A Message from Ian 

Dear Friends
I hope you are all keeping safe, well and enjoying a little more freedom with the easing of Covid restrictions. It has been nice to see many of you at our recent Church services and I hope to see others in the near future.
 
* Sunday Service and after-service fellowship
Our services continue at 10.45am each Sunday. We are still cautious in our approach to Covid-19 and have a number of safety measures in place. These include continuing to record attendance details for Track and Trace purposes and to recommend the use of hand sanitiser and face coverings.
We are now able to sing during the service which is welcome and enhances our worship. We have agreed to recommence refreshments after the morning service on  Sunday 19 September. A tea rota will be developed of those willing to prepare and serve the refreshments and we will continue to provide Fairtrade tea, Fairtrade coffee and (as much as possible) Fairtrade biscuits as part of our work as a Fairtrade Church. You are very welcome to stay after the services each week for fellowship and a chat with friends.
 
* Invitation to ‘Planning for the Future’
We recognise that Covid-19 has been challenging for many people and for our wider communities; but this has also presented many opportunities to change the way we join together in praise and worship. This can include the use of digital technology and social media. We are keen to embrace some of the changes and lessons learned but also to ensure we can meet the wider needs of all our Church family and to provide a source of support, prayer and reflection for all those affected.
We would like to invite you to attend an event at Church to focus on ‘Planning for the Future’. This will be an opportunity for a short time of worship followed by time to meet together informally in fellowship, faith and friendship to explore your views. We are keen to understand the needs of our Church and Community and look at how we provide events, activities and outreach opportunities to support others and help grow the work of the Church. We would also welcome your views on how we can work with friends from others Churches locally to strengthen the Christian witness in the area. The event will be held at Church on Saturday 21 August from 10.00am to 2.00pm. We will conclude the event with  lunch and invite you to bring a packed lunch so as to avoid shared food handling at this time. Your attendance and contributions would be really welcome and we would be pleased to hear your views. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be served during the meeting.
 
* Garden Party at Lightwood
Immediately after this event our friends at Lightwood Methodist Church are holding a Garden Party from 2.00pm to raise vital funds for their Church. This will be held at Crossways Cottage, Cocknage Road, Cocknage, Nr Lightwood ST3 4AE and admission is £1.00 A variety of stalls, refreshments and cream teas will be available. The small and faithful congregation would welcome our support so please do attend if you are able.
 
* GDPR
Many thanks to all who have completed and returned the consent forms in respect of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) this will enable us to complete the compliance return to the Methodist Church which will now be required annually. If you have not already done so, will you kindly complete and return the form to me as soon as possible so that we can ensure our records are up to date and we have your consent to store your information and keep in touch with you about Church activities.
 
* Flower Rota
Finally as we move forward, we have taken the decision to change the way in which the flower rota is managed. Rather than having a planned rota with individuals buying and arranging flowers each week we have instead decided to collect donations to enable flowers to be purchased and placed in Church each week. Following the service the flowers are taken to show our thoughts to members of our Church family or those known to us who may need a welcome gesture to show our love.  If you would like to contribute to the purchase of flowers please pass on your donation to Jane Turner who would be pleased to receive this.
 
I hope that you have found this update helpful to keep you informed and connected with our Church News. Please continue to hold all members of our Church family in your thoughts and prayers as we move forward together.
With every blessing
Ian