Trinity 4, Sunday 5th July 2020  

From the clergy… Dear all 

I am really pleased to let you know we are                   opening St John’s Church doors for private             prayer on Tuesdays, 11am – 1pm. We will               review it after a couple of weeks to see if it is                       working or whether we have capacity to             expand opening times. And we will be             resuming Public Worship in church the first             Sunday in August, though we will have to operate a rota system as to services you may                                 attend due to number restrictions being at 30. So you may have to wait a little while for                                   your turn! This is a strange, unreal concept for us too. Let’s hope this transition period                               doesn’t take too long. We will of course continue recording services for those unable to                             attend. 

It seemed worth explaining how we intend to run opening for private prayer next week.                             We will have ten people in the building at any one time in the first instance, and two of us                                       will be present as stewards throughout to ensure safe distance and practice. 

Seating has been arranged to 2-metre distances, and one household or ‘bubble’ is allowed                           per pew. We cannot yet open for just a look round the church, only private prayer.                               Therefore we will keep the church silent and peaceful so that people can slip in and pray. I                                   am sorry that also means as clergy we can’t simply chat with you, but please phone us                                 anytime to do that! 

There will, unfortunately, be a ‘set of rules and safe practice’, which anyone coming in must                               adhere to. These include: waiting outside if more than ten people are already inside,                           sanitising hands as you enter and leave, following the one way system in and out of church                                 (in through usual south door, out through north door), only sitting on an empty pew,                             keeping the 2 metre distance. We hope to have a candle on each pew you might wish to                                   light before you leave, and place in the stand at the front as a prayer offering. Any candles                                   must be lit from another candle. We cannot share or use tapers or lighters. If there are                                 prayers you wish the clergy to also pray, please email us with them or phone us up, as we                                     cannot let anyone leave paper prayer requests in church. We are also unable to offer toilet                               facilities – please do note this. 

1

 

Having said all that, the doors are finally open, just a little bit, and you are very welcome!                                   You really are, even if how we have to do this feels strange. 

And we are so looking forward to welcoming you back into the building for worship on                               Sundays and Wednesdays from August. I will be writing to you all next week to ascertain                               who is ready to come back into a church gathering of 30, as I know many of you will need                                       

to make the decision to still stay away and give it a little                         longer. 

With love and blessings 

Revd Helen 

 

 

 THIS SUNDAY'S READING:  Matthew 11.16-19, 25-30  

 THE COLLECT FOR TRINITY 4 Gracious Father, by the obedience of Jesus you brought salvation to our wayward world: draw us into harmony with your will, that we may find all things restored in him,  our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.  A prayer from the Broadstone Methodists for Churches Together this week:  We pray for all those ‘super vulnerable’ people, those who are at a higher risk should they                                 catch the virus and who are being shielded in our community. We pray that there will be                                 many ‘Good Samaritans’ who will be willing to continue to help them in these continuing                             days of concern and uncertainty - whether it be by doing a bit of shopping or picking up a                                     prescription or even a chat on the phone. We pray that the generosity of spirit will always                                 continue.   News ✣ WORKING HOURS OF PARISH ADMINISTRATOR Whilst still working largely from                     home, Geraldine will now generally be available on the office telephone number Monday to                           Friday 11.30am - 12.30pm. She would be grateful if you could contact her there now rather                               than on her home phone number. Otherwise, please leave a phone message or email, and                             she will get back to you as soon as she can.  ✣ RIP Harold Searle. We have to report the sad news that Harold Searle died last                               Saturday, 27th June. His funeral will be held at Long Barrow, Harbour View at 1.30pm on                               Tuesday 14th July.  

2

 

 

 Weekly Update We began the Weekly Update in the first week of lockdown, and it has been good to stay in                                     touch through it – seeing pictures of one another’s gardens and craft activities has been a                               way of exchanging news about each other, and something to lift our spirits. At the moment                               we intend to continue it in this format.  

Geraldine in the office is now producing and editing the Update. Please now                         send any contributions to the office email address listed at the end of this                           Update. 

 At Home Last Week  

Here are the answers to last week’s Quiz: 

 

Islands Answers  1 Iceland 2 Christmas Island 3 Isle of Man 4 Solomon Islands  5 Rhodes 6 Virgin Islands 7 Greenland 8 Tasmania 9 Muck 10  Harris 11 Jersey 12 Crete 13 Eigg 14  Brownsea Island 15 Fursey Island 16 Mull 

 At Home This Week - Photo gallery 

3

 

 

Joy sent in this photo of her beautiful sweet peas  

 

This is Arthur from Breakfast Church. His mother, Debbie, had tried to persuade him to cool off all day - then he decided to take a dip in the evening, fully clothed!     

4

 

         

Chris sent this photo with the caption,  ‘Kitchen finished at last!’   

              Take care and have a good week everyone!        

Contacts 

Vicar Rev'd Helen Bailey 01202 691 484 revdhelenbailey@gmail.com  Assistant Curate  Rev'd Lyndon Webb 07872 651 981 revlyndonwebb@gmail.com   Parish Office 01202 697 641 office@stjohnschurchbroadstone.org.uk   

5