God’s brown bin. Dear friends, Autumn is usually a very busy time. Everything is in full swing in the working world, in the voluntary sector and with social events. There are meetings, projects, appraisals, reviews, articles, parties – and the DIY that you started in May is nowhere near finished. Teachers and parents start to look weary and mentally tick off the…
Harvest Joy Dear friends, Many thanks to all of you who supported our Harvest services last Sunday. At Checkendon, Steve and Frances Woolaway from Manor Farm, Peppard, returned with their produce stall supporting the Ways and Means Trust, and Robin Hart from the Woodhouse Farm Partnership, which farms at both Checkendon and Ipsden, shared some of the story of the farm over…
Harvest Hope Dear friends, Planting a seed is an act of faith. The miracle of soil, water, air, and light works a mystery, and as we tend the plant we share in the wonderful work of creation. And, in the same way that our horticultural skills are honed by repetition, and experience, so too our faith grows as we tend to it,…
Lent Courses Dear friends As February draws to a close and the season of Lent gets under way, may I draw your attention to the Lent study groups that are on offer this year? Both are open to anyone from across the Team. On Tuesday afternoons at 1.30pm you have a chance to meet God “In the Wilderness” with Revd Romey Poston.…
Mercy, mercy Dear friends, Once again the creation reminds us that we are not above it, but that we belong to it. At high enough pressure, rock becomes fluid, and behaves in a way similar to the ocean – it ripples and waves. The forces involved are unthinkably large, but perhaps can be imagined by asking what would happen on the motorway…
Joys Dear friends, I always rejoice to see the back of January. Snowdrops are already peeping out, reminding us of better times. Evenings are slowly getting lighter and one knows that February always passes in a flash. Then, March will bring spring. Old friends reappear like flowers, new friends greet one in the lanes and on the footpaths. Life comes again after…
Team Works Dear friends Our team ministry helps our churches in a number of ways: – we share resources, and staff. For example we all benefit from the support provided by the Team office, whether that be in church requisites, printing facilities, or administrative help for the clergy. But we don’t bear the cost alone. Similarly when clergy are on leave, or…
Dear friends, Advent rushes by. The third candle is lit. Churches are being decorated, and carol services approach. Musicians and singers rehearse, sermons are sharpened. This will be my last note to you of 2022, so I list below all the Christmas and New Year services, for a ready reference. I look forward to seeing many of you at our worship in…
A strange beauty Dear friends Numbers can do wonderful things, seemingly all by themselves. With attention, however, our minds are able to discern patterns. Order pops out now and then in fields of apparent chaos. Today, for example is 22.11.22. Just an ordinary Tuesday – bright, sunny skies and perhaps showers later. But our labelling pattern, where date numbers are constrained to…
For all the Saints Dear friends, Today, 1st November, is All Saints’ Day. It is a chance to remember the giants upon whose shoulders we stand; not just the great apostles and martyrs of old, but those closer to home, from the unknown labourers who built the churches we worship in, to good old Birinus himself, who first brought the gospel to…