Longcot Village

Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary Longcot,

Please find attached the Benefice Newsletter and associated documents for tomorrow. 

St Mary, Longcot.  Richard Fergusson will lead a service of Morning Prayer at St Mary tomorrow and it will begin at 9.30am.

Longcot Gardeners.  The Longcot Gardeners will be in the churchyard tomorrow morning from 10am to 1pm.  A considerable amount of work has been carried out in the churchyard over the winter but, inevitably, there is more to do!  Our thanks are due to all those who have given and continue to give so willing of their time.

Old Pews.  As part of the refurbishment of St Mary and the creation of the community hub, we have received permission from the CofE to dispose of some of our old pews.  These are currently residing in a barn near the church. We have passed on several of the pews for small donations to church funds but there are still some pews remaining.   If you would like to have one of them for a garden bench or seating in an old house then please make contact with me or one of the other PCC members to arrange a viewing.

Date for the Diary – Dedication of The Community Hub in St Mary.  On Sunday 29^th May the Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire will be dedicating the new Community Hub in St Mary.  Proceedings will begin with a Holy Communion service in the church at 11am led by the Archdeacon of Dorchester.  There will then be a short break whilst those  Villagers not attending the service are warmly invited to join us.  There will then be the formal dedication, which will be followed by refreshments.  It will be an opportunity for us all to say ‘thank you’ to the many villagers who contributed so generously to the refurbishment, as well as representatives from those grant-giving bodies whose support was essential to completing the project.  More details will be published once we have worked them out.

Longcot Methodist Chapel.  The usual United Service will be held tomorrow in the Methodist Chapel at 3pm.  It is the 25^th Anniversary of the re-dedication of the building, so is a very special date in the Methodist calendar.

Best Wishes,

Dennis

Longcot with Fernham PCC

Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary Longcot,

Please find attached the Benefice Newsletter and associated documents for tomorrow.

St Mary, Longcot. We are holding a Benefice Holy Communion at St Mary on Sunday.  The Revd Norma will lead the service and we will be joined by the choir.  Please note the slightly later start time of 10am.  There will be refreshments afterwards.  Several members of the St Mary home team are unavailable this week, so please do come along if you are free, and help Chris Gotch with the meeting and greeting of the congregation.

COVID Arrangements. A couple of people have asked me what the COVID arrangements are in St Mary, now that England has ended many of the restrictions.  I would draw your attention to what Norma has written in the Newsletter. Perhaps some more explanation for those who wish it.  This is a period of transition as we move towards a full easing of restrictions.  Whilst wearing a face covering indoors is no longer mandatory, we would still encourage you to exercise discretion, and give others space. There is plenty of room to do this. The pews will remain as they are so they offer a degree of social distancing.  The chairs on the mezzanine will also be spaced out.  Please do not come into church if you think you may have symptoms of Covid 19. For now please continue to sign in or use the NHS QR code.  Hand sanitizer will also continue to be available.  Holy Communion will be offered in one kind only ie just the wafer.  Norma will be masked at the start and finish of the service and for the distribution of the communion wafers.  She will bring these to members of the congregation wherever they are seated, either in their pews or in the chairs on the mezzanine. And, finally, please respect the concerns of others in the congregation.

Local Villages Newsletter.  Please also find attached the February Edition of the local Villages Newsletter.

Best Wishes,

Dennis

Longcot with Fernham PCC

Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary Longcot,

Please find attached the Benefice Newsletter and associated documents for tomorrow. 

St Mary, Longcot. The Revd Norma will lead our Holy Communion tomorrow morning at St Mary.  The service will begin at 9.30am. 

Best Wishes,

Dennis

Longcot with Fernham PCC

Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary Longcot,

Please find attached the Benefice Newsletter and associated documents for tomorrow. 

St Mary, Longcot. There is no service at St Mary tomorrow but there will be Holy Communion at Ashbury, which will begin at 11am.  It will be Canon Paul’s last service before departing for sunnier climes in the North-East.  We wish him well.

Best Wishes,

Dennis

Longcot with Fernham PCC

Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary Longcot,

Please find attached the Benefice Newsletter and associated documents for tomorrow. 

Holy Communion at St Mary, Longcot.  Tomorrow’s Holy Communion Service will be led by Canon Paul and will begin at 9.30am.  There will be a mini-ring for Canon Paul by the Bell Ringers after the service.

Best Wishes,

Dennis

Longcot with Fernham PCC

Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary Longcot,

Please find attached the Benefice Newsletter and associated documents for Christmas Day. 

Christmas Eve Mass.  Christmas Eve Mass tonight will be led by Norma and will begin at 11.30pm.  Our thanks also to Chris Gotch who has kindly agreed to act as sidesman for the service.

Last Sunday’s Village Carol Service.  The PCC would like to thank all those who attended last Sunday’s Carol Service and especially those who contributed to the celebration, including the bell ringers, the flower arrangers, the iPad operator, those who read lessons and lit the candles, and of course to Canon Paul for taking the service.  It was a wonderful event and with the bell ringers in the Mezzanine we were able to show off the new build to good effect.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everybody,

Dennis

Longcot with Fernham PCC 

The meeting will take place on Saturday 20 November 2020 at 11.00am.