ChadNet – no 44 – Sunday 24th January 2021
Welcome to this week’s edition of ChadNet – the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull.
There will be no services in church for the time being but the church will remain open for private prayer and Worship on the Web will continue online.
View from the Pews
‘Abiding in Christ’
This week has been designated as The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In our islands alone there are numerous different Christian denominations and this took me back to the churches that I have worshiped in over the years.
As a young child I went (or was sent!) to St Matthew’s in East Park, Wolverhampton. When the original church was demolished in the early 60’s we used a Terrapin portable building as, first the church hall, then the church itself, were built in 1969. It was, and remains, low Anglican and I vividly remember Mother’s Pride bread being used at Communion.
t wasn’t an affluent area, being a large post war council estate but there was a strong sense of community. In 2019 I attended the 50th anniversary of the church’s consecration, which I remember well (that’s me in the front row of the scout band on the big day). I am pleased to say that sense of community remains…even now we still call it the ‘new’ church.
On leaving the area for Tettenhall we migrated to St Michael and All Angels – very high Anglican. Sublime to the ridiculous. With my background it didn’t really work for me and some friends suggested we join them at St Thomas’s, a Catholic Church, which they attended. Immediately at home we spent many happy and fulfilling years there, bringing up the children and running the youth club.
Having moved to Pattingham (after seven long months of renovation) I find myself in the welcoming arms of St Chad’s. All of the churches I have attended have been different and have praised the Lord in their own way but are united in the Spirit and love of Jesus.
So how do we define Christian unity? Fellowship? Friendship? Community? The theme of Christian Unity week is based on John 15:1-17 ‘Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit’.
COVID has exacerbated the problems for many – physical, mental and financial. Wherever we look there are families struggling due to sudden illness, loss of employment and many other reasons. This can lead to parents struggling to feed their children, family breakdown, homelessness, even suicide. May we work together to identify those in our community who are in need in these difficult times and beyond.
Alan Smith
Problems with ChadNet delivery
Some people have been having problems receiving ChadNet for the last two weeks. If you haven’t received ChadNet then you should look in your spam or junk folder and mark it as not spam and treat as safe sender, or equivalent.
I know that this sounds like the snooker commentator who said “for those of you watching in black and white the pink is behind the green” but it may help spread the word. If you are aware of someone who is missing ChadNet you can let them know.
The problem seems particularly to affect btinternet.com email addresses and to have started in the last few weeks. Presumably they have introduced an “improvement” which has changed their algorithm. The moral for all of us is to check our spam folders regularly because you don’t know what you’ll find there.
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 24th January – 3rd Sunday of Epiphany and 7th day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
There will be no service in church. In the Worship on the Web service, which is led by Maureen, we will be exploring what Christian Unity means in the context of lockdown when we cannot physically meet with other Anglicans, let alone our Christian friends in other denominations! 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.
During January the bishops are providing sermons for parishes to use. This week’s preacher is Bishop Michael, the Bishop of Lichfield. The sermon can be found on YouTube at https://youtu.be/jqoyd0FNo38
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. 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.There will be no service on Wednesday.
Sunday 31st January – 4th Sunday of Epiphany
The Worship on the Web service will be a Family Service led by Rob Colin-Stokes. It will be available 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 17th and 31st January.
Sheila Galbraith – 17th January 1987
Eileen Mary Rowley – 17th January 2005
Annie Guest – 18th January 1994
John Neville Hayward – 18th January 2009
Peter Victor Lingford – 19th January 2001
Raymond H Sampson – 20th January 1990
Mabel Pritchard – 20th January 2006
Jim Pritchard – 21st January 2004
Geoffrey Victor Giles – 21st January 2019
Ivy Rhodes – 25th January 2001
George Lloyd – 27th January 2000
Rex Pellow – 27th January 2011
Walter James Matthews – 29th January 1988
Ethel Brough – 30th January 1979
Dorothy Eileen Cooper – 30th January 2020
Norman Bartlett – 31st January 2003
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 resources 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 normally comes out each Saturday. This week’s is Rahab and The Spies plus the I Spy Prayer!
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 90 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