A MISSION SHAPED CHURCH and
the
DEANERY PLAN
Over the last few months the
PCC has been considering the above in the light of the new Church
House publication 'mission-shaped church' and the recently issued
Deanery Plan. These also incorporate the Diocesan vision for
the future of the Church, as put forward in 'Sharing Life'.
So, what is it all about?
We began by looking at the
society in which we live, considering the social trends of the
fast 30 years:
- Housing Changes
- Employment Changes
- Mobility
- Divorce and Changes in Family
Life
- Free Time, Television and
Computers
- The Consumer Culture
Are we a more fragmented society
now? Have our communities changed? Do we belong to networks rather
than to our local geographical community? How well do we know
the local Crowthorne community? Has the Church drifted away from
some of them and how can we reconnect?
On our 2nd evening we looked
at ideas of 'Fresh Expressions of Church' and how to be more
relevant in this fast changing world. Churches need to go to
people where they are, as well as expecting them to come to us.
The Deanery Plan has identified the following areas which it
feels we should be considering and in which it can help:
- Working together with our
local parishes in 'clusters' and ecumenically - sharing good
practice
- The building of collaborative
ministry teams - ordained and lay - to better use the skills
available in the local area
- The provision of training
according to need within parishes
- The encouragement and support
of parishes to prioritise the evangelism and nurture of young
people
There was some discussion of
the role of a Church school within the community, the nurturing
of youth congregations who could hold their own worship services,
maybe on a Friday evening, post Confirmation strategies in general,
café churches, even an Emmaus course in the local pub
(as suggested by the Bishop of Reading!) and so on.
We need to be working on how
to identify the needs of our wider community, considering what
would work here and how we can develop our ideas. This will be
the subject of February's PCC discussion. Please do let us know
of any thoughts/ideas you may have on this so that we can think
further about the 'go to them' model of being Church as well
as maintaining the 'come to us' model, with which we are probably
rather more familiar, and more comfortable!
NATIVITY
PLAY: Congratulations to all in Sunday School and Pathfinders
who made Tears of Sorrow, Tears of Joy such a successful start
to our Christmas Celebration. Special thanks to Nicola Swanborough
who wrote and directed the play.
TSUNAMI COLLECTION:
£551.95 (£91.95 of which was from Gift Aid tax reclaim)
was collected in Church for Tsunami relief. Thank you to all
who contributed.
PRAYING FOR HEALING: Prayers
will continue every Friday at 6.15pm in the Lady Chapel. Please
do join us if you would like to or let us know of any further
prayer requests by placing them on the Prayer Board.
Lent
Course: There will
be a Lent Course, Voices from the South, covering, poverty, education,
health, trade, and empowerment. This consideration of development
issues will explore what the Bible has to say about poverty and
justice and invite a comparison with the purposes of Jesus in
his mission to teach, heal and liberate. Sundays 6.30pm starting
27th February (see diary), no need to book. |
Bible Study Housegroups
What, may you ask, were a group
of Crowthome villagers with an age range spanning more than half
a century, doing gathered together on early Saturday morning
sharing freshly baked wholemeal bread, a selection of home made
preserves and freshly brewed Fair Trade coffee?! No - not a pre-shopping
breakfast or even a quick bite before a sports match, but the
first meeting of St John's Bible Study Group.
From a personal perspective
I'd joined a group because I wanted to know more about the Bible;
to travel further in my journey of faith, to understand more
about the teachings of Jesus and to be more aware of the historical
context/setting of the Bible.
The great advantage of these study groups is that they meet at
varied times and days during the week to suit all needs. I'd
joined the Saturday group as I knew I could commit to those meeting
times (at least on most occasions!).
From the first there was a
real feeling of trust and honesty amongst the group members.
We quickly acknowledged that we were far from 'experts' and yet
wanted to share our thoughts and questions. As the course progressed
we learned much from each other. We have certainly had the opportunity
to air our views, consider what we have studied in relation to
our daily lives and develop our understanding - on several occasions
we have raised more questions than gained answers. We are fortunate
in being guided by inspiring leaders - Brian of course and the
Saturday group have a big 'thank you' to Jean and David Butler.
On one occasion I was 'volunteered' to lead a session (although
I approached this with fear and trepidation the group were extremely
supportive and I got even more from that week's study than ever).
It is testament to the membership
and ethos of St John's Church that the groups have expanded their
numbers and welcomed and included new members with every study
focus. Studies to date have considered St Mark's Gospel, The
Miracles of Christ and the Acts of the Apostles.
So, beginner or expert, please
join us. We welcome you to join any of the forthcoming Bible
Study sessions - whichever most suits your lifestyle! Share your
views and thoughts or just listen and have time to think more
about the words of Jesus - and if it's the Saturday group. you
join, we offer croissants and honey too!
The Children's Society
This was another very successful year for sales of The Children's
Society Christmas cards so a big thank you to everyone who supported
the society by buying cards, helping me sell cards or who made
very generous donations. We raised £1138.2 from card sales
of which about 61% goes straight into the work of the society.
£35.00 in donations will be sent to them directly along
with the magnificent sum of £1540.13 from the Christmas
collections. Our annual Christingle service was a little quieter
this year but was enjoyed by all the children and adults who
attended. We raised £135.12 from the collection. Many families
stayed and enjoyed the tea afterwards.
Fair Trade Stalls
Sunday 13 February 8am,
l0am
Sunday 27 February 8am,10am
Ground Coffee £2.65
White Basmati Rice - £1.50
After Dinner Mints £1.25
Stem Ginger Cookies £1.00
Decaffeinated Coffee £2.99
Sugar £1.10
Divine Chocolate 59p
Choc Chip Cookies £1.00
Organic Marmalade £1.50
Museli £2.00
Mixed Fruit Sweets £1.25
Coffee £2.90
Tea £2.00
Strawberry Jam £1.75
Geo Bars 31p
Earl Grey Tea £1.55
New lines being added all the time
Brazil Nut Cookies £1.05
Organic Pasta £1.05
Also chocolate raisins and yoghurt raisins
Fairtrade guarantees
a fair deal for producers who in turn can invest money back into
their communities. It means shopping with a conscience so that
some of the most marginalised farmers in the world can benefit
from international trade. |
|
