ST GILES FARNBOROUGH - EVENTS, NEWS AND NOTICES
Resumption of Public WorshipSt. Giles is now open for public worship with regular services as follows:Sundays8.00 a.m. Holy Communion - Book of Common Prayer.10.00 a.m. Holy Communion - Common Worship Prayer Book. Open Air Service in the grounds of the church if weather allows. 6.30 p.m. Holy Communion - Common Worship Prayer Book. Thursdays10:00 a.m. Midweek Holy CommunionBook of Common Worship Service Booking SystemA booking system has been set-up to manage the numbers able to attend each service, as well as meet the Government's track & trace requirements. Please clickhttps.stgilesfarnborough.setmore.com/ and select the service you wish to attend. I hope you will appreciate that with limited numbers able to attend each service this will be done on a 'first come, first served basis'. Please only contact the Parish Office as a last resort if you do not have internet access and, therefore, cannot use the on-line booking system. Click Here for a step-by-step guide to booking on-line. See also Covid Safe Services In the event of more people wanting to attend the Holy Communion services than we can accommodate on a particular Sunday then we will ask people to make their Communion on the following Sunday.. Please bear with us as we continue along this new learning curve. If we are to maintain our Church as a safe place for the resumption of public worship, communication will be crucial. So do expect regular notices and updates from the Parish Office and remember you must book in for services as detailed above.  CommentsThe following comments are to be read in conjunction with the guidelines:* Holy Communion will be in one kind, bread only. * The wafers will be consecrated in a sealed container so no words are spoken over exposed elements. * People will be asked to remain in their pews and come out into the aisle after previous communicants have returned to their seats. * Holy Communion can be brought to people in the pew. * There will be is no laying on of hands for healing. * Unfortunately we will not be able to have the use of our wonderful servers and chalice assistants. * There is no permission for the singing of hymns. Organ and piano music will be available · * People are welcome to bring their own prayer books if they have one. * The peace is not allowed to be shared. * Please place your offering in bowl on entering the Church. Thank you. * You are invited to light a candle, please bring your own matches or lighter. Single matched will also be available. * People are welcome to attend the service without receiving Communion if they would prefer. * At the Open Air service Communion will be administrated in a line so that social distancing can be maintained. * Sadly, we will not be able to have our wonderful choir or our bells rung and we look forward very much to the return of these important aspects of our Church’s life. * Sidespeople/Verger/Churchwardens will be on hand to guide and assist people in safe conduct. * Refreshments will not be served. Can I emphasise that this is something of an experimental opening to help us understand the practicalities and challenges involved in the re-opening of St .Giles. If this all goes well then I, along with our Churchwardens and PCC, anticipate the resumption of a more regular service pattern in September. Can I also emphasise that the safety of all of us is of paramount importance. I look forward very much to seeing you again. Matthew |
Singing at ServicesMore research is being carried out on whether it is safe to sing individually and within a choir. The advice is that low volume singing in large, well aerated buildings is deemed low risk.Given that St. Giles is a small building it would still not be safe for us to resume this part of our Parish life. I will of course keep you updated. Church Opening - Private Prayer
Thank you to all those who have kept St. Giles open for visitors and those who have wished to sit and say a prayer. We plan to continue to keep the Church open for as long as possible Friends' AGMMonday 19th October 10:30am by ZoomThe AGM of the Friends of St.Giles will be held at 10.30am on Monday 19th October via a Zoom conference call conducted from 308 Tubbenden Lane South. Members will be sent the agenda, accounts and details of the meeting with Zoom log-in credentials in the usual way. Two More Bells for St. GilesI am pleased to announce that the PCC has agreed to the addition of two extra bells to our existing ring of six. We are now awaiting formal permission from the Diocesan Advisory Council through the Faculty Process.The installation of bells at St. Giles has greatly enriched the life of our Church, and has done much to enhance the traditional and rural character of our Church, whilst at the same time raising the presence of St. Giles and its worship within our community.  A window of opportunity has arisen for us to further enhance this part of our common life with the further addition of two extra bells bringing our total to eight ringable bells. A full engineer's report conducted by Adrian Dempster of Ward Cole has established that the tower will easily be able to accommodate the additional weight (5cwt) and there is space in the ringer chamber for the additional ropes. Our current bells are light and these extra bells will add to the range and depth of the overall ring. In addition such is the popularity of bell ringing at St. Giles the extra bells will allow our ringing team to offer more people a chance to learn and enjoy this pastime.  For those amongst us who are concerned that St. Giles faces other more important priorities, I am pleased to say that the majority of the funding of this project has been secured with funds from the wider bell ringing community. The PCC have agreed a contribution of £5,000 from a legacy that was specifically ring-fenced for Church building based projects. I am indebted to Nick Wilkins who has done so much to bring this project to fruition and through whose enthusiasm we have one of the best supported ringing teams in the Diocese. I hope that we can all look forward to the Dedication of these new bells when the lockdown is finally lifted. If you would like to contribute, a link to a crowd funding dination page can be found on the External Links page. |
ABOUT ST. GILES CHURCH
Charity in Focus:
Film Evenings
See Charity in Focus for detailsEvents Calendar:.
Important Note:
Events in this list are subject to change or cancellation, depending on recovery or not from the coronavirus pandemic.
| Sun 4th Oct | Harvest Brunch after 10am Service |
| Sat 10th Oct | Harvest Supper and Barn Dance |
| Sun 18th Oct | Annual Parish Meeting Details to follow |
| Mon 19th Oct | Friends of St. Giles AGM by Zoom |
| Sat 21st Nov | Quiz Night, Farnborough Social Club |
| Fri 4th Dec | Coach trip to Winchester Christmas Market |
| Sun 13th Dec | Confirmation Service |
| Sun 20th Dec | Nine Lessons & Carols |
Carol Fryer
01689 855468 / 07951 725069
carolafryer@icloud.com
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AGM, PCC and Churchwardens
Due to the current lockdown the Church of England has legally extended the timeframe for the holding of Annual General Meetings until the end of October of this year. The current PCC will therefore remain in place until that time as will our Churchwardens. The Vestry Meeting when Churchwardens are elected will therefore take place prior to the AGM as per normal.The Parish Accounts were signed off at the last United PCC and are available on the Document Downloads page of this website. They will also be available for discussion and inspection when we hold the AGM,
Parish Magazine
Our printers are temporarily closed due to
Covid-19, and we are not able to receive printed versions of the
Farnborough Parish Magazine. In addition, the Church of England has
advised against hand-deliveries of items such as parish magazines.
However, electronic copies are available and
are being sent to regular subscribers.If you would like a copy this can be obtained by emailing: advertising.parish@btinternet.com
IIf you have any articles or items of interest for the future editions, please email them to the editors Eddie Roberts: farnboroughparishmag@gmail.com