E-Newsletter St Mary's & St Michael's Parish of Shalford & Peasmarsh Week of 31st January
Bishop Jo's Sermon for this Sunday
A cross between Rowan Williams & Father Christmas? Don't miss our Bishop Jo's sermon as she preaches on ‘Growing old while staying young’,
focusing on Simeon in Luke2:22-38.
THIS SUNDAY 31st JANUARY - ST MARY'S CHURCH AT HOME 10AM - Candlemas - The Presentation of Christ
Please bring a candle with you to the zoom service this week.
You can find or print This Week's Service Sheet to follow Sat eve Here
Join for informal worship from your home on zoom, followed by coffee (your own!) and chat. Please bring any object, poem, reflection, image if you'd like to share a connection to this week's themes of light in the world, family, older age, Simeon, Anna, other themes you feel moved by. Look forward to seeing you - just click link below to join by 10am on Sunday:
Topic: 10am St Mary's Sunday Home Church on Zoom with coffee
Time: Jan 17, 2021 10:00 AM London. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81165760409?pwd=cVFPUjBva0xJRjlsbmtDVGN0alMrQT09
Meeting ID: 811 6576 0409 Passcode: 587118
Dial by your location +44 203 051 2874 United Kingdom
Dear Friends,
Apologies if this e-newsletter didn't reach many of you last week due to some strange flag from mailchimp for some. I've kept much the same news in this week as a result so you don't miss anything! A few new bits and bobs in here too though - including diary dates for lent groups (details soon) and a workshop for the Shalford Big Stitch; a chance to join in with our Shalford Infant School's lovely puzzling plan for this week's Children's Mental Health Awareness Week; news of how to donate to support exhausted NHS staff at Royal Surrey across the trust.
This Sunday, please bring a candle with you when you join on zoom St Mary's Church at Home worship together. This Sunday (and on Tuesday itself), we will be celebrating Candlemas and the feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, marking the end of our season celebrating Christ's birth as we turn towards Christ's passion (St Mary's nativity figures and final trees being packed away now, and we'll soon be making our crosses from the large St Mary's Christmas tree as we prepare for Lent!). A time when we dwell particularly on the intertwining of life and death (an interweaving so close to us all through the pandemic, and a beautiful video of covid lament coming to you next week). A time when we dwell on the everlasting presence of Christ through life and death, the light of the world come, and here, as the light to lighten the gentiles/us all as Simeon wonderfully proclaims, if we can only open our eyes and see. A time when we dwell in the wonderful gospel of Luke 2:22-40 and wonder at the faithfulness and deep seeing of Simeon and Anna and celebrate the wisdom and spiritual depths of older age. For all of that, in our zoom St Mary's Church at Home worship this Sunday, we'll look through the lens of the great image (above) by Arent de Gelder as we end our little series of reflections drawing on the arts.
We'll be continuing weekly now our Monday morning prayer 9am facebook; Midweek Midday Quiet Communion (Wed youtube); Tuesday 6pm prayer vigil in pandemic together (join via facebook live or later), alongside our own daily prayers, stopping in prayer and silent vigil for all behind the numbers we hear daily in our news. If you would like anybody mentioned by name (first name only), in St Mary's Tuesday prayer vigil, please email me anytime. In these awful times of sickness and grief we can continue to pray through Malcolm Guite's quatrain prayer Behind each number, one beloved face (see box below too).
Please continue to pray with and for each other, and all on your hearts and in your minds through this week - for those we know by name and those we don't. Ongoing prayers for you... with love and prayers, Rev'd Sarah
Our wonderful Shalford Infant & Nursery School are inviting everybody to join them in their brilliant puzzle initiative for Children’s Mental Health Week, when, in the words of Headteacher Mrs Dutton 'many children around the country will be learning about promoting positive mental health and ways in which to keep their own minds fit and well. The national theme for this year’s week is ‘express yourself’ and children will be encouraged to celebrate the many things that make them who they are. We’d like to invite you, along with as many members of the local community as possible, to join us by filling in a printout of this puzzle piecewith words, drawings or colours that represent you and/or your family, symbolising that we all have a part to play during this difficult time and recognising the value of that part and the bigger picture that we are all part of. Please put your puzzle piece in your window during Children’s Mental Health Week so our Shalford children and members of the wider community can see it when they get out and about for their daily exercise. You can also share a photo of it on our school Facebook page
HOW CAN YOU HELP EXHAUSTED NHS STAFF?
St Mary's have been working with Christ Church and St Saviour's and Royal Surrey Hospital Chaplaincy to try to find a way we can support with meals/donations/anything wanted. Sadly many ways we hoped for ready meals are impossible with health risks, but Royal Surrey NHS Trust's Staff Health & Well Being lead has opened a door: Thank you so much for your very kind offer of support to our staff during this incredibly difficult time. We have been overwhelmed by the support offered from the community and now have some clear guidelines as to how you can help support our teams in line with revised Infection control guidance to support keeping our staff safe. Our staff would be delighted to accept any of following items: Tins of Chocolate; Snack Bars; Tea/Coffee/hot chocolates; Cold drinks (can, bottles, smoothies, no glass); Bottles of water; Hand creams; Shower gels/ Epsom salts; Adult colouring books and pencils; Pamper packs; Cereal / energy bars; Wash bags.
Next week we will have a big box on left hand side in St Mary's Church porch for you to donate any of these donations anytime, and will coordinate across our churches to deliver with as few people as possible.
Royal Surrey Charity have also just launched our pledge a pizza campaign to help provide our staff working on a Friday night with a takeaway. If you would like to donate please visit this link - Pledge a Pizza here
WHAT'S IN YOUR GLASS?
Have you been noting your daily blessings and dropping them into your glass? On future Sunday's and in our Lent groups there will be a chance to share anything you wish. If you haven't started yet, be inspired here: It's all Glass
Behind each number, one beloved face Malcolm Guite
At close of day I hear the gentle rain
Whilst experts on the radio explain
Mind-numbing numbers, rising by the day,
Cyphers of unimaginable pain.
Each evening they announce the deadly toll
And patient voices calmly call the roll
I hear the numbers, cannot know the names
Behind each number, mind and heart and soul
Behind each number one belovèd face
A light in life whom no-one can replace,
Leaves on this world a signature, a trace,
A gleaning and a memory of grace
All loved and loving, carried to the grave
The ones whom every effort could not save
Amongst them all those carers whose strong love
Bought life for others with the lives they gave.
The sun sets and I find myself in prayer
Lifting aloft the sorrow that we share
Feeling for words of hope amidst despair
I voice my vespers through the quiet air:
O Christ who suffers with us, hold us close,
Deep in the secret garden of the rose,
Raise over us the banner of your love
And raise us up beyond our last repose.
Journey together through Lent
News of Lent small fellowship groups (on Monday eves or Tuesday daytime if fits for all), and other ways to journey through Lent together, to follow this week in separate post. For our Lent groups we'll be beginning our year of focus on identity and relationships, with exploring together our relationship in Christ and identity as disciples - using Rowan William's wonderful little book 'Being Disciples' (buy now!) with the art of Lent woven in. More soon!
SHALFORD'S BIG COMMUNITY
PANDEMIC STITCH !
Update on the Big Stitch in separate post this coming week (once fabric ordered!). Want to learn a few stitches and pick up top tips for your Big Stitch pandemic design? Textile artist Abigail Wastie runs a small business teaching embrioidery & weaving, and will run a special 2 hour free style embroidery workshop especially for us on Monday 15th Feb (& 22nd Feb if enough keen) 7.30-9.30pm on zoom at £25pp for max 6 per session (includes materials) for anybody interested - you can see similar workshop details here: Abigail's Workshop Details.If you're interested please book in via Rev Sarah or directly with Abigail asap.
ECO CHURCH: RSPB BIG BIRD WATCH IN ST MARY'S CHURCHYARD
Maria, Ann and Stewart Hyde are kindly leading the RSPB's Big Bird Watch in St Mary's churchyard, counting all the birds seen within 1 hour between 29-31st January. We're looking forward to sharing the results with you too.
A NEW NEWS BOARD
* February Parish Magazine - sadly hasn't been possible to deliver safely and produce for next mont (& there were no contributions!). March edition also looks unlikely but we may bring forward our bumper April Easter edition with beginning of March copy deadline. Thoughts? * Next PCC meeting 11th February topics for discussion include latest steps with: exploring new youth & intergenerational hub St Michael's hall; supporting community, & ideas for this year's Social & Fundraising events; financial crisis 5-yr planning; drop-down screen & AV upgrade for inclusive hybrid worship & community; Living in Love & Faith and opening safe space for all. If you have any thoughts you'd like included in PCC discussions on these or other topics, please get in touch.
Please email any news you'd like included here too.
See more news in boxes below
DROP IN FOR A QUICK, SOCIAL..... COFFEE, CAKE & CHAT 3Cs+Z Starting weekly from this Thursday 11am on Zoom.
Just click this link each week:
Topic: 11am Cafe 3Cs+Z on Thursdays https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82698917306?pwd=NzhSaDdDdm1CM2FadlBOTVN2YlVBdz09
Meeting ID: 826 9891 7306
Passcode: 633155
Dial in by phone +44 203 901 7895 United Kingdom
Everybody of course from anywhere welcome to just zoom in, even for a few minutes, to cheer up some other friendly faces with a quick chat (bring your own coffee, cake, even a joke, news, or little story!). We'll be back in person for cafe time in St Mary's as soon as is possible and safe.
Prayer Together Weekly
Mondays c.9am - Morning Prayer
Tuesdays c.6pm - Prayer Vigil in Pandemic All welcome to join via St Mary's Facebook page here live or later:
More to come through Lent.
Simply Holy Communion
Online only for now,
on St Mary's Youtube Channel live & later
Every Wednesday - Midday Midweek
The Shalford & Peasmarsh Community Support Network (below) has continued to receive calls steadily every week since the last lockdown for lifts, shopping, prescriptions and we still have many more volunteers who rarely get the chance to help and are ready and waiting. We also now have a special team of DBS checked insured volunteer drivers able to give lifts to vaccine and other appointments if safe to do so. Please pass on news and contact details to your neighbours and all you think might value support from locals helping locals during this difficult lockdown. Thanks so much to all of you who volunteer so wonderfully, and so safely with masks and distance at the fore.
GIVING TO St Mary's and Shalford & Peasmarsh Parish Just click on the big blue button above (or the one on St Mary's website) if you could donate to Shalford Parish church (St Mary's & St Michael's) life, ministry, serving community. Along with so many other areas of life at the moment, churches have been hit hard financially through the pandemic and we would be so grateful for your donations. The button will take you directly to our Justgiving site for one-off or regular online donations, where we can also receive gift aid. If you would be willing to discuss setting up regular giving through direct debit in the Parish Giving Scheme, that would be a wonderful help - please contact Ann Thomas to discuss. Thank you so much for all your support.