All Saints Youth Worker programme launched

Members of All Saints are being asked to think and pray about a programme to strengthen the church's ministry with youth in the parish,  with a view to appointing a full-time youth worker during 2012.

Sermons and presentations on the topic are being given at services during January to inform the church of the need for a youth worker and stimulate discussion.  This included a drama sketch on the habits and ecology of both the "lesser spotted" (in church) and "greater spotted" (in the community) species of youth prepared by two volunteer youth leaders. After Parish Communion services church members have been asked to comment on what a youth worker would do and imagine a typical week in the life of a youth worker.

A leaflet has been produced to explain the arguments for employing a full-time youth worker in the parish and covering some of the questions. View here.

The Rector's New year/Epiphany sermon called on the church to take this step to strengthen the parish's mission and ministry to young people. View here.

Please note the .pdfs are currently not downloading for Google Chrome users, please use an alternative browser or contact the parish office to have information emailed to you. Sorry, this is due to circumstances beyond our control, we are seeking to rectify it.

Canterbury pilgrimage information and booking (click)

Confirmation leaflet 2012

Read the latest email newsletter here

Revd Helen Charlton leading the Christingle Service 2011

Christingle Service a great success

This year's Christingle Service attracted a large congregation of children with their parents, grandparents, and many other parishioners who came to celebrate Christ the Light of the world and to support the work of The Children's Society with their prayers and their gifts. When the lights went down the church was filled with the flickering candles of the christingles as the congregation sang Away in a Manger. Members of the Wokingham Children's Society fund-raising committee  took part in the service.

The Revd  Helen Charlton led the service and gave the talk; highlighting the symbolism of the Christingle and the work the Children's Society does to bring the light of love into the lives of children whose lives are blighted by the darkness of fear and rejection. Afterwards there was a sumptuous afternoon tea provided by members of the church and organised by the Social Committee. The Revd Canon David Hodgson, Rector of the church said "This year was particularly well-supported and I was delighted to see so many people enjoying worshipping God and having an enjoyable time together whilst at the same time raising funds for the vital work of the Children's Society". 

Our bid to EnergyShare for funding for solar panels on The Cornerstone roof

As all of you are probably aware, the deadline for voting for All Saints in the  bid to gain grant-funding from EnergyShare for solar panels on the Cornerstone has closed. THANK YOU  and well done everyone who supported and voted – we ended up with 1238 supporters, from Wokingham and all over the country.  However, sadly, it was a 7 horse race and we came 4^th, when we needed to come in 1^st or 2^nd.

  Although this is disappointing, there are so many positive things that we gained from this experience. We raised the profile of The Cornerstone as well as the project, and  not only locally , but nationally and even internationally; and made some great connections too.

 We've learned a huge amount through this which isn't wasted at all. It spurred us on  to do the preparation work for the project – such as the architects’ drawings, submission for planning permission.  It’s also given us the impetus to  hone our message about the value of it as a project.

 The other positive thing is this project still  remains as worthwhile as it was. There are several other sources of funding that we are looking into now, and the Carbon Reduction Team is as determined to achieve the installation as it always was. This project will happen I'm sure.

What can you do now? Please will you stay with it – don't give up. PCC will discuss next steps and new avenues are being explored already; you will be hearing more very soon.

Finally a massive thank you to our Carbon Reduction Team and to Tamzin who has done so much to move the project forward and given it so much vision, energy and enthusiasm and sheer persistence for what has been weeks of hard work!

Emergency Food Parcel Scheme

Harvest Festival at All Saints saw a massive boost to the Emergency Food Parcel Scheme based at The Cornerstone; with many completed parcels donated at the church. The scheme has been developed in partnership with  the Family Support Worker based at All Saints Primary School and other community workers in the Norreys Ward. It provides a 24 hour pack of food for a family in an emergency. Families are referred to the scheme through one of the community agencies. Thank you for all those who are supporting this scheme as a volunteer and/or as a food donor.

The terrible crisis of hunger and famine affecting thousands of families in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia has caused the Disasters Emergency Committee to launch an urgent appeal.

 All Saints Church took a special retiring collection at all services on 10 July

More information about the situation in East Africa right now, the appeal and the Disasters Emergency Committee is here.

June's meeting of the Parochial Church Council heard about leading the church into growth.

Rev'd Caroline Kramer, Associate Priest, presented a special topic session with the PCC in which she reported on her recent attendance at the Leading Your Church into Growth course.

The course challenges churches to shake out of a mind-set that the Church is in decline and has a positive approach to mission in the local parish.