Weekly Pews News
no 21-3
17.1.2021
Second Sunday of Epiphany
Sunday 17th January
10:00 Online Eucharist (see notice below)
Readings: 1 Samuel 3: 1–20; Psalm 139: 1–9; Revelation 5: 1–10; John 1: 43–end
Collect Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Lockdown 3.0: all public worship at St Thomas à Becket’s, Pagham, is currently suspended, due to the current concerning rate of infection and demand on our local and national NHS provision. This decision will be reviewed regularly, but we do not anticipate returning to public worship until at least 21st February 2021.
The church is also closed for private prayer at this time – this will also be reviewed regularly.
It is an enormous privilege that, during this time of crisis, the nation has called upon its Church to keep praying and so we must answer that call, as a dispersed community. Our corporate worship will look different for the next few months, but keeping our eyes fixed on Him, who is our comfort and guide, continues to be the Church’s duty and its joy. Mthr Lucy
Sunday 17th January
Intention: the press, radio and television corporations, and all who influence public opinion; also Christian publishing and broadcasting.
Monday 18th January – Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins
Intention: all seafarers, fishermen and lifeboat crews, and the work of Mission to Seafarers.
09.00 Morning prayer (online, see below)
17.30 Evening prayer
Tuesday 19th January – Wolfstan, bishop, 1095
Intention: Church finances, national and international finance; consider what the words poverty and wealth mean to us.
09.00 Morning prayer
17.30 Evening prayer
Wednesday 20th January
Intention: all victims of violence, crime and oppression; those affected by domestic and other forms of abuse, and all who seek to support them.
17.30 Evening prayer
Thursday 21st January – Agnes, child martyr, 304
Intention: the sick in body, mind or spirit; those who have life-limiting conditions; the work of St Wilfrid’s Hospice.
09.00 Morning prayer
Friday 22nd January
Intention: our Deanery of Arundel & Bognor, and its parishes, clergy and people; our Rural Dean Mark Standen, and the work of Deanery Synod.
Saturday 23rd January
Intention: all those who do difficult work on our behalf, especially in the armed services and the emergency services.
Sunday 24th January – Third Sunday of Epiphany
Readings: Genesis 14: 17–20; Psalm 128; Revelation 19: 6–10; John 2: 1–11
Registered charity number 1134842 www.paghamchurch.org
PRAYERS AND INTENTIONS
We pray for all in need of healing in body, mind or spirit: Lynette, Rosie Sims, Terry Haskell, Barbara Crew, Jean Martin, Lila Cowee, June & Bruce Evans, Karen Cox, Jim Fowler, Sheila King, Robin Potter, Gerald Hume, Carole & Ian Turner, John Kitchener.
For urgent prayer, contact Gillian Purvis (267597) or Colin Wood (264192) to start the Prayer Chain.
The recently departed: Di Willson.
Anniversary of death: Helene Shaw (17th); Colin Knight (20th); Jason Clarke (20th); Anthea Potter (20th).
We remember Church family who live in residential care or usually receive communion at home: Catherine Morrish, Daphne Sharrad.
We pray for all affected directly by Covid-19, especially those who are studying or working from home.
NOTICES
Online services: NEW! From this Sunday our service will premiere at 10:00, and I encourage you to join the service at this time if you can – just as you would turn up to church for a set time. I hope this will give us a greater sense of community as we think of others gathering at the same time, in prayer. The service will show in ‘real’ time, and so for the first 50 mins will show as ‘LIVE’ meaning you cannot fast forward/rewind. I then invite you to join us for ‘Coffee hour’ on Zoom from 11:00-12:00 on Sunday morning. Details of this are in Trudi’s email – if you would like some help navigating Zoom please do contact Mthr Lucy. Please note after the premiere of the service the new service will continue to be available as in other weeks, so you can watch at your leisure/return to the film.
Morning & Evening Prayer: Zoom services continue as listed above. The praying of the Daily Office is an important way to pray together as a community, to offer up the day’s challenges and give thanks for the blessings. All texts are provided on screen. The link to this can be found in Trudi’s email. Please contact Mthr Lucy if you have any trouble joining the call.
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 18th–25th Jan
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2021 has been prepared by the Monastic Community of Grandchamp in Switzerland. The theme that was chosen, ‘Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit’, is based on John 15: 1–17 and expresses Grandchamp Community’s vocation to prayer, reconciliation and unity in the Church and the human family.
Today the community has fifty sisters, all women from different generations, Church traditions, countries and continents. In their diversity the sisters are a living parable of communion. They remain faithful to a life of prayer, life in community and the welcoming of guests. The sisters share the grace of their monastic life with visitors and volunteers who go to Grandchamp for a time of retreat, silence, healing or in search of meaning.
For 2021, the sisters are inviting Churches across the world to enter into their tradition of prayer and silence that is rooted in the ancient traditions of the Church catholic. To Trudi’s email you will find attached the booklet of reflections and prayers for this week. We will be using some of these resources in our Evening Prayer Zoom sessions – I do encourage you to make use of these resources in your own prayer time. We may not be able to join with our neighbours this year, but our prayers for Christian Unity throughout the world are still important.
Lent Course 2021
Preparations are currently being made for our journey through Lent, Holy Week and Easter. When we closed the churches for Mothering Sunday in 2020, few of us anticipated that we could be facing a similar approach to Lent and Easter a year later, but sadly it does look as though we may well be facing this reality. The difference this year is that we have time to prepare, and I hope that we will all be able to engage in this most holy of seasons of the Church year together, even if we are unable to meet in person. (Ash Wednesday is on 17th February.) I intend to host an online Lent Course with alternative resources for those who are not comfortable using Zoom. As a first step it would be helpful to know roughly how many people might be interested in engaging with this. Could you please make contact via email or phone to show your interest, and indicate whether you intend to join on Zoom or use materials at home? And those who might join online, whether you have a preference between daytime/evening and a preference of day (Monday/Tuesday/ Wednesday)? Please don’t panic – interest does not firmly commit you to engaging! More details will follow next week as to the course material we will be engaging with. Please note all of this course will take place online, whether or not we have returned to public worship/private prayer in church.
CONTACT DETAILS – find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @StThomasPagham.
The Revd Lucy Sullivan: 19 Willowhale Avenue, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 4AU.
mthrlucy.pagham@gmail.com, 01243 941551. Rest day Friday.
Churchwardens: Mike Wake and Stephen Cox-Rusbridge: churchwarden@paghamchurch.org,
07899 705632//07974 177905.
Church website update: email editor@paghamchurch.org.
Safeguarding Officer: Jan Brockhurst, safeguarding@paghamchurch.org.
Pews News: Alison Blenkinsop, pewsnews@paghamchurch.org, 261131, 07784 544981.