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1

“He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” St. John 1: 2 – 3 The words of the Christmas Day gospel are bold and amazing. Jesus embodied the coming together of God and human life. What people once believed about God was reshaped completely by Jesus. This man lived in totally vulnerable way. He did not escape a cruel end. He was born in a stable and executed on a gibbet – and he is the radiant light of God’s glorious love. Here was – and is still – an utterly new idea of what/who/where God is. This is why celebrating the birth of Jesus is so vital to a Christian community. The baby Jesus lying in the humble manger shows God is the love which comes right into our actual life as we live it; bringing healing and peace into the middle of all the fragmentation and the difficulties of our lives. There are many voices in our world which tell us that one person’s life is insignificant in the great unfolding of progress or evolution. For some a human being is nothing but a momentary collection of genes; our thoughts and dreams but a transitory flash of energy effecting nothing of any lasting value in the universe. But in the light of Jesus Christ every human life may shine with God’s love and glory. This is a gift of faith we as Christians offer a world searching for a new and wholesome vision of the future. Jesus raised every human life to the heights; born of a woman, Jesus gave every woman’s child the power to be God’s child also. May you have a blessed Christmas and happy New Year. David Hodgson

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2

!"#$%&$'()*++ Christingle is a wonderful service of celebration which places children at the very heart of our worshipping community. The joy on the faces of all the children (and all the adults too) when the candle is lit up on their Christingle orange is a truly magic moment and very special to experience.

The Children’s Society believes that every child deserves a good childhood. Unfortunately there are still many children in our country who are deprived of this basic right. The money which we give at our Christingle service will go directly to help the Children’s Society in their work with some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the country. It will help them to prevent, rescue and support children who face violence, poverty and neglect in their daily lives.

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and support the work of the Children’s Society

The service is followed by a tea in the Cornerstone.

If you cannot come but still want to make a donation,

please contact Dickon Snell (9781044)

3

%

Please leave items for publication in the Magazine tray in the Parish Office or email directly to the editor on or before the Copy Date please. Contributions can be typed, handwritten, or e-mailed.

All Saints PCC Wokingham, is a Registered Charity, Nbr. 1127585

Editor/Advertising: Andrew McKenna (977 3812) Email: editor@allsaintswokingham.org.uk

Distribution: Sheila Longley (978 4193)

Collation: Sheila Longley (978 4193) & team

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From the Editor Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed an article of Remembrance from November’s magazine made reference to recent “reminders of 40th anniversary of the Battle of Britain”. There have indeed been reminders of that Anniversary in recent weeks, but these were, of course, referring to 2010 as the 70th Anniversary. This was an Editorial error and is not attributable to Esme, who had provided very thoughtful reflections on the anniversary. Please accept my apologies for the error. I’d also like to acknowledge receipt of submissions from Jean French and James Barrell, with my apologies for being unable to publish due to space limitations this month.

Andrew

4

Parish Clergy Rector The Revd. Canon David Hodgson 979 2999 Associate Priest The Revd. Caroline Kramer 979 9956 Honorary Asst. Curate The Revd. Colin James 978 1515 Honorary Asst. Curate The Revd. Helen Charlton 978 9153

Attached Clergy Deanery of Sonning “Fresh Expressions” Mission Priest The Revd Michael Johnson 979 0098 Church Wardens Jo Robinson 978 9730 John Smith 979 0948 Vacancy — Parish Administrator Jo Asplin 979 2797

Children and Youth Safeguarding Co-ordinator and Children’s Advocate Margaret Raggett 962 9378 Crêche Leader Rachel Garlish 978 2602 Junior Church Co-ordinator Harriet Swinyard 962 9313 Youth Church Co-ordinator (Acting) Revd Michael Johnson 979 0098 Friday Night Youth Drop-In (FDI) Co-ordinator Lorraine Hodgson 979 2999

Worship and Music Director of Music (inc. Choir) David Rance 947 6734 Music Group Leader Gail Houghton 979 2797 Head Server Chris Gilham 978 3948 Deputy Head Server Ruth Smith 978 7065 Bible Readers’ rota Joyce Baldry 978 8506 Tower Foreman John Harrison 978 5520 Flower Guild Chairman Pam Gilbey 978 5694 Worship Rota and Prayer Lists Co-ordinator Revd Colin James 978 1515 Lay Co-Chair of Worship & Music Development Liz Rippon 979 2797

Parochial Church Council PCC Secretary David Atkinson 954 0466 Deputy PCC Secretary John Smith 979 0948 PCC Treasurer Stephen Smith 979 4407 Deputy PCC Treasurer John Alp 979 2797

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5

The Parish Office (0118 979 2797), in the Cornerstone, can be contacted about church related issues (Baptisms, Marriages, Funerals). It is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9.15 am to 1.00 pm and for urgent matters or by telephone on Monday and Thursday from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon. e-mail: parishoffice@allsaintswokingham.org.uk Postal address: The Parish Office, Norreys Avenue, Wokingham RG40 1UE All Saints website: www.allsaintswokingham.org.uk The Cornerstone : For room bookings and general enquiries please phone 0118 979 7778. Administrator Monica Martin is in the office: Monday 2-5pm, Tuesday 12.15-4.30pm, Wednesday 2-5.30pm, Thursday 1.45 - 6.00pm. e-mail: info@thecornerstonewokingham.org.uk

PCC Treasurer’s Team Margaret Hawkins 962 9792 Dickon Snell 978 1044

Stewardship Co-ordinator Jo Robinson 978 9730 Gift Aid Co-ordinator Peter Whittaker 978 6225 Stewardship Recorder Jim Creech 377 4194 Electoral Roll Officer Joyce Baldry 978 8506 Leadership Forum Convenor Barbara Smith 979 4407 Asst. Stewardship Recorder Chris Westgate 977 1041 Asst. Gift Aid Coordinator Chris Westgate 977 1041

Pastoral Care contacts Home Communion Barbara Smith 979 4407 Healing Prayer Group Jack Hayley 978 3939 Pastoral Care contact Jo Robinson 978 9730 Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals Parish Office 979 2797 Churchyard Steward John Smith 979 0948 Clergy days off: David Thursday Caroline Friday Colin Thurs/Friday Michael Saturday

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6

Services at All Saints' Church embrace a wide range of formats. An outline is given below but for details and information about occasional services, see the weekly leaflet.

Sunday Services

8.00 a.m. Holy Communion. A said service with a brief address using the traditional language version of the Common Worship Order One Eucharist

9.30 a.m. Parish Communion. The service is sung, with hymns, and fol-lows Common Worship Order One Eucharist. Children are ca-tered for in the Crèche and Junior Church. The last

Sunday in the month is Parish Communion for the Whole Church and often includes Parade, children are present throughout, and contribute to the worship.

Prayer for Healing with Laying on of Hands is offered regularly at certain Parish Communion services (see diary). Coffee is served after the service and this is the weekly 'social

gathering' of the Congregation. Please come and meet us there if you are a visitor to the church or would like to get to know us better.

11.15 am. (1st Sunday) No Service 11.15am (2nd Sunday)

Holy Communion. A said service using the Book of Common Prayer.

11.15am (3rd Sunday) No Service Occasionally Baptisms will take place during this time 11.15am (Some 4th Sundays)

Matins using the Book of Common Prayer, usually sung and including a sermon.

6.30 pm. (1st - 3rd Sundays) Evensong using the Book of Common Prayer with sermon.

Choral Evensong is sung usually on the first Sunday of each month

(An alternative form of worship on 4th & 5th Sundays ; and Ser-vices of Healing)

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7

Weekday Services

Morning and Evening Prayer are said, using Common Worship Daily Prayer, at 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. each day from Monday to Saturday. All may, and are encouraged, to attend. These services may be led by a Priest or members of the Laity. Holy Communion is celebrated as follows: Monday 9.30 am. (Common Worship Order One) Tuesday 9.30 am. (Common Worship Order One with short address, followed by coffee) Wednesday 10.00 am. (Simple form of Common Worship Order One and short address (particularly for parents and child minders of babies and pre-school children) Friday in various Residential Homes Major festivals are also marked by additional celebrations of Holy Communion. Please see the Parish Diary elsewhere in the magazine, or for whole year’s dates, see leaflet “Days to Remember at All Saints”.

'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Home Communion: If anyone knows of a housebound parishioner, either temporarily or long term, who would like to receive Holy Communion, please contact the Parish Office (979 2797).

Confirmation, Welcome or Growth Groups: Anyone interested in confirmation, a refresher course, or learning about the Christian faith is invited to join one of the Eureka! groups or a confirmation course - contact Barbara Smith on 979 4407.

Baptisms: are usually conducted at a special afternoon service on the last Sunday of each month; or occasionally in Sunday morning services if requested. Baptisms can be booked via the Parish Office (979 2797).

Wedding Bookings: Clergy are available in the Cornerstone on Monday from 6.30 pm - 7.30 pm and on Saturday from 10.30 am - 11.30 am on an appointment basis. Please book via the Parish Office on 979 2797

Transportation: Pat Forsyth (979 7023) or Sue Farrington (978 2371).

8

Flower Guild

!

I hope a lot of you were able to attend the Advent Carol Service. The readings, music and candlelight made for a very special hour and mark the beginning of a time of preparation before our journey from darkness to light with the arrival of the Christ child. The first communion of Christmas continues the theme of ‘darkness to light’ and although the church will not be lit solely by candle light we will be using candles in many of our arrangements. Arranging will start at 10.30am on Tuesday December 21st after the 9.30am Communion Service, please contact me if you would like to help arrange. We like to attend the service before starting our flowers as it is a chance to worship together as a Guild and is also a time of quiet reflection before the last few hectic days of pre-Christmas preparations. Wednesday Mums will be helping create the crib after their service on December 22nd.

Flowers in church during 2011 We have decided that in future the flower rota will run from Easter through to the beginning of Lent. Previously we have all had to think about this before Christmas, which has not been very practical and I think this timing will be much easier. We still need a lot of arrangers for both January and February. There are no weddings at this time of year and so if you normally arrange in the Lady Chapel perhaps this would be an ideal opportunity to try arranging the main pedestal on the platform. If you are not already on the flower rota may be you would like to try your hand at an arrangement in the Lady Chapel, there will always be someone to give you guidance and help.

Pam Gilbey

For information contact: Pam Gilbey (978 5694)

Hazel Matthews (978 6700) or Lucille Taylor (978 6847)

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The Lady Painter and Decorator

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There is good news from the campaign to tackle the commercialisation of children, fought by the Mothers’ Union under the banner of ‘Bye Buy Childhood’. David Morris MP (Morecambe and Lunesdale) has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament highlighting our campaign:

969. COMMERCIALISATION AND CHILDHOOD That this House notes that childhood is a marketing opportunity worth

£99 billion in the UK; is concerned about the effect on children's wellbeing of the volume and some methods of advertising of children's products; is particularly concerned about the use of sex to sell to children; welcomes Mothers' Union's Bye Buy Childhood campaign which challenges the commercialisation of childhood; recalls the Government's promise to tackle the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood; and calls upon the Government to take steps to fully prohibit sexualised media, marketing and products aimed at or easily accessible to children under 16. Do you support this campaign? Tell your MP. If you are wondering what Christmas gift to buy for the person who has everything, why not purchase an ethical gift from the Mothers’ Union’s Global Village Fair? Prices start at £7.50. Branch News For our December meeting, Fellowship have kindly agreed that we can join their meeting on 15th December. The meeting will include Christmas carols and readings. Our quarterly Sunday coffee to raise funds for MU projects will be on 12th December. Please will members provide cakes for sale on this day. The following branch meeting at the end of January will be our AGM: as we have changed our meeting day from the second Tuesday to the fourth Wednesday of the month, your Committee decided to bring our

11

AGM forward a fortnight. Agendas will be circulated in the New Year and details of 2011 subscriptions will be available after the AGM. More information on The Mothers Union’s work worldwide can be found on the website www.themothersunion.org. For branch information or a lift to meetings, please call Valerie (978 7363) or Mary (978 2678). Sun 12th Dec Coffee after 9.30am service Tues 14th Dec 9.30am Corporate Communion Wed 15th Dec 7.45 for 8pm Joint meeting with Fellowship Christmas theme 2011 Tues 11th Jan 9.30am Corporate Communion Wed 26th Jan 7.45 for 8pm AGM

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12

VICTORIAN PUZZLES In my article about the insert called “The Church Monthly” (included in the May 1893 copy of our Parish Magazine) I mentioned two puzzles which I found impenetrable. Well, not so for several clever members of our congregation: Ovid was the Latin poet whose four letters added together make 506 and Byron the other poet – though his poem’s title (given as an anagram) is still unclear. These solutions made me realise that the puzzles were mainly for readers with a classical education, which few Wokingham folk and hardly any women anywhere would have had, and I rather think that the puzzles were set mainly for the enjoyment of clerical readers!

So, I thought you might like to see the other puzzles:

Double acrostic

(The initials read downwards and the finals read upwards to give two brave heroes to be seen in Trafalgar Square)

(1) Another hero of Trafalgar Square (4) What no schoolboy should be.

(2) A voice-part in music (5) A famous mimic

(3) A weight and a coin (6) A covering for a cold day

Find out the names of :

A famous queen whose four letters added together make 1001

A musical instrument whose four letters together make 56

Discover in these letters two famous poems and their authors:

Rominam by Tocts and Aeioirnmmmm by Nontynes.

Time now, I think, for a cold compress on the forehead or a stiff drink!….(or both).

Shirley Colwill

13

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14

How did you get on with thinking about how the word steward occurs in everyday life? Did you think of football matches, theatres, athletic tracks, churches, horse racing, cinemas, sporting venues, boxing, shop stewards in factories, airline cabin crews, trains, cruise ships and so on? In our article in the October Magazine we promised to give you where exactly you could find the word steward or stewards mentioned in the Bible. These are taken from the anglicised New Revised Standard Version bible. They are OLD TESTAMENT: Steward Stewards Genesis 43:16 1 Chronicles 27:31 Genesis 43:19 1 Chronicles 28:1 Genesis 43:24 Genesis 44:1 Genesis 44:4 2 Kings 10:5 Isaiah 22:15 NEW TESTAMENT: Luke 8:3 1 Corinthians 4:1 John 2:8 1 Corinthians 4:2 John 2:9 2 Peter 4:10 Titus 1:7 This month Stan Steward and his family thought we should look at a few ‘stewardship’ words (and related words) – they don’t like unexplained jargon! Parish Share

Every year the Deanery of Sonning sets an amount of money that All Saints must contribute towards clergy salaries, pensions, housing and training. The amount of our contribution is determined by the size of our Church; this is measured by the number of people on our Electoral Roll. This money also goes towards helping parishes within the Oxford Diocese that are struggling financially. The Diocese receives no income

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15

16

from the State. Electoral Roll

This is a (voluntary) register of people who regularly attend All Saints church. Nobody is automatically entered onto this register, but only people who are registered on the Electoral Roll are entitled to vote on matters arising at the APCM. Gift Aid

This is a tax relief scheme which allows All Saints to reclaim the basic-rate income tax on gifts you make as a tax payer. This makes donations more valuable to the church - a £10 donation made via gift aid is currently worth £12.80, though this is set to be lowered during 2011. If you are a higher-rate tax payer you can even claim the rest back through your tax return (and give that to us as well!) To allow All Saints to claim gift aid on a regular contribution, fill in the gift aid declaration on your pledged giving form (see below). UK Tax Payer

This is any person who pays enough income tax to cover what we claim back, for example from salaries, building society and investment interest and so on. Giving

Congregational giving is the only reliable form of income for All Saints Church. In the current climate, interest on our reserves is minimal; our properties (the church cottages and The Cornerstone) are self-supporting but do not contribute overall to the Parish Share or any other expenses associated with the running of All Saints itself. Pledged Giving

A promise from you, made after prayer and thought, to support the church over the next 12 months with a known sum every week, month or year. If your circumstances change we fully understand your pledge would change. Choose a method of giving, and then make your pledge by returning the pledged giving form to a member of the Stewardship

17

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!

18

Team. Returning the form (with your signed gift aid declaration) is important as it allows us to set a budget for the forthcoming year. Tithe

This literally means one tenth of what people produce or earn in a year. A tithe was formerly taken as a tax to support the church and the clergy. It comes from the old English word for a ‘tenth’. Colour coded envelopes How our giving-envelopes are distinguished. White envelopes are for those who wish to donate their regular pledged amount, placing it in the collection plate during a service. The envelopes do not display any personal details or require any details to be filled in week-on-week but are given a number for gift aid purposes where appropriate. White envelopes are available on request. Yellow envelopes can be used by givers who already donate regularly to the church by another method (eg standing order), so they can make an ad hoc donation during or after a service (such as a retiring collection). Like white envelopes no personal details are displayed on the envelope and no details need to be filled in but the envelopes are numbered for gift aid purposes. These are also available on request. Blue (used to be green) can be used by anyone to make an ad hoc donation to allow us to claim gift aid. They require the date and the giver’s name and address to be filled in for gift aid purposes. These are found in the pew holders. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Stewardship Team: Jo Robinson, Judith Clark, Peter Whittaker, Jim Creech, Chris Westgate or Steve Smith. We wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and many thanks for your continued support to the day to day running of All Saints. See you in February.

19

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Sunday 5 Advent 2 08.00am Holy Communion 09.30am Parish Communion 11.15am Quiet Day 06.30pm Choral Evensong Sunday 12 Advent 3 08.00am Holy Communion 09.30am Parish Communion 11.15am Holy Communion 4.00pm Christingle Service 06.30pm *** No Service ***

Sunday 19 Advent 4 08.00am Holy Communion

09.30am Parish Communion (Laying on Hands)

11.15am Junior Church Nativity Service 06:30pm Said Evensong Fri. 24 Christmas Eve 3:00pm Crib Service 6.00pm Nine Lessons and Carols 11.15pm First Communion of Christmas Sat. 25 Christmas Day 08.00am Holy Communion 09.30am All Ages Parish Communion Sunday 26 Feast of St. Stephen 08.00am *** No Service *** 09.30am Parish Communion 11.15am *** No Service *** 06.30pm Evening Prayer

21

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Sunday 2 Christmas 2 08.00am Holy Communion 09.30am Parish Communion 11.15am *** No Service *** 06.30pm Said Evensong Thurs. 6 Epiphany

7.45pm Sung Eucharist

Sunday 9 Baptism of Christ 08.00am Holy Communion 09.30am Parish Communion 11.15am Eucharist (BCP) 03.00pm Holy Baptism 06.30pm Choral Evensong Sunday 16 Epiphany 2 08.00am Holy Communion 09.30am Parish Communion 11.15am *** No Service *** 06.30pm Sung Evensong Sunday 23 Epiphany 3 08.00am Holy Communion 09.30am Parish Communion 11.15am Choral Matins 06.30pm Said Evensong Sunday 30 Presentation 08.00am Holy Communion

09.30am Parish Communion for Whole Church

11.15am *** No Service *** 03.00pm Holy Baptism 06.30pm Healing Service

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Sunday Advent 2 - 5th December Org

Service Eucharist: Archer - People's Setting DAR

Hymns (AMNS 32) Music Gabriel's Message - trad. Basque

Final Voluntary Prelude in G minor - Pierné

Service Choral Evensong DAR

Introit Gabriel's Message - trad. Basque

Responses Plainsong Psalms 11 & 28 Canticles Andreas Fauxbourdon Setting Hymns Music Conditor alme siderum - Plainsong

Final Voluntary Echo Fantasia - Sweelinck

Sunday Advent 3 - 12th December

Service Eucharist: Archer - People's Setting DAR

Hymns (196)

Music People look East - trad

Final Voluntary Prelude to a Te Deum - Charpentier

Service Christingle in aid of Children's Society

Sunday Advent 4 - 19th December

Service Eucharist (Healing): Archer - People's Setting DAR

Psalm 80 vv1 - 8 & 18 - 20 Hymns (197) Music There is a flow'r sprung of a tree - Stanley Vann Final Voluntary Liturgical Improvisation No 2 - George Oldroyd

Service Said Evensong with Piano ---

Friday Christmas Eve - 24th December

Service 18.00 Nine Lessons and Carols DAR

Hymns

Carols by William Ballet, Paul Edwards, Robert Lind, John Rutter, Carl Rütti, Jósef Sergot, Geoffrey Shaw & Stanley Vann

Final Voluntary Toccata (Fifth Symphony) - Widor

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Christmas Eve (cont.) Org

Service 23.15 Midnight Mass: Archer - St Mark's Setting DAR

Carols as special booklet

Music Hodie Christus natus est - Plainsong

Lute Book Lullaby - William Ballet, arr. Geoffrey Shaw Final Voluntary Carillon (24 pièces en style libre) - Vierne

Saturday Christmas Day - 25th December Service All Age Communion: Peruvian Gloria - Kemp DAR

Archer - St Mark's Setting

Carols as special booklet

Music Quem pastores - arr. R V W

Final Voluntary Chant de Noel - Lefébure-Wély

Sunday Christmas 1 - 26th December

Service Eucharist (No Choir) DAR

Hymns Music Organ: Le Banquet Céleste - Olivier Messiaen

Final Voluntary Sortie in E flat - Lefébure-Wély

Service Evening Prayer ---

Sunday Christmas 2 - 2nd January 2011

Service Eucharist (No Choir) DAR

Hymns Music Organ:

Final Voluntary

Service Said Evensong with Piano ---

Thursday Epiphany - 6th January Service 19.45 Evening Eucharist: Archer - St Mark's Setting DAR

Music No small wonder - Paul Edwards

Final Voluntary

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TIME TO LOOK FORWARD “There is a time to look forward and a time to look back”. These sound like words from the Book of Ecclesiastes, but they are not. There are times when there is merit in looking back at the past. Giving thanks for the happy times we have experienced, remembering those occasions when we have made mistakes, so that we don’t make the same mistakes again; recalling the times when we have acted wisely and benefitting from those experiences in dealing with current problems. But there is no merit in looking back at past times and moaning that, “things are not what they used to be”. Times will never be exactly the same again, and we have to learn to live with continual change. To look forward by preparing for what is likely to come in the future is something that all would agree is a wise thing to do .It would be irresponsible to ourselves, and to those depending on us, not to do so. We think of young families saving to be able to buy their own home sometime in the future; the need to save to provide an adequate pension for our time in retirement. And where would we be without our diaries to remind ourselves of our commitments for the days ahead. I think we all live in dread of losing our diaries! These thoughts are very much on our minds at the present time as we review the Strategic Goals for All Saints Church 2010 in order that all our resources, both physical and spiritual, are properly and adequately developed to further God’s will for us as a parish here in Wokingham. We may be reminded of the words of our Lord when he said, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today”. (Mat 7,34) But the critical word here is “worry”. It is one thing to make sensible provision for the future, and another to worry and fret about what the future holds. God does provide

26

for all our needs, in his own way and his own time. But at this Advent time we do look forward with joy and anticipation to celebrating the anniversary of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Emmanuel, God with us”. This Advent message is so relevant at the present time in that our God loves us so much, that he was prepared to become one of us, through his Son Jesus Christ, sharing our sufferings and our joys, teaching us how we should relate to one another in love and charity, and to God our Father. It may, as I have said before, seem simplistic to say that the way to peace within ourselves, between divisive factions and for the healing of the nations, is through love. It is the certain antidote to all forms of hatred, and hatred is at the root of all acts of terror and violence. As this magazine will take us through into the New Year, we look forward with faith and hope in these unsettled times, to what the year 2011 will bring. Whatever happens, it will be a test of our faith in a loving God, as exemplified in the life of his Son Jesus Christ. In the words of J B Phillips, “Christ is everything. He is God shown to us in human form. He is God dying a criminal’s death to reconcile men and women to himself. He is God triumphing over death. He is God entering human hearts and transforming them from within – a thing unknown in a pagan world either then or now. God has entered the stream of human history in person”. We take this opportunity of wishing all members of our parish of All Saints, and those outside the parish who read this magazine, a very happy and blessed Christmas, and peace in the New Year.

Jack Hayley Members of the Group are Gill Allen, Maggie Bateman, Jack Hayley, Mary Hughes, Anne Penn, Joan Thomason, Joan Watts and Karen Wellman. Please let us know of any need for healing prayer support.. Confidentiality is assured. The Laying on of Hands will be made available at the Parish Communion on Sunday 19th December. The next Healing Service will be held on Sunday 30th January at 6.30 pm.

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Angels for Christmas

Angels feature in the questions or answers:even numbers are Biblical, odd numbers are secular. Answers on pg. 30

1) Angel Falls, world’s highest waterfall, is in which country? 2) Which archangel appeared to Mary to tell her that she had

been chosen to be mother of Jesus? 3) Angel Clare is a character in which Thomas Hardy novel? 4) Who dreamed of a stair to Heaven with angels going up and

down? 5) The Angel, Islington, is in which colour group on the

Monopoly board? 6) Whose donkey would not move because the Angel of the

Lord barred its way? 7) Los Angeles (“The Angels”) is a city in which US state? 8) Which angel fought against the dragon and his angels? 9) Which sculptor made the Angel of the North? 10) Who were told of the birth of Jesus by the angels?

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Love Actually A few weeks ago I was in one of the larger Tesco stores and was sur-prised to see that the racks of Halloween costumes, ghouls and witches, had been replaced by racks of Nativity costumes. Whilst I could have sighed deeply at this somewhat crass commercialisation, whilst I could have gone back in my mind to the days when old bed sheets and tea tow-els were good enough for school nativities – if fact I found my self feeling quite excited that such a major shop was stocking something so very Christian. We can, as Christians, feel a little bit pushed aside at this time of year. However loudly we shout it seems that we cannot be heard over the more secular sounds of the season. I am rather fond of the scene in Richard Curtis' film Love Actually (and please note the 15 certificate on this, it is for good reason) where the children are getting ready for the Nativity Play at school – one proudly states to her mother that she is the first lobster, much to her mother's amused disbelief. The child herself uttering only the word “Duh,” when her mother appears not to know that there was not just one, but many, lobsters present in Bethlehem! I checked, but no lobsters in Tesco, just Marys, Josephs, sheep, shepherds and various other Bibli-cally correct characters. There is a phrase “in the midst of life we are in death” - often used at fu-nerals. But this is not the whole story because in the midst of life we are also in eternal life and living in the mystery of the Incarnation. This is love, actually. Love actually poured into our human form and born in a stable in Bethlehem. Jesus is love, actually here, actually now. And this is exciting stuff. Whether we like it or not and whether we believe it or not the Christian Church is at the centre of Christmas and one of the most important places in which we have to hold this as true is in the life of our children. I wondered, as I looked at those costumes, how many of those children who would wear those costumes would be told that this great gift of God at Christmas was for them and was the most valuable and life-changing

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thing that they could be given. Who is telling this story? Of course, it will be preached from our pulpits and stream from our steeples – but that is not enough – all of us are called to bolder living.

The story of Christmas (even without sea creatures) is amazing. We have to be confident in this – it is not about who we are, or what we can do, it is about who God is and what God does for us and with us. What better gift can we give to our children, and not only our children, to our friends, neighbours, work colleagues, families and more, than the story of Christ-mas.

Instead of using all our energy rejecting that which does not speak of Christ this season let us concentrate on embracing that which does. In-stead of laughing off the polyester dresses and nylon sheep ears lets ask how to do we get the message to their wearers. Let us concentrate on being givers of the Gift of Bethlehem in everything that we do, and give confidently. After all, we are not only an Easter people but we are truly a Christmas people, not living in death, but living in love. Actually.

Rev. Caroline Kramer November 2010

Angels for Christmas Quiz Answers

from pg. 27

1) Venezuela 2) Gabriel 3) “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” 4) Jacob 5) Blue 6) Balaam 7) California 8) Michael 9) Antony Gormley 10) The shepherds

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ALL SAINTS CHURCH SOCIAL COMMITTEE

Joint Chair – Mavis Mason 9792940. Diana Clifford 9792614 SUNDAY 12th DECEMBER: Christingle Tea. Time to celebrate again the joy of Christingle so come to the Cornerstone for Christingle Tea after the 4.00pm Church service. SUNDAY 19th DECEMBER: Mulled Wine & Mince Pies in the Cor-nerstone after both the 9.30am and 11.15am Church services. Fruit Punch available if you would prefer. 2011 SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY: Not Coffee but SOUP-TIME CAFÉ. You told us how much you enjoyed Angela Wade’s homemade soup some time ago so now time for more. Come along to the Cornerstone following the 9.30am service and enjoy more of An-gela’s delicious soup _____________________________________________________ HELP!: We need empty cereal boxes (not any other type of box) for the Children’s Activity Table. Please fold them down and bring on Sunday 27th February. Give them to Su McArthur at 8.00am service or bring to Soup-time Café. This will be just a one off col-lection. Thank you very much. Thank you also for all the cellophane wrappers and yes please we still need them. We are sorry not to be able to thank everybody individually but the wrappers do reach us. Look forward to seeing you at Christingle Tea, Mulled Wine/Mince Pies and Soup-time Café.

EVERY HAPPINESS FOR CHRISTMAS

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ARE YOU THE MISSING PERSON? If you are a caring person and would like to help those in the community who are less fortunate than ourselves, and enjoy a good social life as well, why not come along to one of Wokingham Lions Club’s meetings to find out more about us and what we do? We are well known for organising the Wokingham May Fayre – but due to this, and other successful events, we need more members to follow our international motto – “We Serve”. We meet at the Committee Room, Wokingham Town Hall on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. for 8:00.

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Welcome to Fellowship held in the Cornerstone De Vitre Room at 7.45pm for 7.55pm. The cost to visitors is £1.50 which includes coffee and if you would like more information or a chat about the group please contact Leader Diana Clifford 9792614.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH FELLOWSHIP & MOTHER’S UNION WED.15th DEC. A CHRISTMAS GET TOGETHER to which everybody is warmly invited. The evening will include a visit by All Saints Church Hand Bell Ringers, carols with Pat Forsyth playing the piano, prayer, Bible reading, coffee, homemade mince pies plus a fun pass the parcel and a look at some of the meanings and reasons why we have particular things at Christmas. Come along to the Cornerstone at 7.45pm when we will be there to greet you and have a happy evening with us. 2011 WED. 19th JAN. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. Following the evening business Diana Clifford will be talking about the Community Flat at Eustace Crescent. WED. 16th FEB. WASHINGTON D.C. We welcome back to Fellowship Mrs. Diane Hayes with what we know will be an excellent slides and talk presentation.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

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News from the Parochial Church Council meeting in November Adopting a Church Mission Society Mission Partner PCC agreed to go forward in adopting a CMS mission partner for the parish. It was decided to seek a volunteer or small group who would like to be responsible for the mission partner link.

Parish finances Steve Smith, PCC Treasurer, sought advice from the PCC in the face of a projected budget deficit in 2011 of £28,000 without any new projects such as a youth worker being funded. A large part of this deficit would be the carry over of the projected deficit at the end of 2010 and also increase in costs projected in 2011. Some good news was that almost £8000 had been given as a result of the September appeal to close the gap in the 2010 budget. Steve explained that if this level of deficit was not addressed it would wipe out all our reserves after 2 years. It was agreed that a renewed approach to giving in the parish would be discussed at a special meeting of stewardship team and clergy later in the month.

Barn Dance PCC thanked Anne King and Margaret Raggett for organising the Barn Dance event and agreed to hold another one next year.

The Cornerstone Robert Newman presented a report on the Cornerstone for the first half of 2010 and outlined the need to plan for larger reserves to guarantee the long-term viability of the building. There is a need for more involvement by parishioners to relieve the ( willingly shouldered) burden on current volunteers and the current co-ordinator Dickon Snell.

Leadership Forum meeting PCC heard a lively Leadership Forum had been held in October, looking at Strategic Goals for the coming period. The output from this meeting will now be considered by the Vision Group and shared with the wider congregation.

The Reverend Helen Charlton Helen’s working agreement with the parish, revised since her ordination to the priesthood, was presented by the Rector and received warmly. The Revd Canon David Hodgson (Personal summary, other items were discussed. Please see official minutes)

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Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals Cruelty to animals continues and can never be justified. Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone has said that the LibDem/Tory coalition was “committed to ending the testing of household products” but was unable to say when such testing will finally be brought to an end. Such tests are carried out not for genuine scientific reasons but as an alibi or legal protection for the manufacturers in case of claims for damages against them by consumers or their dependants. Examples of such incidents are the cases of medical drugs like Manoplax, Vioxx and various other therapeutic disasters involving death or injury. Abolition by law of vivisection is the only answer. Thalidomide is another example—the drug tested safe on rats but given to pregnant women for Morning Sickness resulted in deformed babies. I have spoken to Matt Fraser, thalidomider and “Patron of Safer Medicines” who has deformed limbs due to his mother being given Thalidomide in 1959. I was offered it but refused. Cruelty to pet animals also continues. Recently, a man was jailed for torturing a cat in a microwave, a tumble-dryer and a freezer. The man laughed as a friend filmed him on a mobile phone picking up the young cat and putting her in each of the appliances in turn. The cat lived through her ordeals but has suffered serious mental trauma and is now extremely nervous and afraid of human beings. Recently 30 cats in Somerset were found dead after being seriously ill, then dying of kidney failure. Post mortems revealed death was due to ethylene glycol poisoning—the chemical found in anti-freeze and apparently tastes sweet. While I read these cases I feel almost ashamed of being human. There is no helpline for animals. They only kill for food unlike humans who kill for pleasure as fox hunters do.

Marcelle Williams

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Farewell to Quest

During the course of the autumn the members of the Quest house group, decided that the time was right to close down the group and enable its members to move onto new things. As a group we decided it would be appropriate to mark this, with this short article, which would talk about how we were formed, what we did and what we got out of it, so that oth-ers could see the benefits of house group membership. Quest arose out of the demise of the Church of England Men’s Society (CEMS) in 1985; we did not set out to exclusively be a house group, but in addition to organise events and perform service activities for the church. Our efforts in the area of service were to run the tape library (tape and not CD emphasises our vintage) and it can be argued that one of our lasting legacies to All Saints was our introduction of a generation to the Very Worried Sparrow. It is probably best not to mention the evening we spent trying to re-point a section of the church wall. Events were often based around church visits, participation in services and a very successful series of meetings looking at Islam. One of the nice innovations was the introduction of the Quest where members would meet on a Saturday morning to talk over bacon, eggs, juice and coffee. We did not restrict our activities to in-door pursuits; several of our mem-bers were keen walkers, who joined with other like minded individuals to tackle the three peaks, the highest summits in Wales, the Cheviots and the remote region of Knoydart. The house group element had the theme of the Christian at work, which arose out collaborations between the CEMS group and Laurie Nevard’s Leadership Development Group in 1984/5. From the start it was a mixed gender group and the three fold purpose and focus on the link between our faith and working life gave a group with a very different focus and at-mosphere to the original CEMS gathering. As a house group, Quest became infamous for its wide ranging pro-grammes and intense levels of argument that marked most meetings. This was fostered by our make-up as group, which embraced a very wide range of churchmanship, from low key traditional to the more evangelical approach. This made for vigorous debate, and that which on the surface

41

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divided us, seemed only to increase the sense of fellowship we derived from meeting. Several programme ideas used by Quest were borrowed from or adapted to be used by older teenage youth group "Bloopers" em-phasising the potential for different groups in the church community to support one another. Quest grew rapidly in its early days and ultimately had to split into two groups, in order to fit everybody in. Our size has fluctuated over the years, as people have left the area and new people have joined. Sadly a number of members have passed away and in that respect we remember Wilfred Foote, John Alder, Maureen Henson, Duncan King and Brian Johnson-Roberts. As numbers have varied, there were times when we questioned whether it was appropriate to continue, however at those times the group always seemed to revive. More recently changes to individual members life styles, aspirations and commitments have meant that we now feel that its time to close down Quest, at the end of 25 years. So what are the benefits of a house group like Quest; fellowship is an ob-vious candidate, bringing with it the opportunity to learn more about our faith and its relationship to our lives today. Fellowship over time can evolve into substantial friendships that stand the test of time. At Quest people brought not only their opinions to the meetings, but their faith, work and social experiences, their involvement in a range of church ac-tivities and groups and most importantly themselves. Most members would say there have been huge benefits in Quest membership and therefore we’d encourage others to get involved in house-groups House groups can be stimulating, challenging and fun, plus they offer the opportunity to develop long standing friendships. Whilst some of the themes pursued by Quest have run their course with us as individuals, they possibly offer a rich hunting ground for other, newer groups. What will become of Quest? Well some have decided to go on and form an-other house group, whilst others have decided to explore new opportuni-ties for spiritual growth.

Ed Smith 31/10/10

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Christmas at Yeldall Manor 2010 Are you ready for Christmas? Are you starting to look forward to it, or starting to dread it? At Yeldall Manor, some of our residents have painful memories of Christmases past, whether from their childhood or more re-cent years of drug or alcohol addiction. And, for anyone estranged from their loved ones, Christmas can be really painful. For this reason, we do our best to make Christmas at Yeldall Manor a happy and relaxed family occasion.

Please join us at 7.30pm on Friday 10th December for a short carol service followed by time to chat over tea/coffee and mince pies. (Extra mince pies or cakes - alcohol-free! – will be gratefully re-ceived.)

Christmas Day in the house begins by attending a morning service, and then everyone returns to the house for the distribution of Christmas gifts by Father Christmas. Opening a stocking is an essential part of Christ-mas morning for many and, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are able to provide an overflowing ‘stocking’ for each of our residents:

You can contribute by purchasing small items such as stationery, confectionery, toiletries, small items of clothing or other stocking fillers. Please wrap them and at-tach a ‘Post-it’ note telling us what each item is, and bring to Yeldall Manor by Thursday 16th December for inclusion in the residents’ stockings. Thanks to all of our supporters for helping to make this possible. If you would like to know more about these or other ways of sup-porting Yeldall Manor’s work, please contact Sue Hedger on 0118 940 1093 or e-mail: info@yeldall.org.uk

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Baptisms 31 Oct Luke Williams Frederick Barrand Daniel Thomas Barrand Matthew Alec Burns Sienna Marie Hunt Burial 27 Oct Peter Maurice Tillotson Age 72 Burial of Ashes 15 Oct Miles Alastair Liddell Age 18 1 Nov Hubert Hunt Age 87 2 Nov John Westley Cuthbert Age 70 Rodald Georg Codlin Age 78 At Easthampstead Park Crematorium 26 Oct Shirley Anne Price Age 75

Number of Sundays 4 Sundays 709 Week days 132