The Christian Community of St Giles-on-the-Hill
Sunday 4th October 2020
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
There will be a service of Said Mass today at 10.30 am. We look forward to seeing you at this Mass.
A reminder of the latest advice – FACE (face coverings are required to be worn in places of worship unless you are specifically exempted); HANDS (please sanitise your hands on entering and on leaving the church); and SPACE (please follow social distance guidelines as directed).
NHS Track and Trace – Those who have downloaded the app are able to use this when making a visit to St Giles. Please scan in using the code which is on the notice board in the porch and on the hymn book trolley. Thank you.
Please arrive in St Giles only 15 mins prior to a Mass (unless you have a job to do before the service), familiarise yourself with the social distancing and other arrangements and be seated by 10.25am for the notices. Please remember to bring with you your personal copy of the white Mass booklet that you took home when you last came to St Giles. This is your own copy of the booklet, for you to use during the COVID-19 restrictions. Bring it whenever you attend a Mass at St Giles and then take it home again afterwards. The booklet is also available for download as a pdf file which you can print at home. Further details of the ongoing restrictions owing to COVID-19 are contained in the special St Giles web update of Friday 3rd July and in the regularly updated Church of England pages.
Being religious isn’t the purpose of our lives. Instead we need to be people who live out the kingdom of God daily.
We are continuing to include below the details of the Sung Mass which we would have been celebrating on this Sunday in normal times. However, in our Said Mass in church today there will be no hymns or other sung prayers and responses. You may like to look up the readings and the hymns below and reflect on the opening sentence of the Mass.
This week our hymns are from the New English Hymnal. You can click on the titles of the individual hymns to hear recordings. Thank you to our organist Ian Graydon for supplying these links.
The photo above was taken in the churchyard on 28th September 2013 by Raymond Scott.
Introit Hymn 206 Christ is our corner-stone (tune only – words here)
Collect
Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:9-17
Second Reading Philippians 3:4b-14
Gospel acclamation Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Cantors My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord
I know them and they follow me
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Priest Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
All Glory to you, O Lord
Gospel Matthew 21:33-46
Priest This is the gospel of the Lord
All Praise to you, O Christ
Intercessions
Offertory Hymn 271 Alleluya, sing to Jesus
Communion Hymn 72 My faith looks up to thee
Post Communion Prayer
Lord, we pray that your grace
may always precede and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Angelus
Recessional Hymn 427 O praise ye the Lord!
Next Sunday’s readings: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14
Rector Canon Darren Thornton (part-time) also UEA Chaplain (day off Monday) 01603 623724 Click to email
Churchwardens Rowena Atkinson (01603 455729) Bob Emsell (01603 439632)
Newsletter & Traidcraft Kate Baldry (01362 695503) Click to email
St Giles Twitter page shares our news, resources and photos day by day. Our particular thanks to Hakan for maintaining and updating this service.
The Facebook pages of Norwich City Churches and Norwich East Deanery are frequently updated with news of many Norwich churches, including St Giles – well worth taking a look.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
11 October Traidcraft Stall regretfully cancelled (see below)
11-17 October Prisons Week The theme is “You Are Not Alone”
18 October Luke the Evangelist
25 October Bible Sunday
30 October All Souls’ Day Mass 10.00am
Please record names of the departed on our Years Mind list at the back of Church
NOTICES
From Fr Darren
While you are in church your safety remains paramount to us. We are putting out some extra chairs at the back of church to try and honour the social distancing within the pews. Please only sit in the areas that are marked; remember the pews near the Lady Chapel are often available, so if you feel happier about not sitting in the main body of the church, do go and sit in those pews. Please can you remember when you chat to others who may be sitting in the same pew or nearby, to keep the social distancing between them and you. It is very easy to forget and we get closer so as to be able to hear each other BUT we must remember to keep that space! Please also try and turn up only 15 mins prior to a Mass (unless you have a job to do) and at the end of the service it is important that we do not congregate to meet and chat. Despite this being an entirely natural thing to do and something we would usually encourage at church, it is at present not allowed. After the organ voluntary it is straight outside, please. No lingering inside the church building. Do try and have those conversations outside or keep in contact with a phone call. Thank you. Thank you!
For the month of October we are following our current practice for the Masses at St Giles as we have been doing since July. All the Masses will be short Said Masses with no singing, no Sunday sheets, and no coffee after Mass. The weekly newsletter will continue to be available for you to view online by clicking here. The aim of all this is to spend less time in the church building together as we meet in bigger numbers. “Slowly, steadily and safely” are the words that Bishop Graham is encouraging us to use. We are all looking forward to the time when our normal practice can resume. We are currently required by the Government to wear face masks while in church. Please could everyone also refrain from singing along with the recorded hymns at the Sunday Mass. I know how desperate we all are to sing again but we are trying to reduce the risks and keep safety paramount. Thank you.
Weekday Masses I totally understand that some people are still anxious about returning on a Sunday, and an alternative could be to consider coming to a mid-week Mass: Tuesday at 12 noon or Friday at 10am. Numbers mid-week are much smaller and you may find it more comfortable than with a larger crowd. Safety remains paramount, and I would like to thank everyone who has come back for keeping to the rules and the recommended guidance.
Church opening times Our current weekly pattern of public worship is: Sunday 10.30am Mass; Tuesday 12 noon Mass; Friday 10.00am Mass.
The church is also open for private prayer at the following times during the week:
Monday – mid morning to lunchtime
Tuesday- mid morning to 2.30pm (Mass at 12 noon)
Wednesday – mid morning to lunchtime
Thursday – mid morning to lunchtime
Friday – mid morning to lunchtime (Mass at 10.00am)
Saturday – mid morning to lunchtime
A big thank you to our volunteer church stewards for making it possible to open our sacred building for people to come in to light a candle and to pray.
Summer Raffle and Sales Tables Fundraising The final figure raised from the Summer Stalls, sales of Elsie’s delicious marmalade and the Raffle was £2273.80, comprising £1234.00 from raffle and £1039.80 from sales. An incredible achievement and thanks to everyone who made purchases and donated items!
Heritage Open Days and the Bike Ride A big thank you to those who kept the church open for the Heritage Open Days and the Bike Ride. We had a good number of visitors who enjoyed coming to see our beautiful church. 52 people visited for the Norfolk Churches Trust Sponsored Bike Ride and 434 for the Heritage Open Days. We received some lovely comments about visitors experiencing peace within the church, and many congratulating us on how well the church is kept. Numbers visiting were well down on last year, especially for the cycle ride, but those who did visit appreciated the opportunity to do so.
Monthly charitable giving Despite our regular offertory not coming in we are responding in faith to support our monthly charities, as chosen by the PCC for support during this year. Please do send in your giving to St Giles via our Treasurer John so that we can continue our donations to these charities, especially in this time when many charities are anxious about the future. During 2020 we are supporting: The Matthew Project (Jan); The Samaritans (Feb); Water Aid (Mar); The Pilgrimage Trust (Apr); Christian Aid (May); MIND (June); The Magdalene Group (July); The Children’s Society (Aug); The John Aves Education Project (Sept); The Church Army (Oct); the West Pottergate Estate (Nov); St Martin’s Housing (Dec). With increases in the Parish Share many churches no longer give to charities, but at St Giles we are still seeking to make donations (from PCC funds and donations in the charity display box) to support their work, and we can continue to do so while your giving to St Giles continues. Thank you.
Saying our prayers – thank you to those who have sent and continue to send prayer requests for me to bring to God during the daily offices. It has been a good way to keep in touch and hold you and your situations in prayer. If you have prayer requests do email me, be those prayers of needs or worries or something you want to give thanks to God for. All of our prayer requests matter to the God who has created us. As I pray for you perhaps you would be kind also to pray for me. The Norwich East Deanery prayer calendar for July to October can be downloaded here. The Norwich Diocese prayer calendar for October is also available – and you can download it to your computer by clicking here.
Feedback from the PCC Standing Committee meeting held on Sunday 20 September after the Mass. Following the current guidelines, we were able to have our meeting of six people. As it was a glorious day we sat outside in the churchyard keeping the 2 metre distance rule and we had a good meeting. Items of interest for the congregation include:
1. The 2021 Parish Share will be frozen at the agreed rate for 2020 (£32,815). Owing to the unprecedented situation in which we find ourselves the Diocese has agreed not to increase the 2020 requested amount. Please do continue to give generously to the church as we seek to pay our way this year.
2. Work is needed on the clerestory where loose flints in the north wall need repointing. Quotes are currently out to tender and we hope that the work may begin next summer.
3. Vikkie Shread is going to start seeing a Diocesan Vocational Advisor as she begins to explore the next stage of her faith journey. We are all asked to hold Vikkie in our prayers as she explores what God might be calling her to do.
4. We are currently exploring ways in which we might be able to record some of the half-hour Sunday Masses so that those who are unable to get to St Giles can view the Mass on the Internet from the recording. No music or people receiving communion will be filmed, it will be only the priest. We are going to experiment with this and see if the sound and picture are of good enough quality.
5. We have been congratulated by the Bishop of Norwich for our work on the West Pottergate estate during lockdown. Bishop Graham writes…. “You are all doing incredible things and please be assured of my prayers.” The PCC received an independent review of what the church has been doing on the estate and what needs further thought and exploration. It is an encouraging read about our church connections with those who live in West Pottergate and we should all be greatly encouraged in this mission work which is sharing the Good News by words and more importantly by our actions. The PCC will continue to explore what can be done to help those on the estate who are in need.
6. At the next PCC meeting we are going to discuss Covid-19 at St Giles and review what has been done. What could have been done differently? How have we dealt with the C of E guidelines? What could we improve upon if we ever find ourselves in this situation again?
Please do pray for your PCC.
Heavenly Father, giver of all good gifts,
come with your gracious Holy Spirit and give us courage, vision, faith and a right judgement in all things.
Empower, strengthen and commission these your servants who offer themselves for your service today,
that all that we do in this council and in our church may be for the building up of your people and the glorifying of your name.
This we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
OTHER NOTICES
Our thanks to everyone who has responded so generously to our request to continue making your donations to St Giles during this difficult period for churches. You can send a cheque to the Treasurer, do a bank transfer or pay regularly by means of a standing order from your bank. Please contact John by email for further details.
There will now not be a Traidcraft Stall after the Mass on Sunday 11 October Since the Covid figures are going in the wrong direction at the moment we have decided to cancel the planned Stall. Kate has stock of cards, craft and the usual food items and if there is something specific that you are looking for and you would like to see the range available then Kate can arrange a socially distanced meeting with you. The new Autumn/Winter range is now on the website so do take a look. Just give Kate a ring (01362 695503) or click to email and she will be only too pleased to get your order for you and deliver it to you at church (or your home if you are not yet back at church). Don’t forget that 10% of the value of your purchases will go to St Giles (excluding sale items). For sales up to 1st September this amounted to £3.20 from £32 worth of sales.
The Church of England’s online weekly services since 22nd March are all available to listen to here. Today’s service celebrates ‘forgotten heroes’ of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sarah Spencer, from the Diocese of Lincoln, and Nick Shepherd, from the Diocese of Southwark, lead the service, with contributions from farmers, lorry drivers and supermarket workers.
The Saving Graces interviews for the Diocese of Norwich can be found here. There are now 7 interviews on line. Each interviewee has a story to tell. Each is regarded by others as a saving grace – someone who has brought help and healing into a testing situation, someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in order to serve those in their care. But in turn, each of them is aware of others who have been saving graces to them – colleagues, family members, God.
Worship on line It is wonderful that there are so many ways in which we can join in worship on line, with links all over the world! We have carried a selection of links on our weekly notice page since the beginning of lockdown, and these have now been moved to a separate links page. New links will be appearing initially in our regular weekly notice sheet.
October is Black History Month and details are included in the latest Diocesan eNews here. eNews is a (usually fortnightly) e-newsletter which contains a snapshot of news, events and resources from the Diocese. It’s free to sign up to, to ensure that you don’t miss the latest information. Everyone with an active role in their church should subscribe! Previous editions of the newsletter are available at the bottom of the page here.
Just a reminder that you can receive each new page uploaded to the St Giles website as soon as it goes live by signing up to receive the posts in your email. Scroll to the bottom of this page, type or paste your email address in the ‘Follow’ box, and click ‘Follow’. Alternatively you can ask John at church or by email to add your name to the list. Either way, you will then receive an email from WordPress asking you to confirm that you want to receive the updates. Click on the ‘Confirm Follow’ button in the email. It will open a WordPress page in your browser with the details of your setup, but you can simply close the page. (It is there just in case you want to change any of the settings listed.)
