The Magazine, May 2005 (Section 1)
Magazine Production Team
Deadline for June magazine: 15th May
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Team News
Annual Meetings
Thank you to everyone who shared in the Annual Meetings. We said
thank you to Graham Dives for all his hard work as Parish Warden over the last
six years and we then welcomed Andrew Cope as our new Parish Warden. Anne Wood
came to the end of her tenure of office as district warden of St Paul's and to
her many thanks. David Gowing stood down as PCC member but he will be part of a
new strategic group on finance.
Andrew Fairhurst gave an excellent appraisal of our financial situation and our
blue sky thinking, although a bit heavy for 10pm at night will stand us good
stead as we review the future.
The first PCC meeting of the new council is on Thursday 19th May at 8pm in St
Andrew's Church. All wardens are expected to attend the Archdeacon's Visitation
on Thursday May 12th in Wokingham.
Pentecost
The Pentecost Deanery Day is on Sunday May 15th when the only service
in the parish will be 8am at Holy Trinity. We hope that you will make your way
to Newbold College for 11am when the Bishop of Reading will be leading a deanery
Eucharist. (Click here for more details of this event.)
Election Day
May
5th is not only Election Day it is also Ascension Day. There will be a Parish
Eucharist that evening at 8.00pm in Holy Trinity Church. Go and put your cross
on a ballot paper (every Christian should vote!) and then come along to Holy
Trinity.
David
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News from Holy Trinity
Change of Service Time
On May 22nd our service will be at 11am not 10am. On that day we will
have a service to mark both the 50th anniversary of Bracknell Town Council and
100 years of Rotary. May 22nd is also Holy Trinity's official birthday as it is
Trinity Sunday so there is much to celebrate on that occasion.
Memorial Service
There will be a Memorial Service and Internment of Ashes for Jean
Dixon on Saturday 7th May at 11.30am in Holy Trinity. Jean's funeral took place
in Devon last month but her request was that her ashes be interred in our
churchyard alongside those of here husband Francis.
The Rambling Rector
Graham Dives has presented Holy Trinity with a rose called 'The
Rambling Rector' and this will be put against the wall on the north west corner
of the Church. (All the jokes have been said!)
Wedding Choir
The wedding choir is in action again this month and our thanks to
Neil Arden and the choir members for their music.
Volunteer
Robert Sugden has agreed to help with the counting of the collection
and we are very grateful to him for taking on this responsible job.
Mark’s Priesting
Mark Ackford is being priested on Sunday June 26th in the Minster
Church in Reading. Our choir are being asked to sing at the service. Can you put
your name on the list at back of church if you want to go, if you can offer a
lift or need one!
David
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News from St Andrew's
Annual DCC meeting.
Thank you to all those who supported the St. Andrew's annual meeting.
Thank you to Melanie Harvey and Jenny Church as they finished their terms of
Office and welcome to Brian Davies, Meryl Lay, Susan Alcock, and Jessica Smith
as they begin their DCC roles.
Fund Raising evening.
The Patrick Sheen Singers from Ebbw Vale and the surrounding Welsh
Valley towns gave us another wonderful evening of Welsh hymns, and more
contemporary music. As well as their singing we were entertained by the
wonderful humour of the ladies. After leaving us they entertained The Hilton
Hotel residents until the early hours of Sunday Morning. A really great weekend
was completed by the choir singing for us at the Sunday Morning Eucharist. Thank
you to Nicola Morgan, Joyce Graham, and Susan Bryan for organising the weekend.
We raised £270 towards the heating system. Thank you to all who supported the
evening.
Future Event
Colin and Maggie Garton have offered to lead a sponsored hymn sing at
St. Andrew's on the 10th July (not the 3rd as originally planned). The singing
will take place at St. Andrew's from 3pm until 5pm and will be followed by a
cream tea. Each of our churches will have sponsor forms and a sheet on which to
put four or five of your church’s favourite hymns.
Models Of Ministry Course at St. Andrew's.
It was great to see fifteen people share the evening on the 11th
April. We began with a talk about the role of laity in the church, enjoyed our
usual cod and chips, followed the food with discussion and finished with
communion.
The last of the four sessions will take place on the 23rd May at St Andrew's
beginning at 7pm. The topic this time will be the role the Communion model of
Church has in helping us develop Ecumenical relations.
Corpus Christi 26th May
There will be a sung Eucharist at 8pm at St. Andrew's to celebrate
the thanks giving for Holy Communion. This service will be shared with All
Saints, North Ascot and will be followed by a faith tea.
Fairtrade Fortnight
As I write this news we are in the middle of Fairtrade fortnight. At
the concert with the Patrick Sheen Singers £20 of goods were sold and one lady
took information back to her school in South Wales to use with the children. At
the Models of Ministry course another £20 of goods were sold and then at a
Baptism people took away more information to share with others. This is really
encouraging news that more and more people are becoming aware of the need to
give people a fair income for their work. It is good that our churches are
encouraging the message of Fairtrade to be
heard in our communities.
Following on from FairTrade we have Christian Aid week in May. St. Andrew's are
looking to use the Christian Aid material at one of the morning Eucharists.
Pentecost Event
On the 15th may at Newbold College Bishop Stephen will be preaching
when the whole of the Bracknell Deanery gathers to share in the Pentecost
Eucharist. I hope many people from St. Andrew's will make the effort of going
the short ride to Newbold in Binfield. The Eucharist will be followed by a
picnic .
(See page 14 in this magazine for further details of this event.)
Fr Jeremy
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News from St Paul's
Easter Services
Annual Meeting
Our Annual Meeting had a very full agenda this year as we not only
reviewed our ‘Working Together’ links with the URC but we also had decisions to
make about our summer services, review our communication strategy and say a fair
few ‘thank you’s’ to all the people who have worked so hard over the last year.
A big Thank You
One person who has done more than her fair share, and who is now
handing on some of her responsibilities over to other people, is Audrey Aincough.
For years she has been involved with committees, flowers, coffee, magazines as
well as being our sacristan. But, after decades of faithful service she is going
to attempt retirement! She will stay on as our sacristan for a little while yet
but the rest she is going to hand over. All we can say is a BIG thank you to
Audrey and give our very best wishes to her and Tom.
Looking Back
We also did a review of the year and the following were noted for
their positive impact upon St Paul’s.
Our Easter Services were excellent; we had a very moving Maundy
Thursday Service and a deep reflective Good Friday Service. Then, on Easter
Sunday, our church was filled with flowers and people as we came to celebrate
Easter and give thanks for the Risen Lord.
The New Year
So we go into the year facing new challenges, not least the departure
of Peter and Judith Flint. But we have a good team at St Paul’s, we are
delighted Adrian Ball is going to bring his gifts and experience to the role of
District Warden, so we face the future with confidence
Catherine
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Parish Register
Please remember them all in your prayers
Baptisms
We welcome into the God's family
Holy Trinity
Emma Sophie Wilkins
George William LeakeySt Andrew's
Adam Luke Prince
Sophie Young
Funerals
We commit to God's care
Holy Trinity
Phyllis Ridge
Aged 93
Albert Seaton
Aged 91
Leonard Boxhall (Len)
Aged 88
Peggy Gee
Aged 85
Ellen Sutherland
Aged 82
Albert Burgin (Bert)
Aged 81
Richard Eaton (Dick)
Aged 80
Arthur Russell
Harry Dixon
St Andrew's
June Gray
Aged 73
Trevor Jones
Aged 69
Keith Brown
Aged 63
St Paul's
Marian Barnes
Aged 84
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May Diary
This can be found in For your Diary...
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May 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.
Luke 7:1-10
Exterior circumstances would normally lead the relationships in this story
to be very different. The centurion is an officer in a military force of
occupation, but astonishingly he has won the friendship of the local people.
Whereas masters are not usually very interested in the welfare of their
employees, he is deeply concerned about his sick servant – as if he were his own
child. He is also full of respect for the people where he has been sent: he has
built them a Sabbath meeting place (possibly the same synagogue mentioned in
Luke 4:33), and because he knows it would make a Jew ritually unclean to come
into his house, he sends messengers to Jesus saying, “I am not worthy for you to
come under my roof.”
When we see a situation of conflict and hostility, we usually think it is
useless to act. The centurion shows how courageous love has more effect than we
suppose. It is a sign. There is a wall of hostility between the local people and
the foreigners living there. But the centurion’s love for the people has made a
crack in that wall. It can no longer be absolute. He shows that there are
exceptions.
The centurion’s words to Jesus express a hope and trust in a straightforward,
practical manner. He understands the nature of authority, and he knows that
Jesus has full power in this matter. Like us, he is from completely outside the
Jewish culture, from outside the Biblical world; his words are “non-religious”
and yet Jesus immediately recognises the faith he has. Notice his words: “For I
am under authority myself…” The centurion does not only say, “I know what it is
to have people obedient to me”, but he shows that he realises that real
authority is conferred when we are entrusted with responsibility by someone
else. He understands that Jesus has been sent and is himself “under authority”.
He reminds us of Jesus’ insistence upon “the one who sent me”.
What situation(s) do I care about deeply, and really want healing for?
In which situations could I help create an unexpected reconciliation?
Where do I see faith – even if it is expressed unconventionally?
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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