Services in the Presteigne Group of Parishes on Sunday, 20 February (second before Lent) are as follows:9.30 Morning Prayer (Book of Common Prayer: traditional language) Lingen11.00 Morning Prayer (Book of Common Prayer: traditional language) Presteigne6.30 Holy Communion (Common Worship: modern language) DiscoedIf you are unable to join us in person for any of the services, you may find the Collect and Readings for use at home elsewhere on this page.
Dear FriendsI'm delighted to hear the news this morning that Covid restrictions are going to be lifted for Welsh churches from February 28th. This means that we will have two more Sundays of compulsory face coverings for the whole service, but thereafter we will be able to make our own decisions and relax our rules.It is likely that from March 6th onwards we will adopt in Presteigne and Discoed the regime we're running in Kinsham, Lingen and Knill – that we ask members of the congregation to wear face coverings when moving around the building, but allow them to be removed when they are in their seats. This will make it a whole lot easier to join in with the liturgy and sing the hymns!Although, at St Andrew's, we'll be sticking with the 1-metre distancing of seats for the time being, we're proposing to reserve the blue chairs at the back for members who would prefer to retain their face coverings and to maintain a little more distance from those who won't be wearing them.No one will mind in the slightest if some members prefer to continue wearing masks throughout the whole service - it's absolutely a matter of personal choice, and everyone will understand entirely if some of our friends are a little more cautious.For the time being, we'll continue to receive only the bread at Holy Communion, though we will keep this under review and canvass opinion before Easter.We welcome this forthcoming move towards ‘normality’, but if you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.With very best wishesStephenRevd Preb Stephen Hollinghurst
Services in the Presteigne Group of Parishes this Sunday 13 February (the third before Lent) are as follows:9.15 Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer: traditional language) Knill9.30 Holy Communion (Common Worship: modern language) Kinsham11.00 Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer: traditional language) PresteignePlease find elsewhere on this page your copy of the Collect and Readings for the Third Sunday before Lent, to go with the Service for Use at Home sent out last week.
Dear FriendsAs you may be aware, Covid restrictions have now been lifted in England - which means that distancing and face coverings are optional once again in our three ‘English’ churches.When restrictions were relaxed (briefly) last year, we agreed that we should wear masks when moving around the buildings, but that these could be removed (if desired) once folk were in their seats – both for joining in the liturgy and for singing.I think this is a sensible and cautious way to proceed, so we'll go with that for the moment in Kinsham, Lingen and Knill – keeping it all under review.In Wales, we still face the strange inconsistency of people being allowed to dispense with masks in pubs, restaurants and night clubs, whilst still having to wear them in church services, so we must continue to wear face coverings for the moment in Presteigne and Discoed.The Church of England now allows for members of congregations to receive the wine as well as the bread at Communion services - though, as this can only be by use of "the common cup" (ie everyone sharing the same chalice), there is a great deal of hesitancy about doing so while Omicron is still so prevalent. The decision on this rests with the Incumbent (ie. me!) and it is my strong feeling that we must, for the moment, stick with the present arrangements of only the officiating priest receiving the wine. It will be a great day when we can all share the chalice again, but this won't be for a little while yet.May I just remind you that the time-honoured teaching of the C of E is that reception of Holy Communion in one kind – either bread or wine – is equally as effective and beneficial as receiving it in both kinds.You can find find elsewhere on this page a Service for Use at Home and the Readings and Collect for this coming Sunday – the Fourth Sunday before Lent.The Service will take you up to Lent - at which point there will be a new one to match the Season.I hope this finds you safe and well.With every good wish and prayerStephen
