The Parishes of Tavistock, Gulworthy and Brent Tor
The Vicarage, 5a Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8AU Tel: 01822 617432 Email: veryrevdchristopher.hardwick@btinternet.com
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I write this as our parishes enter Passiontide. I hope and pray that everyone continues to be safe and well.
With regard to our services, these have continued during the third lockdown. At the time of writing, further guidance on singing is awaited from the Government, but sadly, it seems unlikely that the prohibition on congregational singing indoors will be lifted before Easter. I remain grateful, and express my thanks here, to our Director of Music in Tavistock and to all musicians across the Benefice who have been able to provide music for our services as the regulations have allowed since the third lock-down began. As a Benefice, we continue to review our COVID 19 protocols in accordance Government guidelines to ensure that everything we do is as COVID-safe as possible. Where possible, services are recorded and streamed and can be followed on our Facebook pages and websites. For those without internet access the Church of England’s free national phone line continues to offer music, prayers and reflections, as well as full worship services, each day. The phone line, which is available 24 hours a day, is: 0800 804 8044.
For the time being, the opening hours for worship and private prayer remain:
St.Eustachius’, Tavistock
Sunday, 9.45 am Eucharist, and open for private prayer until 1 pm
Wednesday, 10.30 am Eucharist, and open for private prayer until 1 pm
St.Paul’s, Gulworthy
Sunday, 11.15 am Eucharist
Wednesday, 9 am until 3 pm open for private prayer
Christ Church, Brentor,
Sunday, 9.45 am service, and open daily for private prayer
St.Michael’s, Brent Tor
Open daily for private prayer
23 March: National Day of Reflection
Next Tuesday will mark the anniversary of the first national lockdown. For many people it will be a significant anniversary. In Devon the death toll has topped the 1,000 mark. The restrictions that we have been living under have meant that many people have had to grieve without the comfort of friends and family around them. The Church of England, in partnership with Marie Curie, Hope UK, Care for the Family and other charities, have organised a National Day of Reflection to acknowledge grief and loss during the pandemic.
All our churches will be open on Tuesday 23rd for private prayer and reflection and at 12 noon a minute’s silence will be kept in remembrance of those who have died and the many who are mourning. For those unable to be present, Bishop Robert will be leading an act of reflection from the Cathedral beginning at 11.45 which will be broadcast live on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CofEDevon/live_videos/?ref=page_internal
The following prayer has been written to mark the anniversary:
Gracious God,
as we remember before you
the thousands who have died,
surround us and all who mourn
with your strong compassion.
Be gentle with us in our grief,
protect us from despair,
and give us grace to persevere
and face the future with hope
in Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen
Passiontide, Holy Week and Easter
The Church of England has produced resources for use at home during Passiontide, Holy Week and Easter. These include a series of meditations by Paula Gooder on the Stations of the Cross, and ideas for observing Good Friday, and making an Easter Garden with children. The link is:
The following services will be held in our churches:
Palm Sunday Services:
9.45 am Tavistock
9.45 am Christ Church, Brentor
11.15 am Gulworthy
Maundy Thursday,
7.00 pm Gulworthy Eucharist
7.30 pm Tavistock (St. George’s Aisle) Eucharist followed by The Watch until 9 pm
Good Friday, 2.00 pm Tavistock (Nave) & Gulworthy
Reflections, Music & Prayers
Easter Day Services:
9.45 am Tavistock
9.45 am Christ Church, Brentor
11.15 am Gulworthy
6.00 pm St. Michael’s, Brent Tor
I will also broadcast a Service of Holy Communion according to the Book of Common Prayer on Easter Day at 8.00 am. This will be available on Facebook and our websites.
Brent Tor Tableaux
From Palm Sunday to Easter Day a series of tableaux will be placed on the Tor and in the churches at St. Michael’s and Christ Church as a visual telling of the story of Holy Week and Easter. There will be multimedia links available giving further information about the events depicted. Further details are available on the church website.
Tavistock Easter Trail
From the 28th March until the 14th April follow an Easter trail to discover some of the churches around Tavistock and learn about Easter through craft activities, Gospel readings and prayer. Further information on Facebook @TavistockEasterTrail
A Message from Bishop Robert
As we come out of lockdown and return to our church buildings this Easter, we need to renew our confidence in the God who calls us into life. Our primary calling is to be more Christ-centred for the sake of God’s world. Looking back on the past year, there are lessons to be learned. Looking forward, there are opportunities to be grasped. Our worship and mission will not be the same; indeed, they should not be the same. We need to embrace a mixed ecology of how we do church, capitalising on the new contacts we have made during the pandemic and better tailored to those among whom we live and minister.
Change comes not in response to informed pessimism or uninformed optimism, but in response to hopeful realism. And hope is born when we see the world through the lens of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is God’s world and we are God’s pilgrim people, and God invites us to be communities of grace that speak the hope of good news. Bishop Nick, Bishop Jackie and my colleagues on the senior staff join me in assuring you of our prayers for Holy Week and Easter. May our crucified and risen Lord renew us all with his grace.
With my thanks for our partnership in the Gospel,
+ Robert Exon
Please continue to share and cascade the information contained in this letter to anyone you know who has little or no access to email, or to our social media sites as best you can. It remains vitally important to keep everyone informed of, and involved in, our ongoing Church life across the Benefice as we prepare to celebrate Easter together. Thank you.
With God’s blessing
Christopher Hardwick
Passiontide 2021