#344: Bertie enjoyed the Cantley fireworks a lot
Hello, friends… lovely to be back here again… here is the News…
This Week and Coming Soon
Sunday sees Remembrance Sunday– services at 8, 9.30, 10 and 11 and then we have the honour of hosting the Civic Remembrance Service at 3pm on Sunday. The procession will come up the Reading Road and then return to the Town Hall. There is also a Livestream available for those unable to come along in person.
Sunday the 20th is Safeguarding Sunday, and also the final Sermon in the Evensong Sermon Series- 6.15pm, with Hannah Ling preaching on Psalm 46. Hannah is the Diocesan Social Justice Officer and it will be super to welcome her. The 20th is also Trans Awareness Day around the world.
Also, on the 20th, is the next exciting fundraiser from the Chocolate Lady who bribed everyone with Smarties on Sunday morning after Church. She is keeping the details close to her chest but here is what I, Bertie, your intrepid spy and reporter, have managed to find out- I am a bit like Tintin, really, only with whiskers and a better tail:
Is it a raffle? Is it a lucky dip?
Buy a Box! Sunday 20th November…
Over coffee at St Paul’s after 9.30 Mass
Minimum donation £5 please
Every box contains a prize… BUT no clues to content when you choose!
(Some will be consolation prizes )
Thank you and please
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make All Souls’ Day a success, despite the howling wind and the torrents of rain. It was a lovely and important occasion, and it was good to talk to people over coffee afterwards as well. Thank you to all involved in any way, especially those who filled the churchyard with candles.
Cara would like to thank the cheery mice who have left gifts on her doorstep, especially the unicorn who delivered Get Wells cards from J-Club. They really cheered her up!
Thank you for everyone who bought things from the Stall at the end of October- St Paul’s and St Nick’s combined to send a little over £200 to the Diocesan Congo Appeal. Thanks!
Louise Cole is still hoping to hear from people who would be willing to deliver Christmas leaflets in the first few weeks of December- basically, you tell us the road you want to do and we will give you the leaflets. This year there will be in postcard form because they are so much easier to deliver.
Churches Together in Wokingham are running a stall at the Wokingham Winter Carnival on Saturday 27 November 2022 from 11am to 5pm. We are seeking volunteers to help at the stall for a couple of hours or more as you are able.
This event is the most popular annual event in the town. Last year we gave away 500 Christingle packs with a booklet inside called the Christmas Poem. There was huge demand for the packs and they went quickly so this year we are planning to give away 800. We will also have some giveaways for adults.
We are also planning a Christingle pack assembly session at Wokingham Baptist Church, Milton Road on Saturday 19 November 2022 from 9.30am to 11am. Please call or message Victor Freeney on 07747 642073 or email victor_freeney@hotmail.com if you would like to help at the stall and also whether you would be able to help assemble the Christingle packs.
And finally…
Bertie writes: “I was eating my Cheesios last Sunday meeting and minding my own business when a voice I vaguely recognised came on the Radio. To my surprise and confusion it was the Rector, responding to Bishop Steven’s published Reflection on Same-sex marriage. If you want to share my surprise and confusion, you can listen to Bishop Steven and then the Rector, with Councillor Imogen Shepherd-Dubey, here: if you just want to hear the Rector then it starts at about 9m 40:
(2463) BBC Radio Berkshire – Bishop of Oxford essay on Same Sex Marriage – YouTube
It is worth listening to, broadly speaking. Also, do follow some of the press coverage of what Bishop Steven has said and what it means in The Times and other national newspapers- although, as we were entirely paid for in 1864 by the owner of The Times, it is part of the contract that that is the only newspaper we might refer to. And if you want to buy a copy of the Reflection you can do so from the Diocese of Oxford website- it is a very well-written and deep reflection, and worth engaging with.
The Diocese have updated their webpage on finance so people can get a clearer picture of what comes in and what goes out and what we get for our Parish Share. It is a good read and you can find it here: Diocesan finance – Diocese of Oxford (anglican.org)
Tim Vine had officially the 8th best joke in the Edinburgh Festival 2022- here it is… I used to live hand to mouth. Do you know what changed my life? Cutlery.
Here is the Deanery prayer cycle for the month of November:
