Revd Stephen G. F. Earl

Rector of &

The Rectory, Church Street, Lavenham, Sudbury, , CO10 9SA

Tel/Fax: 01787 247244 email: [email protected] Easter Eve 11 th April 2020

Dear Friends,

We come to the end of another week of ‘shutdown’ as Holy Week and its solemnity draws to a close and we enter Easter Week beginning with the most joyful, triumphal day of the Christian calendar!

Alleluia! Christ is risen! is the Church’s resounding cry. Although church buildings remain closed and services in church still cannot be held, the joy of the resurrection cannot be silenced!

The prayer and worshipping life continues undaunted and in whatever ways we can, and some of what we are learning may usefully not vanish when we ‘return to normal’. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in her recent address to the nation spoke of how in the ‘shutdown’ “many people of all faiths and of none” are having a rare opportunity “to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation”. And in so doing, we have a unique chance to re-evaluate and re-prioritise, as indeed is the tradition for Christians the world over during the season of Lent, and as we all may do at the start of a new year.

The pastoral ministry of all God’s people has stepped up many gears over the last fortnight in countless acts of sacrificial giving to others, showing the love and compassion of Christ in so many caring ways, and through the very best that can be engendered in human hardship. For Christians we are seeing before our very eyes that ‘the way of the Cross is none other than the path of life’; and conversely that ‘the path of life is none other that the way of the Cross’.

We have made it a priority not only to maintain our worship and prayer life as best we can, but also to ‘stay in touch’ with church members. • We have maintained our weekly pew sheets – emailed or delivered by hand; • at the same time distributing the sermons we have been unable to preach from the pulpit. • A weekly covering letter with information and encouragement has been included. • These items are being posted on facebook, and our two church websites, and on the roadside notice- board. • Our aim is to telephone everyone at least once a week who we usually see in our churches at Preston St Mary and Lavenham. • We have started an on-line Coffee Morning via Zoom on Wednesdays at 10am for chat and exchange of news. • And ‘church’ services from our homes continue using Zoom at the times we would normally have them in Lavenham. We may not have reached everyone but we are doing the very best we can; so if you know of anyone who has ‘slipped through the net’, do please let me know so they can be included.

Recordings of ‘zoomed’ services after the event are now available to church members wishing to see them, or see them again, for downloading. Email your requests for a ‘download link’ to Ordinand, Graham Naylor, [email protected]

I hope you and your loved ones are faring well, or at least as well as you possibly can, in these strained and challenging times. I also hope that what we are doing as a church in different ways from normal is proving helpful, especially to those who may be feeling isolated and lonely. The ‘shutdown’ has meant we have seen less ‘in person’ of our Ordinand, Helen Grover, from the North Hinckford benefice than we had planned during the second half of her Lenten placement with us, although she has continued to be very much with us via Zoom, learning this new form of communication like many of us! It has been a pleasure to welcome Helen who has been extremely enthusiastic about all she has observed here. Rather than say farewell on Easter Sunday as originally planned, she has extended her stay with us by a few days so we can do this during the on-line ‘zoomed’ 10am ‘Coffee Morning’ (with chat and exchange of news), followed immediately by a short service of Morning Prayer which she has kindly agreed to lead as her finale.

On a quite separate matter although Lavenham’s church accounts for the last calendar year having been independently examined show finances in fairly good shape up to 31st December 2019, the present situation is already causing a significant, and if I’m honest a worrying, dent in church income as spelled out on the pew sheet. Our extremely conscientious PCC Treasurer (Lavenham), John Knight, has expressed his concerns and asked that I include details in my letter of how people can still donate to the church whilst absent, even recognising some are maintaining their giving by standing order or direct debit; and also how hugely grateful we’d be to any who are able to make an extra Easter offering to help us through these challenging times. Account name: Lavenham Parochial Church Council Bank: Barclays Bank, 35 Market Hill Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2EP: sort code 20-83-50, account number 20567124. Account IBAN number, if required: GB73 BUKB 2083 5020 5671 24 and SWIFTBIC BUKB GB22 Address of the account holder: Lavenham PCC, 22 The Glebe, Sudbury Road, Lavenham, Suffolk, CO10 9SN.

The same can be said for Preston St Mary, so here also are Preston’s Church bank details. Account name: Preston Parochial Church Council Bank: Natwest Bank,7 Cornhill, , Suffolk, IP33 1BQ: sort Code: 60-04-16, account number: 56266243. Address of the account holder: Preston Parochial Church Council, Hill House Farm, Preston St Mary, Suffolk, CO10 9LT.

It’s not easy to mention the above at a time when many are facing extreme hardship; although last week a parishioner said to me ‘one good thing about being cooped up at home is that we are not spending our money’. That’s fine I guess for those on a regular fixed income or not significantly disadvantaged financi- ally by the current situation. Notwithstanding, thank you to those who have been able to make an extra donation already, and in anticipation thank you to others who may consider and be able to respond.

I came across this poem the other day in one of the many mailings offering support to clergy and congregations. I have put it on the pew sheet and would like to repeat it in drawing this letter to a close. It is all about how God can transform our darkest times into a seedbed of beauty:

‘A Locked Church’ by Alan Amos

Ah my dear Lord, the church is locked but let my heart be open to your presence; there let us make, you and I your Easter garden; plant it with flowers, and let the heavy stone be rolled away!

I hope and pray that, despite the challenges and difficulties of the present time, you have a very good Easter – the empty tomb a reminder of the Christian message that death does not have the last word, of light dispelling darkness, of hope overcoming fear, of enduring peace and new life… and that – ‘joy cometh in the morning’! (Psalm 30:5b) Stephen.

Information is being posted regularly on our church websites and facebook: Lavenham Church www.lavenhamchurch.onesuffolk.net and www.achurchnearyou.com/lavenham-st-peter-st-paul