Last Sunday, 1st November, in what turned out to be our last service in church for the next month or so, we rediscovered the story of Jonah, who disobeyed and finally submitted to God and and saved a city of thousands from a smiting. We pondered on what we might be ignoring that God is asking us to do (or not do!) and how we could listen to him with more courage and obedience. If you missed it, you can listen again here.
At the end of the service, we wished John a very Happy Birthday, including luring him out of the tech box with cake, for a covid-safe candle blowing.
We said goodbye at the end of the service, to arrive home to the News…
Now here we are in Lockdown 2
After so much angst and worry over the last couple of months about whether to have Remembrance outdoors or indoors, at the flagpole, in the church, all or none of the above, eventually the decision was taken for us. Our preparations and careful covid planning were put to one side, and we were left with the essence of the day – remembering in our thoughts and deeds those who have fallen so that we might live freely.
St Giles’ was still beautifully dressed and wreaths were laid on behalf of local organisations but without a congregation.
Did you hear our church bells at the end of the two minute silence? Many thanks to Anne and Ralph for ringing at St Giles’ on behalf of our whole community and Richard for manning the reply at St Andrew’s.
We hope you managed to mark the occasion, either by watching the Oxford Diocese “Church at Home” Remembrance Sunday Service, the BBC coverage at the Cenotaph, by displaying a poppy at the window or standing outside your house for the two minute silence.
So to the new adventure…
I’m sure you’ll agree that, whatever your circumstances and whatever you think of the rules, this lockdown is not like the first. As a church, we want to build on what we were able to offer before, so today (8th November) we embarked on a new Zoom adventure: Prayer and Peace, this week on the theme of Remembrance.
Instead of meeting in person, we gathered online at 4pm in little windows. It was so lovely to see people we haven’t seen for more than six months and, in addition to being fed via podcasts, actually talk to one another, share thoughts about the bible reading and join in with prayers. We even sang along with the worship music, though thankfully muted from each other to avoid sounding like daleks in a biscuit tin!
With a few minor tweaks, we’ll be back next week and hope to see even more people “there”.
We’d really appreciate your feedback. If you joined us, how did you find it? If you didn’t, let us know if you had difficulties joining or if you have questions about the format. Just email office@stokepogeschurch.org
Join us next week using the link, which will be available on the Friday Email and podcast page. Remember, don’t try joining with the link until 4pm on Sunday or listening again later because it is a live service! There will be a service sheet to download in the same place as the link:
Stoke Poges Church Blog 