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Walking the Bounds of The Parish

Today Rev’d Andrew walked the Bounds of the Benefice praying for the people in our Benefice and asking God to bless our institutions, our care homes, schools, shops and businesses. He prayed for the newcomers who will join us soon in the new housing developments and for ‘Churches Together’ as we share ministry going forward. Andrew prayed for the love of Christ to be known and received in our Benefice.

This day also marks the completion of the first two months of Andrew being our Priest in Charge for which we give thanks as we wait for God to lead us on the next exciting part of our journey in Winscombe and Sandford.

Afterwards Andrew thanked everyone for their good wishes and prayers saying, ‘It was a privilege to pray for each of you, and the needs that were shared, and for God’s blessing on the future of our Benefice.’

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Re-opening our Churches for Private Prayer

You will probably have seen the recent announcement from the Government that Churches can open for Private Prayer from 15th June. We have also received advice from the Church of England and our Bishops and Archdeacon. They emphasise that ‘just because you can, does not mean you must’.  

All Saints Church, Sandford will be open in September from 11.00 – 12.00.

N.B. Access into the Churches outside these times is not permitted except by members of the PCC Standing Committee making the arrangements for these ‘open for prayer’ sessions.

There is some specific guidance which we ask you to follow if you visit All Saints during these times:

  • Respect the 2 metre Social Distancing advice with anyone else in the Church or Churchyard.
  • Follow the guidance within the Church with regard to COVID-19 hygiene and where you can go to pray.  Places for single people, couples and family groups will be identified.
  • There will be no prayer books or bibles available in the Church for you to use.  You may therefore wish to bring your own.
  • The toilets will not be open.
  • Use the sanitizers when you leave and on your return home, remember to wash your hands.

For our part, we will ensure that it is as safe as possible for you to visit the Churches by carrying out a thorough Risk Assessment and implementing the necessary control measures.  During the time that All Saints Church is open someone will be present to supervise those attending for Private Prayer.  Those parts that visitors touch (e.g. door handles, pews, chairs etc.) will be properly cleaned on a regular basis and at the end of the session.