Dear Friends,

As you have probably already heard, in light of the Government restrictions imposed upon all Places of Worship during this second national ‘lockdown’ to help reduce the spread of Covid-19, all public services of worship (including all regular Sunday services at Alrewas, Fradley and Wychnor churches, and the Wednesday 10am Communion Service at Alrewas) are cancelled as from Thursday 5^th November until the national lockdown restrictions have been lifted. (Although weddings are not allowed to take place, covid-secure funerals are allowed with a maximum of 30 mourners attending).

However, it is reassuring to know that during this lockdown period church buildings are allowed to be available for individual private prayer, and we are delighted that All Saints Alrewas and St Stephen’s Fradley will continue to be available daily for this purpose, during the times each one has established (after which relevant surfaces are all cleaned with anti-bacterial disinfectant).

We do hope that during this latest lockdown period, you will feel welcome not only to use our churches for personal prayer, but also to enjoy on-line worship resources which we will endeavour to continue to make available each week,  through a variety of media including the on-line Parish Magazine, Facebook/You Tube and local social media, and church websites!
 

With love and blessings to you all,

John

                                                        

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The poppy features widely at this remembrance time. We began on 1^st November with the Feast of All Saints when we celebrate all those in whose lives the Church has seen the grace of God most powerfully at work.
Then, a day later, on 2^nd November -All Souls Day (The Commemoration of the Faithful departed) - is acknowledged. This day focuses on those whom we have known and loved but see no longer; those who have shaped our lives for good.
I have been watching the beacons of light shining on the top of the three spires of our Cathedral as it became dark on each evening. Entitled ‘Light in the dark’ it sent out a beacon of hope into the community.
And now we come to Remembrance Sunday when other issues come to the fore- war, peace, loss, damage, memory and forgetting. The poppy is the enduring symbol of remembrance. It continues to be sold worldwide to raise money and to rmember those who lost their lives in the 1^st World War and subsequent conflicts. It is of course, a personal choice to wear one, but money raised helps and supports veterans and their families in all sorts of ways.
Coupled with the start of our second lockdown here in England and restrictions elsewhere in the UK and the poignant time of remembrance, we all face many more challenges. Some things are different this time – rules of meeting people may or may not be easier; our public worship has ceased but the church has not closed. Only its worship in the building has!
Please use the church for private prayer. It is cleaned daily by a wonderful team of volunteers who make it as safe as we can get it. In some ways, more is in place this time than when we were first in lock down in March. Please contact us for any support.
 
Our online worship will continue. Thank you to those who have told us how much it means to them whilst we work with the restrictions.
One hymn which is not included in our online worship tomorrow is one which is special to me. It is “God is love: let heaven adore hymn”. I have a particular affinity for it because of the second verse
 
“God is love and he enfoldeth all the world in one embrace;
with unfailing grasp he holdeth every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking under sorrow's iron rod,
then they find that self-same aching deep within the heart of God.”
                                                       
                                                                        Elizabeth

               

Support Networks

Daily Hope offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone line.

The line – which is available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044 – has been set up particularly with those unable to join online church services during the period of restrictions in mind.
 

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