Welcome to The Washingborough Group of Churches - a place where everyone matters.
In line with advice from both the Government and the Church of England, we are suspending services at our three churches and all meetings (Lent Courses, Bible Studies, etc)
This does not mean we are closed for business. We are investigating ways to support you without risk of spreading infection. Some of these ways are highlighted below.
"Psalm 46"
George's commentary on Psalm 46, from thr Zoom meeting on 25th May 2020. Click here for the commentary.
"Psalm 42"
George's commentary on Psalm 42 from the Zoom meeting on 22nd May 2020. Click here for the commentary.
"Psalm 28"
George's commentary on Psalm 28 from the Zoom meeting on 20th May 2020. Click here for the commentary.
"Psalm 23"
George's commentary on Psalm 23 from the Zoom meeting on 18th May 2020. Click here for the commentary.
"Flame Colouring Page"
This has been sent to us by Melanie Greenall at Washingborough Methodist Church (thank you to Sarah for passing it on). It is in a similar vein to the "make your own palm cross" we covered earlier. You can use this template to colour in the flames of the Holy Spirit and the message "Filled with the Holy Spirit" and place it in your window.
George has been working his way through the Psalms in daily Zoom meetings with anyone who fancies joining in. By the power of technology (I gather Cynthia Goalby was actually instrumental in capturing the live feed) we have George's commentary on Psalm 8 which was the subject of Friday's (15th May) meeting. Due to the constraints of the web hosting company (which won't allow me to upload anything bigger than 2 MB) and YouTube (which won't allow me to upload just audio), I craftily turned the audio into a YouTube video and uploaded that instead.
If you would like to hear George's commentary on Psalm 8, click here.
If you would like to join the Reverend George for his daily interactive discussion on the Psalms, please e-mail the webmaster at [email protected]
"Churchyard Opening"
From the beginning of May we are intending to have some limited opening of the churchyard. The opening times will be Tuesday 10:00-12:00, Thursday 14:00-16:00 and Saturday 14:00-16:00. Note that the church building will not be open. We would ask that you restrict your visits to these times. If there are any problems or issues, please phone Jonathan Clark (churchwarden) on 07879 475189. The churchyard will always be locked between 21:00 and 09:00 as a matter of security.
"Prayer Chain"
We are updating and restarting our Benefice prayer chain which is even more valued at this difficult time. Just a quick explanation for those of you who are not sure what a prayer chain involves. Every church regularly receives prayer requests from the community as well as our own church family, and the chain is a confidential way of passing on these requests quickly. You will get a phone call and we simply ask that you include these prayers in your own regular prayer time at home and then if you could then send the message onto the next person on the list. I will be coordinating the list so please contact me on 01522 398147 if you could help with the prayers or you have a request.
This Sunday (5th April) is Palm Sunday and traditionally we would all receive a palm cross during the service. Obviously that isn't going to happen, but you can still make your own palm cross, although admittedly out of paper. Our churchwarden (Colin) has found a single sheet of instructions on making your own palm cross, which can be viewed here.There are also many instructional videos on youtube, for example this one.
"Doorstep Dropoff"
We have a limited number of volunteers available who would be able to collect shopping and drop it off. Please note that due to the limited number of volunteers we can only do one shop once a week (with the exception of urgent medicines). Also people should be prepared to accept a reasonable substitute if the item or brand they want is not available. If you require this service, please can you in the first instance contact Sarah at [email protected].
"The Archbishop of Canterbury's first national virtual Church of England service for Mothering Sunday"
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has led a national broadcast, as the Church of England responds to the challenge of becoming a “different sort of church” in the face of the coronavirus crisis. It is available as a YouTube video here.
"Meals for the elderly and vulnerable"
A very generous offer by the Headmaster of Washingborough Academy to provide meals for the elderly and vulnerable. Click here for further details.
Many thanks for Keith Swann for coordinating this effort.
"WhatsApp"
If you are technologically minded then you can stay in touch via our WhatsApp group. With my GDPR hat on, I must advise people that being on the WhatsApp group will expose your mobile number to everyone else on the group. To join the group, contact Sarah at [email protected]. You will need to leave her your mobile number. Also (as I discovered) you need to install the "WhatsApp" app on your phone! Don't worry. The app is free to download.
"Liturgy and Prayer Resources"
The Church of England have provided resources that can be used during the coronavirus outbreak. Click here for details.
