The annual Bible Sunday was celebrated yesterday at All Saints.
In his sermon David the Rector picked up the Bible Society's focus theme this year which is the blessing of owning your own Bible and the call to help the Chinese Church to print and distribute millions of new Bibles in China. David said:
"I'm privileged to be invited as a guest of the Chinese Church to visit China next month with a Bible Society group of British church leaders. We will see the printing of the Bibles first-hand in Nanjing, meet Chinese church leaders and worship with Chinese Christians. A highlight of the trip will be the opportunity to take part in the distribution of free Bibles in one of the rural areas in the region around Suquian City in Eastern China"
Read David's sermon for Bible Sunday with more details about the growing demand for Bibles in China
Latest news and comment from All Saints Parish Church in Wokingham
Monday, 21 October 2013
What's a prayer twirler?
The Reverend Helen Charlton with the prayer twirlers created by the 11am Family Service congregation yesterday.
Revd Helen Charlton congratulated
Applause from the congregation greeted the announcement yesterday that the Reverend Helen Charlton has been licensed by the Bishop of Reading to continue to serve All Saints Parish following the successful completion of her four years of post-ordination training.
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
A weekend of cultural exchange for All Saints Church
Last weekend saw All Saints Church involved in cultural exchange in two directions.
On Sunday afternoon the church was full of people to see the Maasai Warriors from Osiligi in Kenya. They delighted the audience with their jumping, dancing and whistling accompanied by their traditional songs and gospel songs. Earlier in the weekend All Saints Church Choir were the "cultural imports" as they sang Anglican choral music pieces to an audience of over 1000 members of the Reading Indian community at a Bengali cultural festival in the Rivermead centre on Saturday. A return visit to All Saints of performers of Bengali music is promised!
On Sunday afternoon the church was full of people to see the Maasai Warriors from Osiligi in Kenya. They delighted the audience with their jumping, dancing and whistling accompanied by their traditional songs and gospel songs. Earlier in the weekend All Saints Church Choir were the "cultural imports" as they sang Anglican choral music pieces to an audience of over 1000 members of the Reading Indian community at a Bengali cultural festival in the Rivermead centre on Saturday. A return visit to All Saints of performers of Bengali music is promised!
Friday, 11 October 2013
Osiligi Maasai Warriors on their way to Wokingham
Ticket sales for the Osiligi Maasai Warriors concert have been vigorous. Bookends, the book and gift shop on Peach Street, has now sold out of its allocation of tickets and the Parish Office will be closed from 1pm today Friday. Those still wanting to attend without tickets are advised to turn up on the church door from 2pm on Sunday and purchase tickets there. Cash sales only please as there are no electronic payment facilities at the church.
There will be cool drinks and snack refreshments available in the interval and Maasai craft products will also be on sale.
Tickets are £12 fr adults and only £1 for any child or young person under 19 years of age.
There will be cool drinks and snack refreshments available in the interval and Maasai craft products will also be on sale.
Tickets are £12 fr adults and only £1 for any child or young person under 19 years of age.
Guest speaker from the PACT charity at All Saints Parish Communion service this Sunday
This Sunday 13th October All Saints Church will welcome a guest speaker at the 9.30am Parish Communion service. Linda Reid is from the charity Parents and Children Together (PACT). PACT exists to build and strengthen families and to help families to be able to make the very best life for their children, especially those from more vulnerable backgrounds. PACT is a professional agency set up in 1911 as the social welfare arm of the Anglican Diocese of Oxford.
Today PACT continues to be supported by the Oxford Diocese in the area of nurturing family life. In 2011, PACT celebrated 100 years of caring. PACT has a long history of providing adoption and fostering services to couples and single people. In 2012, the agency placed more than 100 children with their forever families.
All Saints Church prays for and donates regularly to the work of PACT. David, the Rector, said, "I'd like to see All Saints Church becoming a key partner parish in the work of PACT. I'm looking for greater awareness across our church membership of the work of PACT for the benefit of vulnerable children and the building of families in the Thames Valley region".
All Saint parish's relationship with PACT was deepened some years ago when the Eric Rand legacy funded a dedicated PACT Family Support Worker in the All Saints Primary School.
Today PACT continues to be supported by the Oxford Diocese in the area of nurturing family life. In 2011, PACT celebrated 100 years of caring. PACT has a long history of providing adoption and fostering services to couples and single people. In 2012, the agency placed more than 100 children with their forever families.
All Saints Church prays for and donates regularly to the work of PACT. David, the Rector, said, "I'd like to see All Saints Church becoming a key partner parish in the work of PACT. I'm looking for greater awareness across our church membership of the work of PACT for the benefit of vulnerable children and the building of families in the Thames Valley region".
All Saint parish's relationship with PACT was deepened some years ago when the Eric Rand legacy funded a dedicated PACT Family Support Worker in the All Saints Primary School.
New Parish Office opening hours to improve access for parishioners
All Saints Church's Parish Office opening hours are changing. From next Monday the office will be open the same hours every weekday Monday to Friday 9.30am until 12.30pm. This replaces a previous pattern where times varied depending on the day.
David, the Rector, said, "We believe this change will make it easier for visitors and callers to access the Parish Office in person if required and improve further the service we offer to our parishioners". Mrs Jo Asplin, Parish Administrator, has said, "Individual pre-booked appointments will be available in the period 12.30pm until 1pm for a parishioner who may be at work themselves or otherwise unable to attend before 12.30pm."
These changes do not affect other existing arrangements whereby any parishioner may book an appointment through the Parish Office to see a member of the clergy either at one of the set times on Monday evening 6.30pm - 7.30pm , or Saturday mornings 10.30am - 11.30am; or at another mutually agreed time.
The Parish Office may be contacted by email at parishoffice@allsaintswokingham.org.uk or telephone 0118 9792797. With the exception of Thursdays parishioners are able to meet one of the clergy team in church at 9am or 5pm when morning and evening prayers occur Monday to Saturday.
David, the Rector, said, "We believe this change will make it easier for visitors and callers to access the Parish Office in person if required and improve further the service we offer to our parishioners". Mrs Jo Asplin, Parish Administrator, has said, "Individual pre-booked appointments will be available in the period 12.30pm until 1pm for a parishioner who may be at work themselves or otherwise unable to attend before 12.30pm."
These changes do not affect other existing arrangements whereby any parishioner may book an appointment through the Parish Office to see a member of the clergy either at one of the set times on Monday evening 6.30pm - 7.30pm , or Saturday mornings 10.30am - 11.30am; or at another mutually agreed time.
The Parish Office may be contacted by email at parishoffice@allsaintswokingham.org.uk or telephone 0118 9792797. With the exception of Thursdays parishioners are able to meet one of the clergy team in church at 9am or 5pm when morning and evening prayers occur Monday to Saturday.
We are still seeking a new Associate Priest
The search continues for a new Associate Priest at All Saints Church Wokingham after the the first round of advertisements failed to provide any candidates suitable for the position. The post is to be re-advertised in the Church Times from 18th October with a new closing date of 12th November. Prayers are asked that the right person will be found. The details of the role may be viewed here.
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
Why no "Animal Blessing" service this year?
There will be no Animal Blessing service at All Saints Church this year.
David, the Rector, has written to explain:
"The Animal Blessing service last year (2012) was very poorly attended. There were 37 adults and 10 children present even though the occasion was attended by the Borough Mayor and the Wokingham M.P. In earlier years we have expected and received attendance figures between 100 and 150 combined adults and children but in recent years this figure has not been achieved. In earlier years there has been a wide diversity of animals present but in 2012 there were 10 dogs only.
Therefore the church Worship Committee reviewed the event and concluded that the current format had run its course as people were no longer choosing to attend. This was in spite of the greater publicity efforts that had been made in 2012 compared with previous years. The Worship Committee has concluded that a new format is needed.
All Saints Church remains absolutely committed to a Christian understanding which acknowledges other sentient creatures as partakers of God's love and care.
As a church we would like to continue to stimulate and enable our local community to celebrate the divine gift of animals, and the life and world humans and other animals share together. But we recognise that a church service in the traditional format may no longer serve this purpose.
We needed more time to consider a new approach and this, coupled with a staff vacancy in the clergy team which we are carrying during this latter half of 2013, meant that we decided not to run an Animal Blessing Service this year.
We welcome sugggestions for a future event format which will meet our objectives"
David, the Rector, has written to explain:
"The Animal Blessing service last year (2012) was very poorly attended. There were 37 adults and 10 children present even though the occasion was attended by the Borough Mayor and the Wokingham M.P. In earlier years we have expected and received attendance figures between 100 and 150 combined adults and children but in recent years this figure has not been achieved. In earlier years there has been a wide diversity of animals present but in 2012 there were 10 dogs only.
Therefore the church Worship Committee reviewed the event and concluded that the current format had run its course as people were no longer choosing to attend. This was in spite of the greater publicity efforts that had been made in 2012 compared with previous years. The Worship Committee has concluded that a new format is needed.
All Saints Church remains absolutely committed to a Christian understanding which acknowledges other sentient creatures as partakers of God's love and care.
As a church we would like to continue to stimulate and enable our local community to celebrate the divine gift of animals, and the life and world humans and other animals share together. But we recognise that a church service in the traditional format may no longer serve this purpose.
We needed more time to consider a new approach and this, coupled with a staff vacancy in the clergy team which we are carrying during this latter half of 2013, meant that we decided not to run an Animal Blessing Service this year.
We welcome sugggestions for a future event format which will meet our objectives"
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Harvest celebrated with a musical feast and raising funds for the world's poorest people
At our Harvest Celebration evening service All Saints Church Choir and Richard our Director of Music were joined by the Rotherhurst String Quartet and visiting accompanying organist Nicholas Woods to offer a wonderful performance of Vivaldi's stirring Gloria within the context of an evening service. The singing of the Gloria in Latin was interspersed by readings of the English translation and readings from the Bible as well as congregational hymns. With 150 people in attendance it was the largest congregation at an evening service since the successful Pentecost Evensong in May, also led by All Saints Church Choir. Over £200 was raised from the retiring collection for our Harvest charity The Miriam Dean Fund which directly funds health and development projects in the poorest communities of the world
Church says thank you to music group leader
Words of appreciation and thanks were expressed and a gift of a plant was made to music group leader Gail at the Harvest Festival 9.30am service. Gail has stepped down after leading the music group for more than 25 years. During that time the group has led the introduction into All Saints' worship of hymns and songs from Taize, Iona, and writers like Graham Kendrick.
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