30th May 2021

Climate Sunday

TODAY

8:00                    Holy Communion in Church (traditional language).

10:00                    Morning Worship in Church and on the Telephone and YouTube. The need for social distancing means that the capacity of the church building is limited, so if attending in person you will need to book your space (details below)

4pm                     Church at 4 via Zoom join the Church at 4 group on our Facebook page for the meeting invite and password.

Sunday 6th June 2021

Unanswered Prayer

8:00                      Holy Communion (traditional language)

Preacher:             Tracy Mason

Sidespersons:    David & Lynda Pell

10:00                    Holy Communion in Church and on the Telephone and YouTube. The need for social distancing means that the capacity of the church building is limited, so if attending in person you will need to book your space (details below)

Preacher:             Tracy Mason

Intercessor:        Dr John Godfree

Reading:              Mark 14. 32-36

Reader:               Ida Morton

Sidespersons:     Tony & Julia Edmonds

4pm                        Church at 4 via Zoom join the Church at 4 group on our Facebook page for the meeting invite and password.

6pm                        Evensong

Preacher:             Dr John Godfree

Intercessor:         Margaret Penfound

Sidespersons:     Sylvia Woodward and Pat Brown

Booking for Church Services

The need for social distancing means that the capacity of the church building is limited. If you wish to attend the 10am or Church at 4 services in person then you will need to book your place in advance each week. You can do this in two ways:

There is no need to book if you are attending the 8am or 6pm services, but you will need to sign-in for Covid track and trace purposes Please make sure that 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.

Ordinations update

Two people connected with our church family will be ordained in Bristol Cathedral this year: Cheryl Hawkins will be ordained Priest on Saturday 3rd July and Chris Hunter, our new Curate, will be ordained Deacon on Sunday 4th. I know that many of us would like to travel to the cathedral to support them and pray alongside them as they embark on the next stages of their ministries. Unfortunately continuing caution around Covid means that it isn’t going be possible for large numbers of us to travel to the Cathedral and both Cheryl and Chris has been limited to just 15 guests each. We haven’t yet given up on the idea of getting people together to celebrate, but sadly this isn’t going be at the Cathedral.

Help for Little Lambs

We have had a request from Discovery Church about the mother and toddler group ‘Little Lambs’. They would like us to become partners with them in this group especially as Nicola used to go each week and they have always thought of it as a community group rather than just Discovery Church. The group meets on Wednesday mornings and hope to start again at the end of June. At the moment they need some help with jobs like making coffees and teas for the carers, arriving early to set up and then disappearing before popping back to help repack the shed at 12 or being there the whole time (not necessarily every week) to support carers/parents/grandparents. If you think you could help in any way, regularly or occasionally let me know and I will put you in contact with the right people. This could be an important community contact for us and part of our outreach to young families so please think about helping if you can.  Barbara 

Families’ Gardening Morning

On Wednesday 2nd June, we’ll be working with Vision4Wroughton to run a gardening morning at Willowbrook Gardens. There will be plants to plant in the garden, plants to dig up to take home and seeds to sow. We’ll be there from 10am to 12noon, so do come and join us.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to provide refreshments, so do bring a drink with you. You could even bring a picnic and eat lunch there if the weather looks good!

Date for your diary!

The Kingfisher CE Primary School in Wichelstowe will welcome its first group of reception pupils on Thursday 2nd September, marking the official opening of the school. When the Deanery School opened in September 2019 representatives from our church formed part of the welcoming party, welcoming the children to their new school by waving flags and streamers. We’d like to do something similar when the Kingfisher opens, so save the date!

Monday morning Bible Study 

We have now returned to in person meetings and it is lovely to see each other face to face again, but there will be no meeting on Monday 31st June or 14th July, as at long last I’ll be meeting family members (yippee!). Margaret Penfound.

Deanery School Prayer space

During the week leading up to Pentecost the Deanery School chaplaincy team have been running a prayer space. 15 prayer stations containing a mixture of interactive and reflective activities were set up around what will eventually become the sixth form common room. Every class in the school spent 45 minutes in the space, helped by volunteers from Pattern Church, Swindon Youth for Christ, the Stowe Church and Revd Phill. The students engaged really well, reflecting on the losses and difficulties of the past year, thinking about people who need particular help and care at the moment and looking forward to the future. Please pray for the staff and students, that God would be near to them and that they would have a good break over half term. 

Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

Geoff Naylor, the local debt advisor for CAP and a member of Wroughton Discovery Church, is embarking on 230-mile walk to raise funds for this very worthwhile charity. He writes:

I have seen at first hand how debt loads individuals and families with worry and further poverty as interest accrues. Sadly this can lead to despair and family breakup.

I have also seen how working with CAP brings hope, stability and a way forward as they deal with creditors and help people to make the most of their income. The joy of seeing people becoming debt free and often drawing closer to God drives me on. 

To help sustain the CAP Debt Centre in Swindon I am walking solo 230 miles from Fort William to Cape Wrath through the mountain wilderness beginning on 26th May and camping each night.

As CAP is a charity that this church supports, please consider sponsoring Geoff via his JustGiving page. Here is the link:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/swindon-cap-debt-centre-walk?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=swindon-cap-debt-centre-walk&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=15855e6c45cc4cd089072efe2bbdbb8f.
If you want to give but are unwilling to do so via the internet, please speak to Margaret Penfound.

 

Eco Top Tips – practical ways to take better care of God’s creation

May – In the utility room

 Cut up old clothes or sheets that you were going to throw out, to use as clothes for cleaning jobs rather than buying new cleaning clothes.

Funerals

We commend to God’s care and keeping those who have, died recently Arthur Tarrant. David Evans and

Ann Richards.

 

 

 

Gifts of Faith, Hope and Love Church Legacy

                             A lasting gift to your church……..

“The Lord loves a cheerful giver’ (2 Corinthians 9: 7)

 

As a Christian, and a member of this church, many of us have been giving regularly to the mission and ministry of the Parish of Wroughton & Wichelstowe.  Our generosity is a response to God’s abundant grace.

A legacy or gift in your will to our church can be a final expression of your gratitude and thanksgiving towards God – and is one of the most valuable and lasting ways you can continue to support its ministry and mission.

A legacy can be left for specific or general purposes.  (However, since needs change over the years, we encourage gifts to be left for the general purposes of the parish, i.e ‘unrestricted’).

No matter how large or small, your gift would be used to make a real difference, and could transform its future and help us to meet the needs of future generations.

We acknowledge gifts in whatever way you, or your executors, feel most appropriate. Equally, we can ensure gifts remain anonymous if preferred. (All gifts to charities, including churches, are tax free).

Please consider making provision for your church in your will.

For further information on how to do this, and suggested wording etc, there are leaflets on the church chest, or contact the Parish Office to have a legacy leaflet sent to you. Or to discuss a gift in a will in confidence, please contact Revd Phill, or our treasurer Nick Orman. 

“Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours”. 

1 Chronicles 29:11