Sunday next before Lent
TODAY
8am HOLY COMMUNION in Church
10am HOLY COMMUNION in Church and on YouTube
2pm to 4pm WARM SPACE ON SUNDAYS in the Church Hall
6.30pm JOINT CHORAL EVENSONG WITH CHRIST CHURCH
Our choir will be joining with the choir of Christ Church for a service of choral evensong on Sunday 19th February at 6:30pm in Christ Church, Old Town. Revd Phill will be preaching. We hope be able to invite the Christ Church choir back to Wroughton in the near future
NEXT WEEK
Tuesday 21st February 9.00am Morning Prayer in Church
Wednesday 22nd February 7.30pm Ash Wednesday Service in Church
Our Ash Wednesday service will be at 7:30pm on Wednesday 22nd February. This will be shorter more contemplative type of service to mark the beginning of the season of lent and will include the imposition of ashes. We will sit together in the choir stalls.
Thursday 23rd February 9.00am Morning Prayer in Church
Friday 24th February 12-12.45pm Lent Lunches at St Joseph’s Church
SUNDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2023
LENT 1
8am MORNING PRAYER in Church
Preacher: Revd Chris Hunter
Sidesperson: Jean Reens and Christine Wrixon
10am HOLY COMMUNION in Church and on YouTube.
Preacher: Revd Chris Hunter
Intercessor: Dr John Godfree
Reading: Nehemiah 4. 1-9
Reader: Helen Toomer
Sidespersons: Rose Humphries and Pat Herring
Small Groups
If you would like to join a small group, please contact the leaders of the groups below and find out where there is space. We would love to have everyone involved in a small group.
| 22 Kellsborough Avenue | Mondays 10am-11.30
|
Lillian Wicks
Louise Bessent |
| 12 Artis Avenue | Tuesdays at 7.30pm | Carolyn Kirk |
| Church Hall | Alternate Tuesday evenings | Nick Orman |
| The Vicarage | Wednesday evenings during term time. | Karen & Phill Harrison |
| Church Hall | Saturday men’s breakfast | Mike Mason |
Live streaming the 10am service
The 10am service will be live streamed on You Tube. Please visit our YouTube Channel on https://www.youtube.com/@WroughtonWichelstoweParChurch (or search for Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish church) and press the ‘subscribe’ button.
THIS SATURDAY
Pancake Races 18th February
On Saturday 18th February we will be having Pancake Races.
We will have races for all ages in Willow Brook Gardens at 11.30 am
followed by fellowship and pancake eating in the Church Hall
from about midday.
Do encourage your friends and neighbours to come
(bring your own frying pan if you want to race)
and speak to Barbara if you can help with pancake cooking.
Warm Space on Sundays in the Church Hall
From January we will be opening up the Church Hall as a Warm Space between 2pm and 4pm on Sunday afternoons. The hope is that this will provide a social place for people to drop in and chat, have a cup of tea and maybe some cake. There might be board games and jigsaws for those that want to use them, but all very informal. Everyone is welcome, regardless of how warm your home actually is and whether you are a churchgoer or not. There will be a short voluntary act of worship at 4pm, but there is no pressure or obligation to stay for this.
Lent Lunches
Soup ~ Bread ~ Cheese
Tea Or Coffee
Every Friday during Lent at St Joseph’s Parish Centre, Devizes Road, Wroughton
From Friday 24th February, 12noon to 12.45pm – Donations for Christian Aid/Cafod
Everyone Welcome
‘Godspell’
SALOS are performing ‘Godspell’ in Christ Church on Friday 31st March 7.30pm and Saturday 1st April 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets – Adult £15; Child £10. www.SALOS.org / 07731 183857
The blessing of same-sex relationships
On the 9th Feb the General Synod of the Church of England backed proposals put forward by the Bishops to allow prayers of thanksgiving and blessing for same sex couples. The church’s position on gay marriage will not change and same-sex couples will still be unable to marry in church. Individual priests will be given the option to bless gay couples, but can also choose not to. Bishop Viv had already issued a statement setting out her own personal view and the reasons for it; you can find a copy of this here: https://www.bristol.anglican.org/news/bishop-of-bristols-statement-on-the-proposal-regarding-same-sex-relationships.php. Bishop Lee’s position differs slightly from Bishop Viv’s; where she would be in favour of further moves towards equal marriage in church, he keeps to the traditional understanding of marriage but is in favour of blessings for same sex couples. Bishop Lee has provided his personal reflections here: https://anglican.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d221cd85ffa568579da6cbafa&id=50bd11791d&e=afa01e6e14. These are complex issues and it is clear that there are prayerful and reflective Christians on all sides of the debate.
If you would like explore these issues further, please speak to one of the clergy. Revd Phill.
Parish Weekend at Home – date for your diary!
After the restrictions of the last couple of years, it is great to be able to plan for another Parish Weekend ‘at home’, which will take place on the weekend of our patronal festival – 24th and 25th June. This will be a joint event with Discovery Church. By joining together we have been able to book a great speaker for the Saturday morning (we will also get an opportunity to be ‘nosey’ and see inside their new church building on Markham Road…). Further details will be made available nearer the time, but for now please put the date in your diaries.
Traidcraft
Some of you will be aware that very sadly Traidcraft have gone in to administration. I have sold items from this company including Christmas cards and Easter eggs for many years and our coffee and tea also came from Traidcraft as we are a Fairtrade Church and I am very sad to see them go.
I have created an account with another Fairtrade company called Kingdom coffee, recommended by someone in our congregation, and we will be able to try this soon. I will look for a charity that sell Christmas cards for later in
| Nehemiah Chapter 3 – questions for small groups and reflection
1. Has God ever prompted you to take part in or lead a project that you hadn’t even thought about before? If so how did it make you feel and did it come to anything? If not, why do you think that is? 2. How does God speak to you? Directly in your prayers(thoughts/voices/visions) or through people or some other way? 3. Have you ever been part of a project that failed and if so do you know why it failed? 4. Nehemiah was rebuilding what was there before. If we are successful in rebuilding our worshipping community what will it look like in 10 years time? How will it be different from the church 100 years ago? 5. Do you think God is calling us as a church to do or be something different? If so, share what you think that may be.
|
the year. Sally Parker
Churchyard Maintenance
Churchyard maintenance is currently paid for through a combination of the income from burial fees and a grant from Wroughton Parish Council. Following the closure of the churchyard, we will be handing over responsibility for maintenance to Swindon Borough Council at the end of March this year. This means that we will sadly be making Kelvin, our Sexton, redundant. We have been speaking with Kelvin at every step of the way, so he is aware of the situation. SBC have advised that headcount freezes mean that they already have insufficient capacity in their grounds maintenance team to cover their existing work. We should therefore expect to see a very significant reduction in the standard of maintenance in the churchyard. Discussions about what this will look like are ongoing.
The Diocese are offering the following training opportunities:
Mental Health First Aid Training
One in four people each year experience mental health problems. In order to help churches respond well and be more mental health friendly The Diocese of Bristol are offering Mental Health First Aid Training. The courses that are currently available are: 21st Feb 22nd Feb 28th Feb AND 1st March – Online course 2pm-5:30pm or 18th and 19th April – Face to face 9am-5pm St Nicholas Church, central Bristol.
If you would like further information or an application form please contact: Mentalhealthfirstaid@bristoldiocese.org. We welcome applications from any church officers who feel it would be helpful and will have opportunity to use the skills in their church community.
Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Online Training
A short online course highlighting how we can recognise and respond to a concern about modern slavery or human tracking (MSHT) and how churches have an important role in raising awareness and taking action. It is available in the same place as the Basic and Foundation Safeguarding courses here: Safeguarding Training Portal (cofeportal.org)
Knitting for Charity
I am pleased to tell you that in 2022 we managed to send 10 blankets to Brighter Futures at Great Western Hospital. These are offered to patients in the end of life unit and their family can then take the blanket home after their loved one has gone. We have enough squares to get started on the first one for 2023 but please keep on knitting. Thank you so much for all your hard work.
Please remember squares should be in double knitting wool (no glitter) and 6inches(15cm) square. Please thread ends in before putting them in the box in church (near the choir vestry curtains).
We have also been able to send two boxes of hats and scarves to Mission to Seafarers after a long gap due to Covid restrictions. If you would like to knit hats and scarves they also can be left in the box in church, where you can also find patterns, and any donations of double knitting wool are gratefully received. Further details from Janet Henderson 525856.
Eco Top Tips – practical ways to take better care of God’s creation
February – Get to grips with your bills
- Install a room thermostat, a programmer and thermostatic radiator valves. Using these controls efficiently could save you around £75 a year.
- 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 Peter Still from Scotland who joined us regularly during lockdown on the telephone service. We pray for all those who mourn the loss of a loved one.
Floodlighting
The Church will be floodlit on Sunday 20th February by Pat Yule and family in memory of Ken Yule on what would have been his 96th birthday; On Thursday 23rd February by Helena Thomas, Holly Lentik & family in loving memory of Pete Thomas.
| 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 – Vicar 01793 812301 vicar@wroughton.com Revd Chris Hunter – Curate 01793 814987 curate@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. |
BS36 1SG Tel. 01454 777 728 | www.bristol.anglican.org
