Easter 3
TODAY
Services will be held in the church building. The need for social distancing means that the capacity of the church building is limited, so you will need to book your space (details below)
8am Holy Communion in Church (traditional language).
10:00 Holy Communion / Morning Worship in Church and on the Telephone and YouTube
4pm Church at 4 via Zoom join the Church at 4 group on our Facebook page for the meeting invite and password.
Sunday 25th April
Easter 4
NEXT WEEK
8:00 Holy Communion (traditional language)
Preacher: Revd Phill Harrison
10:00 Holy Communion / Morning Worship in Church and on the Telephone and YouTube
Preacher: Revd Phill Harrison
Intercessions: Marion Colton
Reading: Romans 8. 26-28
Reader: John Henderson
4pm Church at 4 via Zoom join the Church at 4 group on our Facebook page for the meeting invite and password.
The Prayer course
‘The Prayer Course’ returns on Zoom this Tuesday evening (13th April). 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 session videos: https://prayercourse.org/sessions/
Booking for Church Services
The need for social distancing means that the capacity of the church building is limited. There is also a legal requirement for us to keep a record of everyone who attends our services for the purposes of Covid-19 track and trace. If you wish to attend a service in person then please can you book your place in advance each week. You can do this in several ways:
On Line Booking – please follow the link to Eventbrite and select the date of the service that want to book:
Link for 8:00
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/0800am-sunday-service-traditional-language-tickets-131445136943
Link for 10:00
Telephone – if you can’t use the online booking then please phone Janet Burchell, Church Administrator, 01793 812050 during office hours – Mon, Wed, Thurs & Fri – 9am to 2pm.
Please make sure you have and wear a face mask; and be aware that you may not be able to sit in your ‘normal’ pew! We will of course be following all the government and C of E guidelines with regard to social distancing and cleaning etc. our detailed Covid-19 risk assessment is available on request.
10am Telephone service
The 10am telephone service is still taking place, so if you can’t join us in the church building please do dial in – you will be taking part in the service in church, albeit remotely.
- 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.
Introducing: Chris Hunter (our future curate)
It is fantastic to finally be able to introduce myself to the parish after having had to try and stay quiet about my arrival as curate for months. My name is Chris and I will be ordained as a deacon in July. I was a primary school teacher for eight years before I began an MA at Trinity College in Bristol as the first stage of my ordination training. As part of the course, I have been on placement at Bristol Cathedral but before that I worshipped at St Christopher’s Church in Brislington, Bristol. My wife, Sally, is a Licensed Lay Minister at St Christopher’s.
We are both really looking forward to getting involved in the church and in the community. Sally is currently Assistant Manager for East Bristol FoodBank but will be looking for work once we have moved. We have two children and are in the process of trying to work out details for schools and nurseries.
Our other interests are quite wide ranging. We are both big readers and love music and lots of creative activities. Our tastes are pretty diverse, ranging from classical music to heavy metal and from Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens to fantasy writers like Robin Hobb and Joe Abercrombie. I have also scouted out a few interesting bike rides and running routes for when we have moved!
We are very excited about the next stage of our lives and what God has in store for us as part of your community.
Electoral Roll Revision 2021 – closing date 25 April
Our Electoral Roll is being revised with the closing date of 25 April fast approaching. Application forms are available from the Parish Office- tel 01793 812050 or email office@wroughton.com. 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. 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. Completed forms to be returned to the Parish Office by 25 April.
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/.
Give thanks for your vaccination
As more of our family, friends, and neighbours receive their COVID vaccinations, we rejoice and are glad that our loved ones are protected. We give thanks for all the NHS staff and key workers who continue to save lives across the UK.
For the poorest and most vulnerable communities across the world, there is little hope of a vaccine rollout. These people already face a lack of water, food, and healthcare. Christian Aid is helping keep people safe from coronavirus with practical support. Please give thanks for your vaccination with a donation to help protect our global neighbours while the vaccine is out of reach: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/give/ways-donate/give-thanks-your-coronavirus-vaccine
Swindon SACRE – Religious Education in Swindon’s schools
Looking for Christians to join the team in shaping religious education across Swindon
The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) is an independent body which considers the provision of religious education in Swindon, advising the local education authority and is able to require a review of the locally agreed syllabus for RE. The SACRE is made up of representatives of the Local Education Authority, the Church of England, Association of Teachers and Representatives of Other Christian Groups, Other Faiths or No Faith. The C of E representation is much depleted at the moment and Katy Staples, SACRE advisor, asks if any of us, or anyone we know (lay or ordained) might have a real interest in what happens in RE lessons and in Collective Worship in all the schools in Swindon – not just the Church schools. You can find out more in the attached FAQ, on the website https://swindonsacre.wordpress.com/ or by contacting Katy Staples at Katy.Staples@bristoldiocese.org.
Singing Jan’s Race for Life at home 2021
On Saturday 24th April I will be walking 5km in my local area as part of the 2021 Cancer Research Race for Life at home. I would be grateful if you can sponsor me by donating to Cancer Research UK on the page https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/singing-jans-race-for-life Thank you. Janet Henderson
Donations for the Bible Society
During Lent we asked you to 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 who have struggled to support themselves during the coronavirus crisis. If you haven’t already made a donation and would like to do so, 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 (30-98-41, a/c no. 04259379), please let our secretary Janet Burchell know so that the money is sent to the right place. Thank you.
Eco Top Tips – practical ways to take better care of God’s creation
April – In the bathroom
If your toilet cistern holds more than 6 litres of water (likely if it was installed before 2001) put a Hippo Water Saving device (or a brick) in it to save water each time you flush (eg http://www.hippo-the-watersaver.co.uk/)
Funerals
We commend to God’s care and keeping those who have, died recently especially Peter Taylor, Bryan Cullen and John Hilton. We pray for all who mourn the loss of loved ones. For HM Queen Elizabeth and all the Royal Family on the death of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
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.
