Inside the magazine this month
Solar Panel
and Biomass Boiler News
Harvest
Festival, 26th September
United
Reformed Church Holiday Forum
Advance
Notice – Synod Day 2011
International
Music Showcase - 2nd October
The views expressed in this
magazine are those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily
represent the views of Park United Reformed Church.
Dear Friends
As the summer holidays draw to a close we look forward to a new school term and getting back into our routines. I hope that you have been able to enjoy the summer, which as usual has been a mixture of sunny days and wet days here in the United Kingdom. I hope that you have also had time to relax, to reflect, to rejoice. To relax, in the knowledge that God is at work even in our quiet times. To reflect, on the things God has been doing and the things God has been preparing for you. To rejoice, in the wonder of God’s creation and the world God has entrusted to us all.
As a church fellowship it is a great joy to welcome two new members, Emily and Amir, who have been worshipping with us since the beginning of the year. They will be received into membership on the first Sunday of September and will be married at Park URC in December this year. What an exciting year for them and for our fellowship!
As our youth and children’s work continues to develop we say farewell to Laura Peirce and we welcome Danie Neads as our new part-time Youth and Children’s Worker. We have changed the job description to encompass a wider range of ages, noting the need to develop our provision amongst children under 11, as well as continuing to develop our work with 11-18 year olds. We pray that Danie will soon feel a valued and supported member of our fellowship.
As we pray for those in our fellowship facing particular challenges we remember Anna, whose son Lee died in August. He will be missed by all who knew him. Please continue to pray for Anna, John and Olive Goodchild and all the family as they mourn this terrible loss. As always, may you know the peace, strength and comfort that comes from our Holy God.
Yours in Christ,
Doreen Woods
Marriage
31st July 2010 Rosemary Gillett to Craig Messeder
This organisation, which works to provide clean water in areas all over the world, is the charity we have chosen to be supported from our Small Change Boxes in 2010-2011.
They have a good website (www.wateraid.org), which contains a video presentation “We are WaterAid” , which brings their work to life. It might be possible to get a copy to show in church or at Church Meeting.
Doreen Woods
DRAPES
will be hosting a murder mystery evening with a meal to raise funds for the
church on Saturday, 13th November. We are looking for suspects (not just the
usual ones!) who would like to play a part on the night.
Potential murderers range in age from teenagers to retired folk, so if you think you could convince our diners of your innocence, please come along to a meeting on Monday 13th September at 7pm at Park.
If you are not available for the murder mystery evening, but are interested in future DRAPES productions please come along to the meeting in September where we will unveil plans for the future.
Carol McCarron
It is nearly two years since Eileen
Clare Abram left a proportion of her estate to Park United Reformed Church;
however the executors have been unable to distribute the full amount due to
various complications.
Church officers have been in close
communication with the executors and it is hoped that a resolution to the
problems might be found in the next couple of months.
An interim payment of £30,000 has been
paid to Park URC which will ease the cash flow for our treasurer. It is
probably wise for us to wait and to determine how this legacy is to be used
when the full amount has been received.
There will be an update at our
September Church Meeting on Sunday 19th September.
Rob Weston
Following the Special Church Meeting on
13th June, things have progressed very well for our environmental
projects.
The Wessex Synod of the URC have given
their support and permission for both the solar panel project and the biomass
boiler project to proceed.
The Wessex Synod Finance Committee have
given a very positive endorsement of our plans by offering up to £20000 loan
towards the Solar Panel Project and a £5000 grant towards the Biomass Boiler
Project.
Now we have to wait and see if the
Community Sustainable Energy Programme will agree to a 50% grant towards our
exciting project.
From the extensive research that was
undertaken prior to the application for funding, we know that both of these
projects will help reduce our energy costs in the future.
Many of you will recall the
excellent news coverage via the Reading Post (18th June) and the
interview on BBC Radio Berkshire (20th June). We are also grateful
to all who have written letters of support, from the many groups that regularly
use our premises.
Please continue to pray that things
will move forward in the next month.
Rob Weston
We have received another trust fund
donation in August. We received a cheque for £250 from the Edgar Milward
Charitable Trust Fund which is given to support our youth and children’s work.
This is a wonderful gift during these
hard financial times.
Rob Weston
As
most church members are aware, we are considering solar panels at Park Church.
I was asked to look at the viability of the project, and in doing so I
discovered that it would be well worth investing in a system for my house.
I am pleased to say that the project on my house is now completed and I am delighted with the results. Anyone investing in a system will be helping the planet as well as their finances. My system provides 3 sources of income. There is a feed in tariff which gives 41.3p per unit generated.
The key word here is ‘generated’, because it doesn’t matter whether the power is used in the building, or exported to the grid, the tariff still gets paid on everything that is generated. Then, in addition, any power that isn’t used in the building is exported to the grid and earns a further 3p per unit. Then finally, any of the generated power that is used, means less power provided by the energy supplier so there is a further saving. The tariff is indexed linked so it all keeps up with inflation.
For me, the pay back period (at net present value) is a just over 9 years and should have a lifetime of 25 years. Financially and ethically I think it makes good sense. If Park is successful in obtaining a grant then the pay back period will be significantly less and the system just carries on generating a steady income.
The photo of my house shows the kind of panels that Park Church would be having.
If anyone wants further information then by all means contact me and come round and have a look, or read my on-line blog at: http://tonyssolarpvinstallation.blogspot.com/
Tony Durrant
Following the success of our new style
of evening worship we shall be resuming this style of worship when the next
University term begins. The first Sunday evening IGNITE service will be on 3rd
October 2010.
We look forward to welcoming new
students to our worship both in the morning and the evening services.
If you would like to help with the
IGNITE meals or IGNITE worship on Sunday evenings please do speak to the
Minister or any of the Elders.
Rob Weston
On
a recent trip to Florida we saw this skywriting, the message reads:
‘God = J’ :
and ‘Love Jesus’:
Lorna McCarron
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Wed |
1st |
9.30 am |
Morning Prayers |
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Sun |
5th |
10.30am |
Morning Worship with Holy Communion and reception of new members |
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4.00 pm |
Songs of Praise at Sutton Court |
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Wed |
8th |
9.30 am |
Morning Prayers |
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7.30 pm |
Finance and Strategy Group meeting |
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Fri 10th – Sun 12th Minister away at Youth and Children’s Work |
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Sat |
11th |
Ride and Stride (formerly CROW) Sponsored Cycle Event |
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Sun |
12th |
10.30am |
Morning Worship led by Keith Whyte |
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2.30 pm |
Reading Friendship Walk, starts from Forbury Gardens |
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No evening service |
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Tue |
14th |
2.15 pm |
Friendship Club restarts |
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Wed |
15th |
9.30 am |
Morning Prayers |
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7.30 pm |
Elders’ Meeting |
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Sat |
18th |
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Induction of Rev Gordon Connell to the pastorate of Twyford URC |
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Sun |
19th |
10.30am |
Morning Worship |
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12 noon |
Church Meeting |
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6.00 pm |
Holy Communion with a time of prayer for healing and wholeness |
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Wed |
22nd |
9.30 am |
Morning Prayers |
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Sat |
25th |
CTEER Prayer Day at Lower Earley Baptist Church |
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Harvest Weekend, includes return of Small Change Boxes in aid of this year’s Church Charity, Naomi House |
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9.30 am |
Decoration of the church for Harvest |
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3.30 pm |
Baptism of Sonja Bormann |
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7.00 pm |
Harvest Supper and Barn Dance |
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Sun |
26th |
10.30am |
Morning Worship for Harvest Festival |
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Wed |
29th |
9.30 am |
Morning Prayers |
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This year our focus for financial giving will be Christian
Aid’s Harvest Project: “Be Part of a wind of change transforming
people’s lives”. There will be a retiring collection for our gifts.
The church will be decorated with flowers,
fruit and vegetables, which will be taken afterwards to senior and housebound
friends, and to local care homes.
Please bring flowers and greenery, and also,
if possible, fresh produce on Saturday morning. Help with decorating the church
will be very welcome.
As usual, our gifts will be sent to two
local organisations helping people in need.
· Churches in Reading Drop-In Centre
· Churches in Reading Women’s Centre
A summary of the goods they need:
Dry goods: sugar, flour, instant mash, instant custard
powder, ketchup, biscuits (sweet and plain), flan cases, meringue nests, trifle
sponges, cornflour, cheesecake mix, honey, pickle, mustard.
Drinks:
coffee, tea, fruit teas, squash, instant drinking chocolate,
long-life milk
Tins:
fish, fruit, vegetables, soup (condensed if possible), beans (not baked beans),
mince, soya mince, stewed steak, chicken, corned beef, ham, cook-in sauces,
readymade custard, rice pudding, Fray Bentos pies.
It has also been suggested that Chissock
Woodworking would be grateful for items for the lunches they provide for their
volunteers.
Please make sure that everything is well
within its “use by” date.
Thank you for your generosity.
The Hayes, Swanwick, Derbyshire.
“God is Still Speaking”
One
of the reasons why we go to holiday Forum can be summed up in some words of
Jesus, in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 6, verses 31-33. The disciples had just
returned from their first mission in twos, without Jesus, and were full of what
had happened, gathering round him to tell him. But “because so many people were
coming and going that they did not have a chance even to eat, he said to them
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”.
Well, Holiday Forum isn’t always a “quiet place” in the literal meaning of the term, and there are always plenty of people about, but nevertheless it is an opportunity to get away from the rush and preoccupations of daily life, to sit back and think about what it means to be a Christian.
I also thought, when Robert was talking about coming home, like the Prodigal Son, that for those of us who have been attending Forum for a number of years, that arriving at The Hayes Conference Centre each August is a bit like coming home too. There are the familiar buildings, the beautiful gardens and grounds with the lake, and all the people we meet year after year: familiar faces and also people there for the first time, new contacts with new insights to offer. One of the great benefits of Forum is the way one meets people from all over the country. We hear their stories, and about the many different kinds of churches they worship in; you are struck at the same time by their different experiences, and also how much the same things happen in URC churches wherever they are.
We
were privileged this year to have Rev. Roberta Rominger, the General Secretary
of the United Reformed Church as our main speaker. Her theme, “God is still
Speaking” was very much related to the Reformed tradition in general and the
URC in particular. God has not spoken once, for all (although history and
traditions are very important), but continues to speak to us in many ways today
– most of the week was taken up in thinking about how God speaks and how we
must listen. Her other main theme was
the inclusiveness of the URC, and what we have to offer to everyone; an
advertising campaign is being planned, which will bring responsibilities to
every church – watch this space!
(Les Dray can supply recordings of Roberta’s talks, and other sessions too – please get in touch with him of you would like them.)
There were many other memorable sessions – in particular the Worship with Heather Whyte (Evangelism Enabler and Communications Officer for the South Western Synod). Her All-Age worship every morning, linking a children’s picture book with a parable of Jesus, were meaningful for everyone, and I especially remember the Communion Service too – a new format and very moving. I joined a Discussion Group, exchanging ideas with many lively people.
If you would like to know more about Holiday Forum, please talk to those of us who went this year, or look at the website, www.urcholidayforum.org.uk. Next year’s theme is “Expect the Unexpected” – so we look forward to more surprises. How about joining us? If you book before September 30th 2010 you will get a £10 discount!
Doreen Woods
Many people will be aware of the
valuable work being carried out by Communicare, a local advice and support
charity working from purpose built premises behind Wycliffe Baptist Church,
near Cemetery Junction. We are delighted that we’ll be able to hear from
Communicare about their current work during our morning worship on Sunday 17th
October 2010.
Rob Weston
It is a long time since the last Wessex
Synod Day, there is one planned for all ages to be held near Henley on 18th
June 2011.
This may seem a long way off but now is
the time to mark it in your diary Saturday 18th June 2011 at Fawley
Hill, the home of Lord and Lady McAlpine.
There will be a wide range of
activities and attractions available, including a working steam railway.
Look out for further information which
we hope will be available at the Wessex Synod meeting in November.
Rob Weston
Over the summer we joined up with 3 other local churches to offer a service to local families with children under the age of five, each Tuesday morning of the school holidays.
Each session was very successful with around fifty people present. My thanks to all who helped to serve drinks, to put out and clear away toys, to lead songs, and those who helped in other ways. I suspect that we’ll want to build on the success of this joint venture in 2011.
Rob Weston
As you are probably aware from the church notices, I have accepted a call to serve as minister of Twyford URC. As there have been a number of questions about when the family are leaving, etc, I thought I’d better explain exactly what is happening.
As many of you will know, I answered a call to non-stipendiary ministry in the URC in 2000. At that time I was a member at Park but soon after married Claire and we moved to Guildford. I was ordained and inducted to the post of Associate Minister at Guildford URC in October 2004. Following the family’s return to Reading in October 2007 I have acted as an interim moderator to the Woodley churches and then for the last year have provided ministerial support to Thatcham URC. Earlier this summer it was suggested that I consider moving to Twyford URC and following various meetings, preaching and the issue of a call, I will be inducted as minister of Twyford URC on 18th September.
My ministry will continue to be part-time as I will retain my full-time job at the university library. I will therefore be offering eight hours per week to Twyford. Claire and the children are planning to stay at Park for the time being and this means that I will also continue to attend Park when not engaged at Twyford, which will be roughly two Sundays a month.
Twyford URC is part of a Local Ecumenical Partnership with the local Church of England parish which has two church buildings, St. Mary’s, Twyford, and St. James’s, Ruscombe. Twyford URC is next door but one to St. Mary’s. The Anglicans and URC generally worship separately, with seven joint services each year. During Twyford’s vacancy, the Anglicans have provided a minister for one service a month. The children’s work in the churches is run jointly, with three age groups meeting at St. Mary’s and one on the URC premises.
Your continued prayers for myself, Claire, Sophie and Alistair and for Twyford URC would be much appreciated.
Gordon Connell
International
Music Showcase Electronic Organ Competition
2nd October 2010 at Park United Reformed Church.
2pm
Competition
7pm Winners Concert
The Showcase is the 5th one we have run. This time, it will be in Park URC!
You are all invited to come and watch players from 10 years old to early 20s taking part in the competition playing pieces they have worked very hard on. They represent England, France, Spain and China, and special guests are from Japan.
The event has taken a year to plan and we will be delighted to welcome you to the afternoon or the evening programme, or both! You can get your Advanced Tickets before 30th Sept here: http://electonesociety.com/10/ticket, or see David or Phebe.
Advanced ticket price is only £5 for both events, or £8 on the day. Discount for family (2 adults and 2 children) is available (£17 Advanced, £27 on the day), so is a "Group of 5" discount (£22 Advanced, £37 on the day).
The competition features music of a wide variety of styles.
Preliminary programme available here: http://electonesociety.com/10/ where you find further info.
David, on the electronic organ, is attempting a duet with Richard Sedding on the church organ! Working title is 'Bach to the Phantom visiting The Doctor', I think you know who is The Doctor (as well as Bach and the Phantom). Don't miss it!!
The Competition is expected to end at about 4:30pm after adjudication, prize-giving and photos. Rehearsal is in the morning and a limited number of audience can be accommodated! A 'clear-out' time is expected at 12.30pm to prepare the venue for the competition.
Following the post-competition clear-out about 5pm, you are invited back, refreshed for more musical extravaganza, in the 7pm concert where winners will play their winning pieces, along with other performers.
We are pleased a number of Park members are helping out in various jobs on the day. The visual team has Andrew and Ted, while we are uncertain yet who can run the sound desk.
We also need other helpers who can do one or both events in a range of jobs: welcome and sort out tickets, a compere (you are given all details, this is the most relaxed job on the day), refreshments (drinks only), some people on camcorders (our camcorders or yours), transport from Premiere Inn in Reading, and taking care of trophies and prizes. If you can help, please see David or Phebe.
An event for all ages, please let your friends, families, neighbours, colleagues etc., know about this and invite them to come. We hope many of you can make it!
David & Phebe
Don’t forget, we are celebrating God’s wonderful creation by having a Harvest Barn Dance. This exciting event will be on Saturday 25th September from 7pm to 10pm in the church halls and will include a supper as well as dancing. Tickets are on sale now from myself or Roger Clark and are priced at £5 for adults, £4 for children and £15 for a family of 4 or more. There will also be a bar, selling soft drinks throughout the evening at very reasonable prices.
It will be fantastic to share a time of fellowship together and thank God for his magnificent and glorious creation! Please do buy a ticket as soon as possible and encourage all your friends and relations to come along too!
Carrie King
Minister:
Rev Robert
Weston office: 0118
926 5003
e-mail: minister@parkurc.org.uk
Church Secretary:
Roger Clark
e-mail: churchsecretary@parkurc.org.uk
Centre Manager:
Julie Cameron phone: 0845
463 6426
e-mail: centremanager@parkurc.org.uk
Magazine Editor:
Rod King
e-mail: rodking@talktalk.net
Church Website: www.parkurc.org.uk
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Sunday |
10.30 am |
Worship |
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Young people’s groups |
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Crèche facilities |
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Holy Communion (1st Sunday) |
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4.00 pm |
Worship at (1st Sunday of month) |
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6.00 pm 7:00 pm |
Ignite Meal Ignite Worship |
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Monday |
9.15 am |
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10.00 am |
Monkey Music |
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1.45 pm |
Mayfield Singers |
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6.45 pm |
Cub Scouts |
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7.30 pm |
Housegroup |
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Tuesday |
2.15 pm |
Friendship Club |
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7.30 pm |
Badminton Club |
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7.30 pm |
Housegroup |
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Wednesday |
9.30 am |
Morning Prayers |
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10.00 am |
Ready, Teddy, Go Toddlers |
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12.00 pm |
Reading Lunchtime Choir |
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2.00 pm |
Reading Macular Society |
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5.00 pm |
Beavers |
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7.30 pm |
Mostly G&S Singers |
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Thursday |
11.45 am |
Senior Citizens’ Lunch Club |
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2.00 pm |
U3A Madrigal Society |
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2.00 pm |
Active Retirement Group |
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6.00 pm |
Rainbows & Brownies |
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7.15 pm |
Guides |
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7.30 pm |
Scouts |
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7.30 pm |
Housegroup |
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Friday |
6.30pm |
Pilots |
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Saturday |
9.00 am |
The |
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10.30 am |
Councillor Surgery |
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7.30 pm |
FIZZANG(Youth Club) |
