The Magazine, December 2005/January 2006 (Section 1)

Magazine Production Team
Deadline for February magazine: 15th January

Team News

Although the candidates gave us a lot to think about last month, it was decided in the end not to appoint. This was a difficult decision for each of us as well as the candidates, but we shall re-advertise in the new year. In the meantime, Peter Bestley will continue to look after St Andrew's, and we are very grateful to Peter for his loving care and leading of the services in St Andrew's. The congregation of St Andrew's were the perfect hosts and put on a brilliant lunch and generally looked after everyone in their usual welcoming manner.

Work is going on at the vicarage: various remedial works on the roof and a new bathroom is being installed. Whether the house will be let in the short term has not been decided yet.

We congratulate Jeremy Harris on being given his MA from Heythrop College for his study there. He and Carys are doing well at Maidenhead and send their love to everyone.


Fresh expressions
For the last 6 months many in the Bracknell Team have been considering the idea of ‘Fresh Expressions’ ministry in Bracknell and the stipendiary clergy met with the Bishop of Reading on Monday 31st October. The Bishop has subsequently responded to the PCC’s debate and the paper prepared by the Fresh Expressions Group and the Bishop is still firmly committed to a Fresh Expressions ministry in Bracknell - it is, in his words, ‘as desirable and exciting as ever’ and he is committed to seeing the changes happen.

The Bishop suggests we now take our proposals into the Deanery Plan and particularly discuss them with Easthampstead and Warfield parishes and it is hoped that the new ministry could begin around 2008. In the meantime, we need to prepare the Team Ministry for a different future and particular care needs to be taken with St Paul's as the most likely way of facilitating a Fresh Expressions ministry is through the use of a present clergy post in the Bracknell Team.

Both the Bishop and the team clergy stress that all future plans are options to be explored, and hopefully this will involve the whole parish as there will be much work needed to be done. It is our fervent prayer that the proposals are acted upon and that God the Holy Spirit will bless these initiatives for the established congregations within the Bracknell Team Ministry and for those who do not, or cannot, attend our traditional churches.

Pastoral Ministers
Our proposals to the Bishop of Reading are going to need more time to consult. They present far reaching implications for the whole Diocese and so we await the result of those consultations.

Christingle
The parish Christingle service will be in Friday 2nd December in Holy Trinity at 6.30pm. This service is open to everyone and we hope a lot of people will come and share with us in celebrating Christingle.

David

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News from Holy Trinity

Tea House Sale
Thank you to all those who helped with the Tea House Sale, particularly to Debs Dimmock and her family who did much of the work.

District Wardens
Thank you too to the district wardens, Malcolm Taylor and Geoff Payne. There is much to be done at the moment and both these gentlemen have given many hours in time and skill in the service of Holy Trinity Church. The Langley Hall and the Church itself have all benefited from their loving care.

Christmas Events
This edition of the magazine contains all the details of the Christmas Services and there will be cards at the back of church to give to friends and family. The Nativity Play this year will be on Sunday 11th December, and because Christmas Day is on a Sunday, the service on New Year's day, January 1st will also be our normal Sunday service form


New Liturgy
The small group from the DCC who are working on a new ordinary time service will meet this month, and there will be new music to the Holy Communion Service to start learning in the new year.

Communion at Home
We would be interested to hear from anyone who would like to receive their Christmas Communion at home - please let Mark or David know.
 
David

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News from St Andrew's

Team Vicar
It was only after very careful consideration that the Team decided not to appoint any of the three candidates whom we interviewed at St. Andrew's on 16th November. The post of team Vicar at St Andrew's will be re-advertised early in the New Year. We pray and hope that we will find (and be found by) a priest who will love us and lead us forward in our mission and proclamation of the Gospel; and that they will affirm all that is good and worthwhile in our church life and worship.

On behalf of St. Andrew's I would like to thank all who made our visitors welcome by providing accommodation, transport, refreshments and general hospitality.

Sunday School
Speaking in public is never easy for anyone at first, and it is particularly daunting for children. It is therefore wonderful that the children in our Sunday School are growing in confidence when speaking to the rest of the congregation at the end of our Sunday services.

Although we have sound equipment, most of the children do not now need to use it to make themselves heard easily. The children usually present a short prayer or reading, as well as pictures.

We thank all who organise and lead the Sunday School. This is a vitally important way of making Christ known.

Cameo Singers
On 12th November the Cameo Singers gave an excellent concert at St. Andrew's. Their programme consisted mainly of light-hearted pieces including several sea songs. This small choir have given several performances at St Andrew's over the years and both they and we enjoy it when they entertain us.

Remembrance
On the evening of All Souls Day (2nd November) we celebrated the Eucharist and remembered, by name, those whom we love and see no more.  This service was well supported, as it always is.

At our service on Remembrance Sunday, the children played a large part, and brought forward various symbols of remembrance. There was the poppy, candles, coloured ribbons (representing the rainbow), the Cross, and the chalice and paten. These symbols helped us to remember not only those who have sacrificed their lives in war, but also God's promises and love for us in Christ.

Thanks
We wish to thank all who contribute so much to St. Andrew's all the time and not just on special occasions. The work involved may sometimes appear to go unnoticed, but we are very grateful for everything. We are especially thankful to Peter for continuing to look after us, and we greatly value his imagination and insight.

Simon Sellick
District Warden
St. Andrew's

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News from St Paul's

Remembrance
It has been both a good, and a difficult month for St Paul's. The highlight has to be the Remembrance Service. We had a packed church – in fact some people went away again because the church was too full which was a real shame but is, in some ways, a nice problem to have. The service was led by Catherine Blundell and Keith Whyte, a URC elder. The Boy’s and Girl’s Brigades turned up in force as well as many members from both congregations.

As St Paul's doesn’t have a war memorial to gather around we tune a radio into Radio 4 and ‘go live’ to the Cenotaph in London for the 2 minutes silence.

This is a very atmospheric way of doing the act of remembrance and does make you feel a part of a wider service however, it is a little tense trying to get the timing right. If we ‘go’ to the Cenotaph too early then people can be standing for quite a long time, go too late and you don’t get all of Big Ben’s bongs.

This year we were a little early but it didn’t matter too much. The vicar just rambled away for a minute or two – so nothing new there then…!

Unhappy News
However the difficult news is that we had a break in on Friday 18th November. The thieves broke the glass in the door and stole our plasma screen (it looks like a thin TV screen). This is a valuable tool, used to display information, notices, song lyrics and slide shows used in worship.

Not only do we have to go through the tedious jobs of informing insurers, claiming for damages and physically cleaning up, the break in occurred the day before our Christmas Fayre and we had to cancel this important fund raising event.

Future Services
November 27th is our Partnership Anniversary service and on 11th December we are going to have an Advent Carol service.

Christmas Services will include
December 18th – Carol service at 6.30pm
December 24th – Crib and Christingle Service at 4.00pm
December 24th – Midnight Communion at 11.30pm
December 25th – Christmas Communion at 9.00am
December 25th – All Age Celebration at 10.30am

Everyone is welcome to join us at any of the services…especially if you have a spare plasma screen

Catherine Blundell

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Parish Register

Please remember them all in your prayers

Baptisms

We welcome into the God's family

Holy Trinity
Devon Sylas Nash
Taylor Marie Elsie Smith
Kristina Elizabeth Utting
Ben Christopher Utting

St Paul's
Cerys Emilia Wilson

Funerals

We commit to God's care

Holy Trinity

George Boultwood

Aged 81

St Andrew's

Roy Cotterel
Herbert Holloway
Audrey Vera Lamb
Daisy Muriel Peck
Joan McCombie
Albert McClury

St Paul's

Thomas Clayton (Tom)	Aged 91
Margaret Joyce Miles (Joyce)	Aged 84

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December/January Diary

This can be found in For your Diary...

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December/January 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.

Acts 10:1-48
The importance of this long chapter cannot be underestimated. Peter visits the home of a pagan and even shares a meal with him, at the risk of being excluded as unclean by contagion!

In order to allow the Good News to reach the ends of the earth, the first Christians did not invent a strategy. Rather, they let themselves be led by events, convinced that God is at work in history. Persecution scattered them into Samaria, and that led them already to proclaim the Gospel in a foreign land.

But how could the centuries-old barrier between Jews and Gentiles be crossed? Christ opened the way: by his death, he made “one people out of the two, destroying the barrier that separated them” (Ephesians 2:14). Paul’s entire life after his conversion was a passionate search for that unity. He was aware that he could go forward only with the other apostles, and not alone. That is why Peter’s commitment was so important. If God granted visions to Peter, it was up to him to interpret them and to draw the consequences. And that is what he did: “I realize that in every nation, whoever worships God and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:35).

Unity is never something that is achieved once and for all, but always a reality to live day by day, within our communities as well as with those who are not part of them. Rooted in the Gospel, we can communicate God’s Word to others, but also recognize the action of God where we did not expect it, as Peter and his companions did by seeing the Holy Spirit at work in Cornelius’s household. Then communion spreads out like that tree of which Jesus said that the roots grow and the branches open so that the birds of the air can find shelter in it (see Matthew 13:32).

- What barriers are Christians called to cross over today?

- How does being faithful to the demands of the Gospel foster openness to all people?

- What can we do so that the search for new ways in the Church does not endanger communion?
 
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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