to know, grow and show the love of God
With shutdowns and restricted movement taking place due to Covid-19 we’re not going to be able to worship with one another in the way that we’re normally used to.
We know it won’t be the same as our usual gathering together but here are links to some great on-line prayer and worship resources that you can access from home…
Updated 27th March
The Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England have urged everyone to follow the instructions given by the Prime Minister. They are to stay in their homes in a national effort to limit the transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Our church buildings are now closed for public worship, private prayer and all other meetings and activities except for vital community services until further notice.
The Archbishops called on the Church to “continue to pray, to love, to care for the vulnerable”
In our present circumstances we cannot be physically together but perhaps instead of watching Countryfile on Sunday evening, you might follow the attached service and we can be Sunday@Seven in our own homes, in some way, together.
You will see that I had planned for us to look at prayer under three headings which I called “The Big Ask”; “Praying for others” and “ Getting to know you”.
Here’s our April 2020 magazine.
Obviously with Covid-19 and all the restrictions, the magazine is a bit different to normal. There’s not much ‘what’s on’ to tell you about! But it does give us more space for reflections and prayer. There are also suggestions for worship from home.
But with all that’s going on, let’s not forget it’s Easter!
With more people shopping on-line at the moment this is a just a reminder of a post that we put up last year about easyfundraising.
This is a great site where you can raise money for St John with St Mark’s Church with your everyday online purchasing. At no extra cost to yourself!
Each time you shop online via the easyfundraising website the retailers give the church a donation as a ‘thank you’.
Here are the April 2020 Bible readings. Since none of us, at least here in the UK, are likely to be in a church building this month, please take the opportunity to read the scriptures and reflect on what they might be saying to you.
April 2020 includes Easter. So, we have both the immediate build up when Jesus enters Jerusalem, Good Friday, the Resurrection and then what happens next…
With us all being at home more due to Covid-19, it’s an opportunity to reconsider how best we spend our time. The ancient practice of Lectio Divina is something worth considering as we search for the holy in the midst of the everyday.
Very simply put, Lectio Divina is the act of praying with the Bible. But we do so in a very active way with our mind and heart open to God. It assumes that God speaks to us through the scriptures in the unique circumstances of our lives, responding in new ways each time.
It’s our 250th church anniversary coming up in June and we’ve been asking for memorabilia.
One of the gems is a St John’s Church Bury Parish Magazine from April 1968.
Amongst the adverts for Brian’s Chippy on Argyle Street and Cunnane’s ‘high-class fish, fruit, poultry and vegetables and fresh flower shop’ on Malvern Avenue, we have some very revealing letters and editorials uncovering what church life was like here 52 years ago.