#376: Pre-Ascension Day Special

My dear, dear friends,

Hello again. I have heroically polished off the excellent brie I was brought back from France by a loyal and trusted follower and now find myself with only 35,631 cheeses in my cheese cellar which is a dangerously low number- it is not really enough for a weekend house party let alone a wet week in Maytime- I am going to have to lie down in a dark cheese cellar to get over the worry- so, let me leave you with the news…

Coming Soon

Today (Thursday) is Ascension Day, when we remember the return Jesus made to the Father before the sending of the Holy Spirit. There is a service at St Paul’s at 8pm which will also be livestreamed. Do join in! Then, on Sunday, we have 9.30 (with baptism), 10 and 11, and then the next in our Evensong Series when the excellent, entertaining and profound Ian MacDonald will be coming to preach. He is the Diocesan Youth Advisor and a very good thing, and a talented communicator. Jane will be taking the service. 6.15pm followed by refreshments.

Don’t forget the exciting Christian Aid Coffee Morning this Saturday in the Parish Rooms…

And then, as if that is not enough fun, you could also pop along to the Spring Fayre at our neighbours, St Mary, Winnersh…

Cara is beginning to make a very careful and very slow phased return to work- we are hoping that she will start to turn up at more and more things but please can you continue to speak to Richard or Louise if you need anything rather than treating Cara as if she was back at work? Thanks.

Some people asked for Sunday’s sermon to be able to read it at leisure- and here it is- focused on Acts 17.22-31 and John 14.15-21:

And here is the Post-Communion Prayer from Sunday which some people have asked for…and which came from the Roots Magazine we use from time to time as a good resource

With you, O God, we are surrounded by love,

by meaning and purpose, peace and completeness.

You are our all, our grounding and our reason for being.

You are our truth and in you we put our trust, in you we believe,

in you we find strength and purpose, joy and hope.

We glimpse you and we catch our breath at the wonder of the revelation.

We hear an echo and we strain our ears to hear it again.

We sense your presence and we long for more.

You are within us and yet beyond us.

We adore you for what we know and what is still to be revealed. Amen.

And this is the prayer Chris Field used to conclude the Intercessions on Sunday too:

PRAYER for the World from New Zealand midday prayer. Pause between each section

Let us be at peace within ourselves, Let us accept that we are profoundly loved and never need to be afraid.

Let us be aware of the source of being that is common to us all and to all living creatures

Let us be filled with the presence of the great compassion towards ourselves and towards all living beings

Realising we are all nourished for the same source of life, may we so live that others may not be deprived of air food water shelter or the chance to live.

Let us pray that we ourselves cease to be the cause of suffering to one another.

With humility let us pray for the establishment of peace in our hearts and on earth

May God kindle in us the fire of love to bring us alive and give warmth to the world.

Wanted and Recruitment

Key Roles

We are currently still recruiting for…

A Concert Manager- would suit someone who loves music

to support those using the church for concerts- making sure they have what they need, to help them move furniture and then return the Church to order afterwards

A Health and Safety Officer- would suit someone practical and organised

To make sure that our buildings and Churchyard are safe for everyone to use and that we are doing everything we should be to keep everyone safe

The PCC has a number of Committees which keep things moving forward between PCC meetings and have responsibility for particular areas of the life of the Church. We are looking to strengthen some of them at the moment and would welcome expressions of interest for: the Social Committee, the Fabric Committee (buildings), the Fundraising Committee (raising money to fund repairs to the Church and to do exciting new things in the community), Mustard Seed (mission and outreach). We would also be happy to talk to anybody who would like to do something new and exciting to help but is happy to help wherever they could be useful!

Also Needed

Would anyone be happy to keep an eye on the Children’s Chapel, keeping it tidy, putting things away, recycling paper when it is used, suggesting things we might need to buy? Would suit somebody of any age…

If you’re new (ish) to Church and wanting to get a bit more involved there are loads of things you could do- become a sidesperson/ welcomer, go on the coffee rota, be a server, join the choir, learn to bellring, help with Sunday School… or anything else you like the look of. Do speak to someone and they will be thrilled to share your excitement.

And finally…

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the Baptism Preparation Afternoon last week- it was great fun and very inspiring. One question we asked was What your best hopes were for your child/ godchild- the group’s first six answers were: integrity, resilience, kindness, good values, liking themselves and love.