PARISH NEWSLETTER

SUNDAY 6^th DECEMBER 2020

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

BACK TO CHURCH!

 In today’s readings we shall hear about the mission of John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus, the light of the world. We, too, are sent to prepare the way. Let us pray that we may be worthy of our mission to spread the light of Christ in the world so that all may acknowledge Jesus as Lord.

This Week:

This Sunday 6^th December 10.00am The Parish Eucharist at St Michaels Stokenham: We rejoice and give thanks as we are able to gather again in our churches to worship together! Please do not come more than 15 minutes beforehand, wear a facemask while in Church, and use the sanitiser when you come in, before going to Communion, and when you leave.  You can also join our Eucharist from St Michael's Stokenham through our website www.ssbparish.co.uk or YouTube.

Advent Carol Service:

If you are able to access YouTube online, you can find a very good Advent Carol Service with a good choir and music, and the former Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres preaching, at Pusey House Oxford. I am a member of the Friends of Pusey House.  Pusey House is an independent chaplaincy of Oxford University founded on the principles of the Oxford Tractarian movement in the nineteenth century.

Go to: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChapterofPuseyHouse.  The service will be streamed from 4pm on Saturday 5^th December.

NEXT SUNDAY 13^th DECEMBER: 10.00am The Parish Eucharist for the Third Sunday of Advent at St Martin's Sherford when we may gather together again in Church or online worship through our website.

'Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield.

In him do our hearts find joy. We trust in his holy name.

May your love be upon us O Lord as we place all our trust in you'  (Psalm 33)

Christmas Carol Service 4pm Sunday 20^th December. This will be online only this year accessible through our website on YouTube. Readings contributed by Parishioners, music from the St Martin’s Voices (some of the choristers of St Martin in the Fields, London) in the Fields, Blessing of the Christmas Crib.

Christmas Charity: We have decided that our Christmas Appeal this year should be to ask for donations to be given to the Kingsbridge Area Foodbank which is coming under unprecedented demand for supplies as so many have lost jobs and businesses. In addition to supplying food, they are providing Christmas presents for children and Christmas presents for the children to give to their parents.  The details are: ‘Kingsbridge Area Foodbank’ Sort code: 77 09 24 Account number: 17928860. A gift aid form is available on the website or from the Parish Office.

St Michael's and St Martin's will also both be open to all for private prayer and reflection.  We will be doing this between 10.00am - 12.00noon at St Michael's from 15th November, and from 8th November 10.00am – 4.00pm at St Martins. You are very welcome to come in for any period of time, however short. Bring your prayers, for others, for our world and for yourself, perhaps your Bible, and most importantly, an intention to simply be in God's presence.

St Martin’s Sherford Finances – an appeal

The treasurer of St Martin’s DCC has advised me that due to the lack of fund-raising events and plate collections at services during the pandemic, the DCC is unfortunately heading for a deficit of about £7,000.00 for this financial year (which will end on 31^st December 2020). St Martin’s contributes greatly to the life of our Parish and has a loyal and committed congregation of worshippers at the Sherford/Frogmore end. If you feel you might be able to help in any way by a one off donation (which can be gift aided) or by reviewing the amount you currently give to the work of the Church, or gift aiding it if you don’t already, (to give you a steer, it costs about £80.00 per month per member of the electoral roll to run the Church), or have any other ideas which might help, please contact Peter Boult, the treasurer.

Wednesday 9th December 10.00 am The Eucharist said with quiet time for prayer and reflection at St Michael's Stokenham.

Morning and Evening Prayer: Said daily at 9.00am & 6.00pm by Fr Michael with prayers for Parish and People. Please join him at these times in your homes. You might like to use the Form of Morning and Evening Prayer for Advent which is available on the website, or your own Book of Common Prayer.

Reading the scriptures:

If you would like to use some notes to help you make a daily short reading of the Bible and reflect on it then you might try Bible Alive (a Roman Catholic publication but follows our daily and Sunday cycle of readings) at https://www.alivepublishing.co.uk/publications/bible-alive/ or

Bible Reading Fellowship

https://www.brf.org.uk/

'Daily Hope' is a free phone line of hymns, reflections and prayers. Now that we have begun public worship again and have the streamed service online, the weekly reflection has come to a natural end. But those unable to join us in either way can access this free telephone line to hear hymns, daily prayers and reflections: 0800 804 804

Reflection for Advent: 

With thanks to Bishop Jonathan Goodall, Assistant Bishop in our Diocese

‘Every parent—especially every mother—yearns to see the face of any child that is being carried in the womb. It is a long process of expectation and waiting; it involves a longing and a desire that can no more be stifled than it can be stopped. Mary and Joseph and their small family circle must have longed and desired to see the face of Jesus in just this way – perhaps even more so given what had been prophesied about him. Mary was, we sing in one Christmas hymn, “Most blest to bring to human birth the Long-Desired of all the earth’. During Advent, in some of our most loved hymns, the Church too remembers and sings about her longing and desire to see the Lord’s face when he comes again, and in our Christmas festivities we celebrate that we will not be disappointed: we will come to the goal of all human life — that is, to see God and be united with him for ever.

But for now it is like we are blind, like the ‘two blind men sitting by the roadside’ (in Matthew 20.30-34) who, ‘when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”’ Commenting on this passage in a sermon St Augustine says, the goal of ‘all of our work in this life’—all our Christian discipleship—‘is to restore to health the eye of the heart so that God may be seen”. Restoring to health the eye of our hearts. This is the purpose, he says, of the Sacraments, the preaching of the word, all our training and effort to live a good moral life, and all the changes that have to happen in our lives so that we may be rid of whatever prevents us from seeing God. That is also the purpose of our prayers.

Return to the Eucharist

From early Advent we will be able celebrate the Eucharist together again. Please go to church if it is safe for you to do so. Do not neglect to gather together: St Paul is always urging Christians not to stay away from the Eucharist. We need it! so that, although the Lord will come suddenly to those who cannot see, like a thief in the night (see 1 Thess 5.4), ‘we shall see him as he is’ (1 John 3.2)’.

Our prayers this week for:

Alison Shaw Our Rural Dean ...our part in proclaiming the coming of God’s kingdom…H M The Queen and her family…growth in our Churches…the fair distribution of vaccines...those resident in care homes and their relatives…Kingsbridge Area Foodbank …those who have lost their work or business and their families…the depressed, lonely and anxious... our home communicants...all who have asked our prayers including the sick and among them Gill and Trevor Moore, Jean Flawn, Bobby Parsons, Dick Lloyd, Gill Mickel, Evelyn Hedger, Keith and Jackie Rollinson, Katherine Yandell, Jamie Cooke, Andrew Graner, Carlene Whittington and Marjorie Godden... those who have died and those whose anniversaries we keep at this time and among them Irene Barrow, Iris Perkins, Nicola Lynn and Gladys Lamble, Beverly Brown, Edna Collins, Margaret Stevens.

Visiting & Home Communions

I am recommencing visiting and home communions provided it is safe for me to visit. I shall contact folk first and please expect me to come wearing a facemask.

If you would like to contact me about any personal or pastoral matter please do so, I should be very happy to help you. Please leave a message on my phone 01548 580908 or send me an email.

Your Church remains here for you, please know we are praying for you, for those in need, and for all those you love. Please do get in touch if there is anyone or anything I can pray for or if I can help you in any way.

With my prayers and very best wishes

Fr Michael

Priest in Charge: Fr Michael Berrett, The Vicarage, Stokenham, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2ST 01548 580908 priest@ssbparish.co.uk

The Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent

This week's 'LOOK' magazine

If you would like to print Look so you can complete it, download below!

Public Notice                                              Mission & Pastoral Measure 2011                                                                                 Draft Pastoral Scheme

10^th November 2020

The Exeter Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Committee has prepared a draft Pastoral Scheme for:

the creation of the new parish of Buckland-Tout-Saints in the area of the benefice of Stokenham, Slapton, Charleton with Buckland-Tout-Saints, East Portlemouth, South Pool, and Chivelstone, for its parish church and for renaming the parish of Charleton with Buckland-Tout-Saints “Charleton”, together with altering the benefice’s name in the diocese of Exeter.

The draft Scheme is on the Commissioners’ website www.churchofengland.org/consultation or you may obtain a copy from me.   Large print and/or audio copies are available on request.

·           Anyone may make representations for or against all or any part of the draft Scheme (please include the reasons for your views) preferably by email or by post to reach the Commissioners no later than midnight on Tuesday 22nd December 2020.   Send your representation to rex.andrew@churchofengland.org or by a letter marked for the attention of Rex Andrew, Pastoral Division, Church Commissioners, Church House, Great Smith Street, LONDON SW1P 3AZ.

·           If they have not acknowledged receipt of your representation before this date, please ring 020 7898 1743 or e-mail them to ensure it has been received. For administrative purposes, a petition will be classed as a single representation and the Commissioners will only correspond with the sender of the petition, if known, or otherwise the first signatory for whom they can identify an address – “the primary petitioner”.

·           When making a representation, please indicate the nature of your interest in the proposals (e.g. parishioner, member of parochial church council, etc) and whether you would like an opportunity to speak to their Committee regarding your representation if the Commissioners decide a hearing should be held regarding the case.

·           If they receive representations against the draft Scheme, they will send them, and any representations supporting the draft Scheme, to the Bishop whose views will be sought.  Individual representors and the primary petitioner will then receive copies of the correspondence with the Bishop (including copies of all the representations) and will be told whether a hearing is to be held.  They and individual petitioners may comment further to the Commissioners.  Copies of all of the representations received and associated correspondence will normally be published on the Commissioners’ website if the matter needs to be considered by them.

·           If a hearing is held, anyone may attend the meeting of the Commissioners that considers the case and representors may have an opportunity to speak to their Committee. Otherwise, if a hearing is not to be held, the case will be considered in private and you will be informed accordingly.

·           When they acknowledge representations the Commissioners will let individual representors (and the primary petitioner) know the next few dates of their Committee’s meetings. They will confirm the actual date if a hearing is to be held nearer the time.

·           The Commissioners’ will decide if the draft Scheme should proceed when they consider all the representations on the basis of a paper prepared by the Commissioners’ staff and any points raised at the meeting.

·           The Commissioners will notify all representors of their decision and give a statement of the reasons for it.

·           If they so decide, any representor or petitioner against the draft Scheme may seek leave from the Privy Council to appeal against the decision.

·           Please see the Commissioners’ website www.churchofengland.org/consultation for further information about the procedure.

Revd Dr Adrian Hough                                                                                                                                                                       Secretary Exeter Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Committee

ah@exeter.anglican.org