Services AS YOU KNOW, CHURCHES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO OPEN FOR SERVICES (WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS).
The services from New Maldon will be via zoom. Zoom available every Sunday starting at 10.30 am
Join Zoom Meeting for worship
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87416794861?pwd=hacSRN2cxOe2W_zGvGi3eomJo65pQA
The code is always 874 1679 4861 The password is 007602
Peter usually sends an invitation to join each week which also gives instructions on how to join by phone.
Sunday service on FaceBook Live
Please open the following page at 10.25 and if you scroll down the page you should be able to see the service.
https://www.facebook.com/newmaldenurc/
By Phone Dial 0131 460 1196
When asked: Enter the meeting ID on their keypad, followed by #
When asked to enter their unique ID: simply input # (This skips this stage)
When asked: Enter the meeting password followed by #
Services
Upcoming Sevices
I will be leading the service at New Malden this Sunday June 20th and the readings will be Job 38:1-11 and Mark 4:35-41. This will be streamed on Zoom and facebook.
There is a Lunchtime Concert at New Malden on Wednesday June 23rd at 13.10 that will also be streamed live on Facebook.
We will be having the Church open for the following services:
26 June 3pm. Saturday final service in the Church
The Thanksgiving Service for the our Church will take place on Saturday June 26th at 15.00 if you feel unable to come in person it will be streamed live at https://kingskingston.online.church/
We will be unable to have refreshments in the hall after the service but hope to provide a take away service that people can enjoy outside, weather permitting. Synod have agreed that the Kings Church can rent the buiding until the end of the year so they will be continuing wth their Sunday morning services.
There is also a new Bible Study series on the Sermon on the Mount starting On Tuesday June 8th and 7.30pm. The first session is Matthew 5:1-12
The second session in our Bible Study series on the Sermon on the Mount takes place on Tuesday June 22nd at 7.30pm on the normal Zoom channel.
Zoom meeting for Coffee and Chat and Bible Study
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87416794861?pwd=hacSRN2cxOe2W_zGvGi3eomJo65pQA
Meeting ID: 874 1679 4861 Passcode: 007602
Prayers for the Locality in June
June 6. Gloucester Close/Ditton Lawn
June 13. Kings Drive/Close
Jun 20. Portsmouth Road
June 27. Summer Road/Crossing/Gladstone Villas
The church Thanksgiving Service will be on Saturday June 26th
Other Events
Letter from the moderator
Thank you for emailing me your letter.
I am sad to hear that Speer Road Church has come to this decision. I know it is hard when the church has completed its mission in the local area. So, you have been brave in your discernment.
As Synod we give thanks to all in the church for the years of service and commitment. We recognise the effort and work that has gone into serving the Lord at Speer Road Church. We also recognise the work of Revd Peter Flint as he led you through the decision-making process. I am sure he will miss working with you.
I do hope that the Synod has offered you the support you need after making this decision. There is much to think about.
We send our prayers to you for the coming months,
Every blessing
Revd Bridget Banks Moderator
A farewell from the editor (Linda and I thought that I should put together a few words, so here they are)
I must admit I did a double take when I read the Moderator’s letter. The sentence that jumped off the page and hit me was:
I know it is hard when the church has completed its mission in the local area.
t made me think and think hard. So what was the mission of the church here at Speer Road? Each one of you will have your own answer to that.
For me it had to be to present a non conformist presence within the community sharing with those who live in the area the very real and alive presence of Christ.
Can such a mission ever end?
We reached out in many ways to those who lived in the area but for those who were Presbyterian or Congregational in background the church drew people from neighbouring communities which also did not have a non conformist presence. It spawned at least one moderator of General Assembly, Rosalind Goodfellow. It punched above its size.
The church is far more than a building because without the people it is nothing. Each one of us now has a responsibility to continue to share that love of Christ with those who we meet everyday. The mission of the church is alive and well, as I see it. The mission, as I have defined it, can never be completed because our outreach must continue to embrace those who feel alone; those who feel sad; those who are vulnerable; those who suffer but also those who rejoice. The words of the hymn, when I needed a neighbour are ringing in my ears. I hope and pray that we will never cease to be the living presence of Christ to whoever we meet and in that way we will be the living presence of the church here in Thames Ditton and wherever we live.
Church Closure
So, it is official. We will close the Speer Road URC Church for worship at the end of June 2021. The buildings will remain open until at least the end of July 2021 so that the Teddies Playgroup can finish their school year.
Some housekeeping work that needs to be done
There are a number of tasks that we will have to take on when we close the Church. One thing that has been exercising some of us is a new home for the Milk Marketing Board war memorial and the Thames Ditton Foundry WWI memorial plaque. Both are of historical and artistic significance and we need to find ‘safe’ homes for them in case Synod at some point decides to sell the building. I have been in discussion with some of the old Milk Marketing Board staff (including George Wright who was Church Secretary here many years ago) to discuss possibilities. I will let you know how things proceed.
There are also official papers and registry books that will have to be deposited in appropriate places. I am looking into this.
I am happy to say that Helen Osborne and her family have asked to have the garden bench which was purchased to honour Tony for all that he had done for the Church over many years. It seems extremely appropriate that his family should have it. On a slightly more mundane level – the Church has a lot of crockery, cutlery, chairs and tables that it would be good to find homes for. Suggestions and offers will be gratefully received.
Weekly Events
Tuesdays 10.30am. Intercessions for healing at St Nicholas
Prayers in a time of coronavirus
Love never fails
Even in the darkest moments, love gives hope. Love compels us to fight against coronavirus alongside our sisters and brothers living in poverty. Love compels us to stand together in prayer with our neighbours near and far. Love compels us to give and act as one. Now, it is clear that our futures are bound together more tightly than ever before. As we pray in our individual homes – around the nation and around the world – we are united as one family. So, let us pause and find a moment of peace, as we lift up our hearts together in prayer.
A prayer for medical workers everywhere
Restoring and healing God, thank you for medical workers everywhere, embodying sacrificial love in these challenging times
putting the welfare of others before their own staying away from their family and loved ones. Comforting the concerned and bereaved reassuring the anxious and vulnerable working to heal and restore people who are ill. Be their guide, strength, wisdom and hope. We pray for those in authority to do right by them for proper protective equipment to be provided and for their dedication to be met with much gratitude and appreciation when they return home, exhausted. And we pray for medical workers around the world, where resources and protective equipment are always in short supply, not only now but always. May these extraordinary times lead to deep and necessary changes in how our world works, resulting in a genuine effort to address the profound injustice of life expectancy being determined by geography, to awaken us all to the reality of how connected we all are and to work together to create the community and world we all want to be part of. So help us, God, Amen
A prayer for times of isolation
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come… will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 8:38-39)
God of heaven and earth, in these times of isolation, apart from loved ones distant from friends away from neighbours thank you that there is nothing in all of creation, not even coronavirus, that is able to separate us from your love. And may your love that never fails continue to be shared through the kindness of strangers looking out for each other, for neighbours near and far all recognising our shared vulnerability, each of us grateful for every breath, and willing everyone to know the gift of a full and healthy life. Keep us all in your care. Amen.
Enjoy this beautiful spring like weather and marvel in the wonder of God’s creation.
Peter
Rev. Peter Flint,
United Reformed Church Minister,
New Malden and Thames Ditton,
Tel: 020 3754 0940
Mobile: 07436 119626 Facebook: www.facebook.com/newmaldenurc/
PLANS FOR RETURNING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAYS
Church layout
Use one main door for entry and exit. Hand sanitiser on table on left as enter foyer. All doors to be left open to improve air flow.
Next to that table is table for a duty elder to note who is attending service, including any new people whose names and addresses/telephone numbers are to be obtained. This record must be kept for 21 days. Foyer seating area to be screened off by chairs.
Only one person in the vestry or kitchen at a time.
Care to ensure only one person at a time in toilet area. Anti-bacterial spray and paper towels to be available to wipe down handles in toilet after use.
Peter will use pulpit and there will be one reader per service who will use the lectern and sit at the front. They will use the microphones at these places.
Play area toys to be removed from Church.
No collection. Donations box to be put on table at rear for end of service.
Flowers will not be able to be distributed at end of service.
Water and glasses to be replaced by a few small bottles of water plus some plastic cups.at the rear of the church and in the pulpit. Gloves and masks to be available at the rear of the church in case elder needs to go to person in congregation to give them water.
Bibles to be available on table as enter Church. To be returned to a box at end of service so no one has to handle them.
No coffee after service.
Cleaning
From the 13 September, the church, vestry, hall and toilets to be cleaned by cleaner as per cleaning schedule on the Friday/ Saturday before the service and again on Sunday afternoon/ evening ready for Teddies on Monday.
Duty elders to sanitise seats and door handles used after the service and clean toilets??? before the King’s Church service
Duties
Normal duties except: no prayer with Minister before service, (only one person at any time in the vestry), no reading of minutes, no offertory plate on table, sit at the front of the church.
Need two duty elders (wearing face masks):
One outside to manage congregation (keeping people 2 metre apart whilst people use hand cleansing facilities before moving inside. Ensure that everyone is wearing a mask. Take record of attendees plus any new people whose names and telephone numbers are to be obtained.
Other to assist seating, asking people to use front seats first, only alternate pews and keeping 2 metres from aisles if possible.
Signage
Sign for offertory box, sign for return bible box
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