Easter Day
TODAY
6.15am SONRISE at Barbury Castle
8am HOLY COMMUNION in Church
10am HOLY COMMUNION in Church and on YouTube
2pm to 4pm WARM SPACE ON SUNDAYS in the Church Hall
NEXT WEEK
Tuesday 11th April 9.00am Morning Prayer in Church
Thursday 13th April 9.00am Morning Prayer in Church
Saturday 15th April 2.00pm Litter Pick – Meet at the Church Hall
Sunday 16th April
Easter 2
8am HOLY COMMUNION in Church
Preacher: Revd Barbara Abrey
Sidesperson: Alan & Christine Wrixon
10am MORNING WORSHIP in Church and on YouTube
Preacher: Sally Hunter / Tracy Mason
Reading: Acts 2. 14a, 22-32
Sidespersons: Alan & Kathy Gregory
12.30pm CHRISTENING SERVICE FOR BLAKE FISHLOCK
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.
Electoral Roll Revision 2023 – deadline approaching– revision period closes *24 April 2023*
Our annual church Electoral Roll revision runs from 27 Feb to 24 April 2023. 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 on 21st May 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 in church or from the Parish Office- tel 01793 812050 or email office@wroughton.com and completed forms must be returned to the Parish Office by 24 April.
Volunteers needed for churchyard
Would you be able to offer to help with some occasional grass cutting, strimming or light hedge trimming in the Garden of Remembrance and limited other areas of the churchyard? Some areas will need more regular maintenance than Swindon Borough Council can provide. If you think you could help please speak to Rev Phill, Helena Thomas or Janet in the Parish Office. Thank you.
Lower churchyard tap
Just to let you know that the tap in the Churchyard is now fixed! Many thanks to the volunteer who fixed it.
Children’s Society
Many thanks to The Children’s Society box holders, this year’s box opening has raised £261.75. If anyone would like to become a box holder, please speak to Carolyn Kirk or to donate to the work of The Children’s Society please call 0300 303 7000 or go to www.childrensociety.org.uk
Easter Rocks
Thank you to everyone who helped in any way at Easter Rocks on Monday, hosts, helpers and suppliers of food. The families who came had a great time and as the weather was good we could go outside too. See you all at the Duck Race on 1st May.
Litter Pick
We will be meeting on 15th April to collect litter from the edge of the village (including Brimble and Priors Hill). Please meet at the church Hall at 2 pm to join in. We will arrange another litter pick for the village centre in the near future.
Carnival Saturday 8th July
This year Community Engagement and Open the Book have decided to combine to enter a walking float in the Carnival Procession. The theme is ‘gardening and growing’ so we have decided that we will represent the ‘Garden of Eden’ We will have plants and animals (snake) but no Adam and Eve. If you are available and able to walk the route, or able to help to make plants etc. please contact Barbara.
RAIN GARDEN AND PLANTERS
Our new rain garden and planters are set up and working, but we need some more plants. If you are splitting any perennial plants in the next few weeks we’d be very glad if you could share some pieces with us. Please speak to Joan Orman for more information.
Knitting for Charity
If you would like a change from knitting squares or hats and gloves, consider making a blanket for the Neonatal unit at GWH. Blankets should be made from soft baby wool, not fluffy or glittery. They should be one piece, size 25 x25 inches and tightly knitted so there are no holes to entangle tiny fingers and toes. Any questions call Janet 01793 525856. Thank you.
Eco Top Tips – practical ways to take better care of God’s creation
April – In the bathroom
- Spend less time in the shower. Spending one minute less in the shower each day will save up to £7 off your energy bills each year, per person. Heating water uses a lot of energy. energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/energy-saving-quick-wins
- Turn off the tap while cleaning your teeth. The clean water that flows out of your tap needs energy in many stages of processing and transport before it gets to the tap. Don’t waste it!
Funerals
We commend to God’s care and keeping those who have, died recently, Peter Rice. We pray for all those who mourn the loss of a loved one.
Church Office
The Office will be shut from Friday 7th April and reopen on Wednesday 12th April. Janet
| 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. |
Liturgical colours in church
Some people have been asking about the colours of the cloths and different things around church after they all changed to purple since the start of Lent. You can see this on the altar frontals, the vestments of the ministers and other hangings. This is because in some churches, including the Church of England, certain times of the year are represented by different colours. There is a lot of symbolism involved, but here is a brief guide!
There are four main colours used during the year (with extras for special days like using rose/pink on Gaudete Sunday in Advent and for Mother’s Day in Lent):
White is used for “festal periods” from Christmas Day to the Presentation of Christ (Candlemas) and from Easter Day to the Eve of Pentecost, for Trinity Sunday and some extras like All Saints’ Day and the festivals of saints not venerated as martyrs. It is also used for Marriages and is suitable for Baptism, Confirmation and Ordination. White symbolises purity.
Gold is sometimes used instead of white, particularly for Christmas, Easter and Trinity Sunday. This represents royalty and splendour.
Red is used during Holy Week (except at Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday, when White is used), on the Feast of Pentecost, may be used between All Saints’ Day and the First Sunday of Advent and is used for the Feasts of those saints venerated as martyrs. It is appropriate for any services which focus on the gift of the Holy Spirit, and is therefore suitable for Baptism, Confirmation and Ordination. Coloured hangings are traditionally removed for Good Friday and Easter Eve, but red is the colour for the liturgy on Good Friday. It is used to symbolise sacrifice, hence the connection with Jesus’ passion and with the death of martyrs.
Purple is the colour for Advent and from Ash Wednesday until the day before Palm Sunday. These are times when the church particularly focuses on reflection and preparation. It was historically a colour that represented great wealth, as purple dye was very expensive to produce. For this reason, Jesus was clothed in a purple cloak when he was mocked and beaten before his crucifixion, which feeds into our use of it in these seasons. Purple has come to represent suffering and penitence.
Green is used from the day after the Presentation until Shrove Tuesday, and from the day after Pentecost until the eve of All Saints’ Day, except when other provision is made. It may also be used, rather than red, between All Saints’ Day and the First Sunday of Advent. These times are “Ordinary Time” because they are numbered ordinally, so we count “the first Sunday after Trinity” and so on. It symbolises hope, life and growth.
As with so much of what we do, the use of colour is intended to symbolise aspects of our worship and enhance what we do in church. These things should help us to reflect on different parts of the story of the bible and of what God has done for us and continues to do for us.
