Seven Churches in South Oxfordshire

From the Rector Tuesday 24th March 2020

Churches close their doors

Dear friends,

Firstly, the sad news. All our church buildings across the Diocese have been closed by the Bishop of Oxford, so our local churches too have now been shut for private prayers during the day. Funerals are the only exception and these must be at the graveside only.

Online Team Service on Sunday 29th at 4pm

Now, the good news. Many thousands of people “joined” the Archbishop’s first online service last Sunday, and our own service of Morning Prayer from Ipsden attracted over twenty to the “Zoom” meeting room. We are building on this with an online Team service this coming Sunday afternoon at 4pm, with a special “virtual” guest the Rt Rev Colin Fletcher our own Bishop of Dorchester.

Do “tune in” online via the Zoom app or web page on Sunday at 4pm using the meeting id 297 965 249   and passcode 683567 and invite others to share with you. I’ll be interviewing the Bishop – please spread the word.

Finally, please keep your heads down, and try and give your burdens to God. We see a new world order unfolding around us, and we are finding out quite rapidly what it is that really matters to us.

Time to Pray

In these times of high anxiety, bewilderment and fear, I’d like to invite you to pick  up and extend the Archbishop’s suggestion, by lighting a candle in your window every evening at 7pm and pausing for a minute to thank God for the day that has gone by and to ask for his mercy on us all. If you are at a loss for words, like many of us at the moment, there are daily prayer resources on the C/E national website, or you might like to use this short one of mine:

A Candle Prayer

Father God, even as we find ourselves far from each other, please hold us close to you.

Jesus Christ, shine in the darkness and show us the way, for you are the light of the world.

Holy Spirit, in our fears console us and bring peace to our troubled hearts.

Amen.

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