What's going on
Baptism Service
Please pray for those being baptised or reaffirming their promises at St Peter’s 10.30am service: Ellie Duncombe, Larry Galliford, Linda Goulding, Holly Hart, Sarah Janes, Pippa Robinson, Melissa Turpie and Lorna Young.
Honduras
Mark and Rosalie will be going to Honduras on our church's behalf in February (leaving on the 9th, returning on the 22nd). Accompanied by Duncan, they will stay a few days with Pastor Pinto in the capital, Tegucigalpa, and visit AFE - the development project on the rubbish dump. They will then go to Talanga where the Manuelito Children's Home is situated. The purpose of the visit is to develop further our church's mission link with the Manuelito Project and the church in Talanga and Tegucigalpa, with the aim of sending out more teams in future years, as well as learning from what the Honduran church is already doing in mission. More details to follow in the New Year.
The Mission Partnership Team are looking for new members
The team meets three or four times per year and is responsible for raising the pro-file of our church's mission partners/links, as well as recommending to the PCC how we distribute our church's mission tithe. (We give 10% each year to our mission partners.) If you have a heart for overseas and local mission and would like to be part of this team, or simply find out more, please speak to Christine Berry (627161) or Mark. Our current mission partners are: Kigeme Diocese in Rwanda; CMS/SAMS (in Paraguay); Open Doors; Scripture Union (and locally Wayne Dixon); the Bridge Trust; Yeldall Manor. There are more details about each of these on our website.
COACH community mentoring - RBWM local budget
We have an opportunity to vote for the RBWM local budget again this month, and having gained £2,000 plus match funding for the Open Church Project, we have the possibility of raising £1,500 for COACH. We can then take time to vote for The Fix, as COACH is in more immediate need of funds at this point. COACH community mentoring matches coaches to individuals for one-on-one coaching over a 12 month period, working alongside other groups and support. It is a chance to invest in a relationship that can make a difference for life. This money will go directly to train and support the 10 coaches who have volunteered over the past few months, especially as we match them with individuals and fami-lies in the coming months. How do I do this? Go to www.rbwm.gov.uk, follow the link to 'Your Local Budget - vote for your favourite project' immediately under the Welcome. This will take you to a list of projects (COACH is the third one down). Scroll to the bottom of this page, and click on 'VOTE NOW'. This will take you to another list of projects - we are 3rd from the bottom on this list. Under *1 select COACH community mentoring. Under *2 provide your postcode and street name. It's up to you if you take up the offer for further information. Then click 'done' and the website (called Survey Monkey) will thank you for taking the survey. We have until 5pm on 6th February to vote for this project. Thanks for your support.
Beth Honey - COACH community mentoring co-ordinator
Mission Partnership News
As part of the Open Church Project fundraising we have been setting aside money for a project to extend God's Kingdom abroad. We are now in a position to send £13,000 in two phases to Kigeme Diocese in Rwanda. The money will provide training for 4,500 people at Parish level in order to evangelise 50,000 families in the area covered by Kigeme Diocese. We have recently sent the first phase of just over £6,000 to purchase a photocopier, binding machine, printing ink and paper to produce necessary documents for training 204 trainers. This is an exciting project and will further develop our partnership with Bishop Augustin and Kigeme Diocese. If you would like further information please speak to Christine Berry (627161), a member of the Mission Partnership team.
Alpha
Alpha starts this Thursday (2nd Feb), 7.45pm - 9.30pm. It's a fantastic way to explore the Christian faith and the big questions of life in a friendly and open way. Everybody is welcome however much they believe or don’t believe. The best way to check it out is to come along on your own or with someone on Thursday. Food is provided. More details from Mark, Beth or John Liz and Will (07792 126 856).
Craft Club
Wednesday 25th Jan, 29th Feb and 28th March from 10am - 2pm in the Jubilee Room. Bring your craft with you or just pop in for a cup of tea and a chat. Everyone welcome. For more details speak to Debbie Watson (532080) or Jean Stevens (620674).
World Leprosy Day
(29th January) is being celebrated at St Mark's Church on Sunday 12th February. The service begins at 10.15am and we have a speaker from the Leprosy Mission coming to talk to us about the disease and the work of the Mission. Please come and join us and find out more. Refreshments will be available after the service and we look forward to seeing you.
Jane Pringle (620464)
Training in Schools Work - Scripture Union
‘Do you have opportunities in schools? Are you interested in school work? We plan to run a training session for interested people. It will be during the day, or an evening or a Saturday. It will focus on primary and secondary education. Location will be determined by interest and response. If you'd like to know more let me know and we'll proceed from there.’ Wayne Dixon 01753 523058 wayned@scriptureunion.org.uk
The Open Church Project
Open Church Project: We recently interviewed a new group of building contractors with a view to pre-qualifying them for tender. As a result of this exercise we will probably go out to tender with 3, possibly 4 of these companies. We are retendering the project, having decided not to proceed further with our originally chosen 'design and build' contractor. This is because the original contractor was insisting on significant design changes to the building, by their own architects, claiming that the plans developed by JBKS, our original architects, did not comply with building regulations. Without these changes the contractor was unwilling to accept design liability for the building, a position which was totally unacceptable. The changes suggested were unacceptable to us from both the practical and aesthetic points of view. They were also totally unnecessary, the design having already received formal building control approval from NHBC, our competent building control authority, and the Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. In these circumstances, and after much deliberation and prayer, it was felt that our relationship with the contractor had broken down and we had no alternative but to terminate that relationship, and re-tender the job. We had not entered into a formal agreement with them to actually build the building: only to amend the plans and schedules to implement certain 'value engineering' features, and to allow for our own subsequent internal fit out of the first floor, in order to reduce the overall tender cost. This job they have completed for us. These revised features are being carried forward into the re-tender process. The successful contractor will work with JBKS, rather than use any other architect of their own. If you would like to discuss any aspect of this further, please speak to a member of the OCP team: Sue Stabler, Philippa Boyland, Tony May, Alan Berry or Mark Balfour.
Open the Book
the Furze Platt Junior team needs a few more members. We go into the school most Thursday afternoons to present Bible stories. This is hugely popular with the children and great fun to do. No previous acting experience needed, just a willingness to have a go - and you will probably not be needed every week, although there are a couple of practice and preparation sessions each half term. Talk to Mark or Rosalie if you want to know more, or the other members of the team - Cathy Tyne, Andrew Fleet and Catherine Hollingsworth.
Become a Street Angel
Maidenhead Street Angels are looking for more volunteers as they seek to expand to Saturday nights in the coming months, as well as to provide more cover on Fridays. Chat to Mark, Jeremy Stevens, John and Liz Barringer or Beki Hart to hear why this is such an exciting and fun thing to do. You can come out for a 'taster' to see if this is for you. Volunteers give anything from two evenings a month to one evening every couple of months - you can volunteer for what suits you. Training is provided for all volunteers. More info is also available from Carol Cooper, Street Angels Administrator, on 07534 671175 or stangelsm@hotmail.co.uk
New Wine 2012
A group of us from the church had an amazing time at New Wine this year. New Wine is a Christian festival in Somerset where thousands of people gather to worship, have fun, get some great teaching - and camp or caravan! A group of us are definitely going in 2012 - and we'd love to have as many as want to come join with us. It runs from 21-27 July - more details here www.new-wine.org/summer or ask Mark & Rosalie or any of the group who went in the summer.
Refresh
We are looking for people willing to join the rota and serve hot chocolate at the Refresh services on Sunday evenings. Interested? Contact Dave Lee: orangewinger@gmail.com or 635077
QUENCH, 19A Queen Street
At this moment we have two flats available, consisting of a large bedroom [private] a shared lounge, kitchen, terrace, bathroom & cloak-room. Good entrance hall for bicycles. This is town centre accommodation, very close to the railway station, and all town centre shops. There are no private parking facilities. However, the accommodation has been recently refurbished. Rental @ £350 per month, plus bills [water, elec, gas] £50's per month. Council tax extra. If interested please contact Tony Bronniman on 07802 735 047.
Maidenhead’s Foodshare
As you will have seen in this week’s Advertiser, the Maidenhead Foodshare scheme is now up and running. If you would like to be part of this compassionate initiative to help the people of Maidenhead who now find themselves in straitened circum-stances, please bring your contributions to either of the church buildings, and they will be taken to Sue Brett on a weekly basis. The flyer on display gives details of the type of foods that would be useful; particularly products with a long shelf-life. .
Open the Book assemblies
We're looking for new members for both of our teams, Courthouse on Thursdays 8.30 to 9.30am and Furze Platt Juniors Thursdays 2.00 to 3.15pm. Please contact Mark Balfour if you want to know more.
Open Church Fund-Raising
A fund-raising leaflet and letter for sending to named contacts at companies in Maidenhead is in the final stages of production. If you know any companies and/or contacts whom you believe we could meaningfully approach, please could you notify one of the OCP Project Team or the Parish Office. Did you know that this year our fun(d) raising events have raised over £7000 for the OCP? Big thanks to Stephen and Hazel Cronbach for their coordination of this.
The Fix
The Fix Friday night youth club is looking for additional leaders and tuck helpers to join the team. Whether it is playing football, playing Willy Wonka and counting out penny sweets, assisting with crafts or serving food I‟d love to hear from you.
Ben Dale 789178
Open Church Project – News and Prayer
Mark has started a particular initiative to help people pray for and during the Open Church Project. Most weeks he’ll write a brief piece with a short bible reading, a reflection and suggestions as to how to pray. This will be sent out by email to those who 'sign up' and will be posted on a blog –http://openchurchprayer.blogspot.com – and copies can also be printed off for anyone who does not have internet access. If you want to sign up to receive this, please email Mark –revmbalfour@btinternet.com
The Just Giving page for the Open Church Project can be found here, for anyone who would like to make an online donation.
Bike Servicing in aid of Open Church Project
I service and rebuild all types of bicycles. Anything from a shopper to an expensive road bike. All labour charges in aid of OCP. Contact Mark Gould 776013 for details.
Maidenhead Care
If anyone is able to volunteer their time to drive for Care, please can you call the Care number (07538 418 448) and leave your details. It doesn't matter how much or little time you can spare, every little helps. We have drivers who do only one morning a week or every two weeks, and others who are able to help for quite a few days. You can do long or short journeys, any help would be greatly appreciated, especially in these times when Government cuts mean more and more people are looking to try to contact Maidenhead Care.
The Bridge Trust (Re:Charge)
is looking to have more people involved as we plan the way forward this year. If you would like to find out more, give your time and energy to this project, be involved as a trustee, please contact me in the first instance and I can tell you more. Philippa Boyland 622543.
Could you help at Little Fishes?
Little Fishes Pre-school which runs daily sessions in the Memorial Hall is affiliated to St. Peter's and the staff are seeking church members to offer to read a story, do some singing or help out in sessions. It would be great to strengthen our links with Little Fishes so if anyone has some time available and loves being with pre-school children please speak to Kate Higley (770405) or Jenny Thorn (626745). Thank you.
Neighbourhood Action Group
Did you know that a committed group of Police Community Support Officers and RBWM staff meet with locals regularly (but not frequently) to facilitate cooperation in promoting the well being of our area? They are looking for more representatives who live in Pinkney's Green and Furze Platt to come along to NAG meetings to further communication with residents and concerned parties. This is a great opportunity to build links in the community. For more information and details of how this works, please chat to Beth.
Wanted - Empty printer cartridges
Do you have empty printer cartridges that you would normally throw away? If so, please can you consider using them to raise money for the charity Alpha Communities, by either giving them to Ben Honey, or taking an envelope from him to put them in. Either way, money will be sent to the charity for each cartridge that is received. For more information on how this works, please talk to Ben Honey (in person or phone or email on ben_honey@hotmail.co.uk).
Things to Borrow
The church website has a page highlighting where you can borrow (on an infrequent/one-time use basis) items from other church members. Click here or check out Things to Borrow in the Resources and Links section. Once you've found what you need, contact the relevant person (contact details in the church Address List). If you have any items you would like to offer for loan purposes please contact Cat on benandcat@hotmail.co.uk
Debt and money worries
There is now a page on the church website http://www.real-life.org.uk/money.htm - which provides links to groups providing help and support. If you have any worries or anxieties about the credit crunch, personal debt or other money issues you might value a confidential conversation and/or prayer about this. You can also be given some signposting as to where to go for specialist help. Please feel free to contact Mark either directly or through the church office or leadership team.
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