Update: Friday 11th March 2022
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Dear brothers and sisters
The
Life ’22 flyers will be out on a table on Sunday. Please will you take a bundle or two to put through letterboxes with our church Easter card? When you do, Hilary asks that we feed back to her on the accuracy of the number of homes on the street you take, so we can refine the system for next time (probably Christmas). So whichever bundle we take, keep the slip that is wrapped around it labelled with the street name and number of cards. Write on it the actual number needed, and return the slip together with any leftover cards/flyers to the Office.
This week and next week are the prime time to be
actively inviting folk to the events every evening of 4-9 April, the Breakfast on 9
th and the Guest Service on 10
th. You can see from the flyer that there are four events for us and our guests here in Bathampton, 2 in North Bradley, and 2 in Oldfield Park. Maybe some of us can go to all eight. Whether we can, or can make it to only two or three, the best way to make the most of the opportunity is probably to have a look at the programme and think about it from both directions:
- For each of the people I most want to introduce to Jesus, which event will be best for them?
- For each event in the programme, who can I think of that I could invite to that?
The evening events will all take the form of a chat-show interview by Roger Carswell of the person featured, followed by his presentation of the Gospel connected to issues raised. It is intended for people who are not yet convinced about Jesus or committed to him. Those of us who are, whether or not we have guests, should also find it encouraging and worthwhile. For the events in Bathampton, our Men’s Breakfast team is catering for the Breakfast, and we need lots of people to
get involved in setting up the rooms and running the events, stewarding, serving refreshments and so on, to make them as welcoming as possible. Margaret and Anna are coordinating this and will be circulating on Sunday with a clipboard so why not pounce on them before they pounce on you, to get your name down for a task you could help with?
The parish
Electoral Roll is the closest thing we have in the Church of England to official church membership. You are eligible for membership of the roll if you live in Bathampton Parish, or you have habitually attended services here for 6 months. The Electoral Roll is
revised annually ahead of our Annual Meeting (which is 4pm Sunday 24
th April 2022). If you are already on the Electoral Roll, you don’t need to do anything unless your contact details have changed. If you are not yet on it but are eligible, please fill in the
Electoral Roll enrolment form and return it to
Hilary Crellin the Electoral Roll Officer. If you want to talk about it, please contact
me.
We have all been moved by the plight of
Ukrainians and there is a right impulse to want to support and do something to help. Last Sunday all money given in St N’s was for Ukraine and we continue to cry to God in prayer for the needs of people in and from that country. If you would like suggestions of how to pray, and if you missed out on giving through the church but would like to give financially,
Innovista is a good organisation with strong local links in Ukraine as they support and train local church leaders and are well set up to send aid to Christians committed to staying and serving despite the danger, and to their neighbours in need. You can get prayer updates and give via the
Innovista website. PCC yesterday approved the idea of flying a Ukrainian flag from St N’s as a gesture of solidarity. Some might be thinking about whether/how we can offer hospitality to refugees as and when the need arises.
This Summer I will have been ordained 25 years, and the Diocese has approved for me a period of
Extended Ministerial Development Leave, from mid-May to late August. This sabbatical time will be an opportunity to step back from the regular demands of parish ministry to read, reflect, serve in different ways and seek spiritual, mental and physical refreshment. I was eligible for this in 2020 but had already decided (before you-know-what) that the time would not be right because I had lost so much time from parish ministry to my accident in April 2019. Some of the time I will be based at home but disengaged from St Mary’s and St Nick’s, and for some of the time I plan to go away, both alone and with the family. I’ll let you know what I’m studying later. I’m very grateful to the Wardens and PCCs for supporting me in this, and for all those who will give extra service to take my place in leading, preaching and pastoral care during this summer.
