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CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) CRISIS
Please be advised that in light of the Government guidance around non-essential contact, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued advice that public worship is suspended until further notice.
The Archbishops call for the Church of England to become radically different, as public worship is put on hold to help stem the spread of coronavirus (see link).
We are using 'Zoom' to provide weekly, Sunday, 9:30am interactive online services; also now, a weekly mid-week prayer meeting and an evening service, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please see the article below.
Here (link) is our Weekly Newsletter for Sunday, 24 May 2020. It contains details of Services, Readings and Hymns; and also some community notices. Also, here are two recent letters from the Church Treasurer, mostly meant for Church Members; Links: (1) (2) ; and a copy of an Evening Prayer service provided by Rev Lynette (link).
A new Facebook page is being created (see link).
We are praying for the people of the Parish and are very concerned, in these challenging times, to offer friendship and/or any other pastoral support to anyone from Riverhead or Dunton Green who would appreciate it. We would, as ever, welcome anyone who wishes to join us for our online Services.
Initial Church Contacts are given below. Please get in touch if you think we might be able to help in any way, whether spiritually or practically.
THY KINGDOM COME PRAYER INITIATIVE
Ascension Day to Pentecost 21st May – 31st May 2020
We are asked to pray for God's spirit to move within our Church community, equipping us to share God's love with others and listen to how God is speaking to us today.
Although enduring extraordinary times at present there are still many opportunities for us to offer love and kindness to all our neighbours in accordance with Christ's great commandment.
Jesus is the Light of the world and we are called to the Light to reflect His image.
Our plans here at St Mary's are as follows: (link)
CONTACT ARRANGEMENTS DURING INTERREGNUM & CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Contact details during this time will be as follows:
Baptisms - Initial enquiries via:
Weddings - Initial enquiries via:
Funerals - Initial enquiries via:
Pastoral Care - Initial enquiries via:
Other General Enquiries - Initial enquiries via:
ONLINE SERVICES USING ZOOM
We are now offering a weekly, online, 9:30am Sunday Worship Service, using a system called Zoom. The latter requires the downloading of an App (free) onto your device (smartphone, iphone, tablet, laptop or PC). It provides a remote conferencing service that supports online meetings.
If you might like to participate, please e-mail Margaret Nicholas:
to be included on our e-mail distribution list. In advance of each Service, we will e-mail you to provide: the link address, the MeetingID and the Password.
The Services, to be led by Daphne Harrison LLM, are as follows:
Tuesday, 26 May 2020 at 7:15pm - Joint Benefice Prayer Meeting
Wednesday, 27 May 2020 at 7:45pm for 8:00pm - Evening Service (Service Sheet)
Sunday, 31 May 2020 at 9:30am - Family Eucharist (Bishop Michael)
Sunday, 7 June 2020 at 9:30am - Family Service
Sunday, 14 June 2020 at 9:30am - Parish Eucharist
BBC RADIO 4 SUNDAY SERVICE
Sunday, 31 May 2020 at 08:10 am on BBC Radio 4 (for 40 mins).
Theme: "Pentecost"
You can also listen live, or access recordings of previous services, via BBC Sounds (link)
ST LUKE'S, SEVENOAKS - SERVICE LIVE STREAMING & RECORDINGS
Service to be live streamed on Sunday, 3 May 2020; at 10:10am for a 10:15am start; and available afterwards as a recording.
Link: http://stlukes-sevenoaks.org.uk/live/
You can also download, in advance, the service sheet via the same link; and view recordings of previous services.
ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS - RESOURCES
St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks are making available online resources of various sorts, including live-streamed and recordings of Services, and resources for children. These can all be accessed via their website: http://www.stnicholas-sevenoaks.org/
BBC1 SONGS OF PRAISE
Programme to be broadcast on BBC One TV on Sunday, 31 May 2020 at 1:15 pm, and then available on I-Player.
Theme: Pentecost
Then available on I-Player (link)
BBC RADIO 4 (LW) WEEKDAY DAILY SERVICE
Every weekday:
BBC Radio 4 LW (198kHz) broadcast a Daily Service at 9:45 am, lasting 15-minutes.
A catch-up service is available on the BBC website (link).
NEW C of E DIAL-IN SERVICE - DAILY HOPE
The Church of England has launched a free dial-in worship service to bring prayer to people's homes while churches are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Daily Hope, which is available from 26 April 2020, offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone line.
The national line, normally free to call from a land-line, is available 24 hours a day on
0800 804 8044.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the service has been primarily set up to support Britons, especially the elderly, who are unable to join online church services. Please pass on this information to people who might be in this situation.
CHURCH OF ENGLAND - CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) - GUIDANCE FOR CHURCHES
The Church of England has published guidance for churches, which can be accessed via the following links:
http://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches
Church of England, Coronavirus Liturgy and Prayer Resources:
http://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-liturgy-and-prayer-resources
References are also provided to Government and NHS guidance:
http://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
Please don't forget donations of non-perishable food are urgently required every week, as part of our support for the Community Food Bank. Contributions can be left in the basket at the back of the Church.