Thursday 8 October 2020

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

On Sunday we celebrate our Harvest Festival and Pledge Sunday. I look forward to seeing many of you there. The church is now full! But the service will also be online from Saturday evening.

After church on Sunday we will serve hot soup outside and then from 11.30 there will be a talk in church by Manuel Sager, a former diplomat and Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation. The title of his talk will be: 'The best of times or the worst of times: how can we tell and how can we make the difference?'

Booking for Sunday 18th October will open on Tuesday morning through this link. Those who wish to book a place through phoning the office can ring from Tuesday morning. David and I will be away so Elizabeth Bussmann will be taking the service. She will also be taking the service at Thun, Thursday 15th October, 6.30pm.

There will be NO Wednesday service on Wednesday 21st October.

Booking for Sunday 25th October will open on Tuesday 20th October through this link or through ringing the office.

Cold weather, heating and air circulation
It has been much colder recently and several people have complained about being cold in church. We need to balance keeping warm with making sure there is an air circulation which helps prevent any potential Covid infection spreading. After taking advice and discussing further we propose that we put the church heating on and keep the doors and windows shut for most of the service. However, we will need to open doors for 5-10 minutes in the middle of the service to allow air circulation. This seems to be the best and safest compromise. So it should be warmer in church from this Sunday, but please continue to wrap up warm every week!

Everyday Faith
The Diocese is encouraging us all to think about how our faith affects our daily lives. It is good for us to be reminded that God is interested in our Monday - Saturday lives and not just what we do on Sundays. To help us to remember this and to encourage us to pray for one another, we are starting a new practice from this Sunday. One person from the congregation will be invited each week to say a few words about what they will be doing that week, at work or at home, and what they would most like prayer for. I will then say a prayer for that person. Hopefully this will encourage us all in our Christian discipleship, deepen our awareness of one another's lives, and prompt us to pray for one another.

A prayer for our daily work
Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives; so guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labour, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(source unknown)

A prayer for the day
May we accept this day at your hand, O Lord,
as a gift to be treasured,
a life to be enjoyed,
a trust to be kept,
and a hope to be fulfilled;
and all for your glory.
(Stanley Pritchard).

With love in Christ,
Helen