Just look at this glass! This is some of the coloured glass which will make up our amazing new stained glass window. It is slowly but surely taking shape – so exciting! If you would like to donate towards this project, you can do so here: https://stjamesludgershall.com/donations/
Advanced notice that on Sunday 1st November at 4pm, we will be holding our All Souls Service. This is a special service at which we remember thise dear to us who have died and place them and those they left behind in God’s care. It might be you have lost someone recently, or longer ago, either way, please join us. If you would like to light a candle for a loved one, the church will be open for this from 11am until 4pm on that Sunday. If you would like us to light a candle on your behalf, we would be glad to do that for you, you just need to get in touch to tell us. Thank you.
This Sunday we will have our socially distanced outdoor in person service at 10am in the churchyard, as well as our radio/fb service broadcast at the same time by our friends at Castledown FM and on our fb page. The morning churchyard service will be a Service of the Word, and there will be a Communion service at 6pm also in the churchyard. We hope you will be able to join us at any of those to praise God and pray together.
As ever, for the outdoor services, please come equipped with a folding chair/picnic blanket, a waterproof/brolly if you can, and for the radio/fb broadcast you can find a service sheet at this link so you can follow along with the singing at home: https://stjamesludgershall.com/service-sheets/ We look forward to welcoming you on Sunday.
Under the latest guidance, we continue to be allowed to meet for public worship, whilst making sure we observe social distancing between households. Thanks to everyone who continues to support and attend our various opportunities to worship. We pray the services are a blessing to all.
🚴🏼♂️🚴🏼🚴♀️🥾🥾🥾 It’s time for Ride and Stride, this Saturday 12th September! 🥾🥾🥾🚴♀️🚴🏼🚴🏼♂️
Each year, to raise money for the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust, we participate in a sponsored walk or cycle ride, or even a horse ride, to another local church. This year we are walking this year from St James to St Andrews in Collingbourne Ducis on Saturday 12 September starting at 10am at St James’ lychgate, with a stop at Gastro Nicks for a break and refreshments. Come and join us! A walk and a natter in the beautiful countryside – what could be lovelier than that?
There’s transport back for those who wish to use it, two per car and home with the window open!
The money we raise is split 50% to the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust, who helped us last year with a grant of £1000 towards the restoration of our church clock face, and the other 50% to the ministry of St James’ Church. If you would like to sponsor our walkers, please ring Julie Walker on 07889503132,
or you can give electronically at this link: https://pay.collctiv.com/ride-and-stride-13592.
See you Saturday! 🥾🥾🥾
We are super excited about our Stained Glass Window project for St James! Artist, Rev’d Sophie Hacker specialises in Church Art, and here she tells us about creating the window and why she is excited to be part of the project:
“After a long period of gestation it is absolutely glorious to finally start work on this project – the window of Saint James Ludgershall. It is a design inspired by the story of the town and its historical associations with the Armed Forces, and by the eternal reality of hope offered by the Christian faith. The resurrection takes centre stage rendering in beautiful silvered golden glass.
The window will be acid etched and painted in a rich range of textures and tones but still 
allows slight sunshine to stream into the south chapel. After the stresses and worries of lockdown I am particularly loving the soaring open blues, representing both the skies of Salisbury Plain and also the spiritual realm where all people are free. I hope you will like it.”
Sophie
If Sophie’s words inspire you, and you like you would like to be part of this project, you can do so by making a contribution to the cost of this stained glass window, at this link to our website: https://stjamesludgershall.com/donations/ The total cost of the window is £20,000, half of which has already been raised and allowed Sophie to start making it. Perhaps you would like to sponsor a piece of glass. Here at St James, we think this is a really special project, reaching out not only to the folk who worship here regularly, but to everyone who has connections to this place and our wider community. Donations of any size will be warmly welcomed, so don’t be put off getting involved – we would love to draw together in making this window into a collective gift from our present community to the one of the future.
A number of different ways of joining our worship are open to you on Sunday. Whichever you choose, we pray it will be a blessing to you and we are glad to welcome you.
In person : join us in St James’ Churchyard for a short socially distanced outdoor service at 10am. We have a small number of chairs available, so if you have a folding chair or a picnic blanket you could bring, that’s very helpful. Come ready to worship with a brolly/raincoat to hand as we never know what the weather will do on the day!
Also at 10am, our friends at Castledown FM will broadcast a service and this will also be available at 10am on our Facebook page, for anyone who prefers to participate in the service that way.
We will also have a short communion service in the evening, outdoors in the churchyard at 6pm. Again, please come prepared – being outside has its drawbacks, but it also allows us to worship more freely because there are fewer measures to put in place in order to meet together safely.
As usual, you can find a service sheet for the radio/fb service at this link so you can follow along with the singing at home: https://stjamesludgershall.com/service-sheets/ We look forward to welcoming you on Sunday.
Our next regular end of the month church walk is on Saturday 29th August, meeting at the lychgate at the church at 10am as usual!
All welcome to join us.
Today, Saturday 15th August 2020, Rev’d Jimmy and Rev’d Peter led a short commemorative service for VJ Day at our village War Memorial. We will remember them.
Sunday 16th August
A number of different ways of joining our worship are open to you on Sundays during August. Whichever you choose, we pray it will be a blessing to you and we are glad to welcome you.
In person : join us in St James’ Churchyard for a short socially distanced outdoor service at 10am. We have a small number of chairs available, so if you have a folding chair or a picnic blanket you could bring, that’s very helpful. Come ready to worship with a brolly/raincoat to hand as we never know what the weather will do on the day!
Also at 10am, our friends at Castledown FM will broadcast a prerecorded service similar to those we have enjoyed over the last few months, and this will also be available at 10am on our Facebook page, for anyone who prefers to participate in the service that way. We had one or two issues last week, which we hope to have resolved.
As usual, you can find a service sheet for the radio/fb service at this link so you can follow along with the singing at home: https://stjamesludgershall.com/service-sheets/ We continue to meet in Jesus’ Name, however we can, and are glad of your fellowship with us.
Now our Prescription Delivery Service is closed, we wanted to do a few thank yous! Our thanks to all of our brilliant local prescription delivery volunteers and to Karen (our Town Clerk in Ludgershall) and Lynn (our Garrison Welfare Officer in Tidworth) for coordinating all of those volunteers Monday to Saturday for what has seemed like months and months. Also thank you to all of our Pharmacy staff who all worked so hard to get us all through the lockdown. And thank you to everyone who thanked us… your appreciation really helped to keep us all going! Thank you!
