Letter no's 42 & 41, January 7th & 5th 2021
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Letter no 42, January 7th 2021
Benefice of Farleigh, Candover and Wield
Dear all,
Our apologies for sending out two letters on following days: in the light of current developments in the virus spread, it seems best to suspend Sunday services in Farleigh Parish (and across the Candover Valley) for January at least.
We will continue to provide Sunday worship online, and to support you all as best we can online, by phone and any other way while the situation remains as it is.
The online service will be recorded this week and uploaded in time for Sunday, and we shall send a short letter out with the link on Saturday, and then continue weekly letters until the situation changes.
Church buildings of St. Martin’s Ellisfield and All Saints’ Dummer remain open for private prayer in daylight hours, St. Leonard’s Cliddesden on Sundays only, and funerals and other occasional offices can still happen.
May God bless you today and we pray for a swift end to the virus spread and a fast roll-out of the vaccines.
Prayers for you all,
David and Stephen
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Letter no 41, January 5th 2021
Benefice of Farleigh, Candover and Wield
Dear friends,
We write to bring you up to date with the guidelines for worship following the latest government edicts.
We are still allowed to hold Sunday services, (subject to how many a building may safely hold with spatial distancing and no mingling before/during/after, and singing only by choirs spatially distanced with no congregational singing), weddings (with 6 people plus verger/organ/vicar present), baptisms (subject to how many a building can safely hold with spatial distancing), and funerals ( with 30 people present plus clergy/verger/organist).
We know many of you prefer to stay at home, so we will continue to do online services weekly, and provide whatever pastoral care we can by phone/email/zoom, with the occasional chat at a window or door as needed.
We have a weekly prayer time, which started at Ellisfield 18 months ago, on a Wednesday morning 9.00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m., and is open to anyone wanting to join in on Zoom, and we want to encourage other villages to start their own prayer times at whatever time suits those who want to pray. The link to the prayer time can be obtained from Peter Raine - peter.c.w.raine@btinternet.com.
We also have a Wednesday evening fellowship on Zoom 7.30 to 9.00 p.m., and we have been working through Ephesians recently – again, Peter is the link.
We know many are living in fear – life is full of risk, and we are called to live courageously and faithfully, as well as sensibly: please be assured of our prayers for you all, that the Lord will give you peace and courage to rise above the fear factors, and that we may share our living faith in Jesus Christ with our neighbours who have not the same resource as we have - God Himself in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit – if ever there was a time to proclaim good news, it is now, for it is only in Jesus Christ we have a living hope for life both in this world and the one to come.
He loves us and is with us in these trials, and will bring us through them, chastened, strengthened and encouraged, and we will have learned important lessons about trust, hope and inner joy.
Pray too for us, that as we prepare Sunday services online we may give the right message each week and also inspire you in your walk with Jesus.
In His service,
With our love and prayers,
David and Stephen
Stephen Mourant,
Associate Rector
Benefice of Farleigh, Candover and Wield,
Hampshire
The Rectory, Church Lane, Ellisfield,
RG25 2QR 01256-381217
Living the Life... Telling the story... visit us at
http://www.farleighcandoverandwield.org.uk
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