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Copy of November E-Magazine 2020

In this edition of E-Magazine we have:

  • All Souls and Remembrance by Revd. Ian Wallace

  • My First Year as Deacon by Revd. Joanne Hodge

  • Labyrinth of Lights

  • Remembrance Sunday Poppy Pebbles by Revd. Gail Thomas

  • Christmas Tree Trail

  • InHope Charity Sleepout 2020 by Revd. Gail Thomas

  • Kathleen Anderson Article by Heather Smith

  • Advent & Christmas by Revd. Ian Wallace

  • We need Singers and Readers for Carols

  • Mothers' Union November 2020

  • A big 'thank-you' to Christine Dolton by Revd. Ian Wallace

  • Christmas cakes and Advent Wreaths

  • Help and Support available in your Neighbourhood

  • For a Full List of Services in November Click here

For a full printable magazine click the file below






All Souls Services around the Parish

All Souls & Remembrance

All Souls and Remembrance Sunday are going to be a little different this year as the Government’s Covid regulations

require us to strictly limit numbers.

All Souls

The All Souls services are categorised as ’special’ and limited to 30 people including the clergy, wardens and organist. However, since those who have lost relatives have also been denied the funerals that they would have wished we feel our priority must be to allow the bereaved the space to remember and grieve. We will therefore be running a succession of All Souls services to ensure that no one is turned away. These will take place on Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd November.

If you haven’t received a special invitation and would like to attend one of the services then you will need to reserve a place at a particular service by contacting Pam Brown in the Parish Office (tel: 313105). This will allow us to create a seating plan and ensure that we can fit in the maximum number permitted at each service. The services being planned are as follows:

Sunday 1st November

4.00pm St. James Church, Westerleigh (main service)

4.00pm St. Mary’s Church (1st service)

6.30pm St. Mary’s Church (2nd service)

4.00pm St. Peter’s Wapley (only service)

6.30pm St. James, Westerleigh (overflow service, if needed)

Monday 2nd November

6.30pm St. Mary’s Church (overflow service, if needed)

Remembrance

St. Mary’s Church will again host the civic Act of Remembrance on behalf of Yate Town Council, but numbers will be strictly limited and there will be no parade. The Town Council have been allocated 30 places which means that there will still be space available for ten members of the congregation, but you will need to book your place by contacting Pam Brown in the Parish Office (Tel: 313105).

Spaces will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. For those of you unable to attend, the service will be

live-streamed through Yate Parish’s Church Online platform and there will be a link under the ‘Church Online’ tab on our website. The service will be a shortened one and will start at 10.30am.

The Act of Remembrance will take place from the churchyard side of the Lych Gate as otherwise we would be limited to

six attendees, and wreaths will be laid on behalf of the community by representatives from the Royal British Legion. Once the wreaths have been laid the guests will be asked to disperse. From 11.30am onwards other members of the public may visit the war memorial in their own time to lay a wreath on behalf of their organisation. We will provide a prayer that can be said as the wreath is laid.

We will also be hosting a civic service at St. James Church, but this year there will be no parade. As at St Mary’s, the Act of Remembrance will take place within the churchyard facing the war memorial, the Last Post will sound, and wreaths will be laid by designated people. The painted pebbles named for the fallen in the two world wars will also be laid at the foot of the memorial. If you wish to attend please reserve your place in advance by contacting Patrick Mills or June Powell.

While we regret not being able to provide the usual services on Remembrance Sunday, we hope that you will be able to

contribute to the occasion by painting a Remembrance Pebble to line the path in St Mary’s churchyard. Gail has

explained more in a separate article.

Rev. Ian Wallace

 

My First Year as a Deacon

by Rev. Joanne Hodge

To say that my first year as a deacon has been very different from how I expected it to be is a vast understatement! For almost half if it, I, like everyone else, have had to operate under varying degrees of lockdown and unprecedented restrictions which saw even places of worship closed. When I was ordained as a deacon, Bishop Viv told us that as deacons we

¨ are called to work with the Bishop and the priests

¨ are to proclaim the gospel in word and deed

¨ are to serve the community in which we are set

¨ are to work with our fellow members in searching out the poor and weak, the sick and lonely and those who are oppressed and powerless

¨ share in the pastoral ministry of the Church and in leading God’s people in worship

¨ preach the word

¨ bring the needs of the world before the Church in intercession

¨ accompany those searching for faith and bring them to baptism

¨ assist in administering the sacraments

¨ distribute communion and minister to the sick and housebound

¨ seek nourishment from the Scriptures; we are to study them with God’s people

¨ are faithful in prayer, expectant and watchful for the signs of God’s presence, as he reveals his kingdom among us.”

A long list, most of which I have been unable to do in the manner in which I had expected, some of which I could not do at all! My first reaction was panic. How could I live out my calling if I couldn’t meet with people, if our churches were locked, if I could no longer visit the sick and housebound? As a parish, we obviously found ways to do what we could. I looked at the list again, with a calmer mind, and began to focus on those things I could do. I had more time to read and study.

I was able structure my day around my regular times for Morning and Evening prayer. I have spend hours on the phone and got to know some people much better than I had over the last twenty years! I have become familiar with livestreaming on Facebook; Zoom meetings are now the norm, and I’ve learned various ways in which to record services and sermons from home.

Now as a priest I look forward to the next stage of this exciting journey on which God is leading me. My prayer is that I won’t forget what I have learned during this extraordinary episode of our lives, and that I will always remain a deacon at heart.

 

Yate Parish Labyrinth of Lights from 1 November through to the start of 2021

Our Labyrinth in St Mary's Churchyard will be marked out using 100 solar lamps. Each light can be dedicated to the memory of a loved one or a prayer intention you may have. If you fill in a form we can attach a message or prayer to each light. It will show that even in the darkest time of the year light still shines. 2020 has been a uniquely difficult year for all of us, walking the labyrinth can allow us to pray without words, walking with God and allowing him to bless us.

 

Remembrance Sunday 8th November 2020

Poppy Pebbles

Unfortunately, COVID restrictions prevent us from hosting our usual Remembrance Sunday Parade Service at St Mary’s this year. We are obliged to restrict numbers, so alongside the invited civic guests there will be only limited spaces for congregation members to attend and pay their respects.

With this in mind, in order to honour those who have fought for our country I am asking people to paint poppies on pebbles so that we can line the path that leads from the church door to the lych gate and the war memorial.

Poppy pebbles have already started to arrive and we would love to add to their number. Paint a picture on a pebble then varnish it so that it stands up to the November weather conditions. You can then add it to the line that has begun in the churchyard. Once you have done this, if you are on social media, why not share photos of the poppies with your friends to encourage others to join in.

Rev. Gail Thomas

 

Christmas Tree Trail

New this year

St Mary’s is planning an outdoor event that will allow people to decorate trees and raise much needed money for charity: a Christmas Tree Trail.

The trail will consist of individually decorated and themed Christmas trees sponsored by ANYONE - local businesses, charities, schools and individuals, with a mapped walking trail around the area. This year’s theme is ‘The Wonderful World of Christmas’. Maps will be sold from local outlets and shops, with all proceeds being divided equally between St Peter’s Hospice and St Mary’s Church to support their ongoing work in the community.

Organisers are calling on residents and businesses interested in taking part to email them now at :-

parishoffice@yateparish.org.uk or call Christine on 01454 880518 for more details.

The trail will start on Saturday 5 December and continue throughout the month.

 

InHope Charity Sleep Out 2020

On the night of 9th October members of our Rooted Youth Group and some of the leaders slept out in order to raise money for the InHope charity in Bristol. InHope supports the vulnerable and homeless in Bristol by providing hot meals, shelter, hope and support. They have four projects: The Wild Goose Café, Spring of Hope women’s night shelter, LIFE Recovery & East Bristol Foodbanks.

The youth had decided earlier in the year before lockdown that they wanted to support this charity and were planning a day of giving and collections; this was an alternative way in which we could support, albeit from our own homes.

People slept in tents, under tables, on the kitchen or lounge floor or under a trampoline - basically anywhere uncomfortable - to raise awareness of how hard it is for those who are sleeping on the streets or sofa surfing every night. I think we were all very grateful for our warm beds the following night!

So far we have raised an amazing £430 which with Gift Aid takes the amount raised to well over £500. InHope have raised almost £17,000 as I write, which will go a long way in helping them help those in need.

This isn’t the end though – you can still donate through our Just Giving Page on the Yate Parish website! If you would like to find out more about the work of the Inhope charity look at https://inhope.uk/.

Well done to all the young (and not so young) people who took part - an amazing achievement.

Rev. Gail Thomas

 

Kathleen Anderson,

Churchwarden of St. Mary’s Church

Kathleen Anderson is a Yorkshire lass, born and bred. It was work that made her move away, first to Yeovil to look after ‘her’ helicopters and then to Yate when her job moved to the MOD at Abbey Wood. At that time Kathleen joined St Mary’s Church and, with her skills at both catering and flower arranging, soon became invaluable to the church community. When retirement beckoned Kath may have thought she would be able to rest, but St Mary’s needed a new

Churchwarden and the sweet talking of the Rector at the time and Kath’s inability to say ‘no’ have resulted in her being in post for 11 years.

During her time as warden, Kath has been active in all areas of church life; she is a member of Mothers Union, the Refresh Group and the Events Team. Always active, she was to be found in St Mary’s Coffee Shop on the third Sunday of each month and often the first as well and her coffee cake was a must. However, mobility was a problem for Kath and, of late, increasingly so. Her 3 children, numerous grandchildren and increasing numbers of great grandchildren are all in Yorkshire and they want her back. This has been a difficult decision for Kath, ideally, she would have liked them all to move to Yate, but that was not going to happen.

So, Kath, as you move back to Yorkshire you go with our love. We thank you for your service amongst us, we will miss you and we pray that you will find a loving church community up there in the frozen north!

Heather Smith

 

Advent & Christmas

At the time of going to press we are still waiting for guidance from the Government and the Church of England as to how we can celebrate Christmas this year. However, it seems highly likely that the Covid-19 restrictions will still be in place and that our celebration of Christmas will be very different. This may, however, present us with a fresh opportunity for mission – instead of expecting the community to come to us for Christmas, we have the

opportunity to take the Christmas message to the community. Here is a preview of what we are currently planning:

· Through Advent we would like you to help us create a trail around the Parish (Yate, Westerleigh and Wapley) based around the Church of England’s Christmas theme of ‘Comfort and Joy’. We are asking that you make a ‘stained-glass window’ using black paper, tissue paper and paint to display in an upstairs window that will be visible to passers-by. The window should contain the words ‘Comfort & Joy’ and an angel. We will be challenging families to see how many angels they can ‘collect’ in the run up to Christmas. We will have supplies of black paper and tissue paper that you can collect from the Parish Office, together with a number of angel templates, and a box of chocolates will be awarded for the most creative window.

· Alongside the Advent trail, our Christmas Tree Festival will also be spread around the town and we have been encouraging groups and individuals to sign up to host a Christmas Tree in their garden and to decorate it along the theme of ‘Christmas Stories’. The festival will be raising money for St. Peter’s Hospice again this year.

· In the week leading up to Christmas our Nativity Go trail will be on display around Abbotswood to retell the Christmas story using a sequence of nativity scenes

· It is likely that the restriction on singing will still be in place which will make Carol Services very difficult. However, we intend to create a virtual Carol Service by recording different readings and carols in each of our four churches, and combining this with short interviews with some of you telling us why a particular carol is special to you. We will then edit everything together into a service of Nine Lessons & Carols to be broadcast across the internet at 6.30pm on Sunday 20th December. There is no restriction on singing in your own home so hopefully you will be able to sing along to your heart’s content and re-capture the spirit of Christmas from the comfort of your own living room.

· Final details about the services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will have to wait until we have received the relevant guidance, but we will endeavour to make these available in the December magazine.


Rev Ian Wallace

 

We need Singers and Readers for Carols

Be part of our online carol service

As you can read in Ian’s article we are planning an online carol service this year.

We need singers for the carols, which will be recorded in late November. We also need nine readers for the various lessons in the service. These will be recorded in the four churches, also in late November. The readers will be filmed but the choir will be recorded using sound only.

If you would like to volunteer as a reader or to join the scratch choir, please let the parish office know before

November 8th.

Email: parishoffice@yateparish.org.uk

Tel: 01454 313105


 

Through the week

Monday — NEW—Mossy Church @ 2pm For pre-school

children and carers, come prepared for seasonal weather. Please contact Rev. Gail Thomas to book your place.

Tel: 07746 050 607 Email: gail@yateparish.org.uk

Wednesday

11.30am St James Morning Prayer

Thursday

09.45am St Mary Holy Communion

 

Mothers' Union November 2020

At the beginning of this year members of Mothers’ Union Yate were busily involved in supporting children’s

worship, Family Baptism preparation, Lunch at One, welcoming families and friends visiting prisoners at Ashfield Prison, and welcoming visitors to Bristol Cathedral. We held Prayer meetings and did lots of fundraising. We also enrolled four new members.

On March 23rd all that stopped. However, a new way of being Mothers’ Union has evolved and since April we have produced monthly online meetings, centred in prayer and worship. We are grateful to Revd. Hywel for facilitating this. In August we were able to celebrate our founder Mary Sumner’s day with a socially-distanced picnic in the grounds of St Mary’s Church. In September we recorded our annual Wave of Prayer service in St Mary’s Church. Last month we again recorded a service, this time in St Nix centred on the subject of Prisons week.

Many of us have turned our hands to creative crafts during this time and have sewn scrub bags and masks. We have knitted hearts and teddies for hospitals and premature baby clothes. We have supported the newly-formed Yate and Sodbury Toy and Activity Bank with gifts of toys, puzzles, games, books and craft kits. We have crocheted many rainbows, and small toy creatures!

As a thank you to Key workers, Central Mothers’ Union are providing holidays to those who have given so much during the pandemic, and really need a break. See the MU website for more information if you know someone who would benefit from this, or if you would like to make a donation.


This year Mothers’ Union is again participating in the 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This runs from November 25th to December 10th. In previous years a group of us from around the Diocese have campaigned outside Bristol Cathedral, but not this year. We will be using the 16 days of prayers resource and on November 26th at 2pm we hope to put out an online service through the Yate Parish online services and YouTube. We have also written to our MP with regard to the Domestic Violence Bill, due to be brought before the House of Lords and House of Commons shortly. There is a global day of action against domestic abuse scheduled for December 5th. More

information about this and our involvement in the Clewer Initiative’s work against modern-day slavery can be found on the Mothers’ Union website.

For more information see our Facebook page and that of the Mothers Union Bristol Diocese, or email : jackyfredrickson@gmail.com or visit our website www.muyate.org.uk

 

A big ‘thank-you’ to Christine Dolton

At our recent APCM Christine Dolton stepped down from being Parish Treasurer after 17 years in the role.

Christine has done an amazing job during that time in keeping our finances straight and responding to the many requests from the Diocese for information; happily, she has agreed to keep the books for a few more years. We owe her a huge debt of gratitude for all the work that she has put in as Treasurer and I would like to extend our heart-felt thanks to her for all that she has done. Not only has Christine kept the accounts, but she has also taken the lead in purchasing supplies, dealing with a temperamental printer and its equally awkward suppliers and applying for grants. Her careful

stewardship of the Parish resources has contributed greatly to the fact that we have been able to achieve all that we have done on a limited budget. Thank you, Christine, for all that you have done for us.

Rev. Ian Wallace

 

Christmas cakes and Advent wreaths

St James will be taking orders for delicious Christmas cakes and the ever-popular Advent wreaths. Look out for an order form in your church or contact Kathryn Mills (t: 01454 318157, Email: Kathrymills@talktalk.net).

 

Help & Support available in the Neighbourhood

Abbotswood Action Group—volunteer and community led group, working to support the needs of Abbotswood and the wider community. Community drop-in resources are still available via email or telephone. We also offer Take 5 4 U home packages that provide activities to support health and wellbeing. There is also a pen pal service to tackle loneliness.

Website: https://www.abbotswoodaction.org/ Telephone: 07890569196 Email: community.aag@gmail.com

Abbotswood Action Group Facebook page


Green Community Travel—Community transport organisation for those who cannot access public transport across much of South Gloucestershire. Priority is given to medical and hospital appointments, including all of the Bristol hospitals. There is a Ring & Ride service and a prescription delivery service; please book in advance.

They also provide a shopping service for those that have no family or friends in the area to help with shopping, or if family and friends are also medically shielding, or if passengers cannot use online services. Delivery charge of £3.

Website: http://www.greencommunitytravel.co.uk/

Telephone: 01454 228706

Email: admin@greencommunitytravel.co.uk

Greencommunitytravel Facebook page

 

Citizens Advice Bureau: (03444 111 444 for free advice on issues including financial or employment problems – and how to find your way through the maze of grants to help you.

Food Bank: The Candle, 88 Station Road, if you cannot afford food or want to donate cash or food. http://www.ctr-yate.org/the-candle

CoviD-19 Support Group: (a network of local groups including churches, voluntary groups and town and parish councils) has a superb network of volunteers willing to help neighbours – find them on Facebook.

Mental health: Samaritans 116 123 are the 24/7 starting point in a crisis. A range of services are at oneyou.southglos.gov.uk or ring them on 01454 865337 Mon-Thurs 9-5 or Fri 9-4.30.

Domestic abuse: locally 0800 4700 280 10-4 Monday to Friday or the 24/7 national link 0808 2000 247.

Local home deliveries: Myyate.co.uk has lots of info on local firms doing home delivery.

If you’re not sure who to ask, call Yate Town Council 01454 866506 or email info@yatetowncouncil.gov.uk and they will do their best to find you the right contacts.

Family Food 4 Free—Facebook page.

For more information on how to use the service or to make a donation, go to the Family Food 4 Free Facebook page. Donations and collections can be made at 33 Woodmans Road, Chipping Sodbury

Southern Brooks Community Partnerships have been contracted by South Gloucestershire Council to provide a support service, 11am – 7pm Monday to Friday; 12noon – 6pm Saturday and Sunday.

Website: https://southernbrooks.org.uk/ Telephone: 0333 577 4666

Shireway Heart Starters - First-aid trained community responders linked to Shireway Community Centre - are delivering prescriptions by day and at night are patrolling suicide hotspots alongside Suicide

Prevention Bristol. Offers: crisis support, prescription collection

Telephone: 07585304205 Email: Bristol.response@gmail.com

Social media: shireway.heartstarters.facebook page

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