Dear Friends and Faithful of the Community of the Holy Fathers of Nicaea,
I am delighted to announce that from today the church will be open for public worship with the blessing of Archbishop Nikitas and in accordance with Government guidelines.
We will continue to celebrate two liturgies during the week. One on Sunday at 10.30am and one on Thursday (unless otherwise announced on the weekly bulletin) at 8.00am to accommodate more people of God during the week.
During the services social distancing must be maintained between households at all times. The capacity of the church is limited and you will be not allowed to enter the church if the wardens tell you that it is not safe to do so.
Only one person is allowed to offer liturgical responses and there is not to be any congregational singing. Only one person will stand at the chanter’s stand (analogion).
Sadly, the government regulations do not allow the kissing or touching of any common objects. This means that we should refrain from venerating the holy icons or holy Gospel in ways that involve physical contact.
Government rules also limit the sharing of food within the church. Kollyva will not be distributed after the memorial services. Those who bring plates of kollyva will take them back with them as they leave to share with families at home.
Those showing any signs of illness should not come to church. Likewise if you are fearful of catching coronavirus or you are in the various categories of vulnerable persons previously advised by the Government you should stay at home.
Please make make sure that you have washed yourselves thoroughly before you leave your homes to attend church services. You will be asked to sanitize your hands before entering the church.
Face masks will be available in the church for those who wish to wear them.
We will continue to livestream the services for the time being for those unable to get to church.
God bless you
Father Stephen
Schedule of Services
The schedule of services for this week is available on our website at the link below. We continue to broadcasts our services live on our website at the same link.
5 July 4th Sunday of Matthew
10.30am Divine Liturgy in Telford see here for directions
7 July Tuesday Kyriake the Great Martyr
7.00am Small Paraklesis
8 July Wednesday Great Martyr Procopius
7.00pm Scripture study via zoom [see details below]
9 July Thursday Hieromartyr Pancratios
8.00am Divine Liturgy
11 July Saturday Great Martyr Euphemia
6.00pm Great Vespers
The Word of the Lord
The weekly bulletin from the archdiocese for 4th Sunday of Matthew with the readings for the day along with a sermon is available on the website of the archdiocese at the following link:
Supporting your church
We rely entirely on your donations for our ministry as we receive no support other than from you. If you would like to make a donation to the church, you may do so using the secure PayPal donate button below or direct transfers using the bank details provided. There have now been no collections since lockdown began but the pastoral work continues as much as ever.
For direct bank transfer please use the following account details:
Bank: Lloyds TSB
Account holder: Community of the Holy Fathers
Sort Code: 30-97-62
Acc: 00438625
Scripture study and catechesis
Father Stephen will be leading Scripture Study on Wednesday evening at 7.00pm for around 60 minutes via Zoom. All are welcome to attend. We are studying The letter to the Hebrews
The details for joining the Zoom meeting are as follows:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77563564842?pwd=WFFqM1QxaHdpdFRSQ3NQR1lyNzJKdz09
Please contact us by email for the meeting code and password: info@shrewsburyorthodox.com
Archdiocese religious education classes
The archdiocese has organised a series of religious education lectures via Zoom throughout the summer on Tuesday evenings at 7.00pm. The subject of the current lecture series is “Signs and Wonders according to the Gospel of John”. They are led by Father Nephon Tsimalis. For joining details please email ntsimalis@gmail.com for the Zoom code and password.
Archdiocese Sunday School
The archdiocese has organised online Sunday School sessions for children between the ages of six and 18. You can sign up by emailing youth@thyateira.org.uk