#380: thirsty plant edition
My dear friends, I have returned from my sojurn in the country and am thrilled to be back, laden with a wide range of Gloucestershire’s finest cheeses as well as some excellent crackers and a small number of pork sausages for a weekend BBQ. I hope you have coped in my absence and that the Rector did neither too bad a job, nor indeed too good- although one of those options seems less likely than the other. Here are the things I found on my doormat when I came home, which you might need to know about… or want to know about… or not care about at all but I’m going to tell you anyway!
First, here is a welcome update from my good friend Cara on where she is up to-
Thank you everyone for your prayers and support whilst I’ve been off sick and now returning, they’ve been very much appreciated. I’m gradually starting to be able to do more in terms of energy, which feels great, whilst also having to be careful about getting enough rest and not trying to do too much in one go. At the moment, this is about 6 hours across the week, which will increase over the coming months, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone again you’ve been in my prayers.
This Coming Weekend
This Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Trinity. The Gospel set is Matthew 9.9-13, 18-26. Services are at 9.30, 10 and 11 and then, in the evening, Stephen Pullin, the Archdeacon of Berkshire, is going to be preaching at Choral Evensong. It is really important that we welcome him and turn out to greet him, so do please come along if you possibly can- 6.15pm at St Paul’s, followed by refreshments as always. Bertie might even pop up to eat a Quaver, if you move fast enough to glimpse him.
Very long sponsored cycle ride, from Susannah and Vernon
Our 19yo son James Riley and his friend Jamie are going to be cycling more than 500km home from university at the end of this term from Durham, about 30km south of Newcastle, to Reading in Berkshire. All in under 48hrs, starting early on the 25th June.
This project is all to raise money for @spectrum0gaming , a charity which provides an otherwise scarce social network for autistic young people. Predominantly, the charity runs an online community within which people can bond and have fun through the medium of gaming and other activities. All money donated will make a huge difference to the lives of many individuals, who without this support can find their mental health a real issue.
Donate at
And follow his progress on Strava at
https://www.strava.com/athletes/36422652
Coming Soon
Thank you to everyone who has offered to help with the St Cecilia’s Fair on the 24th of June- please speak to Louise if you meant to offer to help but haven’t done so yet- and if you have any outdoor game sets you could lend us for the day please can you also let Louise know that too.
Shared Lunch at Emmbrook Village Hall after Mass on Sunday 25th June. If you would like to join the St Nicks congregation you will be made very welcome. Please let me know if you would like to come. Liz
Thank you to everyone who donated art materials– we have plenty now- we are still looking for a comfortable chair for someone who has back issues to sit on
This file is a diary for the next few months, containing lots of highlights– do print it out and put it on your fridge if you did not pick up a copy of it on Church on Sunday-
Other items of interest
We are currently thinking about pastoral visiting in the parish and getting more organised and focused. If you would like to have a conversation about that or explore what it might mean to be a visitor, please can you let Richard know soon?
Here is the latest update from Bishop Hall in Madagascar-
And here is Cara’s Sermon for Corpus Christi, by popular demand… the people have spoken and been listened to!
