#278: is it the summer yet?
Events in the next 10 days
1) The Churchyard Team are meeting on Saturday to work alongside the Community Payback Team to tidy the Churchyard and to serve the community in this way- and to enjoy refreshments together. Please speak to Andy Clark or just turn up!
2) Don’t forget to bring your School Bags to Church on Sunday for the annual Bag Blessing Sunday, whether you are a pupil or an adult or someone who takes their lunch to work. The choir and J-Club start back as well, and coffee continues, as does the Livestream. Cara is presiding at St Paul’s and St Nick’s because Richard is covering for Winnersh and Bearwood, who are in vacancy.
3) The Taverners have started to meet again- a lunchtime gathering for gentlemen in a Town centre eating den on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month. You would be very welcome to join them. Email Chris Rutter for more info- chris_k_rutter@hotmail.com.
4) The Parish Bible Study starts back on Tuesday evening- it is going to be a really enjoyable and interesting survey of the Prophets of the Old Testament and what they say to us today. It’s all on Zoom and everyone is welcome, even if you’ve never been to one of the sessions before, even if you don’t feel that you know very much about being a Christian.
5) The excellent Coffee and Chat meet in the Parish Rooms on a Friday pm from about 2.30 to 4pm. Rummikub, quizzes, knitting, chatting, cake, lending library, quilting, chat and more cake. Just turn up- you’d be very welcome- or encourage a neighbour to come along too.
6) Ride and Stride is next Saturday- here is the latest update/ message from Andrew Harte:
Please support this annual fundraising event for the Berkshire Historic Churches Trust. Half of the money that is raised by our ‘team’ comes back to the St Pauls. We can be sponsored by completeing the sponsorship froms that we all have when you see us at church – or for those who do not use cash or cheques these days I have set up a Just Giving page that you can use to sponsor me and you can send this link to family and friends to get them to support the St Pauls’ Ride&Stride team as well! ALSO – I need volunteers to be welcomers in the church during the afternoon. If you could help me please contact me via rideandstride@spauls.org.uk or fill in the form that I will have at the back of the church on Sunday morning after the service.
7) Also, Wokingham Choral Society have sent this open invitation to a rehearsal on the 9th of September:
“WCS Platinum Jubilee Season
Wokingham Choral Society has kept singing through the pandemic with carefully managed rehearsals when permitted and with the help of Zoom technology during the long months of lockdown and we are now planning our celebration of the Society’s 70th season (covid permitting). Our programme for this special milestone starts with a performance of Handel’s Messiah in November 2021, then after our Carol Concert we will start 2022 with rehearsals of Fauré’s Requiem and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms for the concert in March. Our 70th season ends with the magnificent Bach’s B minor Mass in June 2022.
Our brilliant professionals – Musical Director James Morley Potter and Accompanist Ben Lewis-Smith will guide us through the rehearsals and the performances and on concert days we will also have fantastic support from professional soloists and orchestra. If you would like to take part in this exciting programme and share the experience of making wonderful, live, classical music then WCS would love to hear from you. We are holding an open rehearsal evening on 9th September at 7.30pm in Emmbrook Senior School hall – for the chance to try out the WCS choral experience contact our membership secretary (follow the “Join WCS” link in our website www.wokingham-choral-society.org.uk) or simply join us for the rehearsal on 9th as we start the season. We look forward to seeing you there!
Looking further ahead
We need some volunteers to wear highvis jackets on Thursday October the 7th and stand in the Rooms Car Park from 5.30 to 7pm to allow the hallusers to park and to stop people visiting the Holt School from filling the car park up. Please let Louise Cole know if you can help. Highvis jackets and training in saying “No way- buzz off” will be provided.
Bits and bobs
1)Here is the next Deanery Prayer Cycle for your use and attention, as a way of supporting our neighbours and friends in prayer:
2) Mary Cassidy has sent his very helpful prayer in, from an aging disciple: it is really beautiful:
3) We have a Clergy Staff Meeting on Monday, when we will be talking about communication, among other things. Obviously, how we stay in touch with everyone and pass on news and notices will be shaped by how the restrictions tighten or release in the next months but, since everything is essentially open, it feels the right moment to consider
a) is it the right moment to go back to a paper Noticesheet each week, which we will also put on the website?
b) is Bertie always welcome as a correspondent, or should we keep him for pandemic lockdowns? Should we bring him back or extend his holiday?
If you have any thoughts on this, can you please let a member of the Clergy know? As we know the voice of the people is something to do with the voice of the people- vox populi vox something else? If only a Classics teacher were on this mailing list to help me out…