Calstone, Cherhill, Compton Bassett, Heddington, Yatesbury,
So we have decided to make our last service in August a “Back to School service”. It will be a family service, with less formality than usual, as we prepare for the new school year. We’ll be thinking about how to start well, and asking for God’s help for all of us.
It would be great to see you if you can make it. We’ve been through a lot together and separately. Hopefully this service can help mark a new beginning for us all.
As you are all aware, we have reached stage 4 in the government’s roadmap out of lockdown. This means that all social distancing rules have been relaxed, including in places of worship.
However, we do not wish anyone to feel at risk either of catching covid or (via contact tracing) of having your summer plans ruined. We are also aware that some of us will need some time to return to feeling normal around larger groups of people. We have therefore decided to continue to follow the guidelines as much as possible for the foreseeable future. This means:
While we are sad that life has not yet returned to normal, we feel these voluntary actions on our part will reduce the risk of someone catching coronavirus, or being asked to self-isolate, thereby missing out on something they are looking forward to.
We hope to be in a position to relax these guidelines further in September.
For those who wish to continue to keep away from indoor gatherings, for whatever reason, we will endeavour to provide something online, although that will not always be possible.
Stay safe, and enjoy the holiday!
Matt and team
Dear friends,
Yesterday was a day of sad news for all of us, but especially for Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family. Please hold them in your thoughts and prayers.
At such a time as this, there would usually be many opportunities for individuals to show their respect and gratitude to the Prince, as well as their love and concern for the Queen. However, we are still limited in what we can do, and Her Majesty has made it clear that she does not wish any of the mourning to put anyone at increased risk and that therefore no special exceptions are made to general regulations at this time.
In the light of these restrictions, it seemed that the simplest and legally safest approach was to change our services tomorrow (Sunday 11th April) to give people a chance to pay their respects.
As always, let me encourage you to make your decisions based on your own circumstances. No one should put themselves or others at extra risk. To this end, weather- and technology-permitting, we intend to offer the following options:
1 Services in each parish church, with attendance up to the maximum allowed under Covid regulations. Each service will also be amplified into the church yard. This way if the numbers are above the maximum, or if you simply prefer not to gather inside at this time, it should be possible for you to join with others.
2 The service in St Andrew’s, Heddington will be streamed live via Facebook. The link is https://www.facebook.com/events/272555127835005/ and should work even if you do not have a Facebook account. However, the internet is not always reliable, so please accept my apologies if this doesn’t work, and consider option 3 below.
3 A recording of that service will be made available afterwards on this website to watch when you wish.
The service times are as follows:
St Mary’s, Calstone 9.45am
St James’, Cherhill 10am
St Andrew’s, Heddington 11.15am
St Swithin’s, Compton Bassett 2.30pm
All Saints, Yatesbury 4pm
With every blessing
Matt and team
It feels like an age since I last had something to update here. This time, two pieces of good news:
Because the rate of infection is falling, we have decided to restart the Villages magazine. It will be slightly staggered, so that each issue can provide information matching the stages of the Roadmap, so won’t be coming out on the first of each month like usual.
Secondly, we are going to be having more services in our churches again. These will begin with a service of Holy Communion in each church on Easter Sunday. Details of these and the rest of the services for April can be found here, in the Villages magazine, and in the “News” section of the website. This is a reduced rota, partly because it is still challenging to provide services in the current climate, but also because without singing and chat not everyone wants to be back in church. There will be an online service available each week as well, as long as we can manage.
Don’t forget to send me your pictures on the theme of Hope or New Start by next Sunday.
Blessings
Matt
We have decided to once again suspend publication of the Villages magazine. This is for 3 reasons:
Whether we restart in March or April depends on the course of the pandemic and the success of the vaccinations.
Your subscriptions (and advertising) will of course be extended
Blessings
Matt and team