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We have some bad news and some Good News! The bad news is that, following work by BT Openreach this week, we don’t have an internet connection from Holtwood Methodist Church at the moment so our Easter Celebration at 10.45 tomorrow cannot be streamed live. Hopefully it can be recorded and posted on Facebook so that you can catch up with it later in the day. And the Good News for tomorrow? Christ has Risen – Allelujah!

On Thursday 1st April at 7.30pm there will be a Maundy Thursday Service in the Church to be led by Revd Nigel Deller. Hope you can join us – if you would like to be there please book a place with Doreen Holford. Please note that this service will not be streamed on Facebook.

On 7th March Holtwood resumed live services from the church itself and these will also continue to be streamed on our Facebook page. For the present ‘though, to comply with Covid restrictions, numbers have to be limited to about a couple of dozen so, if you would like to join us at 10.45, please leave a message on our Facebook page.

Covid restrictions and technical issues permitting, we’re planning to resume services in Holtwood Methodist Church on Sunday 7th March, 2021 at 10.45 and this service to be led by Revd Nigel Deller will include Communion. Numbers will have to be limited so to attend in person you’ll need to register with Doreen Holford on 01258 840054 – this will enable us to maintain social distancing and, of course, we’ll still need to wear masks and observe other safety precautions. If you would prefer to join our services on-line then this will still be possible via our Facebook page where our pre-recorded services for the past months are still available to view.

As we’re all now in the latest Covid lock-down here is the position at Holtwood over the coming weeks:-
1) Church will remain closed until mid-February at least, when the position will be again reviewed by Revd Nigel Deller and the Stewards’ Team at a Zoom Meeting scheduled for 8th February.
2) In the meantime we will continue to stream pre-recorded Services until further notice. As a new initiative for those able to join these Services on a Sunday morning, we are going to hold a virtual Tea and Coffee meeting time over the Zoom platform. This will be timed to follow the Service broadcast and we hope this will enable us to chat with one another and exchange family news, share individual concerns or needs. Joining details will be given by Ian on Facebook transmission.
3) Our Covenant Service including Holy Communion has been postponed from 10th January until 31st January. The intention is to stream this Service which Nigel will conduct from our Church where it will be recorded.
Pre-packed elements will be distributed in advance to those requesting to take part in an extended Communion in this way. There will be a notice giving details of how to request packs in the coming days and this will be on the broadcast services, e-notices this Facebook page and on our website.
4) We need to remain connected in these days, perhaps more than ever and our Pastoral Committee will be meeting via Zoom shortly to consider and review their important work.
There will be more updates here when we have more information and, in the meanwhile, do please follow the lockdown rules – and stay safe!

Our upcoming streamed services are, on Sunday 20th, a joint Holtwood & Verwood Nativity Service at 10.45 followed by a traditional carol service from Verwood at 6.00 and then on Christmas morning at 9.30 a Christmas Celebration with Revd Nigel Deller. Hope you can join us at:- www.facebook.com/holtwoodmethodistchurch/live

The Holtwood Minister and Stewards’ Team met last night and, because of continuing Coronavirus restrictions, reluctantly decided to cancel our ‘Carols around the Tree’ evening on 20th December. But the good news is that instead at 6.00 there will be a pre-recorded traditional carol service streamed from Verwood on Facebook. And that’s not all! A Nativity Service, with the cast drawn from Holtwood and Verwood Methodist Churches, will be streamed at 10.45 that morning. And that’s still not all! The further good news is that (subject to Covid restrictions and technical issues being OK) we’re hoping to hold ‘live’ services, which will also be streamed, from Holtwood (in the church itself) beginning with our Covenant Service on 10th January at 10.45. More details to follow but we’re aiming to use the Methodist Church ‘Extended Communion’ protocol. Watch this space for more details in the coming weeks!

Well, the best-laid plans and all that! On 25th October and 1st November we were delighted to be able to stream ‘live’ services from our Hall – but along came the reintroduction of Covid restrictions and the 2nd national lockdown. So from Sunday 8th November we’ll revert to pre-recorded services which will be streamed on our Facebook page at 10.45 – you can listen to them in real time or at any time afterwards. But we’ll be back live when we can so do keep an eye on this website and on our Facebook page for more details. And, in the meanwhile, stay safe!

We’re planning to have our first ‘live’ service since March at Holtwood on Sunday 25th October at 10.45 which will be led by our Superintendent Minister, Revd Pauline Crispin. Do join us in the Hall (subject to Covid safeguards) or watch the service streamed on our Facebook page.

In these challenging times, we’re so pleased that many people have been able to join us for our pre-recorded services which are streamed at 10.45 each Sunday morning and can be accessed at anytime afterwards. We’re planning to stream ‘live’ services in the next few weeks and are currently doing technical tests – so do check here for the latest updates.