News:

What an extraordinary time we have all been living through; self isolation, social distancing, meeting at a safe distance, family bubbles, returning to work and lock-down easing.  Hopefully you have come this far relatively unscathed and in a position when you are now able to meet up with family and friends and begin to venture further afield while still stay alert and keeping safe.

We hope that there have not been any major local casualties as far as business or job losses go.  These have been unprecedented times with people being furloughed etc... and you have been in our prayers as we continue to go through uncertain times.

It has been lovely to be able to access the Sunday services along the way, to listen out for familiar voices through Conference Calls and for those brave enough to log on to Zoom, to match faces to the names that we have come to know over the past 4 months from not just our Mission Community but from our town churches as well.  Thank you Steph and Robert for all you are doing to provide access to a varied range of activities through faith and fellowship.

As this goes to print we are not yet able to open our church for private prayer as we are unable to access the church to clean it due to restoration work being carried out to the church windows. A risk assessment has been carried out with a review date of 7 August. Once scaffolding has been removed from the inside of the church, cleaning can begin and distancing measures put into to place for the safe return to re-opening.  Many of you are keen to be able to access the building and it will be available as soon as it is safe and practical for preparations to take place.

Thank you to of you who have been keeping an eye on the church whilst travel restrictions have been in place. Knowing that there have been people taking regular walks to and around the churchyard to help out has been a great relief.

Thanks also go to those of you on the mowing rota who have been taking your turn to keep the churchyard looking neat and tidy once again now that restrictions have been eased and to the unknown person who has been helping to keep the water flowing into the pond for the past few months.

Although we have been unable to undertake some of our 'normal' fundraising activities, we are grateful to Rachel, April and Charlie for continuing with their sponsored walk which took place near the end of June.  Along with their crowdfunding page on the internet and donations handed to them a total of £930 was raised towards the window restoration fund. Well done and we hope that the feet were not too sore at the end of it.

The annual Potato Competition also went ahead. Gillian made sure that everyone knew when to dig up their spuds. The weights were then written on a piece of paper, put in an envelope and delivered to Gillian. At present we do not know any of the results, so watch this space and thanks for coming up with a way for this bit of fun to carry on as normal. Thank you Gillian and Mary, your efforts are much appreciated.

It is not known at this time whether or not the Autumn Fayre will be able to go ahead in November, but by the time of the next magazine more easing of lock-down measures may enable us to do so.

Mr and Mrs Powell have moved away and are now living in Swindon. A warm welcome to Calverleigh is given to Mr and Mrs Quick who have moved to the village. We hope that you will be very happy in your new home.

Congratulations to anyone who has celebrated a birthday, wedding anniversary, birth or other special occasion in the past few weeks.  Our very best wishes go to you all.

Thoughts and prayers have been with those who are unwell at this time or waiting for/receiving treatment. We hope that you will be feeling much better soon.

Our condolences go to any who have lost a loved one recently.  Our thoughts and prayers are also with you at this most difficult of times when the comfort of family and friends is so important, but not necessarily possible in person.

We remember all medical and care staff who have been doing their best to provide a normal service under stressful conditions since lock-down began.

As the school academic year draws to a close we think of all staff at our local schools who have been working throughout lock-down to care for and educate children of key workers and those in a vulnerable situation and ensuring that those who have been unable to attend school have had a continued education at home.

Coming Up...

We will still have our monthly time on the first Saturday of each month, with the next ones on 1 August and 5 September between 9 and 11am. Do join together with us in prayer if you can.

Unfortunately at time of print we are not currently able to confirm any other upcoming events for your diaries in August, September or October (including the Harvest Festival and our Autumn Fayre), but please keep checking the Mission Community website and our Facebook page and we will keep you up to date. If you wish to run a fundraising or online social event, please let us know.

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