New sermon series for our Morning worship in July and August
Letter from Lockdown
Category: St Michael’s Church
Heart of the Community Gift Day Update
Updated 3 July
There has been an amazing response to Gift Day so far with an amazing £330k pledged, thank you! This will enable the work in St Michael’s Centre on the corridor to be completed and the kitchen to be installed, which is wonderful news!
Following a meeting of the trustees on Monday 29 June we will be giving away £33,000 (10%) and we have now instructed to the builder to complete the kitchen as well as the arches.
If you haven’t yet pledged, please do so if you can. We still need to repay loans of over £1 million and would like to encourage regular giving via standing order, even a few pounds given every month will make a difference.
To set up a standing order, please use the following bank details:
Sort Code: 30-62-32
A/C No: 348005560
Payee: St. Michael’s Church Centre Ltd HOTC
Reference: Surname
2 Corinthians 9:11: “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Of all the financial gifts made to the project, we’ve committed 10% to support our mission and outreach partners elsewhere in the UK and around the world, you can read more on the latest tithe donations made here.
A statement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York
Statement below from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and Archbishop of York John Sentamu
Bells strike the right note
The sound of bells from St Michael’s Church is here to stay.
The Parochial Church Council was granted a temporary licence in September 2018 to make safe and preserve the original bells and evaluate a modern digital bells system.
The digital bells were installed in the church tower in early December 2018 and tested and adjusted over a nine-month period to get the most realistic sound.
The Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) visited the church in November 2019 to see the system and hear the bells. They noted that the system was effective and “evidently greatly appreciated by the congregation and neighbouring community”.
A faculty for permanent use of the digital bells was granted earlier this year so long as:
• any future alterations or replacement of the system is referred to the DAC
• they are rung for “ordinary use” (excluding times when muffled* bells would be required), and
• the PCC is encouraged to progress the preservation and repair of the bells.
There were once four bells in the bell chamber: there are now only three. There is no record of what happened to the missing bell. In July 2019 the bells were removed from their pivots and supported on a timber platform to remove the weight from the historic bell frame – which is included on the Church Buildings Council’s list of significant frames
*Muffled or half-muffled bells can be rung to mark funerals and other solemn occasions.