#331: Paddington. Just Paddington and the Queen. My life is complete.
Dear friends,
This email is coming early this week because of the Diocesan Clergy Conference in Swanwick in Derbyshire, and because Bertie has been called to London on an urgent journalistic matter to do with the 1922 Committee. I tried to give him an intro to Sir Graham Brady because he is one of the most famous Old Boys from my School and represents the constituency I grew up in, but Bertie fears that he might be a little busy at the moment to spare time for an exclusive interview with a small mouse, however impeccable his dress and however dapper his waistcoat. Anyway, by the time you read this you will probably know the fate of the PM and how close the rebels got to 180… but, for the moment, and in the afterglow of the Jubilee Weekend, here is the news…
This Week
It is going to be brilliant to have the baptism of Albert Buddin this Sunday at 9.30, and then of Edward Sutton the Sunday after (the 19th). Add in Miles Welborn’s Ordination as Priest at Dorchester Abbey on Sunday the 26th with his first Mass that evening and it promises to be a very exciting few weeks in the life of the parish.
Coming Soon
Teri writes: It would be good to clean the church before the Archdeacon’s Visitation next week, for the Visitation – I note there are still some party poppers around from Easter! I am planning to get out the brooms on Saturday morning (11th June) so any help from 10am, even for a short time, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Don’t forget the second in the Evensong Sermon Series on the 17th of June, which will have a royal and celebratory tone:
and the Parish BBQ on the 3rd of July (these are the proper Bank details):
PARISH BBQ SUNDAY 3rd JULY AT 1:00 PM
SIGN UP ESSENTIAL: Sheets will be available from Sunday 10th June from Janet
Charlton at St. Paul’s, Margaret Davies at St. Nicholas and the Steward at Woosehill
COST: £12 per adult, £6 per child, £30 family ticket
ONLINE PAYMENT:
Account Name: PCC ST PAULS (Barclays will accept no deviation from this)
Sort Code: 20-11-74
Account no: 80683752
Mark reference: BBQ
Otherwise by cash
ENQUIRIES and REPLIES TO: Trish Gatland trishgatland@hotmail.co.uk
or Alan Harrison (al_harrison@hotmail.co.uk) Co- chairs, Social Committee.
which will be followed by Hymns in the Churchyard that day, in the early evening- since everyone enjoyed it so much during lockdown.
And then, on the 17th of July, a really exciting day- come along and sing Choir practice, picnic and musical entertainment in the Rooms, and then an Evensong with Sermon focusing on Prayer for Peace in Ukraine.
Volunteers Wanted
If anyone would like to volunteer to keep things tidy in the Children’s Chapel, and to make sure enough things are available, and to keep an eye on the things we hand out to families, please could you speak to Richard?
A Message on Ukraine and Wokingham, from Paul Armitage
If anybody wants to see the Kingdom of God come near, get involved in CTW’s initiative to welcome Ukrainian refugees to the Borough. There have been two events organized so far. They have been interesting, informative, fun, and filled with the Holy Spirit. They have created space for the Ukrainians to meet and begin to form their own community, but also have begun to help with integration into the local community.
About half the refugees expected in the Borough have already arrived and are settling in with their hosts. Amongst the refugees are lots of Mums in their thirties with two children; there is also a significant proportion of women on their own, and very few men.
More events are planned; ultimately groups that meet regularly are likely to be needed. Most CTW churches are looking at how they can provide venues for meetings and resource/organize these groups. St Paul’s and St Nicholas is no exception and has been represented at both receptions so far. It would be ideal if there were a “pool” of people from which we could ask two or three to attend each event. Another reception is planned for 12th June at Wokingham Baptist Church. If you would like more information and like listening, and handing out tea and cake, please contact Paul Armitage, Fr Richard or Louise in the office.
Safeguarding in the Parish
(This is the text of the notice Cara delivered yesterday, as a way of focusing in and deepening our understanding of safeguarding in the parish, and our individual roles)
One thing we need to make sure we’re doing as a church here at St Paul’s is to talk openly about safeguarding. We have policies that are talked about and discussed at PCC, most recently the PCC discussed safeguarding action plan and Promoting a Safer Church. And it’s sometimes good to stop and take stock and think about what we mean by safeguarding and to make sure we don’t just talk about it at a PCC level, but also more widely.
For the church, safeguarding is a natural extension of the way in which we care for and look after ourselves and each other, because each of us is loved and precious as God’s child. And when we think about safeguarding in this parish, we think about protecting those who are vulnerable, whether that’s children or adults, making sure we have the appropriate measures in place to run the activities and groups that we want to do, training for those who lead, and making sure that contact details for safeguarding officers and the diocese are up to date and easily visible. Our information is in the porch noticeboard, with contact details for Chris Barker and for Richard.
It’s also important that safeguarding is something that is talked about openly and regularly. We are here to listen and to support you if there is anything you want to say or talk about, whether this is something recent or a long time ago. There are many ways in which people can be abused, and all of them are wrong and go against the way in which people ought to behave towards one another. If there’s ever anything that anyone wants to ask or know, or if there’s something you want to know why we do it, or if there’s something that you think we ought to be doing and currently aren’t, please do ask Chris in her role as parish safeguarding officer, or Richard or another member of the clergy, we’d be happy to talk through anything.
Holy Spirit, you gave the disciples the ability to communicate your love to all those they met,
and envision a world where all your children are treated with dignity, compassion and kept safe from all harm and abuse;
strengthen us with courage, wisdom and integrity,
that, as your church here in this place,
we may protect, safeguard and care for ourselves and those around us,
this day and always. Amen.
Peregrines on the Tower
Sadly, our peregrines have not been seen for some time and we don’t know what happened- we may never know but it’s quite possible that local crows are to blame with their bullying behaviour- but here is a link to a YouTube video capturing them at their best Peregrines, at St Pauls Church, Wokingham, Apr 2022 – Bing video
