St. John’s Catchup
Dear All,
It is the Glastonbury weekend , so I thought this was very appropriate!
The weather is hot and sun is shining, the beer is cooling in the fridge and I am sitting under the umbrella writing this catch up. This picture reminds me of the time as a 14 year old, I attended the Keswick Convention as part of a contingent from the Boys Brigade. That week was also spent under canvass and music was every where...yes we had rock music back then as well!. For those who remember, think of Bill Graham and you will get the idea. It was the most uplifting week for me and coming away I could really say JESUS ROCKS.
Services for July.
This coming Sunday, the 2nd, we will have our Family Communion and Sunday Club service at 9.15.This will be the last Sunday Club meeting until September and Sally, Helen and Vicky have arranged fun and games for the children so we hope all of the children will come along.
Sunday 9th at 4pm will be our Family All Age service. This is developing into a lovely family service and lasts around 40 minutes. We welcomed George and his mum from Maidenhead, who had found us on the web. Do please come and join in some time.
Sunday 16th . 9.15 is our Family Communion Service.
Sunday 23rd will be a family and friends communion service at Hurley at 10.30 am.
Sunday 30th Will be a Parish service at 10 am at Stubbings.
During August we are going to rotate a Parish service in each church and I will let you know the details when they come to me.
Churchyard Records
I have mentioned before that Jess Freebody is doing her Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver award and has volunteered to do her community service at St John’s. She has been computerising our burial records, since January, giving us 1 hour a week. With the able help of her Mum Kirsty and Grandad Paul, the work is nearing completion. I met up with them on Saturday whilst opening up. Jess said that she has found this project very interesting. Thanks Jess, the project will be of immense help to us.
As an example, I was approached a few weeks ago by a daughter wanting to place her mother’s ashes in her Grandmother’s plot. I searched the records and spent some time in the churchyard but could not find any entry or grave . Whilst looking at a plan of the churchyard I found an entry for the Grandmother indicating that the ashes had been placed near the fence by the lychgate. I still could not find a grave and had to report back to the daughter. Had Jess’s project been live, I would have saved hours of work by just clicking on my computer! The week before we were due to place the ashes in the Remembrance Garden I was doing something in the Side Chapel ( coffee) and on looking up noticed a plaque on the wall, dedicated to the Grand Mother! On the opposite wall was a second plaque dedicated to another relative. It transpires that the family raised the money to build that chapel in memory to their family...hence the scattering of ashes without a memorial. We still do not know why there was no entry in the book. We were able to show the daughter the memorials and as you can imagine, she was delighted to learn that her grandmother was remembered in such a way. A happy ending for everyone.
Help in so many ways
I have spoken before about the need for more volunteers. I am pleased to say that we have had offers and many of the various jobs are covered off. Rowena Upcott has been cleaning the church every week and really enjoys it. Rowena tells me that she loves the peace and quiet. Paul Ripley has offered to cover July and it is nice to have Paul back. Although we could always do with more help, I now have a few very dedicated refreshment helpers. We have also recruited more Readers, and recently did a short Sides training hour. If you think you can help us, contact me and we can see what you would like to get involved with. As they say, The More the Merrier.
Morning Prayer
Each Thursday at 9.15, Tom does a short Morning Prayer service. It is around 30 minutes and involves readings and prayers.
Church open each day
Our church is open every day between 11 am and 4pm. I have altar lights on and music playing. This week we have Elizabethan Choral Music. I know that many find the peace and tranquillity very helpful, to de stress their daily lives. At the back of church you will find a book to write your prayers in. These will be offered up to God at either the Thursday Morning Service or the Sunday Service.
St John’s is your church...
St John’s is your village church A Village church is very important to a village. It is there for when you need it. Baptisms, Weddings and of course Funerals. It offers a place of peace and comfort and of course, safety and provides you with support when it you needed. In turn, St John’s needs your support and help as well. So, if you are able to come along for a service , offer to help in some form or support us financially, you will be making sure that St Johns is always there for you. I am pleased to let you know that your church is going from strength to strength, our numbers are up, we have a thriving Sunday Club for Children, the sound of children echo’s in all services and with the arrival of Tom, Hannah, Alice and Robyn, has reinvigorated all of us.
God Bless,
Richard