Greetings

Dear friends,

Peace be with you. May the grace of our mighty God be our strength and our guard in these difficult days. I do hope that you are able to stay at home for as much as possible and that you are keeping well. Please do let your wardens or minister know of any confirmed cases of the virus in your community.

Online Services

Thank you to those of you who have joined our online services to date: over twenty of us “went” to Ipsden last Sunday at 10am for a morning service led by Revd John, and over forty “went” to Whitchurch Hill at 4pm to hear me interview Bishop Colin. Participants “attended” from all over the UK as family and friends joined in, and ages ranged from babes in arms to over ninety! If you have a laptop, PC with speakers, or smart phone, this is something you could easily join in with. You will need to download the (free) Zoom programme, and install it on your machine. Then just “join meeting” at the right time and enter the numbers requested. Here is the link to the download : https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting

Next Sunday (5th April) is Palm Sunday. Our services on offer will be led by Revd John at 10am and Revd Kevin at 11am. The relevent Zoom numbers you will need to join each meeting (“service”) from within your installed Zoom app are:

10am Service of the Word                           Meeting ID: 188 513 761     Passcode (if necessary) 019797

11am Palm Sunday Morning Prayer (Common Worship)          Meeting ID: 636 645 195        Password: 000162

You are welcome to attend either, or both, to aid us in our prayers.

Good Neighbours at a distance

This social isolation whilst very necessary is going to prove difficult for everyone who naturally enjoys meeting and conversing with others.  There is something that we can each simply do; each day, just ring or email or Skype one person. “One Person, Once a Day” for a chat. Be a friend, ask how they are. Don’t forget to ask if it is a good time to call! You don’t have to take on the responsibility for your entire street. It could be a member of your family or a work colleague who you know is stuck at home or laid off. Loneliness was already a major issue before the current crisis. It does not now need to get any worse.                   “One person, Once a day.”

Easter plans

We are hoping to celebrate Holy Week and Easter “together”, with a Maundy Thursday evening Communion (online) led by Revd Kevin and a Good Friday afternoon Service led by Revd Linda. Easter Day will be celebrated in Checkendon, Ipsden and Woodcote; details to follow.

Staying Safe

Finally, I cannot stress how seriously you must take this virus; it is new, so we have no natural or genetic immunity to it; it is highly contagious; it can be life threatening. So please, stay at home. Exercise in your garden, if you have one. If you can’t get supplies, phone a friend.  Say your prayers.

May God bless us, and keep us always in his love.

Your Rector                 Revd Canon Kevin Davies