Dear All,
He is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
I hope you were able to celebrate and know the joy of our Risen Lord, this Easter, albeit in a very different way from usual. Please know that you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers, and those of Max, at this time.
There are some members of our church family for whom this Easter period has been a very sad time. Following the death of Peter Rood, at the end of March, Peter Moorse and, more recently, Glyn Jones have passed away. Please do keep Anita, Diane and Judy and their families in your prayers at this difficult time.
For those of you able to access technology, we had an Easter Day Communion Service which was recorded and is available on the Church website; you can find it, if you haven’t already seen it, by going to hobnob.org.uk/watch The talk I gave as part of that service is the other email attachment in addition to this one or, for those of you who receive this information by post, it is on another piece of paper in the same envelope.
The livestreamed Morning and Night Prayer, for those of you able to access this, continue on our Facebook page @HOBNOBChurches and take place at 9am and 7.30pm respectively, every day apart from Sunday. Max has kindly agreed to lead this on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. The link for the latest service booklet, also on Facebook, is https://cdn.hobnob.org.uk/uploads/2020/04/Morning-Prayer-for-the-Easter-Season.pdf or a paper version can be found in your envelope.
On Maundy Thursday, the Holy Communion Service which is normally held in the Cathedral, was held using Zoom, the video-conferencing platform, and Bishop Stephen presided from his home. On Easter Sunday, Bishop Stephen gave a farewell talk to the Diocese as he prepares to take up his post as Archbishop of York. We give thanks for Bishop Stephen’s ministry in our Diocese over the past 10 years and wish him God’s blessing in his new post. Do keep Bishop Stephen and his wife, Rebecca, in your prayers at this time and please also pray for the committee who are seeking God’s guidance to appoint the right person to serve us as our new Bishop in this Diocese. You can find Bishop Stephen’s farewell speech at https://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/news/article/a-farewell-to-bishop-stephen
We are all in uncertain times, but the one thing that remains the same is God. The Church buildings remain closed but the Church still remains very active. One Church member has very kindly paid for a new poster to go on Orsett’s new notice board and it reads ‘Hope is alive.’
Let’s hold on to the hope of Easter, and the God who will never leave nor forsake us.
Take care and God bless,
Sue