Dear AllI hope you are all well and are enjoying the sunshine and the bit of warmth. I mentioned last week that I would write about the significant changes that are shortly to take place around marriages in Church. We will still be calling Banns, the formal public notice of a marriage, for 3 Sundays and have to be satisfied that the couples meet the requirements to get married in Daresbury Church. This includes checking their identity and nationality, and making sure they are legally qualified to get married here. But from 4<sup>th</sup> May we will no longer be recording a marriage in the official Marriage Registers we have in Church, nor will we be able to give the couple a marriage certificate on the day. That will now be done by the Civil Registrar in the Registry Office in Runcorn Town Hall. Nor for that matter will be able to issue marriage certificates at any point in the future. We will have to create what is going to be called a marriage document, which when completed, the couple or a friend will be legally required to take to the Town Hall within a specified period of time. At least some of this can be done electronically which is a small mercy but there is still a considerable amount of paperwork involved at a time when we clergy really want to give our pastoral attention to the couple. At the moment I reckon it takes about 30 mins to write out all the 4 sets of documents, which should really only be done immediately after the marriage has happened. Realistically we do it the day before to save time on the day. Woe betide you if you make a mistake – there’s a lot more writing to do! Why is all this necessary? It is true that there have been abuses of the marriage process in some parts of the country, not here in Daresbury I hasten to add! Marriage used to grant certain citizenship/nationality rights although that has been tightened up in recent years with our being required to check someone’s passport or photocard driving licence, but we have no idea as to whether what is presented is genuine or not. I don’t know why it wasn’t agreed for the whole of the marriage preliminary process to be done by the civil registrars first as is done in Scotland, Northern Ireland and, for example, France. Leaving the EU hasn’t helped either as you no longer have a legal right to get married in this country without going through yet more hoops, but that’s for others to sort out. As I have said all this starts on 4<sup>th</sup> May. Clergy across the country were given very little notice – it all came about just before Easter. There is a training course available which to be frank is virtually incomprehensible. More training will be available from next week and Gill and I are booked in. No one has seen the new marriage documents/schedules, and the marriage register produced by Church House Publishing for the parish’s pastoral records is not being published until the end of the month. We’ll get things sorted out, but it will take some time. In the meantime please remember in your prayers those (7 couples) who are getting married here this year. They’ve had the plans torn up and rewritten a number of times thanks to COVID. Please pray also for Alison (Upton) who helps Gill and I organise our weddings. Gill has already sent out tomorrow’s service sheet, but a further copy is attached just in case you’ve missed it. With God’s blessing, David
I hope you and your family are all well. Thanks to everyone who supported last week’s streamed Easter Day service from the Car Park. There were over 60 people who joined us, both children and adults. Facebook reports that we reached over 222 people through the app. We’ve had some very supportive feedback both from those who were there and those watching through Facebook. We owe a great debt of gratitude to those who made it all happen. It takes a great deal of organising and effort both before and afterwards. We have proved that outdoor services have a place in our Church life. A number of people who were walking past were both intrigued and complementary. It’s has been very interesting to see the number of people – adults and children -looking at the empty tomb and the Stations of the Cross in the Churchyard over the last 2 weeks. They have been shown to be very important tools for mission and education, as was the stable at Christmas. They promote the Christian story and life in a different way. We shall be reflecting upon our experiences and what we have learnt so as to take things forward into the future. As you can imagine, the death of Prince Philip yesterday has meant a number of changes of plans. As I said in my email yesterday, we were able to respond within 30mins of the news with having the passing bell tolled and the flag lowered to half-mast. Later we put the candle stand in the porch where it will remain until Sunday morning. There are also display posters with details of how to light at virtual candle and write in an online book of condolence. Church and Government advice changed during yesterday from what had been issued to the clergy just over a year ago so unfortunately, we won’t be able to put out an actual book to sign. Here are the link to the websites:- Virtual Candle - https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/light-candle Book of Condolence - https://www.churchofengland.org/remembering-his-royal-highness-prince-philip. Tomorrow’s service will follow the national service produced by the Church of England for use during times of national mourning and drawing upon the Church’s advice. It is attached. I shall be celebrating and preaching with Gill assisting. Finally, there are some very significant changes taking place from 4<sup>th</sup> May regarding banns and marriage registration. I shall be writing about them next week. With God’s blessing, David
I hope you’ve had a good week and that your family are all well. This last week has been very hectic. After 34 years as a priest you would have thought that by now I would have learnt how spiritually, emotionally and physically draining Holy Week is. Not a bit of it! Still, it’s all worthwhile because Easter Day is such a joyful occasion for us as Christians and as a Christian community. If you haven’t yet reserved in the car park for tomorrow’s Easter Communion, please do so as soon as you can. There are still a some places available so please go to this Eventbrite site:- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/easter-day-service-in-the-car-park-tickets-148431603923. If you can’t make it, then it will be streamed as usual on Facebook. Thanks to all those who have helped with the planning and organising of the service. It will follow a similar pattern to Carols in the Car Park at Christmas. You will be socially distanced because we will be able to ‘broadcast’ the service through your car radio. You will be given the frequency when you arrive. Communion, if you want to receive, will be distributed to you in your cars. And what’s more you will be able to sing – in your cars, of course! Perhaps I should record my thanks to those who helped organise last Sunday’s re-opening of the Church for worship on Palm Sunday. It all went very smoothly. Particular thanks should go to Myra (Fye), Doug (Johnson) and Steve (Lander) for their stewarding. There were about 39 present, more than before, and we didn’t need to change the seating plan from that which we had last year. Everyone said that they felt safe. From next Sunday, we shall be meeting in Church at 10.30. Already some seats have been reserved, so please book in as soon as you can using the Eventbrite site:- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/all-saints-church-daresbury-15013411336 You can also use this site to book as far ahead as 3<sup>rd</sup> October, but hopefully things will have changed by then. I’m working on the basis that from 21<sup>st</sup> June there will be no restrictions affecting all forms of Church worship. We will then be able to start up baptisms again and there will be no limit on the numbers who can attend funerals and weddings. But more of this in the weeks ahead. I suspect that fairly soon we will be able to sing and not mumble behind our masks! Tomorrow’s service is attached. I shall be presiding and preaching, and Gill will be acting as Deacon. If you want to make a special donation to Church funds for Easter in thanksgiving for all of God’s generosity to you over the last year, please go to our special CAF Donate page https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/16453 With God’s blessing, David
I hope you’ve had a good week and are looking forward to the spiritual journey ahead of us as a Christian community that is Palm Sunday and Holy Week.We’re also looking forward to the next step in the easing of the lockdown restrictions. Some have compared it to like the Israelites being release from something like slavery, but of course it’s nothing like the slavery of old and of today. Please remember in your prayers all those who are living with modern day slavery, from those who are experiencing physical and mental abuse to those who don’t have the luxury of being furloughed or working from home and have to keep working because of low pay.Preparations for the next week are well underway. We have a full house for our first service back on Palm Sunday. The tickets for Easter in the Car Park are already being taken up. Please note that you only need one ticket for your car; it doesn’t matter how many are inside – within reason! We’ve spoken to the Police about our plans, and don’t expect a fine of £10,000 like the one that that Church got for using someone else’s car park. You can find the tickets on Eventbrite here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/easter-day-service-in-the-car-park-tickets-148431603923Do have a look at the attached photo. Thanks to Mark (Longstaff) and Paul (Turner) for turning the stable into the empty tomb. Something profoundly spiritual in that transformation.Thanks also to Alison and Brian (Upton) and Carole (Whitely) for arranging the Stations of the Cross and Easter Garden in the Churchyard. Photos don’t do justice to the spiritual experience that is walking in the way of the cross in Holy Week. Now that lockdown is easing there’s no excuse for you not to spend some time on that journey.Tomorrow’s service sheet is attached.With God’s blessing, David
