Fancy house hunting by comparing Sunday online worship! For one couple it made all the difference in searching for their new home.
When Tony and Doreen Chesterman decided on a move from the Forest of Dean the options for them were numerous. After a lifetime in farming on the Cotswolds and nine years at Bream, they were looking for a last move to somewhere local for their final years. But one of their chief concerns was finding a place in the countryside with an active church community.
‘Church has always been very important to us,’ said Tony. ‘We hoped to find a church which would feel like home.’
Lockdown forced them into following worship online, something that had seemed a mixed blessing. And then they stumbled on the services from the StowCaple benefice. ‘They were just lovely and you all seemed so natural and easy in front of the camera. Some we saw were just clergy in front of a blank wall talking for a few minutes and nothing more but we really enjoyed what we found from you.’
A purchase in the village of Peterstow, part of the StowCaple group of churches, was a possibility alongside several other options, but once Tony and Doreen had seen some of the services they decided that was the place for them.
Now settling into their home on Yew Tree Park with stunning views of Ross-on-Wye, the Forest of Dean and May Hill, they have had a whole-hearted welcome from the village church community.
‘Last Sunday we watched two services because we had missed the week before. You will carry on once everything is back to normal, won’t you?’ they asked. That said, they are looking forward to getting to church and meeting everyone at St Peter’s in the real world.
As we know, online worship may not be for everyone, but Tony and Doreen Chesterman are thanking God for the StowCaple Sunday services they found on the web.