Rev Chris update – 15th November

Dear all,

I have to say that the poppy displays outside St Nicholas church have made a real impact in the community and I have had numerous conversations with various people in the street. Thank you to all who contributed.

This Sunday Anthea, our ordinand on attachment, will be delivering the online service on Facebook, so please do tune in, at 10am, and hear what she has to say.

It is difficult to determine what will be able to go ahead after the 2nd December, but we are very hopeful that all will be well for our planned events as follows;

CHRISTMAS MARKET, 5th December at St Nicholas Church and halls, 10.30-2.30. Please consider donating chocolate, bottles, raffle prizes, unwanted presents etc which you can bring to The Rectory. Also, we need empty hampers/baskets to be filled with our amazing prizes for the Raffle – Sarah has raffle tickets for sale so please contact her on 297307 for a book or two!! If you are able to make cakes/biscuits/ help on the day – then please let Sarah know.

CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL, 18th-20th December at St Nicholas Church. Please do enter a tree – be as creative, or wacky, as you can.

Services will continue ‘online’ until we know otherwise but my hope is that we will be in a position to have services in church for Christmas.

In the meantime, I need to bring you up to date with potential changes to our underlying administrative structures. Many organisations are making adjustments to the way they operate, as a result of the global pandemic that has affected us all – the Church of England is no exception and I am sure there will be significant changes in the years to come driven by a realisation that we need to think differently about how we go about our core mission, but also as a result of the challenging financial climate.

This will impact local churches and it is something I have been considering for some months now in relation to St Nicholas and St Andrew’s – as a result I recently presented to both church councils the possibility of closer working. Both churches already share me as their vicar, but the time may have come to rationalise the systems by which they operate by bringing them under one umbrella. This is a process that can take some time and needs to be handled sensitively but both church councils have agreed to enter into an initial conversation – with that in mind myself, and the churchwardens, will be meeting, next week, with a representative from the Diocese to talk through the implications, and the next steps.

For now, please keep St Nicholas and St Andrew’s in your prayers, and indeed the Church of England, as we work our way to a new future that, ultimately, has to be about our core mission of professing the good news of Jesus Christ in our communities.

Blessings,

Rev Chris