ChadNet – no 339

ChadNet – no 339 – Sunday 20th September 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

Alan Smith

Most of us will have experience with debt, taking on a mortgage, student loan, credit cards and so on. Countries also take out loans to invest in public services and infrastructure.

The UK, along with most developed countries, has sovereign debt which is mainly borrowed internally from the Bank of England and in pound sterling. Some 70% of UK debt is internal via gilts for as long as thirty years (source: Office of National Statistics), hence the money stays in the UK economy.

The majority of low income countries’ debt is owed externally to foreign lenders, therefore the money leaves the country. The debt is also owed in US dollars and other foreign currencies so there is also an exchange rate risk. In 2024, net interest payments on public debt reached $921bn, an increase of 10% on 2023 (source: UN Trade & Development). The debt is much shorter term and has high interest rates, often meaning it cannot be repaid so is rolled over at even higher rates. This results in an ever-spiralling cycle of debt with further cutbacks to healthcare, education and other essential services. Click the following link to see a video, created with Project Everyone in partnership with CAFOD, which exposes this broken system by reframing it through a familiar lens: the payday loan advert: Nice and Serious | Meet the World’s Loan Sharks – Campaign Film

The Jubilee 2000 campaign was founded in the 1990’s by Dr Martin Dent and contributed to the cancellation of $120bn of debt owed by 37 of the world’s poorest countries (source: Keele University). This enabled countries to reduce poverty and fund health and education programmes. However, since the financial crash in 2008, recurring shocks, including Covid, the climate crisis and Ukraine war, have further exacerbated inequality and entrenched poverty.

With 90% of the debt owed by low income countries to private lenders and hedge funds governed by English law, the UK is in a unique position to drive systemic change (source: International Development Committee, UK Parliament).

The Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill is a proposed private member’s bill designed to limit how much commercial creditors and ‘vulture funds’ can extract from countries, aligning them with international relief frameworks.

The original bill ran out of parliamentary time in May this year but has been reintroduced for the new session. It is important that MPs are aware of this bill and support it. If you feel strongly about this issue, please raise it with your local MP. For Pattingham it is or you can find your local MP at https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

Alan Smith

(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. 

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 20th September – Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

At 10 am there there will be a service led by the Youth Group in church. This will be followed by a short service of Holy Communion, led by the Vicar, to which you are all most welcome. Coffee, tea and biscuits will be available after the service.

At 6.30 pm there will be a service of Evensong, led by Iain Coleman, in church.

In the Parish Prayer Diary we pray for:
St Chad’s School and the other schools attended by children in the parish.

In the Trysull Deanery Prayer Diary we pray for:
Holy Cross, Bilbrook.

This week

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

On Monday children from St Chad’s School will be coming in to church for Experience Harvest, which offers an interactive way to explore the rich harvest of our land and the spiritual harvest of our lives.

On Monday at 2.00 pm there will be a service for the International Day of Peace at Tettenhall Wood United Reformed Church, Mount Road, Tettenhall Wood. It will be followed with light refreshments. Everyone is welcome.

This is not a week when the Prayers for Peace group meets but some members of the group will be in church on Tuesday at 6 pm to say prayers. Anyone is welcome to join them.

On Wednesday the school Harvest service will take place at 9.15 am in church.

After the service the church will remain open as a Place of Welcome  with tea and coffee and chat for anyone who wants, whether they have been to the service or not. 

After that the usual Wednesday morning Communion service, led by the Vicar, will take place at about 10.30 am.

On Wednesday at 12 noon Who’s for Lunch? is held in the Village Hall.

At 6 pm on Wednesday the Pattingham Shower Singers meet in church. If you haven’t yet ventured in but would like to, why not give it a try?  No charge, no commitment, just lots of 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.

On Friday at 7.00 pm the Harvest Supper takes place in the Village Hall.

Sunday 27th September – Harvest Thanksgiving

At 10 am there will be an All Age Communion service for Harvest, led by the Vicar, in church. Coffee, tea and biscuits will be available after the service.

At 6.30 pm there will be an Evening Communion Service for Harvest, led by the Vicar, in church.

Those attending either service are encouraged to bring harvest gifts
which will be presented for blessing during the service and will then
be donated to The Well foodbank. See below for a list of items which they are asking for.

In the Parish Prayer Diary we pray for:
Farmers and those who are involved in producing food.

In the Trysull Deanery Prayer Diary we pray for:
St Michael & All Angels, Himley.

The North Aisle project

The faculty for the reordering of the North Aisle has been granted. The process for obtaining tenders from contractors for the work required has begun. Once that has been done we will have a clearer idea of when the actual work will start.

We are all looking forward to the exciting next step in the development of our church.

We’d love you to come …

On Saturday 3rd October 2026 at 2.30 pm
DAVE SAMPSON and ANN WALKER are getting married.

If you would like to join us for this happy, informal WEDDING CEREMONY please come to
St Chad’s Church, Pattingham.

We hope to see you there!

Dave and Ann

God’s Creation – a thanksgiving service for all our pets

The 10 am service on Sunday 4th October is being led by Henry Ibberson and Alan Smith. It will be a thanksgiving service for all our pets. There will not be a Communion service.

Come and join us for this wonderful celebration – and bring your pets! The service will be for all the family to enjoy. If your pet is shy, or too big or small to come – bring a photo!

As usual coffee, tea and biscuits will be available after the service.

Currency appeal

The heatwaves are over and holiday memories are fading.

You will recall that two years ago our currency appeal raised over £160 for the Well food bank. If you have spare notes and coins stuffed in a drawer, no matter how old (obsolete currency is acceptable), please put it into the well, in a separate bag, at the rear of the church. 

Happy hunting!

Alan Smith

Poppies

To all the wonderful Poppy Makers

To all the wonderful Poppy Makers

Could we please have all your poppies delivered to church by
Saturday 26th September? There will be a container in church. Please put your name on the bag containing your precious poppies. Until this time we will not know the total of poppies we have and therefore how big the installation can be.

Attaching the poppies to the netting will commence in the Village Hall Committee Room on Sunday 4th October from 2 pm to 4 pm. If anyone would like to assist in this process your help would be gratefully appreciated and of course refreshments will be available (please contact me 07084 039330 to confirm either by text or voicemail).

With the Biggest Thank You from Tracey.

The Well – the Wolverhampton Food Bank

The Well

Harvest gifts will once again be donated to the Well foodbank to provide food and essentials for those who are in desperate need. Please give as generously as you are able.

Harvest Festival Shopping List

Please choose one or more items from this list to donate to the Well.

  • UHT milk
  • Cereal
  • Tea or coffee
  • Sugar
  • Jam or spreads
  • UHT squash or fruit juice
  • Tinned meat or fish
  • Dried pasta, rice or noodles
  • Pulses or couscous
  • Tinned soup
  • Tinned vegetables
  • Jars of pasta or cooking sauce
  • Tinned fruit, puddings or custard
  • Snacks or biscuits
  • Nappies – sealed packets, sizes 4, 5 or 6
  • Baby wipes or toiletries
  • Baby food with a long use-by date
  • Women’s and men’s toiletries
  • Household cleaning products

Please note: We can only receive food that is within its use-by or best-before date.

Thank you for supporting The Well.

<www.thewellwolverhampton.co.uk>

Dementia Friendly Church

Weekly Prayer 

Becoming Dementia Friendly Church

am but a child, not in body but sometimes in my mind.
I might not always be aware,
But Lord I know somewhere you are there.
On the days I am far away.
You are with me,
Each and every minute through the day.
I offer up a daily prayer,
One of love to those who care,
Those who meet my daily needs,
For which I might not always show I`m pleased.
Lord when my days are up and down,
To you I talk and pray,
You give me strength, you reassure,
You guide me on my way.
Without you, how would I get through?
Just let your love shine like a light through my fog,
Oh Lord I do love you.
Amen

(Share a prayer author unknown)

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 13th and 27th September.

Phyllis Mabel Price – 13th September 2007
Annie Mary Caddick – 13th September 2011
Jonathan Hassall – 13th September 2019
Reginald John Henshaw – 14th September 2006
Jan Zdanowski – 14th September 2011
Spencer William Ohm – 14th September 2011
George Price – 15th September 1961
Peter John Curtis – 15th September 2005
Dorothy Caddick – 17th September 2007
Dorothy Lavender – 18th September 2016
Harry Colin Robinson – 18th September 2021
Jack Bennett – 19th September 1990
A. H. Norman Harris – 20th September 2004
Barbara Agnes Roberts – 20th September 2021
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

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“.

JustGiving

We have a JustGiving page to enable people to make one off donations. It’s at <https://www.justgiving.com/page/pattingham-church-jg>. 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.

ChadNet

This bulletin is sent to those who have requested it. We now have 168 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