Friday 13th November 11.50am

                                                                                   w/c Sunday 15^th November 2026

Dear Friends,

Thought for the week:  

“And if he have not before disposed of his goods, let him then be admonished to make his Will…. But men should often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their temporal estates whilst they are in health.”

Those (perhaps somewhat quaint) words come from the Book of Common Prayer, in the instructions for clergy in “The Order for the Visitation of the Sick”.
Often, we avoid thinking about death, but we have just had All Saints and then Remembrance Sunday, both reminding us of death, and this advice from the Prayer Book is very relevant.

Clergy are encouraged to urge the making of a will, which of course also involves appointing trusted executors. Whether you have large or limited assets, a will helps those who are left to know how you wish those assets to be divided, and it enables you to make appropriate bequests of money or possessions.

A will can also include instructions about a funeral service.
Cremation or burial? If there is to be a service in church, as most of us would want, should the coffin be brought into church in the traditional way, or will the church service and the burial/cremation be separate?

The will also allows for the possibility of a legacy or legacies, for the church or for charities.
The Christian organisation Stewardship offers a very useful legacy account that allows flexibility in making changes to the choice of charities to benefit.
(See https://www.stewardship.org.uk).

Another important area to consider is provision for the time when you may experience declining health and ability.
Without such provision, this can throw a real burden on to family members, but setting up Lasting Powers of Attorney can be a great help with the legalities.
Two LPAs are needed – health and welfare, and property and financial affairs.
This should be done while you are still hale and hearty.

Alongside these practical considerations there is of course the assurance of God’s eternal love.
The New Testament is full of confidence about what is offered to us through the resurrection of Jesus.
We may be very unsure of what this will be like – the New Testament simply talks about being with the Lord, and of a new heaven and a new earth, and of sin and suffering swept away – but we can have (as the funeral service puts it), “the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.”

George Day

Lectionary Readings for 15^th November

• Zephaniah 1:7, 12-end
• Psalm 90:1-12
• 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
• Matthew 25:14-30

Notices and Diary

Sun 15^th November      Prayer meeting at 8.45 – 9.15 in the church room

Wed 18^th November      St Petroc’s Morning Prayer at 8.30am and

Thought for the week at 10am by zoom and telephone

St Petroc’s Parish Lunch 12.30-1.30pm

Fri 20^th November           St Petroc’s Morning Prayer at 9am by zoom and telephone

If you are not already on our email list and would like to be kept informed of events in the churches of our Dart and Avon Mission Community by a weekly email, please send an email to dartavon@gmail.com

Funeral of Sally Harrison Everyone is welcome to join the family for a celebration of Sally’s life on Friday 20th November at 2.30pm at St Petroc’s and then afterwards for refreshments at Station House.