Dear Church Family,
Maybe it’s just me, or maybe it was the turn in the weather, but the drudgery and the difficulty of the lockdown got to me this week. I think this change is just the boredom of ‘new normal’ and a lack of adrenaline rush, exhausting yet somehow sustaining, now that things have settled a little. I have had sudden urges to go wild camping, white water rafting and skydiving and managed to partly fulfil one of those with a night under canvas with Isaac in the garden last week, watching the satellites! It’s not like I don’t have plenty to do either! I am blessed to be able to be part of an incredible effort to serve this community in such a difficult time. Indeed, we were delighted to have the Daily Bread team highlighted in the Brentwood Gazette this week and to have received some much-needed interim funding from a number of grant-making bodies.
Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash
Further to my newsletter last week, we are so grateful for the extra donations and amended Standing Orders we have received from many members of the congregations already. Thank you for responding so quickly to our appeal for funds. This is something I will continue to keep you all informed about as we move through the year – if you haven’t considered donating or increasing your giving then please can I ask you to prayerfully do so. Last week’s letter explained the issues we are facing in more detail, but here are the “highlights” again:
“In normal times, our average monthly income is approximately £9000 with just over half (coming) from Planned Giving, Collections and Gift Aid (£5100). We expect to lose £2900 (per month) of this income simply by not being able to use the buildings in the usual way.
In relation to giving, we are losing approximately £830 in collection income per month. Our income is therefore likely to be down in total somewhere between £3730 and £4430 per month.”
We are continuing to explore ways of increasing our revenue. One such way is through online giving: justgiving.com/pccep-allsaintswithstpeterhutton
Through this site, anyone can donate (with Gift Aid) directly to the parish. These details will also appear on our Facebook page and the Parish website: huttonparish.com/donate.
Please do share this information with your friends and neighbours.
Finally, on the subject of giving:
· Setting up a standing order is the best way to give to the parish. The church bank details are here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/a5gdbevctqpcjhb/Gift-Aid-Declaration%20Standing%20Order.pdf?dl=0
· Please Gift Aid your donations if you pay tax.
· For envelope givers: Michelle Yarwood will arrange to collect your envelopes from your home. Please contact her on 07717 844224 to arrange this.
· We now accept card payments at the church office.
· You can donate online via the Just Giving website.
Biblical Foundations:
In order to address some of the monotony of this time, it feels like a good time to try something new during this lockdown period!
Therefore, I am pleased to be able to offer an 8-week course called “Biblical Foundations” beginning on Tuesday 12th May at 7.30 pm. The course will be hosted by me on Zoom, an online meeting platform that anyone can access with a laptop, tablet, smartphone and even the good old-fashioned telephone! The course is an opportunity to delve into the Bible in greater depth, beginning with Jesus across the whole of scripture and then working through the Old Testament from creation to the prophets.
Please get in touch with me either on email andy@huttonparish.com or on 01277 514896, either for more information or to register your interest. I will provide you with the instructions on how to access Zoom either by video link on your computer or device or by dialling in on the telephone.
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
The Eastertide service of Holy Communion can be downloaded here:
This week's pew-sheet can be downloaded here:
Please get in touch if there is anything I can help you with – prayer requests, food deliveries or simply just a chat on the phone. The parish Facebook page can be accessed here www.facebook.com/huttonparish for all our online services: Monday-Friday at 9 am for Morning Prayer and 9.30 am on a Sunday for Holy Communion.
With every blessing,
