RG31 - Spring 2022 by St Catherines

RG31

Spring 2022

The Parish Magazine of Tilehurst St Catherine & Calcot St Birinus

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From the editor Some of the activities ﬂow naturally together; stay on after Tot’s Praise on Friday morning for real coﬀee and lunch (there's a special ‘meal deal’ for children). If Friday Friends on a Friday afternoon appeals to you, why not come early and enjoy lunch in the café. Why not learn a new skill? Carpet Bowls on Saturday evening for relaxed exercise.

Hello! Welcome to this, the ﬁrst 2022 edition of our Parish Magazine; thank you for subscribing, it really helps me to plan production knowing how many copies are to be printed. Again this year there will be four editions to tie in with the seasons; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter If you’ve just picked up a copy, welcome! Do contact me or ﬁll in the subscription slip so that we can add you to our subscribers list and have a copy delivered.

We’ve got an exciting community event planned for Friday 3rd June; Platinum Jubilee, you can read all about it on pages 17 and 18, volunteer helpers are needed. Now that we’re established back in the St Catherine's building for our ten O’clock service we thought people would like to Tony Bartlett

The Ten O’clock Service First Sunday Holy Communion – a traditional service.

Our Winter edition was a record-breaker; 52 pages! You’ll ﬁnd this copy somewhat slimmer because included with it is a supplement; a report on all the various church activities for 2021.

Second Sunday A shorter more relaxed service, followed by Communion for those who would like it.

This supplement is in advance of our APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting) which takes place after the 10.00am service on Sunday 8th May, do please make sure that you can attend this. A larger accounts report booklet will be available after Easter.

Fourth Sunday A shorter more relaxed service, followed by Communion for those who would like it.

The supplement tells what happens and who organizes the activity and I hope you will be encouraged to join in; there’s something for everyone.

Third Sunday Family Communion – a simple service.

Where there is a ﬁfth Sunday in the month it will be something diﬀerent! There are refreshments in the Hall after every service.

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Rev Gill Rowell It’s been a tough couple of years, and the challenges continue – who would have expected war in Europe hot on the heels of the pandemic, with climate change threatening the survival of the planet? And who knows what the future holds as we brace ourselves for rising cost of living, and lots more difficulties. We have learnt to be resilient, and that resilience will need to continue. One thing we have all realised for sure is that nothing stays the same: change is a part of life. Except, that is, for God, who stays constant - “for Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). So we thank God that he is there for us in the joys and sorrows. As a chap called Mike Yaconelli puts it “Spirituality is not about competency, it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection, it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality, not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the One who is present in the tangled-ness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed, it is about God being present in the mess of our unfixedness.” Lent has seemed a long season this year; we marked it as best we could with saying the Lord’s prayer, wherever we were, at 12 noon; fasting (in some way) on Wednesdays; and on Saturdays between 6-7pm we prayed that the shelling and destruction in Ukraine would stop. Some of you reading this will have participated in one or two of these things, and others none – and just a few might have done all three. But its good for us all to have opportunity to grow in spiritual disciplines, especially when all about us is “shifting sands”. Lent is this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and it’s a time for understanding more of the sacrifice which Jesus made. When Jesus died on the cross it was to win our favour with God even though the world is such a mess - dealing once and for all with the human problem of sin that separates us from each other, and from God. Jesus’ death on the cross offers us all forgiveness and healing. And the resurrection brings hope for today and for tomorrow; we are not abandoned. Allelulia! Life is so complicated these days, but the Gospel message is very simple. With Easter we have the extremes of human experience in sorrow and joy – as we see our Saviour (Continued on page 4)

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(Continued from page 3) die on the cross on Good Friday– good news because we are loved and we are forgiven and the joy of new beginnings, hope, and surprises brought to us through the resurrection, which we celebrate on Easter Sunday. The Easter story changes everything, and is worthy of our attention all year round. May you know the blessings of Easter in the best of times, and the worst of times. Amen.

Gill Mothers’ Union Prayer Chain - Prayer in Emergencies A call to one of the following numbers will start a chain of prayer straight away Hilary Smee ℡ 0118 941 2895 Jo Day ℡ 0118 942 1481

Evelyn Bartlett ℡ 0118 967 8659 Lorraine Roberts ℡ 0118 942 6189

2022 - St Catherine’s Year of Prayer Last year, as a Church, we seemed to take leaps and bounds in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible; and I am hoping that this is going to continue through the various courses and Bible studies, as well as regular teaching, that takes place within the life of the church. Earlier this year, it seemed good to the PCC and myself to focus on promoting a more prayerful culture within the Church. We can do lots of “good works” but without prayer they become more like social work than mission; prayer needs to undergird all we do if we want to see the church rooted and strengthened in faith and outreach. So let me encourage you to pray – and to grow in prayer. Prayer isn’t a magic formula, or any kind of formula for that matter. It’s about a relationship with God – just laying before him our needs, the needs of the world, and praying into His will. And it’s about listening to God too. I know I need to grow in this area – and I hope you are willing to journey with me too. I can’t wait to see where God is going to lead us. On the next page are some of the things we already do, have done, and are planning to do, and I hope you will participate as fully as you can. More of our plans will unfold later in the year.

Gill 4

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Prayer Implementation Plan Purpose of year of prayer: to promote a more prayerful culture within the church. Prayer Initiative

Implementation

Dates

Community Prayer, Thursdays

Ongoing

Thursdays 2-3pm

MU Prayer Team

Ongoing

Reinstate prayer ministry after Sunday services

Consider practicalities and promote. Gill to meet with prayer ministry team Ongoing but needs constant reminding so becomes a part of our culture. Gill to oﬀer a simple prayer for us to use as and when.

Prayer requests shared via email Now

Prayer before all church-led activities Practice and encourage leaders of church events and services to pray before activities.

Ongoing and always

Calcot Prayer Walks

(With litter picking)

Ongoing monthly

Lent Prayer on St Catherine’s Facebook

CofE – LIVE LENT – 40 day challenge – Embracing Justice To model prayer but also to grow closer together spiritually and in fellowship. Lord’s Prayer as a basis?

2 March – 17 April (Ash Weds – Easter Day)

PCC to meet for prayer 10.30-12.30 on a Saturday followed by lunch at the Vicarage. Teaching series on prayer

March 19th 2022 10.30-12.30 prayer 12.30-2.00 Lunch Sundays 24 April – 22 May

(Following up on previous teaching series following the Prayer Course. Are we using what we learnt?) The Lord’s Prayer Daily

12 noon

Set mobile alarms

Thy Kingdom Come Prayer between Ascension and Pentecost, 26th May – 5th June (NB Queen’s Jubilee Thurs 2nd June – Sunday 5th June).

We pray for 5 friends to come to Christ as well as deepen our own relationship with God.

26th May – 5th June

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YOUR PRAYERS CAN MAKE GREAT THINGS HAPPEN! 'When a believing person prays, great things happen.' James 5: 16 NCV While holidaying in England, DEL. Moody visited a London church that was spiritually dead. The pastor recognised him and asked him to preach at the morning service. Reluctantly, Moody agreed. Afterwards, he told a friend the congregation was so unresponsive it was all he could do to finish his sermon. Later, he remembered he had committed to preach there again that night. Wishing he had never interrupted his holiday plans, he spent the afternoon dreading what was ahead. But behind the scenes, something was happening that Moody knew nothing about. After the morning service, an elderly lady met her invalid sister for lunch and told her about Moody's upcoming visit. Her sister's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, 'I've been praying God would send Moody to England! Put away the lunch, Sis. We'll spend the afternoon fasting and praying for tonight's service.' When Moody took the pulpit that night, an 'electric' sense of God's presence filled the sanctuary. He preached like a man on fire, and when he issued an invitation for people to follow Christ, five hundred responded. Thinking they had misunderstood, Moody had them sit down while he re-explained the gospel call. But when he issued a second invitation, the same five hundred stood to receive Christ. That Sunday initiated one of the greatest revivals ever to sweep England. What helped make it happen? Two elderly ladies who understood their church desperately needed the fire of God's Spirit. They believed God's promise, 'When a believing person prays, great things happen.' Today, tap into the power of prayer. Your prayers can help ignite the fire of God and make great things happen. This thought is taken from ‘The Word for Today’, Daily Bible reading notes produced quarterly by UCB (United Christian Broadcasters Ltd) PO Box 255, Stoke on Trent, ST4 8YY. If you would like to receive these free (although UCB do welcome donations) notes or those aimed at Secondary School age, call UCB on 01782 911 000

From the Registers Tristan Nicolae Obreja was baptised on January 2nd Soﬁa Mia Diaz Rodrigues was baptised on January 23rd Logan Paul Matthew Wellsteed was baptised on March 27th Please pray for these children, their parents and Godparents RIP - Funerals taken by Ministers Sheila Firth, Brian Davis, Rod Allison and Christine Rutherford. Please pray for their friends and relations 6

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The Impact of the Words we say I subscribe to newsletters from a chap who helps equip, train and inspire church leaders. His name is Carey Nieuwhof.

• Their child was born without a heartbeat.

In a recent provocative publication he argued that one reason people stay away from Christianity is not that they don’t know any Christians – it’s often because they do! He argues that our actions and our words as followers of Jesus have the power to attract or repel people from Christianity.

Prayer doesn’t ‘work’ because I got what I wanted and they didn’t.

Here’s some examples of things we might say which have the opposite eﬀect of what we are hoping for:

“For those explorers in the frontiers of faith, prayer was no little habit tacked on to the periphery of their lives; it was their lives. It was the most serious work of their most productive years. Prayer— nothing draws us closer to the heart of God.”

1. “Prayer works.” He argues that most people who say prayer works really mean God did what I wanted him to do. As if prayer was a button on a vending machine. But prayer is not a button to be pushed; it’s a relationship to be pursued. Prayer does ‘work,’ but it works very diﬀerently than we’d like. It still ‘works’… • When we can’t trace out any direct result from our prayer. • When the opposite of what we prayed for happens. • In those moments when we feel very distant from God. • When we bang down the door of heaven for years and are not sure anything is going on up there at all. There are scores of people inside and outside the church whose spirits are crushed because they prayed (fervently) and…

• The person they loved wasn’t healed.

The parade of saints across the centuries would have been shocked to see prayer reduced to God-doing-what-I-asked-himto-do-when-I-asked-him-to-do-it. As Richard Foster says:

Do things happen supernaturally when we pray? Yes they do. But often in ways we cannot understand or even trace out. We can take consolation in the fact that when we pray, we often don’t know what to pray for or even how to pray, yet the Scriptures tell us the Holy Spirit will translate the prayer into something better than we could phrase at the moment. So pour your heart out to God. Pray about the things the scripture says are close to God’s heart. And when something ‘goes your way,’ be grateful and oﬀer it back to the God who gave it to you. And when things don’t go your way, understand that God is still very much in control and very much loves you. Just because God is silent doesn’t mean God is absent.

• They didn’t get the job.

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2 “God told me to…” Often, you hear people say things that start with, “God told me to … .” The longer I follow Jesus, the more hesitant I am to say God told me to do anything specific. Maybe that’s an issue I need to work on, but it springs from my observation that I’ve seen this misused far more than I’ve seen it used well or authentically. In fact, I’ve often noticed that the more outrageous the claim, the more likely someone is to say, “God told me to … .” When I hear someone claim God told them to do something, I feel like saying: God told you to do that? Really? God himself spoke directly to you and told you to specifically build that building for which you have zero money? Or leave that church that you were in deep conflict with without resolving things? Or buy that house that’s way out of your price range? Wow! Are you sure it wasn’t the pizza? Or the voice in your head that often tells you to do the things you simply feel like doing? For the record, I believe there are times when God does speak to people today. But let’s be realistic. What made me put this phrase on the list is the number of times I have heard the phrase used to describe a decision that is: • Selfishly motivated (come on, admit it … you’re justifying your impulses). • Contrary to Scripture (the Scriptures pretty clearly suggest that what you’re doing is sinful … or at least isn’t wise). • Designed to shut down debate (does anyone really think they can win a “God told me” debate?).

I’m not saying God never tells us anything directly, but I am suggesting it happens far less than most of us claim. So what’s a better course? Say something like, “Based on what I know from scripture, I believe this is the best/boldest/wisest course of action.” That makes sense. And then you can have an intelligent discussion. And you don’t pull the God card to justify something about which Christians and others can have a legitimate discussion. Or, if you’re just trying to shut down debate, just be honest. I wanted to do it, so I did it. There. Now you said it and everyone will feel better. If you’re dead honest, you might even realize you made a crazy decision. 3 “I could really feel God’s presence.” You’ve heard this before. We live in an emotional age and we’ve arrived at a place where many of us feel like we’ve become mini-authorities on when God is present and when God is not. But analyze that. The truth is, we tend to feel God’s presence more: • When the band played our favourite song. • When the band played ﬁve of our favourite songs in a row. • When the room was packed. • When the decision went our way. • When we felt happy during our quiet time. Is God only present when we feel him? Or better yet, is God’s presence synonymous with our ability to detect it? Well, of course not. So why do we insist on speaking like it is? (Continued on page 9)

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(Continued from page 8) Nowhere did God promise that the Holy Spirit is a feeling or an emotion. Jesus did explain to us that the Spirit is a Person and moves freely. The Holy Spirit is bigger than our emotions and not subject to our editorial commentary about whether he is present or not. I have had moments when I believe I felt the presence of God palpably. But God is just as present: • On our worst days as he is on our best days. • When we are uncomfortable as when we are comfortable. • When we are hurting as when we are healing. And sometimes … the room was just full, and the band was just really good. We need to learn to trust in God’s presence especially in those moments we suspect he’s absent.

Nieuhof ﬁnishes by asking - What if? What if Christians started having more intelligent, less consumer-oriented, deeper conversations with people? What if our relationship with Christ was grounded more deeply in God’s character and less in the constantly shifting circumstances we see around us? I’m thinking the dialogue inside and outside the church would be so much healthier for it. These are Carey Nieuhofs’s thoughts, not mine - but I wish I’d been brave enough to say them myself sometimes – because they might help us speak with greater integrity and authenticity – as we share our faith in the one who loves us and has made his love known once and for all through the cross and resurrection – Jesus Christ, our Saviour! Gill Rowell

All in the month of April - it was : 30 years ago, on 27th April 1992 that Betty Boothroyd became the ﬁrst female Speaker of the House of Commons. 30 years ago, on 23rd April 1992 that the world’s largest McDonald’s fast-food restaurant opened in Beijing, China. 30 years ago, from 5th April 1992 to February 1996 that the Siege of Sarajevo took place, during the Bosnian War. 50 years ago, on 11th April 1972 that the ﬁrst episode of the radio comedy panel game show ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue’ was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It is still running.

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90 years ago, on 23rd April 1932 that the Royal Shakespeare Theatre opened in Stratford-upon-Avon, replacing the one that burnt down in 1926. 125 years ago, on 3rd April 1897 that Johannes Brahms, German composer, piano virtuoso and conductor, died. 150 years ago, on 2nd April 1872 that Samuel Morse died. This American artist and inventor helped develop commercial single-wire telegraph systems and codeveloped Morse code.

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January Meeting Steph welcomed 12 members to a Beetle Drive to banish the winter blues which was great fun. Rita enjoyed controlling the evening with her trusty whistle and the winner was Moira who was presented with a large bag of sweets. Hilary, with the lowest score, was awarded a box of tissues!

February Meeting Hilary opened the meeting and introduced Jenny Knight, a volunteer at MERL – the Museum of English Rural Life, founded in 1951 and managed by Reading University. When the museum opened it housed 2,500 objects and now has 30,000 and can be found in Redlands Road opposite one of the hospital entrances in an extended Alfred Waterhouse designed building. This is now used to educate children about where their food comes from – ‘farm to fork!’ Jenny’s illustrated talk was on ExtraOrdinary Women, the ﬁrst being Elizabeth Waterhouse (1834 – 1918). She was the sister of the aforementioned Alfred who also designed Reading Town Hall and the Natural History Museum in London. She also had a sister Lavinia and they were both collectors and teachers of Arts and Crafts, with hammered copper tankards and vases which were made at their family home Yattendon Court – now demolished. Their over 400 strong collection was left to MERL as their legacy. Nancy Witcher (1879 – 1964) was the ﬁrst woman elected to parliament, better known when she married her second

husband Waldorf Astor. She became Viscountess Astor MP in 1918 and they were given Cliveden which was used as a hospital during both wars. She was a great campaigner for women’s issues and was given the freedom of the city of Plymouth for her work there. Lady Evelyn Balfour O.B.E. (1898 – 1990) was determined to do farm work. She published ‘The Living Soil’ a book on organic farming and was one of the first women to study agriculture and she graduated from Reading University. She co-founded the Soil Association which promotes sustainable agriculture and became one of the UK’s main organic farming advocates. An attractive and useful variety of potato has been named after her. Nora Doreen Thorpe (1923 – 1988) was a Land Army girl trained in poultry work, milking, stock and general farm work. She recorded all the farms she worked on and kept details of the rates of pay for Land Army girls. She studied extensively taking courses in Dairy farming, the Farm Horse, grassland etc. followed by tractor driving, ploughing, fuel economy and educating volunteers. She was finally discharged in 1947 having served for nearly 8 years helping to keep the farms working during World War 2. Jill Betts (1936 – 2016) studied botany, zoology and geography at Reading University where she met her husband. She was an educator and researcher and on her return from Australia she began volunteering at MERL with responsibility for school programmes. She was credited with finding and rescuing for conservation the enormous wall hangings from the 1951 Festival of Britain, one of (Continued on page 11)

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(Continued from page 10) which can be seen in a case at the back of the museum.

enjoying ginger tea said to prevent altitude sickness which seemed to work as no one in the group had that problem.

Jenny closed by inviting us to visit with families this extremely interesting record of our heritage with lots of activities to suit all ages. For more information the website is - merl.reading.ac.uk

The scenery became more mountainous and one day they were woken at 4.30 am to see the sunrise over the mountains – again Gill’s pictures were striking. When they reached Base Camp (4130 metres above sea level) the whole group posed for a photo showing Annapurna in the background. We were able to share the emotion Gill felt as she videoed the surrounding mountains and her new found friends.

March Meeting Steph welcomed Gill and fellow members and thanked the knitters for producing 50 lamb and chick crème egg covers for the MU project, Children – Heard and Seen. She then introduced Gill, whose slide presentation started with a picture of her triumphantly exclaiming “I Did It!” What she had done was to trek to the Annapurna Base Camp, in the Himalayas, Nepal in the Spring of 2013! First of all she had to get fit – swimming 60 lengths 3 times a week and pounding up and down a long, steep flight of steps as often as possible – all of which paid off despite a knee problem which needed support. The adventure was to cost £1,500 and at the time she was working part time for Novimost. She was able to do some sight- seeing and values her pictures of the old city which was devastated by the earthquake in 2015. She saw monkeys, yaks and eagles, and we were amused by a picture of a bus with passengers downstairs and sheep on the upper deck! The first day of trekking was very hot (30 – 35 degrees C) and the terrain all the way was up and down, up and down over extremely rough ground but the Sherpas were very kind with lots of help and encouragement. The party stopped at various Tea Houses

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The return journey was somewhat easier and Gill was proud to have raised £4,000 for Novimost and also enjoyed meeting some interesting and inspiring companions. Sheila Bryant

Once again members of the Mothers Union have been busy knitting for The Children Heard and Seen project helping families with a parent in prison. This time we have been knitting lambs which will be ﬁlled with a small Easter egg and given to the children this Easter. Over 50 lambs were knitted for the project and extra ones along with chicks are being sold at St Catherine's in aid of other Mothers Union projects. Hilary Smee

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www.thealetaxis.info Theale Taxis Unit 7, Hewins Wood Farm Bradﬁeld, Reading, RG7 6DH

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A Disappointment The soil was thick, dark

Dressed for the serious job

Exposed in rough shiny ridges

Of turning the earth,

Somehow, sensual.

Revealing it,

It had been hidden by thin stalks,

No secrets.

and unkempt patches of plants, Which, in the countryside

As he came towards me

Are plenteous

He said "You know this is not a footpath?"

But rare in a garden.

"No" I lied.

The thin stalks and unkempt patches of plants

"During the ﬁrst lockdown people walked everywhere. This is not a footpath."

Had vanished Where to? Were they now under the soil

"Sorry" I oﬀered "We'll go back the way we came."

Hidden from view?

So we turned, retreating.

Or had they been permanently annihilated?

Disappointed. The earth looked dull now,

The farmer could tell me

The ridges, monotonous

He was driving his big tractor,

And my heart, which had felt light, hopeful and happy

Pulling along a vicious contraption, A complicated rake

Had been robbed, leaving a barren

With spikes

Lifeless

Which, after the ploughblades had sliced the earth, willing or not, to the air, the sky - to light

Ache For goodness sake!

Would drag along, sifting, smoothing.

This wasn't the end of the world! It wasn't the shelling of Ukraine!

The tractor came to a halt. The farmer opened the door

It was just that I couldn't walk around the perimeter of the ﬁeld -

And surprised me By walking towards me His all in one dungarees sending a clear message

Which wasn't mine anyway

That this man was a worker,

By Anon

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Getting ready for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2nd - 5th June National events The UK and Commonwealth will celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a fourday Bank Holiday from 2nd to 5th June 2022, and churches throughout the country will join in on the celebrations. Here’s the programme of coming national events: Thursday 2nd June The Queen’s Birthday Parade - Trooping of the colour - London. Lighting of beacons – around the country and Commonwealth. Friday 3 June St Paul’s Cathedral, Thanksgiving - London.

Service

Jubilee Jamboree event at St Catherine’s 2-5pm, see next page Saturday 4 June The Derby at Epsom Downs, attended by members of the Royal Family. Platinum Party at the Palace – a concert broadcast from Buckingham Palace Pentecost Sunday 5 June Pentecost Sunday services in churches around the country – linked to the Platinum Jubilee. Platinum Jubilee Street Parties / Big Jubilee Lunch – around the country The Platinum Jubilee Pageant on The Mall - London

Two special books have been produced by HOPE Together, to commemorate the event, and you can order them now: Our Faithful Queen - a gift book using rarely-seen prayers the Queen prayed as she prepared for the Coronation. The Girl Who Grew Up To Be Queen (for under 5s). You can order copies of both from cpo.org.UK/Queen “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service... But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.” Princess Elizabeth, 21 April 1947 “When I spoke to you last... I asked you all, whatever your religion, to pray for me on the day of my Coronation - to pray that God would give me wisdom and strength to carry out the promises that I should then be making... I have been uplifted and sustained by the knowledge that your thoughts and prayers were with me.” Her Majesty the Queen, Coronation Day, 2 June 1953

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The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Jamboree Friday 3rd June 2.00 - 5.00 pm at St Catherine’s There will be a lot going on as the whole nation celebrates the Queen’s 70 years on the throne – what a fantastic milestone, and what an awe inspiring woman she is! At St Catherine’s we are planning to have a happy time together on the Friday afternoon, so that everyone can join in their own local street parties on the Saturday or Sunday.

Also, if you’d like to help – and honestly, why wouldn’t you?!, there are all sorts of ways you can do this - please get in touch with me or someone from our organising team – Maureen Ward, Karen Patrick, Sonia Ludford, Tony Bartlett, Madeleine Nottridge, Di Wakeﬁeld, Chris Turner, Amy Fergusson, Stuart Poore, Bill Martin…and a few more besides!

We are really hoping that all ages, shapes and sizes will get together for some fun and jubilation!

Gill Rowell

We are inviting you to bring your own picnic – well, sandwiches, crisps – and we will be giving away cake and scones, teas and coﬀees! Bring your own rugs and chairs too – although we will be providing some for the older members of our community. So we are going to have a glorious picnic together, games, country dancing, quizzes, some silly competitions – knobbly knees (bonus points for decorated ones), best kiddies crowns, and most beautiful hats. It will be more fun the more participation there is! You are invited to come dressed in red, white and blue. So do put this in your diary, and let’s make a day of happy memories! Everyone is welcome! If the weather is awful, we’ll just go inside, there will be plenty of room.

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Sheila Grace Firth 3rd March 1939 - 13th December 2021 It is still hard to believe that Sheila, our dear friend and founder member of our Kinship Group is no longer with us. The group started in 1988 with Sheila, Dot Pollard, Maureen Ward, Valerie Rose and Valerie Forrow, meeting every fortnight for Bible study, prayer and fellowship. Sheila was an enthusiastic participant in all our many activities including Bible study, craft projects, day trips and meals out. When Sheila died, she left a sum of money for our present group of Sheila Drew, Maureen Norman, Moira Bristow, Maureen Ward, Valerie Rose and Valerie Forrow to go out for a meal together.

Sheila was a great recycler! She was collecting our aluminium foil long before there were many facilities for recycling. She encouraged us to transform items we may have discarded into saleable items for her stalls at Christmas fairs and summer fetes and pop-up stalls in between! Sheila was a keen gardener and when Gill Howgego asked for volunteers to look after one of the buttress gardens around the church, Sheila immediately volunteered the Kinship Group. Although we all helped at times, Sheila did most of the work. Apart from her membership of the Kinship Group, Sheila was involved in many other aspects of life at St Catherine's, in the Tuesday Gettogethers, Friday Friends, church cleaning and ﬂower arranging.

This was typical of Sheila. She was a very caring person. She cared very much for all her family but also gave love and support to friends and neighbours. As a group, we liked to be involved in providing refreshments and hospitality at church functions and Sheila was always a willing helper, but her forte was organising “bargain basement” stalls!

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She served a term on the PCC, was a volunteer in the café and would read the lesson at the 8 o'clock Communion service , which she much enjoyed. We shall always remember the happy times we spent together and will miss her cheerful company.

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Valerie Forrow

Resurrection suﬀering beyond our understanding. Death has become a familiar dreaded word. ‘May they Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory’ ... ... is a prayer we often say for those who have died.

The Resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrate in particular during this time of Lent and Easter, has won a great victory for all of us, as it opened the way for us to receive eternal life. We were created to have both a body and a spirit but the nature of the body and the spirit are diﬀerent. Although our body dies, the spirit or soul never dies. The body ceases to function but not the inner person, or spirit. The Bible in both testaments states loud and clear - the dead shall live again. One of the great certainties of the Christian faith is the resurrection of the dead. We believe that our souls ascend into the presence of God. We will have a new, immortal, spiritual, resurrected body in heaven. There is continuity between our present body and our resurrected body. When a Christian dies, his body goes to the grave but his spirit goes to be with Christ. During these past few years we have heard relentlessly of the thousands who have died from Covid, my own cousin included. The pandemic, although still present, has been eclipsed by the eruption of war, causing masses of further innocent deaths and human

This prayer aﬃrms the Christian hope – that death is neither to be feared nor viewed as ﬁnal. Easy to say until it knocks on our own personal door, I'd confess. BUT it expresses our own trust in God’s mercy and the truth of the promises made to the world in Jesus Christ. We trust God with the eternal destiny of ourselves and those we have lost and grieve for. At this time of focussing on the Resurrection of Jesus and what it means for believers, I would like to take the opportunity to honour the Lindy memory of my only sister, Lindy who died 20 years ago on 24th March 2002. She was fatally injured by a car outside the amusement arcade in Swanage, aged just 42 years. May ALL our loved ones Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory - Amen 2 Corinthians 5 1 NIV ''For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands''. Lorraine Roberts

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St Catherine’s Gardening Club Since last autumn our gardening team has sadly lost two much loved members, both of whom have worked hard in our church garden for many years. Sheila Firth had been responsible for the buttress bed nearest to the top car park. She originally took on this duty on behalf of her kinship group, and tended it with loving care over the years. She cleverly managed to make it interesting and colourful all year round. Shirley Horsnell gave a huge amount of her time and energy working in the church grounds, getting involved in every aspect of caring for the garden, from clearing vast quantities of acorns and oak leaves, to uprooting invading plants and shrubs, to weeding the edges of all the car parks and taking expeditions to the tip to deliver excess hedge clippings. She was often found helping Chris with a maintenance job on a Saturday morning. It was Shirley’s idea to transform the metal shed area by painting the shed green, putting a trellis against it and planting a climbing rose to grow up it. Included in this plan was the creation of a bench using breeze blocks which were lying around, and surrounding it with pots of fragrant plants and herbs.

Recently, Paddy was able to carry out the first lawn mowing of the year. He still hopes for an apprentice to share some of the work with him. It’s a very satisfying job, making the lawns look good for all to enjoy, so how would you like to have a go? Come and see! You may find you enjoy yourself! After the long dark months of winter, it has been wonderful to see colourful bulbs popping up all over the place. The little daffodils, tête-à-tête, are a great delight, with their bright and cheery little blooms, while we wait for the larger bulbs and tulips to appear. Chris, Caroline and Richard have worked on the circular bed, creating pathways through it for children to enjoy. All the roses have been pruned by Hazel, whose creative gardening skills are also evident in the bed at the far corner of the north lawn, and the buttress bed next to the door to the Sanctuary, as well as many other parts of the garden. Richard and Chris have recently cleared the weeds and brambles from the stony area under the hall windows on the south side of the garden.

Shirley has moved away and we wish her many blessings as she creates her new garden where she now lives.

Part of the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations will involve the planting of two silver birch trees, in the lawn one at each end of the circular bed. The WI will plant one, and the other will be planted by St Catherine’s.

We are so grateful for the extra help which Caroline Heron, Chris Addison, Richard Childs, Chris and David Jones have given us in various parts of the garden at diﬀerent times.

Fierce winter storms damaged our neighbour’s fence, which was blown into our church garden close to the metal shed. (Continued on page 22)

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(Continued from page 21) Unfortunately, it brought down the trellis which we had put up behind the gardener’s bench made by Chris last year. This trellis was supporting a variety of climbing plants which had been put there to grow up behind the bench, making it a beautiful and pleasantly scented place to sit and rest.

We are aiming to encourage a wide diversity of plant and animal life in the church grounds. If this is something close to your heart, do please get involved and join us. As always, I will close by saying that any oﬀers of help to maintain the church grounds as a pleasant place to be will be very much appreciated.

Chris has made things tidy but work has not yet started to put things right. Could you give us a hand??

Contact Jo Day 942 1481 or Chris Addison 07966 105056.

We’re looking forward to starting our wild ﬂower meadow on part of the north lawn. It is now covered by black sheeting to prepare the ground.

“God Almighty ﬁrst planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.”

This is part of our eﬀorts to gain the Eco Church Silver award.

Jo Day

Francis Bacon (1625) Essays ‘Of Gardens’

On 19th March the PCC had a prayer morning in Church. One of the activities was to pray for each other using scarves to help us listen to God by asking Him to tell us which scarf to give to someone and why. We prayed blessings and words of encouragement from God for each other. It helped us step out of our comfort zones. Lynn Stevens

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Tilehurst Triangle WI After disappointingly having to cancel our Christmas party, it has been lovely to get back to meeting in person. We welcomed our first speaker of the year to give us a demonstration of Bollywood Dancing and find out some of the background to Bollywood. We learned some hand gestures such as the lotus flower and enjoyed moving to the music, either standing or seated. It was a fun evening. Thinking of others continues to be part of our ethos, whether in supporting members at times of need, or those less fortunate than us locally and further afield. Instead of Secret Santa, we had intended to have donations for water storage tanks in South Africa as a talk last year had reminded us that clean water is not readily accessible to all. Although our Christmas meeting didn’t take place, we still raised some money to support this project. We also had a talk on the 1908 London Olympics, the IV modern games. Originally, Rome was awarded the games,

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but after Mount Vesuvius erupted, the Italian authorities decided to use the money set aside for the Olympics to help with the disaster relief fund. London had less than two years to prepare! It was a successful games with events not seen today, such as the tug of war. The 1908 marathon event will be remembered for two reasons. Firstly, there was controversy over the winner when the first man to cross the line was disqualified for being assisted after collapsing and running in the wrong direction. The 1908 marathon also set the distance of the modern marathon which had been variable. To enable the royal children to see the start from Windsor Castle and for the race to finish in front of the royal box in the Olympic stadium at White City, the course was extended to 26 miles 395 yards. This distance was later adopted and is still used today. Last October, we were disappointed when our speaker had to cancel at the last minute, due to Covid. Re-booked for March, Hayley Scott gave a very interesting talk about forensics after our Annual Meeting. She had worked with the Met as a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI ) providing vital evidence in court. As one of the first people at the reported crime scene, her role was looking for clues and examining shoe marks, glass and tyre impressions and where arson was involved, burn impressions. (Continued on page 24)

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(Continued from page 23) From blood splatter on walls and ceilings, CSIs can detect the position of where the stabbing or gun shot has occurred. Great care has to be taken not to move anything as the positioning can provide vital clues. The white forensics overalls can only be worn once at one scene and then bagged to prevent cross contamination of evidence and other areas.

At the end of January, we had a fun skittles evening with ﬁsh and chips. It was so good to be able to have social events like this again.

To move from inside to outside the crime scene requires a change of overalls. We learned that the powder used for ﬁnger print dusting is dangerous if it gets on your skin and is very expensive. The powder is made up of strange looking tiny magnetic particles. At our annual meeting, we presented a cheque for £650 to the local Lymphoedema support at Duchess of Kent. This charity was chosen as it is a condition which aﬀects many, including our members, either as primary lymphoedema, a genetic condition or secondary lymphoedema after surgery, particularly cancer surgery involving the lymph nodes.

Both our walking and strollers groups have been enjoying the local countryside especially in the spring sunshine. We recently saw a herd of White Hart deer at Culham Court.

We have had several craft workshops including decorating glass and sugar craft ﬂowers. We have some very talented members who are able to share their skills with other members.

We wish everyone at St Catherine’s a Happy Easter. Ros Somerville Tilehurst Triangle WI www.facebook.com/TilehurstTriangleWI

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Judas Raps The Youth Bible study group have continued to consider interesting and challenging topics in recent weeks. For example - Judas. He was one of those people who were actually called, personally by Jesus. Judas spent 3 years of his life with Jesus, learning from Him, seeing the miracles He performed, being sent out by Jesus to teach and heal others. So how might Judas' life be summarised? After reading and considering relevant passages from the Bible, each member of the group produced their own summary, and these can be read below. They have raised some excellent points for consideration and we hope that you, too, will reﬂect on the person of Judas and the relationship he had with Jesus - going beyond the more obvious betrayal! Katrina Yates While Jesus knew Judas would betray him, he Still accepted him as a friend. Nobody is ever rejected by Jesus – we Can all repent to him, unlike Judas and be called his ‘friend’. We should try to put God’s plan for us Over our personal gain; Heaven is the gain. Judas is Jesus’ friend They were together until the end He knew Judas would betray him, but He still loved him just as much. Judas ended in a sticky place And Jesus saved the whole human race. So what can we learn from people like these… R–E–P–E–N–T–E–N–C-E What a mess! If only I had listened and heard what Jesus had said. Not care for the money and make it my own, but care for the money as if it is not my own. Judas – you have reaped what you have sown. Jesus called you friend, but you were blinded by your own greed. If only you had repented; Jesus would have accepted you back. So basically, Jesus he friends Judas – even though Judas is a normal man and not a posh man. But then Judas – he betrays Jesus And Jesus still calls him friend And that was the end of Judas’ life. More Raps overleaf

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More Judas Raps Continued from page 25 No matter what path you go down No matter how far you fall Jesus will always forgive you. You can always change your mindset You can always be a better version of yourself Jesus will always forgive you – like Judas could be forgiven.

Judas – called by name – by Jesus. Shared 3 years with Jesus. Took his eyes oﬀ the main event – Replaced his focus with greed and self-interest. Betrayer – yet Jesus still loved him. Despaired – rather than repented. We betray Jesus – putting ‘stuﬀ’ before Him; Repent – and be loved by Him.

Berkshire Family History Society Researching the history of your own house or one of your ancestors is becoming increasingly popular, especially after the success of the “A House through Time” BBC series with David Olusoga. The society’s Heritage Centre in Reading, on the second ﬂoor of Reading Central Library, can give you access to records such as the UK census back to 1841, trade directories and old newspaper articles. Whilst the Berkshire Record Oﬃce contains the original records relating to tithes, land tax and enclosure. The latter is also available on their website for free. Berkshire Family History Society also has a two-part online course in early May on this very subject. As a registered charity, number 283010, most of our events are open to all to enjoy, whether you’re a

member of the society or not. Prebooking is required as places are limited. Sat 7th & 14th May - House Histories Course (Zoom) with Margaret Simons £20 Researching the history of a house can be both exciting and rewarding, revealing fascinating stories of those that lived there before you. Do you have a house that you are interested in knowing more about, have you come up against a dead end or do you just want to know how to approach the subject? If so, then this short two-week course will help you reveal people, dates, events and much more and will introduce you to online and oﬄine resources. For more information and to book a place see the society’s website: https://berks`s.org/ Catherine Sampson

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Here’s a thought Can it be? What IS a miracle? Is it something that experts say is "impossible"? There's a serious organ donor shortage! Use pig's organs? Not long ago THAT would have been "impossible"! But lately?

Brain scans hint that recurring feelings set up "brain patterns", which linger and can aﬀect mental balance. Once, to critics, Church 'rituals' could seem empty? But sincere, regular experiences of calm, awe, humility, gratitude and more might help to keep us more 'balanced' in today's world?

Google for Revivicor, pig, Jenner, Locke, heart transplant. It looks hopeful! There's a new "edited" breed of pig (four genes switched oﬀ, six human genes added)!

Hobbyhorse again:- Some "instructions" seem like a Father's care for our wellbeing?

A dying patient has been given new hope with a heart transplant from a pig. Work's in progress with kidney transplants.

Lifts the Spirit

Researchers are cautious. There may be more to learn. The NHS says: "There's still some way to go ... ". But, pray for "miracles"? Phil French

Regular Care Once, "feelings" could seem unimportant? But recent research is complex.

Phil French

According to a recent survey the 5 top things that lift the human spirit are, 1. Seeing a bright sunny sky. 2. Receiving a compliment. 3. Someone smiling at you. 4. Watching a sunset. 5. The sound of the sea. Maybe we can give thanks for 1,4 and 5, and try and do 2 and 3. Tony Pearce

Too busy?

Some researchers cooked some NUTRITIONALLY IDENTICAL meals. Food for one group of subjects looked lowcalorie and healthy. The other group's food appeared more luxurious and indulgent.

A busy Vicar - who was always helping others in his Parish whenever he could found a card pushed through his Vicarage letter box late afternoon written from a woman with children who felt alone and neglected and could he meet her in the local Cafe in 20 minutes.

The "indulgent" group felt less hungry afterwards. (Lots more!) A similar trial showed diﬀerent uptakes of iron - 70% higher in the "indulgent" group! How do YOU take your food??

He rushed down there quickly but obviously he had missed her as he found the only people in there were his wife and family.

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Tony Pearce

Reflections on Bartholomew We are all disciples (learners) of Jesus - as was Bartholomew. He doesn't get much of a mention in the gospels, but he was ultimately very inﬂuential. It is thought that Bartholomew was a surname, and that he was the disciple known as Nathaniel. So what relevance does Nathaniel have for us, as modern-day disciples? This is something that the Youth Bible study group were considering. Katrina Yates

Here are some of their thoughts: • Always be open to be awe inspired • Listen for when God calls you to do something; God has a purpose for everyone.

• He was doubtful at ﬁrst...but changed his mind. It's OK to change your opinion of someone. • Bartholomew was honest, outgoing and prepared to change for the better. • Be curious...ask questions. • He read the Bible and prayed. • He was prepared to take risks • Recognised the 'teacher' in Jesus • Jesus recognised his potential • Others declared that there was 'nothing false in him. • Bartholomew - an ordinary person like me - Jesus was interested in him and called him to be one of his followers. • Bartholomew was able to do great things (change people's lives) in the power of Jesus.

Bluebell Walk in Sulham Woods Friends of Purley Barn are hosting their third annual walk around Sulham Woods on Sunday 24th April to see the bluebells, which are magniﬁcent at this time of the year. We will meet in the car park in front of The Barn, Goosecroft, Purley on Thames, RG8 8BW at 2.15pm, for a 2.30pm start. A small charge of £5 per person will be made, all proﬁts going to improving the facilities in The Barn. Children under 12 go free. No advanced booking is required, just turn up and pay on the day. Wellbehaved dogs (on leads) are welcome.

The walk will last approximately an hour and a half, and is mostly on level ground. We will visit the lesser-known places where the wild ﬂowers at their best and, if lucky, you may see the deer. Whilst there, we will pause a while to hear about some of the rich history of this area, before returning to The Barn to enjoy tea and cake (included in the price). The majority of the walk will be on level ground, however, you are advised to wear suitable footwear and to bring a bottle of water. Catherine Sampson

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Eco church - our church’s journey so far We are continuing to work towards the silver award. It’s much harder than work needed for the bronze award! Now that Spring seems to be on her way there are several things that can happen in the “Land” segment of the survey. Our “no mow May” regime will be implemented again, in the same place as last year. I have had good feedback from many people about how they liked to see the emergence of the wild flowers. I shall do another cowslip survey for the charity Plant life. When the wild flowers emerge I shall do a survey of the numbers of bees visiting the area. Hopefully that will be up on last year. Soon, I shall take up of some of the black weed membrane to make the area ready for sowing and planting wild flowers.

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The new planting in the Cross bed has been beautiful so far. Many more plants are scheduled to go in. We just need to be rid of these near freezing temperatures, so the new plants will settle happily. If you have any perennials that are vibrant colour, please speak to me. I would like to plan for a very full bed. This strategy will help to keep weeds out, that means less work for us gardeners - only two currently to work on all the beds. If you would like to assist the gardeners or if you could do any maintenance jobs (painting garden chairs and tables for instance), please speak to Jo Day or me, thank you. Hazel Newman

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On how maintaining the churchyard can lead to turf wars The Rectory, St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren Consider yourself fortunate that your churchyard consists of no more than a small, paved area, and that keeping it tidy requires ten minutes of picking up discarded takeaway boxes on Sunday morning. Our four acres of grass and randomly placed gravestones absorbs a large portion of the time and energy of half the parish. By getting different people to adopt sections of the churchyard, the hope was that an element of competition would be introduced; Major Rutherford would never let Admiral Crompton’s section look tidier than his and the local farmers would want to show the amateurs that they knew far more about land maintenance. Sadly, human nature has got in the way – as it invariably does. Miss Timmins has declared her section a nature reserve, so that the cuddly field mice and darling hedgehogs have somewhere to live in. This now means that crossing from her patch to the next feels like crossing from Kew Gardens to the Amazon Rainforest. Two feet high grass and a profusion of dandelions give way to manicured lawn with any weed daring to pop its head above the parapet being beheaded in seconds. Miss T is toying with erecting a fence round her plot, to keep her dear furry friends safe and Sir Horace is threatening to have it electrified, to make sure they do not defile his grass billiard table. Mr Tremble, a retired health and safety officer, whose well-meaning advice on avoiding accidents is such a burden, is applying to have all the gravestones on his patch levelled, so that no one could be killed by having a fall on them. The fact that this has never happened in 600 years, seems an irrelevance to him. On the other hand, his neighbour spends summer evenings painting his stones with sour milk, in order to encourage lichen. Mr Tremble’s warning that some lichens can be quite poisonous have so far fallen on deaf ears. A local farmer, who maintains the boundary walls, generously planted cherry trees all around the perimeter; not only for their looks in Spring, but so that the birds would have somewhere to roost. Sadly, Lady Lipton, while resting from maintaining her plot, tends to stupefy them when she smokes her briar pipe. The only area which no one dares criticise surrounds the mausoleum of the Luscombes, maintained by the gardening staff of the present Lord. It contains such a collection of rogues and miscreants that parishioners fear their anger at being disturbed may even cross the divide of death. I hesitate to admit it, but the thought of an area of concrete with a few pizza boxes scattered round does at times hold a certain attraction. . Your loving uncle, Eustace

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St Catherine’s Centre

RG31 - The Parish Magazine of Tilehurst St Catherine & Calcot St Birinus

Church and Hall regular bookings listed below To book Church or Hall contact Eve Combes  hall@stcatherines-tilehurst.org.uk OR  07969 423 232.

RG31 is published quarterly by

Monday Pre School - 7.30am-3.15pm (term time) After School Club - 3:30pm-6.00pm (term time) Exercise Class - 7.00pm-8.00pm (term time) Yoga - 8.15-9.15pm

the P.C.C. of Tilehurst St Catherine & Calcot St Birinus to subscribers (contact editor to subscribe, the cost is £5 for the year) or in digital form accessed from our website: www.stcatherines-tilehurst.org.uk

Tuesday Pre School - 7.30am-3.15pm (term time) Tuesday Get Together - 10.00am-12.00noon After School Club - 3:30pm-6.00pm (term time) W.I. - 2.00pm-4.00pm (3rd Tuesday) AA - 7.00pm-9.30pm Wednesday Pre School - 7.30am-3.15pm (term time) Communion Service 9.00am-10.00am After School Club - 3:30pm-6.00pm (term time) Vivace Voices 1.45pm-4.15pm Mothers’ Union - 7.30-9.30pm (2nd Wednesday) W.I. - 7.00pm-10.00pm (3rd Wednesday) Karate - 7.00pm-9.30pm Thursday Pre School - 7.30am-3.15pm (term time) Cafe Siena - 10.00am-2.00pm After School Club - 3:30pm-5.30pm (term time) Brownies - 5.45pm-7.15pm Karate - 7.30pm-10.00pm

Assistant Editor: Advertising: Richard Canning ℡ 0118 942 8238 All details and events are correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of going to print. The P.C.C. and Editors are not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by contributors in this magazine. We welcome contributions of articles or letters for future issues from anyone living in, or connected with the parish. All contributions for the next (Summer) edition must be received by the editors by the 3rd July. Contributions may be sent to:

Friday Tots Praise - 9.30am (term time) Cafe Siena - 10.00am-2.00pm Friday Friends - 2.30-4.30pm Pick’n’Mix (Youth Group) - 7.45-9.15 pm (alternate Fridays Term Time) Saturday Yoga - 10.45-11.15am Crafty Space - 1.30-5.30 pm (once a Month) Bowls Club - 7.00-9.00 pm

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Editor: Tony Bartlett ℡ 0118 967 8659

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The Anglican Parish of Tilehurst St Catherine & Calcot St Birinus ST CATHERINE OF SIENA Wittenham Avenue, Tilehurst, RG31 5LN www.stcatherines-tilehurst.org.uk www.facebook.com/st.catherines.tilehurst Please check these websites for up-to-date information on services and other events We are ‘live-streaming’ our 10.00 am Sunday services so that they can be viewed via our Facebook page. Simply go to: www.facebook.com/st.catherines.tilehurst (you do not need an account to view - if asked to login or join, you can click ‘Not Now’). Once shown on Facebook, all our videos can be found again on our Web Site: www.stcatherines-tilehurst.org.uk Every Sunday, The Ten O'clock Service - varies in style and contents each week, but will always be ‘family friendly’. It will contain praise, teaching, communion and usually include a time of sharing what God is doing amongst us. Refreshments afterwards in the Hall. On Wednesdays at 9.00 am - there’s Holy Communion in church, everybody welcome.

NOTE - All our services will follow the current Covid 19 guidance

Who’s Who in the Parish Vicar Rev Gill Rowell ℡ 0118 942 7786  rowellgill@gmail.com

For initial enquiries regarding baptisms and weddings, please contact Gill

Licensed Lay Minister

Mike Heather ℡ 0118 962 4852

Tony Bartlett ℡ 0118 967 8659

 michaelheather@btinternet.com

 tony.bartlett.ccc@ntlworld.com

Churchwarden Richard Canning ℡ 0118 942 8238

Churchwarden Caroline Heron

 richard@meadowsweet.eu

 caroline.heron123@btinternet.com

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