Berwick St John
St John the Baptist Church
Church update
The church is once more unlocked as it always was until COVID struck. The only exception is the 48 hours following a service, when it has to be kept locked.
‘Real’ services are happening again, and details will be up on the website.
The church continues to be open to residents of the village for private prayer only every Wednesday from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm.
For the time being, Chalke Valley Church is continuing to issue a weekly virtual service. These include the text of the service, and also links so that you can listen to the hymns, readings and messages from the clergy. The services are listed below, please click on the picture(s) to open.
You can also follow the church on their Facebook page: Chalke Valley Churches
and also on YouTube: Chalke Valley Churches where they are posting daily reflections.
Sunday 11th July
This Sunday’s service has been recorded by the Revd Catherine Blundell and can be viewed by clicking here
or on YouTube using the link below.
This Sunday will be Anna-Claar’s final service in the Benefice.
The service at Nunton will be held at 11.00am (not 9.30am) as listed on the service rota.
Please note that Quiet Prayer and Compline at Fifield Bavant is taking a Summer break and will resume in September.
Dear All
Our online services have been a joy, miraculous (who knew we could do it), but also a very demanding task. As the summer is going to be very busy with weddings and managing a clergy vacancy, the clergy team have considered the future of the online services.
Bearing in mind the results of the survey done by Roger, these are our conclusions. However, they based on the current situation regarding the pandemic. If, heaven forbid, we end up in another lockdown, we will of course reconsider.
We still get around 50 ‘views’ per Sunday but it is possible this number will change as all our churches reopen and ‘in church’ service become the norm once again. So, we have decided.
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June will be the last month for the services in the current format.
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July and August will have online services, but these will be in a simplified format.
If numbers decline to under 20 views per week during July and August, we will stop doing the online services. However, if numbers hold between, say, 35 to 45 we will consider what to do next.
Maybe, the future is ‘Online Specials’ to celebrate harvest and Christmas. Remember our Nine Lesson, Nine Readings from Nine Parishes? Surely, we should do that again.
Finally, we send our gratitude to you all. We could never have done these services without your encouragement and participation. They have sustained us through the long lockdowns, recording them is an experience they clergy will never forget, and it is possible they have reached more people than we expected or imagined.
During June and the first part of July you will continue to get a weekly Bulletin with latest news and events. This will become more important as activities other than church services recommence. During most of August there will be one Summer Special Bulletin covering as much information as is possible.
Thank you, or as they say in the recording industry, ‘CUT’.