He Is Risen!

vision
The Church Magazine of the Parish of Pangbourne with Tidmarsh & Sulham

April 201 3

Editorial Curate Andrew The Easter Feast Mothers' Union Parochial Meeting Tony in Ghana Pastoral Care P'bourne Pilgrims Prize Crossword

Contents

page 03 page 04 page 06 page 07 page 07 page 08 page 10 page 11 page 12

WordSearch Book Review Rowan Williams Christian Aid Prayer Requests Tithe News Worship in April Parish Directory

page 14 page 15 page 16 page 17 page 18 page 19 page 20 page 23 Back Cover

Front Cover An empty cross within an eggshaped silhouette; the same cruel, stark cross from last month's cover, but now viewed through the symbolism of new life. Tradition has it that the early Christians stained eggs red to represent the blood that Christ shed on the cross, and used the imagery of the hatched egg to represent the living Jesus rising from the empty tomb. For those of faith, a simple, powerful message that has largely been lost in the commercial tide that seems to engulf us all. The repentance and penitence of Lent is transformed into the boundless joy of the Resurrection, "O death, where is thy sting?" KJV 1Cor.15:55. Sombre rememberance of the 40 days our LORD fasted in the wilderness, now turns to reflection on the hope and inspiration of our risen LORD in the 50 days of the Easter season. New life, new hope, new covenant. One gift of the empty cross and the empty tomb, is that the God of Israel is now the God of all, regardless of nationality, gender, or ethnicity. Praise the LORD. The 'vision' deadline is 15th of the month. Copy received after that date will be held over to the following month. Please leave hand written or printed copy in the 'v' pigeon hole in St. James, or send to: Mickey Haynes 28 Cleeve Down Goring on Thames Reading RG8 0HA Digital copy can be emailed to: ptsvision@btinternet.com twitter you can now follow us @ptsvision Digital versions of 'vision' are available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/127054866/v isionmagazineMarch2013 page 2

vision

April 2013

As you can see below, the Gift Day was reasonably successful and should help to reduce our deficit by about a third this year, so heartfelt thanks to all of our donors, new and old, for their generosity. Thanks also to all of those who planned, organized, prayed for, and helped to make this fruitful and enjoyable day happen. But as well as a financial deficit, we are also experiencing something of a 'people' deficit. There is a massive amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep our 3 churches functioning as they do, and the majority of it seems to fall on the same group of people. One of the key roles is that of Churchwarden, and there are vacancies at the moment. Could you help here? If that role is too daunting, maybe you could help with some parts of the role? Talk to the Churchwardens for more details. Sunday 28th April sees our Annual Parochial Meeting, and I would encourage as many of you as possible to come along. It is important. Come and find out what is happening, and what is likely to happen over the coming year. Have a say in what your church family is doing, or at least be there to support them. On the communications side, our website is being developed (more details next month), you can now follow us on twitter, @ptsvision, a Facebook presence is being developed, and we have made 'vision's' text bigger. We are determined to reach as many people as possible as we witness to our faith. Thanks for reading, Mickey As many of you know, our three Parish Churches held a Parish Gift and Open Day on Saturday 2nd March 2013. Members of the Parochial Church Council from all three churches were available at St. James the Less in Pangbourne, from 9am to 2pm to receive donations and commitments, or revised commitments of Planned Giving. A Fair Trade Breakfast was served from 9am and a Lent Lunch from 12 noon. Displays of church activities were on show and we provided childrens activities and our pianists played beautifully for our visitors and members. The reinstatement of a Gift Day for our Parish was necessitated by the growing annual deficits in our annual budgets more than 20,000 last year. At the time of writing, the Gift Day oneoff donations amounted to 2,650 and a return of income tax on most of these donations will bring that to 3,300. New and revised annual commitments of Planned Giving amounted to 3,470 and again a return of income tax will raise that to a total of 4337 annually. Assuming most of these new commitments will begin in April 2013 then this years Gift Day has resulted in an additional income of about 6,500 for 2013. Of course, the longer term Planned Giving will, hopefully, continue yearonyear. Martin Burridge (PCC Treasurer) Planned Giving information may be obtained from our Gift Aid Secretary Linda Clargo lindaclargo@btinternet.com vision April 2013 page 3

Editorial

Parish Gift Day and Open Day

Ministry Team

We are at the end of Lent and by the time this lands on your doormat Easter will be upon us. I was recently in the book shop at Church House Westminster, looking for material for both a Good Friday reflection and for Easter. The helpful assistant said that whereas there was always great demand for resources on Lent (and Christs Passion), there was very little demand for resources about Easter itself. I was surprised by this. It reminds me of the fact that at Christmas the commercial radio station Classic FM abruptly stops playing Christmas music on Christmas Day. For them there are no Twelve Days of Christmas, and seemingly no Epiphany! During the conversation in the bookshop, the helpful assistant recommended a book entitled Christ in the Wilderness Reflecting on the Paintings by Stanley Spencer, written by Bishop Stephen Cottrell. He said it had sold extremely well, even (dare I say) outselling the Archbishop of Canterburys book for Lent! The theme of many of the sermons and talks in our churches during Lent, has been a reflection on our relationship with God. Lent is all too often associated with giving something up, of self denial. If we deny ourselves something, perhaps we give ourselves the opportunity (through time and resources) to help others, and in so doing draw closer to God. Perhaps it also enables us to reflect upon Christs time in the desert over those forty long days, during which he was, as the gospels tell us, put to the test. As we contemplate His trials, we perhaps think of the trials we experience, but we are fortunate in that we have the time to reflect and to seek Gods forgiveness. The passage in St Luke about the nonfruiting fig tree, shows us an impatient owner asking his gardener to cut the tree down, but the gardener seeks time, and asks him to give the tree another year. Perhaps there is a metaphor here for us, being given time by God to draw closer to him and to seek his love and his forgiveness, both freely available and freely given. In the book by Stephen Cottrell, five paintings each entitled 'Christ in the Wilderness' but each with a different suffix, are explored and explained. Within the space available for this article, I cannot explore very much of the book, but it is worth considering two of the five paintings in the context of our Lenten reflection. The first picture is Consider the Lilies based on the famous passage in St Matthew (6:2535), where we are told not to worry about what we wear. Only in this picture there are none of the great lilies that we see in our churches on Easter Day. What we see are daisies, beautifully and intricately painted daisies with a large figure of Christ gazing upon them. As Bishop Stephen writes For most of us, most of the time, life is very different from this. We do nothing but worry. He continues, What Spencer shows us here is the supreme vision of Gods dwelling in the eternal now of his presence to us, and of his great love for us. God does indeed clothe and love the lilies and the daisies. vision April 2013 page 4

Christ in the Wilderness

So he will also clothe and love us. What we need to do is seek his kingdom; and we need to do it with the same child like dependency and joy that we see (in the picture) in Jesus. To put greater trust in Christ, and just as in the picture he gazes and looks lovingly on those beautifully painted flowers, so should we allow Him into our lives to gaze lovingly on each of us. The second pictures suffix is 'The Scorpion'. The same large figure of Christ is this time in an altogether more tortured environment, cradling in his hands the exquisitely detailed figure of a scorpion. As Bishop Richard Harries (quoted in the book) writes There is an extraordinary gentleness in the way Christ holds the scorpion and looks at it, an infinite pity. Perhaps we learn here that whilst it is easy to love those who love us (represented perhaps by those beautiful flowers), it is less easy to love those who seemingly dislike us. The theologian Henri Nouwen describes how an old man is trying to rescue a scorpion from a fast flowing river. A passer by shouts to him that it is stupid to try and rescue a creature that may well kill him, to which the old man responds Why be angry because I am generous? It is the scorpions nature to sting, my nature to save Two reflections on two beautiful paintings, each in it's own way giving us a glimpse of the suffering Christ who holds us in His love. So at the end of our Lenten reflection, let us retain these two pictures in our imagination; a gentle Christ gazing upon beautiful flowers and encouraging us to trust and not to worry, and a tired Christ suffering himself but still giving out his love to us. It is in His nature (as Nouwen says above) to save. As we continue our Lenten journey of reflection into Christs Passion and Easter, we should seek time to gaze upon those we love, and upon those who need our love, and hold them in prayer. We should also do as the old man did and hold out our hands to those who might appear unwelcoming or uncaring towards us. In so doing we are enriching ourselves, our lives, and the lives of those around us. We are also responding in a positive and loving way, to the trials that Christ put Himself through for our sake in that desert place of scorpions, so that we too may gaze lovingly on the face that looks down on each one of us. At times it might seem our lives are in a wilderness place, but that is never the case when we trust in Christ as we journey together as Easter People towards that third day. Andrew Bond
[Watch Bishop Stephen discussing these pictures in a spellbinding and inspiring talk at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBbghqi6us]

Ministry Team

vision

April 2013

page 5

Ministry Team
For most people, including many Christians, Easter is just a single day of celebration, over by Monday even though the Bank Holiday is still called Easter Monday. Traditionally in the Christian Year, Easter is known as 'The Queen of Seasons', or 'The Great Fifty Days'; a single festival period of joy lasting from Easter Day until Pentecost. So let us keep the Feast!

Let us celebrate the Easter Feast (Pascha)

The early Church gave the name Pentecost to the entire fiftyday span of rejoicing, which the early Christian theologian Tertullian (c 160 225 AD) calls this most joyful period. The Orthodox and Catholic Churches of the east follow the Byzantine Rite, which is significantly different to our traditional western liturgies (formalised public worship), and their liturgical services for the Paschal Season are contained in a single book called the Pentecostarion. In the western churches that have a liturgical tradition, there is no single volume, but there is a commonality, with wide variations, covering the seven week period from Easter Day until Pentecost. The Alleluia is said or sung frequently throughout, with white or gold the liturgical colour, emphasising the joy and brightness of the season. The principal Bible Readings at the Eucharist are taken from The Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of John, both chosen because of their instructive content. In the Sunday Gospel Readings we have those glorious post resurrection appearances of Jesus; meeting Mary Magdalene at the tomb (Easter Day John 20:118 or Luke 24:112), with the disciples in the locked room, and later confronting Thomas because of his unbelief (Easter 2 John 20:1931), with the disciples near the Sea of Tiberias, giving them breakfast and then confronting Peter (Easter 3 John 21:119), facing a group of unbelieving Jews in the Temple and telling them that He is the Messiah (Easter 4 John 10:2230), with His disciples at the Last Supper, where He gives those at the table the commandment to love one another, the true sign of discipleship (Easter 5 John 13:3135), promising to send the Holy Spirit (Easter 6 John 14:2329) or the alternative reading of the healing of a long time paralytic (John 5:19).

Alleluia comes from the Psalms, and is from the Hebrew, "Praise Jah or Yahweh (God)", an expression of joy. First used in the Liturgy of St. James, which is probably the oldest surviving liturgy developed for general church use, as an expression of thanksgiving, triumph, and joy, and now used extensively in liturgy and hymns. vision April 2013 page 6

Ministry Team
We do indeed have much to celebrate at Eastertide, and these Gospel Readings give us much to meditate on, including such remarkable art as The Incredulity of St. Thomas by Guercino, and many others which these Gospel readings have inspired.
Alleluia, alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed Alleluia, Alleluia.

I would hope to conclude this article in the May issue of 'vision'. Canon Norman Brown Reverend Heather is the Diocesan Chaplain to the Mothers' Union, and Bishop Andrew will be enrolled as a member on April 8th in Christchurch Cathedral, and become the central chaplain to the Mothers Union this year. Mothers Union Lady Day Eucharist and Commissioning 11am April 8th 2013 Christchurch Cathedral, Oxford.

[See next month's 'vision' for more information on the the Mothers' Union]

The Annual Parochial Meeting

The Annual Parochial Meeting begins at 6pm on Sunday April 28th with worship in St James the Less, followed by; 7:10pm parishioners meeting to elect Church Wardens 7:15pm Annual Parochial Church Meeting 8:15pm First Meeting of the newly elected Parochial Church Council. Please come to hear more about, and to be encouraged in your membership of the living faith in the Parish of Pangbourne with Tidmarsh and Sulham. vision April 2013 page 7

Ministry Team

Saturday Feb 2nd : At Candlemas, we gathered in the porch and received candles which we lit and carried in procession (about 10 m) and planted in a cardboard box of sand in front of the altar. This later caught fire (or at least smouldered and had to be solemnly carried out). The singing was particularly good as it was arranged and led by Bro. Pascal as choirmaster, whom we have on loan from a House in the Caribbean. Amongst others we sang I the Lord of This and That ('Here I am, Lord. Is it I Lord? ), and To God Be the Glory. As a bonus Pascal also gave a wonderful reflection (not a homily as he is not ordained), in his beautiful, smooth educated CaribbeanEnglish, his singers voice, slightlyraised level, informal style, and with clear and inspiring content. Tuesday Feb. 5th : Woken at 03:00 by a dear fellowguest blundering round the diningroom which is just opposite my room. Took the opportunity to rise at 03.30 and exercise, shower, agitate laundry, wring and rinse, and set the computer and modem working in a new place, actually on the Monastery veranda so it can safely be left to work while I do other things. Reason: there is good connection at this early hour. In the longest usable prebreakfast time, I had my email account up and running, but would it send anything? Nope. 09:00 restart Leviticus. By midmorning finishing ch. 11 (if you ask Why so slow?, read all Lev. 11. If you ask Why give them this stuff?, read Lev. 11:45 see also 19:2,18). Then Marcus computer abruptly broke down. I spent time before and after Sextandlunch (doublecheck that: Sext spellchecker doesnt know it, suggests sexy!) scrambling over rocks trying to make phonecalls. The suggestions given over the phone by our computer expert at our HQ in Tamale, [200 miles north] didnt work. Marcus has rushed off to Tamale to get it fixed, taking all my notspecifcallybudgetted money he may have to buy a new hard disk. Just praying that if so at least his data can be saved from the old one. So tomorrow Wednesday I aim to do Saturday errands in Techiman. If possible will catch up by working with the team on Saturday. Ho, hum! said Great Uncle Bulgaria. Friday February 8th : Excitement of the day (actually last night) was one of the seasonal bushfires burning up the dry grasses on the slopes south of the monastery, and the leaves under the trees in the casheworchards north and west. Some of the monks went off on the farm tractor at 01.15 to do some firefighting and got back at 02.30. We did slightly longer hours on the checking and got to nearly the end of Lev. 23. Monastery had a special timetable (Recollection Day always makes me think of the old Brownies Thinking Day') they were mostly in the Hermitage (which is rather grandiose for the hermit, with the very attractive chapel seating 14). vision April 2013 page 8

The Reverend Tony Naden in Ghana

Tony in Ghana continued

Ministry Team

Tuesday February 12th : Hard work all day gets us to Numbers 8:14. (why so little? look at Numbers 7, one of the longest chapters in the Bible). Longer powercut than the frequent 1 hr. ones from mid morning to mid afternoon, but the monastery switched on their generator. I ended up after supper doing the cutandpaste job on the repetitive list in 7:1783. I had resolved not to let this team overwork me this year but their earnestness and accidentproneness makes them difficult to resist. Sunday February 17th : Emmanuel had to leave early to get home as he had to work the next day one of each checking team is not a translator but a volunteer to give the ordinary readers understanding. 2 hr. mass with the Dagaari music, local xylophone and drums. Immediately after lunch Marcus and I sat down to work and finally finished Numbers at 15.30. Wednesday February 20th : On to Job 36. Thunder and lightning after supper but by bedtime it had passed over leaving just a smell of damp earth meaning there had been a sploosh not far away. The smell of the landscape on its first wetting after a long dry spell is quite unforgettable. Monday February 25th : Worked through most of Song of Songs (7/8 chapters) in Vagla. Had a phone call with the Swiss IT/dictionaries wallah in Tamale; he plans to come on Wednesday/Thursday to network with me on lexicography, so we have to finish Vagla early. They will be pleased, the airconditioning in the library broke down on Sunday and they complained bitterly about the heat today the library where we work is on the sunny side in the afternoon. Going to Evening Prayer I could see the strong wind horizontally stripping the last dry leaves from the trees. During the office the rain finally came; fortunately the wind had dropped, and the rain was not fierce, lasting about half an hour, with an additional shower in the early part of the night. Wednesday February 27TH : I spent the afternoon filling out dictionary entries for the new vocabulary from the Scriptures we had checked jenki naa to walk on tiptoe, kasagi place not burned in a bushfire, Jara Sire, Your Majesty (respectful address to a chief) ... [By the time you read this Tony should be back with us, but I will publish more extracts from his elog in the next edition. I feel really humbled by the way that Tony's faith has informed his life; working in Africa for around 40 years on a voluntary basis, in ascetic conditions, and applying his considerable knowledge to the task of spreading God's Holy Word.] vision April 2013 page 9

Ministry Team

Dear Friends, we will have celebrated Easter in our three churches by the time you read this. In church we shall be looking at Jesus appearances to his disciples after he rose again from the tomb. This is an exciting time for Christians and I pray that you are experiencing the joy and blessings of our Risen Lord as we continue through Eastertide. It was a shock for the disciples to have seen Jesus, killed and buried. All their hopes for the future had been shattered and they huddled together, consoled each another and spoke about Jesus. Sometimes we too share those moments when we feel the same way and need the consolation of those close to us. The resurrection had not yet dawned. Nevertheless Jesus knows what we need for such difficult times and we are told that even as he hung dying on the cross he had given responsibility to his disciple John to look after his mother Mary saying, She is your mother and to Mary he had said, He is your Son. This built on Jesus previous words to his followers that, Those who do the will of God are my true brothers, sisters and mother His words have amazing connotations for us as a church family. We should not merely call ourselves a church family, but live as a church family: not three churches, three families, but one church, one parish, one Christian family. Being Family also means hard work; it should mean love, support and mutual sharing with one another as well. It means caring for one other as mother, daughter, father, son, brother and sister. It should mean that our church life is one of being loving, supportive, forgiving, sometimes putting other peoples needs before our own preferences in our relationships with one another. It means coming alongside one another at those Good Friday times, just as the disciples did. It means bringing the joy of the resurrection into these times by just sharing and being there. Within the church we call this way of living; pastoral care and I know that there is plenty of that going on, but there is still more to do. Pastoral care and the ministry of healing have always been the main focus of my lay and ordained ministry. They build on my previous secular occupation of nursing and counselling over many years. But they are not solo gifts, they are something which we can all do, not only within our church family, but also amongst those with whom we live and work. I am currently looking at how we might improve on our churchs pastoral care and I would love to hear your views. Perhaps it is a gift that you would like to develop to serve God, or maybe you have ideas that you think we should be developing, or perhaps would like a visit yourself. Please talk to me, phone me, email me, or let any of our ministers or church members know and they will happily pass your message on to me, and I will visit you. With my Christian Blessing, vision Jean Rothery (Associate Minister)

Pastoral Care

April 2013

page 10

Pangbourne Pilgrims visit Canterbury Cathedral

Church

countless other pilgrims before them into this vast and majestic Mother Church of England. Guides Andew and Hubert shared their wealth of knowledge when explaining its architecture and stained glass, and in telling the stories which give this most sacred place its history. There is so much that could be said it is difficult to know what to choose, but a particular memory of mine is the crypt; a tremendous collection of chapels and columns. It is actually the biggest of its kind in the country and is intact. It is the site of the early miracles that occurred after the violent murder of Saint Thomas Becket on 29 December 1170. St Thomass remains were originally in a tomb in the eastern crypt, and it was to here that the first pilgrims came, watched by the monks through a special window created for this purpose. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of St Thomass martyrdom, he was given a new resting place and a befitting shrine in the Trinity Chapel. This chapel ends with a circular chamber known as the Corona, an indication of the way in which the design draws the eye, and also the name given to the relic of St Thomass head, which had been preserved there. The place where the shrine stood is now an empty space, and is marked by a lighted candle. It has a real air of peace about it, and from there we were able to view the series of beautiful 13th century stained glass windows depicting the Saints life. We left the chapel by stone steps which had been worn down by the feet and knees of many other pilgrims over hundreds of years. After this amazing exploration of history and faith, these present day pilgrims then went to the Canterbury Lodge and enjoyed a cream tea together, which has become a tradition on our Cathedral visits. Tea was followed by Evensong at which the Choristers sang. It was out of this world and a perfect end to the day. We are planning another pilgrimage later this year and hope you will come along.
Susan Worthington

Early afternoon on 14th February, our group from Pangbourne followed the path of

The Cathedral dominates the city of Canterbury, with the old town's network of narrow streets nestling under its walls.

vision

April 2013

page 11

ACROSS

Puzzles

1. The proverbial attribute of a Jewish king: chew on it (6) 5. "If you seek a ______, look around": on Christopher Wren's tomb (8) 9. One who does not believe that having tried rusts, the answer is there (10) 10. Pinch, only just this in time for jug! (4) 11. It may describe a lazy, orthopaedic specialist (4,4) 12. Well, quite unconcerned which route to take (6) 13. All was ground down to nothing in 9/11 (4) 15. Classical invocation to Jesus' mother (3,5) 18. Sibilant card game showed the way (8) 19. Hot food emerges from Provencal source (4) 21. Not at home in Norfolk (6) 23. This clue I gazed on and suffered dreadfully (8) 25. Classic response stands unchanged (4) 26. No earthbound way, but if you've looked here lately it will help (10) 27. Sounds like a threat for an academic! (8) 28. Bitters antonym or homophonic just desserts? (6)

DOWN

2. What architect Jones would say entering his churches? (5) 3. Great chances of getting the dickens of a beating at this academy (9) 4. (see 7 Down) Sovereign's preEaster dispensation (6,5) 5. Ma and pa are more formal here (6,3,6) 6. Ran backwards at first, but reckoned good enough to have told tales (8) 7. (see 4 Down) 8. The gods' drink produces a peach of a clue (9) 14. The Dixie B... version concealed nothing at all (9) 16. "I really detest my sobriquet", said this snowman, "and yet it's always there" (9) 17. Traditionally, clothes put on for the happiest of occasions (8) 20. What to tread on stage (6) 22. The nerve to eye up a bar measure (5) 24. Brilliance found in a noise clattering experience (5) Compiled by Cantor

Genuine Church Notices

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7pm. Please use the back door. vision April 2013 page 12

The winner (first correct solution drawn with name and contact details) can chose from a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates. Please leave your entries in 'C' pigeon hole in St James, or send to Courtlands Cottage, Green Lane, Pangbourne, RG8 7BG. Entries opened by Cantor on 15th of month.
1 9 11 13 18 21 25 27 22 26 28 14 15 12 16 19 24 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Puzzles

10

17

23

20

Name: Contact Details:

vision

April 2013

page 13

Puzzles
w b d s w e v s v z w w a k i

Can you find the words that tell the Easter story ?

Easter Wordsearch
r u g i e x i o g b n d r j s l w y c y a a r d c s i s r r h e f j p n c p h s u n d s r k a y o v l m d a z r c h a j t k z r e n d c m s a i r a y o d a e i c d m q e r p n u l h c e n u w n p y d r e b c e l c r t s k g a e l n p p f l e e o d e d e l l o r j y e l

c d c n e q d d r e l p w i n h c f y m r n m a t z h v n n v x j l v j h c h l k i y w e

J e sus t om b

b b m e r n y a j i p l l s m s t e s b r z h k l j m m a h

d on k e y p a l m s r i s e n g a r d e n e r J o h n h a l l e l u ja h c r o s s P e t e r Su n d a y Fr i d a y d i sc i ple s

Ma r y

w i n e c r i m i n a l s s t on e

s ol d i e r s Su n d a y a n g e ls su ppe r b re a d r ol l e d c r uc i f i e d M a g de le n e

vision

April 2013

page 14

Almost everyone seems to have some sort of expectation of heaven, or at least a shadowy mental image of it, or of some of its features. These seem to be largely based upon personal motives around what happens when I or one of my loved ones dies. But in her book 'Heaven', Paula Gooder explores the fuller, biblical meaning of heaven; if we accept the biblical view that heaven is not primarily about what happens to me when I die but is, instead, about God's dwelling place..., then the immediate impact of it is much stronger. If heaven is only about what happens to me when I die, then it is pushed off into the future..... If heaven is as much a reality as earth, then it affects all parts of our lives, all the time. After considering heaven in the popular imagination, and in popular Christian thought, she turns her attention to the Bible in order to explore and describe a heaven that coexists alongside our world in the here and now. Dr Gooder assesses the biblical texts in the context of the culture of the time, and particularly with regard to their concept of the cosmos, which was largely based upon Earth and Heaven separated by a firmament which housed the Sun, Moon, and stars. Paula Gooder is acknowledged as a first class biblical scholar, with an ability to communicate in a most accessible way without losing any of the power of her thoughts and analyses, and she enhances that reputation in this book.

Heaven Paula Gooder

Reviews

Her approach is comprehensive, and she definitely does not shy away from the difficult to understand or believe features of heaven. A book like this inevitably involves the exploration of material that many people find 'weird' or just too hard to understand. It involves studying God's throne chariot, angels and the like, but I remain convinced that this kind of imagery is so important in the mind of Paul, the evangelists, and other writers of the New Testament, that unless we understand it we will not be able to make sense of much of what they were talking about. As well as considering the structure of heaven, and its residents, Dr Gooder also covers communication from heaven, including angels, visions, God's voice etc., ascending into heaven, death and resurrection, and what happens between death and resurrection. A thought provoking, well organised book that should satisfy both the academic and nonacademic reader (the ample references are at the back of the book and thus do not interrupt its flow). It is thoroughly recommended. vision April 2013 page 15

Wider Church

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, now Baron Williams of Oystermouth, is Master of Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge, and in May will become the chairman of the board of trustees of Christian Aid. Freed from the constraints of his role as Archbishop, could we see a more outspoken approach? Maybe, if his recent debate with Richard Dawkins at the Cambridge Union is anything to go by. The Guardian quoted the exArchbishop as saying, "Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and I dare to use the word inclusion, which would otherwise be absent from our societies." The main historic religions of the world, he added, had all shown a compassionate and metaphysical commitment to equality and to helping those "at the very edge of their society". But that wasn't to say "communal religion" did not deserve to be scrutinised. Reaching simultaneously into his reserves of Christian charity and sarcasm, the former archbishop looked at his opponent and added: "That is why if I say I thank God for Professor Dawkins, you will understand what I do and I don't mean." The motion that "This house believes that religion has no place in the 21st Century" was defeated by the 324 to 138 votes according to 'Varsity', the Cambridge student's newspaper. They also reported that,"A thousand students were watching, the Unions Presidentelect told the crowd, many unable to get a place in the chamber but following the debate in rooms around the building. Hundreds more had been turned away, with lines stretching into the streets since late afternoon." A video of the full debate can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpEjVlPFrs Of his Christian Aid appointment, the exArchbishop said: 'I am very honoured indeed to be invited to chair the Board of Christian Aid. I had hoped very much to be able to continue some regular involvement in support and advocacy in the area of international justice and development, and this will allow such an involvement to flourish. Many years of cooperation with and support for Christian Aid have made me familiar with the excellent quality of all that they do, and I am personally very happy indeed to be working with them in this new role at a time when international development issues will need the most dedicated and sustained attention.' Dr Williams seems to be readily adapting to the freedom of his new life, with the London Evening Standard reporting, "Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams may have hung up his black cassock just a week ago, but he has slotted into life on the outside pretty easily. Yesterday he was spotted worshipping as an anonymous member of the congregation at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Clapham, easily identifiable by his beard and dog collar under a stripey scarf." Let us wish him well in his new endeavours. vision April 2013 page 16

Rowan Williams

Charitable Giving

Christian Aid Week 1218 May 2013 Its very rewarding to know that Christians of different traditions are working together for one common aim during Christian Aid Week. Christian Aid Week volunteer. Thousands of churches will stand together this Christian Aid Week to speak out for change, including those in Pangbourne, Tidmarsh and Sulham. Some 100,000 committed volunteers will go out and put their faith into action, raising funds to help some of the worlds poorest and most vulnerable people. Will you be one of them? Will you be part of Britains largest housetohouse collection, an extraordinary act of witness demonstrating to our communities that we care about ending poverty and injustice? Will you collect in your street? You can do it on your own or with a friend. But whatever time you can spare will be a real help. There is enough food for everyone in the world, but one in eight people will go to bed hungry tonight. This years Christian Aid Week tells the story of how Christian Aid is helping communities to 'bite back' at hunger through the lens of land rights in Bolivia, new technology in Kenya and innovative agriculture in Zimbabwe. Come and hear more on 21st April at Sunday at Ten at St Jamess the Less, Pangbourne. If you want to be part of our churches' response to poverty: 'Bite Back at Hunger', join our collectors team. Speak to Janice Proud or Jennifer Nutt after a service, or email janiceproud@hotmail.com . Collectors bags will be available in Church from Sunday 5th May and should be returned on Sunday 19th May, or during the following two weeks. Janice Proud vision April 2013 page 17

Bite Back at Hunger

Charitable Giving

Saturday 18 May 2013 Walk the Country with Christian Aid and pace against poverty in this five, 10 or 15 mile route through the stunning Oxfordshire countryside. Registration 8.3010am Start: Bix Village Hall, Bix, RG9 6BS between Henley and Nettlebed To register: email events@christianaid.org or call John Russell on 0118 978 3232. More information at: www.christianaid.org.uk/walks Saturday 6 April, 24pm Enjoy an afternoon with Christian Aid in the beautiful gardens of Chenies Manor House. Saunter through the sunken garden and master the yew maze! All this followed by tea, cake and inspiring stories from Christian Aids partners around the world. An excellent opportunity to find out how your community can be involved in helping bring an end to poverty. Details Where? Chenies Manor House, Buckinghamshire, WD3 6EP When? Saturday 6 April, 24pm Tickets: suggested donation of 5. Booking is essential, so please reserve your place by emailing oxford@christianaid.org or calling 01865 246818. This page is for asking the whole of our Christian family in Pangbourne, Tidmarsh, Sulham, and beyond, to pray for you, a loved one, or anyone or anything else needing our prayers (contact details on page 1)

Walk the Country

Chenies Manor House Garden Tour

Prayer Requests

There were no prayer requests this month.

vision

April 2013

page 18

Charitable Giving
Around the turn of the year your PCC paid 5000 to four other charities; one in Reading for homeless people, one operating nationally, one in Africa (Bungokho), and one to support a missionary nurse going to South America. It was the latest operation of the 'tithe', a practice which goes back to the days when Tidmarsh and Sulham were a parish separate from Pangbourne, and the two parishes were charitable in different ways. St James Church started to tithe in 1998, when a resolution was passed at the Annual Church Meeting, sayng that 10% of the income received from donors during the previous year would be distributed to charities. This practice has been followed ever since, endorsed by periodlc resolutions at subsequent Annual Meetings. Originally, all church members were invited to play an active part in deciding where the money would go. Each year a number of selected charities were listed on a ballot paper, and the money was distributed according to the number of votes cast. Everyone who had contributed was entitled to vote. FAITH, the Reading charity fighting poverty amongst the homeless, addicted, and marginalised, was always a popular candidate, as was CIRDIC, the dropin centre in South Reading. Among the lnternational charities, the Mission Aviation Fellowship resonated with many voters, as did the Church Mission Society, the sponsors of the nurse we are currently assisting. The ballot continued for 12 years, until 2009 when in truth, a bit of administrative fatigue set in and the decisions devolved to the PCC. The two parishes had united by this time, and last year the possibillty of a combined Pangbourne, Tidmarsh & Sulham tithe was raised. It is an important subject. Donations received by the three churches are no longer enough to meet the costs of our combined parish. Paying our tithe to others adds to the deficit. Should we continue to tithe, and how should we continue? You can expect the matter to feature at this year's Annual Parochial Church Meeting, so please come along, have your say, and vote (n.b. you will need to be on the new electoral roll to vote at this meeting, so please complete a form, available in the churches, before 31st March). Edward Goddard TITHE OR NOT TO TITHE?

Genuine Church Notices

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation. vision April 2013 page 19

News

St Bartholomew's Lower Basildon

St Bartholomews, Lower Basildon, is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. However, there are some Evensong services still held in the church, and the details for this year are as follows:

Sunday 21 April at 6.00 Sunday 30 June at 6.00 Saturday 24 August at 4.30 This is the actual Feast of St Bartholomew, whence the change of day, to a cathedral time for evensong. It is planned to link it to an Open Day and Teas, possibly including the nearby World of Boats Museum. This fledgling museum is in the barns immediately next door to the Beale Park exit. Sunday 29 September at 6.00 Harvest Choral Evensong

Each Service has a full choir, which sings all the canticles, responses (usually) and an anthem. The Service itself is the absolutely standard Prayer Book 1662 Evensong. From Pangbourne, the turning from the A329 to St Bartholowmew's is 150 yds past the Lower Basildon Service Station on the right.

Coming soon!
Plans are in hand for the following events these are meant to be both fun and fund raising so please join in. More details will follow but meanwhile make a note of the dates: Sunday 19th May Open Gardens with cream teas in St James Saturday 8th June Teas at the Village Fete on the river meadow Saturday 22nd June Jazz Night No. 2 in the Rectory Garden The above events are the responsibility of the St James Committee and other willing volunteers! Offers of help with these and future events would be most welcome. May be you could do the publicity, or make some cakes, or brew pots of tea, or help set up and clear up. Please contact Jill Palfrey on 984 2698 or email palfrey62@btinternet.com and you will be put in touch with the organiser of each particular event. vision April 2013 page 20

For several years volunteers from our 3 churches have provided tea and cakes at the Pangbourne Village Fte. However this year, Jill and Len Palfrey who have done so much of the organising in the past, are unavailable. We are therefore looking to recruit enough people to erect the small marquee, collect the urns, crockery etc., and to be there throughout the day to serve the beverages, cut the cakes, and to generally look after the serving side of the enterprise. The marquee has to be picked up and erected on 'The Meadow' at around 8.30 am, and then dismantled around 5.00 pm. Our folding tables need transporting from church to the meadow, as does the crockery and washing up bowls etc., to make us self sufficient. We have four willing volunteers so far to help with the tent, but a few more will be needed to make it viable. If you are able and willing, please will you let Cherry know (984 2636 or mc.east@btinternet.com ). Thats the beginning and the end, but of course we shall also need volunteers for the allimportant middle bit of serving the tea, coffee, soft drinks, and baking and selling the cakes. We also need 'washers up', a constant activity throughout the day. Its all good fun and no one has to commit to being there for the whole day, an hour would be marvellous. There will be lists in the churches nearer the time, but an indication before the end of April of willingness would be very helpful, so that we can decide if we are able to undertake this project this year. I am very happy to coordinate but nowadays this needs to be from a sitting position! Cherry East The flesh and the spirit has been willing but the weather has been dreach, to use that lovely Gaelic word, in February and early March. A few members have met and a small amount of clearing up has been achieved but we really wanted to get an early start on grass cutting. Thursday 7th March was a wash out so 4 of us met on Saturday to fulfil the Rectors wish for whips, of the hornbeam variety!! The footpath leading to the Garden of Remembrance is hedged on one side in hornbeam which has become overgrown and has large gaps in it as a result. We have cut down the overgrown bushes on either side of the gaps and filled the gaps with the new whips. In due course we will cut back the rest of the hedge which will allow it to bush out and thicken up. We have received an offer of help from our local Beavers, who meet at Pangbourne Primary School on Thursday evenings. As part of their community service they are coming to do some work in the churchyard. We look forward to their involvement and thank them for their generous offer. If you would like to join the Green Gymers put the first Thursday and third Saturday of each month in your diary and just turn up between 09.30 and 12.00. If you cannot manage these times and would still like to help at a time that suits you, have a word with either Dennis Jones (984 4051) or Len Palfrey (984 2698) and we will be very pleased to find work for you. vision April 2013 page 21

TEAS AT PANGBOURNE VILLAGE FTE 8 JUNE 2013

News

Green Gym

News

Bell Tower Open Morning

We held our Tower Open Morning as planned after Family Service on Sunday 17th February. Quite a few people of all ages came and had a look inside the ringing room and met some of the ringers. A brave few even had a go at ringing a bell, of which at least two showed great potential. Very sadly no one took up our offer to teach them the fascinating art of bell ringing. We really do need to recruit a few new ringers to ensure that the bells at our church will keep ringing well into the future. Ideally, I would like to recruit a number of parents with their children but we would be very happy if it were one or the other! Please give it some thought, ringing is not physically demanding but it is challenging and we make it a fun experience. If you, adult or child, are interested please get in touch with Len Palfrey 984 2698 or visit us any Sunday or Thursday evening. Len Palfrey There are moves afoot to celebrate Englands patron saint in the same way that the Scots, Welsh and Irish celebrate their patron saints. To this end the Bishop of Oxford has asked church bell ringers within the diocese to ring the bells in as many churches as possible at 6pm on St Georges Day, Thursday 23rd April, and link up with ringers all over England to raise awareness of our patron saint. In this way it is hoped that it will quickly become a tradition for all the bells in England to ring for St George, prompting other forms of celebration. Listen out for the bells of St James the Less on the 23rd.
Len Palfrey

Saint Georges Day

St James are having a clear out of redundant books, and have identified a set of small BCP prayer books as surplus to requirements. If anyone would like to give a home to one of these books, please contact 'vision' or speak to Jill Palfrey or Cherry East.

Book of Common Prayer

BAPTISM 'We welcome you'

From the Registers

03.03.13 George David Spokes (St James the Less)

vision

April 2013

page 22

Worship in April
7:45 am St James Holy Communion Order 2 Sunday 7th Easter 2 7:45 am St James Holy Communion Order 2 10am St James Sunday at Ten Family Worship Sunday 14th Easter 3 7:45 am St James Holy Communion Order 2 Sunday 21st Easter 4 7:45 am St James Holy Communion Order 2 Sunday 28th Easter 5

10am St James Sunday at Ten Holy Communion (With Children's Church) 11am St Laurence Family Worship

10am 10am St James St James Sunday at Ten Sunday at Ten Holy Parish Communion Communion (With Children's with Baptism Church) (With Children's Church) 11am 11am St Laurence St Nicholas Holy Family Communion Worship with Baptism 11am St James Matins

6pm St James Evening Service

6pm St James Quiet Service

6pm St James Evening Service & Annual Parochial Meeting

vision

April 2013

page 23

Ministers Rector Curate Associate

St Laurence

Parish Directory
St James the Less

St Nicholas
984 2928 984 5297 984 3625 984 4051 984 2368 984 5692 984 4359 984 4912 941 1684

Revd Heather Parbury, The Rectory, St James Close rector@pangbournechurches.info at.bond@btinternet.com Revd Andrew Bond, Heron Lodge, 32 The Moors Revd Jean Rothery jeanrothery@aol.com Dennis Jones, 21 The Moors Revd Tony Naden, Lost Marbles, 31 Reading Road Vanessa Saunders, 2 Willowmead, Kennedy Drive Dr Martin Burridge, 22 Breedons Hill Edward Goddard, 49 St james Close Dennis Jones, 21 The Moors Linda Clargo, lindaclargo@btinternet.com Wilma Grant, 16 Meadowside, Tilehurst Dr Martin Burridge, 22 Breedons Hill Cliff Thorne, 23 Horseshoe Rd Valentina Britten, 4 Manor Farm Mews, Tidmarsh

Church Officers & Representatives PCC Vice Chair PCC Secretary Electoral Roll PCC Treasurer

Gift Aid Secretary Deanery Synod

07765957422 084 2702 984 4051 07765957422 984 2370 984 3803 984 3803 984 4307 942 1020 956 1820 377 3286 377 3286 941 1684 984 2370

All Churches Together Jennifer Nutt, Spindleberry Barn, Bere Court Rd Panhbourne & District Heather Thorne, 23 Horseshoe Rd. Church Wardens Parish Administraror Sarah Rasmussen, admin@pangbournechurches.info Anne Bolam, 6 Hillview Close, Long Lane, Tilehurst Jennifer Nutt, Spindleberry Barn, Bere Court Rd Jill Palfrey, 62 Horseshoe Rd Children's Worker Children's Church Noah's Ark Youth Church Chief Verger Music Coordinator Flower Arranging Church Cleaning Prayer Chain Home Groups (Bible Study) Coffee Rota Singles Lunch Group "vision" Editor "vision" Distributors Volunteer Centre Julia Sheppard, 116 Cockney Hill, Tilehurst Abi Thorne, abi_thorne@hotmail.com Dennis Jones, 21 The Moors Judith Sumner, 97 Warborough Rd, Tilehurst Judith Sumner, 97 Warborough Rd, Tilehurst Bonnie YuleKuehne, bonnie@alpha.org Wilma Grant, 16 Meadowside, Tilehurst Pauline Jones, 21 The Moors Roma Busby, Courtlands Cottage, Green Lane Monday pm Cherry East, 35 Kennedy Drive Thursday pm Kat Syfret Gina CoulsonLloyd Cherry East, 35 Kennedy Drive ziggit@btinternet.com

984 2698

07816485731 984 4051 984 4051 984 2698 984 2327 984 2370

Captain of Bellringers Len Palfrey, 62 Horseshoe Rd

Jennifer Nutt, Spindleberry Barn, Bere Court Rd

984 2636 984 2636 984 2702

984 3690 984 5468 01491 874055 984 4586

Mickey Haynes, 28 Cleeve Down, Goring on Thames, RG8 0HA Janet & Edward Goddard, 49 St James Close Office open weekdays 09:30 11:30

07500720720

(all addresses are Pangbourne, and all 'phone numbers 0118 unless otherwise indicated)