Weekly Newsletter 13th July

Dear Friends,

It’s nearly the end of the school term, well for some it’s already finished. In this house we still have a final week of concerts, performances and parties to enjoy. Although we are entering into summer proper (not that you can tell by the current weather) there is still plenty going on around the villages during the next few weeks:

Do book a ticket for the Summer Concert next weekend at St. Mary’s, Aldworth who will host the Adderbury String Quartet for the evening (details below).

The Master’s Studio is a space open for everybody to connect with other creative people held at St. Stephen’s (again, details below).

On top of this we have a wide variety of services over the coming weekends giving us time and space to worship together as community. We’d love to see you and you would be most welcome to join us for any or all of the events going on.

I really hope you have a wonderful summer, whatever your plans.

Love,

Grant

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across the villages

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Weekly Newsletter 6th July

Dear Friends,

God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to his greatness. Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts.

Across our lovely villages we are blessed to have some beautiful churches which have stood for hundreds of years and have faithfully supported the people and declared God’s magnificence. For many generations the people of our area have gathered, worshipped, baptised, married and said goodbye alongside friends and loved ones. Yet, these places are not simply museums of history, but places of encounter and transformation today. These special places stand as places to meet with God. Come and join us at one of our services, at the mid-week worship, or pop in to any of our churches, which are open everyday, and we’ll be praying that you feel the magnificent presence of God as you do so.

If you’re interested in a little history, St. Mary’s recently featured in a YouTube video about its giants which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfgjQaHDDJU&t=3s

If you’re interested in some amazing concerts, do have a look at the Vivace Voices concert and the Adderbury Quartet, both booked for this month.

Love,

Grant

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Weekly Newsletter 6th July

Dear Friends,

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! (Gen 1:31)

I hope you are enjoying the sunshine at the moment. A little bit of warmth and heat has seemingly made all of nature spring into overdrive. The hay-fever sufferers amongst us are fighting the high pollen counts, and the walkers amongst us are fighting the high stinging nettles! But, truly, summer reminds us of God’s abundance and beauty. So, what could be more beautiful than a whole event dedicated to flowers and art?

THIS WEEKEND - St Mary’s, Aldworth: Flower and Art Festival. Enjoy some stunning floral displays, and beautifully created artwork, all lovingly designed by Aldworth residents and locals. There will be a pop-up cafe of wonderful homemade cakes, teas & coffees and an opportunity to buy some artwork, enjoy the church and all things creative over the two days. Bring a friend and pop along for an hour or two!

Furthermore, we’ve got lots of events coming up for anybody who is creative. I’ll be hosting two sessions at St. Stephen’s soon for anybody who considers themselves even mildly or very creative. These will be a space for us to explore spirituality and creativity together - please see the Inspiration Cafe link below for more details.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and hope to see you

Love,

Grant

#creativity

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Weekly Newsletter 15th June

Dear Friends,

Today I simply want to say; thank you.

Thank you to those who are involved in all our various church services. Thank you to those who lock and unlock our temperamental church doors. Thank you to those who clean our dusty church buildings. Thank you to those who mow the difficult and bumpy lawns. Thank you to those who bring freshness in their flower displays. Thank you to those who count the pennies, euros and the odd peso after each of our services. Thank you to those who get up early to switch the coffee makers on. Thank you to those who add items to their own weekly shop for us. Thank you to neighbours for allowing us to ring bells and play music. Thank you to those who change lightbulbs up ladders with one hand. Thank you to those who have kept records of insurance and all the health and safety stuff. Thank you to those who play the unpredictable organs. Thank you to those who fundraise for our beautiful communities. Thank you to those who switch on the heating. Thank you to those who preach, teach, train, explain, enquire, and seek something more. Thank you to all those who serve in unseen ways. Thank you for coming to worship as part of the community.

It really is a privilege to be Vicar here. Thank you.

Love,

Grant

#attitudeofgratitude

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Weekly Newsletter 8th June

Dear Friends,

“Sunshine is sweet, it is good to see the light of the day!” - Ecclesiastes 11:7

Isn’t it wonderful to be enjoying some warmer weather after what seems to have been an extraordinarily long winter and a very wet spring. I hope you have some lovely plans to enjoy the summertime. One of my favourite Psalms in the Bible contains the verse:

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. (Ps 113:3).

It reminds us that we should praise God at all times and in all places! At every given point in time, from dawn to dusk let us praise the Lord. So why not join in the praises this Sunday in one of our wonderful Services - dawn (8.30am) in Ashampstead, morning (10am) at Basildon, and dusk (6pm) in Aldworth - we’d be absolutely delighted to welcome and worship with you!

Love,

Grant

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Weekly Newsletter 24th May

Dear friends,

This weekend is Whitsun or Pentecost Sunday! This wonderful feast celebrates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the people of God - the birthday of the church, 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. However it’s not just a ‘thing of the past’. Pentecost Sunday serves as an important reminder for us all that we live and worship our God who still today can fill us and empower us with his Holy Spirit. And that we can receive spiritual gifts which can sustain us through life’s journey.

This year, the Bible Society have produced ‘The Pentecost Reflection’, which is a short 7-day daily reflection on Pentecost - focussing on the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us. Each day you’ll receive a short video on a gift of the spirit and how we can use it in our lives today. I’ve signed up! May I encourage you to sign up too and enjoy the free and short reflections over the coming week.

Love,

Grant

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Weekly Newsletter 17th May

Dear friends,

I hope you are well and enjoying the few lighter days we’ve had recently.

This week we remember the Ascension of Christ. You could say that Ascension is the reverse of Christmas. At Christmas, God came to earth and got his hands dirty. Now in his ascension Christ takes our humanity into the very heart and divinity of God. It’s as though Jesus is now ‘working from home’ - a phrase many of us are now familiar with. He’s still moving and working in the world, but now through the Holy Spirit and each one of us.

Ascension Day Poem

'We saw his light break through the cloud of glory Whilst we were rooted still in time and place
As earth became a part of Heaven’s story
And heaven opened to his human face.

We saw him go and yet we were not parted
He took us with him to the heart of things
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and Heaven-centred now, and sings,
Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness, Sings through the clouds that veil him from our sight, Whilst we our selves become his clouds of witness And sing the waning darkness into light,

His light in us, and ours in him concealed, Which all creation waits to see revealed.'

by Malcolm Guite.

Please do join us this Thursday evening at St. Stephen’s 7.30pm for our whole benefice Ascension Service. Finally, both St. Clement’s and St. Mary’s have their annual meetings following on after their Sunday services this week - please do look at the paperwork which is prepared and available on the website.

Have a lovely rest of your week.

Love

Grant

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Weekly Newsletter 12th May

This Sunday we’ll be exploring the wonderful and well known passage of scripture of John 14:15-21 much of which has been set to beautiful music throughout the centuries, including the above by Thomas Tallis. The passage includes Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit, the comforter or advocate. What strikes me most though, is that this passage begins and ends with love. Jesus declares that if his disciples love him, they will keep his commandments. And so we are left questioning, “What commandments?” In John’s gospel, Jesus gives one commandment: to love.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another”

At the end of each day, and during each moment of each day, for John, there's only one question to ask yourself: “In what ways did I or did I not love today?”

I wonder if this is a question we can all reflect upon more sincerely.

Love,

Grant

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Weekly Newsletter 3rd May 2023

“Your Majesty, as children of the Kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of Kings.”

Taken from The Coronation service.

Dear Friends,

I hope you are looking forward to another Bank Holiday weekend as we join with nation and commonwealth for the Coronation Service of His Majesty King Charles III. If you would like to follow along with the televised service, the official service booklet can be downloaded by clicking the button below so please enjoy and pass around to friends.

This weekend there are a whole range of celebrations taking place across the villages, including:

A village celebration hosted by the Basildon School Association on Friday afternoon.

Coronation Pub Night at Ashampstead Village Hall on Saturday from 6pm onwards.

Aldworth Village Celebration on Sunday beginning with special service at St. Mary’s at 11am.

Of course all of our beautiful churches will be hosting fabulously royal themed services on Sunday morning so do check out the details below. I very much hope to see you at some of the celebrations and services this weekend.

God save the King!

Love,

Grant

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