News from Mathon Church
Giving in Lent
Although this year Covid prevented our usual charity lunches, the Churchwardens of the Benefice selected ACORN CHILDREN'S HOSPICE as this year's Lent Charity and encouraged those in the parish to support the work of 'Acorns' via a donation.
Donations can still be made online at https://www.acorns.org.uk/get-involved/donate. Cheques should be made payable to Acorns Children’s Hospice and may be posted direct to Acorns Children’s Hospice, Drakes Court, Alcester Road, Wythall, Birmingham, B47 6JR. All donations should bear the donor code of DN136322.
Due to Covid restrictions the usual Remembrance Day service in Mathon church was not possible. However, at slightly before 11.00am on 11 November 2020 a single church bell tolled, then, Churchwarden, Nick Walker, laid a wreath at the war memorial in church on behalf of the parish and the names on the War Memorial were read out by his wife. There followed two minutes silence, observed in memory of those who gave their lives for their country in two World Wars and other conflicts since.
Thanks are due to the Bellringer who tolled the bell before the ceremony and to the Green family for a beautiful arrangement of poppies by the altar.
Mathon Church News by E-mail
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Weekly A4 News Sheet
Our weekly printed news sheet (also known as "pew sheet") is downloadable here as a .pdf file
A Little Extra Support
Since ‘in church’ services resumed (in June 2021) those who like a little extra support are appreciating the new hand rail recently installed at the chancel step.
Digital Live-Streaming Guide Helps Bring Communities Together.
At the beginning of August 2018 a new book was been launched as an introductory guide on how to digitally live stream events, reaching a wider audience and bringing a wider community together, following a successful trial event in Mathon Parish Hall as part of the 2018 Lent Series of talks organised by the church.
The trial was presented by Jack Versiani Holt (co-author), who was invited to give a presentation on how a wildlife documentary film is made, using his masters project as a case-study. The event was live-streamed, as a trial to see how people could still be included in community events without needing to be at the venue. Those who joined online were able to see the presentation live-streamed from the venue alongside the slides and video content from the presentation.
The trial received such positive feedback and many requests from people wanting to know how to do the same for their own events. Publishing this book seemed to be the clearest way to help others learn, providing a guide on how to live stream.
Jack, who is also an accomplished photographer and film maker, has also provided consultancy on how to effectively communicate through digital outlets, co-authored the book with Kevin Brewer who, as well as being a member of the ‘Local Ministry Group’ covering the Parish Churches of Cradley, Mathon and Storridge, has worked extensively as a specialist in data connectivity.
Jack explained “It’s easy to underestimate the value of bringing a community together for local events and shared experiences. Many organisations give talks and lectures for their own members and sometimes for their wider community. Modern technology can extend the reach of these events, via the internet, for people who can’t be there in person to attend digitally from the comfort of their computer screen. For those who are unable to attend in person, this digital tool can truly enhance their experience and bring the presence of a live event to the comfort of their home, bringing a much wider community closer together. This book helps break-down a technical subject, to allow anyone to learn this new life-skill, to help further engage and enhance the experience of those audiences.”
Jack continued “The most important key to successful live-streaming is good planning and preparation to ensure the smooth running of the live-stream, alongside good presentation skills. From my own experience in developing my presentation skills, I provide my best advice and top tips in this book to help the reader to understand how to present to a digital audience in a professional manner.”
Kevin added “We wanted to provide a book that gives clear, simple, practical and technical guidance for anyone wishing to provide a live-stream online for their group, so that they can include a wider audience in their events.”
The Revd Robert Ward, Rector of the parishes of Cradley with Mathon and Storridge has said: “A sense of ‘belonging’ and of being part of a community is very important to many people’s feeling of well-being. By making good use of modern technology people who may otherwise feel excluded, for whatever reason, could now be included far more in the social life of the place in which they live.”
The book is now available in or via good book shops (including the German language edition that was published 1 November 2018) or from Amazon in the UK
If you'd like to know more about our experience of live-streaming from Mathon please let us know: enquiry@mathonchurch.org.uk
Book ISBN: 978-1-5272-2521-3
On 16 April the link between Nuremberg and Herefordshire was strengthened. From the oldest parish church in Nuremberg Bishop Ark live-streamed a message in which he prays for the people of Hereford Diocese during this challenging time of Covid-19. The introductory words are in German, but then Bishop Ark prays for the people of Herefordshire in English.