26th March 2020

Dear All

Coronavirus – Covid – 19 – continues to change our lives.  No doubt by the time you read this, instructions could easily have changed!  This is inevitable because we have never been here before.

It’s as if the pause button has been pushed on our remote controls and life has been put on hold.  We have all been told to stay at home, except for a daily walk, run or cycle; work from home, as far as possible; keep our distance.  How important it is to follow this advice.

We can all play our part.  We thank God for the 500,000 who have volunteered to assist the NHS in this crisis.

As you have no doubt heard, we have been requested by our bishops to close our churches.  This means, as we have started to do, is to share our worship differently.  On the Hempnall Group website there are thoughts and prayers to guide us and we are hoping in the future to add a morning and evening prayer so we can share and pray together.

There seems to be a network of practical help available in our villages.  Thank you to those who have arranged this.  We all have different needs and there are those who can assist.  Please don’t hesitate to contact someone to help or just for a chat.

If Liz or myself can be of help, we are only a phone call away, my number is 01508 498157, Liz’s number is 07891 854219.

Let’s cope with this crisis with a spirit of kindness and loving service to those around us.

Remember SPS:  Stay at home; Protect the NHS; Save lives;

Our love

Michael and Liz 

I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2

E-mail the Church Office  

Thoughts and Prayers for the Week                        

Sunday 5th April 2020

Palm Sunday  

Prayer of the Week:

True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah:

grant us the faith to know you and love you,

that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross,

which is the path of glory.

Amen.

Thought for the Week:

D.L. Moody the great American evangelist and writer wrote: "We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does.  Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining, they just shine."

Despite these difficult times let us not forget this Palm Sunday and Holy Week of all that Jesus went through for us and his light will never go out.  We continue to shine as beacons in our communities and let's remember the words of Archbishop Justin, almost in answer, “Let us continue to pray, to care for the vulnerable and build our communities, even while separated.” This is what we can do. This is what The Hempnall Group has always done.

Continue to pray

• Michael and I suggest that on Sunday mornings at 10.00am, the time we would usually have a Group Service, to light a candle and say The Lord’s Prayer together. In our homes we will be celebrating The Eucharist. In so doing we will be holding everyone before God in love and prayer, asking for God’s strength and comfort, his compassion and peace.
•  
• During the week at 8.30am and 5.00pm, as is our practice we continue to say Daily Prayer.Could you join with us in saying The Lord’s Prayer twice a day?

In this way, we care for each other and build our life together even while separated.

• Our love and care of others is expressed not only in prayer but by a kind word or deed, a phone call or card. The Food Bank our next collection will be on 5^th April.

These may seem small things, but together they change the world around us for good.

“Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”        

                                                                                          Philippians Chapter 4 verses 5-7

Prayer for our Villages, Nation and World

Keep us, good Lord,

under the shadow of your mercy

in this time of uncertainty and distress.

Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,

and lift up all who are brought low;

that we may rejoice in your comfort

knowing that nothing can separate us from your love

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

Readings for the week: The Passion - Matthews chapters 4 and 5.