The Benefice of St. Bartholomew

Benefice News -18th June 2021

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Written by Tony Gowers

Church News

A copy of this week’s Church News can be found here. In addition to news, the document gives full details of all of our services this coming Sunday and on the following Sunday. Do join in with everything that appeals to you.

Sunday 20th June 2021 - Third Sunday after Trinity

There are five services planned for Sunday 20th June that will all be held in church, with two of these also streamed over the Internet using Zoom. Details are shown in the right hand margin of this webpage and on the Benefice calendar here. The service sheet for the Patronal Family Eucharist to be held at St John's Church, Charlton, at 11.00 am can be printed and/or downloaded here.

Mid-Week Eucharist (Said)

The Rev’d June is leading a mid-week service of Common Worship Eucharist (said) on Zoom each Wednesday at 9.30 am. Please do consider participating in this service if you are able. You can find the Zoom details in the right-hand margin of this webpage.

Churches Opening During the Week

Some of our church buildings will be open at specified times throughout the coming week. Details of the opening days and times for each church are shown below:

• St Andrew’s Church, Donhead St Andrew: Tuesday and Friday: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
• St Mary's Church, East Knoyle: Monday to Saturday: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
• St Leonard’s Church, Semley: Sunday and Wednesday: 10.00 am to 6.00 pm
• St Mary's Church, Donhead St Mary: Monday to Saturday: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm

These details may change as we gain experience of our ‘new normal’, so please check this page from week to week for the latest information.

Zoom

With many services now being held in our churches on Sundays and some being ‘Zoomed’ at the same time, we require more than one ‘Zoom room' to enable us to Zoom two services from different churches simultaneously. Details of each ‘Zoom room' are shown below.

Important: please ensure that you check in the right hand margin of the this page the Zoom details of the service in which you wish to participate before joining the service.

Zoom 2

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84985924593?pwd=em4zQ1Q2YkdrdTRuanhYY0lOejZQUT09
Meeting ID: 849 8592 4593      Passcode: 519527

Zoom 3

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85640073075?pwd=akd0WTVKUHpSeDFhZ1NrM1NrTHZKQT09
Meeting ID: 856 4007 3075    Passcode: 2020

Zoom 4

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2872955220?pwd=NTN5OHE0anVTRmNwYmpUVHdoSWI3QT09
Meeting ID: 287 295 5220      Passcode: 175430

Zoom 5

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3341879558
Meeting ID: 334 187 9558       Passcode: 345123

Zoom 6

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4025128421
Meeting ID: 402 512 8421     Passcode: 1943

Zoom 7

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83223161580
Meeting ID: 832 2316 1580   Passcode: A9494L

Zoom 8

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82226890974?pwd=ZWNlRnE1eVVUNGZGcEcwTzdQWEY0QT09
Meeting ID: 822 2689 0974    Passcode: 660923

Zoom 9

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9545950240?pwd=bnd2VllVKzRSM2NDeG1zOGduM1F2dz09
Meeting ID: 954 595 0240    Passcode: 0YYUd2

Zoom 10

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83141740534?pwd=bU9oVzNQSjVNOFNlMVZPZWZCRmZoQT09
Meeting ID: 831 4174 0534    Passcode: 174183 

Zoom 11

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2788135839
Meeting ID: 278 813 5839    Passcode: 2020 

You can also participate by dialling in by telephone to one of these phone numbers: 0203 481 5237 or 0203 481 5240.

Click here for more guidance on how to join a Zoom meeting.

From the Associate Priest - June 2021

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Written by The Rev'd June Lane

Dear Friends,

OI was thinking about how many of the participants at the meeting about choosing our new Bishop mentioned the wish for a person of Prayer. I wonder how many of you think about prayer and even wonder just what it is. We know that we are supposed to pray, the Prophets of the Old Testament prayed to God as did the people. God acknowledged quite often that He had heard His people’s prayers and sometimes His response could be dramatic. Think of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt or Elijah on Mount Carmel challenging the prophets of Baal. Jesus himself prayed often, drawing aside from his followers and spending time praying to his Father and, of course, The Lord’s Prayer which we all use in so many ways, is a direct command to us to pray. So what are we doing when we pray? What are the mechanics? What do we expect from our prayers? Are direct answers important? So many questions. I hope I can give a few simple answers to what is such an important subject.

First I want to say very clearly indeed that there is no specific right or correct way to pray. We are all individuals and we all have different ways of communicating with each other and we each have our favourite, the one which is most comfortable. The one fundamental applying to all methods is that in prayer to God we are communicating with Him. For some of us the set prayers in our Services, especially those traditional, familiar ones, are the way we communicate best with Him whilst for others it is the extempore words which we find most helpful. For many it is easier to pray in company with others whilst for some a place and time of quiet, even solitude, is necessary. Some of us are so in awe of God that we cannot be relaxed and familiar whilst others feel comfortable just chatting to God as we go about our daily lives. No matter what way works for us, each of us is communicating, connecting with God in our prayers and, of course, we cannot discount the special times when we are praying for something very specific, whether for something which applies to the whole world or for the safety and perhaps healing of a loved one. Some of our prayers are quite selfish, when we need to make a big decision, applying for a new job, deciding whether we want to spend our whole life with one individual. We also know that often answers to prayer are not the ones we want. We need to take on board that prayer is not just a ‘shopping list” of requests to Him, that prayer is really a way of getting to know God better, of becoming more familiar with what He wants us to be. In exactly the same way we get to know our own family, friends and loved ones by spending time with them, so spending time with God is just that, spending time with Him in whichever way we find best.

So what did we all mean when we told the representatives of the Prime Minister and the Archbishops that we wanted a person of Prayer? I imagine that each person who mentioned that attribute in the list had a different idea, but each and everyone, I am sure meant that they wanted above all a person who is in touch with God and who is listening to God’s plan for the future of our Diocese.

The Diocese and our own lives are full of so many needs but through prayer we can bring them all to Almighty God. What a privilege that is.

God Bless and keep you all.

June Lane

Prayer Cycle and Prayer of the Month - June 2021

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Written by The Rev'd June Lane

Please do let us know if you would like us to pray for you. Contact any of us: The Rev’d June (tel: 01747 828427), Julia (tel: 01747 829166), or Theresa (tel: 01747 829188).

I was reminded of the following hymn as we had it at Rogation. It is by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint and is something we usually think of as a hymn, but it is good to be reminded that many hymns are simple prayers. This month, in addition to singing it at our Service, why not use it as a prayer:

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.
Christ our God, to thee we raise,
This our sacrifice of praise.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale and tree and flower,
Sun and Moon and stars of light.
Christ our God to thee we raise,
This our sacrifice of praise.