‘Open for worship’
Good evening,
I am writing to you from the Chaplaincy building which is now open! Sam, Tracy, Linda and I will all be working here from time to time, as well as from home. It’s good in a way to be here, able to discuss things face to face without a technological intermediary.
I thought I’d quickly give you an update on Chaplaincy events.
We now have an expanded Worship webpage at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/community/worship/
This has details of upcoming services, links to reserve places at services, Teams links for an online service on Sunday at 2 pm and Morning Prayer (starting on Monday 7 September at 8.45 am), and details of Compline and Evensong.
This coming Sunday our Service of Welcome still has some places available to be reserved. Currently 32 of the 50 places have been booked. So still plenty of room to come to St Salvator’s Chapel for the service which begins at 11 am. We hope that there will be bell-ringing beforehand. During the service there will be readings from the Principal and Chief Usher, prayers from Sam, organ music from Claire including Widor’s famous Toccata, and an address from me for an Arrivals Weekend unlike any experienced before. My theme is Out of Eden. We have done all we can to ensure that the service will be safe; if you are coming please contribute to the safety by bringing and wearing a face-covering. Here is the link to reserve your space: www.events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/sunday-worship-41/ We are very excited and a little nervous about this first service of the new semester. It will be strange for all who attend, but also, I hope, a joy to be worshipping together.
We’ll do it all again (or most of it) online at 2 pm on Sunday for those who cannot be in the Chapel service: just click on this link: Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
Meanwhile the Chaplaincy team has been contributing bright and early at 9 am every day to the Countdown to St Andrews programme for students quarantining in the town. As part of that programme students can now arrange to Meet a Local. Thank you if you have offered yourself to Fiona Barnard as a local willing to meet a new student (in a safe way).
I gave a talk yesterday to the quarantiners on Christian art in St Andrews. Here are a couple of images from the talk to brighten this rather dull early evening…
You are welcome to contact me for any reason, and to get in touch with me, Sam or the Chaplaincy office to arrange an appointment with a chaplain, either online or in person in the office.
And perhaps I will see you on Sunday.
Yours,
Donald.