August services
As most of us know this year marks the beginning of the centenary anniversary of World War 1. The Government, assisted by the national Church of England, have encouraged local communities and churches to mark various events over the next 4 years. Sunday 3 August 2014 marks the centenary of the last day of peace, as the world stood on the cusp of war in 1914. Each of our churches on 3 August will use part of their morning worship to focus on the theme of peace leading into war. The services will be good opportunities for inviting people from the wider community to come to church to remember how precious a gift peace is.
Sunday 10 August will see a new departure for us in this parish. I have asked all the churches to come together on that day for one parish service, to be held at 10am at St John’s. This will be the only act of worship that day; and there will be no services at St Peter or St Margaret, including the early morning and evening. I have advised the Standing Committee of the PCC, and the Church Leadership Team of each church, and mostly this plan has been welcomed.
With my arrival mid way through the year, I have had to manage a situation where there was only one clergy person available in our parish that day, and rather than have to import clergy for all our others services, I want to encourage us to come together for worship. This is a common event in many other parishes and benefices, and I hope it will encourage us to look to how we might share other aspects of our parish life together. I will ensure this one service is advertised well, but please do your bit to ensure all those who normally come to church know of this change of plan.
Rev Mike Smith
MillsTones Dance Band at St John’s Church
The MillsTones Dance Band took us on a journey through time from the 1920s to the 1980s when they played at St John’s church, Caversham on Saturday 5th July. Around 70 people enjoyed the big band sound of the era of Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Numbers such as “Perfidia”, “Pennsylvania 6-5000” and “Easy to Love” got people up on their feet dancing. There were songs from George and Ira Gershwin, “S’wonderful” and “Fascinatin’ Rhythm”, sung by Tricia. From more recent times, the band played Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Mony, Mony”, Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and a Bee Gees’ medley. A raffle, dance competition and quiz completed the entertainment, which raised over £300 for church funds, There was no “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps” about it, it was a really great evening.
Sylvia Purkis
Snapshot of a wedding
Over a hundred people crammed themselves into St Margaret’s Church last Saturday – the wedding season is upon us!
The groom was distinctly nervous as were all three of his best men, seems it’s now fashionable to have more than one! Thunder rolled around the Thames Valley and the pile of new umbrellas inside the church door looked set for use. Every time I walked into the lily filled church the congregation glanced expectantly at me – ‘where was she?’ every face expressed.
A flurry of bridesmaids arrived, giggling, trying not to fall over on impossibly high heels!
Surely she must be here soon. One of the best men was sent to ask me, by a jittery groom, how long do I normally wait for a bride to arrive? Did he really think I would get tired of waiting? I assure him It’s only 15mins, quite normal in wedding terms.
All of a sudden ‘action stations’ she’s here, falling out of a car with a lace train flowing behind her.
She’s beautiful – is this the same girl I’ve been seeing for several months, normally clad in jeans and T shirt? Her chief bridesmaid arranges her dress, her train, her flowers, her emotional Mum who’s giving her away.
We’re off and I enter the church at last with the words everyone has been waiting for – “Please stand for the bride”
Rev Marion Pyke
Caversham Church Fete 2014
The week following the most financially successful fete we have ever run gave me the chance to reflect on how fortunate I have been. Fortunate that in my last year as chairman we had the sponsorship of A B Walker to add to that of Walmsley, which saw profits rocket into 5 figures for the first time. Fortunate that over the last 7 years people have increasingly identified me with such a joyful and successful event. (It really does wonders for the self-esteem when people say such nice things about you, so thanks everyone for your kind words.)
And lastly, fortunate for the opportunity it has provided to meet and mix with such a friendly and inspiring group of people. Among these I count firstly the other members of the committee, Anne Taylor, Bridget Cumming-Bruce, David Collis, Janet Allen, Jenny Wright, Sabita Clark, Sue McQueen and – latest to join our number – Rob Owen.
But equally there are the numerous parishioners (well over 100) who turn out faithfully year by year – largely unbidden – to do the donkey work required to actually run the fete. It’s not glamorous, it’s largely unacknowledged and more often than not it means you end up slogging all afternoon in stifling sunshine (or driving rain!) while others are enjoying the fete and eating ice cream!
The fete is by far the largest fundraising event of the year for both St Peter’s and St Margaret’s. The financial viability of our two churches depends on it. So I’m grateful to each parishioner who appreciates this and identifies so strongly with the needs of their churches. It might be described as a act of faith on my part to trust that they will show up every year. But it is certainly an act of true faithfulness that they actually do so.
Elsewhere in this newsletter you will read Mike’s response to the results of the stewardship campaign, in which he asks what else you might offer the parish. If you are already one of those faithful supporters of the fete, many many thanks. If not, how about joining them next year? Mark the date in your diary: July 11, 2015 – see you there!
Nigel Smith, Retiring Chairman, Caversham Church Fete
Baptism policy
It is a real privilege for us to welcome those who are wishing to be baptised and their families. I believe this is one of the most important ministries we have as a church, as we encourage new Christians in their faith, and in doing so encourage the next generation of the faithful.
However, on my arrival I noticed there has been no guiding set of principles in the parish to help guide us in the welcome and nurture of our baptism candidates. Each church has until now prepared and booked services according to their own local rules, which provides difficulties for those who manage the bookings and is potentially confusing to families looking to have their child baptised. So I have asked the PCC to look to approve such a policy that will guide this important ministry.
We are a parish that has significant demand for the baptism of infants and young children. This is very encouraging, but also presents a number of issues.
Firstly, because of their settings our churches receive a number of enquiries for baptism from those living outside our parish. This presents pastoral issues for us and the parishes where the candidates live. We could agree to every baptism enquiry, but then we would be overloaded. We would also deprive other parishes, who may have fewer applications, from vital contact with young families. I would prefer we baptise only those living in our parish, or those living outside the parish who have strong connections with our churches.
On my arrival I noticed that most of our baptisms were being booked at times outside of our normal Sunday morning worship. This struck me as a bit odd, because the baptism service is written by the Church of England on the assumption that the service will take place within the main worship on a Sunday where the regular worshipping community will be present to welcome the new Christian at their baptism. The family and friends of the candidate are increasingly not regular church attendees, and it seems to me to be vital that we allow them to experience church in its normal setting where the congregation really can say “we welcome you”.
I am delighted the PCC have agreed a policy which:
- Prioritises our welcome and hospitality to those visiting us for baptism
- Commits the resources we need to ensure the nurture of candidates and their families before and after baptism.
- Agrees that we will baptise all those residing in our parish, on the electoral roll, regularly worshipping in one of our churches, or who have a previous connection to the parish through previous residency or current parental residency.
- Places the normal time of baptism within the main Sunday service, with the clergy given the ability to make exception to this when they see fit. To accommodate this, each church has chosen one Sunday per month to be its regular “Baptism Sunday”, when the assumption will be that there is a baptism candidate during the main service. The Baptism Sunday’s are: 1st Sunday of the month, St Peter; 2nd Sunday of the month St John; 3rd Sunday of the month St Margaret.
All our baptism families are encouraged to initially enquire about a booking through the Admin Team, and Caroline will consult me to agree the booking.
A copy of the new baptism policy is will shortly be available on the parish website, or from Caroline.
Rev Mike Smith
Stewardship
Thank you to everyone who responded to the recent stewardship campaign in each of our three churches. We have received pledges of extra income, and of time and talents from a good number of people.
Whilst it would be inappropriate to go into too much detail about the financial pledges, our results indicate:
St Peter’s Church has seen pledges of nearly £3500, which is a 6% increase against their annual budget of £58,000.
St John’s Church has received pledges of just under £5000, which, added to existing pledges, will mean a regular income of just over £16,000.
St Margaret’s Church has received pledges of over £1700, or an extra 17% of regular giving.
We have also had pledges of time and talents, and the Church Leadership Teams will be looking in future months at how best to use those.
All of this is very encouraging, and I am very grateful to those of you who have been able to make a new commitment or increase an existing one. This regular giving stands, of course, alongside the significant generosity that many of you provide for one-off fundraising projects.
However, each of our churches still operates on a deficit budget and is using reserves to meet their annual expenditure. This is an unsustainable position for our parish to find itself in. The PCC and the three CLTs will have to look at further ways of economising expenditure and increasing income if we are to balance our budgets.
I would be grateful to you all if you could continue to pray about your offering to your church, and to see if there are ways this might be increased to help us balance our books and in the longer-term to provide us with the funds we need to be creative with the new opportunities that God presents us.
Rev Mike Smith