Vicar’s Mailings

Sunday 25th September 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

A few quick notices:

Friends of St Mary’s AGM

This takes place this Sunday (25th), following the after-church coffee in the church hall. It’s a very good opportunity to hear about the wonderful work the Friends do to support and enhance our parish church. Please stay to join in if you can.

Evensong on Sunday

Choral Evensong resumes on Sunday evening at 6.30 pm. 

A new Archdeacon and a new Rural Dean

We have a new Archdeacon, Canon Richard Harlow, who will be Collated (licensed or commissioned) at St Peter and St Paul’s Wisbech on Sunday at 4.30 pm. Revd Duncan Goldthorpe (Vicar of Brampton and other parishes) is our new Rural Dean. Please pray for God’s blessing on both.

Harvest Festival and Gift Day

This is on Sunday October 2nd. Please come and join in the celebration of harvest, and please give as generously as you can to support the church through what promises to be a difficult time financially.

With love

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 11th September 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,
 
I find myself struggling to come up with words that will match the occasion, which for me and for many people in this country – and far beyond it – feels like entering uncharted territory. I am 61 years old and have always been a subject of Queen Elizabeth II. I find that while there is inevitably sorrow at the death of our Sovereign, what I feel mostly is enormous gratitude. I am thankful for and to a person I have never met but who has embodied so many profound values on behalf of so many, things hard to name but sincerely felt that constitute this nation and what still unites us. I am thankful for the late Queen’s steadiness and even predictability, for simply persevering and enduring, for willingly being the focus of her people’s sense of their own identity, and for her plain Christian faith which made it possible for her to do so. Thanks be to God for Elizabeth our Queen: rest eternal grant unto her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her. God save the King.
 
There is a Book of Condolence available in the church in front of St Anne’s altar (on the south side of the church, the side of the normal main entrance). The church is open every day as usual. The book will be closed the day after the Queen’s funeral.
 
Flowers can be left as a tribute to Her Majesty by the town War Memorial – please remove any cellophane wrapping first. 
 
As mentioned previously, services this Sunday will take place as usual, and will of course include prayers in remembrance of the Queen.
 
A special service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving will take place in St Mary’s at 6.00 pm on Sunday 18th September, to which all are of course welcome. The Mayor and Town Council, and representatives of other local organisations are being invited to attend.
 
With love
 
David
 
Revd David Busk
Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton
01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041
 

Sunday 1st May 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,
 
Newsletter attached.
 
Please remember the Annual Church Meeting tomorrow in the hall at 11.15 am after coffee – it doesn’t take long, and it’s an important occasion as we elect the churchwardens, any new members of the PCC, and have a chance to think and pray together about the whole life of the church.
 
Please also remember our new initiative, Friday at 5.15, starting this coming Friday, May 6th. It should be a relaxed event, enjoyable for all, not just families with young children. Please come and find out, and in any case please pass on the invitation to others.
 
With love
 
David
 
Revd David Busk
Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton
01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Wednesday 13th April 2022 p.m.

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,
 
I have left this rather late, but we need people willing to allow me to wash their feet at the Eucharist of the Last Supper tomorrow night (Maundy Thursday), 7.30 pm. For those who don’t know, this is a ritual re-enactment of the action of Jesus washing his disciples feet at the Last Supper (John 13:3-17), as a symbol of his servanthood and the servanthood he asks of all of us. Please let me know if you would be willing to take part – you simply come forward when asked, sit on one of the chairs prepared for you, remove your shoes and socks and let me wash your feet in a bowl of water and dry them with a towel.
 
We also need people who will spend some time in church keeping vigil in half hour stints from the end of the service (about 8.30) to midnight. Anja and I will do the last stint from 11.30 pm, so that is already covered, though of course people are welcome to be present for any length of time.
 
Please let me now as soon as you can if you can take part in either or both of these ways.
 
With love
 
David
 
Revd David Busk
Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton
01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041


Wednesday 13th April 2022 a.m.

Dear Godmanchester & Hilton Church Families,
 
There will after all be an ecumenical sunrise service this Easter Sunday, 6.00 am at Castle Hill (behind the Old Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon, off the ring road). Hiltonians are of course most welcome. It is a very simple outdoors service, lasting about 20 minutes. In the past there has usually been breakfast organised for us at one of the local churches, but I don’t think that is happening this year. Don’t let that put you off, though! It is a lovely way to greet our Risen Lord on the Day of Resurrection.
 
With love
 
David
 
Revd David Busk
Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton
01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

  1. Sunday 10th April 2022
Dear Godmanchester Church Family,
 
A reminder that tomorrow is Palm Sunday. The Liturgy of the Palms will take place in the hall at 9.30 am, followed by a procession to the west (tower) door. If you would like to join this part of the service, please collect your service books and palm cross from church first. Please feel free to wait in church for the procession if you prefer.
 
The attached newsletter has details of all the services during Holy Week and Easter listed on the diary page. It is not clear whether there will be a sunrise service on Easter Day – my enquiries so far have been met with silence. If I do find out, I will let you know.
 
I particularly commend to you the three major services in the second half of Holy Week: the Eucharist of the Last Supper at 7.30 on Maundy Thursday (14th), the Good Friday Liturgy at 1.30 pm on the 15th, and the glorious Easter Vigil and First Eucharist of Easter on Saturday 16th. 
 
May the Passion of our Lord go deep into our hearts and souls this Holy Week, and the joy of his resurrection fill our lives and the whole world this Easter.
 
With love
 
David
 
Revd David Busk
Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton
01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 


Thursday 7th April 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

As many of you know, on Palm Sunday we have the custom of reading the full Passion Narrative (the story of the Last Supper and the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus) from one of the Gospels (this year it is Luke), using different voices. I am still looking for a few people willing to read one of the parts – most of them are quite minor, often with just a single line. No acting required, just a willingness to stand at the front of church with others and say your line into a microphone. I’ll send the text to those who respond – please do!

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 3rd April 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

As from tomorrow, Sunday 3rd, we will return to the practice of olden times (pre-pandemic), and pass the collection plate round during the third hymn. If you give by standing order, please don’t feel awkward at not putting anything in – or you could drop in an empty yellow envelope if you prefer. We will also bring up the elements (bread and wine) at the same time.

On a personal note, some of you very kindly sponsored Simon and Karin for a skydive in aid of Cancer Research last October. You may recall their jump had to be postponed because of bad weather. They finally completed it successfully this morning – they nearly froze at 15,000 feet (actual frost formed on faces in the minus 30 degree temperature), but they landed with most limbs attached in roughly the correct places and they’re still breathing, so it counts as a success. If you would like to contribute, it’s not too late: https://gofund.me/9a9c3aca

 

Skydiving for cancer research!, organized by Karin Busk

My brother and I are going to be doing a sponsored 15,000 feet tandem skydive for cancer… Karin Busk needs your support for Skydiving for cancer research!

gofund.me

With love

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 27th March 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

Summer Time begins tomorrow – hooray! Clocks go forward an hour tonight – boo!

Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday. (Sons and daughters, now’s your last chance to do something about it!) At the 9.30 am service we have Parish Communion, with children in throughout and taking part, and helping to distribute the flowers kindly prepared by the Flower Guild, to whom many thanks.

We also have our monthly Choral Evensong at 6.30 pm tomorrow. Unlike Evening Prayer on the other Sundays, this involves the choir, an anthem, full sung service with hymns , and a sermon. You may even be able to leave church more or less in daylight, as the sun sets at 7.25. See you there?

Please look at several important notices in the newsletter, especially the ones about a meeting at the Baptist Church on Monday for anyone thinking of hosting Ukrainian refugees, and a time of prayer for Ukraine on Thursday 31st (this coming Thursday) in church from 5.00 to 7.00 pm. I’d be grateful if you would kindly let people know about the time of prayer.

With love

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 20th March 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

I hope the beauty of spring is bringing you some joy, and a vision of God’s goodness, in these dark times.

This week’s newsletter is attached. Please note that we have begun the new system of organising the prayer list, so it is very short at the moment. If there are any names missing you would like to see there, please contact either Jim Heeley at jskc@btinternet.com or myself. Names will be kept on the list for a month, unless you contact one of us to say you would like the name to stay on the list. As a means of ensuring that the list is always relevant, we ask you to do this each month, no matter how long the name stays there.

Next Sunday, the 27th, is Mothering Sunday, and we have Parish Communion at 9.30 am with the children in church throughout, and flowers for all, with our thanks to the Flower Guild.

With love

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 6th March 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

I have decided, very reluctantly, not to take any services tomorrow, as I was in close contact for over an hour on Thursday with someone who tested positive that evening. All services will go ahead as planned, thanks to the kind offices of Jonathan Young and Christopher Leffler. I know some may see this as an excess of caution, but I could easily be infectious, and do not want to be the cause of spreading the virus if I can help it. I have no symptoms at the moment.

We all desperately want to help Ukraine, not only with our prayers. You will see from the newsletter that we are taking donations in church for the Disasters Emergency Committee. Understandably, people feel they want to give something more tangible, and many people are organising collections of supplies to ship out to Poland and elsewhere. However, the word from the aid agencies is that money is more effective than goods. The trouble is that piles of unsorted and sometimes unsuitable material arrive in places where it is not needed, with no system to distribute it. The agencies know what is needed and where, and can purchase much of it locally and avoid the costs of shipping it there. The church will not therefore be supporting any scheme to collect and transport material.

Christopher Leffler has reminded me of the work of the Barnabas Fund, which supports Churches and Christians in difficulty around the world. They are raising money for minority Christian groups such as Baptists and Pentecostals in Ukraine, who may often be overlooked in such an overwhelmingly Orthodox country. If you would like to support their work, please use this link:

https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/latest-needs/help-ukrainian-christians-in-their-hour-of-need/

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 27th February 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

I am sure I don’t need to urge you to pray for God’s justice, wisdom and peace to prevail over the chaos that Vladimir Putin has unleashed on Ukraine – but I do urge just that! If we feel helpless offering ‘only’ prayer, it is when we turn to God helplessly that His Spirit is at work in us, and in the world.

The following three items are all in the attached newsletter (which contains other pieces as well), but I want to highlight them here.

Robert Caroe
There will be a memorial service for Robert Caroe in church tomorrow, Sunday 27th February at 2pm, to which everyone is very welcome.  The service will take the form of a thanksgiving Sung Eucharist, at Robert’s request, and there will be refreshments in the church hall afterwards.  This service will replace the Sung Evensong which would have taken place at 6.30pm on the same day.

Ash Wednesday, March 2nd

Lent begins on Wednesday March 2nd. As usual, we will hold a Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes at 7.30 pm. All who wish to are invited to receive the mark of the cross on their foreheads in ash during the service, as a sign of repentance and a desire to follow Christ. The service is otherwise more or less a normal Sung Eucharist, with the choir, hymns, and a sermon. It is a good way to start Lent – please come!

Lent Course

As in previous years, we will offer a Lent Course. This year’s is called ‘Baggage and Treasures’, and is written by Clifford Owen, a retired priest who lives in Hartford, and who often helps out here and in other local churches. The idea behind this course is to explore what gifts and ministries the local church has; its strengths and weaknesses in growth and mission. The course will be online only, at the time of the weekly Bible study on Fridays at 10.00 am. There are six sessions, beginning on Friday March 4th. The link details are:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85790786358 or ID 857 9078 6358. I can send these by email to anyone who wants them, along with the course material if you want it. However, the material will be shown during the sessions, so there is no need to have it in advance if you don’t feel you want it. As always, anyone is welcome to any or all of the sessions, and there is no need to book in advance, or offer apologies for any missed sessions. Please e-mail me at dwbusk@hotmail.com or call 436400 if you need further information or help.

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 20th February 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,
 
I hope you all survived Eunice with your homes and property intact. 
 
Tomorrow, Sunday 20th, we have Parish Communion at 9.30 am. This is the shorter service with Children’s Church involvement. Come and hear from them about Jesus stilling the storm – how topical can we get? If Jesus and enough disciples are able to make it, we may have a re-enactment!
 
Robert Caroe’s memorial Eucharist is the following Sunday, the 27th, at 2.00 pm. All are welcome, and to refreshments afterwards in the hall. If you would like to bring a cake or tray bake as a contribution, please do. 
 
With love,
 
David
 
Revd David Busk
Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton
01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 30th January 2022

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

I’m sorry I forgot to send one of these last week, with the newsletter attached. Should that happen again, there are now paper copies available every week in church on the table by the south door.

Covid precautions

As you know, almost all compulsory Covid precautions have been removed. In the church, the Standing Committee has agreed that we will revert to our practice before Plan B came into effect. This means face masks are no longer required, but of course anyone should feel comfortable wearing one if they wish. Hand sanitiser continues to be available. We will keep to giving communion in one kind only, the consecrated bread, without the use of wine for now. All of this will be kept under review by the PCC.

Friday at 5.15

We have publicised a new event, Friday at 5.15, to take place in church on the first Friday of each month. We were hoping to start this Friday, Feb. 4th, but we have taken the decision to wait a bit longer, as this is something that involves quite a lot of mingling, hopefully with fairly large numbers, some of whom we hope will be strangers to each other. We want to wait until we can do this comfortably and without anxiety, so it will not happen next week, but it will happen, God willing, and we will keep you posted.

Robert Caroe

There will be a memorial service for Robert Caroe in church on Sunday February 27th at 2.00 pm, to which everyone is very welcome. The service will take the form of a thanksgiving Sung Eucharist, at Robert’s request, and there will be refreshments in the church hall afterwards. This service will replace the Sung Evensong which would have taken place at 6.30 pm on the same day.

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday 5th December 2021

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

Firstly, huge thanks to all who contributed in any way to the Christmas Bazaar. It is too early to have a final figure, but it looks to have been at least as successful, financially, as the last one in 2019. But of course it is about more than money – I think we all valued the chance to mingle and enjoy ourselves. Thank you to everyone.

In line with government and church advice, we would like to encourage the use of face masks in church. It is not a legal requirement, but it is recommended, as are other measures such as hand sanitising and keeping a suitable distance.

We will hold a Christingle preparation session in the church hall on Saturday 18th at 10.00 am. All are welcome – the more hands we have, the sooner it gets done. And then of course on Sunday 19th we have our combined Christingle service and Parish Communion – this should be very special. Do come!

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

Tomorrow is Advent Sunday, the first day of the church’s year. At 6.30 pm we have our service of Advent Carols. This is a beautiful candle-lit service, full of longing, expectation and hope. I warmly encourage you all to come and begin this holy season in a fitting way, and to stay for wine and mince pies in the hall afterwards. Contributions to cover the costs will be welcome on the night.

We have lost two dear members of the church, and others from our wider community, in the past few days: Mary Summers, Freda Pauley, June Sington, Bette George and Elizabeth Brown. May they rest in peace and rise in glory. June’s funeral is on Thursday December 2nd at 1.00 pm. Elizabeth’s memorial service is on Friday 3rd at 1.30 pm. Mary’s funeral, which will follow committal at the crematorium for family only, is on Wednesday 7th at 1.30 pm. Bette was a member of the Baptist church, but her funeral is in St Mary’s on Friday 10th at 12.30 pm. Freda’s is on Wednesday 22nd at 12.00 noon.

Next Saturday is the Christmas Bazaar at 2.00 pm, followed by the Godmanchester 2020 Vase Auction at 7.30 pm. Come to both!

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Saturday 30th October 2021

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

As you will know, we have the All Souls Service of Commemoration tomorrow at 6.30 pm. All are of course welcome – you don’t have to be remembering anyone specifically to find it meaningful and moving. You can add a name even at the last minute – I just pencil it in on the printed list I read from – though of course it is helpful to have the names sooner.

Dilys Roe and Kate Barkshire will be serving bacon and sausage butties after the 9.30 am service with coffee on Sunday November 7th in aid of service charities. Please come and eat and donate.

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

Sunday 24th October 2021

 

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

On Sunday 31st October we will hold our annual All Souls Service of Commemoration at 6.30 pm, in place of Evening Prayer. This is a very moving event at which we remember all the departed, and the names of many are read out. All those whose funerals have taken place through St Mary’s in the last three years are named, plus anyone else people ask to be remembered. There is a list at the back of church where you can add names, or you can contact me directly.

Tomorrow, Sunday 24th, we have Evensong, with choir, sung parts, hymns, and a sermon (if the latter is an incentive!) Please come.

We reviewed our Covid policy at last week’s PCC. Precautions remain voluntary and up to the individual, but we would like to remind everyone that the wearing of face masks is officially encouraged, and is done mainly to protect others. A supply is available by the door, with the hand gel, and with the numbers as they stand it should be possible to keep distanced if desired.

We hope to hold a full programme of Christmas services, but of course like everything else this will be subject to circumstances.

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Wednesday 20th October 2021

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,
 
As you may be aware, the Charities Committee is emerging from Covid hibernation, with two very successful events recently, the coffee morning at Jane Nicholl’s house which raised £280 for Thrive, the Christian initiative supporting young people in local secondary schools, and coffee and croissants after church which raised £75 for service charities. Huge thanks to all involved.
 
We would also like to raise funds for two overseas charities we regularly support, Mashambanzou Care Trust in Zimbabwe, and our link parish of Maaya in Uganda.
 
Mashambanzou Care Trust
 
MCT was established in 1990 to provide care and support for people affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly children.
Its care centre in Harare houses 30 patients, providing nutritional care and life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs. MCT reaches out to the community on many fronts: it provides home-based care for the sick, counselling for patients and their families, and outreach for orphans.
The Trust runs a crèche in a high-density suburb which provides day care for 60 children, aged three to six years old, many of them orphans, and most of whom live in extreme poverty. By giving them a safe environment, lunch every day and some preparation for schooling, the children are provided with a ray of hope.
Robert and Anne Francis visited Mashambanzou some years ago, but more recently in 2017, their son Edward, who works for a UK youth charity with projects in many African countries, visited MCT and was very impressed by the work being carried out there.

Maaya School 
 
Rachel Harris and Ken Berkin, who run the Friends of North Kigezi Diocese, our link with Maaya,  discussed with their friends living in that area and they were reminded that the church- founded primary school is in great need of finishing building.
It provides education for some 168 village children including nursery in a school where some classrooms have no roof and others with no doors, windows or floors.
It’s a wonder it survives in this harsh climate but it is located on the edge of the Rift Valley where life is hard and challenging.
They will be needing building materials of sand, cement, bricks and iron sheets for the roof and wooden shutters and doors and solid floors.
Local labour will also require payment.
The government provides no help to build these schools or facilities so children have to sit in cold and sometimes wet classrooms until the building can be finished.
They love their schooling and we are keen to help them the best we can.
Ken and Rachel have visited the place and the children are a delight.
It’s good time to carry out work as the children are currently at home due to lockdown.
It seems a lot but the villagers are hard working and you can see from the pictures what they have already achieved.
Whatever you can manage will be greatly appreciated, like the water tank you gave them (see bottom picture below).
 
 
If you would like to make a donation, in cash or a cheque made out to St Mary the Virgin Godmanchester PCC, please give it to Robert Francis either at 20 Post Street, or in church over the next couple of weeks, or to Colin Thirlwall at 19 London Road. Special envelopes will be available in church. All money received will be split equally between the two charities.
 
With thanks and love
 
David
 
Revd David Busk
Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton
01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041
 

Sunday 17th October 2021

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

A rather late-in-the-day reminder of the Messiah concert tonight in church at 7.30 pm – tickets are available on the door. Flier attached, as is this week’s newsletter. Please remember that all are welcome to the AGM of the Friends of St Mary’s at 2.30 pm tomorrow in church, followed by very good refreshments! Please come and learn more about what the Friends are doing to support and develop the church building.

Total donated to date for Gift Day.  

 

TOTAL DONATED 2021

1,816.00

GIFT AID

    

454.00

  

TOTAL

    

2,270.00

  

 

Total 2020

    

5,811.25

  

It’s not too late to donate!

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

12th October 2021

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

The Friends of St Mary’s have asked me to circulate this invitation and the £15 ticket application form with further details of an exciting event to be held in the Church to raise money for the Transformation Fund on Saturday 30th October at 7.30pm.

GODMANCHESTER AT WAR

THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF THE PEOPLE OF GODMANCHESTER WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY AT HOME AND ABROAD

AN ILLUSTRATED LECTURE AND BOOK LAUNCH FROM ROGER LEIVERS

AUTHOR OF GODMANCHESTER AT WAR

Further details are in the ticket application form.

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

Sunday October 10th

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

A quick reminder of the Civic Service tomorrow at 11.00 am. Please come and thank God for the life of this town – it is a special and rather splendid occasion, and is for us all (with very good refreshments afterwards in the Queen Elizabeth School, courtesy of the Town Council, for all who attend the service!)

Please see the attached newsletter for details of a coffee morning on Wednesday 13th at Jane Nicholls’ house, 14 Corpus Christi Lane,  between 10.30am and 12.00pm.  We are raising money for Thrive a Christian youth project working with young people locally.

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

4th September 2021

Dear All

Please note we have Holy Communion at 8.00 am tomorrow Sunday 5th September, kindly taken by Christopher Leffler, and Evening Prayer (a spoken service without music) at 6.30 pm; and that next Sunday, 12th, there is no 9.30am Eucharist – we have Worship in the Park at 10.00 am. Please come and sing and pray with our fellow Christians in the open air – just over the Chinese Bridge, by the children’s play area.

With love, David Revd David Busk Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

29th August 2021

Dear Godmanchester Church Family,

A reminder that we now have a weekly Communion service on Zoom every Wednesday at 2.30 pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82459088697

Next Sunday, September 4th, we will once again offer prayer for healing during the 9.30 am Sung Eucharist. The only difference from pre-Covid times is that there will be no physical contact between those praying and those being prayed for – those praying will extend a hand as a sign of God’s healing touch, but will not place their hand on the shoulder of those coming forward for prayer, as used to happen. For those who don’t know what this is, anyone is welcome to come forward to ask for prayer at the time communion is being distributed, before, after, or instead of receiving communion. You can ask for prayer for yourself or for anyone else, or any other concern in the world. If you mention a subject for prayer, those praying will pray out loud – although quietly – for what has been requested, but if you prefer to remain silent, then they will offer silent prayer – the Lord knows what is in our hearts. In either case, the time of prayer will end with a short word of blessing. Please come forward if you would like to do so; equally, if you don’t feel this is for you, please feel entirely comfortable in not doing so.

One or two people have mentioned to me the matter of standing and sitting during services. I hope that everyone feels free to do what suits them – it is traditional to stand at certain points, such as for hymns, for the Gospel and the Creed, and during the Prayer of Consecration over the bread and wine, but this is merely a convention, there to be followed if you find it helpful as an act of devotion, and to be ignored if you don’t. I think none of us finds it easy to stand out and do something different from what most people around us are doing, but I would like to encourage an atmosphere in church in which we simply don’t mind – I mean this very seriously – what the person next to us is up to by way of standing, sitting, kneeling, raising hands in the air, etc, and we feel equally free to do as we feel led by the Spirit. 

With love,

David

Revd David Busk

Vicar of Godmanchester & Hilton

01480 436400 / 077 8636 1041

 

PARISH FINANCE

As our church has been closed we are clearly not getting any plate collections, fees or donations in the wall box or votive candle holder.  Although our outgoings have reduced we still have to pay our standing orders of around £8,000 per month including our parish share of £6,647.  We have reserves that will keep us going in the short term so there is no immediate panic.  Although many of our congregation donate by bank transfer (BACS), Standing Orders or the Parish Giving Scheme, for which we are extremely grateful, I know that some people are concerned that they are not able to support the work of the church under the current restrictions.  May I offer the following suggestions:

Free-Will Envelopes – please keep your (filled) envelopes until things return to normal as I am trying to avoid handling cash and hence visits to the post office to pay it in.

Bank transfers – if you wish to donate by BACS transfer, even temporarily,  please let me know and I will email the church bank details to you.  You can then a give one-off donation without any long-term commitment.  Please include your name as the reference.

Cheques – you can send cheques payable St Mary the Virgin Godmanchester PCC  to 49 London Rd, Godmanchester, PE29 2HZ as I have a applied to our bank for postal deposit envelopes.  Please let me know if the donation is for anything specific.

Parish Giving Scheme – this is the preferred method for regular donations as we get a single monthly payment for all of the income followed by a single payment of Gift Aid.  However,  the Parish Giving staff are currently operating from home so they cannot process any new applications.

If you already have a Parish Giving pack with an addressed envelope please note the new address below and wait until things return to normal before sending in the form.

Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) Team will be operating from a new location.