Sunday 7 March 2021: Lent 3

To include articles on this sheet contact Valda Pearson on 07751 663339 or email valdaapearson@gmail.com by Tuesday evening. 

10:15    Parish Eucharist in church and live streamed

Last week the parish eucharist was viewed 488 times on Facebook.  This is remarkable but also proves that those who can't get to church at the moment can continue to join in with worship wherever they are.  

Please pass on the link https://www.facebook.com/Eccle...so we can bring hope to all those in need of comfort at this time.

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified:  mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,  who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Sunday 8 March Readings:

Exodus 20:1-17; 

1 Corinthians 1: 18-25;

John 2:13-22

Intercessions   

We pray for an end to coronavirus:

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose years never fail and whose mercies are new each returning day: let the radiance of your Spirit renew our lives, warming our hearts and giving light to our minds; that we may pass the coming year in joyful obedience and firm faith; through him who is the beginning and the end, your Son, Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.

Those in need this week:

Maureen Dalby; Pauline Readett; Gregory McMahon; Pat Lee; Carla Brindle; Mary Brown; Andy Pearson, Maureen Brindle

Those who have been in need for some time:

Tommy Trayling; Colin Buckley; Pat Wilson; Helen Christopher; Graham Pownall; Olivia Wilson; Tony Dolan; Margaret Dolan; Audrey Batten; June Davenport; Pat Lee, Michael Walker, Gemma Kavanagh

The departed

John Nordman

Those whose anniversary occurs this week

Harriet Gibson, Valerie Pilkington, John Nicholson Stokoe, Ken Stokoe

What's on

Daily readings in the week

Monday 8 March           Felix    Luke 4 : 24 - 30

Tuesday 9 March          Matthew 18 : 21 - end

Wednesday 10 March    Matthew 5 : 17 -19

Thursday 11 March       Luke 11 : 14 - 23

Friday 12 March           Matthew 12: 28 - 34

Saturday 13 March        Luke 18: 9 - 14

The Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer will not be said is church this week as Fr Andrew is taking the week for personal reading and study.  Likewise there will be no midweek eucharist on Wednesday this week.  The midweek eucharist resumes on 17 March

Tuesday             19:00 Stations of the Cross - online only (see below)

Next Week:

14 March  Lent 4, Mothering Sunday   Rose

Readings:     

1 Samuel 1: 20-28; Colossians 3:12-17; John 19: 25b -27

Weekly church running costs - £1901

THE COST OF KEEPING OPEN OUR CHURCH is £14 PER PERSON PER WEEK – current levels of giving work out at £5 per person per week increasing the gap between incomings and outgoings even further.  The financial situation is becoming increasingly worrying.  Please help as much as you can. Forms are available to make a Standing Order if you would prefer to contribute in this way. Forms are available for tax payers from the treasurer or Gift Aid Secretary, Eric Smith. Please make sure you have completed yours. Gift Aiding raised £11,707 in year 2019.

 Eccleston St Marys PCC Sort Code 09-01-55 A/c 23903081

CONTACT DETAILS

Rector                  Fr Andrew Brown        01257 452777

Church Warden     Gill Jamieson             01257 451863

Church Warden     Garry Fishwick           07885 839067

Weddings              Andrea Cheetham      01257 451932

Baptisms              Claire Walsh               01257 433167

Funerals               Linda Thornton          01257 451075

PCC Secretary       valdaapearson@gmail.com  

The following daily intentions are suggested:

Monday        Giving thanks for home schooling families

Tuesday        H.M. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

Wednesday   Local businesses struggling for survival

Thursday       Diocesan Link with The Free State Diocese

Friday           The Church in Ireland

Saturday        An end to coronavirus

Coming to church

Congregational Worship is specially permitted even during the current national lockdown.  You may be aware that some churches have decided to remain closed, this is particularly true of other denominations but also include some Anglican parishes; in the Church of England not opening at least once per week for a service is subject to Canon Law and the Bishop’s discretion. 

Whilst some churches have decided to remain closed, the Bishop is now encouraging all churches to consider reopening after the Directors of Public Health in Lancashire have indicated they agree congregational worship can restart following the fall in Covid-19 cases across the county.  We have remained open safely.  

However, please remember to register your attendance and use hand sanitiser from the new automatic dispenser (which further reduces the risk of spreading infection) when entering; wear a mask and remain two metres apart from others at all times.

Support during Coronavirus Isolation

Please continue to keep in touch with church:

The Parish Website - www.ecclestonstmaryschurch.org

Worship - online Eucharists are available through social media

Personal Contact – please request help if you require it

Prayers - Please contact Liz Green to be included.

The Lent Books are now available at the back of church or by request to Fr Andrew who will deliver one to your home (if you live locally, otherwise we can post a copy) – please request one in person or by email.

The Diocese is providing these resources free of charge for your reflection and devotion.  After the success of the Advent Devotional where 5000 copies were distributed across the diocese, we are launching a similar resource to take us through Lent entitled ‘Read, Mark, & Learn’. Our focus this time will be on Mark’s Gospel and will take in every verse, with contributions from both clergy and lay-people. The resource is designed for all church members but we hope it will be especially valuable to those unable to gather in person for worship at this time. We are planning a Zoom discussion group for those with the book.  If you are interested in taking part please let Fr Andrew or a warden know.

Stations of the Cross is an interactive service where we walk the road alongside Jesus on the way to Calvary.  As this requires us to walk around church in a group, it is not possible to hold this service in the usual way during the pandemic.  Instead you can watch the Stations narrated and presented by members of our two parishes at 19:00 each Tuesday during Lent.  The Stations will be streamed on the Facebook channel and the Parish website.  You can view the service by clicking on the picture on the right.

Stations for Children  Each Lent in our Church of England Primary Schools we present the stations of the cross in a children friendly way.  Each week we look at two stations to explore the picture, the artwork and the meaning behind the story.  Here is a video of last week's school worship with Fr Andrew.  Some of the feedback he received from children included this comment: 

'

I asked Mummy why Jesus’ friend would that do to him as it was very mean. 

It also made me think that I am looking forward to being able to hug my friends and family again soon. 

I wrote a letter to God afterwards and Mummy is going to add a picture of it. 

I liked looking at the cross this week, it made me think of hope. 

The first picture was very sad because they were so unkind to Jesus. I think it is worse when people say something horrible to you because it can make my heart hurt and give me a headache if they keep saying horrible names. 

When I looked at the second picture I noticed that Jesus had a ring around his head. I think it would have been very hard for Jesus to carry the cross on his shoulders and he was very brave.  I noticed that he had bare feet and I thought his feet will be very sore.  I noticed that a soldier was carrying a whip and Mummy told me that when Jesus stopped walking he was going to hit it at Jesus.

It's always fantastic to get feedback from you all, especially the younger members of our congregation.  Here's the video about which the children were commenting

Does this painting intrigue you?  Caravaggio painted the Calling of St Matthew in 1602.  

Fr Andrew is preparing a Lenten reflection on the painting and the role of each character depicted.  

It will be available online in the next couple of weeks.  Look out for how this great work of art is relevant to your experience in Lent 2021.

This week Fr Andrew is not available as he is taking a week away from parochial duties for Lenten study and reading.  If you require the offices of a priest during this time please contact a Church Warden and next week we will have some more options for your own Lenten study and reflection

Foundation Governors we have two further vacancies at our CE Primary School.  Contact Fr Andrew if you are interested and more information is available at the Blackburn Board of Education website (click here to direct you to their website) or specifically at the Governors' landing page on the Board of Education website.  More information about our Church of England Primary School can be found on their website by clicking on the school logo to the right.

Confirmations 2021 If you know anyone who would like to consider confirmation in 2021, please speak to Fr Andrew.  Ideally they should be over 14 years old, although this is only a guide age.  As confirmations have not been permitted during 2020 and early 2021 there is now an opportunity to book time with Bishop Philip for this sacrament to take place later this year.

Candles and Palm crosses 

Very many thanks to all who have contributed to the request for donations for items which we have used merely because we have remained open.  Your contributions mean that the PCC does not need to consider the option of reducing expenditure on important liturgical supplies for this holy season.

Giving - your donations through our contactless terminal in church can now benefit from GiftAid if you are a UK taxpayer. That means for every £5 you donate, Eccleston St Mary’s PCC receives £6.25. To help us receive this extra benefit please register your Visa and MasterCard on the Swiftaid website (by clicking on the link or the image above) before you use the terminal in church. Please contact Eric Smith if you will to join the envelope scheme.  He has a number spare.  

Also please sign up to Easyfundraising (details below) as this is such a good way to earn money for church without any effort, especially now that online purchases are increasing popular since the beginning of the pandemic.

Ecclesiastical Insurance runs a scheme called Trust 130.  As an insurance company they havegiven more than £430,000 to churches in the UK as part of the Trust130 campaign and now we’re extending for another year.  There is no limit on the number of donations which can be made. We could benefit from Trust130 donations of £130, if you take out anew policy with Ecclesiastical and mention St Marys, Eccleston and Trust 130:  please contact Ecclesiastical Insurance on 0800 7830 130  You can read more about the scheme by clicking the picture on the right.

It's a quiet time at the moment but you can plan ahead by lighting up the church to mark a special day, or may be some retail therapy is just want you need - don't forget to buy online during lockdown using the Easy Fundraising link to benefit our parish funds.

February 100 Club Winners:

£50 Ann Hanson – 10      £20 Brenda Aspinall - 116       £12 Anne Gibson - 78

Book Floodlighting – it is now possible to book the floodlighting again.  Please use this form to make your request and online payment.  It only costs £10 to light up the church for one evening.  We also feature your memorial on the parish website and on our Facebook page.  Join those who have raised over £1,300 for church funds as they remember an important event or person when they have 'Lit up the Church'.

Recent Floodlighting

1 March 2021  Rachel Thompson

In loving memory of Cyril Thompson, with love from Joan and family xx Missed everyday and always in our thoughts

20 February 2021  Caroline Parr

For Jean and Neil Latham: Mum and Dad Congratulations on your Golden Wedding Anniversary! With all our love, Caroline, Dennis and Stephanie x

Keep up with the latest news and events on Twitter!

https://twitter.com/ecclestons... select - Follow  

Keep up to date with www.ecclestonstmaryschurch.org

If you shop online, please register for Easyfundraising Cause

When you click on this link you will be able to make a small donation to our parish work each time you shop at selected retailers at no additional cost to you.  Our 62 supporters have raised £1,869.94 so for so why not join them at this time that all non essential shops are closed.  

Disability Provision

There is a hearing Loop system

Space is provided in church for wheelchair users. A wheelchair is available.                     

Disability toilet in the Parish Centre

Fire Notice   

There are two emergency exits:

Through the main door Through the Jesus Chapel (To the right of the altar) Muster by the War Memorial, await instructions