Weekly Newsletter 10th August

Dear friends,

Treasure

This week I had the delightful opportunity to sit and listen to our Curate, Jen, during the 10am Family Service at St Stephen’s as she shared about how Jesus is our greatest treasure. As part of her talk, Jen had the congregation searching for treasure (chocolate coins!!) that she had hidden around the room. I have felt inspired this week to actively seek the treasure in my life so I can thank God for it. God is always at work in our lives, and I have thoroughly enjoyed taking some extra time to really be seeking what he’s up to. It’s really helped me to have an attitude of gratitude and focus on the blessings in my life. Maybe some of you may wish to join me in pursuit of treasure this week.

If you want to know more about the treasure we can find in Christ, we will be running an Alpha series in September.

Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

SERVICES THIS WEEKEND

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

Around the parishes:

Upcoming Events:

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for the continued conflict in Ukraine. Many families are settling locally so do please pray for inspiration and wisdom how best to serve and welcome them during this time.

Please pray for the families whose homes have been damaged due to fires in Basildon recently.

Please pray for the couples who are planning to get married in our churches, or from our villages this year. Some of whom have rescheduled quite a few times!

Please pray for those who are currently ill with covid. May they be protected and restored quickly.

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation with tiredness and fatigue featuring heavily.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from various illnesses or operations.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

Please pray for those who are enjoying holidays and breaks this summer. After the difficulties of the past few years, we pray that true rest will be found.

If you would like something to appear in this newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 2nd August

Dear friends,

Lionesses. Leadership. Leaving…& Love.

Emotions are funny things aren’t they. They can catch you totally unaware. Wasn’t it wonderful to hear and see the Lionesses at Wembley! I, for one, am incredibly proud of the Lionesses, who have won the Euro 2022 championship. They are credit to the nation and have inspired so many in the way they have endured the competition and finally ‘brought football home’. Elation. Joy. Awe.

Contrast that with another sphere entirely, as we are bombarded daily with promises of hopeful candidates seeking to become the Prime Minister, each promising one thing or another in how they would operate their government as they run their leadership campaign. Exasperation. Confusion, Doubt. Hope.

Further still, our hearts are broken as we continue to pray for Ukraine and especially those who have managed to leave and have joined our communities recently. Pain, sorrow, sadness.

This is not including all the ups and downs of life we have to contend with on top of all of these. It’s fair to say that emotions are running high at the moment. And that’s ok!

I love that in the scriptures we see Jesus, the Son of God, experience so many of the same emotions we experience today too. He was totally overjoyed at pleasing his father. He was completely exhausted from the demands of his ministry. He was furiously angry at the hypocrisy of the religious. He was disgusted at racism and oppression of the poor. He was completely full of sorrow when his friend passed away. He was full of apathy for those suffering and so full of agony as he himself suffered. This is the man who is so bent on loving us that he was willing to die for us. It’s fair to say he was a fairly emotional person.

This means that Jesus understands our struggles. He has been where we are, he has overcome the temptations we try and overcome. For that reason, we can come to him just as we are, without reservation, knowing fully that he understands, he sympathises with us in all that we face. What a lovely God we worship. One who is on our side. One who is for us. One who loves us no matter how we are feeling or whatever emotion we are feeling. For whatever it is, he is with you. May you know that this week. Let me encourage you to go to him with whatever you are facing, however you are feeling.

Why not join us this weekend as we continue to pray for all the issues we face in the world and to seek to know and feel God’s love and support as we do?

Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

SERVICES THIS WEEKEND

Around the parishes:

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

---

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for the continued conflict in Ukraine. Many families are settling locally so do please pray for inspiration and wisdom how best to serve and welcome them during this time.

Please pray for the families who’s homes have been damaged due to fires in Basildon recently.

Please pray for the couples who are planning to get married in our churches, or from our villages this year. Some of whom have rescheduled quite a few times!

Please pray for those who are currently ill with covid. May they be protected and restored quickly.

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation with tiredness and fatigue featuring heavily.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from various illnesses or operations.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

Please pray for those who are enjoying holidays and breaks this summer. After the difficulties of the past few years, we pray that true rest will be found.

If you would like something to appear in this newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 5th July

Dear friends,

It has been a few weeks since my last email to you, so I do hope you are keeping well.

It has been busy across the parishes over the past few weeks and as we enter into summer proper there is plenty going on too. A couple of things I’d like to draw your attention to.

Firstly we have a new minister who has joined the team. The Revd Jen Green was recently ordained by the Bishop of Oxford and licensed to serve as a curate here in the benefice. Jen brings with her a wonderful family and a wealth of experience and is looking forward to getting to know more of you over the next few years. You can read a little bit more about Jen’s ordination and what she will be up to here.

Secondly, its a busy month for St. Mary’s Aldworth. The summer Tea’s with the Giant’s are back by popular demand. Yum! Each Wednesday through July, August and September we are hosting afternoon teas at St. Mary’s from 2.30-4.30pm. Come along and bring a friend. A great excuse to have a catch up!

Further to this, we are hosting a wonderful concert at St. Mary’s Aldworth on 30th July. It includes music by the Adderbury String Quartet and a special piece of music which has been written and inspired by the Aldworth Giants will be played for the first time. You can find out further info and how to get hold of tickets here.

Finally, many folks are now beginning to receive and host Ukrainian families. I am keen to help and support wherever there may be need. We are considering hosting a Ukrainian church service or regular services if that would be helpful. If you knew of any local families to whom that might be useful then I’d love to hear from you so we can begin planning as needed.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week and we can see you soon at a service or event. As always, please do feel free to get in touch if there’s anything we can do, or pray for.

Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

Coming up!

Services this Weekend

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

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Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for the continued conflict in Ukraine. Many families are settling locally so do please pray for inspiration and wisdom how best to serve and welcome them during this time.

Please pray for the couples who are planning to get married in our churches, or from our villages this year. Some of whom have rescheduled quite a few times!

Please pray for those who are currently ill with covid. May they be protected and restored quickly.

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation with tiredness and fatigue featuring heavily.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from various illnesses or operations.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

Please pray for those who are enjoying holidays and breaks this summer. After the difficulties of the past few years, we pray that true rest will be found.

If you would like something to appear in this newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 25th May

Dear friends,

As we begin to prepare to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend coming up, do please look out for the latest updates across the villages. As you can imagine, there have been lots of updates as things have fallen into place! The Jubilee weekend also falls on Pentecost Sunday. So all our services across the parishes will be focussed on celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit and the strength and comfort the Spirit gives us - as has been demonstrated so magnificently by Her Majesty The Queen. More on this next week!

Tomorrow evening (Thursday 26th) we are celebrating Ascension day, with a reflective communion service at St. Clement’s Ashampstead beginning at 7:30pm and then this coming Sunday we join all of our villages together for a whole benefice service at 10am in St. Stephens Upper Basildon, as its a 5th Sunday in the month.

Thank you to everybody who has contributed to the welcome gifts for the new Curate, Jen and her family. If you wanted to add anything in last minute, there is still time to do so, please do let me know so I can get it to them in time.

As always, may you know how loved you are by God, may you know how precious you are in the eyes of his Son, and may you know how through the Holy Spirit you are more than conquerors!

Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

Coming up!

Services this Week

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

---

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for the continued conflict in Ukraine. We have welcomed a Ukrainian family to Basildon Primary School. We are working closely with the school to support them. Please pray for the staff and the family as they settle into local life.

Please pray for the couples who are planning to get married in our churches, or from our villages this year. Some of whom have rescheduled quite a few times!

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation with tiredness and fatigue featuring heavily.

Please pray for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Jubilee celebrations this year.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from illnesses.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

If you would like something to appear in this newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 19th May

Dear friends,

As I re-read some of the accounts of how Jesus called those early disciples to ‘follow him’ it strikes me that when Jesus speaks these words he offers two main questions: challenge and invitation. He challenges them in their faith. What will they give up to follow him? Where are they prepared to go? What is it they believe about this man? Who is he? These are the same questions we need to ask today as the answers have some implications on our faith, our understand, our journey through this life. But when Jesus asks this question of his disciples, he does it in an invitational manner. ‘Come’, he says. Jesus invites his disciples into something more, something deeper. He says, ‘I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly’. The life that Jesus invites us to is rich, and full and overflowing with mercy, grace and love. Why not take the opportunity to join us at one of our services this week, to encounter Jesus’ invitation to follow him into an abundant life.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

Coming up!

Services this Sunday

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

---

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for the continued conflict in Ukraine. We have welcomed a Ukrainian family to Basildon Primary School this week. We are working closely with the school to support them. Please pray for the staff and the family as they settle into local life.

Please pray for the couples who are planning to get married in our churches, or from our villages this year. Some of whom have rescheduled quite a few times!

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation with tiredness and fatigue featuring heavily.

Please pray for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Jubilee celebrations this year.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from illnesses.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

If you would like something to appear in this newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 13th May

Dear friends,

I hope you have had a good week.

Having been rather unwell last weekend I’m pleased to say I have now fully recovered so thank you all so much for your prayers and messages, much appreciated.

This week I spent some time with folks who are training to be vicars at Ripon College, Cuddesdon (many of whom are EVEN younger than me!). It was inspiring to hear some of their stories of how God has moved in their lives, how he has met with them, healed them, transformed them and equipped them to take the step forward to give their lives in service to him. The people training had come from such wide variety of backgrounds; teachers, sales, military, engineering, NHS and so on, yet they shared a love and devotion to the Lord which surpassed their differences and backgrounds and enabled them to become a community together.

It was a lovely reminder of what happens at church week in and week out; We all come together, from different backgrounds, jobs, family makeup, history and celebrate our shared faith in Jesus however we are feeling or whatever we’re facing and we’re called brothers and sisters together. When God’s people gather together, ‘God inhabits the praises of his people’ (Psalm 22:3). God has certainly been with us in our recent services, moving people amongst us to be baptised, or healed or helping them to overcome something. If you’re seeking a loving and friendly supportive community of faith then let me invite you to explore our churches here in Basildon, Aldworth and Ashampstead. Come and see what God is doing right here.

Hope to see you very soon.
Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

Coming up!

Services this Sunday

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

Future Dates & Events

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for Ukraine.

We are expecting to welcome a Ukrainian family to Basildon Primary School this coming week. The church is working with the school to see how we can help resource materials needed to aid smooth transition for the children. Please do pray for the two children to settle and for the right support to be put in place.

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation with tiredness and fatigue featuring heavily.

Please pray for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Jubilee celebrations this year.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from illnesses.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

If you would like something to appear in this newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 6th May

Dear friends,

It’s been a couple of weeks since our last email, so I do hope that you are well. Thank you to everybody who joined us and helped throughout Easter. Our three churches looked stunning and we really were able to joyfully celebrate our Lord’s resurrection. Alleluia!

The excitement continues:

We are delighted to share that from July we will be welcoming a new minister amongst us. The (soon to be) Reverend Jen Green will be joining the benefice as Curate after she is ordained at Christchurch Cathedral, Oxford. Jen is finishing her Theology degree at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, and will be moving into the area in the next few weeks. Jen and her family will be with us for around three years so we are very excited about all that they will share with us through their time with us. Do please look out for news items and notices about Jen and her family as we prepare to enthusiastically welcome them to our community.

As promised, things are beginning to ‘ramp up’ a little more now we are able. Alongside our compliment of online bible study groups, services and events and we are pleased to launch a new (in person) home group this week - helping us to think about inspiring characters from the Old Testament. Please see details below if you are interested in joining.

Basildon Jubilee Update: A couple of things to share with you regarding the upcoming Jubilee Celebrations.

1- The previously advertised events on the Thursday and Friday are now being rolled together into one celebration on Thursday 2nd June and have changed venue. There will now be a beacon lighting event held at Hillfields Farm from 7:30pm. With a Bar and BBQ. (This is no longer at The Red Lion).

2 - We have the possibility of a free shuttle service on Saturday 4th June to collect villagers from St Stephen’s Church and/or Teneplas Drive and shuttle them to the Recreation Ground. It would be helpful to know whether there would be a demand for this service. It would likely run from 11:30am-12:15pm, and then 5:30-6pm. If this would be of use to you in Basildon, please do let me know so I can arrange some details. Thank you.

As always, if there is anything we can do or pray for you during this time, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any one of us.

Hope to see you very soon.
Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

Coming up!

Services this Sunday

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

Future Dates & Events

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for Ukraine, for those caught in hostilities, those who are mourning, and for the political situation. Let us give thanks for the refuge we have been able to offer here in the UK and continue to pray for the constraints of bureaucracy to ease so many more families can find safety here too. Lord, Have Mercy.

Please pray for the Local Elections around the UK.

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation with tiredness and fatigue featuring heavily.

Please pray for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Jubilee celebrations this year.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from illnesses.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

If you would like something to appear in this weekly newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Also, if you have any church family news that you would like me to share with the community then do let me know and I can certainly add it in.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 31st March

Dear friends,

I cannot believe we are at the end of March already. Easter is almost upon us and the weather has been playing tricks on us all these past couple of weeks hasn’t it? We’ve been donning the shorts and sandals one moment, then out come the gloves for the (horizontal!) snow the next.

There is a lot going on over the next few weeks and weekends. This Sunday we have two wonderful traditional services at Ashampstead and Aldworth on offer. With opportunity to quietly reflect, or to sing beautiful hymns - whatever takes your fancy! Alternatively at Basildon it is our Bacon Butty Sunday. It promises to be filled with lively songs, a messy talk and is particularly special as we baptise Ronnie and Sienna as part of the service too. Oh and don’t forget yummy bacon butties (veg option too) afterwards as well! All details below.

One special mention is the Café which will run on Monday 4th. We are donating all proceeds to the UK response fund for Ukraine. Any amount we raise will also be additionally match-funded, so please do pop along, bring a friend and buy a coffee.

Hope to see you very soon.

Love and blessings,
Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

Coming up!

Services this Sunday

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

Future Dates & Events

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for Ukraine, for those caught in hostilities, those who are mourning, and for the political situation. Lord, Have Mercy.

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation amongst rising cases of covid and large backlogs for procedures.

Please pray for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Jubilee celebrations this year.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from illnesses.

Please pray for the baptisms of Ronnie and Sienna this week.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

If you would like something to appear in this weekly newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Also, if you have any church family news that you would like me to share with the community then do let me know and I can certainly add it in.

Previous Messages

Weekly Newsletter 25th March

Dear friends,

I hope this update finds you and those you love well. This Sunday is Mothering Sunday and I am pleased to say that due to us Fensomes being in Covid induced isolation, the ministry team have once again stepped up and we are able to offer three wonderful family services in our churches this Sunday. Do join us if you are able.

This past week marked the two year anniversary of the first lockdown in the UK back in 2020. I must admit feeling a great deal of sadness and grief as we reflect on all that has been lost over these two years. Of course with the continued war in Ukraine now entering its fifth week, we continue to pray for God’s peace and protection. I read that some 150,000 homes have now been offered as accommodation for the Ukrainian people in response to the invasion. What a wonderful offer of sanctuary and hope that is. Let us continue to pray that the correct safeguarding steps can be overcome quickly and efficiently so that these homes may be filled with all those seeking shelter.

We have now finalised our plans for Holy Week and Easter, which will be published on the website this week.

Finally, I hope you enjoy the slightly revised, yet more interactive newsletter.

Love and blessings,

Grant

The Benefice Weekly Newsletter

Coming up!

This Sunday

We livestream a 10am service each week. Please click here to visit our channel

Future Dates & Events

Next week’s services

Prayer Points

Please do continue to pray for Ukraine, for those caught in hostilities, those who are mourning, and for the political situation. Lord, Have Mercy.

Please pray for the NHS continuing to serve the nation amongst rising cases of covid and large backlogs for procedures.

Please pray for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Jubilee celebrations this year.

Please continue to pray for those we know and love who are at this time unwell or recovering from illnesses.

Please pray for the baptisms of Ronnie and Sienna next week.

Please pray for those within our parishes who have lost loved ones recently.

If you would like something to appear in this weekly newsletter please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Also, if you have any church family news that you would like me to share with the community then do let me know and I can certainly add it in.

Previous Messages