Dear all,
These newsletters have provided an extremely useful and regular way to communicate with you all during what has been a very challenging time. With lockdown now slowly easing, our churches gradually opening up, and services beginning once again (albeit in a very limited way), this will be the last of the weekly newsletters that started all the way back in the middle of March. We will still send occasional newsletters with details of the changes that we hope to make to the activities and services we can offer across the parish from September onwards.
This coming Saturday, 25th July, marks a year since the extraordinarily hot evening last summer when I was inducted as Rector of Cheam. It has been a very challenging time, especially because more than four months of it has been totally dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This has made for a less than ideal first year in post! It is likely that the effects of the pandemic will be felt for the rest of 2020 at the very least. We will need to continue to be flexible in our expectations about what we will be able to do in the coming months and I suspect that our celebrations of Christmas in our parish will have to be a little different this year. Indeed, we will probably have to face up to some much longer-term consequences on the life of our parish and the Church of England as a whole. I am very grateful for the support of so many people as we have navigated through some very tricky water. Special thank go to our churchwardens who have been invaluable colleagues.
There is, however, very good reason for us to be hopeful, in particular with the prospect of Beth Lewis joining us as our Team Vicar in the Autumn. Both full-time ministerial positions in the parish will be filled for the first time since Christmas 2017. This is particularly good news for the churches of St Alban’s and St Oswald’s and I am sure that Beth will bring a new feeling of energy. Beth and I will work together to bring an effective and sustainable pattern of worship and ministry back to our churches and look forward to developing new directions for our mission and outreach. We do not yet have a date for Beth’s licensing, but I will let you know as soon as I am able.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer, even if it cannot the summer you might otherwise have expected.
With love and prayers to you all,
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Peacock
Team Rector, Cheam Team Ministry
A Prayer From The Irish Celtic Tradition
May the blessing of light be on us,
light without and light within.
May the blessed sun shine on us
and warm each heart
till it glows like a great fire,
so that strangers and friends
may come in and warm themselves.
And may the light shine out from our eyes,
like a candle set in the windows of a house,
and may the Lord bless us, and bless us kindly. Amen.
NOTICES
Worship Coming Up in July and August
This pattern of services will be reviewed in late August. Depending on circumstances, we hope to be able to offer a fuller schedule of services from September onwards. If you wish to attend any of the services in person, you will need to book in advance. Details of how to book are below. Please note that there will be no Wednesday service on 29th July, 5th August, 12th August, and 19th August.
Wednesday 22nd July 11.00am Eucharist for Mary Magdalene
YouTube only
Sunday 26th July 9.30am Parish Eucharist for Trinity 7
YouTube and In Person at St Dunstan’s
Sunday 2nd August 10.00am Service of the Word for Trinity 8
In Person only at St Oswald’s
Sunday 9th August 10.00am Service of the Word for Trinity 9
In Person only at St Oswald’s
Sunday 16th August 10.00am Service of the Word for Trinity 10
In Person only at St Oswald’s
Sunday 23rd August 9.30am Parish Eucharist for Trinity 11
YouTube and In Person at St Dunstan’s
Wednesday 26th August 11.00am Eucharist (BCP)
YouTube only
Sunday 30th August 9.30am Parish Eucharist for Trinity 12
YouTube and In Person at St Dunstan’s
Booking for Public Worship
We are running a booking process for our public worship on Sunday mornings.
If you would like attend one of the services at St Dunstan’s (26th July, 23rd August, and 30th August), please let our Parish Administrator, Louise, know by either telephoning 07928 833324 or emailing office@cheamparish.org.uk by midday on the Friday before each Sunday service.
If you would like to attend one of the services at St Oswald’s (2nd August, 9th August, and 16th August), please let Bryan Hopper, churchwarden, know by either texting 07787 755142 or emailing bryan.hopper@btinternet.com.
If there are no more places available, you will be offered a place for the following week. Unfortunately, if you do not book a place, you will not be able to attend.
Churches Opening for Private Prayer
We will continue to open our churches for ‘private prayer’ as follows:
St Oswald's will be open:
· 10.00am-11.30am on Sundays
St Dunstan's will be open:
· 10.00am-10.30am on Sundays 2nd, 9th, and 16th August (PLEASE NOTE CHANGE)
· 11.00am-12.00pm on Wednesdays
St Alban's will be open:
· 10.00am-11.30am on Sundays from 2nd August
Please see the website for information on what to expect if you would like to attend.
We are looking for volunteers to supervise the churches during the opening times. If you are interested in helping out, please contact the office (office@cheamparish.org.uk).
Zoom Coffee
Details for accessing Zoom coffee are below. Please contact the Office for the password.
Meeting ID: 884 0628 5452
There will be no Zoom coffee on Sundays 2nd, 9th, and 16th August.
Rector’s Leave and Office Summer Closure
The Rector will be on leave from 27th July, returning on Sunday 23rd August.
The Parish Office will closed throughout August, although emails and telephone messages, including requests for booking places at our services, will still be picked up.
Prayers
If you would like us to pray for someone or something, please email the office (office@cheamparish.org.uk) and Louise will compile a weekly prayer list to be used at all our services.
For reasons of privacy, we will use first names only and the person for whom you are asking us to pray should be happy for you to do this.
Distributing this Newsletter
We are very aware that some people do not have access to electronic communication. If you know someone who would like a paper copy of the weekly newsletter, please do print a copy and deliver it to them. Without access to the Parish Office, we are not in a position to do a mass mail. Equally, deliveries around Cheam are very sporadic at the moment.
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