ChadNet – no 8 – Sunday 17th May 2020
Welcome to the eighth edition of ChadNet – the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull.
View from the Vicarage:
“Ask and it shall be granted to you; seek and you shall find…”
Things I have discovered this week;
1 if you stand in the middle of a field of spring barley with police helicopters circling overhead and the wind whistling around you, the chances are that an iPad will not be able to record much in the way of dialogue!
2 If you decide to unscrew parts from your tripod, do not be surprised if little nuts and bolts fall out!
Fortunately neither of these problems proved insurmountable. John Evans and I were able to re-record our conversation from the safety and quietness of our respective homes. And praise be (!) I found the vital nut that had fallen out of the tripod which is now restored to its former effectiveness…
But it does make the point that we are all having to acquire new skills and learn new ways of doing things in this strange new reality – and it can be exhausting! So none of us should be surprised if we feel (a) overwhelmed, or (b) tired with a capital K most of the time!
And now that the government is urging us to begin cautiously to emerge from our self-imposed isolation and think about returning to school and work where necessary, there will be even more new things to think about and new ways of operating. For it seems that ‘getting back to normal’, whatever you understand by that, will take a long, long time and I suspect that some aspects of our lives have changed for ever.
Part of my work includes organising and delivering training courses – many of which have been residential – for fellow clergy. I think most of these will end up being either cancelled for the rest of 2020, or we will attempt to deliver them on line – at least in part. And even looking at next year, I doubt that we will go back to the same number of residential bookings that we once did. Most of the West Midlands Dioceses are extremely short of income – Lichfield included, so the chances are that Training Budgets are going to be drastically reduced anyway – even assuming that the venues we have used are still in business in the future!
Rogation is a festival of requesting. Of asking God to bless our human labour – whether it is the farmers in their fields, accountants pouring over their ledgers and spreadsheets (do they still use ledgers???) or trainers wondering how to present their material to camera. So in our Rogation worship this year we have tried to reflect a little of that variety. But my biggest prayer this year is that the Lord will continue to keep as many people as possible safe and healthy, ready to get back to whatever their work is or should be.
Lord, hear us. Lord graciously hear us!
Maureen.
Church Fete is cancelled
It seems unlikely that the present restrictions will be lifted in time for the Church Fete to go ahead on 4th July. Even if they were it would not be possible to observe appropriate social distancing. The PCC has therefore decided to cancel this year’s fete. Next year’s fete will take place on Saturday 3rd July 2021.
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 School on the Web
Sunday School will be online on the Sunday School on the Web page of the website from 10.15 am on Sunday 17th May. It’s led by Anna and is about “The Spirit beside us” from John 14. If you would like any of the templates that are in today’s craft session please email Anna on
Sunday 17th May – 6th Sunday of Easter – Rogation Sunday
The service is a ‘virtual’ realisation of Rogation Sunday, which will include interviews with a farmer, an accountant and a forrester. It will be on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 10 am. An order of service will be available to download and print from that page if you wish.
Sunday School will be online on the Sunday School on the Web page of the website from 10.15 am.
The collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.
During the week Maureen will continue to stream Morning Prayer at 9.00 am and Compline (Night Prayer) at 7.30 pm on Facebook Live. Sunday School continues to be available online on the Sunday School on the Web page of the website.
Thursday 21st May – Ascension Day
There will be a service of Holy Communion on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 7 pm.
The collect and readings for the Eucharist, which would normally be on the pewsheet, are available on the website.
Sunday 24th May – 7th Sunday of Easter
There will be a service led by Ken Scott 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.
Giving to the Church
While we are not able to take offertory collections in church please think about giving in other ways. See the Giving page on the website to see how or go straight to our page on JustGiving.
For those without internet access – listen to a Pattingham church service by phone
We recognise that some people cannot follow our services on the internet either because they do not have internet access or are not comfortable using it. We now have a dedicated phone number – 01902 906585 – which has a recording of part of our latest service. It is easy to use – just dial the number and listen. After a short welcome message and a pause the recording of the service starts playing. You can listen to the whole of it or hang up part way through. Calls are charged at normal rate. The service for each Sunday will be available from 10 am and will continue to be available until it is replaced be the next week’s.
This, of course, is aimed at people who do not read this bulletin. 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.
Other resources for worship and prayer at home
In these times we are all needing to find different ways to pray and worship. There are a lot of different resources which have been made available in lots of different ways. Some of those are listed on the Resources Available Online page of the website. This not anything like a complete list of everything which is available.
Maureen often shares inspirational posts on the Church Facebook page so it is worth looking at that from time to time.
The Arthur Rank Centre is an ecumenical Christian charity, which has since 1972 served both the spiritual and practical needs of the rural community through a programme of community and social projects, resourcing and training. On the Together Apart: A rural church response to coronavirus page they are providing resources for rural Christians and churches to use in their own homes and communities as well as signposting to a whole host of advice and expertise around many of the range of practical issues we will face over the next few weeks and months.
If you have found something which you have found useful please send the details to so that it can be shared with others.
ChadNet
This bulletin is sent to those who have requested it. We now have 65 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
While normal services are not being held 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.
Although it will not be possible to put money in the plate there are a number of other ways in which you can give to the church. These include the Giving Direct scheme, Just Giving, a standing order or even one off transfers to the church bank account. Details of all of these can be found on the Giving page of the website. Those who normally use the green or yellow envelopes may wish to continue to put their donations in the envelopes ready to bring to church when services resume.
We have set up a JustGiving page to enable people to make one off donations. It’s at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/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 wish to make a payment by bank transfer the details of our bank account are: Account name: Pattingham Parochial Church Council – Sort Code: 20-97-78 – A/c No: 50655023. If you wish to gift aid it contact the Gift Aid Secretary or the Treasurer.
Changes due to the current situation
The church building is closed but the church community remains active. Further details can be found on the church website. There is an update page which gives more information.
- The Church Fete has been cancelled for this year.
- The Century Club draws are suspended until further notice.
- The Who’s for Lunch lunches are suspended for the time being.
- The church clock has stopped as guidance from the Church of England prevents it from being wound. The carrilon continues to play automatically three times a day.
- The same guidance also prevents us from flying the flag for Easter.
- Publication of the magazine is suspended for the moment.
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