The Magazine, November 2007 (Section 1)
Deadline for December magazine: 15th November
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Team News
From the Priest in Charge...
Hello! It's good to be back in print again! Believe it or not, I
have been in post for six months now - it feels like six days! I am slowly
getting around and meeting people, and taking everything in. I need to be
able to take a strategic view on our future - planning for growth - and to
do that I need to understand the present, and to do that need to know about
the past. Clergy are a bit prone to re-inventing wheels, and I want to avoid
that if I can. I also hope to avoid coming up with a square one!
I hope you enjoy the life of our Church - if you have any ideas, opinions,
anxieties, do please speak to me or one of my colleagues on the leadership
team. Feedback is so important. One of the key tasks of a leader is to take
people on a journey, and to do that it is vital to understand their
abilities and aspirations. We will soon be into the pre-Christmas season of
Advent, when we take the chance to reflect on our life and our faith -
perhaps to prepare ourselves for the next stage of our journey. To help us
do this we'll be taking time on Sunday afternoons to consider some of the
big questions around life. 'Where am I going?' 'What is coming?' 'Where will
it end?' 'Who am I?'
Our common Christian life in community is something to be treasured and
enjoyed. God in Christ calls us onward, the Holy Spirit inspires us to
travel - I look forward to sharing the next stage of our journey together.
Nick Parish
New team members
We are to have a new Curate in summer 2008, Jane Manley. Nearer
the time we'll feature a biography, but for now please remember her in your
prayers. We have completed an excellent study series, 'Our life in Film' on
Sunday afternoons - may thanks to the Frearsons for their hospitality. The
next series will be on four Sundays beginning on Nov. 18th, 4-6pm at St
Andrew's church. This will be a shared tea, with discussion and reflective
worship, on Advent themes (full details elsewhere).
We have new worship leaders authorised by the Bishop, who are now sharing in
leading worship with the clergy, and will be invaluable in enabling us to
broaden our range of services in the future.
Managing Langley Hall grounds
Work has been done in the grounds of Langley Hall, as well as
internal decorations to the toilets, by volunteers from a local company,
GMAC. Further improvements planned are repairs to the roof, the addition of
disabled facilities and a fenced play area - these latter measures hopefully
being externally funded.
The Parish 11+ Group
This is group is for young people in the parish who are aged 11
and above. It meets on the first Sunday of the month at the Tea House at 108
Broadway in Bracknell. We always start by having breakfast together at 9am.
After which we have a time of singing and prayers, leading into the
morning's main activities. Currently we are looking at different forms of
worship using the Youth Emmaus 2 resources. We set up different worship
areas and then experience them. There is also some Biblical teaching - in
October we looked at righteous anger. We close with some more sung worship
and feedback on the morning's activities, ending at about 11:15am.
If you would like to know more do get in touch with Jenny or Steven Colby on
01344 411833.
Leadership opportunity
An exciting opportunity has arisen to help the young people of the
parish grow in their knowledge of God; to help them experience new ways of
worshipping. This is due to the parish 11+ group needing to recruit more
leaders. The 11+ group meets on the first Sunday of the month from 9am to
about 11:15am. We eat breakfast together, worship together, study the Bible
together and have various related activities, such as crafts, word searches,
quizzes and much more.
If you are interested in helping with this important
work then do please get in touch with Jenny or Steven Colby on 01344 411833.
BSM - Bible Study on Monday's
This is a Bible study group run by Jenny and Steven Colby, which
meets on the first and third Monday of the month. We meet from 7:30pm until
about 9:30pm either at our house or one of the other members of the group's
house. We start with studying the Bible and end with a drink and biscuits.
We have just started a series looking at the Lord's Prayer using a study
book written by J. John. In the past we have looked at what it means to be
'the people of God'; we have looked at the book if Acts, using a study guide
written by John Stott amongst other studies. We are few in number, but find
great benefit in meeting together to look at God's word and share our
experiences of what it means to be a Christian in our daily lives. It is
open to anyone who wants to learn more about the Bible and being a Christian
and we always welcome new people. If you would like more details do ring
Jenny or Steven on 01344 411833.
Fridays at The Tea House
The Tea House, in the Broadway, has been open every Friday, for
the last three years as a Christian presence in Bracknell town centre. It is
run by Jenny Colby with a team of volunteers from churches across the area,
providing an inexpensive cup of Fairtrade tea or coffee and friendly chat.
Proceeds go to local charities; in November proceeds will go to Homestart (a
charity supporting local families with young children), and in December to
Thames Valley Hospice. Please do come along, alone or with a friend to chat
and drink. You can also browse through Christian literature and purchase
Traidcraft goods, or order from the catalogue.
If you would be interested in giving a hand with serving and washing up,
perhaps for 3 to 4 hours once a month you would be very welcome. Please
phone Jenny Colby on 01344 411833.
News from Holy Trinity
Sunday School
September and October have been busy months in our church life,
with Sunday school beginning with a healthy number of children taking part.
Many thanks to Ruth Powell and her team of leaders for such an excellent
start to the new year.
Concert
We had a concert in Church early in October, given by the choir
of St George's Girls school, Ascot. A varied programme of sacred music was
well received by a good audience, and a good sum of money raised for the
building fund. We are very grateful to Ian Hillier, the Director of Music at
the school. We hope to arrange more such events in the coming months.
Baptisms
We had a lot of baptisms this autumn, with a full Church on more
than one occasion, and this is a credit to the hard work of our baptism
preparation team. We also enjoyed an excellent Harvest Festival Service,
followed by a very well attended bring & share lunch. Particular thanks to
Sue halls for her hard work on this.
New Hymn Books
Finally, we have been raising money for a new hymn book, to
replace the time worn 'red ones', and at the time of writing we were close
enough to our target to order these. This up to date hymn book should
provide a 'one stop shop' for all our musical needs.
News from St Andrew's
Guide Dogs for the BlindOf all relationships between animals and humans, the mutual love between a dog and its owner comes perhaps closest to the bond between the individual Christian and Jesus Christ. And if the owner has no eyesight, there is not only companionship but also a very special trust. At our Sunday service on 7 October, our congregation included two dogs and two men from Guide Dogs for the Blind. When we stood up to sing, the dogs also rose to their feet. Both dogs were being trained with a view to being matched with an owner. One of the men talked to us about the long process of training a guide dog, which takes well over a year. He told us that about three-quarters of their dogs complete the training successfully, although not all the animals have the right temperament to become guide dogs.
Jocks Lane Train Rides
This annual event was again very successful both from a fund raising point of view (it raised just over £223) and as a social occasion which gave us the chance to interact with the general public and with each other. We are very grateful to the Bracknell Railway Society for running the trains for us on the afternoon of Sunday 23 September, when the weather was also kind to us.
Our Children in Church
We give thanks for all that our children do in the Sunday School, the crèche and the Pram and Toddler Group. The prayers which the children say at our services have a simplicity, directness and inspiration which contribute greatly to our worship. We have also joined them in the hymns and songs they have been learning.
Stations of the Cross
These paintings are an outstanding feature of the fabric of St. Andrew's building and we use them for our devotional services of meditation during Lent. Two of the fourteen Stations are not easily visible because they are largely obscured by the gallery at the back of the church. As a congregation we will be deciding whether we should move all or some of the Stations, or whether we should leave them in their present positions.
Simon Sellick
News from St Paul's
St Luke's Tide
We had a lovely service for St Luke's tide during our Wednesday
Communion. About 20 people attended and we prayed for family, friends and
ourselves - for healing, peace and a renewed sense of God's love. We used oil as
a sign of God's touch on our lives and we prayed for those we love who need a
special prayer at this time.
Those we love
Three from St Paul's are in special need of our prayers. Both Ena and
Kath are now in care homes and our prayers to go them and those who care for
them - especially Trish and Diana. And Doris, at the time of writing, is in
hospital and we pray for her and Gordon her son.
Building
It never rains but it pours...and so it did - right though the roof!
Yes, it has been a bit of a challenge with the building recently and thanks to
Graham and the building committee who are struggling to keep our heating and
building fit for purpose.
Also, we are having a sound system revamp and thanks to Simon and his crew for
the new speakers and sound desk (yes, every church should have one). We look
forward to being able to use the new radio mikes and play films through the new
projector.
It is all very exciting especially as, at the moment, we are using a single
microphone with one large speaker attached, which, at full volume give the vicar
a more than stentorian tone!
What's next?
The autumn will be a busy time as we prepare for the monthly prayer
group, the Remembrance service and the inevitable Christmas Services. Watch this
space for the reports on the St Paul's musical: the Prodigal Daughter.
Catherine Blundell
Small Time News
Small Time continues to flourish. There are about 40 children on our
book with a regular attendance of 20 - 30. Our doors are open to any children
from birth to school age. At the moment we are truly multinational, with a large
number of Indians.
We feel we are providing a vital social service not just for the children
learning to mix, but also the mothers, grandmothers and carers who enjoy meeting
together.
The short service at 10.15am is very popular with the children. With the help of
action songs, pictures, puppets and soft toys a simple Christian message is
given followed by a craft activity, related to the story, that they can take
home with them.
Our loyal band of helpers would welcome any extra help. If you feel you may be
interested, please look in on a Thursday morning between 9.30 and 11.30 to see
how you can lend a hand.
Christine Madigan
News from the Pews
This magazine is dedicated to the life of the entire
parish, and to the important events in the lives of all parishioners. We want to
hear from you about your life in the parish, and what you would like to share
with the entire congregation. You can send your news to Andrew Smith by email (andrew@flicflac.co.uk)
or by post to 6 Priory Walk, Harmans Water, Bracknell RG12 9JT.
Join the Music group
Do you play the drums, bass guitar or even the triangle? Are you interested in
using computers and sound desk equipment? If you can answer yes to either of the
questions then contact Tom Albinson (tom@albinson.co.uk) and we can talk about
you joining the new team music group.
Traidcraft
As Advent is almost here that means it is time to think about buying and sending
Christmas Cards. If you are looking for 'proper' Christmas cards then do get a
Traidcraft catalogue from Jenny Colby as this contains a wide selection at a
reasonable cost. It also contains a good selection of crafts, gifts, and food
items; including Christmas Cakes and Puddings as well as the usual Chocolate and
Geobars etc.
Remember 'as well as bringing you quality goods from around the world, the
Traidcraft catalogue features full-page photographs of producers to help make
the link with the people behind the products. Your purchase really can make a
difference and support Traidcraft's mission of fighting poverty through trade.'
(From Traidcraft Bulletin August 2007)
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Parish Register
Please remember them all in your prayers
Baptisms
We welcome into the God's family
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Funerals
We commit to God's care
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Parish Diary
The current Parish Events diary can be viewed by clicking < here>
Prayer Diary
The current Prayer diary can be viewed by clicking < here >