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Sunday 24 January 2021
The Third Sunday of Epiphany
Paolo Veronese, the wedding at Cana, 1563

THIS WEEK'S READINGS
Genesis 14.17-20  · Psalm 1128 · Revelation 19. 6-10  · John 2.1-11


‘Blessed are those who are invited…’ (v.9)

Nowadays, wedding invitations come in ever more inventive form, being surpassed only by the ‘Save the date’ cards, bookmarks, fridge magnets or even tea-towels that precede them, pointing to the big day ahead.

John’s Gospel describes events at the wedding of Cana as ‘the first of Jesus’ signs’, which ‘revealed his glory’ (John 2.11) Much of the Revelation to John is also a signpost, in its grasping for imagery adequate to the vision of the glory of God in Jesus Christ that is in store for all who put their trust in him.

One powerful image is ‘the marriage of the Lamb’ and the feasting that follows. It pictures the consummation of Christ’s love for his bride – understood as the Church. And, as we all know, what comes next for God and God’s people is that we ‘all live happily ever after’.

It’s a vision that is almost too wonderful to grasp. And so John of Patmos warns against being distracted by the invitation and its delivery. For him, the temptation was to worship the angel. For us, distraction may mean trying to pin down, into everyday categories, the apocalyptic language that strives to signal the transcendent. As with the sign at Cana, what matters is that we, like Jesus Christ’s disciples, recognize his glory and believe – and direct our lives of faith towards the big day to come.


Sarah Rowland Jones

We are Open for Worship and Prayer

Due to the National Lockdown and the continue in the sharp rise of the spread of Covid-19 throughout the UK our service continues to be somewhat paired down from what we normally have, with just an Organist and Cantor until we are advised otherwise and our chairs are spaced at two meters apart. We will not be asking any of our stewards, musicians, servers, readers or intercessors to come if they feel they should stay at home. Holy Trinity remains open for private prayer for now from Monday to Friday (12 noon to 4pm), overseen by the clergy. 

Please only come to church on Sunday if you feel safe to travel and be in the building. Do adhere to all the safety measures in place; sanitize on entry, wear a face mask / covering that covers both your nose and mouth for the entire time you are in the building and download and use the NHS track and trace app. We are a track and trace designated building and, in order to help keep everyone safe, we need to utilise our posters which you can scan with your phones. We must also ask you not to mingle with others at the end of the service but to leave as quickly as possible.

For those of you who choose to stay at home we will be livestreaming the Eucharist on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/sloanechurch

 

Update on our Live Streaming 

As members of the congregation who have watched the live Sunday Eucharist on Facebook in recent weeks will be aware, the results have been far from ideal. Despite the purchase of new equipment for the live broadcasting, the video was still staggered and interrupted by pauses.

This week Kevin Muncey, a PCC member and IT specialist, volunteered to spend an afternoon in the church with me to look into what might be causing the issues and come up with solutions. 

The main problem we are facing is with the broadband connection, specifically the upload speed, which is too slow to upload smooth video. Also, while our new streaming equipment is relatively easy to use it does need a dedicated volunteer in church during live streams to set up and monitor it.

For the broadband connection, we are investigating alternative suppliers with the intention of finding one that is able to give substantially faster speeds. As a more immediate solution, Kevin Muncey has kindly loaned the church a 4G portable router that will be able to upload the stream at a far greater speed than our current broadband, as well as generously donating an ipad to the church to make operating the live stream easier.

Kevin has also very kindly offered to be our live streaming volunteer at the Sunday Eucharist, for the time being.

I am confident we can expect a better broadcast this week on Facebook. Going forward we will continue to look for ways improving live streaming.

Clinton McMaster 
Events and Facilities Manager
ABOVE: Tony celebrating his 92nd birthday
at a parish lunch last year

Dearest Tony's final curtain call

With heavy hearts we record the death this week of the actor Anthony Dawes, a faithful member of the congregation of Holy Trinity in recent years.

Tony died in the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Thursday (January 21) following a short illness. He was due to celebrate his 93rd birthday next month.

An acclaimed actor, Tony has been a familiar face on stage and screen for decades and never really considered himself to have retired. One of his appearances in the Sixties' classic TV series 'The Avengers' is being aired this Sunday (January 24) on ITV4.

With his wife Lesley and daughter Stephanie, Tony never missed a Sunday service unless he was attending worship at his local church, Christ Church, Kensington. He was last with us as recently as January 10 and said how glad he was that Holy Trinity had stayed open in this latest lockdown. Last autumn when Holy Trinity was open for prayer but closed for public worship, he brought his family Sunday by Sunday to pray in the Lady Chapel.

We were fortunate that Tony agreed to take part in last year's Arts and Crafts Festival which went online owing to the pandemic. You can listen to him reading Tennyson's 'Ulysses' here.

By happy coincidence, Tony celebrated his 92nd birthday with us at our Parish Lunch at LIV Belgravia, one of many of our social events he was always eager to attend.

We will publish a longer tribute to Tony in a future edition of 'The Weekly News' along with details of funeral arrangements but for now please hold him in your prayers as he is welcomed into that place that his beloved Lord has prepared for him for all eternity and remember Lesley and Stephanie as they give thanks for a life well lived. 

Fr. Nicholas

 
BELOW: Tony in 'Epic', an episode of the Sixties' classic TV series 'The Avengers'
 with Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg

The promise of new beginnings... 

Hyacinth bulbs poke through the soil in the Lady Chapel, with thanks to our wonderful Flower Guild.

Many Happy Returns to our oldest parishioner... 

Many Happy Returns to our oldest parishioner, the irrepressible Diana Gayford, who celebrated her 104th birthday last week (January 15). This photo was taken in November of last year when her grandaugher, Charlie, was married at Holy Trinity,

Taking Care Programme... 

We have re-ignited the 'Taking Care' programme that we undertook during the first national lockdown.

If you would like someone to call you for  a chat, some support or any other assistance. please email Sophie on: parishoffice@sloanechurch.org 

This also enables us to keep up to date with those we are seeking to care for and also for any major issues to be referred to the clergy. 


Fr Fergus and Sophie Wilson are overseeing the programme and delegating of people and their contact numbers.  This is of particular importance, due to GDPR regulations.
 

Junior Church ‘Book of Hope’

Junior Church ‘via zoom’ has resumed on a weekly basis for all children who would like to attend with the wonderful Borthwick Family 

This year we are starting  the new term with a project of hope and so we will be producing the ‘Holy Trinity Sloane Square Book of Hope 2021’. Any child of any age can join. We are encouraging the older children to write stories of hope and the younger children to illustrate the book with drawings / paintings of hope. We will then put this together and it will be available for purchase, to help raise much need funds for Holy Trinity Church and the mission and ministry of Junior Church – when we are finally allowed back into the church building.

This is really exciting and we can’t wait to get started. If you would like to join in, please email Sophie on: parishoffice@sloanechurch.org  

Keeping in touch with your Church

If you wish to contact the Parish Office for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact us by using the Parish Mobile as the office phone is only manned from 12-4pm, Monday to Friday.
Parish Mobile 07842 486514
...and don't forget to access our news and notices through our website
www.sloanechurch.org
... and lots more on our Twitter Page
www.Twitter.com/sloanechurch

A time to keep on giving

The present situation is having a dramatic financial effect on many people and organisations. Holy Trinity is not immune from this. Without public worship on Sundays and weekdays our income from giving is dropping by at least £1,000 per week. Some members of the congregation already give by standing order, direct debit or through online payments. If you are not doing this already, we would be so grateful if you could start:

Holy Trinity Church PCC
Natwest
Account Number: 23364580
Sort Code: 60-19-26


...or if you prefer to send a cheque, please do not hesitate to do so:

The Treasurer
Holy Trinity Church
146 Sloane Street
London SW1X 9BZ


You can boost your donation by 25p for every £1 you donate with Gift Aid. Some of you regularly give with Gift Aid, so we are able to claim the extra money you kindly donate by bank transfer or standing order, as your declaration remains valid until you tell us otherwise.

For those new donations coming via our bank account which we don't already have a Gift Aid form, our Finance Team will be in touch by email to ask you if you would like to do so. It will help us if you can alert us in advance: treasury@sloanechurch.org

Please do not feel under any pressure to complete the Gift Aid Form. It is entirely up to you and we are very grateful for any penny you can spare to support our church's mission and ministry.
WHO'S WHO and CONTACTS

RECTOR
The Revd. Canon Nicholas Wheeler
E-mail: rector@sloanechurch.org

ASSISTANT PRIEST
The Revd. Fergus Butler-Gallie
E-mail: priest@sloanechurch.org

HONORARY ASSISTANT
The Rt. Revd. Dr. Michael Marshall

CHURCHWARDENS
Jeffrey Kabel
Carolyn Hallett


ASSISTANT CHURCHWARDENS
Gill Dunley
John Renz

TREASURER

David Fairlamb

PCC SECRETARY
Martin Bonham

PARISH ADMINISTRATOR
Sophie Wilson
E-mail: parishoffice@sloanechurch.org
Telephone: 020 7730 7270

FACILITIES AND EVENTS MANAGER
Clinton McMaster
E-mail: manager@sloanechurch.org
Telephone: 020 7730 7270
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Copyright © 2021 The Parish of Holy Trinity and St. Saviour, Upper Chelsea. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
parishoffice@sloanechurch.org 

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Holy Trinity Church · Holy Trinity Church · 146 Sloane Street · Chelsea, London SW1X 9BZ · United Kingdom

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