The Magazine, June 2005 (Section 1)

Magazine Production Team
Deadline for July magazine: 15th June

Team News

I would invite all our readers to read this team news with more care than usual because I have written about some important matters affecting the whole parish not only in the near future but also for the next few years. There are many discussions going on within the parish about several topics and at different levels. Most are public and need some important participation by many people and not least your prayers: some are confidential because they involve sensitive issues. All of them are really quite exciting and I am so grateful to our wardens, Brenda Mullins and Andrew Cope, now licensed by the Bishop, for sharing with me in these important issues. All the issues involve the formation of a little group and the reason for doing this is that we want the members of our congregation to participate as fully as possible in the discussions. The worst thing that can happen is that one cleric decides everything and then consents to inform other people what those decisions are.

Last month, the clergy had a 3-hour meeting with the Bishop of Reading, and he too is very excited about all that might happen. We agreed a formula for action that has timetables and needs much hard work in the parish.

The first group we need to form is a PARISH PRAYER GROUP.
I have suggested this to a number of people but it is not restricted to those alone. The first meeting of this prayer group is on Wednesday 1st June at 8pm in The Rectory. Its purpose will be to pray for all the matters below and go on praying for them. If you can’t come on that evening but would want to share in the prayer group, please let me know and I will ensure you know of further meetings. How often, and when the parish prayer group meets, which I am calling PPG, will be up to that group.

The second group will be formed to find a successor to Jeremy Harris at St Andrew’s. I have written elsewhere about Jeremy, but this group will write the profile and look at the parish-wide issues as well. I am going to call this group THE PROFILE GROUP. The members will therefore represent all three congregations because the post will not only involve St Andrew’s but other important ministries right across the parish. The obvious one is young people but I don’t want to pre-empt the group’s discussions!

The third group is perhaps the most far-reaching and the most difficult to define. What we can say is that it will demand much from its members and needs to report to the Bishop of Reading and the PCC by mid October. I am going to call it a FRESH EXPRESSIONS GROUP. You will recall from the Annual Meeting that the last half hour, (yes, I know it went on too long!) contained what Jeremy, Catherine and I called BLUE SKY THINKING. We are very aware, as all of you are, that for the mission of the church to succeed we need to do some things very differently. There is a book called ‘Mission Shaped Church’, (which all the members of this group will need to read!) about fresh expressions of church in a changing concept. An example of this can be seen in the weddings we take when we regularly discover that very few of those people attending do not know the Lord’s Prayer. If you want a copy of the book please call the Parish Office – they cost £10 but we can probably get a ‘job-lot’.

The FRESH EXPRESSIONS GROUP will need to write a blue print for a different kind of ministry, a different kind of priest, maybe an additional one, and a different kind of church. It will need to be radical and different in every respect to reach people in our parish with the gospel. We have presented a Pastoral Plan to the Bishop which had already been asked for and Catherine has put together a powerful document that will be used in all these groups.

The fourth group has to do with money. I am going to call it the FINANCIAL STRATEGY GROUP. It is going to be headed up by Andrew Cope and will look at how we can so order our finances in order to fund mission and ministry. Andrew gave an excellent presentation to the Deanery Standing Committee last month and there are new proposals being mooted about the Parish Share. Even so, whilst this might give us a breathing space, it is an opportunity to look at things afresh bearing in mind all the above and the possibility of attracting new money from outside the parish.

I would like every person who reads this in our parish to think and pray very carefully about these matters. If we succeed, we can establish mission and ministry in this parish of a quality and effectiveness for many years to come that will make the gospel come alive. If you have questions, we will try and answer them bearing in mind that there are many issues underlying what I have written of a far-reaching nature.


The Langley Hall is now getting itself back together and we are taking steps involving security issues. I am most grateful to Geoffrey Payne who has done such a wonderful job managing the process, and I just wish that those who have caused such distress and damage could realise what this kind of behaviour does not only to property, but also to people.


Steven and Jenny Colby have now been doing the magazine for 6 issues and I would like to thank them for all they are doing. It is not an easy task but they have taken over the reins so well and taken the magazine further along the mission path.


We decided in the end NOT to have a Confirmation Service. It was to be at a time when we don’t think people could do and only 4-5 candidates. Stephen has agreed that we will present people probably at Easthampstead in the autumn.


The big event this month is Mark Ackford’s Ordination as priest. It will be on Sunday 26 June and what the Holy Trinity Council have decided is that there will be no 10am service that morning in Holy Trinity. We hope people will all go to the ordination in St Mary’s Butts, in Reading at 10.30am. Lifts are available – there is a sign-up sheet at the back of church. There is also the option of either going to St Paul’s for 9.15am or St Andrew’s at 10.30am. In view of all that I have written about above, one of the things agreed with the Bishop is that Mark will take a rather more demanding role in Holy Trinity and the parish than we would normally expect of a Curate. That Mark is of the quality to do this is another reason to feel that God the Holy Spirit is challenging the Bracknell Team to a more profound discipleship in the next few years.

Mark will celebrate his first communion on Sunday 3 July in Holy Trinity. Following this at 12.30pm there will a lunch in the Rectory Garden to which everybody is invited. It will take the form of a BBQ plus other bits and pieces – something for everybody and we will make a small charge to cover the costs. We shall have gazebo’s etc but a garden chair might be useful.

Jeremy Harris has been appointed Vicar of All Saints, Boyne Hill, Maidenhead. This is wonderful news for him but of course sad for us. A longer tribute will appear in the next issue of the magazine but the most important thing is that we pray for Jeremy and Carys as they prepare for their move. Jeremy’s last service is on Sunday July 31 after which there will be presentation – see Brenda Mullin’s note elsewhere in the magazine. The Induction in Maidenhead will be Friday 9 September.

Christian Aid
Thank you to Helen Brenchley (Bracknell town), Stuart Robinson (Harmans Water), Jairo Chavez (Crown Wood) and Janet Murton (Priestwood) who organised the Christian Aid Collections. We had lots of comments about omelettes and chickens so clearly TV advertising is very powerful.

Westminster Abbey
You might like to know that I have been appointed an honorary Chaplain to Westminster Abbey. My family has a long association with the Abbey and I am rather delighted to be part of the Abbey community. I will do a week in the Abbey every year, leading its worship and prayer – my first stint will involve Remembrance Day 11 November.

David

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News from Holy Trinity

All Age Service
At the DCC we looked at the review of the All Age Service and we shall be asking the congregation their views in due course.

Future Dates
We fixed some dates for the future for your diaries
 

Thanks
Thank you to TWO anonymous donors who have respectively provided 6 new servers albs – they have been getting rather tatty, and we are updating the sound system. Basically it is a good system, but it is now over 7 years old and we need to replace a couple of things and do some tweaking. After that, the clergy will get a lesson in how to use them!

Volunteers Needed
We need a few more people willing to be severs and lead intercessions. If you are interested would you have a word with either Mark or myself please?

Holy Communion at home
If there are people wishing to receive Holy Communion at home, please let Mark know and we will organise this to happen on a regular basis.

David

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News from St Andrew's

Events
Colin and Maggie Garton alongside our fund raising committee are organising a sponsored hymn sing at St. Andrew's on the 10th July. The singing will take place from 3pm until 5pm and will be followed by a cream tea. You will have the opportunity to put your favourite hymn forward and to sponsor the event. All are welcome to join in the afternoon as we attempt to pay towards the cost of the new heating system at St. Andrew's.

Models of Ministry
The last of the four sessions took place at St. Andrew's in May. The idea of meeting for a talk, then discussion, a fish and chip supper and closing with an informal communion service has been well received. There are plans to continue this format with a different theme in the future.

Trip to Worcester
Summer outing to Worcester on the 25th June leaving St. Andrew's at 8.30am.
There are still places available for the trip to Worcester where you can visit the Royal Worcester and porcelain museum and factory, take a boat on the River Severn and have an opportunity of enjoying a pub lunch before finishing with a Eucharist at the Cathedral at 4.15pm. All are welcome to share in the day. The cost is £15 in total which includes the coach fare and visit to the cathedral. Please contact Len Barrett on 421656 if you are interested in going.

Walsingham Pilgrimage
Walsingham Pilgrimage meeting. For all those going on the Parish Pilgrimage to Walsingham there is a meeting at St. Andrew's following the Eucharist on Sunday 12th June. This is an important meeting where we arrange the services and practical arrangements for the weekend.

Worship and Spirituality
Worship and Spirituality Group at St. Andrew's. We have planned a service of Compline at St. Andrew's on the 19th June at 8.30pm.
On the 29th June we celebrate the festival day of SS. Peter and Paul at St. Andrew's at 6.30am with the Eucharist followed by breakfast. All are welcome.

100 Club
The St. Andrew's 100 Club has started and our first winner was Frank Hatley. You can still join the scheme at a cost of £25 for the year. Please contact John Jayaseelan on 422960 or Nicola Morgam on 305037.

Team News
The 14 + had an enjoyable evening at the home of Nick and Yvonne Parish when we watched the film Billy Elliot. Afterwards we shared in a discussion on the themes of masculinity and divided loyalties.
The next event will be at St. Andrew's church on the 12th June when the Revd Lynn Trainor will speak to us about being a 21st century priest.

Fr Jeremy

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News from St Paul's

Peter Flint
At St Paul’s we are really gearing up for the departure of Peter Flint the United Reformed Church minister.
Peter has been at St Paul’s for over eleven years and he has seen many changes over that time, not least the growing co-operation between the URC congregation and the Anglican congregation. It was Peter that was one of the architects of our ‘Plan for Partnership’, the document signed in 1997 by both congregations, which sought to draw the church together in new and realisable ways.
It hasn’t always been easy for Peter, he saw a wonderful building project fall at the final fence because the funding didn’t become available and his congregation was hit hard by the Met Office move.

But since I arrived in 2003 he has supported me and the Anglican congregation continuously and has helped us address issues about the churches future sensitively. He is going to be much missed.

We will also miss Judith, his wife, as she has been our organist in recent years. In fact she taught herself to play the organ, as she is actually a pianist (and no, it isn’t the same), so she could support both the URC and Anglican congregations. She plays with such confidence and she can often make the last chord of a hymn cause the platform to vibrate!

We have also benefited from the musical talents of their children in various half term activity weeks and Matt used to play in the music group for the Anglican service.

Peter’s last ordinary morning service will be on May 5th, he is preaching in the Anglican service and in the evening we will have a service of farewell for him and the family. On June the 12th it will be his last Parade service and he is then off to his new church in Dorking.

Please pray for St Paul’s, both the Anglican and URC congregations, as we adapt to the inevitable changes at the church. This family is going to be much missed.

I would like to add a note of personal thanks to Peter and Judith – they have been real friends, and I have appreciated them as people as well as appreciated their considerable talents.

Catherine

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Parish Register

Please remember them all in your prayers

Baptisms

We welcome into the God's family

Holy Trinity
Oliver David Hanbury Lloyd
Katie Rebecca Elise Lloyd
Sophie Jessica Newport
Emily Louise Newport

St Andrew's
Jamie Antony Alex Cook
Leah Anner May Cook
Laura Aster Leeann Cook
Adam Luke Prince

Funerals

We commit to God's care

Holy Trinity

Walter Dalton	Aged 96
Jean Joliffe	Aged 88
John Edmonds	Aged 88
Bertha Tilley	Aged 87
Edith Julien (Phyl)	Aged 82
Ronald Done (Ronnie)	Aged 81
Edna Dowse	Aged 80
Joan Lovell	Aged 70
Thomas Gibson (Tommy)	Aged 70
Brian Baker	Aged 69
David Excell	Aged 68
John Martin (John-boy)	Aged 63

St Andrew's

June Ivy Rose Gray	Aged 73
Trevor Ernest Jones	Aged 69
David John Tull (Dave)	Aged 63

St Paul's

Lilly Matilda Billinghurst	Aged 93
William Charles Welfare (Charlie)	Aged 85
Ellen Graves (Nell)	Aged 84
Maurice Victor Featherstone	Aged 81
Donald Arthur Day	Aged 80

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June Diary

This can be found in For your Diary...

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June Prayer Diary

This can be found in Prayer Diary

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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.

Nehemiah 9:16-19
These few lines from the Book of Nehemiah sum up Bible history in a striking fashion, with an astounding revelation as the key: even when misunderstood, unloved and rejected, the God of the Bible continues to love each person to the very end; God never abandons anyone, no matter what happens. This revelation is all the harder for human beings to accept since, when they are unable to reconcile themselves to certain facets of their personality and their past, they often find it hard to feel that they are worthy of being loved. Sometimes, they even imagine God as someone who is eager to judge and to condemn them.

Nehemiah invites us to distance ourselves from this harsh way of looking at ourselves that we often project onto God. His words are a call to discover a God who does not view us along the lines of the judgments and fears that are found to a greater or lesser degree in every human psyche, a God who overflows with the liberating kindness so remarkably expressed by Saint John: "If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything" (1 John 3:20). And in fact, how could the One who created human beings not understand his creatures better than anyone, falling into the trap of outward appearances and not perceiving behind this or that negative attitude the reaction of a heart that suffers from not feeling sufficiently understood, recognized and loved?

Letting ourselves be loved more and more by the God who only wants to heal the secret wounds linked to a distant or recent past means entering into a reciprocal love, one that we will constantly find to be far more beautiful than anything a human heart could ever dare hope for.

How does the manner in which Nehemiah describes God's activity help me to see God's love in a brand-new way?

How can the discovery of this divine goodness allow me to be more at peace with myself; how can it help me to understand my own heart better?

To what extent would the life of those close to me become more beautiful if I saw them as God sees them?

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 Taizé website.

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