.
THE FILLING STATION
Feeding the hungry on the streets
Registered Charity No 1072429
News and Opportunities from The Filling Station
On April 15th, all being well, The Filling Station will be back on the streets. It was with reluctance, but a determination to behave legally and responsibly, that during the Lockdowns we suspended our service to the needy on the streets. We did, however, provide some backup to both Swindon Borough Council and Booth House in their broadly successful measures to house and feed the vulnerable.
As we make our way back, we face a number of ‘personnel challenges’. Very sadly, one of our van-packing team passed away a few weeks ago. Also, for a combination of reasons (e.g. retirement, moving away etc.), we are now short of drivers. We hope that people reading this may feel able to help:
The van-packing role is a commitment every 8th week to (working in pairs) making sure that there are 60 carrier bags containing four cans of food each. These are placed in trugs, and the package is not too weighty! Also, tins of hot dogs ready for cooking at the venue are loaded. When available, toilet rolls are also included. The time needed to achieve this would not usually exceed an hour and a half. Daytime on a Tuesday or Wednesday is the most popular time for the activity.
The van is a Ford Transit and is an easy drive. We hope any volunteer (our insurers insist that they are over 25) could commit to one drive a month, but we can cope with one every 6 or 8 weeks! The van lives at Legge House, and you would need to be available on a Thursday evening from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm.
Please consider helping if you can. If you need to know more, or would like to help, then Andrew Bond jools008@btinternet.com will be pleased to hear from you. Alternatively, please leave a message with Janet in the office (01793 812050), and we will contact you.
The Filling Station has been helping the hungry on the streets in Swindon for about a quarter of a century. It is essentially but not exclusively a multidenominational church venture. The current trustees are Angus Macpherson (Chair), Sue Dallyn, John Griffiths and Andrew Bond.
