Ride & Stride Saturday 12th September

🚴🏼‍♂️🚴🏼🚴‍♀️🥾🥾🥾 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! 🥾🥾🥾

Exciting Stained Glass Window Project

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 BA5995BC-DD96-499A-9742-D82324190350allows 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.

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Sunday 30th August

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.

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Sunday Morning Service 26th July – St James’ Day

Our Sunday morning service will be a bit different this week, and there are a number of different ways in which you can choose to join our worship at 10am.

In celebration of our patronal festival – our ‘birthday’ – we will be having a socially distanced physical service in the church yard of St James. Being outdoors, it enables more of us to gather in the space safely. It will be a short but joyful meeting in Jesus’ Name.

Simultaneously, our friends at Castledown FM will broadcast a prerecorded service similar to those we have enjoyed over the last few months, led by Rev’d Tim and Rev’d Jimmy, and this will also be available at 10am on our Facebook page, for anyone who prefers to participate in the service that way.

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 pray that these services would be a blessing to you.

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Raise A Glass featured in the Andover Advertiser

Thanks to the Andover Advertiser for featuring our Raise A Glass birthday celebration for St James’ Day! What a lovely surprise! There is still time to join in if you’d like to raise a drink, take a snap and post it in the comments of our Raise a Glass post at the top of our fb page. As you can see from the article, wherever you are, whatever you are up to, if there is a brew in hand, help us celebrate our 724th! We are celebrating all month!
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Weekday Morning & Evening Prayer & Thursday Said Communion Recommence

We are delighted to announce that as of today, Morning Prayer at 8:30am and Evening Prayer at 4pm will take place every weekday, and our regular Thursday morning Said Communion Service at 10:30am will also be recommencing this week. These services all meet the government guidelines with regard length etc and will be socially distanced in the church building. Please help us to continue to safeguard the health of all by following the measures in place at the church and being mindful of others. We look forward to welcoming you to these acts of public worship and being able to physically gather in Jesus’ Name!
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Removal of our Horse Chestnut Tree

Friends, sadly, our well-loved churchyard horse chestnut tree has been condemned due to severe cracking in its structure, which as you probably know resulted in the dangerous bough drop across the hedge and into the street recently.
Arrangements are in hand to remove the danger without delay, and Wiltshire County Council approved conservation contractors plan this work for next week, starting on Tuesday.
The church road cones will be set out each evening before work is planned the next day. Heavy machinery is needed, so please keep the area clear of parked vehicles.
The tree and its roots are to be removed entirely at what seems to be a massive cost to our church so if you can help with a donation posted to Rev’d Tim at the Rectory, we would be delighted. We shall be seeking grant(s) where we can, in due course.
Meanwhile the Parochial Church Council have accepted Mike Dunning’s offer to gift a replacement specimen tree as soon as possible. This might take the form of a weeping silver birch, a cedar, a Scots pine, or any other suitable candidates from which a PCC choice can be made. If you have a preference or any other suggestions, we would be delighted to include them in the process.

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Sunday Morning Service 12th July

Our Sunday morning service continues to be on at 10am, live on our Facebook page or listen to the simultaneous broadcast by our friends at Castledown FM 104.7. In response to Government guidance changing, we are making plans for being able to gather physically safely, but we are not ready for the time being, and so we are continuing to enjoy the hospitality of our friends at Castledown FM for the time being. We will update you as soon as there are changes. Thank you for your patience, prayers, and your fellowship here in the meantime.

You can find a service sheet at this link so you can follow along with the singing at home: https://stjamesludgershall.com/service-sheets/ As usual, we can receive your prayer requests on Sunday morning by text on 01980 221047, so feel free to get in touch.

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Sunday Morning Service 5th July

Our Sunday morning service is on at 10am, live on our Facebook page or listen to the simultaneous broadcast by our friends at Castledown FM 104.7. In response to Government guidance changing, we are making plans for being able to gather physically safely, but we are not ready for the time being, and so we are continuing to enjoy the hospitality of our friends at Castledown FM for the time being. We will update you as soon as there are changes. Thank you for your patience, prayers, and your fellowship here in the meantime.

You can find a service sheet at this link so you can follow along with the singing at home: https://stjamesludgershall.com/service-sheets/ As usual, we can receive your prayer requests on Sunday morning by text on 01980 221047, so feel free to get in touch.4C2CD405-D685-401E-901B-F2B382A026E9