Dear friends at St Sampson’s, You have probably seen this news, so in summary: –

all Church services are suspended until further notice – churches are encouraged to remain open during the day as a place of sanctuary – churches encouraged to continue to pray – church communities are encouraged to continue to support food bank, homeless etc – church members encouraged to support individuals in their local community.

I enclose Bishop Phillip’s letter at the end of this e mail, which is very encouraging The letter finishes by saying: “We have called, along with our fellow church leaders, for a day of prayer and action this coming Sunday – Mothering Sunday (22nd March). Mothering Sunday has always been both a day of celebration for many and a sensitive and emotional day for some. Wherever you are this Sunday please do join in this day of prayer and action and remember especially those who are sick or anxious, and all involved in our Health Service. As one action, we are calling on everyone to place a lighted candle in their window at 7.00 p.m. as a sign of solidarity and hope in the light of Christ that can never be extinguished.”

St Sampson’s church will remain open for prayer. Their are sanitising wipes and gel on the table at the back. On Sunday mornings at 9.30am a Reader and/or worship leader will say the morning worship service on behalf of everyone. Please use the service booklet you have, to be united in prayer. If you don’t have one and would like one, please let me know. Tuesday morning prayer gathering will continue in church at 9.30am. (we can do this because we are small in number) Keeping our distance of course. I will soon be sending everyone a sheet with prayers for you to use and suggestions of online resources. The church of England website is very good and updated daily at the moment. Please continue to pray in whatever way you can. South Hill has an emergency support plan set up for us all to use. If you are able, think about volunteering to help the vulnerable, or if you need help in any way, contact them. Mark and Mandy Haxby are co-ordinating this 07543062251. They are also liaising with volunteer Cornwall. Or make contact via the South Hill Facebook page. As a church my name is the main contact point. Keep looking at South Hill parish website, their is lots of local news and information on what is happening.

There will be regular phone calls made to our congregation who are self isolating to check all is well. Please let me know if you are self isolating. We will all need phone calls and e mail contact to keep in touch, please keep in touch with each other and your neighbours. If you would like prayer support or a listening ear please let me know.

Please continue to give financially. Church bills still need to be paid. Either arrange a direct debit, or put your offering aside and then it can be collected. Things seem to be changing rapidly, so these provisions may change. I will try and keep you updated. We are a community of believers, have faith, love God and love one another. Blessings to you all and keep safe in this very strange time. Judith 07748773416 On behalf of St Sampson’s Church

Pastoral statement by the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro 17.3.2020 My friends, I’m sharing this message today not just with the clergy and people of the Diocese of Truro, but with everyone here in Cornwall at what is a very challenging time for us all. You’ll be aware of how much has changed in just a few short days. By now you will probably have heard too the call of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to suspend public worship for a season. That will come as a shock and challenge to many of you, but in the circumstances, and following the best medical advice, I’m sure it’s right. But I want to say very clearly to you that does not mean the Church is shutting up shop! Far from it. Now is the time for the Church of God to rise to this great challenge of our times. I cannot help but feel that this crisis challenges us deeply to be just the kind of Church our God is a calling us to be. And I believe too that that this crisis challenges Cornwall to be its very best: to express in heart and soul the spirit of One and All. So to us all in Cornwall I would say – let us be the very best we can be. This is the opportunity we all have to shine, to be our better selves. It’s a great challenge: but let’s rise to it. And if you are feeling isolated and fearful, remember you are not alone. There are many people standing by you, even if you can’t see them – and our God has not changed: he remains good and faithful and we can trust him and rely upon him. He won’t let us down. And if you’re working in the public services, our NHS, the emergency services and the caring professions, planning and working to respond in the best way possible to the many challenges we face and who may be very stretched in the days to come: do know that we are cheering you on. We’re deeply thankful for you and are praying for you – and for your families too. For the Church – whilst our pattern of worship will change significantly I think our church buildings need to be more open, not less, providing space for people to come and pray and be and socially interact (at an appropriate distance of course). We should use digital media creatively wherever we can and we are working on identifying a few churches in the diocese where live streaming of worship might be possible. And we need to be the feet on the ground in our communities – identifying those who are lonely and isolated, fearful and grieving and doing all we can, within the constraints that are placed up on us, and without exposing people to unnecessary risk, to show in word and in deed the love of Christ. Likewise there will be others who will find these times very challenging economically: again we need to do all we can to meet their needs. Let’s keep the foodbanks well stocked up. So for us as a church this will not be business as usual. But it will NOT be no business, it will be ‘business unusual’. We’ll still be about the business of the Kingdom of God, but in new, different, committed, creative and deeply caring ways. The big question this crisis asks of us as a Church is this: will we meet its challenge to love and serve and give as Jesus did, for we are nothing less than his Body here on earth? I pray we will and will not be found wanting at this great hour of need. And to all of us I would say, across Cornwall, in this crisis, let’s be people of prayer. This crisis is bigger than any of us. But God is greater. So we need not be fearful – in the end we can be people of hope, as we become people of prayer: because there is a good future for us, beyond this, a good future that God holds out for us all. And as this virus is no respecter of borders, I’m going to close with a prayer written by our neighbour, Bishop Robert, Bishop of Exeter. If you’d like to, do pray with me now: Keep us good Lord under the shadow of your mercy, in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort, knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And may God bless us all.

As I write this article the UK has just left the European Union and entered a period of transition during which all sorts of negotiations and changes will take place. Transition is often difficult and challenging as many things we have become familiar and comfortable with are replaced by the new and unfamiliar. Locally, the Anglican Church is also in a state of transition following Tony’s retirement at the end of January. The year 2020, and indeed the decade of the 2020’s, seems set to be one of transitions.

In addition to local and national transitions there is a global transition on the horizon. We have dire warnings from scientists and environmental pressure groups that there needs to be an urgent transition from our present way of life to a carbon neutral and then on to a carbon negative lifestyle. This will involve radical and sometimes difficult changes at all levels from personal right up to national and international action.

This call to change the way we are living is not at all new and was present in both John the Baptist’s and Jesus messages some 2000 years ago: Repent (change the way you are living) if you want everything to be well (the Jews of the time were looking forward to an age of peace, justice and prosperity which they called ‘the Kingdom’), Not a million miles away from the message of scientists and environmental activists of the 21st century!

The context of these two appeals for a change to the way of life are very different, one was a call to prepare for the coming of the long awaited Jewish Messiah, the other is from scientists and others who can see a massive problem developing. Our western 21st century way of life needs to change, not only to address global environmental problems, but also to ensure a fairer distribution of the planets resources. We need to live in a way that treats our fellow human beings in the way we would wish to be treated – ‘to love our neighbour as ourselves’ as Jesus put it once, quoting a much older principle.

For an individual’s commitment to live this way to realise it’s full potential, however, there needs to be a transformation in government and co-operation globally. Christians still look forward to the coming of the Messiah (more commonly referred to as the return of Jesus) to establish a global government of peace and justice in which the individual commitment to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves can be fully realised.

Good news indeed!

Brian Norris CONTACT: During the transition all contacts which would have gone to the rector should be made to: Vanessa Whitting: Tel: 01579 382484 Email: vwhitting @outlook.com

Church Matters – February 2020 How hard do we find it to cross the threshold of the Church? This is a question that works both ways. For those who are not regular Church goers it can be difficult to step across the threshold and enter a Church building – for many and varied reasons. And for those who do regularly attend Church services it is not always easy to take the things which they find so valuable within across the threshold and out of the building. If the Church is to have any relevance in society then this sense of division – of there being a visible or invisible barrier between the worlds inside and outside of Church – needs to be broken down. When Jesus walked this earth, even before there were such things as Church buildings, he was aware of this potential problem. In the Sermon on the Mount he told his disciples to “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Followers of Jesus were not to hide their light under a bowl, they were to let it shine for all to see. Unless light is allowed to shine out it cannot achieve its function – which is to lighten dark places. So, for those of you who do regularly go to Church, don’t keep the light you find there to yourselves, but share it with the world outside; by what you do, how you act and what you say. There is a danger, though, that our Church buildings themselves can appear to be dark places. The following is a set of lyrics from a song by the secular group Snow Patrol:- Slowly the day breaks apart in our hands And soft hallelujahs flow in from the church The one on the corner you said frightened you It was too dark and too large to find yourself in. (from ‘The Lighting Strike’ on the album ‘A Hundred Million Suns’) Of course this is only a song lyric and we cannot read too much into it. However, returning to our old Church in London over New Year reminded me what a transformation was made to that building when the solid wood entrance doors were replaced with fully glazed doors. What happened inside the building was no longer a mystery and to step across the threshold was not to step into the unknown. And on dark winter evenings the warm glow of light spilling out from within issued an unspoken welcome. Now this sort of action isn’t suitable for all Churches – particularly our older historic buildings. But the principle of our Churches being filled with light, and warmth, does apply. It’s all very well us trying to save energy, but if in doing so we make our buildings dark and cold then no-one will wish to enter and find the true light within. And if you are amongst those who rarely enters a Church building, then please don’t wait until the next Christening, Wedding or Funeral to go again. Ask someone you know who does go to give you a tour round their Church, and discover what you are missing. Churches are places where God can be encountered and where the light of Jesus shines. They are almost always places filled too with a sense of peace – a commodity we can all value. I wish you light and peace during this winter month. Keith Browne