St Andrew’s beautifully decorated for our first Covid regulated wedding. An intimate service with the bride looking radiant and lovely!
Services have recommenced and the latest Church of England advice in line with Government legislation is that face masks must be worn in churches. We do have a supply in St Andrew’s if you forget to bring your own.
Services are recommencing in August.
We are pleased to be allowed to hold services again and the August rota is on this site.
Due to the ongoing situation, even with face masks, we still have to observe social distancing and strict hand hygiene.
There will be no tea / coffee after services, there will be no sharing of the peace, communion will be of one kind only, with a one way system in place, and also no singing.
It will feel strange, however we will be joining together again in prayer which is the most important thing. Please bring your own bible if you want to follow the readings, rather just listen, as there will be no printed sheets of readings.
Churches open for Private Prayer – new times
We are delighted to announce that some of our churches will continue to be open for times of Private Prayer from Sunday 5th July 2020.
St Andrew’s, Stokeinteignhead – 10am to 4pm every day
St Peter’s, Shaldon – 10am to 4pm on Sunday and Wednesday
St Nicholas, Ringmore – 10am to 4pm on Tuesday and Friday
All are welcome to our beautiful churches to spend a short time of peaceful prayer or meditation.
An updated risk assessment is attached here : Risk assessment for commencing worship
PHASED REOPENING
The church is now open Wednesday and Sundays 10.00 am to 12.00 midday commencing on 21st June 2020. This is for private prayer and contemplation only, not to look around. You will find all sections of the church apart from the pews are cordoned off. Please follow the guidelines displayed inside the church. It is hoped we will be able to move fairly quickly to daily opening so please keep checking this site.
If you want to see the preparations we have made for the safety of those praying please see the risk assessment link on the Safeguarding page of this site.
St Andrew’s will be allowed to open very soon. Firstly it was to be from next Monday (15th) and now it is from Saturday (13th). However, the House of Bishops is awaiting clarification from the Government on what they mean by ‘supervised, individual, private prayer’!! Until we know this and are given guidance we cannot say for how long our churches will be open or under what circumstances and it will not be applicable to make a formal announcement. In the meantime risk assessments have been given to all Church Wardens and are being carried out prior to opening. Our churches are also being cleaned and prepared in readiness for opening.
As you can imagine the clergy have been provided with so much guidance on cleaning when we are open (which is very onerous!) signage, protocols and regulations which must be followed, that it has been difficult to keep on top of it all, especially as it keeps changing!
Please be assured that we will be ready to open and I will give notice accordingly, advertising clearly which churches will be open and when. We are not obliged to open all our churches and will be concentrating on St Andrew’s and two others to begin with. All Saints and St Blaise will not be opening initially.
I hope this has been helpful. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to telephone me.
Annie
Reverend Annie Church
01626 873173
07789 778312
Coronavirus Update 4th June 2020
An extract taken from the Bishop of Exeter’s letter to clergy.
You will be aware following the Prime Minister’s statement last week that the Government decided not to include places of worship in the current phase of reopening public places after lockdown. This means that for the time being, it will continue to be unlawful for members of the public to enter our church buildings either for private prayer or for public worship. It goes without saying that this has come as a tremendous disappointment and frustration for many, including me.
To be fair, the Government is faced with an impossible balancing act, weighing up the very real danger of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections over against the growing economic and social damage caused by the lockdown. Whatever our views, we are bound to obey the law of the land and as Christians, to support and pray for those who in the final event have to shoulder the responsibility for these difficult decisions.
So for the avoidance of doubt, there is no change to the current position and church buildings must remain closed (except for the limited access already allowed to clergy and lay ministers) until further notice. I hope that the next stage may come sooner rather than later, and I know that the Archbishop of Canterbury in partnership with the Cardinal is pressing the Government hard to produce an indicative timetable so that we know where we stand and can prepare accordingly.
‘All occasions invite God’s mercies, and all times are his seasons,’ wrote the poet John Donne. In the mercy of God, there are indeed lessons to be learned, opportunities to be grasped and wisdom to be distilled. We ask that God will continue to guard and guide us in the words of this Methodist prayer:
We are not people of fear:
we are people of courage.
We are not people who protect our own safety:
we are people who protect our neighbours’ safety.
We are not people of greed:
we are people of generosity.
We are your people God,
giving and loving,
wherever we are,
whatever it costs
For as long as it takes
wherever you call us.
For the time being we will continue as we are presently doing, Reverend Annie continuing her ‘thought for the day’ and Sunday worship on Facebook and Caroline with her daily e-mail. The problems around safe hygiene practices and cleaning routines alongside our concern that everyone should stay safe and ensure social distancing are all part of our thinking. However, having said that, this is an evolving situation and we will review this position whenever there is new guidance from either the Bishop of Exeter or the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office.
Supporting St Andrew’s
St Andrew’s depends on the generous support and financial giving of those who are regular or occasional attendees. In these current times each of our five churches are noticing the drop in income due to the lack of services and collections. The expenses involved in maintaining our buildings and contributing towards the wider team ministry and the work of the Diocese of Exeter continue, however. Locally and nationally, the Church of England receives no state funding so we would be grateful if you would consider and continue your financial giving in this period. There are several different ways you can give – the two most efficient ways are by BACS or Standing Order from your bank account.
To make donations by BACS or Standing Order please contact:
Gwynne Sullivan on 01626 873165
National Phoneline
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has launched a free national phone line as a simple new way to bring worship and prayer into people’s homes while church buildings are closed because of the coronavirus. Daily Hope, which is now available, offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone line.
The line – which is available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044 – has been set up particularly with those unable to join online church services during the period of restrictions in mind.
Although the building may be closed St Andrew’s church is still very much open for business: online and on the phone.
During this period of ‘lock down’ Reverend Annie is doing a live ‘thought for the Day’ on Facebook which anyone can access. As we pause for prayer at midday, the live broadcast starts around 12.05pm every day. There is also a short service of worship at 11am on Sundays which follows the service from Exeter Cathedral beginning at 10.00am. Please do join in whatever you can, we are in this together and our fellowship is so important.
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Lord Jesus Christ, you taught us to love our neighbour, and to care for those in need as if we were caring for you. In this time of anxiety, give us strength to comfort the fearful, to tend the sick, and to assure the isolated of our love, and your love, for your name’s sake. Amen.
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Reverend Annie is also available to anyone who wishes to talk on the telephone, her number is 01626 873173. She is available to all to answer any questions or to discuss bereavement or any other subjects appropriate to individuals.
As you will all know very sadly the church is closed.
Church Closure
It is with great sadness that we have had to close the doors of our churches.
Please do remember that ‘The Church’ is the people and not the building and you can pray wherever you are.
We ask that we all pause together at midday and offer a short prayer to God for every aspect of this global situation, sometimes this is all we can do. We, in the church, will continue to pray for everyone.
If you would like pastoral care, or simply conversation, please do contact Reverend Annie Church on 01626 873173 or revannie@hotmail.co.uk and she will be very happy to speak with you.
God bless you – stay safe.
Mothering Sunday
The orders of service pre- coronovirus cancellation are in church so please do take one, along with a posy either for yourself or your Mum or Grandmother. If you have a picture of your Mum to add to our board please do so. Also be sure to see the Stokeinteignhead Primary School pupils testaments to their Mothers.
Please click on the above link to open the Mothering Sunday leaflet, printed copies are in the church.
COVID 19 RESTRICTIONS
As you will be aware all services have been suspended however St Andrew’s will still be open by day.
Please see the advice below from the Diocese of Exeter.
Although we cannot hold public services for the time being, churches need to remain open. Indeed, we anticipate that people will want to use them, to light a candle, to pray for loved ones. The Cathedral will be open without charge from 10am to 4pm every day. People are free to meet to pray inside our churches, provided they observe public health guidelines: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/archbishops-call-church-england-become-radically-different-public-worship
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
Friday March 6th 11.00
This will be held in St Andrew’s this year. The country compiling the service is Zimbabwe and Rev Caroline Luff will be giving the address. Light refreshments will be served after the service. Do come along and join us.
Christmas Tree Festival: 11th – 13th December 2020
Now is the time to book your tree if you would like to help this event. Sponsors pay £25 per tree which they can then decorate to promote their club, business, organisation etc. For safety reasons we supply the lights. Do phone Gill on 01626 873614 if you would like to be involved.
Thanks to Susan and the team who decorated St Andrew’s so beautifully for Remembrance Sunday
There is a new Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone in the Churchyard for Harold Harry Brimilcombe whose grave had become unmarked following the family headstone falling over. We are very pleased to see this happen and thank the CWGC for undertaking this work. There are 3 World War 1 graves in our Churchyard.
