I did promise a few months ago to write less long and voluminous newsletters and instead to post things slightly more often. I admit to have failed – in spite of August being holiday season a lot is happening at St Andrew’s!
Opening the Church during the Week
Over the past few weeks it became obvious that people enter the church when the doors are open – and the tropical temperatures encouraged me to leave the doors open. A lot of people come in after having been to the hospital walking past – sometimes they want peace and quiet, and sometimes they value somebody to talk to. It also makes an impact to put a sign outside which says that the church is open and people are very welcome to come in.
Would you be willing to come in, be in church for a bit and open the doors? This can be a regular slot or for a specific time. It’s perfectly possible to do something else during most of the time – e.g. do some light gardening at the front of the church, arrange some flowers, read a book or even say some prayers. Please let me know if you would like to do this.
St John’s Chapel Redecoration
The redecoration of St John’s Chapel is now complete (apart from the statue of St John which I would love to ‘liberate’ from the shop in Lourdes).
Ben has cleaned and refurbished the War Memorial of the Parish and it has been re-hung in its original position at the North Wall. If you click on the last picture below you can see the previous state on the right and the cleaned version on the left. Putting the memorial where it used to be does have the advantage that it is actually visible from the church.
The next project is already in the making: when the carpet was laid down in the Lady Chapel several years ago the air vents were closed off which causes problems – humidity needs to go somewhere. Hence pretty soon the blue carpet needs to disappear and the floor needs restoring and painting. Fancy giving a hand? No particular skills needed (and your Spotify playlist may be much more invigorating than mine!).
1st Sunday of the month from 2nd October, 7pm:
Evensong & Benediction (followed by a drink in the pub)
I would like to try an additional monthly service from the first Sunday of October (always on the 1st Sunday of the month at 7pm).
This is a short service of Evening Prayer followed by some time of silence in front of the Blessed Sacrament. This is a very simple and quiet service which is going to last about 35 to 40 minutes. Watch this space – details to follow.
Fish & Chips Evening
The Cathedral Community is organising a Fish & Chips Supper with Fun & Games together with us at St Andrew’s on Saturday 24th September at 6.30pm. Tickets from me – no need to message the Cathedral Office!
Harvest Festival 2nd October
Following the success last year (see some pictures below of the amazing and joyful teamwork) we are doing another Harvest Lunch in the Parish Hall after the Mass on Sunday 2nd October.
Details about the event and how to get tickets will follow soon, but please make a note of the date. Help will be needed (as last year) for
- Saturday 1st October between 9am to 12pm (setting up the hall, decorations, food preparation)
- Sunday 2nd October between 11.30am and 2pm (serving food, washing up, tidying up).
As last year, there will also be a collection point for gifts for Leicester City of Sanctuary to enable us to share something with those who are less fortunate.
I managed to persuade (🥹🥹🥹) Laura Johnson to hold the reins this year and be the contact person for organising the event – the more people offer help the happier the occasion will be! If you already know you would like to be involved please have a word with Laura or with me.
Percussion Concert 14th September
Percussionist Steven Moore is performing an exciting concert on Marimba and Vibraphone. Concerts throughout the country have been incredibly popular, with many selling out. Tickets are £2, with a retiring collection at the end (so you can give whatever you like). Please pre-book your tickets now to avoid disappointment!
Safeguarding Survey
National survivor survey launched to inform the CofE’s safeguarding work
A national survey of survivors and victims of abuse has been launched by the Church of England to listen to their views on the development and implementation of its safeguarding structure. It is an opportunity to be involved in the development and implementation of a Church of England survivor engagement framework, which will set out how victims and survivors of abuse will inform the Church’s work to develop and improve safeguarding.
The anonymous survey is available on the survivor engagement webpage of the Church of England’s website and runs for two months from 19 July until 18 September 2022. Find out more here.