March 2009

Minister’s Letter

Dear Friends,

This February has been a month to remember – the beginning of the month seeing us shrouded in snow and freezing conditions, the end of the month seeming to usher in Spring!

We’ve had a busy month in the life of our church: with two people baptised by immersion, a total of three people received into membership, at our extra church meeting we agreed the carpet choice and the chair choice for the worship area. At the end of half-term we had a thought provoking Thinking Day service led by our drama group DRAPES.

Shrove Tuesday was 24th February and marked the beginning of Lent. Lent is a period of preparation, a time to prepare for the great celebrations of Easter. This is the build up to the celebration of the great gift of Jesus Christ to the world. Jesus continues to inspire millions of people, within and beyond the church. Jesus Christ gives us an example of a life of service and a life of joy – it is regrettable that the church is so often unable to express the real joy of worshipping and serving the God revealed in Jesus.

 Lent is often associated with giving up something (like chocolate!) but I would encourage you to take up something new this Lent. There are little booklets available from church called ‘Love Life Live Lent’ in which you are encouraged to do one good thing each day – it might be to give a gift, to write a letter, recycle some items, plant a bulb. Something small but something that makes a difference. This is a really good way of marking Lent, preparing to celebrate Jesus life-changing death and resurrection.

As part of our Vision4Life Bible year, we are looking at several books of the Bible in depth, during Lent and Easter we’ll be focussing on John’s gospel. Of the four gospels this was probably written around AD90, the last to be written. It is a wonderfully crafted reflection on Jesus life and his revelation of God’s purpose and plan. There is much for us to explore together and I look forward to your questions, reflections and contributions.

During Lent there will be an additional opportunity to look at the Bible using some of the Vision4Life materials. This will be a group meeting on four consecutive Wednesdays at church from 18th March. Please let me know if you are interested in being involved, no previous experience of Bible study is required and there will be many opportunities to ask questions. It is in the asking of questions, that we learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the 21st Century!

I want to close this month’s letter by acknowledging the faithful contribution made by Pauline Whistler to the life of our fellowship. Pauline celebrated 65 years as a member of our church at the end of February. Pauline’s long time membership of our church shows the wonderful breadth of our fellowship, from those who have been members for a few days to those members of many years.

It would also be good to thank everyone who has contributed gifts of food, tea and coffee towards the Churches in Reading Drop-In Centre this past month.

This Lent, may each of us continue to take the little steps to make this world a better place for everyone!

Yours in Christ,

From the Church Registers

Baptism

Drapes' Drama Workshop

Many thanks to Gordon Bird with assistance from Peter Ashton who ran the  recently held drama workshop for young people. This was very successful and everyone really enjoyed it and had a good time. 

Here are another two dates for further workshops which will be held:

• Sunday 8th March   3pm -5pm Please note change of time for this workshop
• Sunday 22nd March 2pm -4pm 

There will be a performance on 29th March in the afternoon after Drapes' host a church lunch in a 'Showcase of Talent at Park'.

Please put in your diaries now and do your best to attend these workshops especially if you would like to perform on the 29th March.

For further information please contact Gordon Bird on 0789 028 0411

Extra Church Meeting

An extra Church Meeting was held on 15th February in order to choose the chairs to replace the pews and agree on the carpet for the church. It has been agreed that the carpet for the church will be blue (like the existing sections) and the main porch entrance area will also have blue carpet.

The new chairs were discussed in detail, one of the important issues identified was the style of the arms. The colour chosen for the chair material is probably best described as heather, a subtle mix of blues and reds. It is expected that the chairs will take six weeks to be constructed and transported, therefore we hope to have them in place by the end of April.

It was agreed that the pews would be donated to Yeldall Manor (a rehabilitation unit for drug users) in Berkshire. Yeldall Manor has a woodworking workshop, which makes bespoke furniture. The manager of the workshop, Steve, said that this offer was 'a real answer to prayer' as they have just finished using wood from a set of pews from Slough.

Rod King and family have approached Steve, to ask if the workshop could produce a set of bookshelves using our pew wood, in memory of Kathleen Hewett and Mavis Cordery. The bookshelves will be used in church to provide a library of Christian books, for use by church members and friends. The meeting agreed that this was a most appropriate and generous offer.

Challenge and choice

For anyone wondering about where God might be leading them – whether you are wondering about serving the church in the UK or abroad, being a local preacher or an ordained Minister... this is an event for you and on our doorstep!

Saturday 3rd May at Leighton Park School in Reading.

Roger Clark and Andrew Weston attended the last event in Bournemouth, please see them for further details.

Flower Rota 2009

Assistant Beaver Leader Required

Dawn Breen has worked alongside Verity Kemp as our Assistant Beaver Leader for some time and she is stepping down a the end of March, we are grateful to Dawn for the many hours of preparation and meetings with the Beavers.

The challenge that we face is that Verity is the only warranted leader and she needs an assistant, otherwise the Beaver section of our Scout Group will have to close. Please pray that someone will step forward to help out in the very near future.

Trust Fund Donations

We are delighted to have received a donation from The Berkshire Churches Trust, of £300, towards the roofing work over the church sanctuary which will cost £5500.

We are also delighted to have received a donation of £1000 from the Earley Charity towards the cost of new resources and equipment for the FIZZANG Youth Club (which we run jointly with Wesley Methodist, St Luke's & St Bart's Churches).

Crèche Heater Improvement

We record our thanks to Les Dray for ordering and installing a replacement heater for the crèche, the existing heater had come to the end of its working life.

Full operating instructions are displayed in the crèche, near the heater.

Easter Monday Ramble

There will be a walk of about 4 miles on Easter Monday, April 13th.  All are welcome. 

It will start at 11 am from the lay-by near  ‘The Seven Stars’, Bath Road, (A4) at Knowl Hill.

A sheet will be on the hall Church noticeboard nearer the time for you to sign:

1. if you are coming
2. if you would like a lift
3. if you can offer a lift

Please wear suitable footwear and bring a packed lunch.

News from St Matthew’s United Church of Zambia

During January, I received a letter from the Minister of St Matthew’s Church, Rev. Mwape Chilekwe, thanking us for the money we sent in 2008. Along with the letter was a magazine – the first one they have produced – partly inspired by our magazine which is sent to Mwape each month.

Copies of their magazine called The Bridge are available in church, please do pick up a copy and use it as a basis for your prayers.

We look forward to deepening our links with UCZ as we host a group of young people in August 2009. Further details of the youth exchange will be in forthcoming magazines.

Love Life Live Lent

Love Life Live Lent – a little book with some big ideas! The idea is to use Lent as a time of preparation for Easter, by making one small act of kindness each day of Lent.

These little booklets are available in church, there are two versions: one is aimed at children, the other is aimed at adults and young people.

If you are interested in doing something different for Lent please take a copy and place a donation in the offertory box if you are able.

May Fair

Please make a note in your diaries, instead of holding a stall at the Woodley Precinct in May, this year we have agreed to hold a May Fair at Park URC using the halls (and the garden if it is dry enough).

The date will be Saturday 9th May and the format will be similar to our very popular Christmas Fairs. Setting up will be from 7.00pm on Friday 8th May.  Now is an ideal time to plant seeds for the plant stall!

Fair Trade Fortnight

23rd February until 8th March is Fair Trade Fortnight – on both Sunday 1st and 8th March we will be serving Fair trade tea and coffee (as we always do!) after our morning service.

We will  have a Fairtrade stall on 1st March, run by our friends from St Andrew's URC.

Who is my Neighbour?

Our youth group FIZZANG presented a powerful drama about knife-crime at the Churches in Berkshire event to launch a special  report about knife crime in the UK. The drama has been written by a group of A-level students and adapted by FIZZANG.

Honor Alleyne, County Ecumenical Officer, wrote to everyone to express her appreciation and thanks for the drama which 'set the scene for the whole evening'.

My thanks to all the FIZZANG participants Ania, Richard, Laura King, Hannah Trout, Kenny McMillan, Alistair Stichbury, Andrew Weston and Laura Peirce.

Churches Together in Berkshire Forum

Saturday 28th March 2009 10:15—3:45 at the Abbey School, Kendrick Road, Reading.

The Keynote Speaker is Dame Anne Owers (HM Chief Inspector  of Prisons and incoming Chair of Christian Aid)

Theme – Micah Chapter 6 Verse 8 – Justice, Mercy and Humility

Includes:

• Workshops
• The Big Sing
• Lunch provided

For full details of programme and workshops, posters, flyers, booking forms, please contact Mrs Honor Alleyne on 0118 9261062 or ctberks@tesco.net

Book Review - To Ghana with love

Many of our congregation at Park have had interesting and memorable life experiences, but not many are inspired to write them down (perhaps more of us should?).  Barbara Baddoo began to write the story of her life for the benefit of her children, grandchildren and her extended family, but in the end has produced this remarkable book, thanks to the technical skills of her son Jim, so that we can all enjoy it.

The story begins with her growing up in London during the 1920s and 1930s. She went to University during the war years, and that is where she met and fell in love with Michael Baddoo, a young man from what was then the Gold Coast, a British colony in Africa.

He was studying to be a doctor, and over  several years their relationship developed and they decided to marry; this was very unusual at this time and required considerable courage. 

However Barbara was inspired by the example of Ruth Williams, a young English girl who in 1948, and against much opposition, married Seretse Khama, the ruler of Bechuanaland.  Barbara and Michael were married in 1950.

Her book tells the story of how Barbara and Michael settled in the Gold Coast, his work as a doctor and the way she adjusted to life in such a different culture and in many different places – by their 21st wedding anniversary they had lived in 21 houses! Five children were born to them, and Barbara taught them to be aware of and proud of both their black and their white heritage.

It s also interesting as history, as Barbara comments on the political and social changes as the colony of the Gold Coast evolves into the independent Republic of Ghana. She lives through the good times and the bad as the fledgling country struggles to establish its place in the world.

To find out how all the children grew up, and how Barbara eventually came to join us at Park, I do encourage you to read this book. It is very well written, and a thoroughly “good read”.

Barbara will be very glad to lend you a copy, and perhaps you will be inspired to buy one, as many of us have.

Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your story with us.

Churches in Reading Drop-In Centre (CIRDIC)

Park URC has supported the CIRDIC for many years, every Sunday there is a plastic box near the entrance to the church for donations of tea, coffee, tinned food for use by the centre.

The Drop-In Centre has seen an increase in the number of hot meals served, which is probably due to the current economic situation.

Please pray for the centre, for the manager Mabel, for the volunteers who cook and serve the meals, for the many people who value a hot meal and a warm welcome.

If you would like to give goods or money, please see one of the Elders.

Lent Study Group

As part of our activities for Vision4Life, the Bible year, we are planning a 4 week Lent study group, which will use Bible study material produced by the Vision4Life team.

The plan is to meet for four Wednesday evenings from 8pm to 9.30pm, the first evening will be Wednesday 18th March. This bible study group is particularly aimed at those who are unable to regularly attend a housegroup.

Yeldall Manor

Newsletters from Yeldall Manor are regularly on display at church, but for those of you who have never heard of Yeldall here is a little introduction...

"Alcohol was my comfort, my strength, my courage and support. At Yeldall, I realised that only God could fill this big hole in my life, so I let Him in."

Since Yeldall Manor began in 1977, hundreds of men have passed through their doors and found rehabilitation from drug or alcohol addiction and, in many cases, a new or renewed faith in Christ.

Yeldall Manor is a residential rehabilitation centre, set in 38 acres of Berkshire countryside near Wargrave, Reading. 

For over 30 years, they have been helping men to overcome serious drug or alcohol addictions and return to society to live new lives, drug, alcohol and crime free.

They offer two consecutive programmes, lasting up to eleven months in total, followed by a year's support in the community. 

The programmes combine work in the house and grounds with therapeutic groups and counselling.  They are a Christian organisation and all the staff and volunteers are Christian.  They  believe that the best means of achieving rehabilitation is through discipleship to Jesus Christ.  However, men do not have to be Christian to join the programme, and they never insist upon such a commitment.

Yeldall Manor is currently the sole project of the charity Yeldall Christian Centres.

Synod Youth Day

FURY Assembly 2009

Once again, FURY Assembly, the annual decision making event of FURY was held near Kidderminster (which is near Birmingham). The event was packed full of worship, workshops and fun. There were creative workshops on music, drama and art, there were also other workshops including some on racial inclusion, working with children and developing f2.

As part of the business sessions, decisions were made about the FURY policy of inclusion and also FURY also formally recognised the problem of Human Trafficking and the work of Stop the Traffik which is a global movement that works trying to eradicate this issue.

The end of the weekend saw Wessex Synod’s Josh Thomas being elected as FURY Moderator, which means he will lead FURY for this coming year. For more information on everything FURY, please see www.urcwessex.org.uk/FURY (The new Wessex FURY Website launched at FURY Assembly).

March Calendar

Stewards’ Rota for March and April 2009

Dates for the Year - 2009

Church Contacts

Weekly Activities at Park