As many of you will now know, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, in line with government advice, have issued guidance that all public worship be put on hold for the time being. This means that there will be no Sunday or weekday church services, including public Morning Prayer, until further notice.

However, the Church of England continues to be a strong presence of prayer and action in our communities. Our ministry team continues to say morning prayer daily at home, and now meets weekly for a private Eucharist on behalf of and to pray for the whole benefice We are also available for pastoral support, though this may be more by phone and email than in person as the need for social distancing and self-isolation grows, especially among the more vulnerable. The churches in Buckland, Charney Bassett, Longworth, Littleworth and Lyford are also open every day for private prayer. Please do feel free to go in and take some time to be still and reflect and pray, whenever you wish or need to do so.

Please do continue to check the Benefice website www.cherbury-gainfield.org for updates; and the clergy team will also continue our Thursday emails. As we are no longer doing public church services, we will instead share messages of hope and faith through the Thursday emails and on our website blog, so please stay in touch. It would presently seem that our website and emails are the best way of staying in touch with the majority of people, as they are regularly updated.

If you or someone you know would appreciate prayers or clergy support, please contact us via our website Contact Page. You can also phone or email any of the ministry team using the contacts listed in Village Voices.

Although we cannot for the time being meet together publicly on Sundays for worship and prayer, we do have resources for those who wish to follow the Church service of morning prayer, and these can be posted out to you on request, along with a list of bible readings references for each day. If you would like this, please email or phone the benefice office and this will be arranged for you as quickly as possible.

With prayers and blessings to you & all your families during this very difficult time,

Revd. Talisker, Revd. Jim, Revd. Tim & Lucy Gildersleeves