17th September 2020
Sunday Bulletin and Reading Sheet for 20th September
The Bulletin for Sunday 20th September is now available to download, read and print out at the "at home resources" page of the church website. Also the Reading Sheet and the links you need to view the live feed video of the Eucharist on 20th September at 10am. Go HERE.
In the bulletin this week there is some important information about our Gift Day which is on 27th September - please do take a look.
If you haven't yet done so, please book your place if you would like to attend either of our services this weekend by emailing parishpriest@stgeorges.church or calling the Parish Office on 023 9225 8079 as soon as possible. Please be assured that the voicemail is checked regularly and your message will be picked up.
Please let us know your name and a contact number, which service you would like to attend (8AM or 10AM) and the number of people who will be in your party with you. Please remember to bring a face covering.
At the moment it is not possible to pass the collection plate around the congregation at the offertory. There is a plate at the back of the church if you would like to make your donation to the mission and ministry of St George’s. Thank you in advance.
Best wishes,
Alex
Parish Administrator
14th September 2020
Table top sale
Following the change in the government's rules (which come into effect today) we have taken the regrettable view that the table top sale (a much-needed source of funds) cannot now go ahead. If and when the rules change again we can of course consider rescheduling.
There is nothing to stop us opening church and allowing people to come in to pray (and put coins on our two metre lines) and Shirley will continue to organise that for us.
On a more positive note the PCC have now agreed that our APCM will proceed on Sunday 18th October immediately after the 10AM mass. We are discussing some of the logistics and will write separately in due course but do put this note in your diaries.
Please ensure you continue to book your place at the Wednesday and Sunday services through the Parish Priest email or calling the office and leaving a message. You can book for this week from today.
God bless,
Chris Gadd
Churchwarden
9th September 2020
Social Gatherings: Prime Minister’s announcement today
Following the Prime Minister's press conference today (during which he confirmed the government is now legislating that from Monday 14th September social gatherings in England are only permitted in groups of 6), please note that the national church have obtained assurance that public worship is specifically excluded from this restriction.
Accordingly, our services on Wednesday and Sunday mornings can continue as present.
Please remember to book in advance (as we have now become accustomed) by emailing parishpriest@stgeorges.church or by calling the Parish Office (02392 258079) and leaving a message on the answerphone confirming your details and how many are in your party.
Kind regards,
Chris Gadd
Churchwarden
7th September 2020
Services this week: Wednesday 9th and Sunday 13th September
Bookings are now open for the services this week - 10AM on Wednesday 9th and 8AM or 10AM on Sunday 13th September.
Please reserve your place by either sending an email to parishpriest@stgeorges.church or calling the Parish Office on 02392 258079 and leaving a message (please be assured that this is checked regularly and your message will be picked up). Let us know your name, which service you are attending and how many are in your party, together with a contact telephone number.
Please do it as soon as you can, and for the services on Sunday preferably by Friday afternoon.
We do not respond to each message so, unless you hear to the contrary, you should expect that we can accommodate your request.
For those who cannot attend, we will be streaming the services on Wednesday and Sunday (10AM) in the usual places - either YouTube or at the St George's Church resources page: Go HERE.
Please remember to bring a face covering for attending the services in Church.
With best wishes for the coming week,
Alex
Parish Administrator
27th August 2020
Gift Day 2020
At the beginning of 2020 no one could have foreseen what a difficult year this was going to be for all of us, on all sorts of levels. The coronavirus has shown the fragility of our lives in so many different ways: In terms of our own health and wellbeing, and that of our loved ones; in relation to the world of work and leisure; travel; education; restrictions on who we can meet and where, and so on.
As a church we have tried to adapt as best we can to the challenging changing circumstances in many different ways. We have offered pastoral care to those in our church family who may be particularly isolated through a team of volunteers, who have kept in regular contact through telephone calls and mailings. We have held many of our services online by livestreaming, and are continuing to do so. We have held parish quizzes via ‘Zoom’ so as to keep people in contact, albeit ‘virtually’. Zoom has also been the medium through which our PCC and sub-committees have continued to work through the pandemic. Now we are beginning to return to some normality (or the new normality) with public worship being allowed to take place in our church, but with some restrictions. Our church hall is beginning to open again. There are signs of hope. However, like many institutions the Church has had to cope with the severe financial implications of the coronavirus. At St George’s we have been unable to generate any income from the many fund-raising activities that we regularly undertake, and giving from church collections at services has also greatly declined. We have had to rely on our limited reserves to keep our head above water. For this reason our Gift Day this year will be more important than ever to ensure that we can continue in our ministry and mission.
In 2019 we took the decision to hold our Gift Day towards the end of the year rather than around the date of St George’s Day, and we have decided to do the same this year. On Saturday 26th September the Social and Fundraising sub-committee are organising a table-top sale. We hope that those of you who may have saved items for the usual church shop (which sadly we cannot hold this year) will book a table to sell those items in aid of church funds. There will also be a prayer tree in church for you to add a request for prayer, and where there will be an opportunity to add some coins to ‘two metre lines’ which will be laid out in church, to reflect the social distancing that has become a feature of our lives at the moment. We hope that this will generate interest from the wider public. This will all culminate in our Gift Day on Sunday 27th September. Shortly we will make envelopes available in church for any contributions to our Gift Day. If you are a UK tax payer it would be helpful if you could gift aid your donations by ticking the relevant box on the envelope. It will also be possible to make donations online on our website at http://www.stgeorgesnews.org/feedback.html#donations - these can also be gift aided by completing the gift aid form which you can download at the ‘donations’ web page, complete on your computer and email back to us. If you can, please use the option to make your donation by bank transfer direct to our bank account, as that avoids incurring fees.
Those who are receiving this message by post and who are unable to physically bring your donations in person or online, they can be posted to the Parish Office along with the attached form if you are able to gift aid.
Any donation, large or small, will be greatly appreciated, and will of course be completely anonymous.
The Social and Fundraising Committee are busy planning a number of events in the coming months which, God willing, we will be able to undertake, including our Christmas Fair on Saturday 5th December. Details of these events will be advertised in due course.
With assurance of prayers,
Fr Colin
Welcome to the web site for St George’s Church and its Parish magazine, St George’s News.
This is the world’s longest running Parish Magazine on the Internet - we were the first parish magazine on the web, our On-Line edition started in February 1996. You will find many interesting articles here on a wide variety of subjects. If you want a copy of the printed version, you can subscribe here.
St George’s Church welcomes visitors. During more normal times, the Church is open from 9.30am until 3pm. (mornings only during school holidays). At the moment the Church is open for private, silent prayer from 12.noon - 2pm, Sundays and 4pm - 6pm Wednesdays only.
You can now attend our Sunday services at 8am and 10am and the mid-week Eucharist at 10am on Wednesdays; however prior booking is required as numbers are restricted. See HERE. Most services also transmitted live on YouTube. Sunday School and Sunday School Baby & Toddler Group, (9.45am in the hall during term times) are cancelled at the moment.
SAFEGUARDING. To contact the Parish Safeguarding Officer email
safeguarding@stgeorges.church
St George’s Church Waterlooville adopts and follows the House of Bishop’s ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ policy. For more detailed information click HERE
ST GEORGE’S AND YOU
We are producing a booklet about St George’s and the congregation……how we think of our church, what it means to us. Perhaps you were baptised or married here. You may remember significant moments or a ramble, a Parish lunch, an induction, some of the church shows. Perhaps some of the outreach of the church comes to mind, times when you have helped others or seen great changes. Just a line or two with a memory or thought about our church would be most welcome.
The booklet will be incorporated into our fundraising which we are trying to start again as we have lost so much due to the lockdown.
For more information or to send contributions: j.rice-oxley@stgeorges.church
