Update - October (3)

Good Evening,

Following on from some of the changes announced by government and the local authority in the past few days, I thought it might be helpful to send out another update, so here goes…

Tier 3 – Very High Risk Restrictions

Tonight we join with the rest of Greater Manchester in going in the tier 3 restrictions. Whilst it impacts all our lives in different ways, St Michaels will remain open. Thankfully the government have realised the importance of places of worship and the necessity for them to stay open. I and the wardens will continue to ensure the church site is as safe as possible for everyone and if things change we will communicate that as quickly as possible. I’m aware there are a few church members who don’t live in Stockport, and so will not be heading into Tier 3 restrictions. The advice recommends people don’t travel into or out of a tier 3 locations – however I believe the activity of worship is essential and a priority for all people. Therefore, even though I am just a humble parson, I want to suggest to those of you living outside of Stockport Borough, that it is still ok for you to attend St Michaels to worship. If you have any concerns about this, please do get in touch!

Annual Act of Commemoration

On Sunday 1st November we are due to hold our annual service of light and commemoration. Due to the number of people who normally attend this service, the wardens and I have taken the difficult decision to not hold this service in person this year. I’m sorry that this service wont be possible, but all the practicalities relating to it, with expected numbers, makes it very difficult. We will stream a service online on Sunday 1st November at 6.30pm. The church will also be open from 2pm to 4pm for anyone wishing to come into church to pray, light a candle or add a name of a loved one to a tree of remembrance. When social distancing measures are relaxed we will look to hold an additional service of commemoration.

Remembrance Sunday

A few people have been asking me about plans for Remembrance Sunday.  National government and Church of England guidance make clear that it is possible for people to gather at war memorials to observe remembrance Sunday and armistice day. However, on Monday, Stockport Borough Council cancelled all civic services at war memorials throughout the borough with the words ‘given that the council must put the safety of its residents first, there will be no public events taking place at outdoor War Memorials on Remembrance Sunday nor Armistice Day’. I find this position difficult to accept and I’m sorry this decision has been made, the local councillors and I were working hard together to make a public act of remembrance safe and possible. I have spoken with Woodford and Bramhall Royal British Legion today, we will film an act of remembrance at the war memorial in advance of Remembrance Sunday and will stream this live at 11am on our website and social media.

As usual we will have an act of remembrance in each of our services, and we will also display the recorded service on our screens in church at the appropriate times for those that wish to watch it there.

Sunday Worship

One of the positives of the booking system is it is making it easier to keep a record of the numbers attending our services. Following the news conference on Tuesday evening, I needed to do something to cheer myself up, so I updated my excel spreadsheet with our church attendance figures in it. (Yes, I am that sad, no, I haven’t run out of rows or columns yet). This week, our attendance figure across all services was 110. This is the highest its been since we reopened and reflects a gradual upwards curve over the last couple of months. I’ve found this really encouraging and I hope you do to.

With numbers increasing a little each week, it has meant we have been able to review how we do things slightly, and you may or may not notice some small changes in the coming weeks. A couple of people have spoken to me about the difficulties they have had being able to book on to the 10am Sunday service, as whenever they go to do it, it is fully booked. I appreciate a large number of people are keen to attend at 10am, we have looked at whether we can increase capacity and its just not possible. There are 3 other services each week, all of which have space – so if you can’t book into the 10am service, I would encourage you to try one of the other services.

One of the things currently sat on my desk is the service of commemoration I am planning. One of the readings is Romans 8 which says:

35Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus Christ is same today, as he will be tomorrow, as he was yesterday. However you feel – you can trust in him. Jess and I shared how we are feeling at the moment in our latest ‘In Conversation’ episode today – we are finding it helpful to look for the small bits of joy in each day – and take each day as it comes. Nothing will separate us from Gods love, and the joy of heaven – whatever the days and weeks ahead hold – trust in Jesus – he holds you in the palm of his hand.

With thankfulness for all you give, and prayers for God’s blessing upon you!

Calum

Update - October (2)

Good Morning,

Sorry for another email in the space of a month, but there a couple of things I felt important to share with you.

Safeguarding

Firstly, you may be aware that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse released their report on the Church of England and Church of Wales this week which was reported on by mainstream media. Sadly it highlights very clearly where the Church of England has got things wrong in the past, the ways in which it has failed far too many people, and the way in which some of our current structures and processes need to change. I and the PCC of St Michaels take our duty and obligation to protect all, extremely seriously. We have adopted the national Church of England's procedures and guidelines relating to safeguarding and regularly review these and how they are implemented in our church life. You can find out more information about this on our website at https://www.bramhall.church/safeguarding. Where change is required in how we operate and our policies, we will make those changes as quickly and safely as we can, to make our church family as safe as possible for everyone.   If you want to know more about our safeguarding commitments or want to speak to someone in confidence please don’t hesitate to contact Cathy Hedley our lead Safeguarding Officer, Susan Joyce our Children’s Advocate and Safeguarding Officer or myself, our contact details can be found on the link above.

Harvest

We will be celebrating Harvest on Sunday 18th October at all three of our services. We are inviting the usual donations of non-perishable food which will be split between the Foodbank and Wellspring project. This year we are also support the Christian Aid Harvest Campaign, and any monetary donations will be sent there.

For a suggested list of food donations, see our website where there are more details. https://www.bramhall.church/upcoming-events

For more details on the Christian Aid Campaign you can go to their website: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/global-neighbours-autumn-appeal

On Saturday 17th October at 7pm, I invite you to join us in our first ever Harvest Quiz (hooray!!). Get the family or social bubble together in front of the computer and join us for the first ever virtual quiz at St Michaels where we are raising money for the Christian Aid Harvest Campaign. Tickets per team (household or bubble) are £10 and you can get these by contacting the office. When the office gets the £10, they will give you the zoom login code for the night. It might not be as exciting as Strictly Come Dancing – but it certainly won’t be an event to miss. I hope you will join us! Tickets will also be available on Sunday after our services.

PCC Members

I realise following the Annual Meeting, I haven’t shared with all of you who was appointed to the PCC. So the following people are now members of the PCC:

Hamida Adkins, John Baker (Pastoral Worker) Frances Beards, David Beveridge (Deanery Synod), Imogen Bird, Glynis Brown, Robert Cryer, Georgina Foot, Shelagh Gall, Bryan Goodwin (Deanery Synod), Mark Hackney (Reader) Sally Harwood, Michael Holmes, Sue Howgego, Jill Illingworth, Janet Ketteringham, Graham Knight, Bob Munn (Diocesan Synod) Tricia Munn, Sheila Newbon, Jo Oughton (Deanery Synod), Louise Sell, Sue Taylor, Stuart Villard, Phil Wadsworth (Deanery Synod), Georgia Watson, Rob Watson

I’m also pleased to tell you that Louise Richardson and David Walker were elected as Churchwardens for a further year.

The new PCC will meet for the first time (virtually) on Monday next week, so do be praying for them.

Livestreaming

Over the last few months I have been trying different things to try and provide a good quality livestream of our 10am service. Following a number of changes last week, the stream seemed to go quite well. From this week, we are going to try and put the order of service for the 10am service on our website. So should you wish to follow the service with a bit more clarity you can download the service beforehand.

That’s everything on my post-it note of things to tell you. Stay safe!

God Bless,

Calum

 

Update - October (1)

Hello Friends,

Can you believe its now October? In a zoom meeting last night, someone mentioned how they couldn’t believe that the Christmas decorations were going up in the garden centres already. Just a few updates for you as we head into this new month.

Mark Hackney Licensed at Reader

This Sunday (4th) Mark will be licensed as a Lay Reader in the diocese based at St Michaels. The service will be take place at Chester Cathedral and will be led by Bishop Mark, Bishop of Chester. If you want to watch the service, we have been told it will be on youtube and the link is https://www.youtube.com/c/ChesterCathedralChoirandOrgan/featured. The service will start at 3pm. The following Sunday (11th), Mark (our reader, not the Bishop) will preach at all three services and will also replicate parts of the licensing service, as required by the Diocese. I do hope, you will be able to join us at one of these services, as we welcome Mark into this ministry.

NHS Test and Trace App

You may have heard much about the launch of the NHS app last week. Part of the system requires public places to display a new type of barcode at the entrance to their buildings. People with the app on their phone can scan the code and register that they have arrived at the building. In line with the request from government St Michaels is now displaying the code we have been assigned. If you have the app, and wish to participate, you can scan in on arrival at church, but nobody will be forced to participate in this system. We will maintain our own booking system which is primarily about making sure we have space for people in our services, and secondly is about making sure we have information for Track ad Trace should it be needed.

On the note of Track and Trace, I think it is inevitable that there will be people in our church over the next few weeks who get told to isolate. Where this happens, I want to ask for your continued love, generosity and care towards them. People don’t choose to get Covid, but to be told to self-isolate brings all sorts of feelings of fear and in some cases shame. Lets continue to build one another up in love and prayer.

Another Step to Normality

I am really pleased to tell you that from next Monday (5th October) the Parish Office will be staffed 5 days a week again. Next week, we welcome Janet Blackshaw back to work, which is another sign of us recovering in the right direction. Karen will work Monday to Wednesday and Janet will work Thursday and Friday.

As the office returns to full capacity we are looking to revive some of the rotas that were in place for our services to assist with some of the planning. If you were already on a rota for bible reading, leading intercessions or being a sidesperson, Karen will have already been in touch. If you would like to be included in these rota’s either contact the office, or use the sign up sheet that will be in church on Sunday.

Technology

With the introduction of the screens for worship, up till now, Mark and myself, with a few exceptions have been controlling what’s on screen whilst also leading or preaching. Whilst this has worked so far, we don’t think this is a long term solution so we are asking for help. If you would be able to help control what’s on screen during a service and be part of a rota, we would both be really grateful. Again there will be a sign up sheet in church on Sunday and we will look to sort out some training and a rota within the next 2 weeks.

Christmas

Christmas is coming. The festivities will look very different this year, but we will still celebrate the birth of Jesus and the celebration of God with us. As I look to plan things in a different way, if you would be interested in being involved in some of the planning and delivery of our Christmas celebrations, there will be a sign up sheet in church this weekend, or you can let me know by email. Where its possible to meet in person we will, otherwise it will be over zoom.

Greetings from Newala

This week we received a message from the Diocese of Newala encouraging us in faith and reminding us of their prayers. Its well worth a read and you can find it on our website at: https://www.bramhall.church/news-updates/newala-message-sept-2020

Over the last few weeks the passage of scripture that has been at the forefront of my mind has been:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Whatever the next few weeks and months hold – the race is a marathon and Jesus is always in sight supporting us, strengthening us, praying for us. Do not be discouraged!

With thanks for your prayers, the assurance of mine,

Calum

Greetings from Newala

We received a message from The Diocese of Newala in Tanzania on St Michaels Day which reads as follows:

Dear Friends at St Michael & All Angels, Bramhall,

Greetings from Anglican Communion Diocese of Newala.

This are specially prayers from the Diocese of Newala for St. Michael and All Angels Christians Bramhall Parish during this pandemic season of Corona Virus.

To our brothers and sisters who have contracted and are suffering due to the Corona virus Disease, we pray that God’s healing hand may rest upon them.

To medical doctors, nurses and the supporting staff who are in the front line of the fight against COVID-19, may the Good Lord sustain you and inspire you to render your lifesaving services with due care, love and compassion.

To all those who have lost their loved ones due to the Corona virus outbreak,we convey our deepest sympathies.

We pray that their souls, through God’s mercy, may rest in eternal peace.

We pray that God may grant all bereaved families his consolation and strengthen their faith and hope in Jesus Christ.

Let us foster respect and solidarity with others, especially those who are weak or poor.

In sadness and grief, for those who don't have anyone to hear their suffering and pain, for those who don't have anyone to love and care, for those who don't have anyone to tell their stories and especially for those who have been suffering due to this pandemic and struggling with corona virus to see another day in their life.

We pray for their courage of heart and strength of mind and body. Keep them safe from harm.

Lord, we pray for those who need ongoing medical treatment who are forced to wait at this time.

God, please watch over their health and help them to stay positive and patient.

We pray that we overcome this global crisis and that after this pandemic, we build a more just and humane world.

Amen

Yours in the love of Christ.

Revd Canon.  Jackan Waweru.

Diocesan Information Officer

September Update

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

Update 18

Hello one and all!

I hope you are keeping safe and well. We have had three Sundays where St Michaels has been open for worship and I thought it might be helpful to share with you a few updates on parish life.

Sunday Worship.

Over the last three weeks, our Sunday attendance across the three services has been in the seventies which I am really encouraged by with the addition of the ‘livestream’ being watched by around 120 people over the course of the following week. It has been great to have so many of you back in church to worship alongside. Thank you for bearing with me when I’ve got things wrong, and thank you for bearing with all the restrictions imposed on us. For those who don’t feel that it is quite safe yet, I hope you have been able to join us via the ‘livesteam’ – the church hasn’t forgotten about you. Sue Howgego, a member of our 8am service, (and keen gardener) wrote the following to me last week, which I thought might be helpful to share:

‘Thank you to all those people who have been involved in making St Michael's a safe space for worship. The thought that has gone into it all is visible from the moment you walk through the door, with plenty of hand sanitisers, socially distanced chairs and a screen on which  to follow the service ( no more papers to  shuffle). On Sunday I attended the first communion service since lockdown. Again, that had been carefully thought out with a socially distanced single file for those that were taking communion and hand sanitisers placed on the outer aisles for use after replacing our face coverings.  The attention to detail is impressive. Thank you so much for doing all this. It is so nice to attend a service within a church building and to feel safe.’

I have been made aware of a few difficulties with the sound on the livestream – there are a few of us working on this to solve the problem – bear with us.

If you were on a rota for doing one of the bible readings on a Sunday, we have had to suspend that rota for the time being, so if you are one of those organised people and have put it in your diary, you can cross it out for now.

If you come to book on to a service and find it is fully booked, please contact the office and let them know, and Karen will add you to a priority list for the following week.

APCM

The annual church meeting will happen on Sunday 20th September at 2pm in church. I will be sending out a further email this week, with the associated papers and details about the meeting. If you are interested in standing for PCC, please either contact Tricia Munn for a nomination form, or pick one up from on top of the pigeon holes in the Parish Centre.

Director of Music

It was announced on Sunday that Jonnie Gait has decided its time to move on to pastures new. With both Douglas and Heather joining school in September, their family life is going to change a bit and so now seems like the right time to go. I will miss Jonnie greatly, as I know many of you will. Jonnie was one of the first people I had lunch with when I joined St. Michaels and it has been a real joy to work with him over the last 3 years. Jonnie, Hannah and the kids have promised to come back at some point to say goodbye and we want to give them something to say thank you. If you would like to contribute to this gift, please drop off cash or cheques at the office in an envelope marked ‘Music Gift’ or make a bank transfer to the church with ‘Music Gift’ in the reference. The churchwardens have begun a process of drawing up a new role description which we will advertise for a new appointment as soon as seems appropriate in the current conditions.

Head Sidesperson

Over many years, Frank Bennett has faithfully served the church as heads Sidesperson drawing up rotas and keeping order. He has been brilliant in this role both from the perspective as the vicar but also from the perspective of the many churchwardens Frank has served with. Frank has decided now is the time to step down from this role and his role as Sidesperson and I want to put on record my thanks to him for all his hard work. A presentation to him will be made at some point in the near future to say thank you. The churchwardens are going to take on the duty of caring for sidespeople, and are currently on the lookout for new sidespeople to support the effort in keeping the church open with the increased number of services. If you think you could help, please speak to David Walker or Louise Richardson whose contact details are at the bottom of SMT.

Getting Involved

I think its safe to say that the normal programme of services and events for the autumn and winter at St Michaels will have to be different this year. Rather than having services, at which we have been seeing a rising number of people attend in previous years, like the commemoration service, advent and Christmas carols, we are going to need to have a rethink, because of the social distancing restrictions. In the next couple of weeks, I will be setting up a number of groups to look at how we can do these things differently and planning them together. Watch this space!

Thank you for your encouragement and support these last few weeks,

With my prayers,

Calum

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Update 17

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Afternoon Everyone,

In light of the restrictions announced yesterday evening and explained further this morning, I thought it would be helpful to let you know what’s happening at St. Michael’s.

The PCC Standing Committee have communicated via email this morning and agreed on our way forwards. Our understanding of the restrictions for Greater Manchester, which are echoed by the Diocese too, is that places of Worship can remain open, and this is because of all the work and changes that have been implemented to make our space and what we do ‘Covid Secure’.

The question that the Standing Committee have discussed has been ‘should we open even though we can open?’ We have decided that we will continue with reopening and resuming public worship this Sunday.

In my previous update I outlined the various steps we have taken to ensure our building and activity is as safe as possible which includes encouraging social distancing as much as possible. In my previous email I also mentioned that the Church of England strongly encourages worshippers and ministers to wear facemasks during worship. The Prime Minister in his press conference today has reinforced this view and has said that face masks will be compulsory from the 8th August.

When I finished university, Jess and I went on holiday with some friends to rural France and the book I took with me was Charles Dickens ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. I’m reminded of it now by the words:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Speaking personally, this seems to sum up quite well a lot of how I am feeling at the moment. I and others have and will continue to make St Michael's Church building as safe as possible for as many of you as possible to come and be present together to worship God. For those who feel its not quite safe, I completely understand, and for those who find the restrictions and requirements for face masks in the coming days difficult, I can understand your position too. I’m fed up of not being able to share community properly, but I am looking forwards to being able to get as close to that community feel as possible, by worshipping alongside many of you this Sunday, albeit from 2 metre distances.

For those that want to stay at home but still join in, I hope that our service will be streamed on our youtube channel at 10am. The link to our channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh8Ve25UiBfXwpdumWDod7Q?view_as=subscriber

Hebrews 6:19 states: ‘We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.’ The hope is Jesus Christ, and the love of God which binds us all together as brother and sisters in Christ. This love cannot be defeated by fear, or evil, or illness, and it is in this hope and love we move forwards together.

I look forwards to seeing some of you on Sunday,

With my prayers,

Calum

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Update 16 - Resuming Public Worship

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Good Evening!

I hope you are well and keeping safe. I promised to write again when I had more details about the resuming of public worship.

As I mentioned in my last email, from Sunday 2nd August 2020, public worship will resume within St. Michael’s Parish Church. Our pattern of services has been adjusted to allow for our reduced capacity. Services will take place at:

Sunday, 8am – Quiet Reflective Service (BCP on the 3rd Sunday of the Month)

Sunday, 10am – Traditional Service with recorded music

Sunday, 6.30pm – Contemporary Service with recorded music

Wednesday, 10.30am – Mixed Traditions with recorded music

To begin with, our capacity is at 36 people from 24 different households or bubbles. We are asking people to book to attend a service so that people don’t have to be turned away at the door. You can now book for services happening in the first 2 weeks of August. You will notice the number of tickets available is less than our capacity and this is to allow space for those not on the internet to be able to book in for a service. You can find the booking system on our website at https://www.bramhall.church/worship-1#

Following the first 2 Sundays, we will open the booking system for the following Sunday on the preceding Monday. So booking for Sunday 16th August will open on Monday 10th August. If you find all the tickets for the service you wish to attend have been taken by the time you get there, please email the office on office@bramhall.church or phone on 0161 439 3989 and your name will be added to a priority list to fill gaps and for the following week. You will be required to book each week, rather than making a block booking.

If you know of someone in our parish who is not on the internet, please can you forwards their name to Karen in the Parish Office, so that they can be contacted to see if they would like to attend a service.

To give you some reassurance about the safety of attending worship at St. Michaels the following things have been implemented or are being encouraged:

  • Hand Sanitizers have been installed near all doors and in the toilets and we are requesting people clean their hands on arrival and as they leave

  • Chairs have been spaced at the required social distance from each other

  • As part of the booking system we are asking for people’s contact details so that we adhere to the government Track and Trace Programme

  • The Church of England national guidance has been changed in the last couple of days to say face coverings are strongly encouraged for those attending worship.

  • Where possible the doors of the church will be left open throughout worship to help with air circulation

  • Large TV screens have been installed to project the liturgy so that prayer books are not having to be given out.

Holy Communion will be celebrated once on a Sunday and this will rotate around the different services, and it will be celebrated on alternate weeks at the midweek service. There will be a new system in place for the distribution of communion which will be explained during the relevant services. There will not be a communion service on Sunday 2nd August, because for many of you, there will be enough new things to process.

If you have any problems with booking to worship, or concerns about joining us for worship, please be patient, but also do get in touch. I do intend that some of our services will be streamed live to the internet, so that those who cannot attend in person, can still participate in some way. I’m still working out the technology on this one, so will tell you where you can watch this when I know myself.

Next week I intend to share daily reflections on why I think worshipping together as a church is important, and I am very much looking forward to worshipping alongside you again very soon.

With anticipation and excitement!

Calum