The April magazine will appear on this site!  Albeit a little late.  The submission deadline is now Tuesday 31 March.  Your experiences, thoughts, reflections (and humorous stories!) are welcome - send to the magazine team on stgileschurchmagazine@hotmail.co.uk.  These do not have to be a whole article!  A couple of sentences will suffice!

All Services of Worship on Sundays and mid week are now cancelled

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Following the Archbishops’ announcement on Tuesday March 17th all regular times of public worship are now suspended, due to the Corona virus pandemic. So we will worship in new and in different ways.  All church buildings are now closed, following the intervention on Monday evening March 23rd , including our own parish church here, and the Reading Room, until further notice.

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This means for us all a hard time ahead; a time when we are necessarily cut off from each other to limit the spread of the virus across the land.

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Our means of communication continue however:

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Via email: all church contacts will receive a regular weekly email communication from the church now. Please check with the Administrator, Sylvia, on the new working-from-home church address if you are not sure that your name is on our list or else the names of another person who would benefit from this form of regular contact.

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Via the church website

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Via Facebook - please search for ‘Chalfont St Giles Parish Church’

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Via the telephone - find contact details here.

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Please ensure that your contact details are with the Administrator for any or all of these means of communication.

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WORSHIP
Prayers will be said daily morning and evening at 9am and at 4pm by the clergy on behalf of the people of this parish. This will be singly and gradually together via social media and in time we aim to make prayer inclusive via live streaming on the website or on our Facebook platform, available for more and more people across the parish.

On Sunday 29th we aim to place onto the church website an act of worship available to all who can access it.

On Sunday at 10am Bishop Alan will broadcast a live stream Eucharist - find the link to their website at the top of this page.  Stand by for our first ‘virtual service’ in due course! There are services of worship also to be found on the Church of England website: do make the most of these excellent materials and services.
 

The Bishop of Oxford is encouraging us all to read the words of the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 on a daily basis as a form of prayerful support in this time of need:

PASTORAL CARE
We have made contact with many parishioners already and over the courseof last Sunday (Mothering Sunday) small bouquets of flowers were delivered to members of the church community at their home residence.
 

We are no longer able to make such physical gestures now but we are  compiling a list of all church contacts and dividing up the whole into smaller groups, each with one responsible person to make and to keep contact insofar as each person requires it. If you are aware of anyone in particular need then do make them known to the clergy or members of the Pastoral Care Team.
 

I want to reassure you that in this dark time we are not alone. As Cassa Messervey has recently commented: We can use this time of 'cocooning' to explore new patterns of prayer, to read that pile of books next to our beds, do some gardening, to cook with our children (yes this can be part of homeschooling!) and enjoy the amazing spring weather from our windows and gardens. I hope that this time will show us signs that our God, who is always 'doing a new thing', is working for good in the 'darkest valley' and 'is with us'.

May you know the peace of God which passes all understanding and the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Ian Brown
 

Please Pray:
● for he Bishop of West Malaysia, Moon Hing
● for the work of Traidcraft, and for the Traidcraft Lenten challenge.
● for our Stewardship Campaign, no longer Gift Day 22 March, and for our
Stewardship plans as they now unfold anew
● for the containment of the Corona virus world wide. For the response in
this community to the virus emergency. For those who are isolated and
who are fearful. For those in the medical services, working in our GP
Centre and Pharmacy, in hospitals in care homes and in research and in

government – for all who bear heavy loads of responsibility at this time.
 

The office will be closed until further notice. The clergy are contactable by
phone, the office email inbox will be checked once a week. Otherwise
email
 

Facebook: ‘Chalfont St Giles Parish Church’
 

Collect
Holy God, in the Saviour’s cross your boundless love meets human sin:
strengthen and deliver us that we may know the victory is ours through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
 

Bible Readings:
Ezekiel 37 verses 1-14
John11 verses 1-45
 

“In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace”
Words from the song of Zechariah in St Luke chapter 1 verse 78-79, words of comfort and of hope conveyed to us all by The Bishop of Oxford. These words come from times of uncertainty and confusion in the past and speak to us all today of God’s firm presence and purpose, even when we can see none such for ourselves. In these times of Corona virus pandemic, we remind ourselves of the hope we have in Jesus Christ and in the surety of His love for each one.

Merciful Lord, you know our struggle to serve you:
when sin spoils our lives and overshadows our hearts,
come to our aid and turn us back to you again;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
 

PS Don’t forget that the clocks go forward one hour on Sunday morning at 2am. This will be the best ever spring time clock change for me (Ian) since I will not, indeed cannot, get up to go to church one hour earlier on Sunday morning than usual! Enjoy your lie-in too!