News from Christ Church

How then shall we live?

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One of the PCC’s key goals for the year was encouraging us all to grow in confidence and action as an eco-congregation. With this is mind we are looking forward to all that God will
teach us over the next two months through our sermon series.

This week can we recommend the excellent free podcast which can be heard on BBC Sounds entitled ‘What planet are we on?’ launched last Thursday with Sir David Attenborough giving a perceptive interview. Also please consider joining the staff team on one of the series of five webinars produced by the Bristol Diocese Deconstructed Environment Online Conference starting on 19th October when Ruth
Valerio will speak on Why should Christians act and why now?

You can sign up here: https://www.bristol.anglican.org/news/deconstructed-environment-conference-online-thisoctober.php

How then shall we live?churchadmin2020-10-17T20:01:17+01:00

Hilliers Bereavement Service

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If you missed last Sunday’s Bereavement Service, you can watch an online recording below.

Hilliers Bereavement Servicechurchadmin2020-10-10T14:29:10+01:00

Mission Giving

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We promote a number of Christian charities throughout the year and our most recent Mission Sunday supported Send a Cow and The Willows counselling Service

Thank you on behalf of both charities for your kind support. If you missed the opportunity, then you can still give directly to the charities.

To support Send a Cow – donate online please make sure you mention Christ Church Swindon (please include Swindon as there are a few other Christ Churches who support us!)so that we can add that to the church total. You can also leave your gift in the plate on Sunday. Thank you so much for your support

To Support Willows Counselling – Donations can be made by Bank transfer to Willows Counselling –Lloyds, Sort Code 30-98-41 Account 00368513

Prayer support is much valued

Thank you again on behalf of both Mission partners

Mission Givingchurchadmin2020-10-10T14:35:59+01:00

Lunchtime Organ Recitals a great success

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Tim Eyles, our Director of Music, has completed a series of 4 lunchtime recitals on our recently refurbished organ to raise much needed funds for both the church and The Friends of Christ Church.

Thank you to all of you who supported Tim and gave generously. His recitals raised more than £250, split between the Friends and the Church. The organ can still be heard in the 2nd and 4th Sunday 10 am services or you can catch up with a recording of the service each week, after 1pm.

If you missed the chance to hear our organ in full flow, you can hear an extract below.

Tim Eyles – Music Director at Christ Church Organ

Listen to Tim play

Lunchtime Organ Recitals a great successchurchadmin2020-10-17T20:02:36+01:00

Season of Creation

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As we develop together as Eco congregations across our Old Town Partnership, Harvest Thanksgiving and Creation tide have an increasing significance. These days, from 1^st September into October have been designated the International Season of Creation. This year the global reach of Covid 19 has revealed anew our shared human nature and the interconnectedness of our lives, economies, healthcare systems, food chains, energy and transportation systems. The pandemic has also demonstrated that this complex web is rooted in the earth and limited by the earth’s capacity to sustain our economic and ecological needs. The unjust effects of climate change are a consequence of our inability to find a sustainable balance of this web.

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Season of Creationchurchadmin2020-12-14T19:39:23+00:00

A message from our Treasurer

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It is the time of year when we start to plan for 2021, including preparing our budget for Christ Church. In normal times, we would review the current year to date, and develop a stewardship campaign to support next year’s budget based on our future needs.

This year, of course, is a little different.

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has continued to give generously according to their ability throughout this year, both through regular giving and through the very welcome one-off donation that we have received to support our mission.

As you know, when the lockdown hit us in the spring, we had to carefully consider how this would affect our budgeting, especially given the reduced income from many of our usual sources. In mitigation we have made use of the government’s furlough scheme and reluctantly reduced the value of the Parish Share paid to Bristol Diocese. In this current financial year to the end of December however we are probably looking at taking about £35,000 from our reserves which is manageable for a year, but it is clearly not sustainable in the long term.

As we enter into the budget preparation for 2021, and with a likely continuing reduced income from many of our sources, we will be relying more heavily than ever on the generosity of our parishioners to meet our budget and deliver our mission, including running and staffing the PCC and the community centre.

Our message for the 2020 stewardship campaign is therefore simple: We always welcome legacies and donations at any time but increases in longer term regular giving in 2021 will help us to sustain our mission and that of the diocese into the future. Find out ways to give your financial support to the work of Christ Church

Andrew Yeoward – Treasurer

Stephen Grosvenor – Gift Aid Secretary

A message from our Treasurerchurchadmin2020-09-19T15:20:11+01:00

Lockdown Lessons

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Over the past 6 months, we have come to realise, more than ever, the importance of keeping in touch with our friends and supporters. Our KIT team has been making calls and connecting, where they can, with our friends across the town. The church closure has meant that many of our traditional ways of communication via leaflet, notices and flyers have not been possible.

At the same time, as we start to consider the implications of being a committed eco church, we have come to realise just how much paper we have saved and the benefits to our planet of doing so. It’s a small start, but like all such initiatives, it needs us all to think differently about how we find out what is going on in our Community.

If you are reading this, then you have taken the first step and signed up for our weekly newsletter and you hopefully know about our website https://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/ which works hard to keep you up to date with the parish and town. If you know of someone who might appreciate receiving our weekly news, then encourage them to sign up for our Newletter email at https://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/newsletter.php

Let’s identify those we are not in contact with due to Lockdown. What we are worried about though, is all those who do not have access to the internet or email. We need to ensure that we can continue to engage with them and share our news and events. We have set up a telephone number to enable those who cannot come to church to listen to our weekly service. If you know of anyone who would value using this service then please encourage them to dial 01225 541162. Calls are charged at local rates and you should warn the caller that there is a small 15 second silence whilst the audio file loads. Services typically last 45 minutes.

If you know someone – a friend or neighbour, who feels they belong to our community, then please encourage them to contact us – our parish office number is 522832 so that we can make arrangements to keep in touch with a regular newsletter. That way, what paper we do use is put to good use.

Lockdown Lessonschurchadmin2020-12-14T19:39:39+00:00

Return of choral singing

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No, not a bunch of bandits! It’s the choir at practice for the first time in 6 months.

Although congregational singing is still not allowed, Limited choral singing is now permitted. The choir will return on the second and fourth Sundays, starting on the 13th and again on 27th. Just in case you have forgotten what we sound like, you can hear us here.

Return of choral singingchurchadmin2020-10-17T20:03:18+01:00

Autumn Sermon Series

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**A look ahead to our Autumn programme of services 2020**

In various ways, we will explore in our worship, preaching, children’s material and Home Groups, what it means to be an eco-congregation and an inter-generational Christian learning community.

We will do this:

Through a sermon series on key Bible stories
Through welcome and learning in our Home Groups
By providing opportunities for our congregations to grow in Christian confidence
By encouraging us to read the Bible in a year, through a very helpful resource www.bibleinoneyear.org

The Programme

6^th Sept Love the Lord your God with all your heart, Soul, strength, and mind
13^th Sept Love your neighbour
20^th Sept Love yourself
27^th Sept Mission Gift Day: Send a Cow Charity

October/November/December Themes – Being an Eco Congregation. How then shall we live? – an exploration of our theology of Eco-church

4^th Oct Harvest Festival God and progress: The problem of blind ignorance
11^th Oct God and Nature: The problem of separation
18^th Oct God and Heaven: The Problem of after- life is left for after life. Old Town Partnership Pulpit Exchange – Robert Jordan preaching.
Friday 23^rd Oct Martin Palmer Friends of Christ Church lecture ‘Learning from Celebration Earth’
25^th Oct God and Us: The problem of Greed
1^st Nov All Saints Day – God and Salvation: The Salvation of Humankind. All Souls Bereavement Care gathering
8^th Nov Remembrance Sunday – in the light of Covid-19. How can our remembering lead us to transformation?
15^th Nov God and Conscience: The Salvation of Society
22^nd Nov Mission Gift Day Water Aid: Stream of Living Water
29^th Nov Advent Sunday: God in Me, what can I do?
6th Dec God in the Community: What can we do?
7th Dec Holy Innocents: we are all key workers.
13th Dec Preparing for Christmas in the midst of a world pandemic. Theme: Comfort
20th Dec Preparing for Christmas in the midst of a world pandemic. Theme: Joy
25th Dec Friday, Christmas Day Theme: New insights for 2020 as Jesus is born.

Autumn Sermon Serieschurchadmin2020-10-17T20:04:35+01:00

Take a look at our Children’s resources page

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Each week, Children can join in with our services listening to bible stories and using fun resources on our Children’s corner pages.

We are posting a variety of materials to help our younger parishioners and friends enjoy and understand our Bible stories.

https://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/blog/children/

Take a look at our Children’s resources pagechurchadmin2020-09-24T13:04:24+01:00

The first bible is creation

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This icon is based on the Pantocrator icon in St Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. The first bible is creation, so here i have removed the usual ‘icon’ of the Bible, and put in its place the first ‘bible’ – Creation in all its glory. The saints more or less seem to find spiritual experiences outside, rarely in our buildings. I have also removed the traditional red surround of the Byzantine icons because creation is borderless, instead the red ribbon that links all beings together.

As I begin to understand that the Cosmic Christ is in everything it changes my perspective that everything has value, a soul and a voice. This changes my interaction with them, everything is an equal rather than an object. Therefore, I start to treat everything with subjectivity rather than objectivity. The planet as the body of Christ.

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The first bible is creationchurchadmin2020-08-30T17:08:19+01:00

The Bells are ringing

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To mark the end of the Second World War, the bells rang out at Christ Church.Here’s an extract of the goose-bump ringing that took place on 15th August at 11am after 2 minutes of silence. A big thank you to ringers Gordon, Shirley, Alan, Peter and Ruth. Socially distanced ringing meant they rang call changes and some plain hunting.

The Bells are ringingchurchadmin2020-09-24T13:03:42+01:00