Welcome Everybody!
Everybody Welcome!

Deepening Faith
Seeking to Serve
Growing for God
Welcoming All
Praying Together

Masks or Face-coverings
must now be worn in church

This is a legal requirement from 8th August 2020.

Click here for our safeguarding procedures

Click [HERE] for this week’s Pew News

Click [HERE] for last week’s Pew News

The wearing of face-coverings/ masks is mandatory
in all places or worship.
Please cover your mouth and nose
before entering any church building
and to wear the covering on until you are clear of the building.
Please do not cross any barrier or touch any item unnecessarily
while you are in the building.
(See www.gov.uk) 

HANDS – FACE – SPACE
Maintain 2m physical distancing
Wash or sanitise hands frequently

WILLIAM COLLINS TRUST

Our local charity was set up to benefit the children and students from The Bridge parishes who could do with a bit of financial help with their education. Some further information is available [HERE] and an application form is available [HERE].

Please feel free to speak informally and in confidence to any of the trustees listed on the form or to the Fr Tony (The Rector).

The Meon Bridge Benefice
(The Parishes of Corhampton & Meonstoke, Droxford, and Exton)
In Bishops Waltham Deanery
The Diocese of Portsmouth

Subject to Canon Law, and
Ecclesiastical & Civil Regulation relating to Gatherings and CoViD-19
Previously Postponed from march and April 2020 due to the Pandemic
Notice is hereby given of
The Meetings Previously Postponed from march and April 2020 due to the Pandemic:

The Annual Meeting of Parishioners (Annual Vestry meeting)
The meeting for the election of churchwardens for the Parish.

This meeting was opened and adjourned at 7 pm on 21^st October 2020, there being no candidates for election to the office of Church Warden for the Parish of Droxford: St Mary and All Saints.

The Rector  therefore gives notice of the re-opened Annual Meeting of Parishioners (Vestry Meeting) by  Zoom meeting or in person
at 10 am on Saturday 31^st October in Droxford Church.

Under current regulations, this is the last possible date for this meeting.

If you are attending in person, why not stay for a cup of coffee in Wilfrid’s Café which opens at 1030 am.

Details of the Zoom Meeting:
Topic: Re-Convened annual Meeting of Parishioners (Vestry Meeting)

Time: Oct 31, 2020 10:00 London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88446595589?pwd=VlUrVnRmd3RqeXF4UnRETUMxcStnUT09

Meeting ID: 884 4659 5589

Passcode: 643665

The Rev’d A W Forrest
Rector
The Meon Bridge Benefice
(Droxford and Corhampton & Meonstoke cum Exton with Preshaw)

Click [HERE] for the full original notice etc.

Click [HERE] here for Parish Giving Scheme Presentation and Papers for the Meeting

Click [HERE] for a list of Services in September, October & November

The Order of Service for our Common Worship weekly services is available by clicking [HERE].
It follows the pattern of service used in church too.

Scroll down for our current and recent services

Click [HERE] for Details about the Re-opening
of  our churches for Worship
and Private Prayer

Our Churches are beginning to open for Private Prayer
and for services with limited numbers

A weekly sheet with the readings, the words of the hymns and the sermon can be found below with the link to the streaming site.

The Pattern of Church Opening

Meonstoke Church is generally available for private prayer from
Tuesday to Thursday and on Saturdays and Sundays (1000-1700).
Public Worship will take place monthly, on the first and third Sundays of the month.

Droxford Church is currently available for private prayer on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Public worship takes place on Thursdays and on the Third Sunday in the month.

Exton Church is generally available for private prayer from
Monday to Thursday and on Saturdays and Sundays (1000-1700).
Public Worship takes place monthly, on the fourth Sunday of the month at 10.30 am and on the first Sunday at 6.30 pm.
The churches may be closed for cleaning at any time, please see notices on each church notice board.

NOTICE for ALL CHURCHES
(when opened)

In accordance with Government Guidance
we are asked to let you know what is and what is not permitted
You can see this clicking the following [LINK] .

Please sanitise your hands on entering and leaving the church,
follow both current advice on physical distancing
and the one-way system in the churches where that is possible.  

Do not touch anything or go beyond the barriers set out.
Whenever  supervision is in place, please follow the instructions or guidance given.

Please wear a mask or other face-covering on entering any church building and do not remove it until you leave.
This is a legal requirement from 8th August 2020.

Please us the QR codes and the NHS Track and Trace App if you are able.

Volunteers
(under the age of 70 and without any underlying health conditions that place them at especial risk)
to help clean will help us open our churches for longer.
Following initial monitoring, we may seek volunteers to act as ‘welcomers’
who will guide visitors on the procedures on entering the church
(DBS clearance will be required for this role).
Please contact Fr Tony or a churchwarden if you feel you may be able to help in any way.

Meon Valley Foodbank

07956375447

Thank you all for your kind donations and continued support of the Food Bank.

Donations may taken to the food bank on Tuesday mornings or deposited in one of the local collection boxes.

www.meonvalleyfoodbank.co.uk

Twitter: @MeonValleyFB 

Meon Valley Babybank

This new group has been set up to help meet the needs of parents with babies.

Please see our pew sheet for details.

As we move through the Pandemic
and without forgetting the more  elderly and vulnerable
let’s stop to consider how the younger generations are.

They have been supporting us , now let us think about them.

The younger generation face an especially uncertain future: 
their education and training; safe employment, job security and even employability;
what to do when their new found community roles seem no longer to be needed;
additional emotional challenges and anxieties, including grief and a sense of where life would have led them had there not been a pandemic.

Please pray for them, and when we can and however we are able, let us offer practical and emotional support.
Mentoring a job-seeker; coaching someone in a new and testing role; offering educational and emotional support at the education transition points – home to school – between schools at different stages  – school to university – education to employment.

There are many experienced and talented people in the area – how can you help the next generations to set off on life’s journey securely – helping them to succeed and helping them to give back to society as they go alongside you.

Short Services for Children and Families by Cathy

Listen to Jesus! A series of short services for children and families.  The first is available now by clicking on the ‘Resources for Children and Young People’ tab above.  Have a look!

Congratulations to James Matthissen
on receiving a Letter of Appreciation from our local MP , expressing her thanks for all he does to support the local church and the wider community.
A huge THANK YOU to James from all of us, too.

Watch this space …

See what  ‘Living out the Gospel’ aged 8 years looks like in the Benefice

Thinking of our Community

Acts of kindness, compassion, love  and support  are appreciated in these challenging times and this is what an 8-year old member of the congregation has been doing (safely accompanied by mum or dad) throughout ‘Lockdown’. To read more please click here.

Morning and Evening Prayer

The Feast of St Alban
A Sung Eucharist (BCP) with Spiritual Reception

from Corhampton Church 
10.30 am, 21st  June 2020

Click  [HERE]  to see a streaming of this service

A PDF full Order of Service with the text of the Readings, Prayers, Hymns and Sermon
is available [HERE]

A simple said service of  Spiritual Communion (BCP)

from Corhampton Church
8 am on 21st  June 2020

Prayers in the Pandemic

Please click here for a daily cycle of prayer for our local communities, key workers and some areas of national and international life.

Gracious God,
we thank you for all healthcare professionals,
carers and biomedical scientists.
Give skill and sympathy, strength and resilience
to those throughout the world
who are caring for the sick,
especially in these times of Pandemic.
Impart doctors and scientists with wisdom as they seek to provide cures
for deadly diseases, and not least Covid-19.
Strengthen with your Spirit
all who provide us with medical care,
and health promotion
that through their work
many will be preserved from disease or restored to health;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Click here for our safeguarding procedures

Click here for daily reflections, prayers and daily Morning and Evening Prayer, as well as other resources to use at home in the Pandemic.

Other links too can be found on that page if you scroll down

A Reflection

Click below for a reflection in times of loneliness from Pray-as-You-Go. [This link takes you away from our website].

We must all follow the instructions given by the Government united in a national effort to limit the transmission of the coronavirus.

Digital resources for worship will continue to be made available on this website.

Daily prayers will be said for the community, which will include the cycle of prayer for the whole community and all key workers.

The Eucharist with intercessions will be celebrated on behalf of all on each Sunday and major Feast Day as far as possible and recordings uploaded to this website.

How is your neighbour?
How are the younger generation?

The younger generation face an especially uncertain future: 
their education and training; employment, job security and even employability;
what to do when their new found community roles seem no longer to be needed;
additional emotional challenges and anxieties, including grief and a sense of where life would have led them had there not been a pandemic.

Please pray for them, and when we can and however we are able, let us offer practical and emotional support. 
Mentoring a job-seeker; coaching someone in a new and testing role; offering educational and emotional support at the education transition points – home to school – between schools at different stages  – school to university – education to employment.

There are many experienced and talented people in the area – how can you help the next generations to set off on life’s journey securely – helping them to succeed and helping them to give back to society as they go alongside you.

Please do not assume all is well around you.

Please  continue to watch out for single people, and the elderly who are isolated from their families.
Do they have enough food, medicines such as pain-killers, fluids?
Please ask and help if you can or 
let the Rector know who may be able find someone to help.

Potential help in Corhampton, Exton and Meonstoke
can be found in the LINK here.
Support in the face of the Coronavirus in Droxford can be found HERE.

MANY THANKS FROM THE WHOLE COMMUNITY TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE VOLUNTEERING TO HELP OTHERS. 

THANK YOU AND BLESS YOU ALL!

Whilst not being complacent or reckless,
let’s all try to resist fear and selfishness.

‘Honour your mother and father’ – let us all look out for the elderly.
‘Love your neighbour as yourself – let us think of others as well as ourselves.

If you have health concerns and for the latest health advice, please visit the NHS website.

Please pray for
all those who are ill, those who are isolated, those who work in the health & social care sectors, those who are researching Covid19, those who bring and co-ordinate relief, all those whose ‘Life Events’ such as weddings, christenings and even funerals have been disrupted, and those who make policy.

VE-Day 1945-2020 ~ 8th – 10th  May 2020

Order of Service [pdf]

“As a family we have discussed many times in the past few weeks how blessed we are that we have only ‘suffered’ the inconvenience of having to stay at home and enjoy our beautiful surroundings in a daily stroll. Compared to the constant threat of being bombed out during the Blitz or the unimaginable horrors of serving through Dunkerque or D Day, we have very little to moan about and everything to be thankful for. ”
(A communication from a local resident to the Rector)

Click here for a composite guide for Morning, Day Time and Night Prayer

Click here for a Simple Daily Prayer Guide

Click here and join the Church of England in Daily Prayer

Congratulations to both Janet Melson and John Symes for each receiving a Mayor of Winchester’s Community Award and our thanks to them both for all they do for the community.

Congratulations and prayers for all those recently baptised and especially Hector and his family.

Congratulations to those recently married, including:
James and Kate (28Aug20);
Tom & Catherine (14 Dec19);
Mike & Nicola (21 Dec19);
Michael & Emma (28 Dec19);
Oliver and Faatima (07Mar20)
and to those engaged to be married later in 2020

Rest in Peace

Toby Dove RIP

Ann Gittins RIP

John Foot RIP

Josephine Carey RIP

Alan Jones RIP

Equality

(click here for our policy)

The Parishes of The Meon Bridge Benefice (Corhampton and St Andrew, Meonstoke, St Mary and All Saints, Droxford, and St Peter and St Paul, Exton)  are committed to promoting the understanding of the principles and practices of equality – treating each person as an individual, according to their needs, with an awareness of our diverse society and appreciating the value of difference. The Benefice recognises Access as an important part of its work .

GDPR

Please click here for our PRIVACY NOTICE
Please click here for our CONSENT FORM
Please click here for our guidance for PCCs

Fees

For our Table of Fees please click here

For our Policy of fees and Charges please click here

Well Done and Thank You

Thank you to all those who contributed to, helped organise or attended our recent events:

1. To Angela and the team for the excellent On-Line Virtual Fete.
2. To James Matthissen on his letter of appreciation from our local MP.
3. To all those volunteering to help us open our churches safely for private prayer.
4. The NHS and all the wonderful key workers who are keeping us well and supplied.
5. Janet Melson and John Symes for their Lord Mayor of Winchester Community awards – so well deserved.
6. The re-opening of Wilfrid’s Café
7. The provision and installation of new lighting, especially the chandelier, in Meonstoke Church.