Links

17th March 2020 : Please click here for a formal communication concerning the ongoing Coronavirus situation in the UK, from The Methodist Church in Great Britain and the Vale of Stour Circuit.

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Christianity - what’s it all about in the face of Coronavirus
Why not explore...

https://christianity.org.uk/help-me

There is help here, and good news for all.

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Please click here for a letter from the President and Vice President of the Methodist Conference,

a personal message from the President, the Revd Dr Barbara Glasson
about racism in our communities,

an official statement from the Methodist Church in response to the brutal killing of George Floyd,

and a call from Methodist Faith Leaders call for a green recovery.

Take a look at the Church's perspective on Justice in the light of recent events across the world…

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(Links updated Wednesday 23rd September)

Please click on any of the links below, to go to...

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We trust and pray that these links may prove helpful, beneficial and a source of comfort for you in this uncertain time.

Please be aware that these links will take you to external sites, and although they have been checked, the Vale of Stour Circuit is not responsible for their contents.

CIRCUIT NEWS

Superintendent Minister's VoS Circuit Letter Sept 2020 pdf, courtesy of Rev Alan Combes

Rev Rachel Parkinson, our District Chair, reflects on Psalm 23 - YouTube link

A Sunday Reflection from our District Chair - Rev Rachel Parkinson - YouTube link

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Rev Helen Croft's Welcome Service

Due to social distancing, Rev Helen Croft's Welcome Service at Brierley Hill on Sunday 6th September will be by invitation only : BUT the service will be filmed and made available a few days after on the Circuit Website Virtual Player which can be found here:

https://www.valeofstour.org.uk/virtual-church/player

So watch out for that….

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Bible Study Challenge

Lots of people have said how much they would appreciate daily Bible Study Readings… so please click here

http://www.kingswinfordmethodist.co.uk/files//PDF/Readings.pdf

for an advanced list you may enjoy, provided by one of our circuit Churches - Kingswinford.
The readings follow the lectionary readings on the Methodist website “A Word In Time”.

Beginning this coming Wednesday. 8th July, there will be a virtual coffee and a chat at 10:00am to share your thoughts about the week's readings, and all are welcome to log in and attend.

The link is here : https://church.valeofstour.org.uk/KfdBiblestudy

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Rev Josephine Soon's Reception into Full Connexion

The Vale of Stour Circuit rejoiced today - Saturday 27 June - to Rev Josephine Soon approaching the end of her journey to ordination.  In a service broadcast to the nation she was ‘received into full connexion’.

Being received into Full Connexion is an amazing moment.  People from all around the country elected as representatives to Methodist Conference, those present to support the ordinands and representatives from the world wide Methodist Church, stand together to affirm the call of God to each ordinand.  In particular conference recognises that this call has been tested over time and by God’s grace, they are now counted as worthy.  This moment welcomes the ordinands into ministry within the Methodist Church and deems them  ready to be ordained as a presbyter or a deacon.

Normally this would be followed on the same day by an Ordination Service but due to Covid-19 other plans will have to be made.

Rev Alan Combes
Methodist Minister
Superintendent - Vale of Stour Circuit

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Please see the Spring Newsletter pdf, from Claire Biggs, our Children And Families Worker

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Vale of Stour Circuit Services and Prayer Meetings On-Line
~~updated~~

We are now able to provide a dedicated Vale of Stour on-line centre for activities such as services and prayer meetings.
See the Virtual Church tab for more information and technical details !

NEW LIVE STREAM - please read carefully… thank you.

Dear Circuit

We are delighted to invite you to the VoSWorship LIVE STREAM on Sunday (20th September) at 6:30pm, lead by Rev Peter Bradley.  The service will be recorded and almost immediately available for those who wish to watch when more convenient.

For those wishing to attend worship this Sunday in one of our eight open Churches (Brierley Hill 11.15am, Kingswinford 10.30am, Kinver 10am, United Lye 10.45am, New Road 10.30am, Overend 10.45am, Lawrence Lane 10.45 and Wollaston 10.30am), please ensure you follow the current government guidelines for everyone to stay safe, including social distancing, the wearing of face masks, the "rule of 6", and remembering to stay at home if you have a cough or temperature.

For anyone unable to attend in person, we attach a full Order of Service here for you to use at home.

The service from last Sunday evening is currently available on VoSWorship and so you may wish to watch this on Sunday morning if you have not seen it.

Live streaming enables better quality sound and picture, it is accessible by a wider range of devices and software and it can be recorded which will allow folk to enjoy our weekly services at any time.  So this is an important step and we are grateful to the tech team for getting us to this point.

Coffee and a Chat

On the live stream page you will see links to Coffee Rooms at the top.  These will be open / staffed after the livestreamed worship.

HOW To Find the Live Stream

For nearly all of you - especially those on computers / laptops, you just need to do what you normally do and in your web browser (eg Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari etc) go to: 

https://church.valeofstour.org.uk/vosworship

You will be redirected to the live stream which will begin at about 6:25pm with an informal welcome and notices.

Problems - particularly phones and tablets?

Try this link instead:

 https://www.valeofstour.org.uk/virtual-church/live/vosworship

IF you find yourself inside VoSWorship there will be a steward on duty there to help you find your way to the live stream.
Clicking the link above should get you there.

Thank you for sharing this journey and bearing with us along the way.  And thanks to all those working in the background.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday as we continue to pray for our communities, the church and ourselves.  

God bless

Alan and the Team

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Holy Habits on Facebook Live

You are invited to join our very own Rev Andrew Roberts on Tuesdays, at 7:30pm, where he will be presenting the start of eight Holy Habits Facebook Live home groups followed by a 30-minute Q&A session live on Facebook.

To join the home groups and watch parties, simply follow the links below :

facebook.com/groups/holyhabitshomegroup

facebook.com/groups/holyhabitshomegroupaustralia

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Why not join the Circuit-Wide Lent WhatsApp Group ?

Rev Alan Combes invites you to join his WhatsApp Lent group - receiving daily reflections through WhatsApp (if you have a smart phone).  E-mail or phone the circuit office, or contact Rev Alan to find out how to do this :

  • Click here to contact Rev Alan - select the category "Circuit-Wide Lent WhatsApp Group"

  • or phone 01384 823146
     

NEW LINKS

Ministers' and Preachers' Reflections, Sermons, and Orders of Service
~~updated~~

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Health, Guidance, and Support Resources
 

Young Minds website, featuring

Self-Isolation Conversation Starter pdf
Young Minds Matter pdf

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NSPCC website - advice for you and your family with coping emotionally

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Looking After Your Feelings And Body pdf from Public Health England

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NHS site - tackling Working From Home

NHS site - looking after children and young people during COVID-19

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Poster for a Black Country Welfare 24-7 Support Line, showing links to

Sandwell Healthy Minds - 0303 033 9903
Wolverhampton Healthy Minds - 0800 923 0222
Black Country 24-7 Mental Health Support Line - 0345 6460827
and
Improving Access to Psychological Therapies :
- Dudley IAPT - 0800 953 0404
- Walsall IAPT - 0800 953 0995

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New Online Resources from Christianity.org.uk

Run by the Christian Enquiry Agency and part of Churches Together In England.
Visitors to the site can read a number of well written articles or watch short video that may answer their questions.
It’s worth a browse and visitors can then ask questions, request a free copy of Luke’s Gospel, or find a church from the site.  All this is available to your church website for free.

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The Joint Public Issues Team

The Joint Public Issues Team is found here -

www.jointpublicissues.org.uk

- and is a great source of contemporary, relevant Christian commentary on the world today.

They are analysis group that looks at all kinds of political and justice issues from a Christian perspective and produce reports, videos and study materials : part funded by the Methodist Church and including Methodist staff

Stay Alert…to Justice

Take a look at the Church's perspective on Justice in the light of recent events across the world…

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Links for helping families dealing with children who are grieving :

https://parentingforfaith.org/post/death-grief-and-coronavirus link

Supporting_bereaved_children_through_difficult_times pdf

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Click here for MH Self-Isolation Survival Guide pdf

An excellent home-schooling resource
for those of you with older children/teens to help them through isolation.

Provided by Forward Thinking Birmingham NHS Women and Childrens' Trust

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URC On Line Resources During the Crisis including Daily Devotions

The United Reformed Church (URC) is offering regularly updated advice and resources from a variety of sources about the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Please follow government advice: stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives. God is with us and being worshipped in creative ways around the denomination as churches are closed. 

The URC has produced a list of its churches providing digital services, available here

The URC Daily Devotions team is also offering a Sunday service in both written and audio formats, featuring a range of voices from around the denomination. Since 22 March, more than 1,000 people have signed up to bring the total number of Daily Devotions subscribers to a whopping 3,988. Sign up to the Daily Devotions here

While the Coronavirus situation persists, this page will contain useful links to :

We trust and pray that these links may prove helpful, beneficial and a source of comfort for you in this uncertain time.

Please be aware that these links will take you to external sites, and although they have been checked, the Vale of Stour Circuit is not responsible for their contents.