Services
Sunday 31st January, Presentation of Christ in the Temple
| 9.30 am | Services page | Online Sunday Eucharist | (JR/AWA-pr) |
The service will be recorded and made available online on the Services page.
Tuesday 2nd February
| 10.30 am | Zoom | Café Zoom – Tuesday morning Coffee and Cake | (see below) |
Wednesday 3rd February
| 10.00 am | Services page | Midweek Podcast | (JR) |
This will be a playable-on-demand broadcast (podcast) available on the Services page from 10.00 am.
| 7.55 pm | Zoom | Midweek Discussion Group | (see below) |
Sunday 7th February, 2nd Sunday before Lent
| 9.30 am | Services page | Online Sunday Eucharist | (JR) |
Notices
Coronavirus
The churches are closed for public worship for now. This decision, which has not been taken lightly, is based on our being put in Tier 4 of the current Government regulations and to protect us all from this horrible virus. We have many vulnerable people in our parishes and it is important that the church does not exacerbate the situation.
Café Zoom
Tuesday morning’s Coffee and Cake sessions are now online. We are getting together virtually by Zoom on Tuesdays from 10:30am to 12:00noon. Contact Hilary Catchpole at h.catchpole@btinternet.com, preferably a day or so beforehand, to ask for joining details for this week’s Café Zoom. You’ll need to make your own coffee…and bring your own cake!
Midweek Discussion Group on Zoom
The Midweek Discussion Group meeting via Zoom on Wednesday evenings are now under way.
The sessions start with a general welcome chat to hear how everyone is getting on, then some discussion often centred around a Bible passage, with a short time of prayer at the end. Everyone will be considered to be fully present if they have signed in, but there is no need to say or share anything. You can spend the whole time ‘mute’ if you wish!
There are the usual protocols about confidentiality, as anything shared must be respected as being confidential to the group. All are welcome, but if inviting others please contact Anthony first.
The next ‘meetings’ are as follows:
- 3 February Evensong (from YouTube – from a college or cathedral)
- 10 February What does the Bible say about the Last Things? (Death, dying, the meaning of life, the return of Christ, the ‘rapture’ – and anything else!). Discussion, concluding with a time of prayer.
- 17 February Evening Prayer (liturgy to be circulated in advance – nothing in unison – except perhaps the Lord’s Prayer – ‘parts’ to be allocated). (Ash Wednesday)
- 24 February Truly Divine and Truly Human: Christ and the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Discussion, concluding with a time of prayer.
- 3 March Evensong (from YouTube – from a college or cathedral)
- 10 March Jesus the Jew: Reflections on how learning about the Jewish world of Jesus can enrich our own faith (NB not a discussion on Judaism and Christianity). Discussion, concluding with a time of prayer
- 17 March Evening Prayer (liturgy to be circulated in advance – nothing in unison – except perhaps the Lord’s Prayer – ‘parts’ to be allocated).
- 24 March (to be decided)
- 31 March Holy Week (to be decided)
Sign-in is at 19.55 hrs and the sessions end at 9.30pm sharp. The Zoom invitation is sent a few days beforehand, usually with some background material.
Please contact Anthony Archer on anthony.archer@bridgewaterassociates.co.uk or 07721 504125 with any questions
Regular Giving
Please remember that the church continues to function with limited services, so we do ask that you continue with your regular financial giving to support the ministry. If you normally give weekly in church, you may like to consider paying direct through your bank account. Click or tap here to visit the Donate Page to find out more.
Messy Church
New Children’s Activities: Worksheets on Thankfulness and Community, prepared by Heather Tisbury, are available on the Youth and Children’s page.
Scam Alerts!
Please beware of a couple of scams that are currently circulating locally by email.
NHS Vaccine Scam – there are some emails doing the rounds that are apparently offering you a coronavirus/COVID-19 vaccination appointment. They look convincingly as if they come from the NHS. Only when you read on that you find that you’re being asked for your bank or credit card details, your passwords or personal details for ‘verification’ or some other spurious reason. Ignore the email – someone is trying to get hold of your financial or personal details for fraudulent purposes. The NHS says:
The COVID-19 vaccine is free of charge on the NHS.
The NHS will never ask for:
- your bank account or card details
- your pin or banking password
- copies of personal documents to prove your identity such as your passport, driving licence, bills or pay slips
If you think you have been a victim of fraud or identify theft, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
Click here to see how the NHS say you will be contacted for your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination.
Emails Apparently from The Vicar – other scam emails in circulation look as if they come from the Vicar. Typically they will ask you to get in touch with him urgently by email, but not by phone, ultimately for the purpose of getting you to send money or gift tokens – which the Vicar would not ask you to do. And often, but not always, they will be from a gmail.com address – which the Vicar does not have. If you are in any doubt whether an email is from the Vicar, please check with him either by:
- Phoning him (despite what it may say in the email); or
- Sending him a fresh email (i.e. not by replying to the dodgy one) at an address that you know to be genuine.
Incidentally, we think that many of these emails come from the same source, and with each one that arrives we are getting more information that should help put a stop to them. So if you do receive one, please forward it to scam-report@littlegaddesdenchurch.org.uk to help us in that effort.
Pay by Text
We now have the facility to donate to Little Gaddesden church by text. Just text LITTLEGADD plus the amount you want to donate (between £1 and £20) to 70470, for example ‘LITTLEGADD10’ to donate £10.
Texts will cost the amount donated plus one standard rate message.
Do you need any Financial Help?
If you, or anyone you know, is in financial difficulty, the Vicar has access to a hardship fund. Please feel free to contact him in the strictest of confidence on 01442 214898 or at vicar@littlegaddesdenchurch.org.uk.
New Video and Audio Recordings
There are high definition video and high quality audio recordings of this week’s services on the Services Archive page.