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From the vicar
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us stewards of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps,
God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.
Psalm 8 verses 5-9, The Message Translation
When we walked all around North Swindon parish on our pilgrimage recently we were struck by just how green and beautiful our locality is. The theme of God’s creation continues this month with Swindon Churches Green Festival from 6th – 14th June. You will find links below to all the different events across our town, but at St Andrew’s we will be holding our Informal service at 10am on 7th June outdoors to really enjoy worshipping God in creation and to count some bugs! Read on to find out more about this and all the other things happening at St Andrew’s soon.
God bless,
Sally
Pause and Pray
Having enjoyed the experience during Lent, we will continue to meet together for 30 minutes of reflection, Bible reading and silent prayer on the first Monday of each month in church at 7pm on the following dates. The next 3 are 1st June, 6th July, 3rd August. Come and enjoy a pause at the start of the week.
Outdoor service and Swindon Green festival
Running from 6th to 14th June, this week-long event aims to unite the community under the shared goal of protecting the planet and fostering a sustainable local environment.
The festival, themed ‘Rooted in Faith – Growing a Greener Future,’ will feature a wide variety of activities designed to inspire ecological action and celebrate the natural beauty of the Swindon area.
‘This festival is an invitation to everyone in Swindon - regardless of background - to join us in exploring how we can better care for our common home,’ said a festival spokesperson.
At St Andrew’s we will be having a special outdoor informal service on Sunday 7th June at 10am, including a bug hunt and nature count.
APCM and Outreach team
At our Annual Parochial Church Meeting we were delighted to re-elect Helen and David as Church wardens, add Lucas and Coral to the PCC and Juliet to Deanery Synod. Colin, Brian, Dawn and Susan, together with Sally, Martina and Karen, are carrying on as PCC members along with Tim who is also on Deanery Synod. We are really grateful to everyone for being willing to stand and to Paul, Patti and Charles who have finished their time on PCC recently. It is great to share gifts, ideas and responsibilities together. Sally also explained that there would be a new sub-team of the PCC to focus on how we can reach out into our parish more intentionally to share God’s love with our community. This team will include people who are on PCC and those who are not, so if you would be interested in finding out more please speak to Sally.
Gardening at Ridgeway Rise Care Home
St. Andrews has teamed up with members from TGV In Bloom, and have now completed 3 successful gardening afternoons at Ridgeway Rise Care Home. The gardens are already looking much neater, and the residents have enjoyed talking to us and helping out wherever possible.
If you fancy joining us for a couple of hours, our next gardening session will be Monday 8th June from 2.00 to 4.00pm. Please contact Coral if you'd like to get involved ccvdk@outlook.com or 07867303516.
Martina’s Ordination as a priest
Martina will be ordained priest with other deacons from Swindon and the diocese in Bristol Cathedral at 3pm on Saturday 4th July. If you would like to go, please let Martina know, especially if you would like to go on the coach from Swindon (costing about £20). On Sunday 5th July at 6pm she will preside at Holy Communion for the first time and we will then celebrate with a buffet supper. Please put the date in your diary and if you would like to help plan the buffet speak to Karen.
Som’s Curacy
It has been delightful having Som Okonkwo and his family at St Andrew’s during Som’s training, but as he finishes his training this month, he will be moving on to serve his curacy at St Mary’s Rodbourne Cheney. The family’s final Sunday at St Andrew’s will be 21st June.
Bible Study Group.
We will be continuing to explore the early chapters of Genesis at 10am and 7pm on 3rd June in church and 10am and 7pm on 17th June at 15 Rackham Close. Each session lasts about 90 minutes and is a great way to learn more about the Bible and share insights and questions. New members always welcome.
Lunch Club Wednesday 17th June 12noon at the Heart in Hand, Blunsdon. Please get in touch with Coral if you would like to know more or reserve a place.
Craft Club Saturday 27th June 10.30am at church
Gardening and cleaning Morning
The next opportunity is to come and care for the churchyard is 11th July 9.30-12.30. We will also be cleaning the church then, but would also love more people to be on the cleaning rota which is just about to start. Please talk to Helen if you have time to spend a couple of hours cleaning St Andrew’s no more than once a month
Date for your Diary
Sunday 19th July our morning service will (hopefully) be at Mouldon Hill at 10.30am followed by a bring and share picnic lunch and games.
Upcoming services and events
All 10am services in church and on video -
others in church only unless otherwise specified
Sunday 24th May
10am Holy Communion
Wednesday 27th May
8.15 am Morning prayer on Zoom
11am Coffee, prayer and chat
Sunday 31st May
10am Morning Prayer (Book of Common Prayer)
Monday 1st June
2.30pm Songs of Praise, Ridgeway Rise
7pm Pause and Pray
Wednesday 3rd June
8.15am Morning Prayer (Zoom only)
Sunday 7th June
10am Informal Outdoor Service
6pm Evening Prayer
Wednesday 10th June
8.15am Morning Prayer (Zoom only)
11am Coffee, Prayer and Chat
Sunday 14th June
10am Holy Communion
Monday 15th June
2.30pm Holy Communion, Ridgeway Rise
Sunday 21st June
10am Morning Prayer
6pm Holy Communion
Wednesday 24th June
8.15am Morning Prayer (Zoom only)
11am Coffee, Prayer and Chat
Sunday 28th June
10am Holy Communion
Wednesday 1st July
8.15am Morning Prayer (Zoom only)
Sunday 5th July
10am Informal Service
6pm Holy Communion followed by celebratory buffet
To join Zoom services use this link: http://bit.ly/StANSzoom
To join on a traditional phone, dial 0208 080 6592 (Don't worry if it says this number is 'The Buddist Society' ) and enter 74995364977 # when asked for meeting id, # when asked for participant id and 656521 # as the passcode.