From the Rector
This month sees us begin the season of Lent – a me of prepara on as we get ready to observe the events of Holy Week and Easter. This year we are using the book Jesus' Final Week by Cindy Bunch to explore the final days of Jesus’ life – surely some of the most important in the understanding we have of our faith. The events of Holy Week and Easter occupy a large chunk of the gospels, the accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, and yet the nature of the church calendar means that we try to cram our observance of them into just one week. Perhaps we can use this season of Lent, a me of prepara on, to reflect on these days in a slightly less hurried, and more gentle way. From the excitement of Palm Sunday, when Jesus was proclaimed as a King, to the shock and confusion as he overturned the tables in the temple, on to the Last Supper, the washing of the disciples’ feet, Jesus’ prayer and anguish, and the bewilderment and desola on of his friends. Then to his arrest and trial, the horror and agony of his execu on, the misery of Holy Saturday and then the wondrous joy and yet also uncertainty of Easter Day.
What a range of emo ons and roller coaster of events. This year perhaps we can take our me to move through these events, pondering not only the thoughts and feelings of those caught up in them, but also their meaning and significance for our own lives.
The Revd Hannah Higginson
The Lent study groups on Jesus' Final Week by Cindy Bunch will run on Monday evenings and Thursday a/ernoons – please contact the parish office or visit our website for more informa on. No need to book, and no cost, just come along.
Our Vision
All Saints is a church seeking to be full of LIFE
ALL SAINTS PARISH MAGAZINE
AllSaintsParishMagazinehasbeenpublishedsinceatleastMay1865,possibly makingittheoldestcon nually-publishedparishmagazineinthecountry.
This magazine is published by the Rector and PCC of All Saints Parish Wokingham. Opinions expressed by individual contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers.
Email:editor@allsaintswokingham.org.uk
All Saints PCC Wokingham is a Registered Charity, No. 1127585
Editor: Steve Smith 0118 979 4407
Deputy Editor: Abbie Ellis 0770 343 6939
Produc,on: Jane Hodgson 0118 979 2797
Subs & Distribu,on: David Chapman 0777 199 4461
CopyDateDeadlineforAprilIssue: 18March2025
Produc on: 25March2025
Publica on: 30March2025
Subscrip ons: www.allsaintswokingham.org.uk/all-saints-parish-magazine
Parish Office Norreys Avenue Wokingham RG40 1UE
parishoffice@allsaintswokingham.org.uk 0118 979 2797
Staffed weekday mornings
The Cornerstone Norreys Avenue Wokingham RG40 1UE info@thecornerstonewokingham.org.uk 0118 979 7778
Staffed Monday-Thursday 9:30 - 2:30
February's PCC Meeting
We started our mee ng as always with Dwelling in the Word and for the last six months or so have been working with Luke 10:1-12. Are we the labourers sent into the harvest? Should we also go out in the pairs? Why should we not move from house to house? As with almost any bible passage more ques ons than answers.
Hannah reported that our recruitment of another priest has moved further forward and we now have an advert and suppor ng informa on ready to go, the blessing of the Deanery to recruit and are just awai ng the decision from the Archdeaconry pastoral commi+ee. The finance report supported the view that we will need to increase our giving to support this but not by an impossible amount.
The main item for discussion was Charity Giving. Following the consulta on, Hannah made some straigh1orward proposals to which the PCC agreed (though not unanimously):
We should give 5% of our income (which the PCC decided should be defined as “regular giving including the gi8 aid it a+racts i.e. PGS and standing order giving”).
This means we give away some of the money you have given us. Based on last year’s income that means about £7,500.
This would be divided equally between five chari es. For next year they will be:
Chris an Aid: providing prac cal support to our global neighbours, and campaigning for jus ce,
PACT: a local adop on charity and family support provider,
Soulscape: working in partnership with Berkshire schools to give young people the space they need,
USPG: partners with churches and communi es worldwide in God’s mission to enliven faith, strengthen rela onships, unlock poten al and champion jus ce, and one other.
Each would get 1% of the giving, plus any money raised for them in re ring collec ons.
This is to be reviewed at least once every three years both in terms of which chari es we give to and how much we give.
There will be much more publicity about the gi8s from a “charity champion” for each
Re ring collec ons will be for these chari es.
The feeling amongst members generally was that they would like to be giving more but did not feel we could afford it at the moment.
Hosts For Our Concerts And Events
We are looking for more volunteers to assist with our concerts and events here at All Saints Church. Since the Spaceforall project and the refurbishment of the church we are a rac ng more and more bookings for concerts and events, which is exactly what we were hoping for. All Saints is an amazing venue, and word is spreading locally about what we have to offer groups, orchestras, choirs and so on.
When we host concerts and events, we like to have a ‘host’ or a ‘welcomer’ to meet and greet the group or organisa on. Show them where everything is, open the organ, audio booth and servery, whatever is required. Someone who can be a friendly face of All Saints and make hirers feel comfortable.
We understand that the idea of being a host can be rather daun ng for many and rather out of their comfort zone. However, we would like to reassure anyone who might consider joining our group of hosts that it is not the case. Apart from the prac cal side of things, you would be someone who would be available to answer ques ons and queries. Most of which are simple things and informa on that as a member of the congrega on you are likely to already know! Perhaps you would consider being a joint host with a family member or friend?
Should you wish to volunteer, you would be given any required training. You would also have someone with you at your first hos ng event, so you wouldn’t be thrown in at the deep end!
Many of our concerts are wonderful events, when the church is filled with beau ful music and singing, bringing it alive with community spirit and enjoyment. Should you join the hos ng team, you would be able to enjoy these events for no charge and also have the opportunity to invite a friend or family member to join you.
Some of the groups we will be welcoming this year so far are:
Wokingham Choral Society
Bracknell Choral Society
Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra
Sing Healthy Choir
Wokingham Music Club
Trinity Concert Band
Reading A440 Choir
Reading Phoenix Choir
St Sebas ans Wokingham Brass Band
Wokingham Singers
Perhaps you have a link to one of these groups and are already a member or have friends or family who are part of the group, and this would be a natural fit for you?
Hosts For Our Concerts
We have received a number of enquiries from other groups in the last few weeks, who we are liaising with to confirm their bookings. At the moment we only have about four hosts for all these events and concerts and would really like to recruit more volunteers to help make such events successful and the church a great venue. If we have a number of hosts, you may only be asked to host one event a year.
Should you wish to discuss the possibility of becoming a host we would be delighted to hear from you for a no-obliga on chat. Please get in touch with Hannah, Anne or Jane. Thank you for reading.
Jane Hodgson - Parish Administrator
Contactdetails:
Hannah: hannah@allsaintswokingham.org.uk/07860930547
Jane: parishoffice@allsaintswokingham.org.uk/01189792797
Anne:anneking@allsaintswokingham.org.uk/07768923608
February's PCC Meeting
Meanwhile, we now have regular “group reports” every mee ng and this me they were about:
The co ages that we own at 1 and 3 Wiltshire Road and how the rent we earn from them is helping to fund the outstanding loan for the church refurbishments, Pastoral Care and par cularly new approaches, such as the Blue Christmas service and our welcome to newcomers.
This is proving a really valuable addi on to the PCC – an opportunity to learn much more about how All Saints works. Anne King
. Asusualthesearethepersonalreflec onsoftheauthorandnotthemee ng'sofficialrecord.
Christian Creeds
You might recall that in December we published, under the What I've Been Thinking About banner, an ar cle by David Chapman on the Nicene Creed and its relevance in the present day. In February there was a set of responses from other readers. The debate con nues and you can read David's reply to the responses, with addi onal thoughts about Christmas and Easter, in a document at this web address: h ps://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qlu1ogc920fg5i7qcsjfl/2025-The-Christmas-and-Easter -myths.pdf?rlkey=jwqmjpt9flf4vxv6l456hy9g4&dl=0
Prayer & Healing Ministry Team
Heavenly Father
Help us not to fear the future but to boldly trust that you are in control. At mes when we don’t know what to do, when my emo ons plunge me down, be my comforter and healer and bring me peace in Jesus name.
Let the morning bring me word of God’s unfailing love, for I have put my trust in him.
Psalm 143 v8
The services for the Laying on of Hands ministry will be on the first Sunday of each month, so next on 2nd March at the 9.30 service.
Members of the Prayer Ministry team are: Rosemary Sturmer, Jill Oliver, Jo Robinson, Gill Allen, Claire Jones and Elizabeth Marten. Prayer Ministry is available every Sunday aMer the 9.30am service. Members of the Healing Prayer Group are: Gill Allen, Rosemary Sturmer, Maggie Davies, Joan Thomason. Confiden ality is assured .
News from the Canon's Mouth
No ced on the diocesan web site. Paul was curate at All Saints many years ago.
Travelling to London?
A li le piece of informa on intended to be helpful to us Wokingham residents. Many people, when going up to London, travel by train. Well if you are doing so between Monday and Friday, it will pay you to go from Bracknell not Wokingham. The reason is the return train. South-Western Railway schedules an hourly evening service back from Waterloo, but plugs that long interval with intermediate trains that go only to Bracknell. Why? I don't know but they do. So leave your car at Bracknell and increase the flexibility of your return trip. This is extracted from their official metable, but Murphy's Law say that now it's been published here it will be altered.
General Synod : Diary #9
Peter Barrett
February10-14,2025:TheSafeguardingSynod
This was a long Synod – five days! Safeguarding was the dominant theme. Because of Stephen Co erell’s involvement in the recent Bishop of Liverpool scandal and his handling of the David Tudor case when he was Bishop of Chelmsford, there was a mo%on to stop his presiden%al speech at the start (defeated, thankfully). A few le* before he started. I spo ed some conserva%ve evangelicals, who have been pushing for Stephen’s resigna%on on social media because he is pro-LLF .
There were rumours of a demonstra%on by members suppor%ng female vic%ms during Stephen’s speech. They were due to stand up and recite the Magnificat. But that did not happen. Instead, people wore blue ribbons as a symbol of protest (Stephen did, too – that was smart). Stephen wisely invited the Bishop of London (Sarah Mulally), the chair of the house of clergy (Kate Wharton) and the vice-chair of the house of laity (Alison Coulter) to lead a litany of penance and silence (5 minutes). Then we read the Magnificat together (another smart move).
All this – and we’re only on the first session! This definitely impacted on Stephen. During one morning worship session he got very emo%onal (understandably) and talked about going off ‘to have a good cry’. His speech was decent: ‘We get things wrong and we need grace … We should be peace-makers, but no papering over the cracks … peace is reconcilia%on painfully embraced … everyone is welcome in the CofE, especially those who are hur%ng. No need to fill in a form.’
Abuse
The Makin Review of the John Smyth case included four survivor statements; these were read out by bishop Julie Conalty, deputy lead bishop for safeguarding: ‘Moral leadership hinges on its leaders. And some have lied … many only had a small piece of the jigsaw (Makin claimed it was more widely known) … no trauma-informed awareness … negligible input from 130 vic%ms … worse in the last 20 months (since the loss of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB); significantly, the ISB was not men%oned by anyone senior).’ But we need to avoid seeing abuse everywhere. One conserva%ve evangelical, Ed Shaw (Bristol), admi ed they needed to change their culture – that was very refreshing. Sadly, he was the only person from that group to say
LLF = Living in Love & Faith
this all week. There was one amendment from my colleague, Helen King (Oxford), to get rid of the term ‘historic abuse’. No abuse is historic. The full impact is going on now and con%nues throughout the lives of vic%ms.
TheSafeguardingProcess
The main safeguarding debate was on whether we go for full independence (model 4; the Jay recommenda%on) or par%al (model 3; 106 diocesan safeguarding officers signed a le-er for this plus INEQE, the safeguarding body which has audited 10 dioceses and 9 cathedrals, recommended this too.) Emo%onally, I was with those who spoke for Jay. But pragma%cally, I did not think the CofE could deliver it in one go. 85 dioceses / cathedrals would need to be transferred into a new safeguarding body. This is highly complex plus no one has ever done this before on this scale anywhere in the world. And the CofE has a very poor track record on delivery (e.g., the ISB – and that was only 3 people!). The danger is that we promise Jay and five years later we have delivered nothing. If we go for a par%al approach (i.e., get the na%onal safeguarding team into the new body and figure out how we do the other 85 dioceses/cathedrals at the same %me), we have a much be-er chance. It was precisely because I care about the survivors that I went for the par%al approach – I want to be able to deliver something for them that changes the system. Of course, this gets media cri%cism. But I can handle that if the chances of delivery are much higher later on. If we delivered nothing in five years, we’d get even more cri%cism – and rightly so! When I shared my view around Synod members, a lot of folks hadn’t even considered this. The Bishop of Blackburn, Philip North, put this in an amendment to the main mo%on, which was successful. It felt weird not going for the radical op%on and aligning with North (he’s an%-women’s ordina%on), but it made prac%cal sense. Feel free to disagree!
Appoin ngBishops
There were two debates on the process for appoin%ng new diocesan bishops. The issue is that since 2023 the conserva%ves have a stranglehold on those members who form part of the Crown Nomina%ons Commission – the elec%ng body – effec%vely excluding inclusive candidates, so much so that people are refusing to go through the process. The new process, set up in 2023, has already seen two out of eight elec%ons end in a stalemate, meaning the diocese goes to the back of the queue and the vacancy extends to 18 months – disastrous for any diocese. Prior to 2023, 53 out of 55 elec%ons were successful. No changes to the current process were passed. A very sad day.
RacialJus ce
The Racial Jus%ce Commission finished their three years of work with a speech from Lord Boateng. He was not happy: ‘Some people are glad to see the end of the commission. (For them) it could not come a moment too soon.’ There has consistently been a lack of resources to support this work. He ended with a veiled warning: ‘If Synod doesn’t do something, other agencies will force it on you’. Speeches emphasised this was not a %ck-box exercise: ‘Done! Now put it on the shelf.’ Bishop Rose Hudson-Wlikin stated: ‘If you think this, you’re in the wrong place!’ Co-erell admi-ed ‘we do not have a racially just church.’ He visited Ghana last year to see places where slaves were kept before being transported across the ocean: ‘Un%l the lion has told his story, the hunter is the hero.’
AndTheRest...
Highlights: a great debate on how we can get more working class people into ministry, given the eli%sm and snobbery that s%ll exists. Jesus's disciples were working class –fishermen, tax collectors. Co-erell recounted a mission in the North East in a working class area. He went to a karaoke night in a pub local to where they were working. The DJ asked: ‘Why do you sing songs nobody knows?’ A reference to church culture, not just hymns. Co-erell himself leL school with 3 O levels. He finally got a degree from a polytechnic and was told this was a ‘non-degree’ for the theology course! Loads of stories where members were ignored and in%midated because of their class. Watch out for unconscious bias – our church is very middle class! Good discussions on sport and how to involve young adults in Synod.
I par%cipated in a vigil for Pales%ne and spoke to the Archbishop of Jerusalem via video link (thank you, USPG). Many ci%es are now blockaded by Israeli forces. A 15 minute journey now takes 5-8 hours. I a-ended fringe mee%ngs on the environment, racial jus%ce and inclusion plus an excellent book launch for Playing in the Dust by David Runcorn (founder of Inclusive Evangelicals). On the Wednesday night I had dinner at Lambeth Palace! The following night … Pizza Express. Such is the life of a General Synod member. Pray for us.
General Synod Diary
Junior Church and Youth Church
This is a reprint of a January report to PCC by
Jill Oliver and Roshney Jeyan na
JuniorChurch takes place during term %me as part of the 9:30 service. Five leaders plus the Children's Advocate/Safeguarding Representa%ve lead the ac%vi%es on a rota basis. A-endance varies from three to nine children aged between 4 and 10 years.
Since September, resources have been taken from Roots Resources for Churches, a scheme that follows the church lec%onary. This means that children are covering the same theme as the main congrega%on allowing for family discussions following the service. The sessions include games, craLs, songs and prayers usually in the Cornerstone but also in the churchyard, par%cularly during Crea%on Time. This hopefully means the children experience church through a range of ac%vi%es suited to a variety of learning styles.
Junior Church joins the main congrega%on during the Eucharis%c Prayer and children oLen share what they have learned at the end of the service. During the last year there have been all-age services for Harvest and Advent. Junior Church leaders have been involved in the planning of the services and the whole congrega%on has taken part in craL ac%vi%es. During the all-age service in Advent, the children performed a na%vity play wri-en by a member of Junior Church.
Youth Church gathers term %me, Sunday at 9.30am for 40 minutes. We recently welcomed Ma- and Tom as leaders who support the youth church.
We welcome the children with breakfast, games which will be related to the topic of the discussion, quizzes and learn about the topic of the day. We end the session with a prayer.
The youth church leaders meet up termly to discuss our plans. Also, we take the children's lead in choosing the topics. We have been discussing various topics such as Fruits of the Spirit, The Lord's Prayer, etc. Around October, combined with Harvest Fes%val and Earth Day, we focused on the Lord's crea%on and caring for our planet.
While the church was focusing on church vision, we discussed what is the church, our church's vision and the role of the youth in our church.
Following the discussion of their role in church, during the advent period, youth church created advent wreaths for sale in order to raise money for the church. Also, they were proud to be suppor%ng the junior church's na%vity play.
This term, as children showed interest in learning about the bible, we are focusing on this. To extend the home learning, children are choosing one verse per session to take home and memorise or familiarise with it.
Prayer Page
True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency. Make it a habit, and when the need arises you will be in prac%ce. BillyGraham
You have given all to me; to you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace; that is enough for me. St Igna us Loyola
Do not make prayer a monologue; make it a conversa%on. AuthorUnknown
A vital and personal rela%onship with the living and true God. This rela%onship is prayer.
PartoftheCatechismoftheCatholicChurch
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. StAugus ne
The whole reason why we pray is to be united into the vision and contempla%on of God to whom we pray. JulianofNorwich
God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer. Mother Teresa
Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands. Yours are the feet. Yours are the eyes. You are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours. Amen StTeresaofAvila
Junior & Youth Church
Upcoming plans: We are in contact with other local churches and organising 'Big Breakfast'. Each month, one church will host a big breakfast event, where all the youths can meet up. We are aiming to create unity and working in partnership with others. The first big breakfast will be hosted by us, and it will be the third Sunday of each month. We are con%nuing to discuss and support children to learn and grow stronger in their faith. There might be a surprise from the youth church at the mother's Sunday service!!
Diary for March
David Chapman
Last month Shakila wrote about the Climate Ma-ers Team making the decision that we would priori%se All Saints Church achieving the Eco Church Gold award. This will involve the congrega%on, all of us, a-emp%ng to implement the ethos of eco church through the five categories by which we will be measured: Worship & Teaching; Building & Energy; Land & Nature; Community & Global Engagement; and Lifestyle.
Shakila stressed the necessity of all of us at All Saints being involved in order to achieve this. All of us can contribute in different ways, both at home in our lifestyle choices and in helping All Saints (AS) in its work within the church building and in the community. You can find out more at: h-ps://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/eco-church-survey/
Some inspiring examples of ac%vi%es undertaken by church congrega%ons in diverse areas ranging from very rural to inner city can be seen here: h-ps://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/stories/
Some stories include:
Surveying the flora and fauna of a churchyard over the year leading to plans for the construc%on of a pond.
A disused labyrinth in a churchyard was lovingly restored and is used for prayer and contempla%on.
Assessing a congrega%on’s individual carbon footprints led to a desire to promote sustainable living: e.g. washing clothes, driving, and using air travel less oLen, cycling and walking more frequently…
In order to reduce plas%c consump%on at Christmas, an aLernoon craL workshop was organised to make sustainable Christmas giLs.
The pressing need to plant more trees led to a seed-plan%ng project with a local Primary School as part of a long-term commitment to the local children…..making bird boxes etc
Work with school and youth groups on plas%c reduc%on with the aid of a large
dolphin named Trashy, who collects crisp packets. Another featured regular li-er picking in groups in different parts of the parish.
Suppor%ng the poorer, weaker na%ons suffering the most from climate breakdown yet whose carbon footprint is far less than those of us in the richer na%ons through involvement in charity and environmental pressure groups.
A book club and theology group providing opportuni%es to reflect on the theological implica%ons of the climate crisis and the church’s response.
Community vegetable garden
I cite the above not for AS to replicate but to offer ideas that might inspire members of AS to consider other imagina%ve projects that AS, perhaps together with other community groups, might pursue locally.
As the Revd Alison Morley, a priest of a gold-awarded church on the Isle of Wight was quoted as saying:
“Our commitment to these issues is much more than just adding an environmental layer to what we already do. It is about connec%ng our faith to a 21st century world view, to immediate environmental concerns and to the changes in our lifestyles that will be needed in the centuries to come.
“It is also about taking science seriously, engaging with contemporary theology, rediscovering hidden treasure from the past and finding a way to speak of God that is relevant in our witness to the world. And, of course, it is rooted in the life, teachings and meaning of Jesus –seeing him as the unparalleled teacher of peaceful and ethical living.”
Please contact the Climate Ma-ers Team with your ideas, sugges%ons, and offers of help. We look forward to hearing from you.
David Chapman
South of the Railway
Steve Smith
Wokingham Borough Council has lately been issuing various statements about major housing developments in the borough. Many of these statements refer to "Loddon Garden Village" and there is a sentence or two about that at the end of this ar$cle.
But what of developments within All Saints parish? We ought to be thinking about this. Montague Park is now reckoned as complete, so the focus switches to land south of the railway between the boundary with Bracknell Forest in the east and Finchampstead Road in the west. Loads of houses are due to appear there.
What is going to be our approach to all these new parishioners? Are we going to do anything specific to encourage the gospel message in these homes? Are we going out to them, or are we expec$ng them to come to us? We s$ll have $me to answer these ques$ons, but not a great deal of $me.
It should be pointed out that some of the development will find itself in St Sebas$an's parish, so thoughts should maybe turn to a joint strategy with our Chris$an neighbours.
Anyway, what are the details of the development? It's referred to by the catchy (?) name of the "South Wokingham Major Development". It will have about 1,840 new homes (three $mes the size of Montague Park), a new primary school, shops and other ameni$es in a neighbourhood centre, open green spaces and new roads including the South Wokingham Distributor Road.
As part of Montague Park, the spine road named William Heelas Way was built from the traffic lights near the Oakingham Belle in London Road over the railway to a new li:le-used roundabout on what used to be the rural part of Waterloo Road. The new distributor road is going to extend that spine road all the way around Wokingham's south to emerge on Finchampstead Road near Tesco's. The distributor road is to
South of the Railway
"create access for the new homes and minimise the impact of the increase in traffic on nearby residen$al roads".
Three planning permissions have already been granted for development south of the railway (numbers 191068, 191914 and 191900). Intriguingly the council say that the third phase of the western end is "s$ll subject to nego$a$on". The first of these permissions is the most informa$ve and I quote: "an outline applica$on with all ma:ers reserved except principal means of access to the highways for a mixed use development of up to 1434 dwellings, a two-form entry primary school, local centre including community building, public open space, play areas and associated infrastructure and landscaping; and a full applica$on for the proposed Suitable Alterna$ve Natural Greenspace (SANG), associated landscaping and temporary car park."
The council has recently secured £29.6 million in funding from Homes England to ensure the project goes ahead. Enabling works were due to start last autumn, with construc$on taking place over the next three years. Those works have now begun, as anyone visi$ng Tesco's or driving out of Wokingham on Easthampstead Road can tes$fy.
When it comes to schooling, the exis$ng Floreat School has capacity for 420 pupils, and can expand to three forms of entry with capacity for 630 pupils. Another primary school is planned to accompany the new housing south of the railway line, but the council will take the next steps on that "when demand requires".
As for community needs, the council is reckoning on a new neighbourhood centre, which will include retail and community facili$es as well as housing the primary school. That's interes$ng because the similar neighbourhood centre in Montague Park has several shop spaces that have never yet been adopted or turned into actual shops.
What about sports and recrea$onal facili$es? Well the council owns Gray's Farm and eventually that will be the site for such ac$vi$es but it will involve a fair amount of development and (presumably) the loss of the Gray family's pick-your-own business. What we can say is that the White Horse pub on Easthampstead Road is going suddenly
Brilliant Bible Bits
In the course of our perusals of the Bible, many of us surely come across passages that stand out. So let's share them. We invite anyone and everyone to contribute.
Micah chapter 6 is quite well known ("The Lord has told you what it is that the Lord requires of you..."). However the sen ment was not new in Micah's me. Here it is much earlier in Israel's history, so no one can say God's people didn't know. The same is true today — we can't say we don't know. This is from Deuteronomy Chapter 10.
What then, Israel, does the Lord your God ask of you? Only this: to fear the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and soul. This you will do by observing the commandments of the Lord and his statutes which I give you this day for your good.
Extract taken from The Revised English Bible
to find itself surrounded by many many houses, which will presumably turn it from a quiet pub to one a whole lot more ac ve.
Finally you might wonder about open space. It looks as if the principles adopted for Montague Park will be con nued in the new development. The council promises parks and gardens, public open spaces, children’s play areas, playing pitches, allotments and nature parks.
I finish by coming back to Loddon Garden Village which is an even bigger development. It which will be established on land to the south of the M4 between Shinfield, Arborfield and Sindlesham - 3,930 homes in all. See the a<ached diagram.
The churches around Loddon Garden Village will massively have their work cut out responding to this enormous development; I suspect the diocese will be heavily involved too. But mean me let's focus on our patch and the inevitable responsibili es that Jesus is giving us here. What is to be our response?
Steve Smith
Puzzle Panel
Can you find 26 words in the box below that are people's names as found in Genesis? Genesis is full of names but the puzzle focusses on only the most prominent. Minimum word length=4. Words can go up, down, sideways or diagonally, but always in straight lines. Beware overlooking a long word in favour of a short one : for instance you might find 'supp' but that's just part of the longer word 'supper'. To help, here's a census of word-lengths: 1 x Eleven, 1 x Ten, 1 x Nine, 2 x Eight, 3 x Seven, 4 x Six, 7 x Five, 7 x Four. If you get 20 or more, email the editor on editor@allsaintswokingham.org.uk. No prizes but you will get a name-check.
Last Month's Puzzle
Perhaps the anagrams that appeared last month were more difficult than first thought. Anyway, two readers ba<led through—Ann Crail and John Harrison—congratula ons to them. The answers were as follows:
1 - Westende School
2 - Wokingham Sta on
3 - The Three Frogs
4 - The Hope and Anchor
5 - Wokingham Hospital
6 - All Saints Church
7 - St Crispin's School
8 - Suffolk Lodge
9 - The Cornerstone
10 - Corpus Chris
11 - Tudor House
12 - The Town Hall
Loving Father, we pray for all our members in branches and our diocesan members that we may become’ Stronger Together’. We pray for all our diocesan projects; suppor ng Children Heard & Seen, Baby Basics and Ronald Macdonald House.
We pray for all projects and ac vi es that are being carried out at branch level to support the community groups who care for those who are struggling in so many ways.
Bless us all as we work to show the love of Jesus to all with whom we come into contact and enable us to reflect your glory in all that we do. Amen
Extract from our Oxford Diocesan Prayer for 2025
Our AGM in January went extremely well. Not only did we have a fun look back at the wonderful events of last year, but we also had the first look at our exci ng programme planned for this year! Moreover, we enjoyed a talk from our guest speaker, Jenny Searle, who is our joint MU Oxford Diocesan President. Jenny talked about the MU structures covering Britain and Ireland, with an overview of what other Dioceses are up to. She gave us an update on new forms of membership, reaching out to non-MU members in our Join Us, Join In campaign.
We want to use this month’s ar cle to focus on giving more informa on about the membership and benefits of our wonderful group, our All Saints’ MU !
Membership Op#ons:
Membership: A one-off payment of £38, plus a branch levy fee of £5, to cover our speakers’ fees etc.
Friend: A membership op on of £38, for people who support the Mothers' Union's objec ves but don't want to commit to membership
Supporter: A one-year giQ membership op on of £25, for people who support the Mothers' Union's work and would like to know more. A Welcome Pack is given, containing card, prayer card, holding cross and introductory informa on.
Benefits of Membership:
Receive the Mothers' Union magazine, prayer diary, and campaign and project updates
Be invited to members’ events
Become part of a global movement for change
How to Join:
If you would like to know more about our All Saints’ Mothers’ Union, please do contact our branch leader Sue at sue831@b nternet or 07957 801394 for more informa on.
MU Programme
Friday7thMarch 10.30am WorldDayofPrayer: Serviceat CorpusChris ,SturgesRd
Tuesday11th March 10.00am CorporateCommunioninchurch
Wednesday26thMarch 1.30pm TalkbyRuthfromPo<ersVillagecharity-DeVitreRoom
Sunday30thMarch 9.30am MotheringSundayatchurch,whereMUposieswill be givenout
Thursday24thApril 2.00pm MyFamilyEuropeanInter-Railing trip! – bySueHoward
Sue Howard
Mothers' Union
The Jesus Manifesto
A Chance to Appreciate One of John Boylan's Recent Sermons, As Delivered in Salisbury
As much as the Church across the centuries has tried to distance Jesus from his Jewish roots, we have to remember that Jesus was a Jew and immersed in Scripture. He was upheld by Jewish tradi ons and tradi onal Jewish prac ce was in Jesus’ me, and s ll is to this day, to read the en re Torah (the first five books of the Bible) aloud each year. AQer each sec on, selec ons from the Neviim, ‘the books of the Prophets’, are chosen by the reader to fit the theme of the Torah reading. This is called the HaQarah (Haf-ta-RAH).
Looking Forward
Luke 4.14-21: Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was wri<en: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the cap ves and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the a<endant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’
Every synagogue across the world, reads the same Torah text each week, a tradi on which goes back to 400 or 500 AD. In 1896 a library of 300,000 Jewish documents was discovered in Egypt, in a synagogue storeroom for worn out holy texts. As researchers examined these documents which included lec onary readings, they discovered that in the earliest tradi on both prior to, and during, the first century during Jesus’ me, the ‘haQarah’ readings (those chosen by the reader to complement the Torah reading) were focused not on Israel’s past but on Israel’s future. They looked to the promises of a glorious future kingdom and a coming messianic age, what the world would look like when God established his kingdom on earth. So when they read the Torah, they chose a prophe c passage which would point the Torah text toward the promise of redemp on, very much in keeping with Jesus’ ministry and preaching. So when he went to the synagogue as he would do every week, Jesus would be expected to follow this established pa<ern of worship.
Early Training
Have you ever wondered why the words of Jesus in the Gospels, especially Ma<hew, are almost always quotes from, or references to Old Testament scripture? And how the
The Jesus Manifesto
crowds always understood the references?
Well although we might like to imagine Jesus’ childhood was something special, that he was already well versed in scripture, apart from the one passage in Luke 3 when Jesus was twelve, we know nothing of his early life. What we do know however, is that at the age of five or six, all Jewish boys were expected to learn and memorise scripture, and by the age of ten have started on learning the Oral Torah, the rabbinic tradi ons handed down for the explana on and understanding of the wri<en Torah. Not every community would have a full set of the Scriptures so the oral tradi on of repe on and learning was very important. Scripture was an integral part of home life as well and although girls did not receive the same formal teaching, they would have been expected to know many of the prayers and readings by heart from hearing them recited at home and at the synagogue. So it would be Jesus’ peer group, the boys (and girls), he grew up with, sat alongside studying, also well versed in scripture, whom he would now meet on his return to Nazareth. We are told he went to the synagogue, but interes ngly, when the old town of Nazareth was excavated there was no obvious evidence of any dedicated Synagogue building found. But the word synagogue comes from the Greek ‘synagein’ meaning ‘to bring together’ and in smaller communi es, it would simply have been a mee ng place, someone’s house, or maybe even outside. We know that Jesus had already started to make a name for himself along the villages on the coastline so it’s likely that most of the town turned out to see and hear him.
This Scripture Has Been Fulfilled
It is not possible to know what Torah readings were allocated for Jesus that morning in Nazareth, but the ‘HaQarah’, the choice of Isaiah 61 (from the Prophets) was definitely his. When Jesus had finished reading, he rolled up the scroll and as was customary sat down to give the homily. All eyes were on him. So far, so good. At this point, the reader would be expected to relate the readings to God’s promises of a glorious future kingdom. This would usually be a recita on of the lessons learnt in synagogue school all those years ago. Everyone would be watching to see whether the reader got it right and the suspense, maybe even entertainment, would come if someone felt the need to rise and correct the speaker. At which point there would probably be an argument. But on this occasion, Jesus silenced them with his next words. ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’.
Those present would have known Isaiah 61 as a Messianic text. Jesus, clearly aligning himself with the text was shocking. To be fair, I’m not really sure how else they could have reacted. If someone we knew and hadn’t seen for a bit, came in here now and said the same thing, how would we react?
Certainly to the crowd at Nazareth, this was going too far. Yes, Jesus’ reputa on as a speaker and healer was growing, but how was this i nerant preacher, son of Nazareth, known to all of them, suddenly going to change their lives? Given their material circumstances, they understandably saw the fulfilment of God’s promise as a tangible
restora on of former glories, freedom, wealth, status and poli cal redemp on. They certainly didn’t understand its fulfilment would be spiritual, or through the ministry and words of Jesus.
A Manifesto
I’ve deliberately laboured a bit on the context because some mes when we read these passages, it is too easy for us to overlay them with our culture and experience and miss the in macy. If we look at Nazareth, for example, the town where Jesus grew up, do we think of it as a large cosmopolitan town? Was it bigger than Bethlehem? Today it is a good sized town with a popula on of c 70,000. But is that how we think of it when we read scripture? Well, archaeological evidence suggests that the popula on of Nazareth, at the me of Christ was between 200 to 400 people. We have had more people in our church for Nine Lessons! It’s important to get an idea of the in macy of these events because if we realise that Jesus was for the main part, speaking to individuals, oQen just to his disciples, to their circumstances, their understanding and their personal rela onship with God, it becomes easier then, to feel the words being spoken to us. And these words from Isaiah 61, are for the first me revealed as Jesus’ ministry, if you like, his ‘manifesto’ for the ‘Kingdom’.
Although Jesus did free people from diseases or demons, and he did restore sight to others, the words were never meant to be taken literally. Jesus was also offering spiritual wealth, spiritual sight, spiritual freedom, and spiritual awakening to a people starved of all these things. Jesus, God made man, was making his manifesto, available to everyone, and not just the poor or disenfranchised. He was also addressing those in denial, those who did not want to listen, even Gen les, showing that the love God offers is uncondi onal and is about unlocking years of inbuilt prejudice and suspicion, refu ng lies and bigotry, defying class barriers, but above all, preaching the love of others rather than self and helping to restore hope and faith to those who have lost it.
An Epiphany
The Cambridge Dic onary describes Epiphany as a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand, or become conscious of, something that is very important to you. So as we are s ll in the Epiphany season, maybe this is a good me to remind ourselves that this is the Jesus manifesto that we are called to follow. His words are as relevant to us, as to his first listeners. They should be our epiphany, challenging us to examine our lives, what we believe in, and how seriously we take our Chris an calling; they ask ques ons like, ‘How do I make a difference, both physical and spiritually? What am I called to do, as an individual and as part of the church community?’ Do I really listen for God’s voice, to tell me what He wants me to do, or am I doing what I want to do?’.
There is nothing new here. These are ques ons that we have all asked ourselves before. They are the central tenets of the life our faith calls us to follow, both as individuals and indeed as a church community. Maybe we should look a bit closer at the words we heard today.
When Jesus Talks
When Jesus talks of se ng the prisoners free, who needs to be set free and what does that even mean? Is he talking about other people, or is it us and our a tudes and behaviours? Are we the prisoners, locked in our rou nes and beliefs, not prepared to explore or take risks?
When Jesus talks of ‘good news for the poor’ we know that he is not just referring to the economic status of his listeners. Jesus’ poor are in the holis c sense, all those who are diminished in any community or relegated to the margins of society. But how much credence do we give to all the factors and a tudes that influence our percep on: gender, genealogy, race, educa on, occupa on, sickness, disability? Jesus rejected all these socially determined boundaries and yet even today our lives and behaviours are s ll intrinsically caught up in them.
Ques ons For Us
I said earlier that Jesus’ words are in mate. So how do we react to what we heard today. Is there something that maybe we don’t see or choose not to see? What’s blocking our sight? What’s ge ng in the way of our ability to perceive what God wants us to do? What is holding us back?
The recent eulogies paid to President Jimmy Carter showed him to be a man of deep faith. When he was ques oned about this, he replied, ‘My faith demands - this is not op onal - my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have, to try to make a difference.’
Another me, he said, ‘You only have to have two loves in your life: for God and for the person in front of you at any par cular me’, and he followed that up with ‘We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this a4ernoon.’ I cannot think of any be5er descrip on of a Christ-like life in ac on.
The start of a new year is a great me to consider both for ourselves, and for our church collec vely, how we might con nue to respond to God’s call to live out the prophecy of Isaiah and the declara on, the manifesto of Jesus, that now belong to us.
How shall we proclaim far and wide God’s deep, abiding, and libera ng love?
There’s a quote by Mikhail Gorbachev, ‘if you're not moving forward, you're moving backward’. It’s not just a catchy phrase but a fundamental truth that applies to all areas of life. Standing s ll can lead to bad habits, complacency and, ul mately, failure. The key is to keep moving forward, even when things are going well. Being a follower of Christ was never meant to be easy and it certainly isn’t about standing s ll. In Ma5hew 16.24, Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’
I’m not sure any of us are ready to start at that point...that’s a tough one, but Luke 4, well it’s s ll challenging, but a good place to start. Amen
150 Years Ago - 1875
Flower Guild
The snowdrops are flowering and also some daffodils; it feels like spring is coming and the evenings are ge ng lighter.
Did you know that there are around 20 known species of snowdrop with some 500 named varie es, something to bear in mind when walking around and they all look the same! This photo was taken on a rare sunny morning recently at Cliveden who have large displays of the plants in the grounds each year.
We hope you enjoy the flowers we do arrange in Church. The Guild is open to anyone who has a passion for flowers. We are always looking for new members to enjoy arranging flowers so if you share our passion for flowers why not have a go at arranging, you would be very welcome? One-to-one guidance can be arranged and the main aim would be for you to develop your skills and enjoy. Also why not just come along to one of our group arranging sessions and see what we do? The next one will be Saturday 19th April from 09.30 for most of the day.
Contact Sue Hedley 07831 149832 or e-mail suehedley@jag.org.uk.
We now look forward to arranging for Easter and as has been tradi on, we ask that if you would like to make a dona on for the Easter Flowers, dona on envelopes will be available in Church and your name or loved one's name will appear in the memorial frame.
Flower Guild Diary
No flowers during Lent : the Lenten Ring to be created by Jane Mellor for Ash Wednesday
Arrangers some mes have to change at short no ce We will be arranging for Easter on Friday 18th & Saturday 19th April
Clergy and Officers
Claire Jones, Jo Robinson, Margaret Ragge0, Clive Charlton, Sue Howard, Pam Gilbey, John Burbury, Barbara Smith, Jacqui Headland and Rosemary Sturmer.
From The Parish Registers
Funeral At All Saints Church with Crema
21 February Shirley Colwill Aged 90
Funeral At All Saints Church followed by Burial in Churchyard ······································
14 February Paul Edward Gardner Aged 67
04 February Chris?ne Sear Aged 93
06 February Mary Wing
