Weekly Newsletter, Sunday 27th August, 2023

Dear friends,

I hope you are well. Today I want to invite you to join Naomi and me at the Vicarage for an exciting new adventure as we explore what it means to bless.

Beginning in September Naomi and I will be hosting The Blessings Course at the vicarage on Wednesday evenings. The Blessings Course is intensely practical. Key themes we’ll explore are:

• THE GOD WHO BLESSES/ Grasping the goodness of God

• BEING BLESSED/ Our Personal Discovery of Foundational Truth

• CALLED TO BLESS/ The Priestly Role of Every Christian

• BLESSING/ The Person in Front of Me

• BLESSING/ The Land

• BLESSING/ Areas, Regions, Nations

• BLESSING/ A New Life and a New Community

By the end of the course you should expect to be more confident in your personal relationship with the Lord; enjoying the experience of his blessing on your life; and effective at blessing others through words as well as deeds.

If you are interested, please could you sign up below. If you’d like to know a little more please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Love

Grant

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are hedges your thing?

We are looking for a green fingered, hedge lover, with some free time and suitable equipment, to trim the Beech hedge behind the War Memorial, in the St. Stephen’s car park.  It is quite pricey to maintain if allowed to grow past its current manageable height. It would be good to have it cut back, anytime from now onwards. If you can help please let Jo Eley know.  Thank you.

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Saint Laurence is a church in the heart of Reading town centre with a unique vision for a whole community to reach unchurched young people. We have an exciting opportunity for a passionate and experienced youth worker and outreach lead to help us deliver our strategy and embody the church’s vision as we “live to see unchurched young people come to faith and be shaped as church together with them.”

To find out more about Saint Laurence, visit our website, stlreading.org To find out more about the role, watch our video

For a role profile and application form, go to stlreading.org/join-us

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SERVICEs THIS WEEKend

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across the villages

See all upcoming events on our website

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Services next Sunday 3rd september

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morning prayer and worship is now having a break for the summer.

The Guitar is away

Morning prayer and worship will pause for a few weeks. We look forward to seeing you all again in September.

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LAtest episode of our Podcast

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Weekly Newsletter, Sunday 13th August, 2023

Dear friends,

I hope you are well. Today I want to invite you to join Naomi and me at the Vicarage for an exciting new adventure as we explore what it means to bless.

Beginning in September Naomi and I will be hosting The Blessings Course at the vicarage on Wednesday evenings. The Blessings Course is intensely practical. Key themes we’ll explore are:

• THE GOD WHO BLESSES/ Grasping the goodness of God

• BEING BLESSED/ Our Personal Discovery of Foundational Truth

• CALLED TO BLESS/ The Priestly Role of Every Christian

• BLESSING/ The Person in Front of Me

• BLESSING/ The Land

• BLESSING/ Areas, Regions, Nations

• BLESSING/ A New Life and a New Community

By the end of the course you should expect to be more confident in your personal relationship with the Lord; enjoying the experience of his blessing on your life; and effective at blessing others through words as well as deeds.

If you are interested, please could you sign up below. If you’d like to know a little more please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Love

Grant

---

are hedges your thing?

We are looking for a green fingered, hedge lover, with some free time and suitable equipment, to trim the Beech hedge behind the War Memorial, in the St. Stephen’s car park.  It is quite pricey to maintain if allowed to grow past its current manageable height. It would be good to have it cut back, anytime from now onwards. If you can help please let Jo Eley know.  Thank you.

---

Saint Laurence is a church in the heart of Reading town centre with a unique vision for a whole community to reach unchurched young people. We have an exciting opportunity for a passionate and experienced youth worker and outreach lead to help us deliver our strategy and embody the church’s vision as we “live to see unchurched young people come to faith and be shaped as church together with them.”

To find out more about Saint Laurence, visit our website, stlreading.org To find out more about the role, watch our video

For a role profile and application form, go to stlreading.org/join-us

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SERVICEs THIS WEEKend

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across the villages

See all upcoming events on our website

---

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Services next Sunday 20th August

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morning prayer and worship is now having a break for the summer.

The Guitar is away

Morning prayer and worship will pause for a few weeks. We look forward to seeing you all again in September.

---

LAtest episode of our Podcast

---

Weekly Newsletter 5th August, 2023

Dear friends,

I hope you are well. Today I want to invite you to join Naomi and me at the Vicarage for an exciting new adventure as we explore what it means to bless.

Beginning in September Naomi and I will be hosting The Blessings Course at the vicarage on Wednesday evenings. The Blessings Course is intensely practical. Key themes we’ll explore are:

• THE GOD WHO BLESSES/ Grasping the goodness of God

• BEING BLESSED/ Our Personal Discovery of Foundational Truth

• CALLED TO BLESS/ The Priestly Role of Every Christian

• BLESSING/ The Person in Front of Me

• BLESSING/ The Land

• BLESSING/ Areas, Regions, Nations

• BLESSING/ A New Life and a New Community

By the end of the course you should expect to be more confident in your personal relationship with the Lord; enjoying the experience of his blessing on your life; and effective at blessing others through words as well as deeds.

If you are interested, please could you sign up below. If you’d like to know a little more please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Love

Grant

---

are hedges your thing?

We are looking for a green fingered, hedge lover, with some free time and suitable equipment, to trim the Beech hedge behind the War Memorial, in the St. Stephen’s car park.  It is quite pricey to maintain if allowed to grow past its current manageable height. It would be good to have it cut back, anytime from now onwards. If you can help please let Jo Eley know.  Thank you.

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SERVICEs THIS WEEKend

---

across the villages

See all upcoming events on our website

---

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Services next Sunday 13th August

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morning prayer and worship is now having a break for the summer.

The Guitar is away

Morning prayer and worship will pause for a few weeks. We look forward to seeing you all again in September.

---

LAtest episode of our Podcast

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Weekly Newsletter 27th July

Dear friends,

I hope this update finds you well.

Last weekend we trialled our new project “The Master’s Studio” at St. Stephen’s. This is an initiative to gather together creative people of all faiths and none from across our communities to share experience, to collaborate, to create together and have a space to explore the relationship between creation and the creator. It was wonderful to see the church building used in a creative way to host and facilitate such an event which brought people from all across the district and county. There was painting, music, writing, songwriting, composing all going on - I’ve included some photos from the day below. We are looking forward to planning a few more of these sessions after the summer so if you have a creative streak, we’d absolutely love to see you there so look out for future dates - God saw all that he had made and declared it was good!

This weekend we join together as one church family as the villages unite and share a joint service together which will be at 10am at St. Mary’s Aldworth. Absolutely everybody is welcome so please do come along.

I hope you have a lovely week ahead.

Love,

Grant

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St. Bartholomew’s News - Don’t miss out

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Whole Benefice SERVICE THIS WEEKend

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across the villages

See all upcoming events on our website

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Services next Sunday 6th August

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morning prayer and worship is now having a break for the summer.

The Guitar is away

Morning prayer and worship will pause for a few weeks. We look forward to seeing you all again in September.

---

LAtest episode of our Podcast

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Weekly Newsletter 20th July

Dear friends,

Baptism is one of the most amazing gifts that God gives us. It is an outward sign of an invisible grace. Some of us are baptised as children, some of us are baptised later in life as we find Jesus and wish to commit ourselves to Him. Some of us are not yet baptised (chat to me if you would like to change this!).

In the waters of baptism, be it a font, a river, or any other body of water, God washes away all of our sin and clothes us with new life. Baptism marks the start of a life long journey of faith where we can grow in our relationship with the living God. For all involved, but particularly parents, godparents and sponsors, it is a joyful moment when we rejoice in what God has done for us in Christ as we give thanks for our children.

Recently we had the wonderful privilege of baptising Amelie from Aldworth, in the River Thames from the beach at Lower Basildon behind St. Bartholomew’s Church. It was a glorious day and memorable in so many ways. Amelie inspired us all by sharing why she wanted to be baptised and then she said some baptismal promises to God. We stepped into the refreshingly cool waters of the Thames and baptised her by fully immersing her (photo below). As Amelie rose out of the water she was greeted with huge cheers and celebration from her family and friends, and even the wild swimmers using the river! It was both a moving and marvellous occasion. If you’re thinking about baptism, let me encourage you to take the plunge (bad joke, I know), as a first step in response to God’s love.

I hope you have a lovely week.

Love,

Grant

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Final Chance - Don’t miss the Summer Concert

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SERVICES THIS WEEKend

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across the villages

See all upcoming events on our website

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CAN YOU HELP?

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whole benefice Service next Sunday 30th

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morning prayer and worship is now having a break for the summer.

The Guitar is away

Morning prayer and worship will pause for a few weeks. We look forward to seeing you all again in September.

---

LAtest episode of our Podcast

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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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SERVICES THIS WEEKend

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across the villages

See all upcoming events on our website

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For your diary…

CAN YOU HELP?

Services next weekend

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Join us for morning prayer and worship

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LAtest episode of our Podcast

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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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SERVICES THIS WEEKend

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across the villages

See all upcoming events on our website

---

For your diary…

CAN YOU HELP?

Services next weekend

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Join us for morning prayer and worship

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LAtest episode of our Podcast

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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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SERVICES THIS WEEKend

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Upcoming Events

See all upcoming events on our website

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For your diary…

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Services next weekend

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Join us for morning prayer and worship

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LAtest episode of our Podcast

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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SERVICES THIS WEEK

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Upcoming events & services

See all upcoming events on our website

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Services next weekend

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Join us for morning prayer and worship

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LAtest episode of our Podcast

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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SERVICES THIS WEEK

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Upcoming events & services

See all upcoming events on our website

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Services next weekend

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Join us for morning prayer and worship

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LAtest episode of our Podcast