ChadNet – no 9 – Sunday 24th May 2020
Welcome to the ninth edition of ChadNet – the eBulletin of St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull.
View from the Vicarage:
“Why do you stand looking up to heaven, men of Galilee?”
This is the sort of image that generally accompanies this time of year – a time I call ‘Inbetween times’. God in the person of Jesus has ascended into heaven. As one wag put it this week, “Ascension is the time when Jesus goes to work from home.” – Well if we cannot quite get our heads around the supernatural element of the Ascension, we can at least appreciate what working from home is all about! Although I do not think the blessed Trinity ever had to cope with the vagaries of Zoom, dodgy Wi-Fi and Microsoft Teams! At least I hope when and if I reach heaven, that will be the case…. One hopes communication in the heavenly realm will be instant and seamless.
But I digress; we are in between so much. Not quite sure if the virus is on the way out, or about to show a second even more deadly spike? Not quite sure if our school will open as hoped from 1 June or not? Not quite sure how many parents will send their children back anyway? Not quite sure when we can go back into church together and what it will look like when we do?
In the church calendar we look forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost next Sunday – 31 May. That is the point when many of the questions of the first disciples began to find answers. That is the time when they found their courage and their voices and began in earnest to spread the good news of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. That is when it all began to make sense and the church – or at least a church – came into being.
But for now, we are stuck in the in between times. Not quite knowing if we are going forward or back. Not quite sure if we should be looking up or down. Not quite sure what the future may hold. We are not, after all, so very different from those first disciples…
I leave you with some wise words from Malcolm Guite, one of my favourite modern poets and a priest; a master of the sonnet form.
Ascension Day
We saw his light break through the cloud of glory
Whilst we were rooted still in time and place,
As earth became a part of heaven’s story
And heaven opened to his human face.
We saw him go and yet we were not parted,
He took us with him to the heart of things,
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and heaven-centred now, and sings;
Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness,
Sings through the clouds that veil him from our sight,
Whilst we ourselves become his clouds of witness
And sing the waning darkness into light;
His light in us, and ours in him concealed,
Which all creation waits to see revealed.
May you play your part in revealing the light of Christ!
God Bless,
Maureen.
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 May – Sunday after Ascension Day
There will be a service led by Ken Scott on the Worship on the Web page of the website from 10 am. As usual hymns will be sung by the virtual church choir. For those without internet access it will also be on the DIal a Service phone line (01902 906585) from 9 am – until then the Ascension Day 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.
During the week Maureen will continue to stream Morning Prayer at 9.00 am on Facebook Live. Until Pentecost the Bishop and his staff are streaming Compline (Night Prayer) at 9 pm each evening on the Diocesan Facebook page so Maureen is not streaming Compline herself.
Sunday 31st May – Pentecost
There will be a service of Holy Communion 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 about 9 am and will continue to be available until it is replaced be the next week’s.
The service for Ascension Day is available at the moment and will be replaced by Sunday’s service at 9 am on Sunday.
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.
Sunday School continues to be available online on the Sunday School on the Web page.
Maureen often shares inspirational posts on the Church Facebook page so it is worth looking at that from time to time.
The sixth Thy Kingdom Come prayer season will run from Ascension Day, Thursday 21 May, to Pentecost Sunday, 31 May, inclusive. Thy Kingdom Come offers the opportunity to engage in concerted prayer for the coming of God’s kingdom. So discover more and get involved https://www.thykingdomcome.global. Discovering Prayer are offering Thy Kingdom Come: Guided Prayer with Daily Emails.
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 71 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.
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.
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
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St Chad’s Church, Pattingham with Patshull Registered charity no 1151604