Benefice Church During Covid-19

In these challenging times we hope this page will offer spiritual nourishment and avenues for practical care. Although public gatherings for worship are currently suspended due to the Covid-19 virus, we will now be having services online and opportunities for virtual gatherings for prayer.

Online Services & Virtual Gatherings

 

Sunday 29 November, Eucharist: Advent

This Sunday’s Service is via Zoom at 10.00 am

You can also watch live on YouTube.

The Zoom login is here with Meeting ID: 864 062 7995 and Password: 640517
The Zoom is open from 9.45 am and please join by 10.00am at the latest

The service sheet can be downloaded here

Past services - still available to view
Sunday 19th July, 6th Sunday after Trinity:     Service link

Sunday 12th July, 5th Sunday after Trinity:    Service link

Sunday 5th July, 4th Sunday after Trinity:     Service link

Sunday 28th June, Ss Peter & Paul:    Service link

Sunday 21st June, 2nd Sunday after Trinity:     Service Link    

Sunday 14th June, 1st Sunday after Trinity:     Service Link   Service Sheet for Trinity 1

Sunday 7th June, Trinity Sunday: Link to Service.          Service Sheet for Trinity Sunday

Sunday 31st May, Pentecost: Link to Service.      Service Sheet for Pentecost

Sunday 24th May: Link to Service.    Service Sheet for Easter 7

Sunday 17th May: Link to Service.        Service Sheet for Easter 6

Holy Week: Still Available to view

 

Downloadable Holy Week resources and Covid Prayer resources that you can print at home and use for your own meditation and prayer. Covid Prayer & Holy Week Resources

Every Week

 

  • Daily Prayer with the Pray As You Go App – a wonderful 10 minute led daily prayer meditation, with music, scripture, space to pray and reflect.  Download here for computer, or search for the App on your tablet/smartphone. You can also join our PAYG WhatsApp group for reflection on the day’s PAYG. 
  •  Thursday Eucharist @ 9am. You will be able to join this using Zoom. A link for the service will be sent in an email the day before. If you would like to be added to the mailing list email highburypartnership@googlemail.com. 
Helpful Information about Zoom
What is Zoom and how do I use it anyway?

Zoom is an online video conferencing application. It allows groups of people to gather for meetings using a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. It even allows people to call in with any kind of phone and participate in gatherings. ​ A Zoom meeting needs to be hosted by someone, usually the meeting’s organizer. They are the “host” and have some control over the meeting, like sending out invitations to join the meeting.

​

Joining A Zoom Meeting ​ There are several ways to join a Zoom meeting. ​

1) You can join using a link provided in an email. Click the link and your computer’s browser will automatically prompt you to download the Zoom app. You must allow this to join the meeting. ​ NOTE: in order to participate in a Zoom meeting, your computer must have a microphone and speakers. To allow others to see you, you will need a webcam, which most laptops have but not desktop computers. External webcams connected to a computer work fine as well. You don’t need a camera to use Zoom and see what is on the screen. A camera only allows others to see you. ​

2) You can join with a smartphone. It is similar to joining with a computer; you need the Zoom app to join. The steps are similar to joining with a computer. ​

 

Let’s look at joining a meeting on a computer: ​

Start by clicking the link in the meeting invitation. Your computer’s default browser will automatically try to launch the Zoom software. ​ If the software is not already on your computer, the browser will automatically download the app. Follow all the prompts to install it (just click where it tells you to click). If it asks you to “Run” a file, click yes or run. You will join the meeting as soon as the software installs. This should only take a few seconds. If the software is already on the computer, you will be asked to “launch” the Zoom app. ​ Before entering the meeting you will be asked to join audio. Click “Join with Computer Audio.”

National Call to Prayer & Going Deeper

 
Daily Prayer @ 6pm
The Archbishop’s have called all churches together for a month of prayer during Lockdown 2, asking us to pray at 6pm daily, with a special focus on Thursdays where fasting is also encouraged.  We are suggesting that on Thursdays at 6pm when we stop to pray, we also light a candle as a mark of our joining together in the Benefice to pray for the nation.

November Reflective Bible Reading – Monday 16th & 23rd Nov, 8-8.45pm

For some spacious time to reflect on Kingdom season bible passages there are two evening ‘Lectio’ sessions (Lectio Divina is sacred reading, the ancient name for ‘Reflective Bible reading’). No prior knowledge or experience of ‘lectio is required – the sessions will invite us to read with the ‘eyes of our hearts,’ and there will be shared silence and space to hear each other’s reflections. 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88350440912?pwd=SFNiYnhySTdBSlZmNGRMVktPTml2dz09

Meeting ID: 883 5044 0912

Passcode: 670955

Advent Book Group

For those who love poetry (and there’s a lot of us!) this year there is a wonderful new Advent book to enjoy: ‘Frequencies of God: Walking Through Advent with R.S. Thomas’ by Carys Walsh. On Tuesday evening’s, 8-9pm, starting December 1st we will meet to share our own reflections on the book and the poems together in small groups on Zoom, and hope to offer some offline joint reflection opportunities for those not online. 

On 15th December the author, Carys Walsh, will be joining us for the Zoom session, giving us an opportunity to explore with her some of the themes.

  

Virtual Groups

 

Virtual Book Group – The Benefice Book Group is alive and well and ‘met’ recently. The next meeting by Zoom is at 8pm on Thursday 10th December. We’ll be discussing Books for 2021, focusing on BAME authors.

Everyone is very welcome. It’s an informal group – still getting to grips with the technology! Do get reading, and please contact Rob via highburypartnership@googlemail.com if you’d like to join the next discussion. Bring your own tea!

Virtual Writing Group – December date tbc, 8pm. The usual writing group which meets monthly on a Thursday evening has moved to Zoom for the time being (but don’t let that put you off, please). If you’ve not been before, this might be a great time to start, you don’t have to have experience of writing, but you will need something to write with, and something to write on. This is about writing for enjoyment, and to help us reflect on all we are facing. We’ll finish by 9.15- 9.30. If you’re interested email Nigel on nigelgibbons@blueyonder.co.uk

Pastoral Support

  • Call or email the office if you would like a phone call or to let us know if you need support. 0117 973 3395, cothamandstpaul@gmail.com
  • Prayer list. Firstly, please know you are all being prayed for daily. Those on our intercessions list will be circulated with our weekly email newsletter. If you would like to pray with someone over the phone, or wish your prayer request to remain anonymous, please email cothamandstpaul@gmail.com and one of our clergy will be in touch. 
  • Phone a friend. Whilst we can’t be together in person, we can call, WhatsApp or even write a good old fashioned letter, let’s be in good touch with each other and beat social isolation.
  • Bristol Sanctuary Offer a mental health service in partnership with the NHS that would normally provide a safe physical place for people to come to for a few hours in the evening if they are struggling emotionally. Whilst currently not seeing people face-to-face they are offering telephone support seven nights a week from 4-10pm. Call 01179542952 or 07709295661 from 4pm
  • Oasis Trust Friendship Phone Line, if you fancy a chat Oasis have opened a special Friendship phone line during Covid-19. Open M-F, 11-3pm: 020 7921 4272.
  • MIND resources. Mental health charity MIND have created an excellent set of resources for coping with all that Covid-19 is meaning for our mental health, particularly in coping with social distancing, anxiety and depression. Click here for more information. 

 

Online Resources – new resources added

  • Pray As You Go App – a wonderful 10 minute led daily prayer meditation, with music, scripture, space to pray and reflect. Highly recommended. Download here for computer, or search for the App on your tablet/smartphone.
  • Daily Meditation (via email) from the Centre for Contemplation by Fr Richard Rohr. A short centering email meditation, offering helpful perspective and spiritual resources for our current situation. Visit www.cac.org to sign up for the daily email. 
  • A Prayer for Sleep – an 18 minute guided prayer for when you are finding sleep hard, from Spiritual Director Julian Maddock. Link here.
  • Insight Timer: a smartphone app to support a spiritual practice, with meditations and prayers lead by people from all religious traditions
  • Sacred Space: screen-based prayer, with options for prayer in this time of pandemic.
  • The BBC’s Daily Service and Sunday Worship 

 

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Whether you are well-established in the Christian faith, feeling called to a new expression of your faith, or teetering on the edge of any faith, we hope you will find resources, inspiration and good company here with us.

Cotham Parish Church is a registered charity in England & Wales (no. 1132307)