Good morning and welcome to you all as we gather from 9am this morning for this time in worship on the fifth Sunday in Lent. Please listen and join with all our church family in worship this morning. The service will start at 9am via YouTube.A notices sheet for today is available at the bottom of this page.For hymns this week, perhaps listen via this link online. We will try to organise some music for next week.The Sunday School team say hi! They are all missing you and thought it would be nice to do an activity today. As it is nearly Easter perhaps you could make an Easter garden. This could be in your garden using pebbles, plants, rocks or with things you find inside such as lego, small world characters or even a drawing/painting of the Easter garden. There are a few ideas on the notices sheet. If you do make one, please share a photo by sending yours through to brindle.voice@brindlestjames.co.uk Thank you!Our Brindle St. James' YouTube channel is available to everyone without subscription. However if you do have a Google account, please log in and subscribe to receive notifications for new service updates. It will also help us to manage the channel a little better if we have more subscribers. Thank you.Thanks be to God.
Compline, a service of Night Prayer. Please listen and join together with all our church family in prayers for wisdom, strength, patience and perseverance via YouTubeOur YouTube channel is available to everyone without subscription. However if you do have a Google account, please log in and subscribe to receive notifications for new service updates in the days ahead. It will also help us to manage the channel a little better if we have more subscribers. Thank you
Dear Friends,We have received a letter from Bishop Julian stating that all churches are to close for private prayer. This was also a part of the Prime Minister’s statement.I have this evening pinned a notice to the door of our church building to this effect and included details of contacts and I list below the methods available to us to keep in touch.If you need to contact me please do ring on 07785 352731 or email david.ward@brindlestjames.co.ukTo communicate our news, weekly notices & video services we intend to continue using the website A Church Near Youwww.achurchnearyou.com/church/11478/news/You can follow our social media here on Twitter www.twitter.com/BrindleStJames and FaceBook www.facebook.com/stjamesbrindleWhilst these are helpful and I do encourage you to use them, I am concerned the contacts do not capture those who are unable to access social media and the internet. Together with the wardens and other members of the standing committee, I am seeking ways we can ensure we keep in touch with ALL our parish family. If you are aware of such people, please pass a message to ring me on my mobile number.These are indeed unprecedented times and I assure you all of my prayers as you pray for each other.Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing the nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.Much Love,David
Dear friends in the Parish and Church Family of Brindle St James,Good morning and a very warm welcome to our Mothering Sunday service from our beautiful St. James Church in Brindle today - by video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sZZZinbWT7gIf you have been following the news, you will be aware that the government guidelines changed with regards to our national response to the coronavirus. The recommendation now is that everyone should stop non-essential contact with others, and should avoid places like pubs, clubs, theatres, and other social venues. This does include churches and the Archbishops have written to say that all public worship will be suspended.Our usual pattern of Sunday services and other mid-week gatherings must be put on hold. There will be no services at 9.00am, 9.15am or 10.30am on Sundays. The 7pm Evening Prayer on Wednesday during Lent is suspended. All church groups are suspended.We intend to open the church for Private Prayer between the hours of 10am and 2pm each day of the week with effect from Monday 23rd March.To recognise Mothering Sunday, the church will be open between 2pm and 4pm. To those who wish to use this opportunity, please do respect the social interaction criteria of keeping a safe distance from others, use of hand sanitisers and should you or members of your family have any symptoms of COVID 19 please self-isolate. Please do continue to receive our weekly notices sheets as a download. Our weekly notices for the fourth week of Lent are here on this link.For the present time, funerals, baptisms and weddings may proceed but under strict social interaction criteria. Each event will be risk assessed to ensure compliance.What this means for us here at Brindle St. James' Church is that everything has to change, and yet nothing changes. We continue to be a community that is formed by God's unceasing love for us. We are still called to share God's heart and so in this period of time, we are going to be exploring new ways of being 'church'We are all responding to this rapidly developing situation and we will be in touch with further details. We will use Social Media and 'A Church Near You'.For those who cannot access these resources we will do our very best to keep in touch with you! To those members of our Parish Family who require a signature to support their application to Faith Schools, we are unable to do this during the time services are suspended. I have spoken to St. Michael's Church of England Academy and they are looking at how to make an exceptional provision for those children who are seeking admission in September 2021 and September 2022. They have noted the church services are suspended with effect from the 22nd March 2020.The Archbishops are also inviting us to make Sunday 22nd March a day of prayer and action, and have encouraged us all to light a candle and put it in our windows at 7pm 'as a sign of solidarity and hope in the light of Christ that can never be extinguished.'Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.Much love, David
