Newsletter: May, 2006

Towards the Ascension

“Jesus said, “See that it is I myself.” Luke 24:39

We have all done it, haven’t we? And recalling it perhaps makes us cringe with embarrassment still. It’s that not being sure, isn’t it?

We meet someone, or we’re introduced to someone, and we talk — perhaps shyly or with polite diffidence at first — and then slowly, very slowly, but with mounting inward embarrassment, we realise that we know this person after all. Indeed we may have known them very well at some time in the past, but we lost touch and haven’t seen them for years.

And, my, haven’t they changed? They look larger, or fatter or thinner, darker, greyer, balder, more bronzed, more athletic, more stooping, older, more tired, more distant. The change might be due to age, or to a changed lifestyle. It might be due to a serious and debilitating — perhaps life-threatening — illness. Whatever the reason, it has caused a change in their appearance such that, at first, we didn’t recognise them at all.

But then, as we chat, we sense that they haven’t really changed after all. Physically, perhaps, yes; but in themselves they remain the same person we always knew. And later, when we look back on this reunion, we say to ourselves, “You know, they’ve hardly changed at all!”

In many ways, the disciples experienced similar circumstances and sensations at the end of that first Easter Day.

Jesus had died, hadn’t he? They had seen him killed, on the cross. And then, to make matters worse, his body had disappeared — though some of their number were emphatically certain that they had seen him. And now, here he was, in their midst. Or was he? “No, it’s a ghost,” they decide — but then again, “No, no, it’s not; it is him; it’s Jesus.”

“Peace be with you,” he said and, of course, when he spoke to them they knew it was him. As he showed them his pierced hands and feet, and ate fish with them, they recognised it was indeed the Jesus they had always known — a recognition in which they now felt more and more assured as he reminded them of all he had told them and taught them.

Yes, this was the same Jesus. And yet he is different too, for now he has conquered death, and opened wide the door of the kingdom.

Jesus commissions the disciples. They are to witness to him — the same old Jesus and yet, too, the now risen Lord Jesus. They are to go to all the nations of the world — and what wonderful and compelling good news they now have to share, of Jesus who is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow, God-on-earth, who came to bring God’s love to the world, a love which is never-ending and which transcends even death.

The disciples needed to come to terms with the fact that Jesus was, and would be, with them always — “to the end of time”, as he said. So, too, do we.

The First Letter of John (1 John 3.2) reminds us: “When he [Jesus] is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is”. And remember: as Jesus commissioned those disciples, so too does he call us and commission us. So we must look for him, recognise him in every part of our lives. We must be alive to him, alive in him, and focus on him, our risen, living, loving Lord Jesus. Then shall we see him as he is, wherever he is. We shall become more and more like him, and so shall we be able more truly to witness to him in the world, in all those circles and communities in which we each live and move and work.

NEWS IN BRIEF
Monday 1st May marks the occasion of the first anniversary of the joining together of the Anglican and Methodist Churches in Englefield Green.

ANNUAL MEETINGS
At the first of the two meetings held in Church on Sunday 30th April after the 9.30am service, Geoff Chew and Brian Hooker were re-elected Churchwardens for the coming year.

The second of the two meetings on 30th April gave us an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped during the previous year and to approve the Annual Report and Accounts and listen to reports from various organisations within the Church.

We elected Guy and Louise Bunce, Elizabeth Hopkins and Felicity Whiting to the PCC all for a period of three years and we approved the list of sidespersons for the next year.

BLANKETS AND TEDDIES
We are very grateful to those who continue to keep St Jude’s Church open on Saturday afternoons between 2.00 and 4.00pm. Many thanks also to those who pop in with their contributions of wool, teddies, squares for blankets (and some whole blankets) and hats and scarves.

More help is needed especially in sewing up teddies ready for stuffing and cash for buying wool — please come along to Church and see what you can do.

So far this year, two deliveries have been made to Guildford in the first leg of the distribution journey by Mustard Seed and other organisations to areas of poverty and disaster. Most of the blankets go to Eastern Europe while the teddies go all over the world from Peru to Nepal. Many went to the tsunami areas and the Indian earthquake.

So far this year we have sent 36 blankets, 88 teddies and 85 jumpers and there is already another pile building up in Church.

CRUSADERS
The Crusaders leaders press on in Engle-field Green always remembering that only about 1 in 10 children has any contact with church organisations. A group will be taken to the Royal Albert Hall on 20th May for the big Centenary event.

There will be a need for a new female leader in the summer — if you are free in the early part of Monday evenings and would like to help, please contact us on crusaders@stjudeschurch.info or come along to one of the meetings on Mondays in termtime at 6.00pm.

CHRISTIAN AID
It has not proved possible this year to organise a delivery and collection of envelopes for Christian Aid.

With this Newsletter you have a leaflet giving just a little information about Christian Aid. We ask you to consider this carefully and give what you feel you can by one of the ways itemised on the leaflet.

Any cheque sent to us at St Jude’s should be made payable directly to Christian Aid and we will pay them into their bank account.

Please do not allow this change of method to mean less money goes to such a worthwhile cause.

OUR NEW VICAR
The closing date for the post of new Vicar in Englefield Green is 2nd May and the interviews will be on 1st June.

SATURDAY AFTERNOONS
As you may know, we keep St Jude’s Church open for visitors each Saturday afternoon between 2.00 and 4.00pm. To do this safely and adequately requires at least 3 people at all times. To keep this running, we must have a rota of people who would take a turn — obviously the more offers we have, the less often each one would have to do. If you can help with this, say, once every two months, please contact the Churchwardens (telephone numbers are shown above) or by email to saturdays@stjudeschurch.info. Your help would be appreciated.

FROM THE REGISTERS
Holy Baptism:
(9th April) Hayley Louise Beale; (23rd April) Poppy Elizabeth Karen Hancock; (30th April) John Charles Warren, Jacob Tashobya Mujuni.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

COFFEE MORNINGS
There will be the usual Coffee morning in the Methodist Church porch on Saturday 6th May from 10.00am.

Coffee mornings start up again outside St Jude’s Church on Saturday 13th May from 10.00am to 12 noon. But to make these worthwhile, we need help. We need cakes, biscuits, jam, preserves, marmalade and plants to sell. We also have handmade cards for sale. We also need people to come along to buy, join us for coffee and have a chat.

These events take place outside the Church unless the weather is wet when they are moved inside. If you would like to help, please let us know by emailing coffee@stjudeschurch.info or leaving a message on 01784 434254.

There will also be a Coffee Morning on the second Saturday of June, September and possibly October with the Summer Fair on 8th July and a cream tea on Sunday 6th August.

CALENDAR FOR MAY 2006