Covid-19 

Dear Friends
I hope that you are keeping safe and well during this time. I am pleased to say that next Sunday 13 September we will be returning to meeting together at Church for our morning service at 10.45am. The service will be led by our own minister Rev Linda Catlow. I appreciate that many of you may be apprehensive about returning to Church and fully understand this so we will continue to hold the Zoom Services as a Circuit for the foreseeable future but they will move to the revised time of 11.30am from this Sunday.
If you are planning on returning to Church please remember to bring a face covering with you and to use the hand gel on entry to and exit from the Church. The chairs have been spaced to promote social distancing so the Church will house a maximum congregation of 25. Should the congregation be larger than this we will use the School Room as an overflow area and relay the service using the speakers. You will also see other changes as part of the service which are further outlined in the information enclosed. As we are returning to Church, sadly this will be the last weekly newsletter, we initially thought they would be required for only a few weeks but have now been in place for nearly six months.
I hope that you have received your regular activities from the Church Events team who have been working hard to keep us mentally active over the past few months with a range of puzzles, quizzes and activities. I know that many of you look forward to these packages and really value the support from the team. Our thanks go to Karen, Anne, Moira, Janet and all involved with organising these activities and for their work in helping prepare the Church buildings for reopening.
Sadly, I have been asked to advise you of the death of a former Church member at Trentham Mrs Doreen Clare who passed away in the care of her family in Derbyshire on Tuesday at the age of 98 years. She was a former resident of Trentham and was involved in many aspects of Church Life. Her children attended Sunday School and were all married at the Church and a number of her Grandchildren were also baptised with us. Please hold Doreen and her family in your thoughts and prayers as we remember her involvement and work with us locally. I am also sorry to advise of the death of my Mum Brenda this week at home, after a period of time in hospital. Thanks so much for the cards, phone calls and prayers that we have received which have surrounded us with your love.
As we celebrate the life of Doreen and Brenda and plan for a return to meeting together we are reminded of the blessings we receive each and every day from the Lord and the assurance we receive once we know his love personally.
The famous hymn writer Fanny Crosby captured this message in her hymn Blessed Assurance with a reflection based on Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing” The hymn focused on heaven where perfect submission and perfect delight take place. Mrs Crosby captured the poetic essence of the Wesleyan understanding of Christian perfection in a phrase “O what a foretaste of glory divine” The hymn reminds us of the earthly existence of watching and waiting, looking above and as we submit ourselves to Christ we are filled with his goodness and lost in his love. Many argue that the hymn appeals to the senses in a rich way. The hymn writer paints for us a picture with a foretaste of glory where we can experience visions of rapture bursting from sight and hear echoes of mercy and whispers of love. The hymn reflects Mrs Crosby’s walk of faith as expressed by the apostle Paul in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”
Fanny Crosby (1820 – 1915) was blinded at the age of six weeks as a result of a complication of medical treatment for an infection in her eyes. She began composing hymns at the age of six. At 15 she joined the New York institute for the Blind and at 22 was a teacher in the same establishment. She met and married a fellow teacher from the same Institute and was a lifelong Methodist. Mrs Crosby drew her inspiration for her hymns from her deep faith and indeed her songs and hymns have been the most popular sung by Methodists with Blessed Assurance one of the ten most popular Methodist hymns worldwide. It is believed that tune composer Phoebe Palmer Knapp who was a family friend was being visiting by Fanny one evening and played a tune on the piano asking Fanny what the melody said to her. Her response was “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine” she then recited the first verse and the hymn was born. The hymn was published in 1873 but its biggest boost occurred when it was sung as part of the Moody and Sankey revivals in both Great Britain and the United States. As you reflect on the words you may wish to use them as the basis for a private prayer:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine:
O What a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God;
Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture burst from my sight:
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love:
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Saviour am happy and blest –
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filed with his goodness, lost in his love:
Frances Jane van Alstyne (Fanny Crosby) 1820 - 1915
 
Please do continue if you are able to pray at 6.00pm each evening and join with others from our Church so that we can unite in the power of prayer.
Please pray for those on our prayer list.  
Barry, Linda and family.
Ashley, Debbie and family.
Frank & Barbara
Margaret W
Jane
Ken & Pat
Rev Alex
Don
Margaret B
Alan
Doreen
Pat
Danni
Beaulah
Alan & Heather
Linda and family
Pam
Mary W
Carol, Dave & Logan
Janet, Steve and family
Les, Olga and family
Harry and family following the sudden death of Shirley
If you would like to join the Sunday Morning Service by Zoom at 11.30am (Note the new time)
Join Zoom Meeting – just click on the link (from 10.45am) and you’ll be placed in a waiting area until the host lets you in. This is a safeguarding measure.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4775422768?pwd=ZDB3UXhyZmtJVFhqNXlLbEZhd3gvZz09
or just click here.
Meeting ID: 477 542 2768
Password: 909013
Dial by your location
0203 481 5240
0203 901 7895
0131 460 1196
0203 051 2874
0203 481 5237
If you are dialling into the services instead of joining them via Zoom online – please use one of the phone numbers shown above and enter the same Meeting ID and Password as above.
You are also very welcome to join a telephone act of worship each Sunday at 10.00am by calling the number below and using the codes  as shown.
Dial: 0333 0110 946
When asked enter the
Room number: 47927697 #
When asked enter the
Guest PIN: 1145 #
The Weekly Good News Stories produced by Local Preacher Hilary Hands will now only be produced monthly so is not yet available.
You can find reflections and biblical stories on our Circuit YouTube channel including new material added weekly from Rev Linda, Rev Jeff and others at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBhbVptj0forVkUfmmsvd_w
or just click here.
Please continue to stay safe and know that you are surrounded by the love and prayers of your Church family.
With every blessing
Ian