Welcome S tratton Team Ministry S eeking, Sharing and Serving God Together

St. Margaret’s, Stratton Coleview St. Mary Magdalene, South Marston St. Leonard’s, Stanton Fitzwarren

Church Prayer The Lord be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. Help us to be a blessing to each other and our communities that your ways may be known among us. Let all the people praise you, O God let all the people praise you, Amen The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, on the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh:

"It is with much sadness that we heard the news today of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. Amidst the sadness at his death, the parishes of the Diocese of Bristol also give thanks for his life and service to our country and beyond, and for his support for Her Majesty the Queen. I had the privilege of meeting the Duke of Edinburgh on a variety of occasions while I was Dean of Leicester. He advised me on a possible design for a new heating system in our Visitor Centre and was honest and humorous about the frustrations of illness which he bore with fortitude while continuing with royal duties and public commitments. The prayers of the people of the Diocese of Bristol will combine with those of the nation and commonwealth for Her Majesty the Queen and all the Royal family in their grief. May they each find consolation and hope in Christ at this Easter time." Submit a message to the online book of condolence for His Royal Highness Prince Philip and access the Prayer and Liturgical resources here. Open the QR Code reader on your phone. Hold your device over a QR Code so that it’s clearly visible within your smartphone’s screen. Your smartphone reads the code and navigates to the Church of England website book of condolence. This may not happen instantly. It may take a few seconds on most devices Dear Church Family

It was with great sadness that I heard the news of Prince Phil- lip’s passing yesterday, may he rest in peace and rise in glory. I’m sure you will join me in offering our condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the family. Tributes from around the world are flooding in and some of you may have your own per- sonal memories of the Duke. We have been instructed to use online condolence books only and the link to that is in this news sheet. He was a man of faith who lived a great and long life, so while there is deep sadness there is also comfort of a full life. The Prince leaves a legacy of good works and charities that will continue to care for the environment and young people (through the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme). We keep the Royal Family and Her Majesty in our prayers.

It was wonderful to be together to celebrate Easter. There are of course still restrictions and we are nowhere near being back to normal, if anyone can remember what that was like of course, but we’re back!

Our plan is to continue with a service in each church every Sunday (Stanton’s family service may remain on zoom a while longer). From May, communions will return and each church will have a Eucharist once a month. Of course all this is subject to change, my hope is that things will change for the better.

When Jesus left the tomb a new era began for his followers but their story doesn’t end there. We will see over the coming months how there was so much for them to learn. We too are hopefully coming out of this pandemic but our story doesn’t end with our service last Sunday.

We will need to learn, to adapt, to move forward and imagine new ways of being. Just as the early church made mistakes so may we, but a willingness to try is all we need. We will have to step out in faith, we will have to pause and reflect, we may have to adjust, we may not always get what we want, we will have to trust God and each other and we will have to have courage. All of these things you already have in abundance we will get through this together, the future is ex- citing if still a little uncertain.

Blessings Elveen

The Transforming Church Together The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, said: “As Bishop of Bristol, I am called to be the Bishop for everyone. As Anglicans, as the Church of England, we are called to be a church for everyone. This remains at the core of all that we do and means we must be relentlessly inclusive in our approach, reaching out to everyone in our diocese.” Transforming church. A message from the Bishop of Bristol - YouTube Thank you to all those who took part last Wednesday lots of interesting discussions Please also complete the individual questionnaire at www.bristol.anglican.org If you have any additional comments or questions, please email [email protected] If you need to speak to someone, call Bristol Diocese on 0117 906 0100 and someone from the team will be in touch Returning to Sunday communal worship service pattern for April 9:30am St Leonards Stanton 11:00am on second Sundays family service 9:30am St Margaret's Stratton 11:00am St Mary Magdalene South Marston Starting from May Holy communion services across the team St Margaret’s 1st Sunday of the month St Mary Magdalene 2nd Sunday of the month St Leonards 3rd Sunday of the month

PLEASE NOTE Under current pandemic circumstances all services are subject to change. Please see our website for the most up to date information www.strattonteamministry.co.uk We will endeavour to give as much notice as possible to any changes but that may not always be possible. You are welcome to call the church office 01793 826505

Stratton Team Ministry is pleased to welcome you for Private Prayer: St Margaret's Church will be open by appointment please call the office on 01793 826505 or email [email protected]. St Mary Magdalene's Church will be open on Sunday afternoons until 5pm, and from 9am until 5pm every Wednesday St Leonard's Church will be available for private prayer by phoning Roger and Liz Hillman on 01793 762935. They will arrange with you for the building to be open at a time that can be quiet and safe. Week Worship Monday 12th April 9am - Morning Prayer Online Via strattonteamministry Psalm 19, Deuteronomy1: 3 - 18 and John 20: 1 - 10

Tuesday 13th April 9am - Morning Prayer Online Via strattonteamministry Psalm 8, Deuteronomy1: 19 - 40 and John 20: 11 - 18

Wednesday 14th April 9am - Morning Prayer Online Via strattonteamministry Psalm 30, Deuteronomy3: 18 - end and John 20: 19 - end

Thursday 15th April 9am - Morning Prayer Online Via strattonteamministry Psalm 28, Deuteronomy4: 1 - 14 and John 21: 1 - 14

Friday 16th April 9am - Morning Prayer Online Via strattonteamministry Psalm 61, Deuteronomy4: 15 - 31 and John 21: 15 - 19

Saturday 17th April 9am - Morning Prayer Online Via strattonteamministry Psalm 84, Deuteronomy4: 32 - 40 and John 21: 20 - end

Sunday 18th April 10am - Sunday Service Online Via Stratton Team Ministry 9:30am - Sunday Service At St Margaret’s, Stratton 9:30am - Sunday Service At St Leonard’s Stanton Fitzwarren 11am - Sunday Service At St Mary Magdalene, South Marston

Online services via strattonteamministry

The Morning Prayer & Sunday Services will all be available after on our website www.strattonteamministry.co.uk Sunday 18th April THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Principal Service Readings  Acts 3: verses 12 - 19  1 John 3: verses 1 - 7

Online services via strattonteamministry don’t need to have a Facebook account to access this but it helps.

The Morning Prayer & Sunday Services will all be available after on our website www.strattonteamministry.co.uk Contacts: Team Office: Tel: 01793 826505 email: [email protected] Websites: www.strattonteamministry.co.uk www.southmarstonchurch.wordpress.com www.stantonchurch.info Facebook: @StrattonTeamMinistry