MAY 2007

6 May

Holy Communion

Rev Nick Thompson

8.00am

Family Worship & Baptism

Rev Nick Thompson & Rev Nina Mead

10.00am

Evening Worship

Mr Henry Stroud

6.00pm

9 May

Nursery Service

2.00pm

13 May

Holy Communion

Rev Maureen Devine

10.00am

Evening Worship

Mrs Cath Bethell

6.00pm

16 May

Nursery Service

2.00pm

17 May

Holy Communion

Rev Maureen Devine

8.00pm

Ascension Day

20 May

Holy Communion

Rev Maureen Devine

8.00am

Family Worship

Mrs Paddy Jose

10.00am

Circuit Service at Wesley

Rev Tom Stuckey

6.30pm

No evening service at Trinity

23 May

Nursery Service

2.00pm

27 May

Family Worship

Rev Nick Thompson

10.00am

Pentecost

Holy Communion

Rev Nick Thompson

6.00pm

3 June

Holy Communion

Rev Nina Mead

8.00am

Trinity Sunday

Family Worship

Rev Nick Thompson

10.00am

Church Anniversary

Baptism

Rev Nick Thompson

3.00pm

Evening Worship

Mrs Una Chandler

6.00pm

6 June

Nursery Service

2.00pm

Please note that there is a Nursery Service every Wednesday during termtime.

A Time of Prayer:

Every Sunday, 9.30-9.45am , in the Crèche Room

WEEKLY PRAYERS:

9.45am Wednesdays (Communion 4th Wed)

The Church Vestry is staffed on Saturdays between 9.30am and 11.00am .
If you would like to arrange a Thanksgiving for the birth of a child,
a Baptism or a Marriage, or discuss any pastoral matters, please come then,
or ring the Church Office on 0118 931 3124.
Nick‘s day off is Friday.

Minister’s Letter

In this balmy month of April, it is easy to sense the climate of our planet changing. It is easy to sense also the political climate changing. Although the earth is heating up, it is arguable that politics is cooling down. Fewer of us engage with politics these days and there is increasing consensus among the parties.

By the time this magazine is published, this year’s local elections will have happened. They are expected to be bad news for the government, with the timing of the Prime Minister’s departure from office as the dominant issue. Whatever the outcome, a new Prime Minister will be in post soon and the Westminster Soap Opera will carry on.

The current elections in France seem much more interesting! Over the channel, there is a much sharper divide in the political debate. Here, it is hard to spot the differences sometimes. In a recent political debate in London , the 3 main parties were joined by the Green Party and Ken Livingstone as Mayor. In front of an audience of 1800 people, issues such as transport, housing and pollution were debated.

What was striking about the debate was how each panellist referred to the others as “colleague”, each seemed to perform to a script and all, reading the mood of the audience, agreed with everything that the Green representative said!

Then there was the G8 summit in July 2005 at Gleneagles. On the day before the 7/7 bombs, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary General of the UN, the Bishop of London and others were all on the same side to “Make Poverty History”. All the G8 leaders caught the mood and were anxious to make a united front and to be seen to be supporting the poor of the world. And yet where are the end results 2 years on?

Rowan Williams says that we are in danger of producing a generation of childish adults, who are afraid of taking decisions and feeling responsible. Perhaps this is some fall out from a society which looks for someone else to blame for every problem. In an atmosphere of blaming and accusing, we will not attempt any form of truth and reconciliation. With our car insurance comes an advice card for “What to do if you have an accident”. The first instruction is “Do not admit fault”. But what happens if it was?!

Of course there is no point in people disagreeing for the sake of it and where political parties come to the same conclusion, then a calmer atmosphere will produce better decisions. But true confidence in leadership is surely about being able to live with your insecurities and accepting the responsibility that comes with decision making. No blame and no phoney consensus please.

After all, Jesus didn’t ask, “Where shall we go?” He said, “Follow me,” and he lived with the consequences.

With Christian Aid Week coming up this month, we remember once again that following Jesus obliges us to care for those in the world who are trapped by disaster, injustice and greed. We remember beyond the cosy promises of the G8 that so many agreements have been broken and that the needs of the most vulnerable continue to grow.

So, this month, we pray for our world and for our leaders, we give of our riches and we work for a fairer world – in the name of Jesus.

God Bless.

Nick

Buildings Project Fundraising Update

A Major Milestone Reached!

We have had a great month with raising funds for the buildings project and, after allowing for the proceeds from the XYZ Auction (many thanks to Sandy Catchick and those who helped her), we have now gone over the £200,000 mark. This is a major milestone and we are delighted that things have picked up after what has been a prolonged lean period.

Successes this month have included:

Grant – Norwood & Newton Settlement 3,000

Grant – Berkshire Community Foundation 2,000

‘10p for Trinity’ fundraising event 615

XYZ Auction 3,500

Buildings Fund Summary
Total target to raise	£231,000
Raised or pledged so far	£201,600 (87%)
Money still required	£29,400 (13%)
Weeks to completion of building work	11

This was an exceptional month but we need to keep the momentum going. What can you do to assist with this? Join the Men's Sponsored Walk? Make or increase a pledge? Organise an event? Let's all pull together to try to reach the target in the next few months!

A big thank you to all who have helped in any way so far.

Open Garden

Could you open your garden this year to help raise money for the Buildings Fund?

Previously, people have opened their gardens and served refreshments, which has been well supported.

If you feel you could do this, please talk to a member of the fundraising team.

The fundraising team currently are: Jill Duncan, Gemma Keeley, Sarah Moore, Julia Little, Andrew Curnow and Mandy Dawkins.

XYZ Auction of Promises

The XYZ Auction on Saturday 21 April was very successful, raising around £3,500 for the Trinity Buildings Fund.

The success of the evening was largely due to the hard work put in both beforehand and on the night by Sandy Catchick and the professional way in which Peter Whiteman announced the items and encouraged the bidding. Thanks are also due to Gemma Keeley, who contacted local companies for contributions, also to all those who provided and prepared refreshments and helped with the auction.

The total raised represents a significant advance towards our fundraising target.

John Medcraft

Bible Triples

Last May, we read the entire Bible, so here are some questions to test your knowledge one year on. They have been set in “threes” but do not all represent natural triples. Some are simple, some are silly, some may test you (and no answers are given!).

1. Which are the three shortest books in the Bible?

2. What were Jesus’ three replies to the Devil’s temptations?

3. Name three of Joseph’s brothers.

4. Who were the three oldest disciples?

5. Name three of the places where Paul visited and later wrote to a church.

6. Name three of the tribes of Israel .

7. Who were Noah’s three sons?

8. Find three of Jesus’ “I am the …” sayings.

9. Name three of the Gospel writers.

10. Which are your three favourite stories about Jesus?

Roger Mead

Gentlemen: Get out your Walking Boots

Two years ago, a determined group of Trinity ladies, led by Helen Rixon, walked 15 miles to raise over £2,000 for the Buildings Project. We chaps looked proudly on.

…. But now it’s our turn. On 14 July, we will be stepping forward to try to equal (well, perhaps we’d actually like to beat…) the efforts of the fairer sex. We aim to follow a route with similarities to that trodden by our illustrious predecessors, but detailed planning is yet to come. Clearly, it is going to be thirsty work, so due care will need to be taken to ensure adequate opportunity for refreshment en route.

There will be training walks every Saturday morning from 19 May.

So, who’s up for it? At the moment, there’s Nick and me. We want at least a dozen more chaps to step up to the plate. The sweat, the blisters, the thirst, the begging for sponsorship … it’s a man’s job, eh?

Let me know soon.

Richard Cocks

richardjcocks(at)btinternet.com

Do You Have Email?

If you have access to email, you may like to consider joining the Trinity Church email list. Regular news bulletins are circulated, approximately weekly, and it is a very useful way of keeping in touch with each other.

To join, please contact the church office on trinity(at)waitrose.com

Margaret Evans

Minister’s Secretary

In Communion with Children

“All who love the Lord Jesus Christ are invited to his table.”

Once a quarter, on the fifth Sunday of the month, at the 10.00am service, we gather together for a “Family Communion”. The service is planned as All Age Worship and no alternative programme is arranged for the children.

This, then, is a service at which children are invited to be full participants. We involve our children in many ways, playing musical instruments, reading, singing, answering questions, making comments, creating posters and sharing in drama. Yet, when we reach the central part of the service, the point at which we remember Christ’s body broken, his blood shed for us, as we break bread together as Christians have done since that first group gathered round the table on the first Maundy Thursday, we make a subtle statement of division and exclusion. The children are not quite a part with us. We try hard to deny this, offering a grape or an Easter egg and a blessing, a statement perhaps that the child is not quite ready to receive Christ’s grace. Kindly meant but exclusion nevertheless.

During the 1980s and 1990s, considerable work was done by all of our denominations about the place of children at the communion table. All of them came to the same conclusion, that all should be welcome. That when an invitation is given, all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and that means children too, should be welcome.

We were an infant church then, in the eighties and early nineties, and it is perhaps now that we have come of age, that we should spend time and thought to understand why it is that, in the past, children have been excluded and to discover for ourselves how God is calling young and old alike to come together in communion.

We shall have an opportunity at our June Church Meeting on Monday 11 June at 8.00pm to consider some of our histories and theology that we may better respond to the child who holds out their hands for the bread and wine.

Nina Mead

Christian Aid Week

13^th – 19^th May.

We believe in life before death.

Prayer and Inspiration

Generous God,

You give us gifts that are not ours by right.

You give us life,

You give us freedom,

You give us our planet with its changing seasons and rhythms of nature,

You give us the miracle of creation,

And we have misused your gifts.

We look at our world, overcrowded by the thorns of injustice

And we are ashamed.