The church has always been a movement of people, it just happens to have for a period used certain buildings at certain times. We are still those people, the people of God, and we are still called to witness to him in how we live, how we speak, and how we act. We are still a people of faith, hope, and love, and each of us is still very much open, to the Spirit, and to his activity in the world.
We are:
- livestreaming Morning Prayer 9am Mon-Fri on our Facebook page (fb.com/ourfivechurches), and here on our engage page.
- enjoying Morning Prayer with discussion at 9am on Saturdays via zoom.
- On Sunday mornings we have a 10am Communion service at All Saints' Ripley. This Communion service will also be livestreamed to our facebook page at 10am, and on the Engage page of this site, and shortly after on our telephone catch up line. It is sadly not possible to attend this service in person at the current time.
- On the first Sunday of the month, at 4pm, we have a Traditional Language Communion service at St. John's Bishop Thornton. We are not taking pre-bookings for this service, as it is very small, but please be aware that this may change in the future.
- On Wednesdays at 10am, we have a Traditional Language Communion service at All Saints', Ripley. We are not taking pre-bookings for this service, as it is very small, but please be aware that this may change in the future.
- We have a local phone number that can be called to listen to recordings of morning prayer, and communion services - 01423 222470.
- All Saints' Church, Ripley is now open for private prayer through the week.
- St. John's Church, Bishop Thornton, is now open for private prayer on Wednesdays and Sundays 8am-4pm.
- St. Andrew's Burnt Yates is now open for private prayer on Wednesdays from 12 noon to 4pm.
A great way to stay up to date with what we're up to is to join our newsletter.
We would also remind people that there are other easily accessible ways to remain a part of the worshipping part of the church at a distance - for instance:
- BBC Radio 4's Sunday Morning Worship, at 8.10am on Sundays;
- BBC's Songs of Praise
- BBC Choral Evensong (BBC Radio 3, 3.30pm on Wednesday and again 3pm Sunday)
- Using the Church of England's Daily Prayer, either from the website (https://www.churchofengland.
org/prayer-and-worship/join- us-service-daily-prayer), or through the app: Android Apple - Subscribing to daily bible study notes - there are many out there. I personally quite like Our Daily Bread www.odb.org, 01539 564149, Android Apple
- There are number of national resources now available on https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/church-online
- You can also access resources from the Church of England through your smart speaker ("Alexa, open the Church of England" or "Hey Google, talk to the Church of England" to get started)
Social and Pastoral Care
The advice we are operating under from the government means we have taken the decision to reduce visits in person, including into schools and other organisations. However, we still very much want to support and care for our church and wider communities. So we are working to liaise with community groups and organisations to work together as much as possible. We are also phoning round those on our contact lists just for a chat and to see how people are doing. If you are a resident of our parishes, or a member of our church community, and you would appreciate being included on this list, please do let us know - it may be we've been wanting to call you, but don't have a number!
Finance
We know it's not nice to talk about it, but we're sorry to say we do need to mention money. As you're probably aware the church's income, which finances it's capacity to serve and exists, comes almost exclusively from donations. There is no central or government funding. And a lot of those donations came in on collection plates during public worship. You can make a donation just here.
Wherever you are in your journey of faith, we would love to have you join with us as we explore together.