School in church for end of year service

All Saints CE Primary School filled the church with its pupils parents staff  governors and advisors for the end of year service. The theme was goodbye and go well to Year 6 moving on to secondary schools. Year 6 pupils shared their memories of top moments in their time at the school and there were touching accolades to their Year 6 friends from younger pupils. The whole school sang the Leavers' Song to Year 6 which was a poignant moment. Prayers were led by the children and the school choir sang. Canon David Hodgson talked about the  meaning of goodbye in different languages and how often it is based on a prayer for blessing;   with pupils sharing their knowledge of the word in languages ranging from Romanian to Korean!
Each Year 6 pupil received a copy of the Good News Bible as a gift from All Saints Church.

Tea party in Rectory garden

A family friendly tea party organised by the Mothers Union proved a popular event for all ages today. Some sipped tea and chatted in the shade of the Rectory Garden trees whilst others tried their hand at giant Connect4 or lawn skittles. There were plenty of sandwiches cakes and scones to go round. Anna our new Associate Priest and her husband Andy were there meeting lots of people for the first time. And despite a forecast of a 40% chance of a thunderstorm no rainclouds appeared.

Welcome to Anna

Parishioners and visitors welcomed The Revd Anna Harwood as our new Associate Priest at a special Eucharist led by the Bishop of Reading. Anna's family members and former colleagues and congregation members were among the many visiting supporters some of whom had travelled from her home city of Liverpool. Anna's first official Sunday will be Sunday 20th July when she will preach at the 8am and 9.30am service and help lead the 11am Family Service.