Category: vicar letter

News 3 June 2020

03/07/2020

Dear Friends,

I’m writing this after watching my oldest son’s school leaving assembly, all streamed online, and it served as a startling reminder of just how much Covid-19 has changed life over the last three months. But now as the virus recedes, the country begins to emerge from lockdown, and life starts to look more normal, our church life can begin to follow suit.

As of this weekend we have permission to restart church services, but I’m afraid they will be a little less frequent, and quite a lot different to what you are used to.

In Pre-Covid days we’d have offered services in six different venues on Sunday. Sadly this weekend we can only offer two. I appreciate this will be a disappointment to some of you, however we are balancing a number of complex factors which restrict what we can do.

  • Our buildings need to be prepared to Covid-safe standards before they can be reopened. This involves someone taking responsibility for a risk assessment and a team of volunteer cleaners. I’m very grateful to everyone who has stepped forward to help with this.
  • The need to social distance in our buildings, which severely reduces capacity. Our biggest venue (Upton) can seat no more than 40, and our smaller ones are restricted to 10.
  • Service leaders. We are missing a number of our service leadership team either due to them being part of at-risk groups, or holidays. We also have to work to keep them safe.
  • Congregation numbers. Many of you are also in at-risk groups, and from the survey I undertook last week, only about half of you are ready to return to church.
  • Online church. Many of you have enjoyed our online provision and until all of you feel safe returning to church, we’re keen to keep this going.

So during July and August we’ll be working towards providing two services a month in our larger church buildings that are ready to reopen (Hanley Castle, Hanley Swan, Welland and Upton where we can seat 15-40 people safely), and one service a month in the smaller venues which are ready to reopen (Earls Croome and the Hook – where we can seat around 10 people safely).  As other venues are ready to reopen we’ll look to add services there too.

Please therefore be patient with us as we seek to serve you…we can only do as much as we can do!

Before I tell you when and where services will be this weekend, please can you read through this guidance note setting out the “ground rules” for a Covid-safe church service.

  • If you are experiencing any Covid-19 symptoms (high temperature, new continuous cough, loss/change to your sense of smell or taste) please seek medical advice and do not attend services. We are continuing to provide services online.
  • If you are currently shielding (ie in the clinically extremely vulnerable group) please continue to observe government guidance, which is currently to stay home and not attend a place of worship prior to 1 August.
  • We will need to take contact details from you when you arrive to assist with contact tracing in the event of an outbreak of Covid-19. This will be kept for 21 days and then disposed of.
  • When you enter and leave the building, please use the hand-sanitiser provided.
  • Where single-use service sheets are supplied, please take them away with you after the service and dispose of them. Please do not leave them on your seat.
  • The social distancing rule is 2 metres. In practice during the distribution of communion, it may be hard to maintain the rule, and other risk-mitigating measures may be in place (for example the use of face masks or visors).
  • To enable social distancing rules to be maintained, please only sit in the seat(s) you are assigned. It helps us increase capacity if family groups/bubbles sit together.
  • At the moment we do not think demand will be such that we have to introduce a ticketing system, but we may have to do this in future weeks. In the event of the building reaching capacity we will have to turn you away, so you are advised to come early to guarantee a seat!
  • There is no requirement to wear face masks, but you may wish to do so if it helps you feel safer. Some service leaders will wear them during the distribution of communion when it is not practical to maintain a 2metre safe distance.
  • Singing is not allowed, due to the risk of virus transmission posed by energetic singing! Shouting and energetic liturgy is discouraged for the same reason!
  • Hard though it will be, family groups and bubbles are discouraged from interacting with each other in the building or in the church grounds.
  • Children are the responsibility of their parents/guardian during the service. In line with national guidance, childrens corners in churches are currently closed, and we are not yet in a position to offer any Sunday School or Breakfast Church provision.
  • Please exit the building as soon as the service ends.
  • There will be no refreshments served after the service
  • Holy Communion will be served in “one-kind” only (bread) as the common cup is seen as a greater infection risk.
  • Cash collections are discouraged. If you give using cash, please consider setting up a standing order or using the Parish Giving Scheme to support our work. You can find out details relating your parish here.
  • Please observe all directions the stewards give you.

Still want to come? Then this Sunday (5 July) I’ll be leading a service of Holy Communion at 9:30am in Hanley Swan and my colleague Sue Adeney will be leading Evening Prayer in Hanley Castle at 6pm.

Next weekend (12 July), we hope to have a service of Holy Communion in Upton at 9:30am, and Evening Prayer in Welland at 6pm, though this is still subject to change. Please check next week’s newsletter for final details!

I’m grateful to you all for your continued patience as we try to work all of this out in a way that is safe for everyone concerned. Please continue praying for everyone involved in reopening buildings and restarting services: we need it!

Briefly, a few other bits of news. And remember, please also scroll down through the rest of this email to see details of readings for this Sunday, links to some fun things we’ve spotted this week, and our updated prayer list.

1)     Church finances – you can make a difference!

Like all small charities, your local church is suffering a significant financial shortfall as a result of lost income from collections and special fundraising events we’d have run through the summer.

Whilst there’s still some hope we might be able to run a few events in the open air later in the summer, we do face a very challenging future financially. If you are in a position to give an additional gift at this time, it would make a huge difference.

To make this simpler, we’ve set up a new GIVING page on our website (https://hopechurchfamily.org/giving), with all the information you’ll need to give a one-off, or regular gift to any of our churches.

2)     Services on DVDs and CDs

Every week I produce the services on DVD and CD for a small number of folk across the area who don’t have internet access. It’s been a lovely way for them to stay in touch. If you know of anyone else who would be helped by this ministry, please let me know. And can I say a big thank-you to Alison, John and Robina, who are helping with distribution in Ripple and Welland!

3) Coffee and Chat RIP

One consequence of restarting physical services is that I won’t be available to host our online coffee and chat on a Sunday morning any more. I know for a number of you this has been a valuable means of social interaction during the lockdown. To replace it, we are suggesting you either attend a physical service, or if you aren’t able to do that, participate in the online services of spiritual communion, which will now include an extended “chat” time after the service.

4) Churches Open For Individual Prayer.

Thanks to the hard work of our volunteer cleaners and organisers we’re able to open three of our churches for a short period each week for individual prayer. You can visit to pray at the following times:

  • Mondays 10am-noon         St James’ Welland
  • Tuesdays 10am-noon         St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Wednesdays 10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle
  • Thursdays 10am-noon         St James’, Welland
  • Fridays 5pm-7pm            St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Saturdays 10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle

To help keep you safe, the buildings are being cleaned before and after each opening period, and the three-day gap between each building opening will act as an additional “safety buffer” in which the scientists tell us any virus particles that the cleaners have missed will die.

Notwithstanding that, please help us keep the buildings clean and safe by minimising the things you touch while in the building, using the provided hand gel, observing social distancing, and following all safety instructions in the building.

Please do not enter the building if you are experiencing any of the key Covid-19 symptoms:

  • a new continuous cough.
  • a high temperature.
  • a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

It’s also possible that we may need to close one of the buildings occasionally for a funeral, or other service, or because we haven’t been able to maintain cleaning safety. We’ll do our best to inform you of this.

 

5) This week’s Online Events

Click the links on the list below to take you direct to the event at the appropriate time.

Sunday 5 July

Live

Prerecorded, (stream at your convenience)

Wednesday 8 July

Every Day except Sunday

Services for Sunday 12 July

  • T.b.c. Holy Communion in Upton, 9:30am (please check website or this newsletter next week for final details).
  • Evening Prayer, Welland, 6pm
  • Service of the Word (traditional) – PRERECORDED available from midnight
  • Church Family (contemporary)– Facebook Premiere at 9:30am and PRERECORDED available from midnight.

We long for the day when we can all gather together again, but in the meantime, stay safe, stay prayerful, and God bless!

 

 

 

Barry Unwin

 

 

Vicar’s Update Letter 26 June 2020

26/06/2020

Dear Friends,

I hope you’ve had an enjoyable week and that the heat hasn’t been too much for you. We’ve certainly been very thankful for shade and a big paddling pool!

We had some good news this week: the Prime Minister announced on Tuesday that churches (among other things) could reopen for worship services from next weekend (5 July). I thank God that the time is soon drawing near when we can meet again face to face.

However, as I write (Friday) we are still waiting for more information on the Covid-safety guidelines our services will operate under. Apparently the bishops are locked in discussions with the government to get the information finalised, but with so many industries and organisations doing the same thing, the government and scientists are struggling to resolve matters swiftly enough. As a consequence we are unlikely to get the guidance Monday or Tuesday, which may make it difficult for us to restart services next weekend. Please be praying for the bishops and the government as they sort these things out – they’re working in our best interests on some pretty complex matters and I hope you’ll agree with me when I say it’s better we wait and get it right, rather than rushing into restarting services without fully understanding our Covid-19 related duty of care to our congregations.

When we do restart, it’s likely that for the first few weeks, we’ll only be able to offer one or two services a weekend, which we’ll move around the churches that can be safely reopened (ie those where we have an identified “Venue Manager” who is taking responsibility on behalf of the PCC for the cleaning and management of the building). From the results of our survey this week, I’ve been greatly heartened that most of you are willing to worship at a building that is not your usual church, so I would encourage youto  worship where services are available, until such time as we have regular services everywhere.

Inevitably there are a few rumours circulating about what services will be like when we can restart. It seems likely we will not be allowed to sing for the foreseeable future (for some of you this will be a relief, for others devastating). We will certainly have to socially distance in church, and it seems likely that once inside a building, we’ll not be allowed to interact socially outside of our family groups. We’re hoping the rules for open air worship might be a bit more relaxed, and we’ll certainly look at that option when we know what we’re allowed to do.

In the meantime, please be patient, and keep praying for everyone involved in reopening buildings and restarting services: we need it!

Briefly, a few other bits of news.

1)     Church finances – you can make a difference!

Like all small charities, your local church is suffering a significant financial shortfall as a result of lost income from collections and special fundraising events we’d have run through the summer.

Whilst there’s still some hope we might be able to run a few events in the open air later in the summer, we do face a very challenging future financially. If you are in a position to give an additional gift at this time, it would make a huge difference.

To make this simpler, we’ve set up a new GIVING page on our website (https://hopechurchfamily.org/giving), with all the information you’ll need to give a one-off, or regular gift to any of our churches.

2)     Services on DVDs and CDs

Every week I produce the services on DVD and CD for a small number of folk across the area who don’t have internet access. It’s been a lovely way for them to stay in touch. If you know of anyone else who would be helped by this ministry, please let me know. And can I say a big thank-you to Alison, John and Robina, who are helping with distribution in Ripple and Welland!

3) Get Togethers

We still can’t meet physically as church at the moment but Zoom continues to be a good tool to help us keep in touch and meet with a crowd of folk! If you’ve not tried it yet, and have a computer, do give it a go – it’s possible to leave the video off and just talk, or even just to listen in to others chatting. Sunday 28 June, 10-11am, Coffee and Chat.

4) Churches Open For Individual Prayer.

Thanks to the hard work of our volunteer cleaners and organisers we’re able to open three of our churches for a short period each week for individual prayer. You can visit to pray at the following times:

  • Mondays 10am-noon         St James’ Welland
  • Tuesdays 10am-noon         St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Wednesdays 10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle
  • Thursdays 10am-noon         St James’, Welland
  • Fridays 5pm-7pm            St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Saturdays 10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle

To help keep you safe, the buildings are being cleaned before and after each opening period, and the three-day gap between each building opening will act as an additional “safety buffer” in which the scientists tell us any virus particles that the cleaners have missed will die.

Notwithstanding that, please help us keep the buildings clean and safe by minimising the things you touch while in the building, using the provided hand gel, observing social distancing, and following all safety instructions in the building.

Please do not enter the building if you are experiencing any of the key Covid-19 symptoms:

  • a new continuous cough.
  • a high temperature.
  • a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

It’s also possible that we may need to close one of the buildings occasionally for a funeral, or other service, or because we haven’t been able to maintain cleaning safety. We’ll do our best to inform you of this.

 

5) This week’s Online Events

Click the links on the list below to take you direct to the event at the appropriate time.

Sunday 28 June

Live at 9:30am

Prerecorded, (stream at your convenience)

Wednesday 1 July

Every Day except Sunday

Services for Sunday 4 July

  • Possibly 2 live communion services in church, depending on clergy availability, building safety, and the complexity of the government’s rules…More details in next week’s email.
  • Service of the Word (traditional) – PRERECORDED available from midnight
  • Church Family (contemporary)– Facebook Premiere at 9:30am and PRERECORDED available from midnight.

We long for the day when we can all gather together again, but in the meantime, stay safe, stay prayerful, and God bless!

 

 

 

Barry Unwin

The Church Lockdown Survey

23/06/2020

Dear Friends,

As the government begins to relax the Coronavirus Lockdown, it’s time for us to think about how we restart our church services. It will be hard to go back to how things were before Coronavirus, and before we start to think about what the future pattern of activities should be, it would be really helpful to know if there are things we’ve been doing during lockdown that we should continue when it ends.

To help answer that question, I’ve designed a short survey which I’m sending to everyone on our regular mailing list, inviting you to help us shape our future service and online church provision.

The survey is nice and short, only eight questions, anonymous, and shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes to complete. But those five minutes can make a real difference to our planning – so if you are willing to help please click this link to go to the survey.

Thanks,

Rev’d Barry Unwin
Priest in Charge, Upton with the Hook, Ripple, Earls Croome with Hill Croome and Strensham, Hanley Castle with Hanley Swan, and Welland

Vicar’s Update – 19 June 2020

19/06/2020

Dear Friends,

I have some good news. At long last, we’re ready to reopen three of our eight churches for occasional private prayer! Some of you I know are very excited about this – so please get the word out!

Before I tell you the dates, let me say a big thank-you to Carol Hutchings, Helen Owens and John Martin, the three Church Wardens who have worked so hard to get the buildings ready to reopen. Credit must go to their cleaning teams too! Carol, Helen and John are acting as what the government call “venue managers” – the people responsible (on behalf of the church PCCs) for all aspects of Covid-19 safety within the buildings. I’m very grateful to them for this work, and I hope you will all help to make their lives easier by obeying the various Covid-19 safety guidelines in church, as well as volunteering to help with the cleaning if it is safe for you to do so.

So, starting from Tuesday 23rd June, you can visit one of our churches at the following times:

  • Mondays                             10am-noon         St James’ Welland (NOTE, Not MONDAY 22nd JUNE)
  • Tuesdays                             10am-noon         St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Wednesdays                       10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle
  • Thursdays                           10am-noon         St James’, Welland
  • Fridays                                5pm-7pm            St Gabriel’s, Hanley Swan
  • Saturdays                            10am-noon         St Mary’s, Hanley Castle

To help keep you safe, the buildings are being cleaned before and after each opening period, and the three-day gap between each building opening will act as an additional “safety buffer” in which the scientists tell us any virus particles that the cleaners have missed will die.

Notwithstanding that, please help us keep the buildings clean and safe by minimising the things you touch while in the building, using the provided hand gel, observing social distancing, and following all safety instructions in the building.

Please do not enter the building if you are experiencing any of the key Covid-19 symptoms:

  • a new continuous cough.
  • a high temperature.
  • a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

It’s also possible that we may need to close one of the buildings occasionally for a funeral, or because we haven’t been able to maintain cleaning safety. We’ll do our best to inform you of this.

As yet we have no guidance on whether on when our buildings can reopen for regular worship. Whenever this is, it is extremely unlikely that services will return to the patterns we were experiencing before the Covid-19 outbreak. When the word comes to restart, we’ll need to go slowly and safely for a period of time, seating capacity will be significantly reduced in all our buildings, and we’ll be encouraging you to travel to each other’s services. We’ll let you know further details after the government let us have further details!

As we don’t anticipate everyone will want to (or be able to) return to church at once, we will also need to explore ways to keep some of our online services going for the forseeable future.

Briefly, a few other bits of news. And remember, please also scroll down through the rest of this email to see details of readings for this Sunday, links to some fun things we’ve spotted this week, and our updated prayer list.

1)     Church finances – please help out!

Like all small charities, your local church is suffering a significant financial shortfall as a result of lost income from collections and special fundraising events we’d have run through the summer.

Whilst there’s still some hope we might be able to run a few events in the open air later in the summer, we do face a very challenging future financially. If you are in a position to give an additional gift at this time, it would make a huge difference.

To make this simpler, we’ve set up a new GIVING page on our website (https://hopechurchfamily.org/giving), with all the information you’ll need to give a one-off, or regular gift to any of our churches.

2)     Services on DVDs and CDs

Every week I produce the services on DVD and CD for a small number of folk across the area who don’t have internet access. It’s been a lovely way for them to stay in touch. If you know of anyone else who would be helped by this ministry, please let me know. And can I say a big thank-you to Alison, John and Robina, who are helping with distribution in Ripple and Welland!

3) Get Togethers

We can’t meet physically as church at the moment (but I hope those of you who can, have enjoyed some small social gatherings since the rules were eased last weekend) but Zoom continues to be a good tool to help us keep in touch and meet with a crowd of folk! If you’ve not tried it yet, and have a computer, do give it a go – it’s possible to leave the video off and just talk, or even just to listen in to others chatting.

4) This week’s Online Events

Click the links on the list below to take you direct to the event at the appropriate time.

Sunday 21 June

Live at 9:30am

Prerecorded, (stream at your convenience)

Tuesday 23 June

  • 8pm, the Quiz is back! With a new prize structure, and loads of fun general knowledge rounds, suitable for children and adults alike. You need access to a computer with a webcam to join in, via Zoom. Click this link to join.

 

Wednesday 24 June

Every Day except Sunday

Services for Sunday 27 June

  • Service of the Word (traditional) – PRERECORDED available from midnight
  • Church Family (contemporary)– Facebook Premiere at 9:30am and PRERECORDED available from midnight.
  • Evensong (available from 6pm)

 

We long for the day when we can all gather together again, but in the meantime, stay safe, stay prayerful, and God bless!

 

 

Rev’d Barry Unwin

Vicar’s Letter 5 June 2020

07/06/2020

Weekly Newsletter, 5 June 2020

I’m sure you’ve been very aware of the sad story of race and cruel policing coming out of the USA this week, a story which casts a shadow back across the Atlantic to the UK and challenges us all about the extent to which we judge people based on the colour of their skin.

I grew up in a part of England that, rather like rural Worcestershire, had a tiny Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population. And when you’ve only got white people to mix with, it’s hard to avoid absorbing the assumptions and language they use about those who look different to them.

Despite that, I don’t think I’d have called myself a racist at that age. At least not a conscious one. Then, aged 19, something happened to me that opened my eyes to the more subtle danger of racial stereotyping. To get to a football game, I had to walk through deprived inner-city Moss Side, in Manchester. It was the first time I’d ever really experienced an area with a large BAME population, and I was taken aback by how it made me feel. To be clear, nothing at all unpleasant happened to me as I walked through it, and yet I was worried that almost everyone I saw there, was going to rob me.

It took me a while to work out why I had this reaction, and of course the problem was not with them, it was with me. For years the majority of the BAME faces I’d seen were bad guys in shows like Starsky and Hutch and other (mainly American) TV dramas and films, and for want of any better examples, that was where my brain went to for stereotypes.

The psychologists define a stereotype as a “fixed, over-generalised belief about a particular group or class of people”, and it isn’t essentially a bad thing, In fact, it’s a rather helpful unconscious process our brains use to enable us to respond quickly to situations, based on previous experience.

Where it becomes a problem is when our brains are stuffed full of duff information that we’ve absorbed from TV. If all our data about BAME people comes from US crime dramas, we’ll end up making some pretty terrible decisions! For all I know, the Moss Side residents I unconsciously feared were going to rob me could have been on their way to a Bible study!

Two stints of living in London helped me come to terms with this, and I’ll be forever grateful to God for introducing me to so many wonderful, godly, BAME people there! But it has left me very aware of the danger of stereotype or institutional racism in the church, and the challenge the church faces, particularly in a “white” area like rural Worcestershire, to avoid this sort of “accidental” racism.

To be clear the Bible gives us no grounds for racism. All people are created in God’s image and are equally valuable in God’s eyes. But stereotyping makes it hard for us to always look at people through God’s eyes! That’s why its so important we all work at loving and befriending people who do not act or look like we do.

But fixing institutional racism goes beyond friendship. Many of the institutions and tribes of the Church of England have been rightly criticised as “stale, male and pale.” You could add Oxbridge educated to that list too! And change will only come when those who control access to that sort of power and privilege, begin to open the door to those (irrespective or race, class, and education) who are different to them.

I’ve been encouraged by the moves the Church of England has made on this in recent years, but there is still much to be done. So please pray for change in the Church of England, and in yourself: for we all need to be wary of our own stereotypes.

One day we’ll stand before the throne of God, in a heavenly worship service, with the redeemed people of God, people of every tribe and tongue, every people and nation. It would be an awful shame if we couldn’t enjoy it to the full, because you were worried some of them were going to rob you!

___

Briefly, a few other bits of news. And remember, please also scroll down through the rest of this email to see details of readings for this Sunday, links to some fun things we’ve spotted this week, and our updated prayer list.

1) Covid-19 & Churches Update

There’s still no update this week on when our church buildings may be able to reopen, though I still hear the 4 July date as being potentially significant. This will not however be for corporate worship.

The archdeacons wrote to church wardens this week to let us know that the Church of England has established a working group under the leadership of the Bishop of London (a former Chief Nursing Officer) to prepare some good practice guidelines for us when we are allowed to reopen, and that reopening will be a slow and gradual process.

I have circulated some updated and lengthier thoughts to PCC members and service leaders about this, though I have yet to work out how to serve communion while keeping 2m away from everyone! If anyone would like access to the thoughts, please send me an email.

When the encouragement does come to reopen, our church councils will need to take a final decision on re-opening after they have completed a risk assessment to show that whatever hygiene standards are required by the government and Church of England can be maintained. As you can imagine without toilets and running water, it will be tricky in some of our buildings.

Until then please continue to be patient and prepare yourself for a “new normal” post lockdown, one in which we learn to co-exist with Covid-19!

2) Church finances – please help out!

Like all small charities, your local church is suffering a significant financial shortfall as a result of lost income from collections and special fundraising events we’d have run through the summer.

Whilst there’s still some hope we might be able to run a few events in the open air later in the summer, we do face a very challenging future financially. If you are in a position to give an additional gift at this time, it would make a huge difference.

If you live in the Hanleys you can make use of a new giving arrangement that the PCC there has set up to allow the giving of a gift online.

At the moment, not all of our churches have this facility, but I hope others will be online soon. In the meantime, if you are able to give a gift to help fund your local church, please contact the treasurers direct and they’ll let you know what to do.

3) Services on DVDs and CDs

Every week I produce the services on DVD and CD for a small number of folk across the area who don’t have internet access. It’s been a lovely way for them to stay in touch. If you know of anyone else who would be helped by this ministry, please let me know. And can I say a big thank-you to Alison, John and Robina, who are helping with distribution in Ripple and Welland!

4) Get Togethers

We can’t meet physically as church at the moment (but I hope those of you who can, have enjoyed some small social gatherings since the rules were eased last weekend) but Zoom continues to be a good tool to help us keep in touch and meet with a crowd of folk! If you’ve not tried it yet, and have a computer, do give it a go – it’s possible to leave the video off and just talk, or even just to listen in to others chatting.

5) This week’s Online Events

Click the links on the list below to take you direct to the event at the appropriate time.

Sunday 7 June

Live at 9:30am

 

Prerecorded, (stream at your convenience)

 

Tuesday 9 June

  • Quiz Night – starts 8pm – login on Zoom from 7:50pm. Click here to join.

 

Wednesday 10 June

Every Day except Sunday

Services for Sunday 13 June

  • Service of the Word (traditional) – PRERECORDED available from midnight
  • Church Family (contemporary)– Facebook Premiere at 9:30am and PRERECORDED available from midnight.
  • Evensong (PRERECORDED, available from 6pm).

 

We long for the day when we can all gather together again, but in the meantime, stay safe, stay prayerful, and God bless!

Reverend Barry Unwin
Vicar, Hope Church Family

Church Update – Coronavirus

19/03/2020

Last updated 23 March 2020

 

The last few days have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, so in the midst of all this ups and downs, I wanted to write to update you on what’s happening with church in this time of change and confusion.

If you want to go straight to our FAQ list, click here, otherwise, let’s start by reminding ourselves that King Jesus is still in charge of the world. As the psalmist puts it, he is

our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1).

At times of national crisis, it’s good to know where our strength lies: not in our health or wealth, or in government and leadership, but in our God. He is our ultimate refuge and strength. He’s the one who will ultimately see us through this crisis.

But the writer of Psalm 46 doesn’t just leave it at that. He continues with a “therefore“! Because God being in charge has implications for how we live and respond to a crisis. So here’s what he has to say about how we should respond. For if God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3).

There are many ways we can respond to this time of confusion, but let’s not paralyse ourselves with fear, for

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:7).

A fortress is a place you run to for safety and security. For a lot of us that may be our homes – and there’s great wisdom in self-isolation at this time – not just to protect yourself but to protect others. But sitting alone at home is not an antidote to fear. For that, we need something more. So why not, as long as this crisis lasts, try to create a place of calm and peace in your home, where perhaps for 15 minutes a day, you switch off your mobile phone, silence the persistent ping of Facebook and Whatsapp updates, ignore the landline (take it off the hook – if its urgent they’ll call back!), switch off Radio Fear Live and Television Turmoil, and once everything is quiet, take the final part of Psalm 46 to heart,

Be still, and know that I am God;” (Psalm 46:10).

Because it’s only as we silence the distractions, that we’ll find that God-centred place of peace and calm, where we can know with certainty that we are secure in the everlasting arms of our loving heavenly Father.

God is our strength and refuge, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” (Psalm 46:1-2)

As you’ll probably have gathered by now, the government’s advice on restricting “unnecessary” gatherings means that we’re temporarily shutting our church gatherings down. But this doesn’t mean the church has stopped, it’s just going to be different for a while as we enjoy some new ways to be together and support one another.

The full picture of what all of this will look like is still evolving- so please give us time to work out the things we don’t yet know! This is particularly the case with legally significant things like weddings, funerals, church annual meetings and elections. In part this is because we are still receiving new guidelines from the Government and Church of England daily. I know they very much value our prayers, so please pray for them!

But despite all the confusion, here’s what we do know.

Coronavirus FAQ

What about church services?

Every Sunday, starting from 22 March, and continuing until we're allowed to meet together again, we'll be providing an "online" church service for you that you can access on your PC, laptop, or mobile phone (in fact if you have a Smart TV there's probably a way to use that too). God-willing, this will be a way for our Hope Church Family of churches to keep moving forward together, even while we're apart!

The services will be available from just after midnight on Sunday morning from the "Church Online" page on our website. Everything you need for the service, including liturgy, hymns, and prayers will be included in the video. Some Sundays we'll offer you a choice of services, some Sundays there will only one. You can watch one or both, you can watch them alone, or with other members of your family, and feel free to pause at any point and discuss amongst yourselves what's going on!

In addition to these regular weekly online services, I'm also inviting you to join us for a short, 7-10 minute Daily Prayer service. At this challenging time it's important we keep praying - and I hope these videos will help! I'll publish them daily on the website, and again, everything you need to join in will be in the video.

How can we help one another and our community?

Just because physical services have stopped, that doesn't mean we can't still serve one another. This is a great time for us to provide lots of pastoral support via the telephone and internet. Many of you will be feeling isolated - so pick up the phone and ring a neighbour - chances are they're feeling just the same!

  • If you are living in Upton, and are willing to help a self-isolating neighbour out, or if you are self-isolating and need help, then please contact the Upton Town Council and Upton Baptist Church "Stay Connected" scheme. You can contact them on 01684 594991.
  • If you are self-isolating in the Hanleys, and need help, please Click here to download a form which can be returned to Rev'd Sue Adeney. Alternatively, if you know of someone self-isolating, please print it and give it to them. Sue can be contacted by email here.
  • If you are self-isolating in Welland, the Parish Council, through the village shop is offering a community care support service. The parish council will be sending round a leaflet detailing volunteer efforts. The shop (01684 310377) is offering free local delivery to anyone who has need. You can order over the phone and pay by card.
What about Bible Study groups and other fellowship / discussion meetings?

Sadly groups will need to stop meeting immediately. However individual group leaders may well be in touch to discuss alternate arrangements to allow discussion, chat, using Whatsapp and other means.

Information about Girlz Only, Base Camp, Toddlers, The Deep End, Breakfast Church, and Open House

Carol writes, Our Hope Church childrens, youth, and family groups are switching to AIR mode!

Hope Church Air logo

This means they won't meet physically but will be reinvented to still give connection, fun, Bible truth, spiritual growth and mission in a way appropriate for the internet age we live in.  In truth, we're praying that God can turn this seemingly bad time into a new opportunity for us in our calling. Through the power of the Holy Spirit this can be a significant new time for the advancing of God's plans and purposes!

So if you have grandchildren, nieces, nephews of primary age, please email carolunwin@gmail.com NOW to receive regular once a week emailable, internet-linked resources that you can pass on to parents of children you know. It doesn't matter where they live geographically, this can be your way of helping them to have fun and not get bored while physically isolating. It's also a great chance for them to hear more about our great Leader, Jesus, and a big help to their parents, who will be looking around for different resources to help entertain the children and to give them hope and a Christian explanation of this uncertain time.

Breakfast Church, Open House bring and share teas, and other ministries will also continue in AIR mode, possibly through Zoom (don't worry if you don't know what it is, more details will follow, and you don't even need the internet to participate!). But if you do have access to the internet you may want to try out connecting with people through Zoom or Skype now, to be ready to gather with people in AIR congregations soon to worship our great God, who is in control, and working for the good of those who love Him.

What about PCC Meetings, Annual Church Meetings, and other "Business Meetings"?

All meetings are on hold for now.

Some of our PCCs have Standing Committees, and will meet using online conferencing software to resolve any urgent business.

To date, Upton, The Croomes, and Ripple churches have not had their Annual General meeting. The Church of England has extended the deadline for an Annual General Meeting (APCM) to take place from May 31 to the end of October. We hope to reconvene before then. In the meantime all officer terms have been extended until the APCM takes place.

How will the COVID-19 outbreak impact a wedding?

(Taken from the Church of England's Coronavirus guidance page).

If you are due to get married in the coming months, we recognise that this may be a time of great concern.

As of the Prime Minister's announcement on 23 March, the option of going ahead with your wedding with minimal numbers in attendance is no longer available. All weddings are therefore postponed, and we will do everything we can to accommodate you on a mutually convenient date when the current restrictions are eased.

The following advice is provided for those planning weddings, either who wish to go ahead or to find an alternative date in the future.

Before the wedding

Planning meetings between the couple and the priest can still proceed but must be help by telephone, skype etc rather than face-to-face.

Where it has not been possible for marriage banns to be read because of restrictions to public services, a Common Licence or Special Licence may be appropriate. The priest will be able to help you to ensure you have what is necessary.

How will the COVID-19 outbreak impact a baptism?

(Taken from the Church of England's Coronavirus Guidance Page)

As of the Prime Minister's announcement on 23 March, all baptisms are postponed.  We will work with you to find another mutually convenient date when restrictions are eased.

Meetings between candidates or parents/guardians/carers and clergy can proceed but must be held by telephone, Skype etc. rather than face-to-face.

How will the COVID-19 outbreak impact a funeral?

PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR BAPTISMS

If there are no church services, are the buildings still open for prayer?

Sadly, as of the Prime Minister's announcement on 23 March, all places of worship are now closed, even for individual prayer.

We hope this will be a short-term restriction. If you need pastoral support please contact barry@hopechurchfamily.org or 07757 610345.

Is the church office still open?

With the schools closed, Clare is likely to be working from home for some of the time.

We are looking at diverting calls to her there.

The best way to reach her is via email at admin@hopechurchfamily.org. We will provide an update as soon as we have more consistent arrangements in place.

______________________

Taking all of this together, I hope that you can see that there is the beginning of a plan in place for how we can continue to worship together as church even though we cannot worship together in person. At a time like this, I am reminded once again of St Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, where he tells the believers,

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)

That is wise advice at any time, but especially now!

Take care, and may God bless you all in the coming weeks as we learn some new ways of being church.


Reverend Barry Unwin
Vicar, Hope Church Family

Coronavirus Update 10 March 2020

11/03/2020

Changes to communion services as a result of Coronavirus

On 10 March, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York wrote to all clergy updating their advice and guidance in relation to services of Holy Communion and how they are impacted by the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.

I, therefore, wanted to update my earlier information sheet on Coronavirus (COVID-19) explaining their decision, and outlining exactly what we are doing in response.

The key message from the Archbishops is as follows:

It is our view, in light of the continued increase of Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom, that it is now necessary to suspend the administration of the chalice as well as physical contact during the sharing of the peace, blessing or “laying on of hands”.

We therefore advise that all priests should:-

Offer Communion in one kind only to all communicants i.e. the consecrated bread/wafer/host, with the priest alone taking the wine;

suspend handshaking or other direct physical contact during the sharing of the peace;

suspend direct physical contact as part of a blessing or ‘laying on of hands’.”

I have therefore asked all of our clergy and churches to comply with the Archbishops’ advice. However, a number of questions have arisen about the Archbishops’ advice:

Why can’t we use individual cups as some other denominations do?
The simple answer is that this is forbidden in Church of England law. Jesus shared one cup of wine with his disciples, so the Church of England instructs gatherings of his disciples to share one cup of wine to remember him by.

Can we dip a wafer into the wine?
We are strongly discouraged from doing this as hands are a primary transmission route for infections and therefore placing your hand into the chalice increases the risk of disease transmission! Dipping the bread/wafer also creates an allergic reaction risk for other congregation members.

But receiving only the bread/wafer doesn’t feel like a proper communion.
A key thing to consider here is whether the blessings that accrue to us from the eucharist come from faith or from the physical eating of bread and wine. The Church of England teaches that it is from faith, and therefore to receive the bread by faith is full communion.

Suspending the common cup is illegal under church law!
This is an interesting argument for the church lawyers. At their ordination, all clergy swear to uphold the Church of England’s doctrinal basis – the 39 Articles. Article 30 makes it clear that it is wrong to withhold the cup at communion (which was a common Roman Catholic practice prior to the English Reformation). However, the Sacrament Act of 1547 (yes this isn’t a new issue!) states that “holy communion shall ‘be hereafter delivered and ministered unto the people … under both the kinds … of bread and wine, except necessity otherwise require’. There is some debate among church lawyers and clergy as to whether this “except necessity otherwise require” includes things like COVID-19, which is no doubt why the Archbishops have advised rather than ordered clergy to withhold the cup. Were they to order it, they could be in breach of church law, and therefore technically guilty of misconduct under the 2003 Clergy Discipline Measure. However, its important to see the bigger picture here: COVID-19 is a very unpleasant disease which will potentially kill a significant number of people in the UK. Any temporary provision we can make to limit its spread is an act of love and surely falls under the criteria of the Sacrament Act.

What about handwashing?
COVID-19 is destroyed by soap, which is why good handwashing is such an effective tool to limit infection. Please wash your hands thoroughly before coming to church services and other events. Where facilities are available, please wash your hands before you leave the service as well, or as soon as possible afterwards. We had hoped to be able to provide an alcohol-based gel in our buildings, but supplies across the country are so limited that this is proving difficult.

In the meantime, please therefore bear with us while we cope with the changes COVID-19 will bring to all of our routines. Hopefully in a couple of months we’ll look back on this and give thanks that it wasn’t as bad as the doom mongers said. The wonderful thing is, we can all play a part in making it not as bad as it could be, simply by maintaining good hygiene practices, and exercising common sense when it comes to how to interact with others if we display any symptoms. However, this is not a time for us to withdraw from one another: many in our community are afraid and need additional support – especially if they are self-isolating. Please help us show the love of Jesus during this crisis, by keeping an eye out for your neighbours, family and friends–and together we’ll see this through.

 

Coronavirus and Church

29/02/2020

It’s been hard to ignore Coronavirus in the media this week. I, therefore, wanted to write a brief update for you all with a few thoughts on how we approach the subject as churches. This is not meant to alarm you, and will instead I hope set out some sensible precautions we can all take to minimise any risk of infection in our communities.

I am basing what I say in part on NHS guidance given to my children at school today, which included this poster which has been produced by the NHS for educational settings, but which I think is relevant to our church communities . It helpfully answers two key questions for us.

How likely am I to catch the virus?

  1. You can only catch the virus if you have been in close contact to a person who has the virus.
  2. The chance of being in contact with the virus is currently low in the UK. As of 28 February, there are only 19 confirmed cases in the UK. This means you’d have something like a one in 3-million chance of meeting a person in the street with the disease! As far as I know, there have been no cases of Coronavirus reported in Worcestershire.

How should I minimise the risk of spreading the virus?

  1. Don’t go to China, or any of the affected areas.
  2. If you need to cough or sneeze, catch it with a tissue, and bin it.
  3. Don’t share items that come into contact with your mouth, such as cups and bottles.
  4. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or a hand sanitiser. Try not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Much of this advice translates directly to our church context, however, it is worth now asking the specific question:

What does this mean for services of Holy Communion?

First, there’s no reason to panic!

Public Health England said on 25 February,

Whilst in places of worship, there is no need to avoid other worshipers who are well or to change normal faith practices – this includes taking wine from the communal chalice.”

There has never been a medically proven case of disease transmission via the communion cup.  The Anglican Church of Canada has published a paper on this subject stating,

no episode of disease attributable to the common cup has ever been reported. Thus for the average communicant, it would seem that the risk of drinking from the common cup is probably less than the risk of air-borne infection in using a common building.”

Therefore, the Church of England has issued the following guidance: (and my comments on each point are included in red)

  1. Long-standing government advice has been that ‘In a pandemic, it makes good sense to take precautions to limit the spread of disease by not sharing common vessels for food and drink.’ HOWEVER, COVID-19 has NOT been declared a pandemic. (We should, therefore, continue meeting and proclaiming the Lord’s death until he returns – 1Corinthians 11:26! )
  2. Churches should already be following best-hygiene practices that include advising parishioners with coughs and sneezes to refrain from handshaking during The Peace and, to receive Communion in one kind only. (That is, to receive bread/wafer only, and not the wine).
  3. There is no Government advice that suggests the use of the Common Cup should be suspended.
  4. Churches should have hand-sanitizer available for parishioners to use. (I have bulk purchased these and will make them available in our churches when they arrive next week.)
  5. Priests presiding at the Eucharist, communion administrators and servers should wash their hands, preferably with an alcohol-based (minimum 60%) hand-sanitiser. (This is in addition to the practice of ritual hand washing that some priests include as they prepare communion.)
  6. Intinction (dipping the wafer in the wine) is not recommended (even by celebrants or communion-administrators) as this represents an infection transmission route as well as a risk to those with certain allergies. (It brings the hands into closer contact with the wine, and also risks wafer crumbs getting into the wine which can be a problem for those with gluten intolerance).

I believe that if we all follow these sensible guidelines, the risk of infection will be minimised, and in a year or so, we’ll look back upon Coronivirus as we do on Swine Flu – a nasty bug we managed to avoid with good infection control!

 

 

Barry Unwin

28 Feb 2020

Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals