Dave Walker - Cartoon Church
Dear all,
The long-expected news that places of worship are going to be able to open for private prayer from 15th June was leaked to the press late on Saturday evening. In addition, churches will once again be able to hold funerals, although on a strictly limited basis. This is welcome news for the small, but loud group of people across the country (of which I am not a part) who have been aggressively pushing for this for some weeks. The general argument put to the government was that, if people were going to be allowed to go shopping once again, then we should be able to go into our churches, even if only for private prayer.
The Bishop of Southwark has rightly said that we should indeed open our churches for private prayer, but only if we can do so safely and only when we feel confident. There is a recognition that many parishes simply do not have the resources to do this quickly, if at all. Questions of appropriate signage, social distancing, hand washing, regular and thorough cleaning, supervision of open churches, and lone working are some of the many issues that each church will need to think through for themselves.
Dave Walker’s cartoon this week summarises one of the key problems that we face. For all the pressure put on us to open our doors, the responsibility for doing so rests firmly on the shoulders of parish clergy and churchwardens (who are unfortunately not included in the cartoon). If anything were to go wrong, they are the ones who are accountable. It is a burden that needs to be taken seriously.
Although nobody is expecting a sudden wave of visitors, before we open the doors of any of our three churches, we need to be sure that we have taken all the necessary precautions and that we are as well prepared as we possibly can be. We must not feel coerced into opening too quickly. We must begin by taking small, careful, manageable steps.
The PCC is due to meet via Zoom on Monday 15th June and we expect further guidance both from the Church of England and the Diocese of Southwark. Our plans will be discussed in more detail at the PCC meeting and I hope that we will be able to reveal more this time next week.
A Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you taught us to love our neighbour, and to care for those in need as if we were caring for you. In times of anxiety, give us strength to comfort the fearful, to tend the sick, and to assure the isolated of our love, and your love, for your name’s sake. Crown us, O God, but with humility, and robe us with compassion, that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son,
we may strive to overcome evil by the power of good and so walk gently on the earth with you, our God, for ever. Amen.
(Church of England)
With love and prayers to you all,
The Reverend Dr Nicholas Peacock
Team Rector, Cheam Team Ministry
NOTICES
Worship Coming Up in June
The following services will be live-streamed on YouTube:
Wednesday 10th June
11.00am Eucharist (BCP)
Sunday 14th June
9.30am Parish Eucharist for Trinity 2
Followed by Zoom Coffee at 10.30am
10.30am Children’s Service (on Zoom)
Wednesday 17th June
11.00am Eucharist (BCP)
Sunday 21st June
9.30am Festival Eucharist for St Alban
Followed by Zoom Coffee at 10.30am
Wednesday 24th June
11.00am Eucharist (BCP)
Sunday 28th June
9.30am Parish Eucharist for Trinity 4
Followed by Zoom Coffee at 10.30am
Zoom Coffee
Details for accessing Zoom coffee on Sunday 14th June are below. Please note that these are different details to usual due to the children’s service at 10.30am.
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 864 6685 4594
Password: 422722
Issues Of Race
Questions of race and racism are at the front of our minds with the current protests, which began in the USA and have spread across the world. If you are interested in finding out more, you might find the following books to be of interest:
Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele, When They Call You A Terrorist (Edinburgh, Canongate, 2018)
Reni Eddo-Lodge, Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race (London, Bloomsbury, 2018)
Ben Lindsay, We Need To Talk About Race: Understanding the Black Experience in White Majority Churches (London, SPCK, 2019)
The Rector hopes to arrange a group to discuss issues of race in the coming weeks. Please email him if you would like to take part (cheamrector@cheamparish.org.uk).
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.
Children’s Service
We will be holding another service for children over Zoom at 10.30am on Sunday 14th June. These services will follow material from the Diddy Disciples programme and are aimed at children up to the age of 10 years old, although older children, parents and carers are welcome as well!
For safeguarding purposes, the Zoom login details for this service cannot be published. If you would like your child to join the service, please email the parish office and your details will be forwarded on to the Sunday School team. The login details can then be sent to you.
Please make sure that an adult is present during the service.
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.
Telephone Conversations
If anyone would like to be contacted, please call or email the Parish Office. We are happy to offer practical advice (where possible) or simply have a friendly chat. PLEASE DO NOT FEEL ALONE.
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