Good Evening,
Following the government’s announcement of their roadmap out of lockdown, I’ve had a few people ask what’s happening with St Michaels, so thought I would share as much of the plan that I know, as well as a few other things.
Resuming Public Worship
The Standing Committee met on Monday and felt we should continue to be cautious and follow in the footsteps of the schools. As such we wont resume Public Worship on the 7th March – worship will remain online for then. The PCC have a meeting scheduled for the following day, where they will be asked to make some decisions about Public Worship and following that meeting I will be able to communicate clearly when the church will resume public worship. It is my hope that this is the last time St Michaels is closed for public worship for the rest of its history.
Easter
I am hopeful that we will be back in church for Holy Week and Easter but obviously things will still need to be slightly different. For Christmas I met with a group of people to discuss ideas about what we could do, I am interested in doing the same for Easter. So if you would be interested in being involved in planning some of what we might do at Easter, would you let me know?
Thanksgiving Sunday
This Sunday (28th) is Thanksgiving Sunday where you are invited to return your pledge card to church indicating how much you are committing financially to the church in thankfulness for God’s love for you. The church building will be open between 11am and 4pm for you to come and drop your envelope off should you wish. There will be a basket on the altar with some words you may wish to use as you place a symbol of your gift (pledge card in envelope) to God on the altar. Thank you to everyone who has sent their cards back so far.
Prayer for our Parish
On Ash Wednesday we published a new prayer diary for St Michaels which gives various suggestions for how to grow your prayer life as well as a diary of people, organisations and places to pray for each day throughout the month. There are printed copies of these for everyone in church, but you can also download it from our website. As we look forwards there is an opportunity to not just go back to what were doing but to ask God, ‘what do you want us to do next? Who are you calling us to serve next?’ A couple of weeks ago I spoke in the Sunday service about a new project we are embarking on called The Micah Project where we are looking to appoint a Children and Families Worker, a Youthworker and a Community Worker to help us as a church grow but also to serve our local community better. Part of the beginning of this project is about discerning where God is calling us to serve. As such I want to invite you to join me in a time of Praying for our Parish throughout the month of March.
Each day of March, I would like someone to walk the streets listed for that day in our prayer diary in the morning, and for someone else to walk the same streets in the afternoon, asking God to show them the places and people to which he is calling us as a church. When they have finished walking to then write some brief notes about what they saw, who they saw, how they felt and then to drop those notes back to me. This will then start to add some further structure to our ministry over the coming months and years. From Friday, in Church, there will be a sign up sheet for the roads and days, along with cards you can take to write your notes on. I hope you will be able to join me in Praying for our Parish in the next month.
APCM
There was some confusion in my last email about the date of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting – sorry! This will take place on Sunday 18th April at a time still to be confirmed and will take place in Church. Please do put this date in your diary – more details will follow.
This meeting will include the election of Churchwardens and PCC members. If you are interested in standing for the PCC please let Tricia Munn know and she will send you some information along with a nomination form. Her email is: triciamunn@btinternet.com
Louise Richardson will be standing down as Churchwarden at the APCM having completed her 6 year term of office. Louise’s wardenship has been unlike most others with the range of things she has had to deal with. There will be opportunities to thank her in the months to come, but I am truly thankful for all she has offered to our parish in service as Churchwarden.
I would like to present her with a gift at the APCM in thanks for all that she has done. Should you wish to contribute to this gift please could send these donations to the church or vicarage marked with mine or David Walker’s name with the word ‘Handover’. We will then know exactly what this is for. You can also transfer the funds directly into the church bank account, please again include the word ‘Handover’ in the reference. Please also try to refrain from telling Louise I’m organising this – it would nice to surprise her! (Cheques – St Michael and All Angels PCC / Bank Transfer - Parochial Church Council of St Michael and All Angels, Sort code: 01-01-14, Bank A/C No: 83547274)
With Louise stepping down there will be a vacancy for Churchwarden. Should you be interested in this role, could you speak to a current Churchwarden to get some more information about the role, and it would also be helpful to have a conversation with me, so that I can share some of my vision for ministry over the next few years with you. Please be praying for those people thinking about serving on the PCC and as Churchwarden.
Walking for Keith
Finally, Moyra Cryer and Hamida Adkins are aiming to WALK for KEITH during March and April 2021. Keith Fenwick was the much loved and energetic instigator of St Michael's international link with the Diocese of Newala in the south of Tanzania. This spiritually rich yet materially poor diocese has inspired St Michael's in the past to make friends with people there, visit Newala and support the diocese with its diverse educational, healthcare, water and sanitation needs. We very sadly lost Keith to Covid-19 last April. The largest town in Newala Diocese is Mtwara on the coast, 83 miles from the inland town of Newala. Moyra and Hamida intend to walk this distance around Bramhall. They will walk each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday starting Tuesday 16 March, walking three walks per week except for Holy Week (29 March to 3 April) and finishing their 15th walk on Saturday 24th April - quite a challenge!
The walks will be approximately 5 miles long and radiate out as petals of a flower from the church. Thus all the walks will be local and accessible to anyone who would also like to walk separately, subject to the Covid-19 rules and restrictions at the time. They are hoping to raise £10,000 so that the half-built hostel owned by the diocese in Newala town can be completed and thus provide the diocese with an income and a welcoming base for tourists and visitors to stay. It's an ambitious amount of money, but since Keith's dream was to have this hostel up and running, they feel they can try to fulfill that dream this year. You can donate to their challenge on our website at https://www.bramhall.church/walk-for-keith
I have gone on for far too long now, so I shall sign off here. Thank you for taking the time to read this update.
God Bless,
Calum