#462: In lieu of spring flowers
This Sunday
There are services at 9.30am at St Paul’s, 10am at Woosehill, and 11am at St Nick’s. In preparation, why not read the Bible readings set for this week, and see what you notice most in these passages? They are Genesis 2.-9 & 15-end, Revelation 4, and Luke 8.22-25.
At St Paul’s, the organ music will be:
Before (ca 7′)
Mendelssohn – Andante with variations
Anthem
Anon – Rejoice in the Lord alway
After
Mendelssohn – Allegro con brio (Sonata no. 4 in B flat)
Interviews for our new Rector
Following the shortlisting meeting last week, we have two good candidates for the post of Rector and will be interviewing both on Wednesday 26th February. We have one male and one female applicant, one will be coming from London for the interview, but the other will be interviewed remotely from USA, which will make for an interesting mix on the day.
Please pray for both candidates, and for everyone involved in the discernment process. As a helpful reminder, here is our prayer for the vacancy in full.
Almighty God, in this time of vacancy and change for our parish, hold us in your loving care, lead us in the way of your son Jesus Christ, and send your Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us.
Help us to use the gifts and talents you have given to each of us for your glory, to seek your wisdom in prayer before we make decisions, and to encourage, care and pray for each other.
We seek your guidance in the appointment of our new Rector.
We pray for a priest who will value the traditions and ways of worship of St Paul’s, St Nicholas and Woosehill; a priest who can hold us together as a parish and embrace that which makes us unique.
Give wisdom and discernment to those charged with finding our new Rector, help us all to look forward with hope for the priest who will pray with us and for us; a priest who will lead us by example and inspire us with enthusiasm for witness and mission, a priest who will teach and preach the Christian faith and help us to serve you with joy and courage.
Make our hearts ready to welcome, support and love our new priest, and enable us all to work together for the building of your kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen
A prayer to take away and use each day
O God, our source of love and strength,
in this time of change
encourage our Parish,
guide our leaders
and bless our future,
Amen
Evensong Sermon Series
This year the sermon Series is looking at the Five Marks of Mission. We heard the first in the series on the theme ‘To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation.’ Our guest preacher was Revd Rebecca Amorosa, chaplain at Broadmoor.
The video of the sermon can be found on the Sermon Series page on the website: https://spauls.co.uk/sermon-series/
World Day of Prayer
World Day or Prayer 2025
‘I made YOU wonderful’
On the first Friday in March every year the Day of Prayer begins on the international dateline, in Samoa. Early in the morning Christian women begin praying for our world. As the earth rotates a great wave of prayer begins to build. It sweeps across the Pacific, touching Fiji and New Zealand, rolling on through Asia: Japan, the Philippines, Korea, and Bangladesh. The countries of Africa and the Middle East are next. The wave reaches the shores of Europe as day dawns there. Across the Atlantic, it moves onwards, the Caribbean, the Americas, and on to the Pacific again until the sun finally sets over American Samoa where the final service takes place. A worldwide circle of prayer is complete.
This year Wokingham’s World Day of Prayer Service with the theme ‘l made you wonderful’ (based on the words of Psalm 139), is prepared by Christian women from the Cook Islands, which lie between the Tonga and Samoa Islands to the west and the Society Islands to the east, in the centre of the Polynesian Triangle. It will be held at Corpus Christi Church in Sturges Road on Friday, 7th March at 10.30am.
You are all welcome to this ecumenical service, which will be followed by refreshments in the Keenan Rooms.
More information: www.wwdp.org.uk
St Paul’s Cathedral – Friday 11th April 2025
The choir will be singing Evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday 11th April at 5pm. We are hoping to organise a coach, providing enough people want to go by coach. It will leave the Parish Rooms car park at 10am and leave St Paul’s Cathedral at 7pm at the end of the day. The maximum price will be £25 (£7.50 for under 18’s). Please can you let Rhoda Hart know asap (prt.treasurer@spauls.org.uk) or sign up on the list at the back of church if you would like to join us on the coach.
The Cathedral are offering a 50% discount on sightseeing tickets to the Cathedral for supporters of our choir. If you would like to take up this offer, please email me (lesley_ruddock@hotmail.co.uk) by 16th March as I have to supply them with a list of names.
Everyone who wishes to come to Evensong is asked to queue up under the dome inside the nave shortly after 4.30pm. If you wish to sit in the Quire, please tell the Stewards that you are with the choir. Once the Quire is full additional seating is under the dome.
The Cathedral shuts immediately after Evensong so please arrange to meet up with family and friends outside afterwards.
Thank you
Lesley
Lent Quiet/Discussion Morning
The next Quiet/Discussion Morning is based on the theme, “What do we believe? We say the creed(s) regularly …but what do we mean by what we say?
Join us on Saturday 8th March 2025
at St James Church Centre, Finchampstead RG40 4LU
for time to contemplate and discuss the promises made at our baptisms through focus on the words of the Nicene Creed.
Time: 10am to 1pm
For further information and to book your place, contact mary.cassidy@spauls.org.uk
Electoral Roll Revision
Every six years there is a complete revision of the Electoral Roll and this process is due to take place this year, when all names and addresses will be deleted from the existing roll and a new one will be prepared. If you are on the current roll, you should receive a communication inviting you to reapply; please contact me or the Parish Office if you think you are on the Electoral Roll but have not received this communication.
Anyone who lives in the parish is eligible to apply and those who attend
St Paul’s or St Nicholas’ Church on a regular basis are positively encouraged to do so, in order to engender a feeling of solidarity within the parish. Being on the Electoral Roll makes a statement of belonging to and identifying oneself as part of the Church.
In addition, the Electoral Roll is the parish’s record of those qualified to attend the Annual Parochial Church Meeting and to vote in elections to the parochial church council (PCC) and the deanery synod, and to raise any questions regarding the church and parish. In this way, you help to ensure that the PCC, your Deanery Synod, the Oxford Diocesan Synod and the General Synod are fully representative of the Church members.
Anyone wishing to take an official post within the church, such as sidesperson, must have his or her name on the Electoral Roll. Likewise, anyone wishing to stand for election to the PCC or Deanery Synod must have had his or her name on the Roll for at least six months prior to the election and be an ‘actual communicant’ (Rule 54i of the Church Representation Rules).
Application forms are available in church and can be obtained from a sidesperson, from the Parish Office or from myself, or can be completed online by going to: https://spauls.co.uk/electoral-roll/.
The closing date for application to the Electoral Roll is 31st March 2025.
Teri Austen
Electoral Roll Officer
