Thought for the week from Rev'd Vicci plus an anonymous writing - ‘One solitary life’

Brothers and Sisters

In my pre-ordained ministry days, I was a church organist.  I was in my early twenties and like many free-lance performers, taking on more work than I really had time to do for fear that next month there would be nothing and so I ended up not arranging for the pianos to be tuned as early as I should have.  There was a rehearsal where the piano in the choir vestry was really rather bad.  Two days later, one of my altos rang me.  “I know you will be on top of this,” she said, “But I am seeing my piano tuner tomorrow and I wondered if it would be helpful if I asked if he had time to do the pianos at the church?  I’m sure you have planned it, but if you haven’t had the time to ring anyone, I could take that job off you.”  It was the kindest, most loving offer of help, while at the same time reminding me of my obligations, that I have ever had.  I took her up on the offer with great thanks, but she never had to make it again. 

During our lives, we meet many of these every-day saints.  They are not going to win “Britain’s got talent”, they would cringe if they were in the newspapers, and they take pride in living restrained and orderly lives.  Yet the impact they have on the people around them is significant.  Here I am, telling you a story that is 30 years old and yet it affected not just the quality of the day or the week in which it happened, but my whole approach to reminding, nagging or otherwise giving people what for! 

None of us will have the impact on the lives of those around us that Jesus did.  Perhaps this is one of the proofs of his divinity.  But all of us can seek to be a force for good in the lives of those whom we live, work and socialise with.  As we come towards what we all hope will be the end of the final lockdown, it is tempting to want to tell people off when we see them disobeying the rules, and yet we know that the harsh word will only send our adrenaline levels up and may have little or no effect on the person we are speaking to.  Ultimately, God’s love is not about letting people walk all over us, but it is about removing the plank from our own eyes, so that we can see to help our brother or sister with the speck that is in theirs, it is about judging not that we be not judged, it is about loving our neighbour as ourselves.  And so I pray for all of us patience with ourselves and with each other and a safe journey on the path laid out on the road map with which we have been presented. 

God bless

Vicci  

‘One solitary life’

(This is an anonymous writing that some of you may know. It is thoughtfully written and especially so to people who don’t know, as we do, how amazing and wonderful our Lord is!)

‘Here is a young man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty and then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He did none of those things we normally associate with greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

While he was still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth, and that was his coat. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed tomb, through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race, and the leader of the column of progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings (and queens) that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as has that …………. One solitary life!

The long-awaited road map, a Reflection by Richard & Rosie’s Rainbow Fund - read all about it!

Newsletter Thought for the Week – 28th February 2021

Brothers and Sisters

The long-awaited road map has been published and we can see a path back to normality in front of us.  It is a longer path than many of us had hoped for, but a shorter path than some scientists had warned us might be required, and we pray that the time and care will mean that we can come out of Covid restrictions without the fear of needing to go back in again.   Many of you will have received your first vaccination and if all continues to go as hoped and planned for, then the conversations of the summer may be about what we want to do next year and not whether we will be able to do it.  If the Annual Church Meeting will have to be by Zoom, it is because by so-doing we will be able to have a Harvest Supper with Barn-Dance in the Autumn.  

Those of you who joined us for the Zoom service last week will know that I linked the experience of Jesus in the desert with that of the Jewish people after the Exodus, and on into our own desert experiences over the last year.  As Moses handed over leadership of the people to Joshua, God said to him, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”  (Deuteronomy 31:6).  God is speaking to Joshua about leading the people into the Promised Land and about the people who are already there.  This story of conquest and battle is disturbing to our modern sensitivities but the promise of a God who goes before us preparing the way, is a promise we can all hear with hope in these times.  We are again reminded that God leads, but it is the actions of his followers that result in success or failure.  Having led them to the borders, the people of Israel still had to do the work of entering and fighting, settling and working the land; trying to follow God in the good times as well as the bad. 

As things start to re-open, we will be encouraged to play our part in the re-energising of our economy, to spend and go out and engage as much as possible when we are allowed to do so, and I am really looking forward to that.  But we know that this year has given many people time and space to think about the things of faith.  Let’s not lose that hard-fought ground.  Let’s be awake and aware to those who are questioning and if we have used this time to re-engage with reading, prayer and quiet-time in the practice of our own faith, let us not lose that in the excitement and the joy of re-engaging with the outside world over the future months. 

God bless

Vicci

A Reflection - by Richard

“For many years, my job was to repair aircraft equipment which went on a variety of airplanes from the Airbus 380 to the Red Arrows. The faulty items would come back from many different countries, and as I took them apart and worked on them, I would often ponder that all around the world there were items that I had touched. In my current job I have occasionally tested components for satellites, and so items I have touched are now out in Space too!

Throughout our lives we ‘touch’ many other people’s lives in many different situations. With family or friends, we may have relationships that span decades, whilst other people we may meet only once and never again. However, the effect we have on others is not directly proportional to the amount of time we spend with them. An act of kindness towards a stranger may be remembered for years; equally, losing our temper with another road user or being short with a shop assistant can also leave its mark. For the Christian, these daily interactions can present a challenge, because they are informed by our faith in Christ. This is a tall order because Jesus’ actual touch would often mean physical healing and a chance encounter with him could be life changing.

In John 4: 1-26 we read of the woman who goes to the local well one day to draw water for her family. As she approaches the well, she sees a strange man sitting there, it is Jesus. He is thirsty but has no means of getting water from the well, but his simple request for a drink completely throws her. Why should a strange man from a different culture even speak to her, let alone ask her for a drink? But for Jesus it is merely a way of starting a conversation, a conversation that will turn her life around. This woman who arrived with an empty water jar but a life full of insecurities and burdens, leaves them all behind as she dashes back to tell her friends and family about this man she has just met, a man who knew her better than she knew herself. She even leaves her water jar behind in her excitement!

We may not have the life changing powers of Jesus, but in these difficult times, we do well to remember that a listening ear and few well-chosen words can make a big difference. We may never know the effect that the things we do or say may have on others, but if we consider the way Jesus treated each person that he met, we cannot go far wrong… we may even lead someone a little closer to him.

As I sit at my desk typing I wonder who will read this, I know that previously the newsletter has been read in Kent, Oxford and even as far as New Zealand. My prayer is that you may all experience the touch of Jesus on your life … wherever in the world you may be!

Richard

Rosie’s Rainbow Fund - Rev’d Vicci

It was announced last week that Church Council had decided to embark upon a period of fundraising to be split between the Church and Rosie’s Rainbow Fund and to culminate in a big celebration for the 30th anniversary of the refurbishment of the building.

Rosie’s Rainbow Fund is a Maidenhead Charity that puts music therapists into hospitals across Berkshire to work with children, particularly those who are long-term sick. It provides music therapy for special needs children in schools and centres around Berks, Bucks and Oxon, and supports disabled children in schools and respite centres with essential equipment. It also provides specialist counsellors for those have experienced the death of a child. Like many small charities, it has found the last year very difficult with the usual fund-raising activities cancelled or curtailed, and when I wrote to the Chair and founder, Carolyn Keston after Church Council, she said that they were desperate to be able to get their therapists back into the hospitals.

Carolyn is Rosie’s mum and was my boss when I taught at Redroofs Theatre School and I knew and taught Rosie from age three until she died when she was 12. Rosie was a very talented performer and singer and was passionate about doing something to help other sick children. After she died, the family felt that setting up a charity that would help these children through music would be a fantastic way of honouring Rosie’s memory and I was really pleased when Church Council decided that this would be the most appropriate charity for us to fundraise for over this period.

If you would like to find out more about this wonderful charity, then please visit the website: rosiesrainbowfund.co.uk

God bless

Vicci

Rev’d Vicci's thought for the week

Brothers and Sisters As I look out of the window this morning at the lightly falling snow, I wonder, as we all do, what the spring will bring. I have a hopeful daffodil blossoming under the kitchen window, yellow head nodding under a shower of white sleet, and it reminds me of my own experience: hoping for a good spring and yet knowing that at the moment we are still in the winter. We are in the winter as a nation battling Covid-19; we are in the winter as a congregation seeking God’s direction for the next decades; we are in the winter as people hoping to be allowed to hug our friends and meet for coffee and potter around garden centres, galleries and theatres.

When Jesus walked this earth, the Jewish people too were in a kind of winter. Occupied by Rome, they struggled to find ways to live at peace. Many of the leaders of the day achieved this by coming to some sort of accommodation with the conquering army, others tried to rebel, while others were focused on getting through each day and tried not to let it impinge upon them too much.

Faced, not with an occupying virus, but an occupying army, Jesus went around healing and teaching – sharing food and fellowship along with a unique understanding of the love of God.

There will be days when the very existence of the pandemic and its impact on our lives may challenge our faith. On those days, it is worth remembering that although there were people who wanted Jesus to lead them in a military coup against the oppressor, that is not what he offered. Instead, he taught them to be God’s people in the middle of an occupied land; to trust that God would lead them and feed them, but not fulfil their every wish like some genie in a lamp or great Father Christmas in the sky.

Times like this help us to readdress our theology. When we catch ourselves asking God, “Why have you let this happen?” and then remember all the other times that bad things happened to good people we are reminded that our faith is not about sunshine every day, but rainbows glimmering after the storm, freedom after slavery, hope after fear, resurrection after death and love after all seems lost. Perhaps the real reason it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven is that when we need nothing, there is no reason to pray; when we have everything we want by the work of our own hands, we have no reason to thank; when we are well, we have no need of healing; and when all our needs are met, we do not notice the poverty of our spirits, nor do we remember to bring our cares to God. God bless

Vicci

Prayers for the Nation

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby invites everyone to join him at 6 pm each day during February. Please follow this link: https://www.churchofengland.org

Thought for the week from Rev'd Vicci, Thames Valley Sound of Music Lent Bible Study & Prayers for the Nation

Brothers and Sisters

I wonder how many years it has been since you last read the Narnia books; that wonderful fantasy series that begins with “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” set in wartime England where four children are evacuated to a house in the country and discover a different world accessed through the back of a magical wardrobe?  It was of course, written by C.S. Lewis and is therefore as theologically sound a fantasy series as you are likely to find and the wonderful dedication reminds us that although we may outgrow fairy-tales, we also grow back into them at some point.  If you have not read it recently, it would be a lovely way to while away some lockdown days. 

In “The Silver Chair” C.S. Lewis says this: “Crying is alright in its way while it lasts.  But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.”  As we continue to travel hopefully towards a post-lockdown world, while grieving for the lives of over 100 000 people in this country and over 2.2 million deaths world-wide from covid-19, we are encouraged to pray.  The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have suggested that Christians in this country might commit to specifically covid-related prayer at 6pm every day this month and certainly, whether or not that is a discipline you wish to hold, we will all be praying consistently for the needs of the country and the world in this crisis. 

I often wonder what happened to Lazarus after he returned from death.  Surely, life would have been different.  Surely, he couldn’t just have carried on as if nothing had happened.  Would he have felt joyful to be given a second chance?  Would he have felt that he had a responsibility to live the second part of his life more fully, more joyously, in a more God-centred way?  We are not told.  Still, it seems to me that he would have taken this new lease of life and lived it with all the joy and all the love and all the faith that he could muster.

In the face of our faith and hope, tempered with the grief of what we are witnessing, well-meaning people will tell you “It’s okay to not be okay”.  I would go further.  Faced with the death of his friend, even knowing what he was going to respond by calling Lazarus back to life, Jesus wept.  I would suggest that we need to not be okay and that if these times are not affecting us adversely then we are refusing to process them.  Some of us will be able to remain fairly upbeat and some will suffer attacks of depression and anxiety – we all deal with things differently because we have all lived different lives in different bodies with different chemical make-ups.  C S Lewis was right on both counts: “Crying is alright in its way” and also plans must be made, hopes must be allowed to stir and then we must decide what to do.  Grief does not last for ever, but let’s not fail to grieve when it is called for.  It is a part of loving and we should allow ourselves to experience it on behalf of the world in such times. 

God bless

Vicci   

The Sound of Music Lent Bible Study

Last year, when we went into the first lockdown during Lent, some wag put "This is the Lentiest Lent I have ever Lented" on Facebook and it was shared by thousands of people with whom it resonated.  As we think about entering Lent once more, we have not really left those initial feelings behind.  There is a sense in which, however hard we tried to celebrate and mark the passage of the Church year, we have been in the desert since last March.  The Circuit staff felt that this was not the time to embark upon a Bible Study that addressed some of the more traditional themes of Lent but that instead we needed something a little more uplifting, something that resonated with living through difficult times but held out hope, joy and Julie Andrews!  This year, the Lent Bible Study has been written by the Circuit Staff and will look at songs from one of the most popular musicals ever, linking them to major Biblical themes and allowing us to meet together over Zoom to reflect on climbing mountains, remember favourite things and wonder if somewhere the hills are still alive with the Sound of Music.  Join us on Ash Wednesday and subsequent Wednesdays in Lent (not the 3rd of March) at 7:30 for an hour of fun,song, Bible Study and prayer.

Prayers for the Nation

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby invites everyone to join him at 6 pm each day during February. Please follow this link: https://www.churchofengland.org

Thought for the week from Rev’d Vicci and news from our district

Our Superintendent Minister, Rev’d Vicci Davidson’s thought for the week

Brothers and Sisters I know that you will not all have managed to log on to the excellent service that Revd Anne Ellis led last week on Jonah, but you will be very familiar with the story – a story that we have heard told in various ways since childhood. Reflecting on it over the last two days, it seems to me that we are very much in the belly of the whale right now. By and large, so long as we stick to the rules and stay at home where we can, we are kept safe; but we are constrained and restricted and for many of us it is not comfortable.

Yet eventually, as it was with Jonah, we will come out of this and we will go out and about. Initially that will be a careful unlocking into tiers and eventually, perhaps taking as long as another year, we will be able to meet and eat and sing together.

We don’t often think of the world in which we live as being like Ninevah, and I don’t think we should, but nevertheless we should be different to the world. It should feel slightly foreign to us because we are espousing a different way of living. I wonder what that will be like for us when we return to whatever normality looks like after lockdowns and tiers are over. What different and distinctive message do we want to bring as Church when we leave the belly of the whale? How will we deliver that message to our communities? How will we demonstrate to the world that we are different and that this difference is an all-encompassing, amazing way of living and loving through relationship with Jesus?

I suppose that we demonstrate that through the way that we live and love – proving God is in us because what we offer and who we are is unusual, extra-ordinary, unexpected and life-affirming. I wonder how we might do that? I wonder how we might show that? I wonder how we might live that life? A life that says “When Jesus came, he said that he had come so that ‘they might have life in all its fullness’ and that is for me and for you, for your children and your children’s children until the end of time.”

For many of us, our faith is such a part of who we are and has been for so long, that we forget just how special it is. When we step out of the belly of the whale, I wonder what message God has put on your heart to deliver to the world around us.

God bless

Vicci

DISTRICT TESTIMONY SERVICE – Rev Dan Balsdon 

Message from our Superintendent Vicci:

Testimony services, being received into full connexion and ordination are all very different this year because of the pandemic. and Dan should have been ordained last year.  He was received into full connexion at Conference, but it was not possible for ordinations to happen, and the District hoped that by postponing his testimony service, there would be an opportunity for face-to-face fellowship once more.  Sadly, this has not happened, and the decision has been taken to have Dan's testimony service online.  Although he may not be well known in this Circuit, it is an opportunity for us to take part in some small way in District-wide worship and in support of a new presbyter.  I hope that at least some of you will be able to "tune in" to the service on Youtube on the 7th February.

Message from our District:

Following the weekly Superintendents’ meeting earlier this week please find below the YouTube details for the District Testimony Service which is taking place on

Sunday, 7 February 2021 at 6 pm.  It will be live streamed via YouTube starting a little before 6 pm to allow time for you to join the service.  Access is either from Dan’s circuit website

https://westsussexcoastanddownscircuit.co.uk/2021/01/21/district-testimony-service/

or by the direct YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo-lyusGbXMszrVxswo-hNg/live

Thames Valley Circuit: Pastoral Letter January 2021

Brothers and Sisters

I don’t know about you, but I always get a little bit of energy at the beginning of a new year. However many times people tell me that the 1st of January is just another day, there is something about that brand new year that sets my brain to thinking about planning in new ways, making new starts and of course, New Year’s resolutions. It reminds me of the excitement of getting a new jotter in primary school with that pristine first page, and the determination to do my very best handwriting.

God understands the power of new beginnings and offers it through forgiveness of sin and the opportunity to repent: to turn away from old ways and into new paths. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old is gone, the new is here.” Every year, either in early January or September, Methodists hold the Covenant service that reminds us of that new beginning, re-promising to God all that we have and all that we are.

Yet this year has been different. We looked hopefully to 2021, and of course, it is likely that the ending of the year will be better, but just now it seems harder than ever. The numbers are going up, the NHS is under unprecedented pressure, we know people who have died or been very ill because of COVID and yet when we do go out, there are still people taking risks, not just with their own health, but with ours. It is hard.

I find myself turning again to that well-trodden, well-loved passage in the 23rd Psalm. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. For you are with me, your rod and staff they comfort me…Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of God for ever.”

This Psalm is believed to be written by King David either when he was hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him before he became king, or from his own son Absalom who wanted to kill him and take the throne. He was probably in a cave, locked down, afraid to go out. Yet he could still write that he believed God was with him, even in the dark times, even if he died. The year will get better, but we are in for more valley before we get to climb to the peaks. In the valley it is dark, and sometimes frightening, but God is with us and all valleys end and all paths start to move upwards towards the sun. As we step forward in hope this new year, let us keep the faith, obeying the stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives rules; remembering the advice to take extra vitamin D(*) while we are not able to be outside as much and looking out for those of our neighbours who may struggling.

The God who spreads a table in the presence of our enemies will not forget to bring us through to a time when we can once more have pot-luck lunches, Harvest Suppers and faith teas. 2021 is a year of hope, but it is longed for and journeyed towards not given to us with a bang on an arbitrary date. In the meantime, stay safe, know you are loved and till we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

God bless

Vicci (Revd Vicci Davidson Circuit Superintendent)

(*) Public Health England: Statement from PHE and NICE on vitamin D supplementation during winter. Notices for week commencing Sunday 24 January 2021

And finally, a lovely hymn from Singing the Faith 409):

Let us build a house where hands will reach

beyond the wood and stone

to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,

and live the Word they've known.

Here the outcast and the stranger

bear the image of God's face;

let us bring an end to fear and danger:

All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

( Well you certainly will be when we are open!!)

Covenant Service via Zoom this Sunday 17th January

Brothers and Sisters

After the star, the dim day.

After the gifts, the empty hands.

And now we take our secret way

Back to far lands.

After the cave, the bleak plain.

After the joy, the weary ride.

But journey we, three new-made men,

Side by side.

Came we by old paths by the sands.

Go we by new ones this new day,

Homewards to rule our lives and lands

By another way.

This poem, written by an unknown author and quoted in Celtic Daily Light by Ray Simpson, feels already to be about another time of year.  Surely, Christmas with its stories of a baby in a manger, of angels and shepherds and wise men is over for another year.  And yet, as I write this on the Tuesday before you read it, we are only six days after Epiphany.  Christmas comes and goes so quickly and though we remind ourselves to keep Christmas every day in our hearts, even in a normal year, that is hard to do, and this year is hardly a normal one. 

And yet we are called, by the story of wise men, travelling towards an unknown ending, to step out into the new year in faith and in hope.  More than that, because we are not those first travellers, we know the ending of the story, we know what they found and who he grew to be.  We are truly called to journey joyfully, new-made and side by side as we prepare to make our Covenant together and to remind ourselves once more of our calling to serve God and his promise that we will be his people. 

Not all of you will be able to join me in our Zoom Covenant Service and the Covenant Prayer is printed below so that you may speak it with us at around 11 am on Sunday. 

Methodist Covenant Prayer

I am no longer my own, but thine.  Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering*. Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

 * Note that in this prayer the word “suffering” is used in the sense of “patiently enduring” - the opposite of “doing”. We are not inviting God to inflict pain on us.

And may the Covenant we now speak on earth by ratified in Heaven.

God bless

Vicci

A message from our Minister Rev’d Vicci, a Reflection from Shirley and some Circuit News

Brothers and Sisters

As I write this, we are once more plunged back into lockdown. My children are attending zoom meetings at odd hours to find out if they are to be furloughed again and my husband is girding up his loins as numbers of funerals increase. I wrote last week about the darkness before the dawn, but it seems it is still to get darker. And yet, we have a hope that is steadfast and certain and I find myself again and again being drawn back to a teenage memory of a preacher quoting another preacher – a famous sermon, so wonderful that 35 years later I still remember it, so wonderful that it can be found printed out on the internet, that amazing repository of human endeavour and God-given understanding.

The preacher quoted was Shadrach Meshach Lockridge and the sermon, too long to reproduce here begins:

It’s Friday Jesus is praying

Peter’s a sleeping

Judas is betraying

But Sunday’s coming… …

and ends…

It’s Friday Jesus is buried A soldier stands guard

And a rock is rolled into place

But it’s Friday

It is only Friday

Sunday is a coming.

Brothers and sisters, it is Friday and it will be a long Friday and a long Saturday, but we have a vaccine, we have a plan, we have an extraordinary group of people ready to execute that plan, we have a level of resilience that humanity finds over and over again when things become difficult. It’s Friday, and Saturday will be a long day. But Sunday is a coming.

This Friday I shall have the honour and the sorrow of conducting the Funeral of Neville Smith, a man who I spoke to only twice and only on the telephone. It will be the first funeral that I conduct in this Circuit, but it won’t be the last. Friday is tough, and it is not over quickly, but Sunday’s coming and we are a Sunday people, we are a resurrection people, we are an Easter people. As we prepare for this next period of waiting and watching of staying home, (2) protecting the NHS and saving lives, we remember that we are doing it so that we are all here to stand together on Easter morning and celebrate Sunday once again.

God bless.

Vicci

A Reflection on ‘Christmas’ by Shirley

Recently, I found myself pondering on the word ‘Christmas’. Obviously, we all know Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, hence ‘Christ’ and then the syllable ‘mas’ which we understand as coming from ‘mass’ church services, and also associated with the celebration of saints lives. Hence (3) there is no other name for the great celebration other than ‘Christmas’. As I dwelt on this, I thought sadly of all the people to who don’t see Christmas as the great celebration of the birth of Jesus but only as a celebration of families/friends getting together with material presents (often unnecessary indulgences), pretty decorations, and eating and drinking. Not necessarily wrong but oh so sad to know what they are missing! Maybe for them, as they take the ’Christ’ out of ‘Christmas’, they are left with M and S! No disrespect to Marks and Spencer!! So, as our job is spread the ‘Good News’, we’ve got our work cut out …….

Prayer: ‘Holy Father, please give us the love, wisdom, and energy we need to melt their hearts, and open their eyes and minds to You.’

News from the Circuit

Conference declared 2020/2021 a year of prayer so that our Church-wide commitments to evangelism, church growth, church at the margins, and pioneering and church planting will flow from a deep, contemplative orientation to God’s grace and love. Be part of this movement of prayer as we ask the Holy Spirit to help us be a growing, evangelistic, inclusive, justice-seeking Church of gospel people.

Weekly Online Prayer Meeting - Tuesdays at 12.45pm. Join others across the Methodist Church to pray together every Tuesday from 12.45 to 1.00pm You will need to copy and paste this link into your browser:

https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-work/our-work-in-britain/evangelismgrowth/year-of-prayer/

You will need to register to receive weekly prayer guidance. To join on zoom one has to register but once you have the link it works every week. It starts promptly but sometimes it goes on for a minute or so but always down before 1.03 pm.

A New Year message from Rev'd Vicci & some words of encouragement

Dear Brothers and Sisters It feels counter-intuitive does it not, that having had such a curtailed Christmas, and receiving the news that the vaccine has not just been discovered but is now rolling out across the country, we should have to shut the church again. Yet we have grown up knowing the saying “the night is always darkest towards the dawn” and can perhaps understand the need.

My father, who had been a military man and then a light-house keeper and had therefore extensive experiences of night watches, used to complain about the verse in the hymn

“O God, our help in ages past” that says: “

A thousand ages in thy sight

Are like an evening gone

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.”

He would say that anyone who had experienced a night watch would know that the watch that ends the night drags at snail’s pace and feels twice as long as any other watch. He would grimace or refuse to sing it, depending upon his mood. My Grandmother on the other hand, objected to verse 6:

“Time, like an ever-rolling stream

Bears all its sons away

They fly forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.”

She said that God remembered everyone and that therefore it was a nonsense verse and she would not only refuse to sing it, but would glare around the congregation in a flat fury that anyone would so far forget their theology as to sing it at all.

They were an eccentric family, and you really did not want to be in the congregation for “O God our help in ages past” if they were both there! But in the end, Isaac Watts had the right of it, if not in terms of night watches and the forgotten of the world, then in this; that God has been our help in ages past and is our hope for the years to come; our guardian in life and the home to which we will return. In the words of John the Gospel writer, “We have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

I pray that whatever Christmas brought you this year, you did indeed see His glory and that in the year to come, if the final watch of this dark COVID night is not short, it will at least be blessed with the knowledge of the presence of God and of the light that came into the world and that the darkness could not overcome. (2) May you have a blessed New Year, may you stay safe and come to spend time with all your loved ones, and as we look forward to Easter, may it be a time when the Gospel story of resurrection resonates through this whole country in a way that is more powerful and more real than we have yet experienced in our lifetimes.

God bless Vicci’

Christian Aid – update re the Windsor Carolathon

Congratulations and thanks to all those involved in any way with organising and contributing to the Windsor Carolathon on December 20th. It was an uplifting event which raised £2,020 (ironic for the year 2020!)

Words of Encouragement:

“A new year is usually a time for good resolutions, sometimes serious, sometimes frivolous. This year it is not so easy when we are in the middle of a pandemic, uncertain about the future and distanced from our normal support groups. We could perhaps make a list of things (and people) to be grateful for, make more use of modern technology to contact friends and family, some of whom may have had a rather bleak Christmas, and be more assiduous in prayer and Bible reading. Sometimes a sentence from the Bible will leap out with new significance. Above all, let us trust God and stay positive.

One of my favourite texts is from 2 Timothy 1 v. 7 (A.V.)” ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’

The church is closed for worship

It is with regret the church is currently closed for services but watch this space for updates.

In the meantime keep safe and well.

God Bless.

Sadly all Christmas services are now cancelled.

With regret all Christmas services have now been cancelled due to the evolving Covid restrictions.

Please watch this space for further updates.

God Bless and stay safe this Christmas.

An original Christmas song composed by 7th Windsor Brownies & Rev'd Vicci....

Message from our Minister, Rev’d Vicci ‘Brothers and Sisters Well, what a week it’s been! I thought that it would all be quite quiet this December with Covid restrictions making life so different, but the church family has managed to make all sorts of exciting things happen. Last Tuesday, I got to hang out with the Brownies on Zoom (many thanks to Rachel and Rebecca) and we wrote a carol. It was an extraordinary accomplishment as they wrote the words in 15 minutes. I asked the children to give me an idea for a line, and then a second line and so on, so it was very organic and they all contributed. I thought you would enjoy reading what they came up with, so here it is!

1 Snow-dusted trees sway in the breeze

While happy children play away in the snow

Hibernating hedgehogs snuggled safely in bed

Fires are crackling in the homes.

2 Frost covers the houses while families layer

Their Christmas trees in tinsel, snow falls on the ground.

Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem

The inns are full so they go to a barn.

3 Stars shine brightly overhead Jesus is born,

Jesus is born Stars shine brightly overhead

Jesus is born this Bethlehem dawn.

4 Robins hop from window to window

Singing through the long cold night

Jesus is born in a manger

A child who brings the light.

5 Now he is here, our Lord and Saviour Jesus is born,

Jesus is born Now he is here, our Lord and Saviour

Jesus is born this Bethlehem dawn.

Isn’t that fabulous? We only had 15 minutes because I also spoke to them about the ukulele group that we are starting and showed them a bit about how the ukulele works, so I am really hoping that next Christmas we will have lots of them to come and sing their work to you. However, this time we really had such a short amount of time that I left them to the wonderful crafts that their leaders had for them and spent the next 20 minutes writing a tune for their lyrics, before signing back on to sing it to them. I am so pleased with it, and with their tremendous work, that I am going to be singing it during the carol service on the 20th so I really hope that lots of you will be able to come to that.

I will sign off now and take the opportunity to wish you the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

God bless,

Vicci

Windsor Foodshare - Thank you!

A very big thank you to all who generously contributed to the Windsor Foodshare via church these last two weeks, we took a whole boot-full (and it’s a big boot) to the Baptist church this last Thursday.

Brilliant - Thank you!

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!

LOOKING FORWARD TO BETTER TIMES IN 2021…….

GOD BLESS

WINDSOR CHRISTIAN AID GROUP - a ‘CAROLATHON’

WINDSOR CHRISTIAN AID GROUP

is raising money for the

CHRISTIAN AID CHRISTMAS APPEAL

with a ‘CAROLATHON’

on SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER: 12noon – 7pm

We will be singing carols from 12 noon – 6pm on Sunday 20 December and finishing with a livestreamed Carol Service from Holy Trinity Garrison Church at 6pm. The Carolathon will be performed on Zoom and livestreamed to YouTube.

With singing and many live performances curtailed this year, we invite you to join us in our carolling marathon for Christian Aid. Might YOU be one of our Gold or Silver Star Performers or one of our Pearls – a Sponsor or Supporter.    To join see the ‘How to get involved’ sheet (attached) or contact Sarah Gardner (sarah.gardnerlobo@gmail.com) & Elaine Foakes (elaine@foakes.me.uk).

The Christmas Appeal

This year the Christian Aid Christmas Appeal is supporting mothers like Kawite living in Ethiopia on the frontline of the climate crisis and young people like Imote in Nigeria struggling to support his siblings during the pandemic.

Please help us build hope for these families and bring Christmas

A Boxing Day walk......

Boxing Day Walk In these covid-restricted times we are all missing the opportunity to meet together socially. However, we know that outdoor meetings are far safer and at the moment we are allowed to meet outside in groups of up to six in Windsor. We are therefore going to offer a Boxing Day walk and if there are more than six of us, we will just set off at intervals.

The idea is to meet at an appropriate carpark and try either Queen Anne's Ride or if it is too muddy, go through to Long Walk. Opinion in the leadership team is divided as to whether we would be better going for the morning (10-1130) or the afternoon (2 - 3:30). Could those who are interested contact Vicci or Alison and let them know which they would prefer and we will confirm the details next week.

God bless,

Vicci

Lots happening this week! And a Christmas message from Rev’d Vicci read on!!

Help to feed our neighbours ……. Windsor Foodshare update -

There will be hamper placed at church for you to drop your festive goodies into – Thank you! The hamper will be there for Sunday 13th. If you are unable to drop items at church but would still like to contribute then please phone: Peter & Sue to arrange an alternative. We will, also, arrange delivery of all collected items to Baptist Church Smith’s Lane in plenty of time for Christmas.

They would love to include some treats in the food parcels they give out this Christmas and make this festive time special for local families. Festive goods list:

• Selection boxes

• Christmas cake

• Biscuits

• Christmas crackers

• Plum pudding

• Or to give some much-needed financial support please follow the link:

donations@windsorfoodshare.org.uk

Toy Service cancelled but …..

We are not too late to help with the Salvation Army at Staines Toy Appeal 2020, they have a Just Giving page and they would love to receive donations via that means. They will then be able to purchase toys of gift vouchers for the children. If the donors could mention “Christmas Present Appeal” in the text, then it can be directed the right way. The link is: http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stainessalvationarmy

Christmas Angels: update from Rev’d Vicci In my message for Sunday 15 November, I invited all ‘knitters/crocheters” to create angels to give away. If you missed it, the knitted angel project encourages churches to knit/crochet angels, attach a small label saying “A gift from Windsor Methodist Church” and including our website, and bring them to church to be blessed on the 20th of December. Following the blessing, the knitters will then distribute them by putting them through neighbours doors and leaving them on walls and trees to be picked up by delighted strangers passing by, thereby helping to spread the message of hope and kindness across Windsor this Christmas, sharing once more the Good News that angels first sang to the world! For those who haven’t started yet, the pattern can be found here: http://www.christmasangel.net/wpcontent/uploads/2014/09/Christmas-Angel.pdf

A message from Vicci:

This year we put our Christmas decorations up on the 1st of December. I don’t really approve of this – as children, we were not allowed to put the decorations up before Christmas Eve - but my children have pushed the boundaries and when they became adults, I had to give in. It means that in my house the perennial “now and not yet” of Advent is worked out in a very visual way. The decorations are up, the presents are bought and wrapped, the cards are written, even the pudding is made. Yet at my desk, I wrestle with sermons on John, ancient prophecies, and an angel’s visit to Mary. My sitting room glows with stars and angels, babies and Father Christmas while in my office, God speaks to the Children of Israel through the prophets. Christmas is coming, but it’s not here yet. The baby has been born, but his birthday is not today. The now and not yet is mirrored in contemporary, covid-storied life with the news of a vaccine to be rolled out any day now. We are nearly there. We have nearly come through this difficult time, but it is not yet. and if we behave as if we have already got there, we run risks that may put our most vulnerable in danger.

Just as it is dangerous to behave as if we have already come to the end of covid-led restrictions, so it is dangerous to have Christmas without Advent and Easter without Lent and Harvest without sowing seed because we forget that there is work to be done. Preparing for Christmas is about opening our hearts and minds to the reality of God who gave up on sending us prophets and came himself. The enormity of such a statement is lost to us if we don’t prepare ourselves for it because it is so extraordinary.

We went into lockdown during Lent. My friend sent me a card that said: This is the Lentiest Lent I have ever Lented! In a way, we are still in Lent. Easter came, but it was hard to celebrate the Good News of a risen Saviour when we ourselves were entombed in our houses and not a little in our fear. And now it is Advent and Christmas too will be strange and unlike Christmases we have known. Nevertheless, Jesus rose, the Holy Spirit came and here at the beginning of the church year, a baby will be born and his name will be called “Wonderful, Counsellor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” May you know God this Christmastide in real and wonderful ways. May you receive the counsel you need, the strength and the care, and may peace surround your home this Christmas and always.

Happy Christmas!

Vicci.

From Rev'd Vicci

In the song Jesus Christ, Superstar, lyricist Tim Rice wonders if Jesus couldn’t have come at a better time in history.  As he points out, “Israel in 4BC had no mass communication.”  But of course, this is not entirely true.  At the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire was at its height and its levels of organisation enabled travel and the sending of letters more efficiently than had ever been seen before.  Arguably, Jesus came the earliest he could in order for the message to spread to a global audience. 

However, it is also true, that we have at our disposal methods of communication that go way beyond anything Paul or any of the disciples could have dreamed of.  One of the ways in which this happens is via social media, a network of computer threads linking friends with friends of friends and with people who have expressed an interest in things that we are interested in.  For example, someone looking for a Methodist Church in Windsor can find, not just our website, but also a Facebook page.  The way search engines work, the more people use a website or the more people who like and contribute to a Facebook page, the higher up the list they appear when people search for them.  Someone putting in “Churches in Windsor” to a search engine, will get a list that is headed by Windsor Baptist Church.  We are sixth in that list.  Similarly, if you put that search term into Facebook, various churches come up, of which we are one. 

If we want people looking for a church in Windsor to find us first, we need to increase the number of times we engage with our Facebook page (Windsor Methodist Church) and website (windsormethodist.church).  Philippa and Sue do a lot of work on these sites to keep them up to date, so do keep on checking them, engage with them (you can talk back on Facebook!) and let’s keep our friends of the future in the loop.   Tell your children and grandchildren to like the page and post things for us to enjoy, whether that be messages, pictures, prayer requests or prayer answers.  Bear in mind that these are public fora so you won’t want to put everything up there, but in these difficult times, they give us the opportunity to stay in touch, to share our experiences and to remember that we are not just a church in Windsor, we are a family of people who have come to share a love and a real relationship through Christ Jesus. 

Magic Show on 19 December via Zoom

Fun for all the family.

The Thames Valley Methodist Circuit will be hosting a magic show via Zoom as part of the Christmas Program of activities. The Magician is also looking for willing volunteers to support the show, so please register your interest on sign-up. Zoom details will be provided prior to the event.

Please join us for this hour of wonder and amazement. Don't forgot to tell your friends!

Click on the link below to sign up:

https://methodistmaidenhead.churchsuite.com/events/blpbjygr

Good News, A Message from Rev'd Vicci and News from Windsor Foodshare

Great news: our church building will be open again for Services as from Sunday 6 December!

As before, Covid regulations still apply and booking is essential.

Message from our Minister, Rev’d Vicci for 29 November

Thought for the day: Are you a consumer or are you a practitioner? As I look at all that there is around, online and on paper, and as I am being asked and asking others what the world will look like for the Church in the coming days and months, this is the question that keeps coming up: Do we as disciples of Christ look to be consumers, choosing our worship experiences based on what amuses or gratifies us most; or are we practitioners, working with God to grow and develop and with those around us to help in discipling other Christians?

Does this actually mean anything or is it that the things that please us are also those that help us grow and so there is a level at which we ought to be consumers, seeking the best growth opportunities for us to become better disciples? If we are all practitioners, what does that mean? Should we all be pumping out material for others, or should we just be listening and thinking without "consuming"? But we must make some judgement - there is so much out there.

It's all rather confusing and again and again I realise that we are all easily led to fall into well-meaning soundbites, like the consumer/practitioner one I have just given you. John Wesley believed that we needed grace, faith and works. Grace coming from God is given freely to us and by faith we respond. Part of our response will result in good works but also in prayer and Bible Study, in reflection and in care. In that way we are all practitioners and I suppose you could say, we are all consumers. As we continue to imagine what the future might look like, here at the beginning of Advent, I wonder what it is that you hope for? And how should we mark the things that are lost to us for the time being? When the first lockdown happened, I hoped that the Methodist Church would say "This is what it is to look to like now" and then I could work towards that. But each church and Circuit is so different. Here in this Circuit, we need to work out what the opportunities and challenges are for us, not have some top down orders given that do not speak to the Windsor context.

If this is to be a time of opportunity then we will need God to grow that - we can't even imagine it at the moment! In that well-known miracle story of the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-14) there is a boy who brings out his five loaves and two fish and gives them to Jesus and Jesus is able to take that and make it feed more than 5,000 people with leftovers as well. None of us have the answer to the COVID-19 crisis. None of us have a fully-fledged plan for the church in the coming months. But perhaps if we bring our little bit of yeast for the rolls, our fishing hook for the catch, our contribution then we can lay it before God and watch in wonder as he takes it all and creates from it something wonderful.

We sing with joy at Christmas "Come and join the celebration". Well, I hope we can again. But the marking of Christmas this year will be different. So the invitation right now is not "Come and join the celebration" but "Come and join the conversation." Share with the leadership team your thoughts and hopes and ideas, and together we will prepare to stand once more around the manger and proclaim, “Christ has come.” God bless Vicci

Help to feed our neighbours ……. Windsor Foodshare

They would love to include some festive treats in the food parcels they give out this Christmas and make this festive time more special for local families. Here’s how you can help: Add some items to your grocery list each week until Sunday 13 December, we will provide a drop off point, either at church or another local venue (we will notify you in plenty of time). We will transport all items to Dedworth Green Baptist Church in time for distribution.

Festive goods list include:

• Selection boxes

• Christmas cake

• Biscuits

• Christmas crackers

• Plum pudding

Or to give some much-needed financial support please follow this link:

donations@windsorfoodshare.org.uk

I hope you can help and share the love this Christmas…………………..

A message from our Minister, Rev’d Vicci Davidson and more news………….

A message from our Minister, Rev’d Vicci Davidson

Brothers and Sisters

As you read about the idea for a banner later in the newsletter, you will I hope be inspired by Bab’s enthusiasm for the project. I hope that several of you will think “I could do that – it would be a fun way of using up the time/that cloth I found when I was sorting out the cupboard etc.” However, some of you may think “Why would we want to commemorate such a difficult period of time?” And you could be forgiven for thinking that – after all, most of us are deeply hopeful that the vaccines currently in development will allow for a return to as close to normality as possible as soon as possible. We miss the coffee mornings and the children’s get-togethers and the extra-special events in our lives that are not just church-related. We miss each other. The Bible is big on commemoration though. God tells his people to celebrate and remember a number of things, including of course, the escape from Egypt that we indirectly remember when we obey Christ’s command to commemorate his death and resurrection through the re-enactment of the Passover meal in our Communion services.

Like all such things, when this is over good and bad will have come out of it. The tragedy is that for some people, the bad will have involved great loss: loss of friends and loved ones, loss of work, loss of financial security, and in some cases loss of memory that may have been slowed down had normality persisted. But still this time is worth commemorating because we will have endured. Sometimes endurance is all there is, and yet within it we find God. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” as we are told in Deuteronomy 31:8.

Over the last two weeks, there have been two suggestions for community craft projects, with last week’s knitted angels and this week’s banner. That’s probably enough for the time-being, but the underlying reason for responding to some of this in these ways is that we serve a Creator God and it is in our creativity that we see one of the ways in which we are made in his image. We can never create something as beautiful or as complex as the universe, but by responding to it in creative ways, we help each other reflect on all that God has done.

God bless, Vicci

Messy Church

In case you missed it last week ……

You are warmly invited to ‘Messy Christmas’ Saturday 12th December 2020 * at 3.45pm Join us for fun, food and Christmas activities.

Booking essential and by Sunday 6th December via the church's contact form on this website.

Please state any special dietary needs. The Risk assessment is available on the website or can be requested. (*Subject to Government guidelines in operation at the time.

Toy Service Update

As we are unable to bring toys to church for the Salvation Army Toy Appeal 2020, there are alternative ways as to how we can support them. The Salvation Army at Staines has a Just Giving page and they would love to receive donations via that means. They will then be able to purchase toys of gift vouchers for the children. If the donors could mention “Christmas Present Appeal” in the text, then it can be directed the right way.

The link is: http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stainessalvationarmy

You can also donate via The Entertainer Toy Store at www.thetoyshop.com and look for The Big Toy Appeal. They will then double the number of toys donated. This scheme ends on 28th November.

Christmas Angels

If you haven’t already done so, please check out last week’s message from Rev’d Vicci and have a go at knitting (or crocheting) angels to spread across Windsor this Christmas. The pattern can be found here:

http://www.christmasangel.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Christmas-Angel.pdf

or you could contact Vicci on rev.vicci@mail.com and she will send you one.

Calling all you creative folks! "

2020 has been an 'annus horriblis' - as Her Majesty once quoted - but as we would all surely feel, out of bad times; there are also good times. So, out of a socially distanced coffee group with Rev. Vicci at the table, at Windsor Methodist pre-lockdown 02, a great idea has been borne! A craft project that would involve the congregation of Windsor Methodist Church: A 'patchworkstyle' banner that would be displayed, when completed, at WMC for all to admire. Each 'patch' would be a square of about 15 cms x 15 cms (6 ins x 6 ins) would be lovingly made by volunteers from WMC's congregation and would encompass the highs and lows of 2020. Skills could include crosstitch, tapestry, applique, fabric/silk painting - in fact, possibly any medium suitable for textiles! A list of ideas would be kept centrally and as each volunteer offers to create a design, details will be kept to avoid any risk of design repetition.

For further details/explanation, please call Barbara M. "

A message from Rev’d Vicci, Service of Remberence video, Prayers for the Nation, Toy Service update & more

Last week's Remembrance Service led by Rev. Carmel Ieraci and Rev. Vicci Davidson is available on Youtube and can be accessed by clicking on this link:

Youtube - Click Here

A message from Rev’d Vicci:

“Sisters and Brothers Well, what a week it has been! The country has gone back into lockdown; the United States of America has voted in Joe Biden as president; Kamala Harris as VicePresident-elect is creating all sorts of firsts; there are promises of the long-hoped-for COVID vaccine in the early New Year, perhaps even by Christmas for some, and meanwhile we try to be sensible and obey the rules as we live in hope for the future. Last Sunday and then again on Wednesday, you may have stood, as I did, in silence to remember the dead of wars long past and yet still with us today. With us as memories of those we miss who have died in war, with us as a reminder that peace is worth battling for and most particularly perhaps this year, we remember that the world, coming out of war on November 11th 1918 were already starting to face the life-threatening reality of the Spanish flu which started to circulate by the spring of 1918.

Plagues, and wars and rumours of war will always be with us. But so also will hope. As diplomats seek constantly to maintain peace and scientists to find cures for various illnesses, we see this in our news today where Russia has brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan and there is that longed for news of a viable vaccine I mentioned in my opening paragraph.

As Christians, we rejoice in these huge leaps forward seeing in them the work of God through the hands of humankind. Ultimately though, we would in the words of the old hymn want to affirm: ‘Our hope is built on nothing less than blood and righteousness’. Even in this season of Remembrance, we are starting to yearn towards the waiting time of Lent and the joy of a long-celebrated birth. As we prepare to recall Angel hosts singing of peace and praise, I wonder if members of the congregation would like to create angels to give away. The knitted angel project encourages churches to knit angels, attach a small label saying “A gift from Windsor Methodist Church” and including our website, bring them to church to be blessed (I am thinking of the 20th of December) and then distribute them by putting them through neighbours doors, and leaving them on walls and trees to be picked up by delighted strangers passing by. It is a lovely project that we engaged with in my last Circuit and which I believe St Andrews do here in the Thames Valley Circuit. So, will you join me in knitting (or crocheting) angels to spread across Windsor this Christmas, sharing once more the Good News that angels first sang to the world. The pattern can be found here: http://www.christmasangel.net/wpcontent/uploads/2014/09/Christmas-Angel.pdf or you could contact Vicci on rev.vicci@mail.com and I will send you one. There are obviously things to consider with regards to ensure we are not spreading the virus. Please rest assured that the leadership team are working to keep everyone safe through this project and indeed all else that we are doing.

God bless

Vicci

Prayers for the Nation:

“Thy Kingdom Come” is asking for a month of prayer. Rev’d Margaret, has asked for this to be brought to the attention of members of our congregation, and invite them to sign up to receive the daily prayers direct to their inbox. The link below will take you to further information, prayers and interviews of Church leaders, including Archbishop Justin Welby and Cardinal Vincent Nichols. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVpLlKE2k7c&feature=youtu.be - and /or U-tube search: ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ to catch up on the daily prayers so far and further information. Churches Together in Windsor Annual Assembly, to be held at 7.30pm (social time)

Toy Service cancelled as we are unable to bring toys to church for the Salvation Army Toy Appeal 2020. They have sent the following message: "The Salvation Army at Staines has a Just Giving page and we would love to receive donations via that means. We will then be able to purchase toys of gift vouchers for the children. If the donors could mention “Christmas Present Appeal” in the text, then it can be directed the right way. The link is: http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stainessalvationarmy We also have a connection with The Entertainer Toy Store. There was due to be a special Toy matching initiative where they would match donations purchased in store. As that can no longer happen we understand that an online version is being arranged. The advantage is that we receive 2 toys, but the donor only has to pay for one. It worked very well last year, so we hope they are able to transfer the scheme online. More details to follow."

A Reflection on ‘Life’s Journey’ by Richard

At the beginning of October I was invited to join Rosemary’s uncle, Douglas, on a three day walking trip from Stratford-on-Avon to Tewksbury. This is not something I would normally attempt, but I thought that a complete change might be just what I needed. I was told to pack only the essentials for the trip… it was only later that I found out that slippers aren’t considered essential! It is often true in life that the things we regard as important can really be unnecessary burdens which hold us back. Anyway, before I knew it, I found myself in Stratford-on-Avon with a rucksack on my back and 45 miles of walking ahead of me.

We were led to believe that our trail was well marked and easy to follow. Sometimes it was, and we strode purposefully along following the markers knowing exactly where we were and exactly where we were going, other times we would walk for miles without seeing any markers at all and often found ourselves having to guess which direction to take. Sometimes we got it right, other times we went the wrong way and had to find our way back to the trail or to retrace our steps. Occasionally we asked local people, who had walked the path before us, to point us in the right direction and without their help we would probably still be out there now!

On the first day the weather was good, our spirits were high and we enjoyed the sights: animals grazing, crops growing in the fields, thatched cottages, the last butterfly of the year and the bright yellow caterpillar that crossed our path. On the second day, however, it rained continuously, and our attention was drawn, instead, to burnt-out cars dumped in the woods and graffiti on a railway bridge. On the morning of the third day there were yellow weather warnings and we considered going home, but I’d got this far and was reluctant to give up. We only had one aim that day, to reach the end, and the tower of Tewksbury Abbey was a welcome sight as it came into view.

I don’t know what heaven is like, but a hot meal in a warm pub at the end of a challenging but ultimately successful journey probably isn’t too wide of the mark!

I reflected on many things during our trip: How sometimes the paths we take in life are obvious and we stride along with confidence, our spirits high, and how other times we are unsure which course to take, we make wrong choices and can be brought low by the circumstances we find ourselves in. As we look back over our lives we should measure our success not by how much of it has been a straight path in the sunshine but how we have navigated our way through its challenges and kept going when trudging forward through the rain was the best we could manage.

And as Christians we have, in Jesus, one who has walked the path of life before us, he doesn’t promise us an easy path… but He does promise to walk with us, every step of the way.