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pastoral letter

The Coronavirus Pandemic & Its Effects On Our Lives

A Pastoral Letter from the Parish Priest

 

Dear Friends,

It is with concern and a pastoral heart that I write this letter.

We have all been taken aback by this global pandemic and we are struggling to find ways of confronting this dangerous virus. We have received instructions from the government and from the Church of England as the nation is preparing to face up to this challenge. I am attaching both the letter of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to all the Church of England Clergy as well as the letter of the Acting Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln. I would encourage you to read the letters.

Please note that these letters will download to your computer in PDF format, which makes it easier for you to read and print them.

In their letter to all Church of England Clergy, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York remind us that the Church of England is a Church for everyone and challenge us to discover new ways of being Church to people during this period of coronavirus pandemic. They ask us to find new ways of praying for people since praying with people may be more difficult. They also challenge us to reach out to the lonely and the needy in our midst.

I would therefore like to announce these initial lines of action for our Springline Parish. I would also very kindly request the Churchwardens (with the help of the local Village Church Councils) to provide copies of the letter to the members of the local village  churches. Copies of the letter could be provided on request to pass on to the local village Church members.

 

  1. All public worship is suspended in the Springline Parish for a season.

  2. We will pray for our people especially the most vulnerable in our midst.

  3. Let us be conscious of the needy people in their village communities and, where possible, strictly observing the protocols of hygiene and self-isolation and social distancing, reach out and help in whichever way possible. I would request the local Churchwardens and Village Church Council to liaise with the clergy and ministry team where assistance might be required.

  4. Although public worship will be suspended, as encouraged by the Archbishops I, or one of the clergy, will offer a private daily Eucharist in the Parish as an offering of prayer and praise for the nation and for the world and most especially for our Diocese and our Parish.

  5. The Rector will do a reduced weekly Village Church Surgery with a private Eucharist in the village church at 10.00 am followed by a prayer-walk in the village unless announced to the contrary.

  6. The Parochial Church Council, the Ministry Team, the Churchwardens and the Village Church Councils, united with the Rector, will continue to serve the Parish and People and information will be regularly provided as to national, diocesan, deanery and parish level developments.

  7. The Churchwardens will see how the churches could be kept open during this time, as requested by the Archbishops, when we have no public worship and possibly arrange to have a Prayer Corner with a Bible, prayer leaflets (and possibly a small container with sand as at Scampton Church with some tealights) for people who come to church to pray in private during this time of crisis.

  8. We will try to have a Weekly Springline Parish Bulletin to communicate with each other and to keep us all updated with events as they happen.

  9. We are also considering in these exceptional circumstances the possibility of an APCM with electronic voting. Some VCCs might have to do likewise. Those preparing reports are requested to pass them on asap to the PCC Secretary as they will be collated into a booklet for all to read and a copy put in churches.

  10. But the first thing we are asked by the Archbishops is to place a lighted candle in our window at 00 p.m. on Mothering Sunday as a sign of solidarity and hope in the light of Christ that can never be extinguished.Let us do so heartily in faith and love.

 

Let us look at new ways of serving our people. This is a difficult but defining moment for the Church of England and will challenge us more than ever before to be truly a Church for all, not just for a few. We want to be a Church of hope rooted in offering of prayer and reach out to serve people in practical ways. Let us be sensitive and conscious of the needy in our midst.

With the Parochial Church Council, the Ministry Team and the Churchwardens, I affirm our total and absolute commitment to our people who live in our village communities of the Springline Parish. We are united with them in our faith and in our fellowship especially at this most difficult of times.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and always.

Keep safe and let us pray and care for each other in our communities.

 

With my kindest regards and every blessing,

Father Sebastian