Good Morning,
It’s been 7 weeks since we reopened St Michael’s for public worship and it has been a real joy to see so many of you and worship alongside you in that time. By way of encouragement, we have seen around 75% of the congregation return to church for worship activity, which is a percentage much higher than some of the other churches in the area.
Rule of 6
As we head into the winter months it was inevitable that restrictions would shift and change. Following the announcement last week from the government about the new rule of 6, I said on Sunday I would send out an update later in the week once the Church of England had updated their national guidance relating to this rule. Essentially, in terms of our worship activities, nothing changes. The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote “Worship is the work of God – not a social gathering – and gives the strength to love and serve.” Providing we continue to observe the social distancing rules, wear face masks (unless you have a medical exemption), and continue to care for one another in the ways we have been, there shouldn’t be too much change to our new way of life. In terms of activities in the Parish Centre, this is slightly more complicated, and the churchwardens and I are working to try and understand which groups can meet and how it is possible.
Memorial Wall
Some 18 months ago, plans were discussed to have a new memorial stone added to the memorial garden to remember babies who are born asleep or don’t make it to full term. Those who go through this difficult experience, normally don’t have a grave to visit, or place to go and remember, so the addition of this stone will provide a place of remembrance for families. The cost has been underwritten by the PCC and I am very grateful to Ben Lloyd Funeralcare who worked with us and provided us a discount on the work. The stone was installed last week and I think it is a fitting addition to the memorial garden.
Whilst the work has been covered by the PCC, if you wish to give a donation to this new memorial, please can you pass cash or cheques to the office in an envelope marked ‘baby memorial’ or include those words in your bank transfer reference. If we receive donations in excess of the cost, these will be donated to Tommy’s, a baby loss charity. If you wish to know more about them and their work, a link can be found here: https://www.tommys.org/
On Sunday 11th October at 3pm, there will be a short service in our memorial garden to dedicate this stone which will be led by Revd Jess Piper, which will be open to all.
Annual Meeting
The annual meeting takes place on Sunday at 2pm, I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at that meeting, and taking time to look back on our life together last year whilst also beginning to think about the future of St Michael’s too.
I hope you are well and keeping safe.
Regards,
Calum