ChadNet – no 50 – Sunday 7th March 2021
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 by Barbara Tritton
- Sunday 7th March
- This week
- Sunday 14th March
- Lent – our Lent Course by Zoom, Lent @ Home and #LiveLent
- From the Memorial Book
- Resources to use at home and Virtual Sunday School
- Giving to the Church
There are no services in church for the time being but the church remains open for private prayer and Worship on the Web continues online.
View from the Pews
Today I have cleaned out the cutlery drawer, a job which took all of ten minutes, but I now have tremendous job satisfaction and I can mentally tick the “Done some housework” box. Never mind wondering how the drawer got so messy when only clean items were put in it; the object of the exercise has been accomplished.
We are in the midst of a truly awful pandemic; we have watched the figures on the graphs rise alarmingly, and in all this, we feel very small and helpless. We can’t help the situation; it’s out of our control. What can we do in our small corner of the world?
This calls to mind the song we used to sing at Sunday School, “Jesus bids us shine”, and especially the last line, “You in your small corner, and I in mine”. Do you remember it?
Looking back over nearly a year, one thing strikes me, and that is, that through all these difficult months, for me, the things which have made a difference are the little things: the beautiful bluebells in Hamley Woods, the first little clump of snowdrops by the hedge, hearing a thrush singing on a branch just above my head, receiving a hand-made birthday card “For Granny”, making a phone call to someone I haven’t seen for a long time, singing a hymn all by myself at home and then sending it to Greg to be included in our virtual choir, making a pan of soup, fingering a shell found in my pocket from a previous holiday. These small things have made a huge difference for me, because little things do matter.
Amongst the chaos and misery, we listen for the still small voice, and we call to mind those words, “The light of Christ shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1 v5 ). We can keep that light alive in small ways, acts of kindness and love in the difficult times we face at the moment. Like Captain Sir Tom Moore, taking small, slow steps around his garden, we can be like that old Sunday School hymn: “You in your small corner, and I in mine.“
It’s not the big things which are going to make a difference, but the little ones.
Barbara Tritton
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 7th March – Third Sunday of Lent
There will be no service in church. In the Worship on the Web service, which will be led by Maureen, we will be exploring wisdom and foolishness. 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.
Until Palm Sunday the diocese is providing sermons for parishes to use. This week’s preacher is Dr Lindsey Hall, Shaping for Mission Enabler. The sermon can be found on YouTube at https://youtu.be/5R_wDK-FRsE
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 funeral of Roger K Walters will take place on Monday.
The church will be open for private prayer every day except Monday. 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 keeping apart from anyone else who is already in there.
The Lent Course continues on Monday evening. More details are below.
There is a PCC meeting by Zoom on Tuesday evening.
Sunday 14th March – Mothering Sunday – Fourth Sunday of Lent
A decision will be taken during the week whether there will be a service in church. The Worship on the Web service will be led by the Youth Group and their mothers. It will be available on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 10 am.
Mothering Sunday posies will be available to collect from a table outside church following the morning service, whether that is both in church and on-line, or just on-line.
The collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.
Lent
Lent course
Broken Bits and Weirdness (But God Still Loves Us) – A series for Lent 2021 – author: Fay Rowland
Mondays at 7.30 pm (there are no longer sessions on Thursday afternoons)
Described as Bible study like you have never seen it!
Throughout Lent, we will be looking at five somewhat flawed hero characters from the Bible and exploring what they might have to teach us about ourselves today… Naaman, David, Ruth, Martha and Jonah. And aside from bible study, there will be suggested craft activities, mindfulness colouring, outdoor activities, and even cooking! Why not give it a go one week and join in the fun! (and yes, you can have fun in Lent!) It is suitable for any and all ages (which does not mean ‘for kids only’).
Fay Rowland is a best-selling author of resources for ministry with adults and children. She lives in the Midlands with her “children and pet dragon”, teaches maths for a living, and spends the rest of her time being creative.
Each week we will meet a new character from the Bible with a reading, a bible study, a wondering question with space for response, some meditative colouring, a craft, a recipe, suggestions for outdoor activities linked with the theme, and a prayer. Everything is optional – you are not expected to do the lot – just choose whatever seems helpful or attractive to you and brings you closer to God.
[The invitation to the Zoom meeting is only included in the edition of ChadNet which is emailed to subscribers.]
Lent @ home
A reminder that the “Lent @ home” booklet is an opportunity to journey through Lent as an individual, as a family or as a support bubble. There are reflections, readings and prayers for each week between now and Easter.
It can be downloaded here.
#LiveLent
The Church of England is offering daily Lent reflections by email from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day. There is also a phone app available. Details can be found at https://www.churchofengland.org/livelent/ – to sign up for the emails go to https://www.churchofengland.org/node/27518
From the Memorial Book
Those whose anniversaries occur between 28th February and 14th March.
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
Anthony John Harley – 11th March 1997
Gordon Francis Thomas – 12th March 1992
Dennis William Lovering – 12th March 2012
Emily Margaret Ada Pugh – 13th March 1991
Ronald Lacey – 13th March 1998
Arthur John Rogers – 14th March 2005
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 The Tower of Babel! Featuring the Accent Challenge and YOUR Prayers!
They can all be found on the Sunday School on the Web page of our website as well as on YouTube.
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.
We have a JustGiving page to enable people to make one off donations. It’s at www.justgiving.com/pattingham-church. 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.
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 95 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