CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC RESPONSE 

Re-opening of our churches

We are delighted that churches can re-open for services of worship from July. We plan to have a weekly Benefice Service from Sunday 26th July.

There will be a service of Holy Communion at St Mary Magdalen's at 10am on Sunday 2nd August. There is limited space in our Churches so please email Michael Gamble in the Benefice Office at   if you are planning to come to a Sunday service.

We will be following the Government's guidelines for social distancing, consecration and distribution of Communion, no singing and the wearing of facemasks.
 
Facemasks
From 8th August wearing of facemasks is compulsory in places of worship unless you have an exemption for health reasons such as asthma.

There will be some masks available at Church on Sundays but please come wearing a mask if you have one.

Online Services 

An online service will still be available for those who are unable to come to Sunday services. Details will be available on this website as usual. The Wednesday Communion services will still take place by Zoom as will Morning Prayer on Tuesdays at 9.30am for Hilperton/Staverton parish and on Thursdays at 9.15am for Semington parish. Please contact Rev John or Rev Joy for the Zoom code to join in. 

Private Prayer 

St Michael’s Hilperton and St George’s Semington are now open for private prayer. However, to minimise risk they will only be open for very limited hours and significant precautions will be in place. Details of procedures to be followed whist in church will be clearly displayed at the entrances.

The opening times will be:

St Michael’s: Thursdays 10-11.30am and Sundays 2.30-4.00pm

St George’s: Fridays from 10 – 11.30am

Occasional Offices
Funerals, Baptisms and Weddings can now take place but with restrictions for example only 30 people can be present and singing is not permitted. Please contact Rev John to discuss on the number below. 

Updates will be posted on this page.  

Click on https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre (...) for more information.

Support 

If you need support or are aware of others who may need support, please contact one of our Churchwardens, Clergy or Administrator whose details can be found by clicking on Contact Us. Similarly let us know if you are able to offer shopping or other help.

Prayer and worship resources for individual use will be regularly updated at Resources for adults to use at home and Resources for families to use at home. A link to our online Sunday service is on the Home page. Our weekly newsheet  is still being published, available at Canalside News. This is being delivered to those who do not have access to the internet - please let Michael Gamble in the Benefice Office (details at Contact Us) know of anyone who would like the Canalside News delivered.
 
 
Our Finances during the crisis:
 
During this difficult time when our church buildings are closed, we are still a church; meeting virtually for prayer, for services and for fellowship, loving our neighbours by offering practical support to the vulnerable, and caring for our communities.  

The work of our church is reliant on people’s generosity, a generosity that is a hallmark of a lived-out faith and a testament to it. We really appreciate all the support that people are already giving both in terms of time and money: Thank you so much. 

However,  with the closure of all our buildings we cannot receive all the gifts that we usually would, so we would be very grateful if you consider supporting the ministry of our Benefice financially, either for the first time or by reviewing your existing giving.   In a normal year we would be holding many fundraising events and activities but obviously, this year, many of those will not be possible. 

If you are able to give on a regular basis, either for the first time or by increasing your giving, please contact Michael Gamble on 07795400262 or canalsideoffice@gmail.com who will explain what you need to do. 

If you would prefer to make a one off donation to help us continue our work in the Canalside Parishes please click on the link below for the church(es) you wish to support.    This will enable you to make a donation online via the "Give a little" website.    

 

To donate to St George's at Semington click on this link: 

https://givealittle.co/campaigns/5ad269c5-f828-4355-aad0-ea5019d0d73d

To donate to St Michael's, the Parish Church of Hilperton and Staverton, click on this link:

https://givealittle.co/campaigns (...)

To donate to St Mary Magdalen's (the Tin Church) of Hilperton and Staverton Parish click on this link:

 

https://givealittle.co/campaigns (...)