ChadNet – no 22 – Sunday 23rd August 2020
Welcome to the 22nd edition of ChadNet – the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull.
View from the Pews:
It is now 5 months since lockdown started. While some things which were suspended are restarting they are not the same as before. We know that the restrictions on what we can do in church mean that our weekly act of worship continues to be Worship on the Web with some of the congregation together in church while others watch from home, either at the same time or later. We have not been able to ring the bells as the distances between the ropes means that we would only be able to ring three, or possibly four, of our eight bells and, of course, most of our ringers are in the age bracket which makes them more vulnerable. We have though been able to play the carillon, which normally plays 3 times a day, for a time before the Sunday service so all 8 bells are calling the faithful to worship.
The Annual Church Meeting, which was due to be held in April, was postponed because of the pandemic. As a result of that the terms of office of those who would be due for election at that meeting, including the churchwardens and deanery synod representatives, were extended. The lifting of the restrictions means that we should be able to hold the meeting on Sunday 11th October. There are in law two separate meetings – the Meeting for the Election of Churchwardens (which does what it says) and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (which does everything else). At those meetings there will be elections for Churchwardens, PCC members and Deanery Synod Representatives and there will be vacancies for at least one of each of these posts. For those who want to find out what is involved in those posts details are on the church website (here). Those who are on the Church Electoral Roll can vote at both meetings and those who are on the local government electoral roll are able to vote at the Meeting for the Election of Churchwardens. If you are not already on the Church Electoral Roll you can join by sending a completed application form to Michelle Pass – to be included for the Annual Meeting it must be received by Monday 14th September.
The Epistle set for today is Romans 12.1–8. In that St Paul refers to discerning the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. He then says “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” The church in Pattingham with Patshull is one body with many members. Among those members will be those whose gifts will enable them to fill the elected posts and others who can serve the church in other ways. With the Holy Spirit we can each discern the will of God for ourselves.
Stay safe and keep well
Geoffrey Dann
Face coverings in church
The wearing of face coverings is now mandatory. The requirement is the same as for shops and so those who are exempt from wearing them in shops are also exempt in church. Remember that they are mainly intended to protect other people, not the wearer, from coronavirus (COVID-19) and that they are not a replacement for physical distancing and regular hand washing.
Church open for private prayer
This week the church will not be open on Friday afternoon, as there is a funeral in the morning.
We normally aim to open the church for private prayer every Tuesday and Friday between 2.30 and 4.30 pm. We do not yet have a volunteer to act as steward for Tuesday – unless there is a volunteer we will not be able to open the church.
If anyone would like to volunteer for Tuesday or any future Tuesday or Friday please contact Maureen. The church calendar (which can be found on the church website at https://www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk/web/information/calendar/) will be updated to show that the church will be open when we have a volunteer to act as steward for that day.
Contacts
Maureen can be contacted by phone, text or email. (01902 700257 – 07812 805371 – )
Contact details for other church officers can be found on the Contacts page of the church website.
Communications in relation to ChadNet should be sent to
Sunday 23rd August – 11th Sunday after Trinity
The Worship on the Web service will be led by the Maureen. The theme is “What does the future hold for the Church?” The music will be provided by Greg and the virtual choir with members of the Youth Group. It will be screened in church as the main part of the service at 10 am. This will be followed by a brief service of Holy Communion for those who wish to stay.
The Worship on the Web service will also be available as usual on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 10 am. For those without internet access it will also be on the Dial a Service phone line (01902 906585) from 9 am – until then last Sunday’s service is on the phone line. The collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.
During the week Maureen will stream Morning Prayer and Compline (Night Prayer) on Facebook Live. Morning Prayer will be at 8.30 am and Compline will be at 9.30 pm (there will be no Compline on Friday).
The church may be open for private prayer from 2.30 to 4.30 pm on Tuesday if we have a volunteer to act as steward. It will not be open on Friday 28th August as there is a funeral in the morning.
Sunday 30th August – 12th Sunday after Trinity
The Worship on the Web service will be a Family / All Age service led by Maureen. The theme will be “Who said it would be easy?!” It will be screened in church as the main part of the service at 10 am, when it will be followed by a brief service of Holy Communion for those who wish to stay. It will also be on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 10 am.
The collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.
From the Memorial Book
Those whose anniversaries occur between 16th and 30th August.
Alan Anthony Guest – 18th August 1995
Marion Darlington – 22th August 1980
Alice Mary Bramall – 23rd August 1976
Tina Jandrell Poston – 23rd August 2011
Ethel May Haden – 24th August 1979
Joseph Caddick – 28th August 1979
Norah Patricia Chaplin – 28th August 2017
Dorothy Winifred James – 29th August 2010
You can see the pages of the Memorial Book for the second half of the year on the Memorial Book Online page of the Church website.
For those without internet access – listen to a Pattingham church service by phone
Several members of our congregation who do not use the internet are using the dedicated phone number – 01902 906585 – to listen to our services. Calls are charged at normal rate. The service for each Sunday will be available from about 9 am and will continue to be available until it is replaced be the next week’s. If you know someone who might find it useful please let them know.
The Daily Hope phone line from the Church of England on 0800 804 8044 is also available. It has been announced that this will continue beyond lockdown and has now received 173,000 calls from over 37,000 people – with calls topping more than two million minutes. (As a matter of interest our phone line has received 195 calls totalling over 3,000 minutes. Ours will also continue as long as it is needed.)
Virtual Sunday School
In the absence of our own Sunday School we encourage children and families to look at the Virtual Sunday School YouTube channel. A new Sunday School video comes out each Saturday. This week’s is Noah’s Ark, Jordan’s trip to the zoo & Origami!
They can all be found on the Sunday School on the Web page of our website as well as on YouTube.
The Virtual Holiday Club is still available on their YouTube channel and on the Virtual Holiday Club page of our website.
Other resources for worship and prayer at home
In these times we are all needing to find different ways to pray and worship. There are a lot of different resources which have been made available in lots of different ways. Some of those are listed on the Resources Available Online page of the website. This not anything like a complete list of everything which is available. We also now have a Resources Available for Children, Young People and Families page.
Maureen often shares inspirational posts on the Church Facebook page so it is worth looking at that from time to time.
If you have found something which you have found useful please send the details to so that it can be shared with others.
ChadNet
This bulletin is sent to those who have requested it. We now have 81 subscribers but there may still be some people who are not aware of it and would wish to receive it. If you know of anyone who might be interested please tell them about it and ask them to sign up using the form on the website (www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk/web/information/chadnet/sign-up-to-chadnet/) or by email to
Giving to the church
If you are paying by cheque please make the cheque payable to “Pattingham PCC” or “Pattingham Parochial Church Council”.
In the current circumstances there will inevitably be a reduction in the money which the church receives. However we will need to continue to pay our bills and we would ask that those who can afford to do so should continue to give regularly.
As we are now starting to hold services again it is possible to put money in the plate again. However with the current problems surrounding handling cash we would prefer that you consider one of the other ways of giving your offertory if you can. There are a number of other ways in which you can give to the church. These include the Giving Direct scheme, Just Giving, a standing order or even one off transfers to the church bank account. Details of all of these can be found on the Giving page of the website. Those who normally use the green or yellow envelopes may wish to continue to put their donations in the envelopes ready to bring to church when they are able to come to a service.
We have set up a JustGiving page to enable people to make one off donations. It’s at www.justgiving.com/pattingham-church. You will be asked if you want to make a contribution on top of your donation. If you do it will go to JustGiving and not to charity. If you do not want to make such a contribution select “other”. If you are a taxpayer please consider gift aiding your donation.
If you wish to make a payment by bank transfer the details of our bank account are: Account name: Pattingham Parochial Church Council – Sort Code: 20-97-78 – A/c No: 50655023. If you wish to gift aid it contact the Gift Aid Secretary or the Treasurer.
You can also now give by text.
Text PATT 5 to 70085 to donate £5 – texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message.
You can donate any number of pounds between £1 and £20. Just replace the 5 by the amount you want to give.
For a regular monthly donation text PATTREG 5 to 70085 to donate £5 per month – texts cost £5 plus two standard rate messages.Again you can donate any number of pounds between £1 and £20. Just replace the 5 by the monthly amount you want to give. Donors receive a receipt message every time they donate – this tells them how to cancel their donation should they wish – which is by texting STOP to 70085 at any time.
Changes due to the current situation
Although the church building is closed for public worship the church community remains active. Further details can be found on the church website. There is an update page which gives more information.
- The 2020 Scarecrow Festival has been postponed to 2021.
- This year’s Holiday Club has been cancelled.
- The Who’s for Lunch lunches are suspended for the time being.
The weekly bulletin for each Sunday will normally be sent on the preceding Friday or Saturday. Additional bulletins may be sent if required. It is only being sent to those who have requested it. If you know of anyone who might be interested please tell them about it and ask them to sign up using the form on the website (www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk/web/information/chadnet/sign-up-to-chadnet/) or by email to
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St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull Registered charity no 1151604