Sunday 4th July

Trinty 5

TODAY

NHS-SUNDAY

Today our service for this day is in honour of all that the NHS and her staff give us. Especially looking back over the past year since the pandemic started.  The Chaplaincy team from the GWH will share a short video clip with us about their experiences during this time.  We felt it might be a nice touch to dress up for this day in something blue/white and wear a blue NHS mask (of course only if you are happy to do so).

We are looking forward to marking this special day with you.  Stay Safe – God Bless  Your 10am-Planning-Team

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

10am                   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 11th July 2021

Trinity 6

8:00                      Holy Communion (traditional language)

Preacher:             Revd Chris Hunter

Sidespersons:     David & Lynda Pell

10:00                    Holy Communion / 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

Preacher:             Revd Chris Hunter

Intercessor:        Margaret Penfound

Reading:              1 Samuel 3. 1-10

Reader:               Sally Hunter

Sidespersons:     Lynn Hezlett and Jean Ford

4pm                     Church at 4 meeting in church. We’ll be thinking about our church’s patron saint – John the Baptist. All ages welcome.  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)

The booking link for church at 4 this week is:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/church-at-4-a-contemporary-all-age-service-tickets-155616010677?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

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. 

Your Parish Church – moving forward survey

As we begin to look beyond the pandemic, we need to consider how we might move forward as a church. We are seeking to discern the direction that God wants us to take; we will do this through prayer and reflection and by consulting with church members and our wider parish community. Please take a few minutes to complete the short ‘moving forward’ survey (7 questions). The survey is available via email and on Facebook (search for ‘Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish Church’). Paper copies can also be found at the back of church. Please return you survey before the 11th of July to the Parish Office or the box provided at the back of the church. Email responses can also be sent to: office@wroughton.com

The Hunter family

Chris and Sally have now moved into the curate’s house on Perry’s Lane, in preparation for Chris’ ordination on 4th July. We will officially welcome them at the 10am service on Sunday 11th July. Please pray for them as they settle into their new home. Please could you also add a prayer for school and nursery places to become available locally.

Churches count on nature…

Our Church at 4 nature survey last week recorded 51 plant species, plus 25 types of tree and whole host of birds and invertebrates in just 20 minutes! Looks like our churchyard is a bit of a biodiversity hotspot.

Wroughton Carnival

The Wroughton Carnival will be going ahead on July 3rd and we still urgently need volunteers for the afternoon and also on Friday 2nd. Please apply through the website or if that isn’t possible speak to Sally Parker.

Secondly, instead of a procession this year we are having a Fancy Dress competition between 12 and 2 on the Weirfield.  Judging will be at 2. Entries by 30th June. Please apply on the website or speak to Sally. 

Box tombs update

The observant may notice that two of our box tombs were dismantled and laid flat this week and the broken parts of another were stacked neatly. There is some more work still to do to make sure all of our tombs are safe, but this is unlikely to happen before April 2022 – we need to avoid Great Crested Newt season. We would like to try and apply for grants to cover the cost of this work. If you think you might be able to research this then please let Revd Phill know.

Parish Giving Scheme

You can now update your giving details directly on the website https://www.parishgiving.org.uk all your need is your parish giving reference number.  For further information or questions regarding the Scheme please speak to Nick Orman.

Hand Made Bags on Church Chest:

There is a small collection of lovely bags on the church chest, that have kindly been made by a member of our church.  Please have a look and do take one if you’d like one – they would make a nice gift. There’s a suggested donation of £5 for church funds, which can be placed in the offertory plate, or in the locked wall safe to the left of the south (main) door.  If the demand is there, I’ve been told more can be made available!  Many thanks, Helena 

Art and Poetry Trail 1st-8th August

We wish to join in the trail both at church and at the church hall, but we need your ideas.  Do you have a favourite piece of poetry, or a psalm you would like us to use, or do you have a piece of art that could safely be left in the churchyard?  Perhaps you could make some art out of recycled objects? Please let me have your ideas, we may not be able to use them all, but tell me anyway.  Barbara (tel.633024)

Knitting  for Charity

The Mission to Seafarers is unable to accept any hats or scarves at the moment so please put your knitting of these garments on hold for the time being.

If you would like to get involved in a local project you could be a Brighter Futures Blanketeer. The Brighter Futures charity at Great Western Hospital is asking for people to knit or crochet 6 inch (15cm) squares and thread in the wool tails. These will be assembled into 5ft by 4ft blankets for end of life patients. You may wish to assemble your own blanket in which case you are asked to add a butterfly to it and gently wash it before it gets passed to the hospital.

Alternatively either myself or a friend of mine are happy to assemble your squares into blankets so you can leave any completed squares (with the wool tails sewn in and washed please) in the usual box by the choir vestry in church.  Many thanks Janet Henderson 525856.

Parish Office

The office will be closed on Monday next week but open Tues, Wed, Thurs & Fri – 9am to 1.30pm.

And finally – A school recently placed this announcement on their website:

“Year six will presenting their interpretation of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ at 10am on Friday 23rd July – Parents are invited to come and watch this tragedy.”

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

July – Your electrical appliances

You can save around £30 a year just by remembering to turn your appliances off at the plug rather than leaving them in standby mode.

www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/energy-saving-quick-wins

Funerals

We commend to God’s care and keeping those who have, died recently James Scanlan, Jean Sidwell, John Ing, Peter Orman and Betty Hall.

The Parish Office, Priors Hill, Wroughton, SN4 0RT – Open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9am to 1.30pm

01793 812050  office@wroughton.com

Revd Phill Harrison – 01793 812301 vicar@wroughton.com  Church Twitter Account – @WroughtonWichel

Find us on Facebook – Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish Church

Please follow us for all the latest updates from Wroughton Parish Church.

 

Contemplative Prayer

So how do we do this contemplative prayer thing?

Let me start by saying there are many ways, none right or wrong but this is one example of a way in. 

When you are starting out you will need to practice and putting aside a specific time and place will help.

  • Find a quiet place to be.
  • Sit in a comfortable upright chair, feet on the ground and hands loosely on your lap.
  • Try to relax, breathing evenly and use an image of God, or a picture of creation (a tree, some flowers) or a lit candle to focus on. If you have a beautiful garden use that as your focus. You may want to close your eyes. Then choose a small piece of scripture to bring back your attention when it wanders, and it will. You may just want to repeat the name ‘Jesus’, or ‘my peace I give to you’ nothing too long.
  • Then just sit comfortably and repeat your scripture in time with your breathing and as you practice over time you will be able to concentrate for longer and you may find that the focus and the word are less important and you will slip into the presence of God.

Start with perhaps 10 mins a day and gradually extend to 30 mins. It may take weeks or months but as with all prayer persistence is good.

When you are practiced you will be able to slip into God’s presence at many different times and places.

The more you use this method of prayer the more you will be in tune with the mind of God and your other prayers will be more in line with his will.