The Magazine, December/January 2004 (Section 1)

Magazine Production Team
Deadline for February magazine: 15th January

Team News

1st January New Years Day Lunch
Following the success of last year's meal you are all welcome to share in this celebration lunch. The wholeness and Healing Team would like help with donations of food, lifts for people without cars and serving on the day.

7th December - 4pm St. Andrew's Advent Service of Light
Last Lent the Wholeness and Healing Team offered a service of Reconciliation which was well received. This Advent we are preparing for Christmas with a service that prays for light to overcome the darkness in our World. This will be an opportunity to pray for individual, community and world issues. Please come and share in this quiet service of meditation.

New Assistant Curate
Mark Ackford has been appointed as assistant curate to serve in the Bracknell Team Ministry and will be made deacon next June in Christ Church, Oxford. Mark is 42 and is at present finishing his theological training at Cuddesdon College, Oxford. Previously he was a dentist in both the NHS and private practice. Mark is married to Suzanne and they have two children, Catherine aged 6 and Joshua aged 4.
I am really delighted that Mark is coming to join us, he has much to offer and I hope that he will find in both the parish and Bracknell as a whole, a good start to his ministry. Mark will write an article in the New Year introducing himself.

Communion Matters
The Ministry Team had a substantial meeting last month and agreed to train people in the 'taking out' of communion. This is called ‘communion by extension’ and lay people will regularly take out communion from our Sunday services in all three churches to people not able to be there. We also heard from Tracey Williams how successful the trip to Winchester was for the 10-13’s. This group includes those whom we have admitted to communion and more events are planned. The next one is on 6th February when there will be a pizza evening in the Langley Hall.
The next course for children wishing to receive communion is next Lent and there is a parent’s meeting on Sunday 29th February at 4pm

Remembering
The Memorial Service was again much appreciated and Holy Trinity was full. After the service, there was an opportunity for the families to talk over how they were doing with members of the ministry team.
The British Legion Remembrance Service again saw a full church and it was remarkable for the number of young people attending. We thought that 380 was the capacity for HT, but there were probably over 420 people there.

Prayer Diary
The prayer diary is being revised by Margaret Clarke and Mary James and will appear in a new form with more comprehensive intercessions in the New Year.

BRF Notes
The Bible Society has offered free bible reading notes to every member of the congregation and these will be available during December in each church.

BTM Website
The Web site, www.bracknell-parish.org.uk continues to thrive under Warwick and Caroline Comer-Stone’s leadership. There are new pictures which can be downloaded – these were taken by Mark Law, to whom many thanks.

TLC
The Langley Centre project has taken a leap forward. Both the PCC and Bracknell Forest Voluntary Action have agreed to get on with producing a business case. Helpful talks have also been had with Schroeder’s the bank who are part of the consortium planning the new town centre development. The Borough is committed to the project and is providing much technical assistance at this point. Many questions remain of course, but we are very confident that we are going in the right direction. Shelagh Richards continues to an invaluable secretary to the whole project and we are greatly indebted to her.

The New Year
The clergy will take one of the Sundays off after Christmas, but there will be the usual team service at Holy Trinity on the Sunday after Christmas when we shall hold our Alternative Carol service at 10.30am. On the evening of Epiphany, 6th January, there will be a team service at St Andrew’s at 8.00pm.

Gambia Beckons
Helen and David will be going back to The Gambia in late January. The Revd Priscilla Johnson, who is Head Mistress of the school, much appreciated your contributions and it has provided education and materials for a number of children. We have come to the conclusion that matching individual children with our church families in the school is not really possible because of the nature of the Gambian culture. Thank you to those who contributed. Helen will be bringing some Kaftans back – let her know if you want one, sorry but particular colours cannot be guaranteed; David would also be happy to take football shirts if you can get them to him before 20th January.

David

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News from Holy Trinity

Carpet latest!
We have a new carpet………..almost. At the time of writing, thanks to a generous bequest, the carpet has been laid but there remain a couple of technical things to sort out. Apart from the staging being renewed and the obvious delight of a new carpet, we have also uncovered the Victorian tiles around the altar and it is felt that they deserve showing off.

Building Repairs
Graham Dives has recovered from the disappearance of Concorde and is ensuring that the repairs to the buttress are being got on with. The DCC are very conscious that we need a serious fund-raising campaign for these repairs and for future repairs to the slates on the roof. We shall need to address this challenge in the New Year.

Christmas
The Christmas Services are displayed in the magazine and we shall again have our Christmas Carols by candlelight at 4pm on 21sr December, the sunday before Christmas. The Mayor will be joining us and representatives from both the borough and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church will be there.

Sacristan
Thank you to Amelia Balchin our new Sacristan. She is building on Helen Brenchley’s excellent work and is enjoying this valued contribution to our church life.

Prints on sale
There won’t be an Advent Sale this year but we shall be offering prints of the interior and exterior of Holy Trinity for sale.
 
David

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News from St Andrew's

Chocolat Discussion Group
It has been good to share with the URC and Methodist Churches the discussion group based on the film Chocolat. People from the Bracknell team have enjoyed discussing the idea of a view of the church as a welcoming and inclusive community.

Port Talbot Male Voice Choir
St. Andrew's is developing a tradition of welcoming Welsh Choirs (Yes, we can still sing and our Rugby team is rapidly improving!) and thanks to Sue Divall and the Save the Children fund raising team many of us enjoyed a tremendous night's entertainment. The church was full and it was lovely to see the children from Warfield Brownie groups singing as part of the evening. I believe the money raised amounted to £1000. When you think of the Harvest Floral Festival and the Patrick Sheen Singers that visited recently when £900 was raised it makes you wonder if we ought to find a Welsh Choir to sing each week at our services and any talk of Quota problems would disappear!

Future Events
Monday 22nd December 10am. Pram and Toddler Christmas Party - It has been wonderful to see the growth in the numbers of parents and children enjoying a short service, dancing to children's songs and sharing in activities. Father Christmas, food, and the usual activities will take place as we tell the story of Christmas for Young Families.

Saturday 13th December 12 - 3pm. St. Andrew's - Advent Fayre
Please come and support this Fayre when you can enjoy a Ploughman's Lunch, a glass of punch and spend some money on the many stalls that will be in the church. Young children will be pleased to know that Father Christmas will be there.

Sunday 14th December - 10.30am Christingle Service at St. Andrew's
This is a change from previous years when we have held a separate Christingle service. This year we hope to encourage people of all ages to share in a morning Christingle that will challenge us to think about the needs of children living in difficult circumstances. We would appreciate any volunteers who can help make Christingles during the Fayre or after it.

Christmas Services

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News from St Paul's

One of the highlights of the week at St Paul’s is our lovely, friendly Wednesday Communion. Here we share in worship, share our troubles and share a cup of coffee afterwards. This months news comes in a letter from one of the regulars.

"Today we move on with progress" so they say, everything is changing except time. I remember when people had time for people. But today there just isn’t time, which is very sad. I do count my blessings though for my dear friends at St Paul’s.

They found time to say prayers for me when I had my third Pace Maker fitted and then, when I was feeling stronger, David Osborn and Catherine found the time one Wednesday morning Holy Communion to bless me and the dear Lord poured new life into me. The service finished with David playing my favourite hymn – How Great Thou Art. The words means so much to me

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power through-out the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God. how great Thou art!

I tell people I can only speak for what our dear Lord has done for me through my life. My faith is so strong, I will never doubt it and I will close this article by thanking him for the lovely friends I have made at St Paul’s. From Trouble with a Capital T – I try to be good. I wish you all a Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2004.

Doris Tibbits

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Parish Register

Please remember them and all their families in your prayers

Baptisms

We welcome into God's family

St Andrew's
Lewis Brian Birkett
Ashleigh Jane Lentle
Thomas Peter Charles Smith

St Paul's
Helen Elder

Funerals

We commit to God's care and keeping:

Dorothy Edgington	Aged 59
Geoffrey Allen	Aged 61
Barbara Gurney	Aged 65
John Albert Burns	Aged 67
Harold Leslie Spain (John)	Aged 68
Leonard Shelton	Aged 75
Kenneth Chaplin	Aged 77
Evelyn Doreen Walker	Aged 79
Daphne Best	Aged 80
Dennis Stears	Aged 83
Stanley Greenaway	Aged 85
Helen Gulliver	Aged 92
Frances Louise Buskin	Aged 95

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December Diary

This can be found in For your Diary...

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December Prayer Diary

This can be found in Prayer Diary

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Taizé Meditation

These meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible Passage with this short commentary and reflect on the questions which follow.

Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
The reader who discovers this “fourth song of the Servant” today is seized with astonishment at this detailed account, written several centuries in advance, of what Jesus accomplished by giving his life on the cross.

It confirms that Jesus was part of a line of believers who discerned the fulfilment of God’s will in a different direction from the coming of a political messiah. God invites us to recognise his plan and take part in it in the midst of a world wounded by violence.

The excessive evil that overwhelms the victim mentioned in this passage is such that it leads him to be condemned and rejected by all. Everyone runs away from him, or else they defend themselves by claiming that he must have been responsible for what happened to him. But, by his attitude, the victim resists this interpretation. He refuses to identify those responsible with what they have done. He condemns no one and does not complain. He is thus the only one who is free and untouched by violence. He is utter patience. His lack of threats allows us to recognise our running away, our refusals and the violence we are a party to. His peace and his expectant waiting not only undo the knot of our semi-conscious complicity with evil, but also give us an impetus to act.

Recognizing that we do not wish the evil in which nonetheless we are involved becomes a powerful motivation for orienting ourselves. Welcoming the trust offered to us by responding to the expectations of others opens a way for us leading to light and life.

In this way, the paradoxical means God chooses to accomplish his plan is revealed. He attempts neither to seduce, to convince, nor to impose himself. His servant becomes vulnerable, exposed to incomprehension, at the mercy of those he calls. By undergoing this trial, he frees us from the fears that paralyse us and awakens the best of what is within us: only the gift of his life is fruitful.

In whom can I recognise the “suffering Servant” today?
What does it mean for me to collaborate with God’s justice, with God’s will to liberate?


Take time at the end to pray, thanking God for his presence, asking for what you need for yourself, and for those things close to your heart.

Further information on Taizé can be obtained from the Community's website.

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