Benefice-Priest in Charge
Katrina Dykes
September 2020
Dear Friends
Looking back over the past six months we have been through a phenomenal amount of change and disruption. It has been hard at times, to keep up with current guidelines and know what we should be doing where and when.
Many of us have adapted pretty well to the new environment we find ourselves in, learning how to Zoom, carrying sanitizer and face masks with us at all times and checking up on our neighbours regularly.
What has been harder to adapt to has been the sense of loss and grief. We have lost much loved and respected members of our communities and we have been unable to show our sympathy and support for one another in the ways we would have liked. We have missed sharing time with family and friends and being in physical contact with loved ones. We may also feel we have missed a summer and a much needed holiday.
Autumn is approaching and our patience and resilience is perhaps growing thin as we long for life to return to normal. At the same time we may fear a second spike and increases in infections and deaths.
But, as we enter the season of ripening fruits and harvesting crops, I wonder whether there isn’t yet another harvest to be gathered up, that will sustain us in the weeks ahead.
Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians that if we allow the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our lives and grow in his influence over us, he will produce fruit in us that is consistent with his character. Fruit that we seem to be more in need of than ever.
The fruit is called love and Paul unpacks what he means by elaborating that this love shows itself in us as joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This fruit does not come from striving and trying really hard to do the right things or pretending to be something we are not. It comes from allowing God to live and move and have his being within us.
If we feel the grief of separation from loved ones; if we become frustrated with inconvenience and find ourselves brushing off the consequences of careless actions; if we become impatient with this situation seeming to go on and on, and if we feel ourselves growing weary, perhaps it is time to ask God to take up residence in our hearts and grow his fruit of love in us, that we may see a harvest of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that we can truly give thanks for and will sustain us through the winter.
Katrina
Rev’d Katrina Dykes
Priest-in-Charge, Abbotts Ann, Upper Clatford and Goodworth Clatford.
Dear Friends
Looking back over the past six months we have been through a phenomenal amount of change and disruption. It has been hard at times, to keep up with current guidelines and know what we should be doing where and when.
Many of us have adapted pretty well to the new environment we find ourselves in, learning how to Zoom, carrying sanitizer and face masks with us at all times and checking up on our neighbours regularly.
What has been harder to adapt to has been the sense of loss and grief. We have lost much loved and respected members of our communities and we have been unable to show our sympathy and support for one another in the ways we would have liked. We have missed sharing time with family and friends and being in physical contact with loved ones. We may also feel we have missed a summer and a much needed holiday.
Autumn is approaching and our patience and resilience is perhaps growing thin as we long for life to return to normal. At the same time we may fear a second spike and increases in infections and deaths.
But, as we enter the season of ripening fruits and harvesting crops, I wonder whether there isn’t yet another harvest to be gathered up, that will sustain us in the weeks ahead.
Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians that if we allow the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our lives and grow in his influence over us, he will produce fruit in us that is consistent with his character. Fruit that we seem to be more in need of than ever.
The fruit is called love and Paul unpacks what he means by elaborating that this love shows itself in us as joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This fruit does not come from striving and trying really hard to do the right things or pretending to be something we are not. It comes from allowing God to live and move and have his being within us.
If we feel the grief of separation from loved ones; if we become frustrated with inconvenience and find ourselves brushing off the consequences of careless actions; if we become impatient with this situation seeming to go on and on, and if we feel ourselves growing weary, perhaps it is time to ask God to take up residence in our hearts and grow his fruit of love in us, that we may see a harvest of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that we can truly give thanks for and will sustain us through the winter.
Katrina
Rev’d Katrina Dykes
Priest-in-Charge, Abbotts Ann, Upper Clatford and Goodworth Clatford.
July 2020
Dear friends,
I very much hope that this letter finds you and your loved ones in good health, in body, mind and spirit. These past weeks have been testing for us all in many ways. However, I am pleased to write to you now, with the news that we will very soon be able to worship in our church buildings again.
First, I would like to reassure all of you who are not yet ready to come out to church, that we will be continuing all of our current activities online through-out the summer and into September.
The Sunday midday service will be simplified a little, but will still include the Bible reading for the week, a sermon and intercessions. I am pleased to say you will also get a little more variety as the Ministry Team begin to take on more of these services from their homes. The noon service will also continue be available to listen to on the phone line which we have provided for those who don’t have computers.
Sunday evening Zoom services will also continue, covering a wide variety of themes and input from others in our church community.
Daily Night prayer will also still be available.
In addition, from Sunday 19th July we will be able to offer a service of Holy Communion at 10am in one of our churches each week. In order to abide by government and Church of England guidelines, I am afraid that numbers do have to be restricted to allow for social distancing, although I am hopeful we have sufficient space for all who wish to join us. It would be exceedingly helpful to know who to expect each week, so please would you let Sarah Derbyshire our benefice administrator know if you are intending to join us. A simple phone message: 07393-944245 or email: officeannabenefice@gmail.com by noon the Friday before the Sunday and please let us know who will be coming with you.
If you have friends or neighbours who do not receive this mailing, please do let them know about this arrangement.
The Order of Service will be available to download and print from the website, if you would like to bring your own with you, but we will also have printed copies in the church.
We will be doing all we can to make worship in our church buildings a safe and meaningful experience. We will be able to distribute the communion bread to all who wish to receive, but at this time only the priest is able to take the wine on behalf of everyone.
If you are feeling unwell please do not attend church. Face coverings are not currently required (but do keep an eye out for updates, as this may change), however you may want to wear one for the safety of others. We will be asking for a contact phone number or email for the purpose of track and trace, in case needed.
On the next page of this letter you will find details of which church will be hosting the service on which Sundays over the summer.
I very much hope I will see you soon, but please do feel free to be in touch if you want to ask about anything we are currently offering.
Wishing you peace and joy,
Katrina
Rev’d Katrina Dykes
Priest-in-Charge, Abbotts Ann, Upper Clatford and Goodworth Clatford.
Sunday 10am Services of Holy Communion in the Anna Benefice
Please leave a phone message on 07393-944245 or email officeannabenefice@gmail.com if you are intending to join us, letting us know if anyone is coming with you.
Thank you.
Sept
6 St Mary Abbotts Ann
13 St Peter Goodworth Clatford
Message from Katrina May 2020
‘New Normal’ is a phrase I am hearing quite a bit at the moment as life is anything but old normal at the moment! Even in our little villages, where we are largely shielded from the harsher consequences of the Coronavirus, life has changed and people are beginning to ask whether the experience will change us and if so how?
Unable to meet in person, many of us have picked up new skills for working and socialising online. We are even ‘doing’ church online with Facebook and Zoom. One of the benefits of this for our church community has been the inclusion of people who haven’t been able to come to church for some time, now being part of a worship service with others once again. Sadly, not everyone is au fait with this way of doing things, and we miss them being part of our gatherings on Sundays.
For families there has been the huge adjustment to home schooling. A great opportunity for parents and children to spend more time being together and share in lots of creative activities. At the same time the pressure of trying to work from home, making sure children have their lessons and get opportunity to run off their energy, is a lot to juggle and can lead to arguments and stress.
I know many are using this time to get on with home improvement projects or spending time working in the garden. The sense of achievement and pleasure this brings is of great benefit to many. Whilst others are anxious about how long this will go one for and when they will be able to get back to work.
There has been a great outpouring of kindness and neighbourliness in our villages. People coming together to look out for one another, collect prescriptions and deliver shopping. More people are out and about walking and cycling and stopping for chat, as we have the time to catch up with friends old and new. And the peace and tranquillity of the countryside with fewer cars passing through our villages, draws our attention to notice the little things so easily missed, insects and birds, leaves slowly unfurling and the delicate colours of spring flowers.
I am sure there will be aspects of this experience we will want to leave behind as soon as we are able. But I hope that the good things we have discovered will stick. That we will move forward changed for the better, reconnecting with the good from the old normal and leaving the bad. Leaving the pain of the current normal, but taking with us all the good we found in this most abnormal of times, as we forge ahead into the ‘New Normal’.
There is a strong precedent in the scriptures for both change and stability to be part of the normal human experience and leave you with these words that have stood the test of many centuries whilst still remaining fresh:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Church services:
Mon-Sat: 6pm Night Prayer Facebook Live
Sundays: 12 noon Facebook Live
6pm Zoom service
‘New Normal’ is a phrase I am hearing quite a bit at the moment as life is anything but old normal at the moment! Even in our little villages, where we are largely shielded from the harsher consequences of the Coronavirus, life has changed and people are beginning to ask whether the experience will change us and if so how?
Unable to meet in person, many of us have picked up new skills for working and socialising online. We are even ‘doing’ church online with Facebook and Zoom. One of the benefits of this for our church community has been the inclusion of people who haven’t been able to come to church for some time, now being part of a worship service with others once again. Sadly, not everyone is au fait with this way of doing things, and we miss them being part of our gatherings on Sundays.
For families there has been the huge adjustment to home schooling. A great opportunity for parents and children to spend more time being together and share in lots of creative activities. At the same time the pressure of trying to work from home, making sure children have their lessons and get opportunity to run off their energy, is a lot to juggle and can lead to arguments and stress.
I know many are using this time to get on with home improvement projects or spending time working in the garden. The sense of achievement and pleasure this brings is of great benefit to many. Whilst others are anxious about how long this will go one for and when they will be able to get back to work.
There has been a great outpouring of kindness and neighbourliness in our villages. People coming together to look out for one another, collect prescriptions and deliver shopping. More people are out and about walking and cycling and stopping for chat, as we have the time to catch up with friends old and new. And the peace and tranquillity of the countryside with fewer cars passing through our villages, draws our attention to notice the little things so easily missed, insects and birds, leaves slowly unfurling and the delicate colours of spring flowers.
I am sure there will be aspects of this experience we will want to leave behind as soon as we are able. But I hope that the good things we have discovered will stick. That we will move forward changed for the better, reconnecting with the good from the old normal and leaving the bad. Leaving the pain of the current normal, but taking with us all the good we found in this most abnormal of times, as we forge ahead into the ‘New Normal’.
There is a strong precedent in the scriptures for both change and stability to be part of the normal human experience and leave you with these words that have stood the test of many centuries whilst still remaining fresh:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Church services:
Mon-Sat: 6pm Night Prayer Facebook Live
Sundays: 12 noon Facebook Live
6pm Zoom service
