Our November newsletter is now available we hope that you will find it interesting and enjoyable.

Many thanks to all our contributors and to Rachel and family for putting it together.

Please click on the picture below to open the newsletter.

Our Harvest Festival is online this year, supporting ‘All We Can’ the Methodist relief and developmant charity and the Trussell Trust Food Bank Salisbury.

All We Can works through partnership alongside our global neighbours most impacted by disasters, poverty and injustice to enable flourishing and resilient communities. 

As we are not meeting together with an envelope collection, if you would like to donate, please visit the All We Can website.

You can also phone 020 7467 5132 or post cheques to All We Can, 25 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JR, UK.

From donating food, volunteering your time or taking on an fundraising challenge, there are lots of ways to get involved with raising awareness of poverty and helping end UK hunger.

If you wish to give food then please see https://salisbury.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/

To donate money then please see https://salisbury.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-money/

you can also phone 01722 580173 or post cheques to Unit 6b, Ashfield Trading Estate, Ashfield Road, Salisbury, SP2 7HL

To meet the requirements of the Government and the Methodist Church regarding the reopening of the church for worship a Covid Strategy Group has been set up with permission from Church Council. The group consists of: –

Revd Anna Bishop,
Liz Chick,
Nigel Thorne,
Dawn Heslington,
Mike Bath,
Valerie Liversidge,
Nick Rutt,
David Miles,
Jeannette Lake,
Jim Gillings
Katrina Dixon.

The first meeting was held on Tuesday 28 th July 2020.
The main outcomes of the meeting are summarized below.

The Methodist Church requires a named person to be “Responsible for Covid-19 safety and safeguarding matters”, subject to the usual approvals this will be Jim Gillings.
Provided that there is no change in Government advice or directions we are delighted to let you know that the proposed date for worship to recommence in the sanctuary is Sunday 4 th October. This is the date recommended by the Circuit Leadership Team. From then preachers will be planned in the circuit.
Nick Rutt and the Audio-Visual team have been authorised to purchase equipment to live stream services from the sanctuary. This will allow those people who cannot attend SMC to watch and hear the service.
The Circuit Leadership Team are in the processes of sourcing suitable equipment to enable those members of the congregation not currently online to access the streamed service. Appropriate training will be provided.
In order that worship is Covid secure the group is following Government and Methodist Church guidelines. We are be required to: –
Limit the number of people attending any one act of worship, to this end a booking system will be required.
Limit the length of worship. Singing will not be allowed
Follow Track and Trace regulations
Ensure that the congregation is socially distanced during worship
Control entry to and exit from the building and movement within church.
This will mean that there will be no time to talk to friends inside the
building.
Ensure appropriate cleanliness of the building. Provide hand sanitizers
etc.

We are working on these areas, (and more), and undertaking risk assessments of our new procedures.
Once we have finalized a Covid safe way of worshiping we will write to the congregation to ensure that everyone knows what to expect from worship and how the services will run during these difficult times.
We understand that October seems a long way away and that many of you are longing to worship again in person at SMc. Please be assured that we are following the advice that we have been given to ensure that when we do meet again everyone will be as safe as possible.
God Bless
Jim
(Jim Gillings)

Coronavirus Appeal

In ‘normal time’ we would probably had a retiring collection for the Disasters Emergency Committe’s appeal. Please consider carefully if you able to support this emergency request.

Here in the UK we’ve all had to make sacrifices to protect each other and save lives during the coronavirus pandemic, and witnessed the incredible dedication of our amazing NHS staff.

But as lockdown lifts here, people around the world need our help – families who have fled violence, conflict and hunger in countries where there is no NHS if they fall ill.

Many are now living in crowded refugee and displacement camps with little access to medical care, clean water or enough food, making them extremely vulnerable to coronavirus. In these places, the virus is likely to be even more deadly than it has been here.

Imagine having to leave everything behind to keep your family safe, only to face a deadly new threat: Covid-19. This is the reality for people living in tents and makeshift shelters without running water or soap in places like Yemen, Syria and Somalia.

But, as we have seen in the UK, simple measures can make a huge difference. If we act now to protect millions of vulnerable refugees and displaced people, many lives can be saved.

We need your help to:

provide families with clean water, soap and information on keeping themselves safe

provide frontline medical and aid workers with equipment and supplies to care for the vulnerable and sick

ensure families get enough food to prevent malnutrition, particularly amongst children

People who have already suffered so much need your help now more than ever to face this new threat. Please give whatever you can at this challenging time for us all.

Donate Online at https://dec.org.uk

By Phone:  please call 0370 60 60 900.

By Post: All donations should be made payable to the DEC Coronavirus Appeal and sent to PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA

By Text: Text the word DONATE to 70150 to give £10.

Thank you

Salisbury Circuit

Registered Charity no. 1134362

16^th July 2020

To the Members and Friends of the Churches of the Salisbury Circuit

 Dear Colleagues

 Yesterday we held a meeting of the Circuit Leadership Team.  We met in person for the first time since February; it was good to be together even with all the restrictions of distancing and without normal human contact.  I am writing to share some of our discussions and decisions.

Our absolute priority is the safety of our people.  We are recommending action that is based on a real love for people and their welfare.

The Coronavirus has proved to be and remains a deadly threat.  You will be aware of the talk of a second spike and already some of the easing of the lockdown restrictions are being reversed in some places.  We hope and pray that it will not get worse.

Worship.  Of course, we talked at length about the possibilities of a return to Worship. We want to make it happen. We uphold the right of the Managing Trustees of each of our nine Chapels to make the right decision for their premises and their members.  We are committed to supporting any decision – to open or not to open – that Manging Trustees make.  But, and it is a big But, with all the regulations and requirements that are currently in place, our recommendation is that Worship should not take place until after the first of October.

We acknowledge that our people are missing all sorts of aspects of our coming together to worship the living God.  In their replies to the Questionnaire that I have circulated (and Thank You to the many people who have responded), people have mentioned singing, Communion, fellowship and coffee – and more.  We are very aware that among those who feel most deprived there are those who are the most vulnerable.  Were we to resume Worship now it would be very different.   People at two metres distance would mean a very reduced number in Church.  We are not allowed to sing – can you imagine – surely anathema to Methodists.  We would not be able to meet and mix after Service but ‘commanded’ to go out and go home.  No coffee!  Then there is the eight-page list of all the compliance rules that we must adhere to.

At Woodfalls and at Bemerton and perhaps elsewhere, consideration is being given to holding outdoor services, which would be a partial solution while the weather remains in our favour.

I recognise that this will be deeply disappointing to many.  While some have told me that they are apprehensive about returning to Church, others have expressed their eagerness.   I repeat that our priority is the safety of our people.

Fellowship Groups. There are some positives.  We are very aware of the immense amount of work that has been devoted to maintaining, and indeed increasing, our pastoral contacts with both our own members and those beyond our normal reach.  Thank you for that ongoing work.  We wondered about the possibilities and then proposed the setting up of small fellowship groups.  Some exist already. It’s like going back to our roots.  Under the regulations and with common sense precautions, it is possible for 6 or so people to meet in a garden or a suitably large living room.   We want to encourage you to invite one another and perhaps share coffee or perhaps prayer and some of the written or recorded material that the ministerial team are producing week by week.  Could you initiate such an invitation?

We have the resource of our two Lay workers, Linda and Christine, who are returning to work from their furlough period.

Published and Broadcast Services and material. In their replies many, many people have expressed great appreciation for the material that is available through the Circuit and from beyond.  As the ministerial team we are committed to continuing this in its variety of forms. We have been hugely blessed by the technical team that have produced complete Services from SMC.  Currently there is the substantial proposal and active research into the possibility of purchasing the equipment that will enable the streaming of live as well as recorded Services.  It would enable us to maintain the contacts with those who are not able to physically join us at Church; contacts that have been a positive outcome of our work during the lockdown.

A serious proposal that we are investigating is the purchase by the Circuit  – perhaps on a large scale, of second hand iPads or similar equipment which we would give, along with broadband and also appropriate training, to those who do not currently have access to the technology that many of us have come to rely on during this period.

‘Outside’ users and hirers of our Premises.  Again, a whole area that took a great deal of time and energy in our discussions.   Again, an area where the safety of people became the prime motivation of our thinking and decisions.  While we acknowledge that some provide essential community service and some a means of livelihood, we cannot see a way through the maze of logistic difficulties that outside users would present.  The cleaning process after each use alone would be a very expensive nightmare.  Who would ensure the various regulations are adhered to?  What would happen if two or more users were on the premises at the same time? What if there were children – notoriously difficult to make compliant with social distancing, involved? Wouldn’t we need a full-time caretaker in each of the premises that others use? We gave consideration to the Circuit employing professional cleaners to execute the required deep clean and give us a certificate that it had been done.  But that would only be valid for one brief moment in time.  As a ‘user group’ came and went, we would have to start again.  We could not see how we could sanction any ‘outside’ use of our premises unless there is a discreet self-contained part of the premises for which a group would accept total responsibility for complete compliance with all of our regulations including cleaning.

Again, it is not ideal.  What is the alternative?   The Circuit Leadership Team is called to exercise leadership and that, under God, is what we have tried to do.   We will continue to work together – especially as it seems that it will not be possible in the normal way to hold our planned September Circuit Meeting.  There will be some essential business that we shall have to conduct by correspondence – either post or email.  A meeting under the difficult conditions of a zoom meeting does not seem viable.  We will continue to review the situation.

We continue to hold each other in the presence of God who, through it all, is our Rock and our Salvation.  We will continue to pray – especially for David and Helen.

Thank you again for all you do and for all you are in the life of our Church

Sincerely

Bryan

Bryan Coates

Acting Superintendent

To All the Members of the Churches of the Salisbury Circuit

Dear Friends

I am very grateful that the letter I wrote in the third week of June has been widely circulated and that it has produced some feedback.  As the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus lockdown are being eased, I am aware that we need to be somewhat more pro-active about the process of discussion regarding the re-opening of our Churches for Services of Worship.

The regulations about preparing our premises, from both Church authorities and Government, remain very strict.  There is a lot of work to be done.  The Circuit Leadership Team is due to meet and we shall retain oversight of the process in order to reassure our people about their safety as they return to Church.

I want to record my thanks, on behalf of us all, to the ministerial team for the work they have put in to creating a variety of Worship material that has been available over this period.  Similarly, a sincere ‘Thank You’ to our Technical Team who have spent a great deal of time in making this possible.

In my June letter I raised some questions about the future – those questions remain in play.  We do need to talk together about our direction.  There are some immediate questions and the gleaning of your answers and opinions will help enormously as we enter a period of planning and preparation for the resumption of Worship and continuing church fellowship and life.

The Circuit Leadership Team (our five Circuit Stewards, our Administrator and the Ministers) will appreciate it if you will please commit some time to thinking creatively about the following subjects and sending me your reflections which ideally will be more than just single word answers.  Thank you.

With best wishes

Sincerely

Bryan

Bryan Coates                                                                                        Email – sandyandbryan@tiscali.co.uk

• What have you missed about Church during this lockdown period?
• Of all that the Church has continued to do, what has been helpful to your faith and fellowship?
• What is important and what have you discovered NOT to be important in church life?
• In the light of all the continuing restrictions, what is your expectation about a return to Worship? When do you think that your church should re-open?
• Are you aware of the regulations which will put some restrictions (eg no singing, social distancing etc) on the Worship that we are able to offer?
• Are you excited or apprehensive about coming back to Church Worship and activity?
• Should we try to continue, in some form, with some of the provisions we have made during lockdown with online Services and written material?

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If you would like a printed copy , or know someone who would, please fill in the details here

Because of Lockdown Christian Aid week is a little different this year – there are many ways to give.

• Christian Aid e-envelope
• justgiving (into our local account) from https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/salisburyca
• BACS (into our local account) to Churches Salisbury Christian Sort code 54-41-19 Account No. 68577613
• Texting (into our local account)
  Text CAIDSALISBURY to 70085 to donate £5
  Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS. If you’d like to give £5 but do not wish to receive marketing communications, text CAIDSALISBURYNOINFO to 70085.
• Salisbury Christian Aid facebook page (direct to Christian Aid)

You are invited to join a Lockdown Quiz for Christian Aid Week!  It is taking place 7pm Tuesday 12 May at…your home. Jonathan Plows, famous for his annual quiz night in Salisbury has launched into cyberspace and will host this quiz via zoom. Each home is a team — it can be you alone, or you with other people in your house. There will be four rounds: History, Literature, Pictures, Diseases.

If you want to join, visit our Justgiving site (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/salisburyca) by Monday 11 May 5pm. Please donate at least £5 per member of your team, and place a comment that you want to join the quiz. Please also email me at christianaidquiz1@gmail.com with your name, phone number, email address. We will then email your team an invitation to the zoom meeting. Please log into the meeting by 6.55pm on Tuesday. 

The team with the highest score wins … a nanny goat.

Christian Aid is a partnership of people, churches and local organisations committed to ending poverty worldwide. As coronavirus spreads around the world, help support their work in combating its effects among our global neighbours. 

Dear sisters and brothers,

It is a regular part of our worshipping life together to join with other local congregations from time to time, and we are so blessed that technology allows us to do this even in lockdown! So this week, my heartfelt thanks, for their hard work in offering worship, to my Methodist colleague well known to you all, Rev’d Steve Hawkes, my local ecumenical colleague, Rev’d Kelvin Inglis, Rector of St Thomas’, and my Connexional colleagues, Rev’d Tony Miles and the team at Central Hall, Westminster. Whether you want to connect with our Circuit community, local 3 Churches community, or Connexional community, there is a service for you this Sunday. And they all remind us that wherever we are we are one body in Christ.

Next week worship will be on our own website again, led by members of our own congregation and a guest preacher, to mark Christian Aid Week.

We’ve now had 5 weeks of lockdown, and I wonder how you are faring. I guess some will have got into a comfortable routine by now, while others may be wondering whether they can stand it for even one more day. However you are feeling, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me and have a chat. I am home-educating Grace and George in the mornings, but I am available every afternoon. Please do get in touch.

I also want to thank our Pastoral Visitors for all that they are doing to keep in touch with everybody and to keep our community together.

Stay safe, everybody. God is with us.

With love,

Anna.

A reflection for Easter by Rev. Anna Bishop