BENEFICE WEEKLY NEWS

Sunday 26^th September - 17th after Trinity 

Training for our lay-led services

Within the new pattern of worship agreed by the Joint PCC, there are opportunities for lay-led services. Initially, these will be led by our clergy team with the aim of lay leaders taking over in due course. We will be running a training session on Saturday 23rd October from 13.00-17.00 in The Ark at Shiplake; it will be led jointly by Robert, Pam and Sarah and we will look at:

• The background behind Morning and Evening Prayer
• Speaking in church
• How to plan a Service of the Word

Please think about whether you might be called to lead in some way. Attending the session doesn’t mean you have to follow it through. And if you can’t come to this one, let Robert or Sarah know and we will organise another session. Contact Leigh to book a place or register your interest.

All Saints, Dunsden

All Saints will be holding a medley of hymns and poems on Sunday 31st October at 4.30 , followed by tea and cakes.
 We will be inviting folk to let us know if they have a favourite hymn or poem which they would be happy to read.
 

Covid, Test and Trace and moving forward

As we move away from lockdown and into a more 'normal' way of life we do not now require you to pre-book to attend services. Instead we will be asking the sidespeople to keep a record of who attends each service, so that if we need to, we can pass this information onto the Government Test and Trace department. 

Masks are not compulsory in our churches and it is entirely up to you if you wish to wear one. The clergy will continue to wear a mask during the distribution as we will be very close to the congregation at that time.

Distribution of communion - at Dunsden and Harpsden we will now distribute the Sacrament at the Communion Rail. This will still be via intincted wafers as it is not recommended to share the Common Cup at this time. At Shiplake we will continue to use the Nave Altar as this service will be live-streamed; this will mean that the Priest will continue to come to the congregation rather than the congregation coming forward.

Finally - we are now struggling with music at Shiplake as Adrian, who has so marvellously covered all our services there, will now be back playing at Dunsden. This does create an opportunity for a member of the congregation to be in charge of the music - downloading hymns onto a mobile device and then playing them through the organ during the service. Would anybody be willing to help in this way?

Amazon Smile

Would you like to be able to donate fee money to Shiplake and Dunsden?
Do you shop on Amazon? If so then we now have a charity account with 'AmazonSmile'

What Is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile, a separate portal from Amazon's main site, offers the same items, prices, and benefits as Amazon.com, but with one distinct difference. When users shop on AmazonSmile, the retailer's Foundation contributes 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice.

There is no cost to charities or customers, and 100% of the donation generated from eligible purchases goes to the consumer's charity of choice. For frequent Amazon users, this additional perk is a great way to give back to charities effortlessly.

How to Set Up Your AmazonSmile Account

Go to the AmazonSmile hub and click "Get Started." If you already have an Amazon account, you'll be asked to sign in. If you don't have an Amazon account, you will need to set one up. It doesn't cost anything to set up a basic Amazon account.

How Do I Choose My Charity?

Once signed into AmazonSmile, you will be prompted to pick a charity. Our full charity name is:

The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Shiplake With Dunsden

Once you do that, a percentage of your purchase price on many, but not all, items will be donated to this charity . During future visits to the site, AmazonSmile will remember your charity and apply eligible purchases towards your total contribution—it is that easy.

Whilst we realise that it is not a lot of money, every little helps, it costs you nothing to use and nothing to set up.

Sadly we cannot set Harpsden up to receive these funds as it is not a separately registered charity (yet!).