25th July 2020
Benefice of Farleigh, Candover and Wield
e-mail: davidchattell172@btinternet.com e-mail:- stevemourant@btinternet.com
01256 389474 01256 381217
Living the life...telling the story....visit us at http://www.farleighcandoverandwield.org.uk
Dear friends,
We are almost 4 weeks in to meeting together for Sunday worship, and although the weather has not been as dry and hot as we hoped, it’s been so good to see numbers growing a little each week as we have confidence to get together to worship Him “without fear.”
We are approaching holiday season, and so David and Stephen will be taking time out – we may not have been taking Sunday worship live in our buildings for a while during these last few months, but we have provided the online option – a fresh challenge to our IT capabilities, but which has given us new ways of presenting worship and God’s Word for the moment.
There will be online services in August - this week’s online service from Stephen’s end - link here: https://youtu.be/_CGc3DtwW-A has been uploaded in time for Sunday, and services for 2nd and 9th August are in course of preparation – links will be on the website - and we will review in late August – we are getting an increasing number of views, which is slightly strange given the return of live services …
Also we are uploading as “stand – alones” the eight children’s Bible Stories that Natalie Wood kindly produced for us, for families to show the children – none is longer that 3 minutes, so enough for the concentration span!
Links will be available from the benefice website later.
But maybe this time has caused us all to reflect on our faith journeys – and what God may have said to us as we have been at home, and undistracted by some of the more usual things – sport, entertainment, dining out, holiday trips to distant locations – there is significant evidence of many seeking after God online and “attending” services –far in excess of what would be deemed normal Sunday and weekday faith community events, home groups, and some churches have been running Alpha courses online with previously unknown people joining in. So who knows what impact for God’s kingdom this will have – and maybe there are some strong hints here of how we might have to run Sunday worship with less clergy –sooner than later- live-streaming from one building to two others at the same time perhaps? Or more travelling to different villages to meet together in bigger numbers? Smaller groups operating mid-week providing daytime or evening groups to worship, pray, share scripture and encourage one another? Exciting times as we re-consider the shape of things to come – and see in scripture the different ways Christians met and grew up into maturity.
Don’t forget you can actively join in the weekly prayer times on Wednesday mornings 9.00 to 9.30 a.m. and fellowship group on Wednesday evenings 7.45 to 9.15 p.m. on Zoom – contact peter.c.w.raine@btinternet.com.
We are available on phone, e-mail, or face to face over a garden gate or wall, for a few more days before holiday breaks intervene. Stephen is off duty from 30 July to 14 August, David from 1 August to 8 August.
Every blessing,
With our prayers and greetings,
David and Stephen