Dear friends,

A very warm welcome to this service, wherever you are worshipping in the Langtree Team Ministry area. May God’s peace and joy be with you. A special welcome if you are worshipping with us for the first time, or visiting family and friends.

Give thanks to God for the work of your local school, now broken up for the summer holidays. With all the turmoil in the news both at home and abroad, the stability that school gives to young and growing lives is a huge asset, not only to the pupils individually, but to society as a whole. Give thanks to God for the quiet and demanding work that teachers do, sometimes under impossible expectations. A number of our schools are church foundations, which means that the church is called upon to undertake a role in the governance. If you might be interested in becoming a school governor, please do speak to a member of the clergy staff team. This role is not so much about being involved with the children, rather it is about co-operating with the leadership team of the school in strategic oversight and direction setting for the school’s future development and improvement.

Next Sunday, (31st July) being a fifth Sunday, means that we are meeting as a Team for a single service, in a summer communion at St Leonard’s Woodcote, at 10.30am. The celebrant will be the Revd Linda Smith, and the preacher will be the Revd Kevin Davies. Do join us for a wonderful time of praise !

As members of the staff team begin to take some of their annual leave, I’d like to thank all of them, lay and ordained, on all of our behalf, for the wonderful work that they do throughout the year in making sure that our churches are happy and hopeful places to be. Do take this chance to offer your own thanks in person, however, because in a time when all public offices are under great pressure, small words of thanks and encouragement can go a long way.

“May you be strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light”  Col 1:11-12

Your Rector and Area Dean                                    Revd Kevin Davies

Please pray for:

The family and friends of Desmond Spokes, whos funeral was at Checkendon on 22nd July.

Delene Nee and James Cole, married at Checkendon on 23rd July.

Cressida West, baptised into God’s great family today at Checkendon.

Gary Groves and Natalie Kozakiewicz, to be married at Checkendon on 30th July.