Happy (environmentally friendly) Christmas to you! The nights are drawing in, Autumn Watch is on the telly, and our thoughts begin to turn to Christmas – although it’s likely to be a very different one this year. We all want to reduce our carbon impact and help restore the natural world, right? Happily, you don’t have to be a Scrooge – switch the heating off, refuse visitors and sit shivering in the dark – in order to reduce your environmental impact this Christmas! There are lots of fun facts to research in this detailed article on Christmas…
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have made a special appeal for Christians and those of other faiths to pray daily at 6.00pm during the lockdown period. You can find further information on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s website: www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/. Here is one of the prayers suggested for the first week of lockdown: Loving God, at this time of crisis when so many are suffering, we pray for our nation and our world. Give our leaders wisdom, our Health Service strength, our people hope. Lead us through these parched and difficult days to the fresh springs of joy and comfort that we…
Marking All Souls’ on Sunday 1st November 2020 All Souls is the time when the Church remembers those we have loved and lost. This year, as we cannot safely accommodate our traditional church service, people are warmly invited to call into St Marys’ Church between 10.30am and 4.30pm, for a time of quiet reflection and perhaps to light a candle. Poppy will then lead a service online at 6pm that evening, with hymns, prayers and readings, of course including reading the names of those who have died recently. You can share this service using the link below: If you would…
Prayer focus for this week To encourage each other in prayer, we will be suggesting a focus for prayer each week. We will also be publicising a dedicated “prayer phone” so people can request prayers in confidence, by text or voice message. For your prayers this week: Tetbury Praying the Town: for those living and working in Old Ilsom Farm Road Our local nurseries and child minders – for the children to feel secure, and for the staff caring for them to remain well and feel well supported The Parish of Beverston Those who have died, and those who are…
At the heart of our worship is the image of a feast, and God’s invitation to each of us, welcoming us to share in the joy and abundance we find in him.
NEWS FROM ST MARYS’ OCTOBER 2020 We’ve been celebrating the Season of Creation. For the first time this September, we have taken a whole month to think about the wonders of God’s good creation, and about our call to be good stewards of the earth. We started on the first Sunday with a celebration of the beauty of this earth – and our Worship on Zoom included a reflection with pictures sent in of people’s special places. They ranged from the back garden to tropical islands, and were all lovely. Then, on the second Sunday, we focussed on the call…
Opening of St Marys’ Church for Private Prayer Since June 15th 2020 we have managed to keep the front area of the church open daily for private prayer and for the many visitors that have visited Tetbury over the summer. This has been possible with thanks to a small dedicated team who have cleaned daily, unlocked and locked the church. As we approach Autumn, however, having the northeast doors of the church wide open all day to the elements will not do the fabric of the building any good along with any lighting and heating that would be required.…