ChadNet – no 27 – Sunday 27th September 2020

Welcome to the 27th edition of ChadNet – the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull.
Harvest Thanksgiving – Sunday 27th September

The service will be held on the Playing Field at 10 am.
Please wear a face covering and observe social distancing while you’re on the field.
Please use the hand sanitiser which will be available at the entrance.
Seats will not be provided but you are welcome to bring your own.
Printed orders of service will be available so you can join in the service. Please take it home to keep or recycle.
Although we hope that the choir will be singing to comply with current guidance no one else should sing.
There will not be a collection but we would encourage people to make their own donations to the Good Shepherd and/or The Well (see below for details).
For those who do not wish to attend a recorded version of the service will be available on the Worship on the Web page of the church website from 10 am. It will also be on the Dial a Service phone line (01902 906585) from 9 am. There will be no service in church.
The readings for this service and the collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.
View from the Vicarage

Well hello again! And many, many thanks to the various members of the PCC who have been taking a turn at writing something for ChadNet over the last few weeks. I have greatly enjoyed reading them and it brings it home what a very gifted congregation we have in Pattingham!

This week is Harvest. A strange Harvest as with everything else this year, but we are planning on marking the event as well as we can by moving our service out of doors and closer to the community at large. Let’s just pray for good weather! We are also continuing to publish our service online as well, and I have really enjoyed putting it all together this week. The order of service we will be using on the field has a quotation from Psalm 126. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy!”
That seems particularly appropriate and not a little poignant this of all years. There are tears of frustration and anger around at the restrictions under which we are living at present. Yet we know that they are necessary for the protection of us all. Public Health constraints try the patience of us all, but we have been so fortunate in Pattingham – (So far! ) – with relatively few cases of Coronavirus in the community. At the Governors’ Meeting (by video-conference of course!) last night, we heard how our children are having as little disruption to their schooling as possible. But at the same time we are aware that older children, attending school outside of this parish, may not have such a smooth experience as the Virus is more rampant. But there will be no gathering of children in church for their Harvest service and we are strongly encouraging gifts to be made in money this year, rather than tins and packets – details are given further down this email. And I know everyone is finding it difficult and expensive at present, but do consider if you can give – our foodbanks are desperately in need.
We also cannot sing our songs of joy in public – although it is good that at least we can have a small choir singing (in suitably distanced groups of 6 of course).
We have enjoyed a lovely September so far – which certainly helps – and although the temperature is now dropping, Clear, crisp autumnal days are a joy and something we can all be thankful to God for. As the children would normally be singing at the tops of their voices…
“Autumn days when the grass is jewelled
And the silk inside a chestnut shell.Jetplanes meeting in the air to be refuelled.All these thing I love so wellSo I mustn’t forgetNo, I mustn’t forget.To say a great bigThank YouI mustn’t forget”
We must not forget – especially in the midst of all the frustration – just how fortunate we all are.
Thanks be to God!
Maureen
PS I am also pleased and thankful to be able to tell you that during October and part of November we shall have Ian Budd on placement with us at St Chad’s. Ian and his wife recently moved back to Pattingham, and Ian is currently in the process of discernment which may lead eventually to ordination. We are happy and honoured to be able to encourage him in exploring his calling and you may well see and hear from him in the weeks to come.
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
Link to Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal

The Link to Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal is open for this year and running as normal. We hope that we can, in these difficult times, do something to help these people for whom life really is a struggle.
Information is in the October magazine and on the church website at https://www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk/web/news-and-events/shoe-box-appeal-2020/ or contact Barbara Tritton (01902 700065)
Boxes need to be with Barbara by 1st November.
Harvest gifts
We cannot collect the usual gifts of food and produce this year but would encourage everyone to make their own donations of food or money, or both, to the local food banks.

The Good Shepherd was established in 2003 to address poverty, homelessness and inequality in Wolverhampton. After starting as a soup kitchen supporting a few hundred individuals the Good Shepherd grew to a service that provides support services, hot meals, and food parcels to over 3500 registered clients.
Donations can be made by bank transfer to :
Good Shepherd Services
Barclays Bank
Sort code 20 97 90
Acc no 23816540
Other ways to donate and details of how to donate food can be found on the Good Shepherd Website

The Well is a Christian charity with a passion to show Jesus’ heart of love for the poor across the City which provides food parcels and essentials for those who are in desperate need.
Donations can be made by bank transfer to:
Bank: HSBC
Acct Name:The Well
Sort code: 40 47 11
Acct no: 32772760
Other ways to donate and details of how to donate food can be found on The Well website
This week
During the week Maureen (or occasionally Ken) 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 will be open for private prayer on Tuesday and Friday between 2.30 and 4.30 pm if a volunteer is available. If anyone would like to volunteer for Tuesday or Friday this week or in a future week 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.
On Wednesday there will be a service of Holy Communion according to the Book of Common Prayer in church at 10.00 am.
Sunday 4th October – 17th Sunday after Trinity
The Worship on the Web service will be a Family Service led by Gladys Jones. The service in church at 10 am will include a Thankgiving for Birth as well as the Worship on the Web service. 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 20th September and 4th October.
A. H. Norman Harris – 20th September 2004
Malcolm Harris – 21st September 2003
Thomas Henry Ray – 23rd September 2016
Kenelm Henry Forshaw Rose – 24th September 2000
Mollie Lucy Mallett – 26th September 1996
Reginald Oswald Dearn – 27th September 1993
Ivy Evans – 27th September 2001
Edna Elizabeth Bristow – 28th September 2008
David Simpson – 1st October 2002
John Edward Lavender – 1st October 2018
George Weaver – 3rd October 1930
Stephen Young – 3rd October 2018
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.
Annual church meeting
The annual church meeting will be held on Sunday 11th October at 11.15 am in church.
Elections will be held for Churchwardens, Deanery Synod Representatives and PCC Members. Details and reports can be found on the PCC Reports page of the website.
Because a number of existing members will be standing down and not seeking re-election we do need others to come forward for some of those positions. Please consider whether you would be able to serve the church in one of those roles. Three existing members of the PCC share some thoughts below.

Hello, there are so many things we are encouraged not to do during these Covid-19 times, but one of the things we have been doing is the new “elbow nudge” instead of greeting by shaking hands. I am writing today to give you all a very gentle “elbow nudge” and greetings from the PCC.
We currently have a number of vacancies and this is a time of opportunity for you to consider joining our PCC, so I am sharing with you part of my personal journey. I know I am not the best worker and certainly not the best Christian; I am not the first (second or third) person you would ask to join a quiz team and I considered I would have little to offer the PCC. I was also of the view that there were dozens of people with better skills than myself all wanting to join. However, after talking with Vicar Maureen I took the plunge and was a very hesitant joiner.
I have found I am not the oldest on the PCC and neither am I the youngest; I am not the person overflowing with ideas but I do have a few; I thoroughly enjoy being part of the team and feel my experience of being on the PCC is part of my growth. My understanding of how our Church works has developed and I have found that my own ideas grow as I have heard others share their thoughts. We are here to listen, learn, pray and do whatever is needed on our Christian journey to support the work of St Chad’s, so take a moment and consider joining us.
Please take the plunge and contact Maureen or any member of the PCC and maybe I shall meet you soon at a PCC meeting.
God bless and stay safe,
Dorothy Steel

I seem to have been on and off the PCC for as long as I have lived in Pattingham, (43 years). When we came to the village Chrissie and I went to church as a first stop to meet people. We were welcomed enthusiastically, we soon became involved in church and village life despite living on the outskirts.
We have both served as church wardens and been actively involved in activities such as the church fete, scarecrow festivals and the Bells run. We are all so lucky to live in this glorious part of the country on the Staffordshire / Shropshire border and yet only 4 miles from the centre of Wolverhampton.
When I came to work in Bridgnorth, we first thought we would like to live west of the river Severn. We could not find anything suitable and out of desperation found a house in Great Moor Road. Here we still are in a house Chrissie did not even get to go inside before we bought it. She was heavily pregnant and her father just drove her by so she could just see its position. It was a good decision, especially when we were able to buy the field at the bottom of the garden and start rearing shetland sheep.
God bless and stay safe,
Colin Ringrose

What does a PCC do?
The church is there to serve and care for people within the parish and allow people to attend services for worship as well as events such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals etc. In simple terms, the PCC works as a group and co-operates with the minister to ensure these things take place in an organized manner throughout the year.
As a PCC member you are involved in discussing many things including the running of the church, its finances, maintenance of its buildings and the churchyard, and its responsibilities to the diocese and the Church of England. Another key factor is planning for mission and how the church can help others beyond the parish.
Who will I meet?
Vicars, Archdeacons, Bishops, and lots of people within the parish from all different walks of life. In many instances you find you have mutual friends so that makes it even better. Everyone on the PCC is there for God, the Church and the Parish and you will always get a friendly welcome and plenty of assistance in whatever you undertake.
What benefits do I get personally?
The joy of knowing that your helping to care for people’s wellbeing, sharing the good news of Jesus with them, and reaching out to other Christians. Lots of new acquaintances and a regular supply of tea and cake if you want it (circumstances and diet permitting).
Clive Pendrell
Resources for worship and prayer at home
Some of resiources which can be used at home are listed on the Resources Available Online and the Resources Available for Children, Young People and Families pages of the website.

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 Hero of the Faith: Elisabeth Elliot
They can all be found on the Sunday School on the Web page of our website as well as on YouTube.
ChadNet
This bulletin is sent to those who have requested it. We now have 82 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
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. Details of the various ways in which you can give can be found on the Giving page of the website.
If you are paying by cheque please make the cheque payable to “Pattingham PCC” or “Pattingham Parochial Church Council“.
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