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10.30am SUNG EUCHARIST
President and Preacher: Rev. Dr Stephen Laird, Chaplain of the University of Kent and Vicar of St Cosmus & St Damian, Blean
Setting: The Johannesburg Service – Bertalot
Acts 11: 1–18
Revelation 21: 1–6
John 13: 31–35
Anthem: Christ the Lord is risen again – Foster
Hymns: 401, 115, 103, 273 (t. 302), 112
Voluntary: Christ lag in Todesbanden – J. S. Bach (BWV 625)
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Join us in church for our Sung Eucharist at 10.30am or online at any time
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There is no Choral Evensong today so that members of St Stephen’s congregation can attend the farewell service for Dean Robert in the Cathedral.
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The Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Almighty God,
who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:
grant that, as by your grace going before us
you put into our minds good desires,
so by your continual help
we may bring them to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
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This week at St Stephen's
THIS WEEK IS CHRISTIAN AID WEEK
Monday 16th May
7.00pm Bell Ringing practice
Tuesday 17th May
9.30am Holy Dusters (in church)
Wednesday 18th May
10.15am HOLY COMMUNION (in church)
10.30am Acorn Community Café (in the Church Hall)
5.15pm Trebles' rehearsal (in church)
Thursday 19th May
7.00pm Canterbury Cantata Choir rehearsal (in church)
Friday 20th May
7.30pm Full Choir rehearsal
Sunday 22nd May
The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Rogation Sunday)
8.00am HOLY COMMUNION (said)
10.30am SUNG EUCHARIST
6.00pm SERVICE FOR CHRISTIAN AID WEEK
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<<First Name>>, do share this online version of Pews News with anyone you think might be interested, and encourage them to sign up to receive it by email each week.
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Christian Aid Week 15–22 May 2022
The Christian Aid Week service that was scheduled for Sunday 15th May has been postponed until Sunday 22nd May at 6pm. The service will be held at Stephen's in place of Choral Evensong; we hope you'll be able to join us. This is because there is a farewell service for Dean Robert at the Cathedral on 15th May and understandably, many people want to be able to attend this.
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The materials for those taking part in the street collection for Christian Aid week are available in church after the 10.30 service. Anyone who wants to collect their materials at another time should contact Fiona Phillips who is organising the distribution on 077 91 62 93 79.
Online donations can be made at https://envelope.christianaid.org.uk/envelope/ststephenscanterbury
If you can't help with envelope delivery but want to support Christian Aid you can donate here and encourage others to do so too. Why not email the link to everyone on your Christmas card list and suggest they donate the cost of a coffee?
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The Acorn Community Café
Charity Coffee Morning
Wednesday May 18th
from 10.30am
In St Stephen’s Church Hall
In aid of Christian Aid
Plants, Cakes and paperbacks
Do join us
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200 Club
Tickets are available now for our summer 200 Club: £10 per ticket which covers 10 weekly draws during June, July and early August (equivalent to £1 a week). Half of the ticket sales goes into the prize pot, with the other half supporting St Stephen's Church. Tickets are available from members of the PCC at church on Sunday. For those of you unable to get to church, we're working on a way for you to purchase a ticket online - please bear with us!
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Churchyard Working Party
As the Residents’ Association is organising a picnic party on Sunday 5th June, we thought it would be sensible for our next meeting to be on the Monday before (30th May) to make sure everything is pretty beforehand. This will replace the session on 6th June, and I shall send out a reminder email nearer the time.
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St Stephen's Eco Group
ECO CHURCH UPDATE
The Big Plastic Count – a Greenpeace initiative
Did you know the UK is one of the world’s biggest producers of plastic packaging, second only to the USA? Or that if things stay as they are, the quantity of plastic waste produced around the world will double by 2040? Clearly, this is a deeply alarming and wholly unsustainable trend.
To provide concrete evidence of just how much plastic we go through – and thus illustrate the scale of the problem – Greenpeace has invited everyone to take part in the Big Plastic Count, which involves recording how much plastic leaves our households in the week from May 16th to 22nd.
If you would like to get involved, you can find all the relevant details and links here:
https://greenwire.greenpeace.org.uk/s/blog-article/a2h4H000000KRgPQAW/the-big-plastic-count-and-how-you-can-help?language=en_US
Eco Church website
St Stephen’s is currently the proud holder of an Eco Church Bronze Award! To find out what this means in practice, and how we might improve to achieve Silver or even Gold, you can join the Eco Church project at:
https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/
Join the St Stephen’s Eco Group!
Are you passionate about protecting and preserving God’s Creation? Would you like to share your ideas about how we as a parish could operate in an eco-friendlier and more sustainable way? If the answer to both questions is yes, I’d be delighted if you joined the St Stephen’s Eco Group. Just contact me at ecochurch@ststephenscanterbury.net. Alternatively, do feel free to speak to me before or after services. For those of you unsure who I am, I’m the tall, rotund, bespectacled guy who sings bass in the choir and does readings and intercessions. I look forward to hearing from/meeting you!
James Taylor, St Stephen’s Eco Church Rep
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After the recent loss of our representative to Christians Together in Canterbury, we are now in desperate need of someone to represent our parish at CTC meetings. If you would be interested in volunteering to help with this, please see Kevin or one of the church wardens.
Praying for Ukraine, Friends Meeting House garden every Friday 7.00–7:30pm
Canterbury Quaker Meeting will be holding a candlelit vigil for peace in Ukraine in the Meeting House garden, every Friday 19:00–19:30 until further notice. All are welcome to join us and bring appropriate banners and placards.
More information is available by emailing canterburyclerk@kentquakers.org.uk or by telephoning the Meeting House warden on 01227 7645612.
Connecting Canterbury
David Hartwell shares the following update:
There has been a huge increase in people and families in fuel poverty, and Connecting Canterbury continues to try and help people by the payment of small, discreet, emergency grants at our Thursday hub at Lily's Cafe, Canterbury Baptist Church, and on Friday mornings at All Saint's Church. In 8 weeks we helped 97 people paying nearly £1900, compared to a total of 190 small grants for the whole of 2021. If you are able to help us continue our vital work please have a word with me, or for details of bank transfer arrangements see below.
Also, having secured support from The Canterbury Christian Council and external trusts, we have appointed Tim Cook as our new part time Network Coordinator. Tim is a member of Canterbury Baptist Church, and will be asked to develop our work ecumenically, and our links to other agencies and charities etc.
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Would like to contribute to the services week by week by becoming an intercessor?
We are very short of intercessors at the present time and consequently people are being asked to do them rather often; it would be good to have some new blood. It is not difficult, you are given the scriptures for the week and the names of those sick to pray for and those whose deaths fall on the particular Sunday. You can make up your own prayers or you can use prayers from the large variety of books available. We can take you through the procedure and give you an opportunity to have a practice to get the feel of doing them. There is always someone available to help you whenever you feel you need support. If you are interested please speak to either Margaret Horwood or the Rector. Thank you.
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News from our Bell Tower
Our Tower is open for ringing practice every Monday evening 7.00–9.00pm. There is no need to book a place in advance, just turn up! If you are interested in learning, contact Jane or Adam - their details are on the church website.
At the moment, there aren't always enough people to ring before every service - if you're missing the bells, have you thought about joining the team so that we can keep this tradition going at St Stephen's?
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Moving forward from COVID restrictions - The PCC agreed to leave these measures in place for the time being at their meeting on 8th March.
Government guidance is that it is no longer a legal requirement to wear a face covering during worship. However, in order to protect each other as much as possible, we would encourage members of the congregation to continue to wear masks if they feel that they are able. For the time being, we will continue to provide more space for social distancing at the back half of the nave. Please respect people's desire for a bit of space. This guidance will be continually reviewed over the coming days and weeks. If you have any questions, please speak to Kevin or the Churchwardens.
| Masks |
Congregation encouraged to wear masks when possible.
Choir remove masks when singing. |
| Hand sanitiser |
Congregation encourage to continue to sanitise their hands as they enter and leave church. |
| Congregation seating |
50/50 full capacity and socially distanced.
The front half of the nave available for those who are comfortable sitting closer together, the rear half of the nave will continue to be socially distanced with alternate rows roped off and only one household per pew. |
| Choir seating |
The choir will sit more closely together to aid singing as an ensemble, but will take a lateral flow test before each rehearsal and service to help protect each other. |
| Processions |
Only clergy process. If during a hymn, then clergy do not sing whilst walking through the congregation. |
| Congregational singing |
Congregational singing reintroduced at services (but encourage mask wearing). Those not comfortable singing or being around those singing should sit in the rear half of the nave in the socially distanced area. |
| Service Sheets |
Continue to use orders of service and quarantine after each use for at least 48 hours. |
| Hymn books |
Reintroduce the use of hymn books, using those on the top two shelves for the Eucharist and those on the bottom two shevles for Evensong. |
| Communion |
Communion in one kind only (no chalice)
Distribution from standing station at the chancel step for choir and from the east end of the nave for congregation. |
| Sharing the Peace |
We will continue to share the Peace in a non-contact way as we have done throughout the pandemic. |
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The Canterbury Society is a civic association registered with the Charities Commission. All its work is done by unpaid volunteers. This includes managing open green spaces in the community, litter picks, assessing planning applications and building designs through to protecting the City’s heritage. There are many members from St Stephens and everyone is invited to join at www.canterburysociety.org.uk.
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Canterbury Food Bank
In these difficult times, Canterbury Food Bank are finding themselves supporting more people in our community than ever. If you are currently unable to afford food, please go to CanterburyFoodbank.org or ring 07718 108875. If you can afford food but can’t get to the shops because you are self isolating you should contact Canterbury City Council, who have set up hubs to provide assistance. Go to http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/help or ring 01227 868598.
Whilst our church and church hall are closed and our Foodbank drop-off points aren't accessible, if you can, do make a contribution at the local supermarkets when you are doing your own shopping. If you're in a position where you could donate some money to help the Foodbank, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-canterbury-food-bank-during-coronavirus or https://canterburyfoodbank.org
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