A few words from the new Vicar….

I write as we prepare to move to Crowthorne but by the time you read this I will almost be in post as Vicar!

Mike and I very much enjoyed joining some of you at the Flower Festival. I was privileged to have a personal tour of the flowers by Kath. Since, my own flower arranging talents have only extended as far as deciding which is the most suitable vase to place a bunch of flowers in, I was truly impressed by the splendour and professionalism of the Crowthorne festival. It was absolutely stunning. I felt like I was walking around an art gallery. In its entirety, it was an amazing spectacle for the greater glory of God.

It strikes me that when people work together in a group or a team, so much more can be achieved than individually and when different groups come together the sky is the limit. Peoples' different strengths can be drawn upon. There is a wealth of creativity and lateral thinking to be harnessed. Synergy occurs, in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Of course, that is the ideal - sadly, often groups can get stuck and drawn into conflict rather than releasing their God given potential. It takes commitment, collaboration and a willingness to listen to others. I pray that, together, we will continue to build upon the good foundations that have already been laid and discern God's future vision for St John's and work together in making that happen.

It will take me a little while to get to know you all and remember so many names - please be patient with me and keep on testing me! When I was teaching, I used seating plans to remember names but unlike my classes I don't want to encourage you all to sit in the same pew every week! Maybe I should get you all to wear name badges. Now there's a thought….!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to those of you who were involved in helping get the vicarage "ship shape" for our arrival. It is much appreciated.
If you were eagerly awaiting details of the publication of my book, it will be on the bookshelves from 18th August: Lisa Cornwell, "Dreams - The Path to Wholeness", SPCK, ISBN 0281057966. I will be running a workshop and promoting it at the Greenbelt Christian Arts festival. NB: this is not essential reading before my arrival or thereafter!

I hope that all of you who would like to attend my induction service will be able to squeeze in! See you then or soon after.
Revd Lisa Cornwell

Do you have a special birthday, anniversary or event such as a Baptism that you would like to celebrate with Church Flowers?

Currently, we accept donations for the Remembrance Table arrangement in memory of a loved one. We would like to extend this idea to include Altar and Porch flowers and suggest we could include an announcement in the weekly newsheet if desired. The arrangements are normally in Church for two weeks and we would need as much notice as possible of your requirements.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those generous individuals who donate money for flowers at our special festivals such as Christmas, Easter and Harvest.

Please ask for more information.

The first meeting of September coincides with the induction of the new Vicar. On Wednesday 13th at 2.15pm the new Vicar will take MU Evensong. The Corporate Communion will be at 10am on Wednesday 27th and the Prayer Meeting will be on Monday 18th at 9.30am.

In June we were able to see new members admitted to the MU by the Area Dean, Rev David Hodgson. We welcomed ten new members.

"All things bright and beautiful" resonated throughout our church as we celebrated the Flower Festival weekend. From the frantic preparations on Friday to the glorious displays enjoyed by the people of Crowthorne and beyond, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, it was a great testament to teamwork. The Flower Arranging committee had organised the most wonderful visual delights under the chairmanship of Kath Coutts with participation by many of Crowthorne's trade, school, volunteer and charity organisations.

'Fame and Fantasy' was interpreted as The Beatles, Alan Titmarsh, St. John the Baptist with broken glass depicting the flow of water to Toy Story and the Psalms of David. Each display brought a different message and made the visitor consider the variety of colours, textures and additions as part of the overall whole. The display on Nelson Mandela and the colours of Africa to me showed how everyone in their small or large part could enjoy and participate in this celebration of God's creation.

The teamwork overflowed into the rotas willingly filled for stewards and those who manned and organised the refreshments and who provided the contributions of cakes and biscuits that were sold to raise money for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance. Over £2,500 was raised (including £640 from refreshments). For our church to be enjoyed by the community on all three days in such an open and friendly manner and to comment on the warm welcome they felt was our church being used to it's full potential.

I think for me and for others the end of carnival week culminating in the 'Songs of Praise' service in the midst of this beauty and riot of colour was an apt conclusion.

Installation 5th September

The plans are made for for the Induction of our new vicar, Lisa Cornwell, on 5th September. The service will be at 7:30pm and will be conducted by the Bishop, Archdeacon and Area Dean, with involvement of many others. There is an extensive guest list, and so we are expecting a full Church. Invitations have been distributed. All will be welcome. We asked for replies to the invitation to enable us to plan the seating. There will be some refreshment after the service - we may need to use the Parish Hall for this depending on the number of people.

Given the number of people attending, there will be limited opportunities for the congregation to meet Lisa at the Induction. Other opportunities are being planned. There will be a lunch for the PCC to meet Lisa on 10th September, following her first Sunday services. There will be an 8 meets 10 breakfast on 17th September and an open breakfast meeting for the village to meet Lisa in October. Look out for other events.

It was with a mixture of happiness and sadness that we celebrated two very special 'Mother & Toddler' services as we said thank you and good bye to Gill. On the 5th July we held a 'surprise' party for Gill after the service. All the mums brought a plate of food to share, that we hid in the entrance hall, and while Gill ran the service in church, a few of us decorated the hall and filled a wonderful buffet table with all the contributions. We had made a collection for some presents which we lined up to give her. There was a magnificent cake made with a photo of the church from the Lych gate. All the mums and children came out of church first and then Gill walked into the hall to thunderous applause. One of the mums from Wellington College made a short speech and then the presents were given. There was a beautiful rose tree for her garden to remind her of all the children as well as fresh flowers, and a handmade book with contributions from all the current families of photos, pictures, poems and collages. Everyone enjoyed themselves and far too many cakes and biscuits were consumed! Gill took it all in inestimable stride and managed to speak to nearly all the mums and children as she has so ably done throughout her 21 years.

Gill's second surprise was held at her very last service on July 26th. It was an absolute surprise because she thought she had already done the 'Good Bye Party'. Gill's register had very cleverly been 'borrowed' so many 'past' families were invited to join us all in church. This included many older children as schools had broken up the day before. Gill looked absolutely delighted to see so many old faces. Memories obviously came flooding back as Gill enthusiastically led us through the favourite and familiar action songs. Prayers after our 'Open shut them' were a little bit of a challenge with 50 plus children but still not too much for Gill. Her oldest 'past toddler' visitor is now in her early 20's and there were a number of slightly embarrassed teenagers who wished Gill all the best. The hall was full to overflowing with adults and children who shared refreshments. There were more presents for Gill of fresh flowers, plants and from the World Vision catalogue a teacher's table and chair to be sent to India in her name. We have a framed photo of Gill telling her last story to give to her very soon.
It was lovely to see members of the congregation who had come to join Gill in her last service. We thank God for the wonderful work Gill has done for outreach for our church and for the warm welcome she has always given everyone.

The Mother & Toddler service continues
at 10.45am on a Wednesday.

Talkabout are lunchtime sessions held in the church hall once a month, on the second Monday, for all parents and carers with children aged 0 to 11. A simple ploughman's, with hot soup in the winter, is available for adults and a hot children's meal for a nominal cost. The food is prepared and served for us by a team from the Mothers Union. We invite guest speakers on a variety of subjects to come and talk to the adults while another team from the MU provide a crèche for the non-school children and babies. The MU provides a huge support network for this church activity without which we couldn't operate. The changing health and safety rules, with police checks required for all those looking after children makes running the crèche even more time-consuming but hopefully worthwhile. We average about 20 parents, with sometimes 20 plus children in the crèche! An activity is usually organised for the older ones.

Topics on the programme are fairly diverse but try to include subjects relating to family life, health and leisure. The programme runs from September to July culminating in the Teddy Bear's picnic with Mother & Toddler group. This year has included:

• Making the most of your finances
• Achieve greater balance in your life - with a life coach
• Family Health
• and a very messy and illuminating 'Importance of Play' showed our church hall used as never before. Fortunately the parents are very good at helping to clear up.

We operate as a non-profit making group but any money we do raise we give to Amy Louise Collins who lives in Crowthorne and suffers from a rare and extremely debilitating form of muscular dystrophy.
The next Talkabout is at 12.30pm on 11th September when Nicky Bevan will talk about Children's Books.

CONFIRMATION 2006: There is still time to join one of the Adult confirmation groups.