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This May 24th Newsletter is instead of a magazine and pew sheet. All public worship continues to be suspended until further notice and general access to the church building is still currently restricted.

However:

• Quiet time with God – Not cancelled                  
• Reading the Bible – Not cancelled
• Praying with each other – Not cancelled
• Checking on a friend – Not cancelled
• Helping others – Not cancelled
• Worshipping on-line – Not cancelled

If you need to contact the Vicar: Phone 0161 797 7652 or e-mail: dvjt@outlook.com

Prayer for the current pandemic:

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.

Listen to the Website

You can listen to, as well as read, the posts on this website! Under the title of each post, like this one, you’ll initially see a graphic equalizer symbol. When that stops, press the arrow next to ‘Listen now’ to hear the post.

And there’s voice-search capability. You should see a blue microphone symbol at the side of any page. Just click on it and say (or type) what you’re looking for.

It’s early days and the voice recognition seems to work better with Google Chrome than with other browsers. The blue microphone also has a voice assistant which we’ll be developing over the next few weeks.

Prayer

The Vicar says Morning Prayer at 9.30 am and Evening Prayer at 5.00 pm on a daily basis. By also saying prayers at this time we are uniting together.

Please remember in your prayers:

The World – Those involved in the search for a Coronavirus vaccine.

This Country – Those involved in the discussions to re-open schools.

Worldwide Church – For the online events for ‘Thy Kingdom Come’.

This Parish – The NHS workers, carers and support staff who live and work in our Parish.

The Sick – Julie Cooper, niece of Alan Evans.

Recently Deceased – David Butterworth. We think about Dorothy and her family at this time.

Notices and updates

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement running from Ascension to Pentecost. Please continue to use the booklet issued last week, joining in with these services if possible, especially at the times of Morning and Evening Prayer.

A free national phoneline – to bring worship and prayer into people’s homes during this pandemic, has been launched by the Church of England. ‘Daily Hope’ offers music, prayers, and reflections as well as full worship services at the end of a telephone. The line is available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044. Mothers’ Union Midday Prayers are also available on this line, entering option 4 then option 8.

Giving: Please ensure you continue to contribute to our church funds at this time. Envelopes should be kept safe and given when able to do so. If you would like to consider donating by Standing Order, then our bank is: Barclays; Sort Code: 20-16-08; Account No: 20774774; Account name: St. John with St. Mark PCC. Please contact Ian or June Banks for more information.

250th Anniversary: Our plans for the 250th celebration of the Parish of St John in June have been put on hold for now. We are still intending to put together the display of memorabilia, even if it may be later than expected when people can see it. Please continue to have a look around for photographs and memorabilia. We can arrange for this to be collected and brought to Church at a later date. David Robinson and Margaret Duckworth are co-ordinating this. In the meantime, please take a look at our history page, which has some recent additions from Andrew Salisbury.

For hints, tips and links to resources for prayer and worship at home please take a look at this post.

We will be producing a June 2020 magazine and delivering to those in the congregation. For now, please enjoy this May 24th Newsletter.

Until we meet again…

TAKE CARE, STAY SAFE & GOD BLESS YOU

Thanks to Roman Kraft on Unsplash for the photo. For the May 31st newsletter please follow this link.