Dear All, I am not sure how far the news spread earlier this year that I had bought a house in North Yorkshire - a house to retire to. I have been faffing around for ages as to when to retire and where to retire to. As a single person this is a big decision, and the protocol is not to retire where you have served as a priest, so it means a fresh start. However, a way opened up and I have felt God’s call to North Yorkshire for the next phase of my following him. As the house needed a lot of work done, it made sense to have it done before I move in so didn’t fix a date to leave then. Now I have. My final Sunday here will be September 12th. Keep the day free as there will be a service and eats (I hope – Covid permitting). I have met and got to know so many of you in my time here that I hope you’ll feel able to come, whether you count yourself as a signed up church member or not. I will miss you all and it is the hardest part about leaving. When I arrived here back in 2006, my remit as the new Team Rector was to bring the 8 churches into a team (they hadn’t been before). I replaced 2 ½ paid clergy at that point. That meant a lot of upheaval and anxiety then. However I knew even then that the way forward for small churches such as exist in villages was to work together as a team. None would be sustainable on their own. I knew they would never be served by more paid clergy and possibly less. Down the years, we have been blessed by having retired clergy and lay ministers who have helped so much and are not paid, as well as curates here for their training time. However, it is bizarre that now I come to leave, the churches find themselves in a state of upheaval again. More change lies ahead – hastened by a drop in income due to Covid and fewer available clergy – the diocese is undertaking a big review of how churches across the diocese will be organised and staffed. We do not know yet how that will affect the Woodfield Team. For those who don’t know the process, an outgoing priest is never replaced immediately, there is always a gap (ask me if you want to know why). At present, I won’t be replaced for a while pending the decisions to be made as to reorganization across the whole diocese. However the Team is better placed than many as you have Revd Rick Tett who will be heading up the enterprise together with our valiant band of lay ministers and retired clergy (not paid) and of course Revd Wilma Colley, our curate, (also not paid) until her curacy comes to an end next year. It will mean that we need all hands on deck from everyone though and we will need all to play their part. That is where things stand for now. For me it all seems very strange after nearly 31 years of being a parish priest to look to a new way of life. It will seem strange for you that I won’t be here and things will change. I know however that we are all in God’s hands and we matter to him. That is our stability in times of change. God bless. Vivien EVERYDAY FAITH: July 13th at 7pm Continuing on from last month, Everyday Faith will continue (by popular demand) with more of a Bible study looking at the early chapters of the book of Revelation – that last book of the Bible that has flummoxed more people than any other part of the bible. The meeting will be on Zoom so contact Vivien Elphick on [email protected] for the link. COVID GUIDANCE AND RISK ASSESSMENTS Ever since Coronavirus came along, we as churches have had to observe a very strict regime around sanitizing, mask wearing, social distancing and not singing. Risk assessments which give an idea of what we have been doing are on the church website. When the government announces a change in what is allowed, we can’t always act immediately as we then have to wait for detailed guidance to come through from the Church of England; the Cof E in turn has to negotiate what is needed with government departments. At the time of going to print with this edition of the parish magazine, Step 4 of the government’s plan will not take place until July 19th. For weddings and funerals, the number allowed depends on the size of the building and how many it can hold socially distanced. It also depends on the size of ‘bubbles’ so even then it is not an exact science. We are working to a figure of 50 at Donisthorpe church. A NEW HEART FOR THE WHOLE PARISH Potentially the most important development in the Parish in the last 20 years! We have approval to revitalise St John’s Church, Donisthorpe into a new beating heart to focus community activity over the next millennia. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. An ambitious project to use St John’s Church building both to continue to provide spiritual sustenance and to be open for use by the community for the benefit of many. We have already announced the glad tidings that after huge amounts of work and effort we have permission to alter completely the interior of St John’s, while keeping the exterior basically as built in the 1800s. The project isn’t to provide a church interior that just looks different but serves only for Sunday worship. It is to provide an exciting and enhanced new space for all to use: the school, clubs and more. It will benefit so many is many different ways. We’ve held to this vision to provide the community space ever since the church hall had to be closed in 2007. The challenge is to raise £500,000 to provide the area with this centre available for so many different people. We’re over half way there with the money from the sale of the church hall. Our desire is to raise the balance within the next 12-18 months. And we need your help! We want this to happen but need you on board too. 1. Is there anyone who is good at videography who could make a promotional video for us? So that we can show you all exactly what is to happen. Contact Vivien on 01530 270354 2. We have some limited funds left from money given for the repair and updating of the church hall – given over 15 years ago. We would like to use that money for this project. To that end we set out here a formal notice to change the use for this money Parochial Church Council: St John’s, Donisthorpe with Moira and Stretton-en-le-Field Purpose for which money or other property was given: for the repair and upgrading of the Donisthorpe Church Hall, Church Street, Donisthorpe NOTICE is given that money and other property given for this purpose cannot be used for that purpose because: • In 2007, the church hall was closed due to the state of disrepair and insufficient funds were available to re- open it • The hall has been sold and converted into residential accommodation If you gave money or other property for that purpose you are entitled to claim it back. If you wish to do so you must tell Revd Vivien Elphick of The Vicarage, High Street, Measham DE12 7HZ within 3 months of the date of this publication. If you wish the money or other property to go to a similar charitable purpose and to disclaim your right to the return of the money or other property, you must ask the person named above for a form of disclaimer. If you do not either make a claim within the three months or sign a disclaimer, the Charity Commission may make a Scheme applying the property to other charitable purposes. You will still be able to claim the return of your money or other property (less expenses), but only if you do so within 6 months from the date of any Scheme made by the Commission. Date of this notice: the date of this publication RIDE AND STRIDE DAY: Saturday September 11th JThe annual Ride and Stride day is fast approaching! Can you help? Can you ride your bike or walk between churches and again get sponsorship. It’s all in aid of the Leicester Historic Churches Trust. Half of the money raised goes to the Trust for the upkeep of Leicestershire’s historic churches (and that includes us!) and half comes back to our local church. Please contact Joan Smith Tel: 01530 515068 if you can help by riding or striding. SERVICES ACROSS THE WOODFIELD TEAM. All services begin at 10am. Because we operate as a Team of 8 churches, there is a service every Sunday at one of the churches – so if it isn’t a Sunday for Donisthorpe, you’d be really welcome at one of the others. JULY July 4th: Swepstone (MP); Donisthorpe, Packington and Snarestone (all HC) July 11th: Measham, Normanton-le-Heath and Swepstone (all HC) and Norton juxta Twycross (MP) (5pm Zoom service) July 18th: Donisthorpe (baptism and family service), Normanton-le-Heath, Swepstone, and Packington (all HC) July 25th: Donisthorpe (MP); Swepstone and Appleby (HC); Measham (Baptism and family service) (5pm Zoom service) AUGUST August 1st: Measham, Normanton-le-Heath and Snarestone (all HC); Packington (baptism) August 8th: Swepstone (MP), Norton juxta Twycross , Appleby AND Packington (all HC) (5pm Zoom service) August 15th: Donisthorpe, Normanton-le-Heath and Swepstone (all HC); Measham (baptism) August 22nd: Normanton-le-Heath, Packington and Appleby (all HC) (5pm Zoom service) August 29th: Donisthorpe (baptism and family service), Measham and Appleby (HC) FOREST CHURCH IS MEETING AGAIN! Come along on Sunday August 1st at 4pm.