Monthly Newsletter

Churches of Atworth with Shaw and Whitley - Making Jesus Known

Church Family News - July 2025

Welcome to our latest edition of Church Family News

Come and join us whenever you can, everybody is welcome. God bless you all

Please pray our Parish prayer as often as you can.

Parish of Atworth, Shaw and Whitley community prayer

God of love and hope, direct our way as we seek to serve you in Atworth, Shaw and Whitley. Give us wisdom and courage to follow you, even when the future seems uncertain.
We ask you to provide for our needs; Help us to be generous servants with what you give us, that all that we have may be used for your glory. Fill us with your Spirit, and inspire us with your love. Amen

Dear Church Friends

Keith’s message in last month’s newsletter, about Ordinary time, really got me thinking, and I’m sure you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did.

So, as we are still in Ordinary time, (and will be for a while yet) I wanted to continue to explore what that can mean for all of us. Keith finished his June letter with ‘As we enter ordinary time may we find the sacred in the ordinary and see the extraordinary in everyday life’.

‘Extra’ ordinary…. It got me thinking of all the ‘extras’ in our day to day Christian lives and especially as we enter July, which to me is a busy month of extras. Across education we see school trips, summer fetes, concerts, awards evenings and proms as the academic year comes to an end. Sports calendars are busy with Wimbledon, Tour de France, Women’s Euro Football Championships, Golf Opens, Grand Prix’s. We have music festivals locally and nationally, not forgetting our own Live at

Shaw series which continues on 5th July with Chippenham Male Voice Choir (so make sure you have your tickets!!).

July is also a month popular for weddings too, and what an amazing ‘extra’ that is; to be blessed with public affirmations of love, confirmed in the presence of God. We might not have ‘extra’ religious holidays during July but we are so blessed knowing that God still gives us extra, every day, through our faith and love for Him. The Bible is bursting at the seams with examples of God’s abundant love, frequently illustrating this through both stories and teachings. God’s provision always exceeds mere necessity too,

as shown in the following stories:

Elijah Fed by Ravens (1 Kings 17:1-6)

During a famine, God directed ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat daily, showing His provision through unusual means and ensuring Elijah’s sustenance in a time of scarcity

Manna in the Wilderness (Exodus 16)

As the Israelites wandered in the desert, God sent manna from heaven each day, providing food for the entire nation for 40 years, demonstrating His faithfulness and abundance far beyond what was strictly necessary for survival

Feeding of the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 9:10-17)

Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of thousands, with twelve baskets of leftovers, showing God’s ability to provide abundantly and yet with extra to spare

The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32):

The father’s unconditional love and forgiveness for his wayward son illustrate God’s abundant grace and care for those who feel lost or unworthy. The story offers emotional healing through acceptance and restoration.

These are just a few of the many stories that highlight God’s care for both our physical and emotional well-being, often providing more than is required and using unexpected methods to bless us all.

But how can we give, or do, extra as followers and disciples of Christ?

Do you sometimes, like me, wish you were able to give more, or question if what you’re doing is enough?

Could I give a little extra in our Parish Giving?

Could I give up half an hour of my time, on a regular basis, to reach out pastorally within our villages?

Could I add my name to any of the rotas around church?

Could I make more effort to keep in touch with people and check in on them?

Could I show, and share, my love for God in more ways?

So many of us, here in Atworth, Shaw and Whitley are certainly stepping up, giving more, and doing extra, during this time of vacancy. We still don’t know what the outcome of our advert will be, but whatever happens next, we can have confidence that it is all part of God’s plan. In the meantime, He will continue calling us to do what we can during this time.

God knows what we’re capable of. God knows where we can give extra and he will constantly guide us and nudge and push us (if

needed) to ensure that we, in His name, keep putting the ‘extra’ into the ordinary. He will continue to bestow his abundant gifts on all of us and, as long as we continue to do our best, He will be abundantly pleased.

So let’s all make July ‘extra’ordinary and ‘extra’ special in God’s name

Blessings

Paula

Praying image.docx

This month we pray for:

A just and lasting peace in Ukraine tand an end to the killing wherever there is conflict all around the world
More aid to be allowed in to Gaza to relieve the starving people
All those who have recently been bereaved especially the families and friends of Doreen Leach and Alison O’Brien whose funeral services were recently in Christ Church, Shaw
For our villages especially our schools, pre schools, nurseries and care homes
All those caring for our health in hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacies and in the community
All those who are sick or troubled
We pray that someone recognises the opportunity in this Parish and will walk beside us to make Jesus known here

Social Update

CONCERTS

For our next concert at Christ Church Shaw, we are pleased to welcome the Chippenham Male Voice choir.

The choir was formed in 1940 and continues to flourish and entertain audiences around Wiltshire and beyond. They perform from a large, varied and constantly updated library of

contemporary and traditional music, ranging from Welsh hymns to arias, from grand Opera to pop classics and easy listening pieces. Their style is to enjoy their singing and strive to give their audiences the same enjoyment. The choir’s ethos can be summed up as “music is a serious business but it has to be fun”. Three loud amens to that!

The choir’s accompanist is Mary Ballard, who has a local connection to Shaw, having taught at Shaw Primary School for 17 years. She is well experienced with choirs and for several

years was accompanist for the Chippenham Cantata.

FUTURE EVENTS

Cream Teas 26 July 2pm - 4pm

Atworth Village Hall

Raising funds for the Atworth Tower

Fund. Please support this event and enjoy homemade scones with cream

Coffee Morning

Saturday 16th August 10am-12

Hosted by Ron & Gaye Harris -

Arnold’s Mill, Lacock SN15 2LY

Refreshments - Cake Stall -

Raffle - Fellowship

Friday 15 August Cream Teas at Shaw Church to celebrate VJ Day

September - Quiz at Shaw Church

Friday 3 October Harvest Supper at Atworth Church Hall (Bring and Share)

December:

Christmas Tree Festival at Shaw Church

A Message from Your Treasurer

Fellow members of the Parish of Atworth with Shaw and Whitley I would please like to prevail upon you all once again to review your donations made to our Churches.

I know I am asking an awful lot in these difficult times, and I am totally aware that many of you are also giving generously to other charities along with our own Church projects; especially the St. Michael’s Atworth Tower Fund.

As I stated at our recent Extraordinary Meeting there is a large gap between Income and Expenditure which has resulted in our not being able to pay our Parish Share in 2023 and now it seems, 2024.

At present it looks likely that we will pay just over 60% of our Share this year, which is £62,902.95 (£5241.91/month). Our regular income is in the region of £3750/month and our regular expenditure is £1450/month. That is almost £3000/month shortfall!! Most of our income is from you via the Parish Giving Scheme and the remainder from Standing Orders direct to the bank, Loose Collection and CollecTin donations.

The expenditure is for utilities, (water, electricity, gas and oil), insurance, maintenance and parish expenses. Not all gloom as our fundraisers do an

excellent job to help in topping up the coffers. We also have some income from our share of Parochial fees (funerals and weddings).

If there is anyone that would like to start regular giving, please consider giving with the Parish Giving Scheme.

The simplest way is online. Visit

https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/atworth-shaw-whitley/

or scan the QR code above

By phone: 0333 002 1271, Monday to Friday 9.00am-5.00pm

You can also use these links to increase your donations. using

the links provided below. Could I ask that you consider ticking

the box that will allow for annual increases in line with inflation. Also don’t forget to Gift Aid your donations, if eligible. Should you need any help please do not hesitate to contact me or ask one of the Church Wardens.

Thank you for supporting

‘Our Churches at the Heart of Our Community’.

Alan Ratcliffe

aratcliffe1@hotmail.co.uk

07403 053696

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