The Benefice of St. Bartholomew

Benefice News - 7th August 2020

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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 during weekdays, as well as those this coming Sunday and the following Sunday. Do join in with everything that appeals to you.

Sunday 9th August 2020 - Ninth Sunday after Trinity

The services planned for Sunday 9th August will all take place in our churches, and some will be streamed over the Internet using Zoom. Details are shown in the right hand margin of this webpage and on the Benefice calendar here.

We hope that you are able to participate in one or more of the varied acts of worship that have been planned, either in church or on Zoom.

Benefice Administrator Leave

The Benefice Administrator, Jo, is on leave from Monday 17th August to Wednesday 19th August inclusive. Rev’d Kevin will be available for urgent pastoral issues on Tuesday 18th August but will then be off duty until Thursday 3rd September. For urgent pastoral issues during Wednesday 19th August and Wednesday 2nd September please contact The Rev’d Dr Graham Southgate, the Rural Dean, on 01722 714 826.

Churches Opening for Public Worship

We are delighted that our church buildings are open once again for pubic worship. We will be following Government and Church of England Guidance. Currently the main points are:

• We will maintain 2 metres social distancing (outside of our household group) in our church buildings and whilst waiting to enter the building.
• Anybody who is feeling unwell should not enter the church building but should return home and seek medical advice in severe cases.
• Hand sanitisers will be available as we enter the building and have to be used by all entering. Each church will have separate procedures with clear instructions.
• As you enter the church building you will be asked to provide your name and contact details which will be kept securely for 21 days.
• Our services will not include the singing of hymns although we may have live music played on the organ or other (non wind) instruments or some recorded material.
• We shall not share the peace physically with each other.
• We shall not shout or speak in a raised voice so as to avoid extending aerosol spray.
• We will also ensure high contact areas in the church building are sanitised before each service.
• We are sorry we cannot offer refreshments until further notice.
• We shall enter and leave the building when instructed to do so whilst maintaining social distancing.
• At communion services, those receiving communion will say ‘Amen’ collectively and will then receive communion under one kind only in silence. The priest distributing communion will wear a face mask.

The guidance states, “At present, communion should be administered in one kind only with no sharing of the common cup. The president alone should always take the wine, consuming all that has been consecrated; other communicants should receive the bread only, in the hand. As the Liturgical and Faith and Order Commissions have made clear, this is still ‘complete communion’. In order to minimise overall risk, intinction (dipping the bread into the wine) should not be practised.”

“The priest should sanitise his/her hands before administering the bread. Each communicant should also be encouraged to sanitise their hands before receiving the bread.”

Important: we need to know the number of people who are intending to come to our public services each week. Please let either the Churchwarden, The Rev’d Kevin or Jo our Administrator know if you are intending to come to a service the following Sunday. If you don’t let us know, we may need to turn you away at the church door if we have reached our capacity according to Government and Church of England guidelines. We really want to ensure all those who wish to come to a service are able to attend one.

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: Wednesday: 10.00 am to 12.00 noon; Saturday: 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm
• St Leonard’s Church, Semley: Sunday and Wednesday: 10.00 am to 6.00 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

Sunday Services

With many services now being held in our churches on Sundays and most 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 1

Either click on this link, and then use the password shown:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86820719578
Password: 867689

Or log on using the Zoom app, and use this ID and password:
Meeting ID: 868 2071 9578
Password: 867689

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

Zoom 2

Either click on this link, and then use the password shown:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2872955220
Password: 175430

Or log on using the Zoom app, and use this ID and password:
Meeting ID: 287 295 5220
Password: 175430

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

Zoom 3

Either click on this link, and then use the password shown:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/89681478089
Password: 549440

Or log on using the Zoom app, and use this ID and password:
Meeting ID: 896 8147 8089
Passcode: 549440

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 Curate - August 2020

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Written by The Rev'd Kevin Martin

Dear Friends,

What a month it has been. There have been lots of changes we have needed to get used to and for many of us life is beginning to open up again after lock down. The things we used to take for granted are now main events we need to book and put in our diaries. It was a joy to get my hair cut after several weeks and for the first time in my life I realised how much easier it is to book a set time to have a hair cut! We are also able to physically go to the shops rather than buying on line. Even going for a swift pint in the local requires prior booking and it is certainly the first time I ever remember having to ask people to let me know if they will be coming to church on Sunday. There will be more changes over the coming weeks and months that will make the familiar a little strange to us. As I write this I am aware tomorrow will mark the first day of it being compulsory to wear face masks when going into shops and other buildings. The Church of England House of Bishops has today also published guidance strongly recommending the use of face masks in our church buildings. I shall be following this advice but I know for others it will seem a step beyond what they are willing to do.

Things are the same but different as we are learning to keep a social distance from others. I am delighted to see, however, that we are also realising keeping that distance doesn't stop us from taking time to stop and talk to each other. As we come out of lock down we are engaging with each other more and enjoying the ability to re-establish contact. In the midst of lock down and our growing anxiety a trip outside often meant hastily going about the tasks we had set ourselves to complete in the quickest time possible. This was then the responsible thing to be doing in order to keep everybody as safe as they and we could be. Now we are again beginning to enjoy our time going to the shops or to church services or out to socialise. We realise the importance of social contact whilst also having a greater sense of how much of contact we need. This varies from person to person. Some of my friends have been very happy socially isolating whilst others have been craving the ability to meet up in person with others.

All of the above reminds us that we are social beings. We may need time with others to a greater or lesser extent but when the ability to communicate is taken away it can be very challenging indeed. Technology has been wonderful at enabling us to stay in touch and see each other on-line but there is something more uplifting when we are physically gathered in a place together. I feel many of us have realised just how much we 'talk' to each other with non-verbal communication.

For me, this extra dimension to our meeting with each other is a reflection of the God whose image we are created in. We are made in the image of God and for Christians we have come to understand that image to be a community of love between Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer with ultimately us being invited into that community. Being made in this image it is no wonder that we feel so much more alive when we share time together with family and friends, when we reflect being part of that community of love that always wants what's best for each other and our mutual growth and flourishing. I hope in the coming weeks we will all have many opportunities to share time with friends and family. In this I hope we will experience a sharing in the love of God in our lives and an awareness that we are living life in all its fullness. (John 10:10).

Kevin

Prayer Cycle and Prayer of the Month - August 2020

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Written by The Rev'd June Lane

We continue to pray as usual so please do keep your requests, news and thanks coming. Contact any of us: The Rev’d June (tel: 01747 828427), Julia (tel: 01747 829166), Theresa (tel: 01747 829188) or the Rev’d Kevin (tel: 01747 828551).

Prayer Of The Month

As we look forward to new adventures with all that is happening with COVID and different ways of 'doing' church, this little prayer may help us to move forward more confidently knowing God is with us.

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God
teach us to walk in Your way more trustfully,
to accept Your truth more faithfully,
and to share Your life more lovingly.
By the power of the Holy Spirit
guide us in our word for your Church,
so that we may become as one family,
wanting only to serve you and our community.
Amen

From the Licensed Lay Minister - 3rd August 2020

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Written by Jo Johnson

Recently we have been celebrating Lammas, a time when we thank God for providing for our needs, embodied in our “Daily Bread”. The Jewish people celebrated this two thousand years ago as a time to thank God for the first fruits of the harvest, for making their crops grow well so that there would be a plentiful harvest in due course.

It is no bad thing to have a reminder that we owe thanks to God for all the good things in our lives – it’s really easy to just take things for granted and accept them as the norm. Well, perhaps life in the last three or four months has shown us that it is all too easy for the norm to change. Suddenly shops are closed, older people are advised to stay at home and oddest of all, churches have closed their doors.

Now things are creeping back to something resembling life as we knew it, although many restrictions still remain and this gives us even more opportunities to be thankful for the restoration of things we used to take for granted. I cannot explain how thankful I was last Monday to visit my hairdresser, returning home and looking in the mirror, to see me as I remembered, looking back. The strange Old English Sheepdog had gone and I had become my old self again.

It is a pity that it takes something as earth-shattering as a pandemic to make us appreciate the things we used to take for granted. Mindfulness is being promoted as a modern concept - I don’t believe that it is. However, that doesn’t mean that I think it is a bad one. We must learn to live in the moment, to appreciate what we have now, because at any moment it may be taken away and sadly, it is only when it is too late and the moment has passed do we realise that it was the last time we should ever do that thing.

With the opportunity to slow down, live life at a slightly slower pace, don’t let us waste it, experience things differently and remember to thank God for our Daily Bread every day.

Jo Johnson