FROM THE CHURCHES’ REGISTERS
Baptism at St Giles’
Jan 11th Sophie Grace Insall
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
Nov 18th Renee Clarke, aged 81
Nov 21st Doris Lane, aged 100
Nov 24th Heather Bransfield, aged 71
Nov 24th David Davies, aged 82 (after service at St Giles’)
Dec 12th Margaret (Peggy) Craft, aged 90
Dec 23rd Irene Gow, aged 78
Jan 8th Eric Prescott, aged 87
Each Sunday at St Giles’ Church we pray for all the people who live or work in a particular road in the Parish. During February we will pray for the following roads:
Feb 1st The Mallows
Feb 8th The Mead
Feb 15th The Paddock
Feb 22nd The Woods
If you live in one of these roads why not join us at our 8am or 9.45am services? You will be most welcome.
During Lent, the period of just over six weeks in the lead up to Easter, there are a number of opportunities to reflect on the Christian way of life, and consider how that way of life fits in with the world today. There will be extra services on Wednesday evenings at St Giles’, and smaller study groups meeting at various times and locations. Or perhaps you would welcome some time to reflect on your own. If so, our reading recommendation could be useful to you. Why not try one – or all – of these ideas?
- Wednesday Evening during Lent
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 25 Feb with a communion service at St Giles’ at 8pm. In this first Wednesday meeting, Ken Tombs will speak about how we set aside time for God during Lent. The following four meetings, again on Wednesdays at 8pm, will have a talk and prayer format. Each week, a member of our churches will speak about their experience of being a Christian under the title of ‘Christian Stories’. Their talk will be followed by a short service of night prayer (traditionally known as Compline).
- Lent Groups
A number of small study groups will meet during Lent on different days, times and locations, so hopefully there should be something to suit everyone. The theme will be ‘Life Calling’. The author of the material we will use writes, ‘Some people think that vocation is just for special people....but God asks us all to live our lives shaped and directed by his call’. The groups will explore the meaning of vocation for everyone. Information about when and where the groups meet will be available in both churches from early February.
- Lent Book Recommendation
This year, Adrian’s recommendation is the highly acclaimed story The Shack, by William Paul Young. (Published by Windblown.) J. John writes “this is the most heart-warming, inspirational story I have read in decades. If you only read one book in the next year, read The Shack”. The story wrestles with the question, ‘Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?’ via a story that gives a window on seeing things from God’s perspective. The book is a real page turner, beautifully written, amusing, moving and deep.
