ChadNet – no 310

ChadNet – no 310 – Sunday 1st March 2026

ChadNet - the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull

Welcome to this week’s edition of ChadNet – the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull.

In this week’s ChadNet:

View from the Pews

Man with light

This interesting meditation appeared in the Facebook feed. 

It seems appropriate to share it as a View from the Pews in Lent.

Iain Coleman

I don’t want to be a Christian
who forgets how to feel—
who hides behind answers,
quotes verses like shields,
and silences sorrow
with a song.
 
I don’t want a faith
of romanticised abstraction,
where resurrection is polished
and the cross is theory.
Give me something real—
flesh and blood,
grief and grace.
 
I want to weep
with eyes wide open.
Tears that speak truth.
Tears that rise
from the ground of compassion,
from the jagged knowledge
that the world is not
as it was meant to be.
 
I have seen it—
the wounded souls,
the haunted eyes,
the bruises beneath the surface.
I have felt the weight
of injustice
that crushes and isolates,
while the world looks away.
These are not tears of despair—
but of resistance,
of aching love,
of holding the pain
when no one else will.
 
I want a hope
that isn’t saccharine.
Not hopium.
Not denial in disguise.
But a defiant, dirt-under-the-fingernails
kind of hope—
the kind that walks through the valley,
sits in the ashes,
and still whispers,
“Even here… God.”
 
I want a gospel
that holds the wound.
A Christ who draws close,
a Spirit who groans,
a God who gathers every tear
in a bottle,
holds every sorrow
like a fragile flame,
and knows
what it is to break.
 
I want to believe—
not cheaply,
not loudly—
but with trembling trust,
that one day,
every tear
will be wiped away.
Not erased,
but remembered,
redeemed,
and transfigured.
 
Until then,
let me be the kind
who weeps.
Who walks in holy realism.
Who holds vigil
in the shadow of the cross
and waits,
with aching hope,
for the dawn.

– Rev’d Jon Swales

(As always this View is the personal view of the author.)

Would you like to write a View from the Pews?

We welcome contributions for View from the Pews from anyone who would like to write one. It does not need to be on any particular subject. If you would like to write one please send it to or contact Henry Ibberson ( / 01902 701136).

.Contacts

The Vicar’s post is half time so Merry will not be working every day. Her usual working days are Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday but this is subject to change. Her phone number is 07486 066065 and her email address is  When she is not working she will not normally answer the phone, listen to messages or respond to emails. 

Calls to  the old phone number (01902 700257) are forwarded to Merry’s phone.

Emails to will be received by the churchwardens.

Contact details for church officers can be found on the Contacts page of the church website. You can use if you are nore sure who to contact and the churchwardens will be able to forward it to the correct person.

Notices, which should be received by Friday afternoon for inclusion in that week’s ChadNet, and other communications in relation to ChadNet should be sent to

Articles for the magazine should be sent to 

Sunday 1st March – Second Sunday of Lent

At 10 am there will be a Family Service, led by Iain Coleman, in church. It will be followed by a short service of Holy Communion, led by the Vicar. Coffee, tea and biscuits will be available after the service.

At 12 noon the Baptism of Phoebe May Smith takes place in church.

In the afternoon the PCC meets for an Awayday reviewing the Mission Action Plan.

In the Parish Prayer Diary we pray for those who live and work in:
Westbeech Road, College Farm Close, Patshull Road.

In the Trysull Deanery Prayer Diary we pray for:
All Saints Trysull.

This week

The church will be open every day. Look out for the “church open” sign outside the porch.

Monday is St Chad’s Day.

On Tuesday Prayers for Peace will be said in church at 6 pm. Please do join us and if you would like more information please contact Mary Hayward ().

On Wednesday at 10.00 am there will be a service of Holy Communion according to the Book of Common Prayer, led by the vicar, in church which will be followed by tea, coffee and cake.

After the service the church will be open from 10.30 am until at least 11.00 am as a Place of Welcome when anyone who wants to will be welcome to share in the coffee, cake and chat, whether they have been to the service or not. Those attending will receive a warm welcome.

At 6 pm on Wednesday the Pattingham Shower Singers meet in church. All are welcome – just come and sing and have fun! If you need more information, contact Alix at . At 7 pm on Wednesday Choir Practice takes place in church. Anyone interested in joining the choir should contact Martin Fox or any member of the choir.

Sunday 8th March – Third Sunday of Lent

At 10 am there will be a service of Holy Communion, led by the Vicar, in church. Coffee, tea and biscuits will be available after the service.

At 12.30 pm the Baptism of Ada Starling takes place in church.

At 6.30 pm there will be aService in the Iona style, led by Iain Coleman, in church.

In the Parish Prayer Diary we pray for those who live and work in:
Patshull Park, Farm Road, Rushey Lane, Patshull Gardens, Patshull Lane.

In the Trysull Deanery Prayer Diary we pray for:
St Chad, Pattingham.

Century Club

The winners of the February Century Club draw were: 

  • 1st Prize – £150
    • Mike and Rosemary Moss – ball 3
  • 2nd Prize – £100
    • Clive Pendrell – ball 85
  • 3rd Prize – £50
    • Judith Mackriel – ball 34

Congratulations to all of them.

The Well – the Wolverhampton Food Bank

The Well

The Well continues to need our donations and prayers. The box remains at the rear of the church for donations of food and toiletries and the wishing well for donations of cash.

Thank you for your generosity.

If you wish to know more about the work of The Well, or would like to know how you can support it in other ways, do connect via their website, where you can sign up to the newsletter and link to their Social Media pages: <www.thewellwolverhampton.co.uk>

Dementia Friendly Church

Weekly Prayer 

Becoming Dementia Friendly Church 2024-25

Prayer for Alzheimer`s

Dear Lord
Your word says that you will keep the minds of those who fixate on you in perfect peace.  At times it is hard to recollect certain things and it is a struggle to push through this condition, but we thank you for being our everlasting peace. We pray that you are always at the centre of our mind, because when we have you we have everything.  Your divine peace is what surpasses all understanding.
Amen

 (guidedbyprayer.com)

If you would like to suggest (or write) a prayer for inclusion in this series please let Tracey Williams, our Dementia Friendly Church Co-ordinator, know.

From the Memorial Book

Those whose anniversaries occur between 22nd February and 8th March.

Victor James Jordan – 22nd February 2009
Tom Knight – 23rd February 1997
Kathleen Simpson – 23rd February 1999
Teresa Margaret Richards – 23rd February 2002
Iris Freda Thomas – 25th February 2004
Thomas Lockley – 26th February 1974
John Barry Hebditch – 26th February 1998
Simon Andrew Mackriel – 27th February 2019
Lily Bates – 28th February 1997
Jocelyn Ida Alice Mayne – 28th February 1999
James Andrew Potts – 28th February 2007
Andrew Woodroffe – 1st March 1976
Edith Margery Whitty – 2nd March 1999
Gordon Frederick Roberts – 3rd March 2010
Roy Meredith Wilcox – 5th March 2016
Valerie Ann Edwards – 6th March 2024

You can see all the pages of the Memorial Book on the Memorial Book Online page of the Church website.

Giving to the church

Details of the various ways in which you can give can be found on the Giving page of the website.

You can make a bank transfer to our bank account (Account name: Pattingham Parochial Church Council – Sort Code: 20-97-78 Account No: 50655023).

If you are paying by cheque please make the cheque payable to “Pattingham PCC” or “Pattingham Parochial Church Council“.

ChadNet

This bulletin is sent to those who have requested it. We now have 155 subscribers but there may still  be some people who are not aware of it and would wish to receive it. 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

St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull Registered charity no 1151604