ChadNet – no 64

ChadNet – no 64 – Sunday 13th June 2021

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:

Services in church have resumed. The church remains open for private prayer except on Sunday and there will be a combination of streamed services and recorded Worship on the Web online. Covid-19 guidelines should be observed in church at all times.

View from the Pews

Mike Coope

The COVID-91 restrictions are understandable, but they rob congregations of an important aspect of their Christian faith. Singing hymns. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5, Believers should be “filled with the spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

The importance of song in Christian worship can be traced to its Judaic beginnings. Throughout the biblical canon, the Apocrypha, the collection of books omitted from the Protestant Bible and noncanonical biblical texts, there are hundreds of references to Christians singing.

Singing has tremendous power, both spiritually and physically.

When people sing, sound runs through the body, giving rise to emotion and facilitating transformation. It acts as a natural antidepressant by releasing endorphins, the feel-good chemical. Studies have also linked singing with improved mental alertness, memory and concentration through increased oxygenated blood to the brain. Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg found that changes in the brain during worship make people “nicer, more forgiving, and trustful.”

Choral singing creates the kind of community togetherness that is necessary in churches. It brings disparate parts into a cohesive oneness, just as corporate worship – the gathering of the faithful to worship together – brings individuals into oneness in Christ.

Bringing people together for song has proven to be dangerous in the coronavirus pandemic. Stay-at-home orders designed to stem the spread of diseases hit church music programs hard – some more than others.

However, many church musical directors have shown tremendous creativity to keep the music going: utilizing solo performers, pre-recorded music, reducing the amount of music to the essential in liturgical services and creating virtual choirs for performance in live streamed or pre-recorded services.

Recent Government guidelines limiting gatherings to 6 have meant no in-person choir rehearsals and reduced numbers in choirs during services.

Virtual choral experiences are pale imitations of the real thing. Being connected in a physical way, feeling each others’ inhalations, coordinating exhalations and blending voices gives life to singers and to congregations.

Although research on the spread of COVID-19 is rapidly changing, singing in groups might be deemed too risky to enable churches to return to anything approaching “normal” for a long time.

So, until further notice, congregations are being advised to consider alternatives to singing. Worship may still be joyful, but it will likely be somewhat quieter.

Mike Coope

Could you contribute a View from the Pews?

We welcome contributions for View from the Pews from all members of the congregation. If you would like to write a View from the Pews please email or contact Henry Ibberson.

Contacts

Maureen has started her well earned retirement. She will still be living in the Vicarage for a few weeks so we will still see her and Suzie about. She will no longer be our Vicar.

For matters which would normally be dealt with by the Vicar the churchwardens will be the first point of contact. The Vicarage phone (01902 700257) will be redirected to the churchwardens. When they are not available a message can be left on the voicemail and they will return the call when they are available. 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.

Communications in relation to ChadNet should be sent to

Sunday 13th June – Second Sunday after Trinity

There will be a service of Holy Communion in church at 10 am. Covid-19 guidance and restrictions continue to apply. Please wear a face covering, use the hand sanitizer and observe social distancing.

The service will be screened live for those who cannot or do not want to attend. It will be available then and later on the Worship on the Web page of the website and also on YouTube at <https://youtu.be/LJNsetWT2qA>

This week’s service will not be available on the Dial a Service phone line (01902 906585).

The collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.

This week

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 keeping apart from anyone else who 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.

Wednesday is the copy date for the June magazine. Send articles to Mike Moss at

Sunday 20th June – Third Sunday after Trinity

There will be a service in church at 10 am.

Worship on the Web will be led by the Youth Group. Following the G7 summit in Cornwall the theme will be 7 and its title will be “Gee-7”. 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 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.

Further ahead

We are awaiting the government’s announcement about whether restrictions will be relaxed from 21st June. Once we know what has been decided we will know which of our plans may need to change.

At the moment we are hoping to resume 6.30 pm services on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month starting on Sunday 27th June with a Songs of Praise service. This will, of course, depend on congregational singing being allowed.

We are also planning to hold a Celebration Tea Party on Sunday 4th July (details were in last week’s ChadNet and in the June magazine).

Once we know when and how the restrictions are being relaxed we will be able to make firmer plans for these.

Hopefully by the time of next week’s ChadNet we should be able to announce what is happening.

Verger vacancy

St Chad’s Church is looking for a new verger. Could it be you?

Are you looking for a part time paid role which would support our church?

Duties would include unlocking the church by 9 am and locking the church before dusk every day.
When there is a funeral, wedding or baptism there will be additional duties for which additional payments are made.

This post requires DBS clearance.

For more information contact either of the churchwardens –
Clive Pendrell (01902 700206)
Dorothy Steel (01902 701855)
or email

The closing date for applications is Saturday 19th June.

(This is an amended version of the notice which appearing in ChadNet 62)

From the Memorial Book

Those whose anniversaries occur between 6th and 20th June.

Gunter Hanns Jonat – 6th June 1983
Jean Beryl Shelley – 6th June 2011
William Bull (Bill) – 6th June 2015
Nellie Elizabeth Warrilow – 9th June 1967
Henry Parkes – 9th June 1989
Violet Agnes Davies – 11th June 1992
Gwendolyn Mary Pellow – 11th June 2010
Geraint Samuel Jones – 12th June 2013
Annie Parton – 13th June 1987
Gerald Victor Rowley – 14th June 1993
Frederick Seymour Toy – 15th June 1971
Ian Brian Price – 15th June 1973
Winifred Jane James – 15th June 2006
Anthony Robert Kiddle – 16th June 2015
Mitchell James Lingford – 18th June 1989
Kenneth Joseph Russell – 19th June 2010
Wilfred Leslie Darlington – 20th June 1981

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 12.30 pm (or earlier if there is a recorded service) 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.

For those who are unable to attend church to make their communion there is a form of Spriritual Communion on the Church of England 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 now comes out every two weeks on a Saturday. Last week’s was  The Wise and Foolish Builders + the sandcastle challenge!. There will be a Virtual Holiday Club in August – there is a video Pick Your Team for Virtual Holiday Club!

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 97 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

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