Pastoral Letter

To the people of Warbelton Church


Dear Friends,



These are strange and difficult times. Many will be feeling uncertain and anxious. But we can be sure that God’s love for us is unchanged.



The Bible says:

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

(Psalm 46:1-3)

Although the situation is always changing, as we normally send out our notice sheet on a Wednesday evening by email, I thought it would be a good time to be in touch about how we are responding to the corona virus.



We will continue to seek to follow all the latest government and Church of England guidance:



churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches



I know it is difficult and frustrating, but I would urge you, for the sake of yourself and others, to do what you can to avoid non-essential social contact. The government has said that this includes meetings for religious purposes, which it seems have helped to spread infection in some parts of the world.



You can read a message from the Archbishops (issued Tuesday 17/3/20) here:



churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/archbishops-call-church-england-become-radically-different-public-worship



Church Services, Meetings and Gatherings



Until further notice, the Bishops have said that all public worship should be suspended. For the moment, you should assume that none of our normal meetings will take place.



We will explore the possibility of small groups and the benefice prayer meeting, Prayer First, taking place using Zoom.us or some other video conferencing technology.



Minimal gatherings for weddings, funerals and baptisms will still be possible.



The Bishop of Chichester has said he will issue further detailed guidance tomorrow (Thursday).



There is no Wi-Fi in any of our churches in the benefice, but I am hoping to be able to livestream or pre-record something from my study via Facebook or You Tube for Sunday mornings, and perhaps at other times too. You probably don’t want me singing hymns to you over the internet but it may come to that!



Sunday 22^nd March: A National Day of Prayer and Action



The Archbishops have called upon us to observe this coming Sunday as a special day of prayer and action in the light of the corona virus. They say: “As one action, we are calling on everyone to place a lighted candle in their window at 7.00 p.m. as a sign of solidarity and hope in the light of Christ that can never be extinguished.”



Keeping in Touch



You are very welcome to contact me:



marc_lloyd@hotmail.com



01435 830421 / 07812 054820



(My day off is normally a Friday, by the way!)



I will of course be continuing to pray for the parish every day and I am very happy to pray with you over the phone if you’d like.  Please do feel free to let me know specifically what I might pray for you.



You can like us on Facebook:



facebook.com/WarbletonParishChurch



And follow us on Twitter:



twitter.com/WarbletonChurch / @WarbletonChurch



You can sign up for our email mailing list here:



warbletonchurch.org.uk/contact/



I suggest we experiment with a church WhatsApp group for sharing news, prayer requests and fellowship. If you would like to be added to it, please text your name and mobile number to me at 07812 054820. You can of course remove yourself if you find it isn’t suiting you!



Practical help



I believe the village shop is offering a free delivery service.



We will of course want to help and support one another as much as we can. Many of our church members are over 70 years of age. If you or anyone else you know is in need, please do let me know and I will see what I can do, or what we can organise amongst ourselves or working with others.



The Church Building



We hope the church building will continue to be open in the daytime for prayer.



Please be cautious about how you use it. Wash or sanitise your hands. Keep at least two metres apart from anyone else who is there. And please try to minimise touching things.



The Parish Magazine



When the latest guidance was issued, the parish magazine was at the printers but we have pressed pause on the April edition because virtually all the forthcoming events in it will be cancelled. We are looking at putting together an alternative that might be of interest and use as soon as possible, perhaps in co-operation with the Parish Council.  



Christian Prayer, Worship and Resources



The Church of England website has many resources and more will be added particularly for this period when normal church services are not taking place:



churchofengland.org – e.g. see the Prayer and Worship section at the top



Now could be a good time to order a Christian book and some Bible reading notes:



www.10ofthose.com/uk



www.thegoodbook.co.uk



You might like to explore our archive of over 300 sermons and talks:



warbletonchurch.org.uk/sermons-talks/



I suspect many churches will live stream their services. Even if we don’t manage to do that ourselves, I would be happy to suggest some possible options.



There is so much good material available for free on the internet these days that a period of self-isolation at home could easily be a time of great spiritual growth! Do ask me for recommendations.



Let us pray that the God of the cross and resurrection would, in his grace, bring good even out of this terrible situation. Let us pray that many would turn to Christ in repentance and faith and find new life, joy and peace in Him even in the face of suffering. As Jesus approached his own death, he urged his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1) He reassured them: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (v18) Let us pray that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would strengthen us to walk faithfully with Christ whatever the days ahead bring.



With my love and prayers,



Marc