The Magazine, February 2006 (Section 1)
Magazine Production Team
Deadline for March magazine: 15th February
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Team News
Brenda Mullins
Brenda Mullins feels that because of family commitments, she is
unable to continue as Parish Warden. It is with regret that Brenda has arrived
at this conclusion but I fully sympathise with it. I would like to thank Brenda
for all that she has done and assure her of our continued prayers for her. We
shall pay a fuller tribute to her at the Annual Meeting on April 5th.
Annual Meeting
At the annual meeting we shall need to elect new members of the PCC
and DCC's so it is important for each congregation to reflect now on the people
they would like to see representing them.
Communion before Confirmation
We shall run a Communion before Confirmation course again this year
starting on 2nd April at 4.00pm. There will be an initial meeting for parents
and children on Sunday 26th February at 4.00pm in the Langley Hall. The purpose
of this is to introduce the course and all the necessary information will be
given on that day. Please let one of the clergy know if you are interested or
would like more details.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday this year is on 1st March and there will be a service
in Holy Trinity for all the parish at 8.00pm on that evening.
New Team Vicar
An advertisement has gone in the Church Times for a Team Vicar for St
Andrew's. The date set for the interviews is Wednesday 15th March at St
Andrew's.
Langley Hall
The Langley Hall kitchen is now finished and I am very grateful to
Geoffrey Payne for his managing of the refurbishment.
It was necessary to do
because the previous kitchen did come any where near the standards required by
current health and safety regulations. There are now new arrangements for the
security of various items and if you need to use the kitchen please check with
Nigel as to the whereabouts of things that you might need.
Animal Service
A date for your diary is 21st May..................we are having
another ANIMAL SERVICE! Put the date in your diary and bring your pet along to
the service at 3.00pm on Sunday afternoon 21st May.
David
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News from Holy Trinity
Christmas Thanks
Although it seems a long time ago, I would like to thank all those
who contributed to Christmas. The readers, servers, musicians, sidespeople, the
children, sacristan, flower arrangers and not least the wardens, all made it a
memorable celebration of our Lord's incarnation.
Anniversary
On February 26th is the 155th anniversary of Holy Trinity. The then
Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Samuel Wilberforce, known as 'Soapy Sam',
dedicated the building and we have a copy of the service. We shall use the order
of service on that day as it was used in 1851 and hope that it is a celebration
of the life of Holy Trinity. Trinity Sunday this year is on June 11th and we
shall have our Patronal Festival that day followed by a garden party at the
Rectory - please put the date in your diary.
Ash Wenesday
Ash Wednesday this year is on 1st March and there will be a service
in Holy Trinity for all the parish at 8.00pm on that evening.
Snowy Picture
The picture on the front cover of the Christmas Eve service which we
have used for several years now is by John Russell. It was taken many years ago
and I am grateful to John for allowing us to use it. It is taken from the roof
of the car park opposite before the present ABC building was there and creates a
lovely Victorian church in the snow image that is a valuable part of our
collection. If you would like a copy, we can put you in touch with John and make
an arrangement with him.
ALPHA
PLUS
ALPHA is coming to Holy Trinity! Actually we are calling it Alpha
Plus because it will have more than Alpha in it. The Alpha Course is a
phenomenon that has swept the world and brought many into a living relationship
with God and a dynamic faith. It will run for 10 weeks in the Langley Hall
preceded by a light supper and will begin in Lent. Watch out for more
information and we encourage you to come and share in this opportunity to do
Christian basics.
There is nothing fanciful or clever or magic about an Alpha Course, but it will
enable you to know so much more and deepen your Christian faith. More than three
million people all over the world have done an Alpha Course - a journey through
some of the key questions in life. It is Anglican and began in Holy Trinity
Brompton, another place that has the initials HTB! The basic book is by Nicky
Gumbel called 'Questions of Life' and will be available on the course. The basic
questions are obvious, Who is Jesus?, How do I pray? How can I be sure of my
faith? Does God heal today? How can I make the most of the rest of my life?
Big Os
A number of people have a big 'O' this year! By that we mean an O
birthday or anniversary! A few years ago we did a highly successful Big O party
after morning service for all the big O celebrators. No one need reveal which O
you are celebrating but it does give a number of people in the congregation an
opportunity to share their celebration with others in the church. We have so far
a list of about 8 or 9 people and we think there may well be others. Please give
me a call if you would like your big O to be part of the day. We haven't fixed a
date yet, but it will probably be late Spring.
We have acquired a CCTV system for Holy Trinity and we shall look at the best
place to install this in the coming weeks. As I write this in mid January,
Cranborne Church has had a serious fire and security is much on the minds of the
wardens.
David
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News from St Andrew's
"Unto
us a Child is Born"
During the Advent/Christmas season three ladies in our congregation
celebrated additions to their extended families. Nola Lyn now has a new
grandson, Joshua, and Sheila Beckley a new grand-daughter, Sophie.
And Pauline Byron has become a great-grandmother with the arrival of baby Keira.
Congratulations!
Church Building and Grounds
A group of community service workers, overseen by the Probation
Service, have done a very good job for us, by cutting away the excess vegetation
and foliage which had been growing up the outside walls of the Church. This work
was highlighted in our 2005 quinquennial inspection report as a matter of the
utmost priority. Both as a Church and as part of the local community, we are
very grateful to them for this act of service.
Team Vicar
The post of Team Vicar for St. Andrew's has recently been
re-advertised and we expect that interviews will take place around mid-March. We
pray that this time round we will be able to appoint a priest who will take St.
Andrew's forward in its mission, and play a full and active part in the
Bracknell Team Ministry. And we continue to give thanks to Peter for his
ministry to us and with us.
Simon Sellick
District Warden
St. Andrew's
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News from St Paul's
Looking back
So Christmas has come and gone (again!) and it certainly had its
highlights.
We had not done an Advent Carol Service at
St Paul's for some time so we organised one this year. We darkened the windows
and as we sang Advent hymns, candles were lit to form the shape of the cross.
It was a beautiful service and one we are likely to repeat again this year – and
we had 61 communicants in church, a fantastic number for the second Sunday in
advent.
The Crib Service on 24th of December will
long live in my memory. I had met with Angela Evans to organise the crib service
and because a fair few of our church families were going to be away over
Christmas we thought the crib service might be a low key event.
We produced 40 Christingles and because we thought numbers would be low we
thought we might do the service differently. Instead of sitting people in rows
we removed all the chairs and planned a Nativity Procession around the church.
Imagine the Stations of the Cross: we planned to move around the church singing
carols, hearing the nativity stories and collecting the figures for the Nativity
scene.
There was a Plan B, if more than 50 people arrived then we would quickly put the
chairs out. However I got distracted and before we knew it there were 71 people
in church and no chairs. So we took a deep breath and went with Plan A. Kiera
Hardie carried the star with the solemnity of a cathedral crucifer, members of
the Children’s Club read the bible stories and everyone else sang and followed
the star.
When we had collected the Wise Men we all gathered round the crib, families
sitting together in groups, we lit the candles on the Christingles and sang Away
in the Manger and Hark the Herald. This was a beautiful moment, the church rang
with the sound of singing, children were awestruck by the candles and it felt
like the real spirit of Christmas descended upon the church.
Will we repeat this for 2006…yes…maybe!
Other highlights included a beautiful gold cloth for the communion table and
Alistair Telfer (the URC Secretary) and I did a double act for the 10.30
celebration on Christmas Day. This was a fun service, full of laughter and a
fitting finish to our celebrations.
It wasn’t all plain sailing though. Does anyone know how to get candle wax out
of, among other things, a nylon carpet? Yes, I’ve tried irons, blotting paper,
hair dryers and brown paper but the wax is still there and has evolved into a
nasty brown smudge
Can I just say a huge thank you to all those who helped at Christmas. It
was a special time and a great team effort
Looking Forward
Highlights of the spring include:
Catherine
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Parish Register
Please remember them all in your prayers
Baptisms
We welcome into the God's family
Holy Trinity
James Henry Smedley
Charlotte Olivia Smith
Abigail Alicia Smith
Jack William Howlett
Daniel George MooresSt Paul's
Zachary Dean Coe Kirkpatrick
Funerals
We commit to God's care
Holy Trinity
Emily Bloy
Aged 102
George Woodrow
Aged 91
Arthur Hart
Aged 89
Doris Barton
Aged 89
Edith Shakespeare (Edie)
Aged 87
Lilian Hoare
Aged 84
Joan Curry
Aged 74
Carole Inkinen
Aged 64
Doris Meek
Aged 53
Stephen Forbes
Aged 40
St Andrew's
Dorothy Mansfield
Aged 96
Thomas Rathband
Aged 95
Margaret Kinch
Aged 89
Katherine Field
Aged 87
George Johnston
Aged 82
Harold Pilkington
Aged 80
Robert Mosley
Aged 77
Anthony Collins
Aged 75
Patricia Maryan
Aged 71
Ann Cooper
Aged 63
St Paul's
Josephine Martha Cooper (Jo)
Aged 98
Frank Stokes
Aged 92
Gladys Mabel Fisher
Aged 92
Arthur William Pharoh
Aged 91
Lloyd George Askey (Arthur)
Aged 85
Sylvia Shine
Aged 85
Iris Snow
Aged 83
John Henry Handy
Aged 74
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February Diary
This can be found in For your Diary...
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February 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.
Romans 4:1-12
Writing to the Romans, Saint Paul takes up the question “what makes us just?” in
other words what makes us people who have a right relationship with God and
consequently with others. He insists that we do not have a good relationship
with God because of anything we have done. This relationship is not a reward we
earn for work well done. It is a gift, freely offered by God to all,
independently of their achievements.
To support his argument, Paul uses the example of Abraham, considered by the
Jews as their forefather and a model of justice. Was Abraham just because he
followed God’s Law, notably by practicing circumcision? No, says Paul, basing
himself on a text of the “Torah” (Genesis 15:6), Abraham’s justice was based on
his trusting response to God’s word. Circumcision only came later, as the “sign”
or “seal” of this new relationship with God. Trust in God, faith, is thus not
seen as a human act that would merit salvation; rather, it means simply opening
our hearts to the unexpected gift from God, being ready and willing to allow his
grace to transform us. In this way Abraham is a model for everyone, for the Jews
who receive circumcision as a sign of their welcoming God’s gift, and for the
non-Jews who have now also received this gift without deserving it.
Basing himself on another text, this time from the “Prophets” (Psalm 32:1-2),
Paul uses the example of forgiveness to demonstrate how God gives without our
deserving it. We may find it surprising that he speaks about forgiveness in the
case of Abraham, who is not presented as a sinner in the Bible. In fact,
forgiveness is not conditioned by our sins; it is God’s antecedent choice to
look beyond our faults and see us as beings destined from all eternity to live
in fellowship with him. This allows us to understand the remark of Saint Theresa
of Lisieux when she said that she had no merits but that God “forgave her in
advance by keeping her from falling.”
- In what ways am I tempted to want to “earn” God’s love? How can I not
lose sight of the fact that God loves me first?
- How does the example of Abraham shed light on my own faith?
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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