Today was week 4 of our combined services; a mix of the Zoom and church congregations. Unfortunately, the internet problems meant a “rocky” start to the service but we persevered and all went well in the end. By way of an explanation, the Fabric Committee are arranging the fixed broadband installation, but this has, and will, take time. At present we are…
Diocese of Oxford
Diocese of Oxford
Covid News (Page 7)
Dear friends at St. Bartholomew’s As I sit and write this letter, I have been reviewing yet more missives from the church authorities with their interpretation of government guidance about handling our interaction one with another, as we seek to restore some normality to our lives. How are you managing with the abnormal conditions we meet day-by-day? From Friday 24 July we…
Dear Fellow Members of St Bartholomew’s I bet you’re thinking, this is the Treasurer speaking, and he’s going to bleat on about the church being short of money. Correct – we do have a hole appearing in our finances. We are down £2,200 in our reserves to the end of June, and June itself ran a deficit of over £1,000. We are…
We are continuing our trial service in church on Sunday, 19 July and 26th July ahead of opening for congregational worship later on. Please see web site for details. This service will also be on ZOOM as usual UPDATE We had many problems with the internet connection in church today and had to carry on both services but separately! Martin will continue…
O God, help me to trust you, help me to know that you are with me, help me to believe that nothing can separate me from your love revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen God of compassion, be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation. In their loneliness, be their consolation; in their anxiety, be their hope; in their…
Dear Friends Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Phillipians1: 2) I have noticed over the past couple of weeks with the easing of the lockdown measures that my life is beginning to get busy again. I‘m not complaining about this, as I have been fortunate during the lockdown to have the physical company of…
The Rectory 10 July 2020 We have been working hard on plans to meet again as the body of Christ in the church building. The first “trial service” will take place on Sunday 12 July using our current format on ZOOM at 10:30 a.m., with some of the service leaders joining me in church. I have also invited those who have…
Dear Friends at St Bartholomew’s As we continue to prepare for the reopening of the church building for congregational worship, I realise how important it is not to let the administration, planning and technology undermine our primary motive in worship which is to glorify God. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism expresses it: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy…
Dear Fellow Members of St Bartholomew’s This Sunday is the Third Sunday after Trinity, and, as is my wont, I read through the Collect, Epistle and Gospel from the Book of Common Prayer. My copy is dated 1716 but the words have little altered since the first issue of 1549 when Edward the sixth was King. The 1662 revision updated the language…
Friday 19 June, 2020 Dear Friends at St. Bartholomew’s: We cannot move far without using our senses. Equally, most of us are probably aware that our senses are not as acute as they once were, and we are dependent on technology to help us in one way or another. In my case, not only do I have support for my seeing, but…