Benefice servicesSunday 25th October
Holy Communion in St Michaels, Hill, at 10.30 am At the moment All Saints' doesn't have a vicar, so for general enquiries please contact the churchwarden, Naomi Sargent: 01454 260376
For enquiries about weddings and funerals, please contact David Bainbridge: 01453 810049 
Help yourself to the books and puzzles in the porch!
We will probably need to put them inside the church in the winter. Thank you to all of you who donated produce for the Foodbank in Thornbury. Click on the link below to find out more:
www.thornburybaptistchurch.org.uk/?page_id=734 Alternatively, you can pay for a meal for someone in need in Gloucestershire. £5 buys one tasty meal: www.thelongtableonline.com/ Or: www.severnvalecommunitykitchen.co.uk Phone 01453/708338
'Thought for the Day'Sunday 11th October
Power, responsibility and abuse. This has been a difficult week for the Church of England. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has, rightly, been very critical of the Church’s failure to protect children from sexual abuse and concluded it had created a culture where abusers could hide. These are very serious findings and must lead us to critically examine ourselves and our culture that could have allowed such abuse to happen. We must also ensure it can never happen again. The Church does now take safeguarding very seriously and this is vital to prevent all types of abuse. The cultural issues are far more difficult to deal with and are certainly too complex to consider here. Nevertheless, the dangers posed to vulnerable individuals by organizations and people with a sense of entitlement and mission are clear. One of the stories told by Jesus in the Gospel of St Matthew is very relevant to this. At a wedding feast to which all are invited one of the guests is improperly dressed and so is thrown out with the comment: For many are called, but few are chosen. This a difficult saying, but I think it is a warning for all of us against any sense of entitlement or self-importance. We may have been called to faith, perhaps to ministry or, outside the church, to being a councillor or even a Member of Parliament. But the point of all these roles is that we have been called to service, not chosen for special privileges. It is so easy for most of us, even perhaps as parents or teachers, to cross the line from exercising power as a form of service to abusing it for our own satisfaction, enrichment or ego. That way lies abuse and sin. We can all fall into that, none of us has immunity. Perhaps another clear and appropriate warning from scripture for those of us in positions of power, responsibility or influence is this: Unto whom much is given, of him shall much be required. Steve Chandler - Reader Facebook:Search for "All Saints' in Stone"
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Upcoming Events:
Colour Key: Berkeley Benefice St Mary's - Berkeley All Saints' - Stone St Michael's - Hill Benefice Services
During the next few months there will be a 10.30 am Sunday service each week in one of our three churches. Our Lay Readers, the ‘Eleven’ team and the Stone Leading Worship team have stepped into action to take the majority of these services, and we have priests booked for Parish Communion services during late August. Risk assessments and careful planning to manage services have been done for each of our very different churches. It is a good idea to arrive early for a service so you have enough time to ‘check in’ - hand sanitising and finding a socially distanced seat mean it could take longer to settle in. You'll be asked for a name and contact number from each ‘bubble’ so we can assist ‘Track and Trace’ if need be. Don't forget to bring a face covering.
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