Dear Church Family,
A very happy new year to you all – despite the continued difficulties we are facing as a country! I do hope this first letter of 2021 finds you as well as can be expected and that you are looking to the future with a little more optimism than the current pandemic situations allow. Hopefully, some of you will have had your first (or even second) vaccines and will be ready to resume more familiar standards of living as the days roll by. We must give thanks to God for the amazing work done by those in the medical profession in producing a vaccine so quickly.
As you know, we had to cancel congregational attendance at our Christmas services and will continue without congregations for the coming weeks. The PCC is meeting at the end of January and we will review the situation then. However, it does seem that this third lockdown is going to be more like the first one from Spring 2020. This likely means that we must continue with Livestreamed worship for the foreseeable. If you haven’t managed to get onto Facebook yet, maybe this could be the time to investigate the possibility? Could you speak with a younger family member or friend who could help set this up for you? Our investment in delivering “Online Church” has allowed us to produce quality live-streamed services and daily prayer – please do join us if you can:
* Note that Morning Prayer is Tuesday-Friday only. Mondays are my rest day.
As we look to the New Year, I’d like to encourage everyone to think about how we might live well in the next 6 months. Oxford Diocese produced this idea which I have adapted to get us all thinking in “sixes”! There are lessons and challenges that Christians and worshipping communities can draw from this number to help us live well in these times.
SIX MONTHS IS THE NEW HORIZON
Focus on the Summer as we journey through Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ascension together.
SIX DAYS TO WORK AND A SABBATH TO REST
Reclaim the gift of one day each week for rest and re-creation.
SIX PEOPLE TO JOURNEY WITH
Rediscover church as small groups of people supporting one another.
SIX WAYS TO BE SALT AND LIGHT
Identify the people and community organisations you can support.
SIX PERCENT TO YOUR CHURCH
If your income is stable, increase your giving to sustain our parish church.
SIX PEOPLE TO PRAY FOR
Pray for people you know to discover the riches of our faith and community.
Psalm 121: I lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
As you reflect on this “Church Rule of 6”, do let the Leadership Team know if you require any food deliveries, medicine collections, or even a blessing or prayers at your front door. We would be delighted to serve you.
My contact details are: andy@huttonparish.com / 01277 514896
If you would like a food delivery: office@huttonparish.com / 01277 262864
If you would like to volunteer in the food hub: lisa@huttonparish.com / 07795 966453
Please do get in touch with the office if you would like to discuss your regular giving – it has made a huge difference to the parish this year as we have been able to pay our Parish Share to the Diocese in full as well as expand our mission and ministry to the parish community. I thank God for all of you!
This week's Pew Sheet can be downloaded here:
Finally, a little bit of sad news. As some of you will already know, Marjorie Dunn passed away last week at her care home in Brentwood, at the age of 93. She was a prominent member of the Mother’s Union here in Hutton and will be sadly missed by many. Her funeral will take place at All Saints on Wednesday 27th January at 11.30 am. Please note only a limited number of mourners can attend. Please join me in praying for Marjorie and her family at this time.
With every blessing,
Komentarze