THE PARISH CHURCH OF STOKE DAMEREL
(ST. ANDREW & ST. LUKE)

Email:   info@stokedamerel.church                                          
www.Stokedamerel.church
www.facebook.com/StokeDamerelChurch

Please note: Stoke Damerel Church does not divulge
personal information to third parties.

Sunday 12 July                6th Sunday after Trinity

  Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms
are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:-
The sick:-
Maureen, Margaret W, Graham, John S, Kathy, Mo, Matt,
Bertie, Morwenna, David J, Margaret B.
The long term sick and infirm:-
Diana, Liz & Keith N, Rob.
The Ministry Team:-
Ruth and Marilyn.

BLESSED SACRAMENT CANDLE

If you would like to have the candle lit for a week
for a particular prayer / thanksgiving /
commemoration, etc., please send a £5 donation to
Debbie Smith, clearly marking your donation as
being for the candle. Details of your intention can
be emailed to:- sarah.lundstrom@virginmedia.com
so that a mention of the commemoration, etc., can
appear in the Sunday Sheet.

SERVICES THIS WEEK
Stoke Damerel Parish Church is a hybrid church
open for public worship and private prayer and all
services will be live streamed.
By attending a live streamed service, you give
implied permission to have your image captured
on CCTV and to be broadcast as participant in the
liturgy.

Watch our livestreamed services
Please follow the link to make your way to our YouTube page: 

 STOKE DAMEREL YOUTUBE CHANNEL  Sunday 12 July                6th Sunday after Trinity
0800 Holy Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Sue Nicholas
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Michelle Parkman

Wednesday 15 July
1000 Morning Prayer

Sunday 19 July            7th Sunday after Trinity
0800 Holy Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Sue Nicholas
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist & Baptism of Kit
Celebrant: Rev’d Sue Nicholas

WELCOME BACK
To Rev’d Sue at 8am and Rev’d Michelle from
Marjon for our 10am service.
Next week we will be welcoming Kit and his
family for Baptism during our 10am Eucharist.
Kit’s older brother was baptised at Stoke Damerel
by Father Keith.

SERVICE STREAMING UPDATE
The Church's supplier has confirmed there is an
external fault in the line (their problem) meaning
no broadband in the Church. The recommended
solution is for a new upgraded 'fibre' line to be
installed to replace the defective one, scheduled
timing end of this month (July).
Thanks to Jenny W who has now 'off-site'
uploaded the recordings of 28 June & 5 July's
services (you may need to switch from 'Live'
option to 'Home' or 'Video' option to watch).
Keep eyes peeled for uploads of future services
until broadband reinstated.
Ian G

ARCHDEACON'S VISITATION
Tavistock 16th July 2026: 7pm
St Eustachius Church, Plymouth Road, PL19 8AU.

PASTORAL REORGANISATION
There have been discussions for some time
regarding the transfer of the parish of St. Aubyn
from St. Michael and St. Barnabas to Stoke
Damerel to form a new united benefice. A draft
pastoral scheme has been prepared and sent to us
by the Diocese and a copy is available to read on
the welcome table.
The matter is now for public consultation with a
deadline of 3rd August. Please read the notice on
the church door. If you have any comments, for or
against, the notice explains how to make your
views known.

MARILYN'S MEMOS

CONCERT : “RADIANT MAJESTY”
Devon Chorale are giving a concert on Saturday
evening at 7.30 pm. It finishes at 9.30pm so no
problem with getting home for the England v
Norway match!! The organist at Exeter Cathedral
is coming to perform with them, so that should be
a treat and we are hoping it will be cool and
refreshing in the church! The programme includes
works by Parry, Handel, Elgar, Vaughan Williams
and Rutter.
Tickets are £15 at the door or online from their
website.

SEA SUNDAY
For Sea Sunday 2026, our theme is “Harbours of
Hope: The Church Alongside Seafarers”,
inspired by Matthew 25. This theme celebrates the
local church as a place of welcome, refuge, and
hope — a community offering both spiritual and
practical safety to those who work at sea. It invites
congregations to reflect on how they can stand
alongside seafarers through prayer, hospitality,
generosity, and justice.
Our friend, Graham Dear, has sent us a video
made by the Mission to Seafarers, which can be
found on the internet or sent by me if requested.
It emphasises that most of the items we use on a
daily basis, tea, fuel, clothes, are brought to us by
the 1.9 million seafarers, men and women, who
work on ships around the world. They spend long,
lonely and challenging months at sea, away from
their families and are our hidden heroes. Sea
Sunday is the day we can all come together to offer
support in Christ’s name. Jesus recruited many of
his disciples from fishermen and he cares for their
vulnerability. This year’s theme is the church is a
living “Harbour of Hope” for the nation’s
seafarers, who keep our world afloat.

A PRAYER FOR SEAFARERS:
Lord God, we depend on you for life itself, and on
seafarers to meet so many of our daily needs.
Watch over all who go down to the sea in ships –
on business, for leisure, or to rescue those in peril
or difficulty. Keep them from danger, befriend them
in loneliness, and bring them safely home to those
they love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

THE SQUIRREL
Naoko, who is our art psychotherapist
in the room above the kitchen, let the
squirrel out in the surrounding area. It
was found somehow tangled up in the blue floor
sweeper and she had help to cover it with a towel
and release it outside.
Are there more? We have yet to find out.

BELL TOWER AND SCAFFOLDING
On Thursday afternoon, we had a meeting with the
contractor and the architect. They offered to put a
flag up for us on Friday, as the flagpole is in situ.
However, Rhona and I are both out and we cannot
get the flag to the contractor! What a pity! The
door should be in place within the next week and
then the scaffolding can start to be taken down.
The step will be in situ as soon as it is finished.

GRASS CUTTING
We are hoping to get the grass cut but
unfortunately there is a new council policy that
only certain parts of the land around the church is
scheduled for regular cutting. This is the part on
the other side of the back lane and along the area
by the steps on the left of the path. The part
immediately adjoining the church is scheduled for
an annual cut and to be left in a natural state!
We are making representations to the parks
department as it is a mess.

HMS PINAFORE
Plymouth Gilbert and Sullivan Society are in full
rehearsal for their forthcoming production. They
asked permission to leave their mikes, amplifiers
etc in situ until Thursday evening and since this
did not appear to disturb the two groups using the
church during this time, I said it would be OK.
I hope it has not inconvenienced anyone.

SUMMER FAIR
Many thanks to all of our helpers and contributors.
We hope to include a breakdown of the amount
raised in next week’s Sunday sheet, when the
figures are available from Debbie.
In the meantime, here are some photos from the
event.

Phillip and Margaret on the raffle.


The hard-working kitchen team - Rhona, Emma and Jacqui.


Richard and Russell.


What a lot of Reverends!

ADVANCE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Sep 19 Devon Historic Churches Open Day
Oct 11 Harvest Thanksgiving Service
Oct 18 St. Luke’s Service
Nov 8 Remembrance Sunday
Nov 13 & 14 Christmas Fair

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN JULY
Eric Farrar, Jerry Cresswell.

MORE DELIGHT IN THE GARDEN
I really should now carry out more research and
produce more articles to bring out more of the
history of Stoke and Devonport for us all to enjoy.
However, even though we may all be wilting in the
successive heatwaves, so many plants and insects
in the garden seem to be thoroughly enjoying the
constant sunshine, that is assuming that we have
the stamina to keep on watering them all.

The Day Lillies, above, at the bottom of the garden
are now continuously blooming, as are the lighter
coloured double versions, below, on the edge of
the drive.

I noted last week that the Phlox plants are coming
into full bloom and as usual, a Crab Spider is
waiting patiently to catch some unsuspecting prey.
The spider is still white, as can be seen below, but
may change to match its surroundings soon.



Other insects also seem to be attracted to the
Phlox, perhaps by the heady aroma. The small fly
below has wonderful iridescent wings.

Sadly, the large double, bright red Poppies are
nearly all finished now.

I think this is our third year of extending ‘no mow
May’ throughout the summer and the diversity of
wildflowers taking over the grassed area at the
front of the property is increasing. Yellow is now
predominant and the view from our Kitchen
window, even on a dull day is so cheerful and very
uplifting.

Tony Barnard