Benefice
Newsletter
30 April 2020
Great news! I am delighted to be able to tell you that Rev Canon Margaret Johnson is to be licensed to our parishes as Associate Priest. Margaret has, I know, served you well during the interregnum and I am delighted that she is going to be a more permanent member of our ministry team. We will share her ministry with St Andrew’s, where she will also be Associate Priest. Margaret brings with her a wealth of experience which will be invaluable as we discern new ways to connect with our community, especially with the town centre of Wellingborough.
Please do hold Margaret in your prayers as she is licensed via Zoom at 10am on Tuesday 5th May by Bishop John.
Rev Paula
It has been quite a first week, I have managed to ‘meet’ via Zoom or telephone with several people which is helping me to get to know this place and our churches better. I will continue to be in touch with as many of you as possible over the coming weeks. I have heard of so many good things going on as well as the struggles we are all facing during this period of lockdown.
Do remember the Prayer Chain, if you would like prayer to be offered for specific people or situations, do let Barbara know (details below), any requests will be treated as confidential.
If you would like to be added or to add someone to the list of those in need of prayer on this newsletter (with their permission), please let Agnes or I know.
Revd Christine and I are available for prayer or spiritual counsel, again our contact details are below.
I know that there are many resources available for worship via the internet (details of how to connect to these are included in this newsletter) but I have sensed a need from our congregations for an opportunity to worship together even though we are physically apart. With this in mind I am attempting to produce a recorded service which will be uploaded to Youtube for Sunday. I know that not everyone will have access to the internet or indeed want to worship in this way, so the order of service is attached to this newsletter. This can be used to follow the service with or without the video. You will note that I say at the time of writing ‘attempting’, these are new skills to me, I am certainly not a ‘techie’ so please be patient as I do my best to deliver!
To view the video – which will be available from Sunday – simply click on this link: https://rebrand.ly/saintsandhallows
Do let me know what you think...
May God bless you
Prayers for use during the coronavirus outbreak booklets have been sent to those without internet access. It can be found on the Church of England website: CofE.io/ChurchOnline. Those who have received it already have said they are finding it helpful. If anyone would like a printed copy posted to them please let me know.
Best wishes to you all
Rev Christine
(contact details below)
(contact details below)
The past is a foreign country; they
do things differently there.
L. P. Hartley
L. P. Hartley
This is really an article about planned giving, which Paul Adams, the diocesan stewardship officer, has asked us to consider in these testing times. Before coming to that subject, I could not resist a little plunge into the archives, which may provide some perspective.
Thanks to a collection of documents which reached me via Dorothy Knight, I quote the vicar’s opening remarks in the Record, the newsletter of the Parish of Wellingborough, from the December 1919 edition, just over a year after the Armistice.
My Dear People,
Although, strictly speaking, I am not greatly responsible for the finances of the Church, I cannot help again expressing my anxiety that unless more money is forthcoming for the support of religion in the Parish Church we shall get seriously into debt. You MUST, my dear people, give more money to the collections made in Church if this disgrace is to be avoided. Many of you without any doubt whatever should double your contributions…. It is not to your credit that it should be necessary to have to beg and scrape in order to secure what is necessary for the upkeep of the fabric of your beautiful old Church and for the supply of such things as are essential for the rendering of a dignified worship offered to Almighty God. It is not good for your souls that you should get religion “on the cheap” and be content so to get it.’
It is hard to imagine a priest adopting such a tone now, without a crowd of protestors thronging around the vicarage in the full glare of media publicity. We do things in a rather different way than they were done in the time of Revd Smeaton, and so much the better. One thing has not changed, however. I may have turned off the heating (hollow laughter from All Hallows regulars) but bills still need to be paid and obligations met, whether we are in the building or not. With the closure of church and hall we have less money coming in to fulfil them.
We are therefore more than ever grateful for the regular giving of those who have signed up to the Parish Giving Scheme. A determined effort was made in the autumn to get people on board, leaving only a handful still using the Diocesan standing order plan. We are equally glad for what they contribute, but that method of giving will cease at the end of this year so, when the time is right, I will contact them to ask them to switch to PGS. This is all vital monthly income on which we can rely. Our pink envelope givers are a faithful band. I would ask them to set their envelopes aside ready for a triumphal return to church at some future time. We will need a sack, not a collection plate. In the meantime, your treasurer and churchwardens are doing everything possible to control costs and bring in revenue. You will be pleased to know that HMRC staff are not on furlough, as we received our Gift Aid rebate only days after I submitted the claim. Finally, if any of you are moved by Revd Smeaton’s exhortation to double your giving, PGS is contactable and I still take cheques.
Michael
churchwarden and planned giving officer
churchwarden and planned giving officer
If you wish to give to All Hallows, please ring Michael on 01933 401596, or email him at michaelthompson232@btinternet.com.
To make a donation to All Saints, please get in touch with Mike on 01933 272160.
This week, when you stand at your door and clap for the NHS, could you please take photographs of yourselves and of your neighbours (with their permissions) and email them to me at johnvmagazine@virginmedia.com, as I would like to publish a collage in next month's magazine.
John
Did you have your photograph taken last Thursday, St George's Day, when you clapped the NHS in your uniforms? If so, could you send me some photos? Also, I believe you have been asked to do something special for VE Day on 8th May. Could you let me have photographs of that as well, please, for the magazine? Please email them to johnvmagazine@virginmedia.com.
John
Our prayers are asked for those who suffer in body, mind or spirit, among them: Christian Smalley.
Pray for Nippon Sei Ko Kai (The Anglican Communion in Japan): The Most Revd Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, Primate of The Nippon Sei Ko Kai and Bishop of Hokkaido; The Porvoo Churches – Southwark, Björgvin.
Rest in peace
We remember those who have died recently, among them; Sylvia Patrick, Phyllis Bellamy and Arthur Davies. We pray for all who mourn this week.
Phyllis’ funeral will be held at 1pm on 14 May.
Arthur’s funeral will be held at 10am on 14 May.
Please note that in accordance with current guidelines funerals mourners are restricted to closest family. Perhaps you could light a candle at the time of the funeral and spend some time in quiet prayer.
The Church of England has launched a free dial-in worship phone line. It is available 24 hours a day, by dialing
0800 804 8044. Callers are first greeted by a recording of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, then they are asked to choose from a range of options, including hymns, prayers, reflections, and advice on COVID-19.
We welcome this new addition to our existing list of Church of England and Diocesan resources you already know of:
For good mental health
For worship at home
List of services you can attend online
A vast selection of further resources from Peterborough Diocese