UPDATED - A letter on Behalf of the Church in the Six Villages

We are here for you 

What a week already! Whoever would have expected this just a few days ago.
We live in unprecedented times when many are anxious about the present never mind the future. given the Government announcements in recent days. Now, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday 23rd March 2020, the Church of England’s Archbishops and Bishops have now extended the current suspension of public worship to include the closure of all church buildings too. This is because it is important that we STAY AT HOME apart from essential trips. 

But we are still here for you 

Your local church community is still here, working with others (other churches, parish and local councils, Foodbank, other volunteers) where we can to serve you, to be available to you and especially for the most vulnerable in our village communities. We would like to encourage generosity in providing support for the Foodbank if possible (see the ‘Spareable’ app on the relevant app stores).

Although the church building in your village will be closed, as a “dispersed praying community” we are praying for your village community each day at the set times below. We invite you to join us to pray, as you can wherever you are at home. We are developing resources to help this, see: www.thesix.org.uk

• Daily Prayer: Monday to Friday at 12:00 noon & 5:00pm

• Sunday Worship: 10:30am
• Sunday Lighting of a Candle: 7:00pm 

Although originally just intended for Mothering Sunday, we invite you to continue to light and place a candle (or any light) in the window each Sunday evening as a sign of hope. In doing so please be conscious of fire safety. Let’s see as many lights as possible lighting up windows as the week's pass.

We are aware that many may be worried and struggling in some way during this period. Do not struggle alone. There are many who can help and listen. Do ask. If you wish for help from our churches, do contact me in the first instance. I can then put you in touch with others in the communities who can and are willing to help

"The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not (cannot) overcome this light". These words from John’s Gospel remind us of God’s promise that no matter what life brings, the Lord says “I am with you”. In the midst of the storms the Lord Jesus met his panicked disciples and said "It is I, do not be afraid. Where is your faith?" In the midst of this particular storm engulfing our individual lives, our nation and our world at this time may we hear the Lord’s promise
“I am with you”. 

Sometimes
only in the darkest moments of life
as the storms gather and rage
and everything is shaken,
do we see the light
that has been present all along,
shining brightly.

A prayer for our six villages

Lord Jesus we thank you 

for the light of your presence in our midst
for your love which casts out all fear.
We pray that you will carry us through
these stormy uncertain times
praying especially for all those
who are vulnerable in our villages at this time,
praying for all those coming together 
from different groups to serve our communities,
for all those working in our healthcare system,
for all those working hard to provide for what we need.
As many feel caught in a dark tunnel of anxiety and fear,
may we each be your lights, helping others find the way through.
In the power of the Spirit and in your name we pray.
Amen!

Let us hope. Let us love.

Let us be hands & voices of hope.
Let us be hands and voices of love.
In Jesus’ name, in the power of the Spirit.
Peace be with you. 
Amen.

Every blessing

Julian

Rev Julian Staniforth

Rector & Priest-in-Charge of The Six benefice

Upchurch with Uplift, Hartlip, Lower Halstow, 

Newington, Iwade and Stockbury

t: 01795 227329

e: julian.staniforth@gmail.com
w: www.thesix.org.uk

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The Gabriel - April 2020

Dave Candy
Email: upchurchgabriel@gmail.com
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Swale Borough Council Offices Closed

Following the new measures implemented by Government yesterday evening, the decision has been taken to close Swale Borough Council offices to the public.

Our Faversham office closed today and Swale House will be closed to the public from tomorrow morning (Wednesday 25th March).

To help stop the spread of the virus, we all need to abide by the new measures.

You should only leave the house for:

• Shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible.

• One form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household.

• Any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.

• Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.

Even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.

For the latest information and advice from the government, visit: www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Swale Borough Council

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Extracts from The Gabriel Church News Supplement - April 2020

By reason of the current Government restrictions on movement, we are unable to produce the April 2020 issue of The Gabriel.

I edit the Church Supplement and, of late, have been including additional sections by way of entertainment/interest.

Humour

Mrs Beamish

Mrs Beamish stands in church, expression calm and holy,

And when the organ plays, she mumbles hymns extremely slowly.

A pillar of St. Botolph’s for twenty years or more,

She does the flowers at Easter and the brass work on the door.

But recently St. Botolph’s has gained a brand-new vicar,

His name is Ken, he is single, and he wants the hymns sung quicker.

And he’s introduced a custom, which Mrs Beamish hates,

And she rounds upon the person next to hear and clearly states:

“Don’t you dare shake hands with me or offer signs of peace.

You lay a finger on me and I’ll call the Police.

Don’t whisper ‘Peace be with you’, this is the C of E,

So, bend the knee, say ‘thou’ and ‘thee’ and keep your hands off me.”

Ken tells us ‘love your neighbour’ and Mrs Beamish sneers:

“I only love my neighbours if I’ve known them thirty years.”

Even when it isn’t Christmas, he lets youngsters in the Church.

He’s altered all the music after audience research.

They shout out ‘Alleluia’, they don’t act like me and you.

The young women don’t wear hats and the young men quite often do.

They seem to like their hands enthusiastically wrung,

Then they turn to Mrs Beamish and feel her acid tongue:

“Don’t you dare shake hands with me, I don’t know where you’ve been,

You lay a finger on me and you’ll feel this tambourine.

Don’t whisper ‘Peace be with you’, this is the C of E,

So, bend the knee, say ‘thou’ and ‘thee’ and keep your hands off me.”

In the beginning was the Word, read out loud by Thora Herd,

Harry Secombe then would scream “Morning has broken” by a stream.

Now the organ’s gone for scrap, even vicar (wants to) clap.

“Alleluia” Mrs Beamish, Mrs Beamish.

Alleluia, she’s squeamish, so squeamish.

“Don’t you dare shake hands with me or turn to me and smile.

You’ll wake up spitting teeth out face downwards in the aisle.

Don’t whisper ‘Peace be with you’, this is the C of E,

If you go one inch too far, you’ll end up wearing that guitar.

One false step in my direction, you’ll need to believe in the resurrection.

So, bend the knee, say ‘thou’ and ‘thee’ and keep your hands off me.”

During Sunday school, the teacher asked her class of those in their first year if anyone could describe a Christian. A little boy quickly raised his hand and stated, “Christians are nice people who never complain, argue, or talk back.” He then added, “My Daddy is a good Christian, but my Mother isn’t.”

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

One day an elephant saw a hummingbird lying on its back with its tiny feet up in the air. “What are you doing?” asked the elephant. The hummingbird replied, “I heard that the sky might fall today, and so I am ready to help hold it up, should it fall.” The elephant laughed cruelly. “Do you really think,” he said, “that those tiny feet could help hold up the sky?” The hummingbird kept his feet up in the air, intent on his purpose as he replied, “Not alone. But each must do what he can. And this is what I can do.”

Baptisms

1st March Alice Violet Maggs

15th March Edward David Webber

15th March Ellis Joseph Grundstokes

Funeral

20th March Clive Dennis

GOD BLESS YOU

William J. Little

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KCC Country Parks Stay Open

KCC is keeping its nine country parks open - in line with the latest guidance outlined by the Prime Minister last evening (Monday 23rd) - but the car parks will be closed.

A spokesman said:

“We agree with the government view, that parks are an important community facility and can be the ideal venue for personal exercise.

However, in an effort to keep the numbers manageable and to facilitate the required social distancing, we are closing our car parks. We will continue to welcome visitors who arrive on foot or on horseback.

We will continue to monitor the number and behaviour of visitors to ensure that the government’s guidelines are adhered to.”

Murray Evans

Kent County Council

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HM Government - Emergency COVID-19 Alert

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that everyone must now stay at home except in exceptional circumstances, to protect our NHS and save lives.

Special Brief: Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives

Stay at home

You must stay at home, only leaving for the following very limited purposes:

• Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible.

• One form of exercise a day – for example, a run, walk or cycle – alone or with members of your immediate household.

• Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.

• Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.

Protect the NHS

You must stay at home to protect the NHS:

• The NHS only has a limited number of doctors, nurses and specialist equipment.

• We are working around the clock to increase NHS capacity.

• The more people who get sick, the harder it is for the NHS to cope.

• We must slow the spread of the disease so that fewer people are sick at any one time.

Save lives

You must stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives:

• Police will disperse gatherings of more than two people in public, excluding people you live with.

• Police will issue fines to anyone who does not comply with these rules.

• Police will close all shops that are not essential, as well as playgrounds and places of worship.

The Prime Minister’s Address to the Nation

“The coronavirus is the biggest threat this country has faced for decades – and this country is not alone.

All over the world we are seeing the devastating impact of this invisible killer

And so tonight I want to update you on the latest steps we are taking to fight the disease and what you can do to help.

And I want to begin by reminding you why the UK has been taking the approach that we have.

Without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope; because there won’t be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses.

And as we have seen elsewhere, in other countries that also have fantastic health care systems, that is the moment of real danger.

To put it simply, if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the NHS will be unable to handle it - meaning more people are likely to die, not just from Coronavirus but from other illnesses as well.

So it’s vital to slow the spread of the disease.

Because that is the way we reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment at any one time, so we can protect the NHS’s ability to cope - and save more lives.

And that’s why we have been asking people to stay at home during this pandemic.

And though huge numbers are complying – and I thank you all - the time has now come for us all to do more.

From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction - you must stay at home.

Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households.

That is why people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes:

• shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible

• one form of exercise a day - for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household;

• any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and

• travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

That’s all - these are the only reasons you should leave your home.

You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.

You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home.

You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine — and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can.

If you don’t follow the rules the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.

To ensure compliance with the Government’s instruction to stay at home, we will immediately:

• close all shops selling non-essential goods,​ including clothing and electronic stores and other premises including libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship;

• we will stop all gatherings of more than two people in public – excluding people you live with;

• and we’ll stop all social events​, including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies, but excluding funerals.

Parks will remain open for exercise but gatherings will be dispersed.

No Prime Minister wants to enact measures like this.

I know the damage that this disruption is doing and will do to people’s lives, to their businesses and to their jobs.

And that’s why we have produced a huge and unprecedented programme of support both for workers and for business.

And I can assure you that we will keep these restrictions under constant review. We will look again in three weeks, and relax them if the evidence shows we are able to.

But at present there are just no easy options. The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost.

And yet it is also true that there is a clear way through.

Day by day we are strengthening our amazing NHS with 7500 former clinicians now coming back to the service.

With the time you buy – by simply staying at home - we are increasing our stocks of equipment.

We are accelerating our search for treatments.

We are pioneering work on a vaccine.

And we are buying millions of testing kits that will enable us to turn the tide on this invisible killer.

I want to thank everyone who is working flat out to beat the virus.

Everyone from the supermarket staff to the transport workers to the carers to the nurses and doctors on the frontline.

But in this fight we can be in no doubt that each and every one of us is directly enlisted.

Each and every one of us is now obliged to join together.

To halt the spread of this disease.

To protect our NHS and to save many many thousands of lives.

And I know that as they have in the past so many times.

The people of this country will rise to that challenge.

And we will come through it stronger than ever.

We will beat the coronavirus and we will beat it together.

And therefore I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.”

Full guidance on staying at home and away from others: https://bit.ly/2UfdPhx

How to protect yourself and others: nhs.uk/coronavirus

#coronavirus | #COVID_19

Upchurch Matters

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