Friday 7 May

With Dan on a birthday break, this week's email comes from the Associate Vicar's desk for a change!

Opening up - all hands on deck!

As Covid restrictions ease, a lot of people have been asking "when will we be back to normal at church?" It's going to take us a while to find our way towards the settled pattern that becomes our "new normal" but there are two main factors that will drive this: externally, the restrictions that are imposed on us; and internally, our capacity to make things happen. Lots of things require extra person-power at the moment - for example, everyone entering the church needs to register for Test and Trace, which requires someone to supervise and assist them. As we open up we all need to work together to enable us to welcome people on the scale we used to and long to once again!

So, can you offer some time over the coming months, during the week or on Sundays, to be part of our opening up effort? Over the next weeks I'll be sharing more details of different opportunities to get involved, but in the meantime, please have a think about what you could do, and get in touch to let me know how you can be part of this team effort. 

Christian Aid Week 10th - 16th May 2021

Christian Aid Week begins on Monday, and this year is focusing on the impact of climate change on some of the poorest people in the world.
This climate crisis hurts us all. But people living in poverty fight the worst of it every day. From drought to flooding, climate change robs people of control over their lives. Extreme weather means people like Rose are struggling to survive without a reliable source of water. 

Your gift could help a community build an earth dam, so when the rains do come, they will have the water they need to live. A reliable source of water will help families withstand long drought or relentless rainstorms. Find out more about Christian Aid Week here, and donate here. Many thanks. 

Ascension Day Eucharist - Thursday 8.30am

We will be celebrating Ascension Day with a Eucharist service at 8.30am on Thursday 13th May. This will be livestreamed public worship so please do join us either in church or online. Booking is not required for this service. You can find the order of service here. 

Staffing Update

We will see a few changes in the staff team at the end of the month. Rachel Varley (our Community Development Officer) and Roseanna Wood (our Head of Operational Development) will be leaving at the end of the month - both have brought a huge amount of experience, passion and commitment to their roles and have been a delight to work with, and will be greatly missed. SMR is committed both to our community engagement and our organisational development, and we'll keep you posted on how Rachel and Roseanna's excellent work will be continued and built on.  Read more from Rachel here.
And Sarah Purdon (our Parish Administrator) is expecting a baby in July and will begin her maternity leave at the end of May - wonderful news for Sarah and Rich although we will very much miss Sarah in the meantime! Again, watch this space for details of what will be happening in the Parish Office while she's away. 

Choir News

At the end of the 12pm service on Sunday, we say thank you to one of our boys trebles, Hal, who completes his time as a treble, after almost five years in the choir. Thanks also to his parents for their support. Today marks the first time in 2021 when the boys sing at a Sunday service - it is good to be back. Next week will be the girls turn. 

Send on / Contact me

Please forward this email on those who might be interested in SMR and contact me here (rather than using reply please) 

With my best wishes 

Kat

Revd Kat Campion-Spall

Associate Vicar, St Mary Redcliffe 

07506 310564

What's On this Sunday (9 May)

8.30am : Morning Prayer 

: live stream here : words here

10.00am : Holy Communion 

: live stream here : Order of Service here : weekly sheet here

12.00 : Holy Communion

: public worship : Order of Service here: weekly sheet here

: some seats will be available for those who turn up on the day