ChadNet – no 37 – Sunday 6th December 2020
Welcome to the 37th edition of ChadNet – the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull.
View from the Pews
“The bells of waiting Advent ring”!
I love the season of Advent so beautifully summoned in the first line of John Betjeman’s poem “Christmas”. I welcome the bright blue cold of some December days, the trees around our countryside bleakly, blackly, silhouetted like arboreal skeletons against the sky. A stillness in the air that seems to cleanse. And then those familiar Advent hymns, “Hills of the north rejoice”, “Hark the glad sound”, “Lo he comes with clouds descending” and so many more. The colour purple bedecks the church. A time of fasting, penance and preparation.
I find a strange sense of excitement about Advent, it is the start of a new Church’s year. A time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the second coming. A fresh start. The cycle begins again. But what further meaning might it have for us today?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, says “The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.”
In practical terms, in today’s time of a pandemic we may look forward to solutions, to an easing of the sorrows visited upon so many and now (with many fingers crossed) hope of vaccines that will confer protection. At a time when we await the coming of Christ it seems that this year we fervently hope and await a diminishing of the impact of Covid-19 on all lives. In this time of expectant waiting on several fronts may I share Matthew Kelly’s prayer?
“God of hope, I look to you with an open heart and yearning spirit. During this Advent season, I will keep alert and awake, listening for your word and keeping to your precepts. My hope is in you.”
Take care
Every blessing
Iain Oh! have you got a tortoise stove to light again?
Services in church resume this week
After the recent lockdown we are able to resume holding services in church, athough subject to the tier 3 restrictions. The church will be continue to be open for private prayer, although it will be closed after the service on Sunday.
As the church door will be open during services for ventilation purposes it is strongly recommended that those attending should wear warm clothing.
Nativity scenes
Here’s an idea. I am sure that lots of you have models of the Nativity at home? Why not make a point of putting them in a window for our children to spot as they walk around the village? Perhaps decorated with some Christmas lights? And the first dozen or so to send me a photo as proof and tell me where in the village you live, can claim a free lockdown star for your Christmas tree or wherever! (And if anyone else fancies knitting stars, let me know, I have the instructions!)
Maureen
Christingle
We have pre-recorded the service and it will be on the Worship on the Web page of the church website from our traditional time of 4pm on Sunday 13th December.
The video will also be shown in class at St.Chad’s School on Friday 11th December.
There will be a “goodie bag” for all the school children which will contain all that is needed to make a Christingle during the ‘crafty’ bit of the service. I invite anyone else who does not have a child at school in the village, but who would like to take part in the Sunday service, to collect a goodie bag from me outside the Church at 11 o’clock on the morning of the 13th December. (The number of these bags is obviously limited and they will be available only whilst stocks last)
If you have any queries about Christingle 2020 this year please give me a call on 700340. In the meantime I shall look forward to sharing our service with as many of you as possible over that weekend.
Chrissie Ringrose
Children’s Society Home Collection Boxes
I shall be outside Church for an hour from 11 o’clock on Sunday 13th December if you would like to drop off your box then, alternatively give me a call on 700340 and I can make arrangements to collect it from you personally.
In this difficult year I appreciate that ‘loose change’ has not been readily available but the Society does also accept notes or cheques …… made payable to The Children’s Society. Whatever you feel able to donate to help the Society care for vulnerable children and their families is most gratefully accepted – thank you so much.
Chrissie Ringrose
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 6th December – Second Sunday of Advent
The Worship on the Web service is a Family Service led by Sarah Yeomans. 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 be on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 10.00 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.
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 every day except Sunday. The times may vary depending when the keyholders are able to open and close the church. Look out for the “church open” sign outside the porch. Please observe the instructions in the notice on the door, which include the need to wear a face covering, using hand sanitiser and not going into the church if someine else is already in there.
On Wednesday there will be a service of Holy Communion according to the Book of Common Prayer in church at 10.00 am.
The Advent Bible Study Course on HOPE continues on Wednesday at 7 pm on Zoom.
Sunday 13th December – Third Sunday of Advent
The Worship on the Web service is a Lockdown Nativity led by the Youth Group. 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 available on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 10 am.
The Christingle service will be available on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 4 pm.
The collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.
Further ahead
Details of the Christmas services are on the Christmas cards which are being delivered to all homes in the parish.
The Christingle service will be online on Sunday 13th December (it will not be in church).
The Service of Nine Lessons and Carols will be screened in church on Thursday 17th and Monday 21st December at 7.30 pm. Booking is essential. It will be online on Sunday 20th December.
There will be a short Family Carol Service outside on the Playing Fields at 3 pm on Sunday 20th December.
The only services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be said services of Holy Communion – at 9 pm on Christmas Eve and 10 am on Christmas Day. Booking is essential.
Booking is essential for the services on 17th, 21st, 24th and 25th as there is a limit on the number of people who can be in church. To book your place phone Gena Richards on 01902 700188. You will need to give your name and how many will be attending. If they are not all from the same household (or extended support bubble) you will need to give the numbers for each household.If anyone is exempt from wearing a face covering, we need to know as that will affect the distance which has to be allowed between seats. Tickets will not be issued. It is likely that all seats will have been reserved in advance and so it is unlikely that there will be space for those who turn up without booking.
Advent Online
Advent Online is a set of resources to be used each day by individuals and clergy. There are five topics: music, scripture, tradition, art, and literature.
For each day of Advent, there will be an offering of music, visual, written, and scriptural content that will cover the themes of hope, peace, love, and joy; but equally not shying away from the themes of lament and waiting. Churches might directly share the resources to their parishes, or individual Christians might use the site for their own personal devotions.
The website is at https://adventonline.faith
Advent Bible Study Course
HOPE
Something we are all looking for in these difficult times. Advent is traditionally a time of looking forward, of anticipation, of hope.
Ian Budd and I would like to invite you to join with us over the four weeks of Advent exploring how we as Christians can understand the extra dimension our faith can and should bring to the seasonal hope for joy and love. As the author, John Birch, writes… “hope is … a source of energy to live differently, not according to the values of a society based on the thirst for possession and competition.”
Why not take a little time out to join us via Zoom, on the Wednesdays through Advent? Starting at 7pm on Wednesday 2nd December. You should be able to join by clicking on the link below, or send me an email () for help with joining.
Maureen
[Zoom session details are in the copy of ChadNet emailed to subscribers. Others can request a link from Maureen]
From the Memorial Book
Those whose anniversaries occur between 29th November and 13th December.
Raymond Edward Perks – 30th November 1996
Edna Dorothy Wheeler – 30th November 2017
Harry Bramall – 1st December 1983
Olive Peever – 1st December 2004
Iris Bull – 1st December 2009
Ethel Medlicott – 3rd December 1987
John Reynolds – 4th December 1985
Lorna Briscoe – 4th December 1994
Stanley William Thomas Jones – 4th December 2007
Harry Burton – 5th December 1975
James Ellis – 5th December 2019
Julie Amanda Morgans – 6th December 2011
Mary Elizabeth Inett – 7th December 1996
Robert James Hayhurst – 9th December 1994
David John Jennings – 10th December 2012
Robert Lewis Pass – 10th December 2016
Alec Christopher Harley – 10th December 2016
You can see all the pages of the Memorial Book 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.
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. For the next three weeks the video will come out on Sunday at 8 am, as part of their Virtual Advent Calendar, telling the nativity story in three parts.
They can all be found on the Sunday School on the Web page of our website as well as on YouTube.
The Virtual Advent Calendar continues with a new short video released every day until 24th to get us in the Christmas mood. Find them on the Virtual Sunday School YouTube channel.
ChadNet
This bulletin is sent to those who have requested it. We now have 89 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