Diamond Jubilee Street Party

This Saturday we will be joining with the other churches of South Reading to put on one of the largest street parties in Reading, the county and even the country depending on the numbers that come through.

It is not only causing a buzz in the local community but also on a council level and in the local media.  There will be a selection of councilors and both of Readings MP's present, ITV Meridian are joining us for a couple of hours as are heart FM, and BBC Radio Berkshire will be doing a live broadcast from the event.

Northumberland is being closed, buses rerouted and an army of volunteers will make it look like it isn't one of the busiest road in Whitley!  Bunting tables and chairs will adorn the road, where cars normally rule!

With sandwiches and cakes and tea and squash, we will toast 60 years of reign for our queen.  We will enjoy meeting together with backdrop of good music, entertainment, face painting, bouncy castles, Whitley's Got Talent and many other things.  It will be a day that people will talk about for years and hopefully decades.

We love our local community and we want to be a blessing to them as we run with this.  If you want to join us come along between 1 and 4pm and be part of something so much bigger.

You can get involved by baking or buying all manner of cake as we want to supple 12500 slices on the day.  Please drop cakes off at the church office or at St Agnes Church building on Northumberland Ave.

From business to reflection

There's been so much going on in church life and personal life recently, that sitting and writing a blog has been all but impossible.  It's so good to be caught up in a life that neither affords me the time to be a prolific writer nor enables me to get the slightest bit bored.  It's brilliant that each day I awake that I know it won't be the same as the last.  

In church life, I have been enjoying Alpha, an acoustic night and looking forward to all that is to come for the rest of the year.In our personal world we have had a holiday to center parcs, have been pursuing our house sale/purchase and we are only a month away from the arrival of Bubba T.

In the midst of all the business it's all to easy to lose focus on what this life is all about, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  That's why I will be making time tomorrow to reflect on Sundays preach and remember that I live in the light of the epiphany of grace and the epiphany of glory.  (you'll have to have a listen to the preach to pick up what on earth I'm going on about!)  It's brilliant to be reminded afresh of the truth of the gospel that we live in the good of!

Ever heard of Laminin?

This is Louie Giglio and he is excited about Laminin.  After watching this I've got to say, it's Laminin is pretty cool!

Serving Teams: PA

For 10 long years, Pete Horne has lead the team at RFC that provides sound to our Sunday meetings.  He has faithfully toiled on a weekend and has asked for large amounts of money at periodic intervals to further enhance and grow this area of church life.  As the church has grown so have the complexities of delivering great sound from our musicians whom increasingly express themselves in different ways and with a seemingly growing number of instruments.

There is often a misconception that when it comes to PA there needs to be some prior knowledge of how sound works and how to put together a sound system.  The reality is though that if you know what a plug is and you know how to put it in to a wall, you are qualified for 90% of what needs doing.  When it comes to PA, the onus is on setting it up rather than having to blend the sounds.  No prior technical experience is necessary, just a willingness to arrive at 8:30 in the morning and learn how the system goes together. 

If you are not yet serving in the church or are looking for a new opportunity then this could well be for you.  A chance to gather with a different bunch of people, to learn some new skills and to serve Jesus through bringing sound to a growing congregation is there for the taking.  I know that Pete currently has opportunities for people to serve both in the morning and in the evening meetings. For more information about how to sign up either seek out Pete on a Sunday, contact the church office or let me know in the comments area below.

Two week countdown to Alpha!

On Tuesday 17th April at 8pm, we will be starting our latest Alpha course.  On Sunday we will be celebrating the fact that Jesus isn't just dead, but is very much alive.  The fact that he rose again and the tomb was empty gives us great confidence in our God for life now and our future eternity.  This deep security that we can have in Jesus is something we are called to share with others, but sometimes their questions can be a bit a tricky.

This is where Alpha comes in.  It's a perfect opportunity for you to invite someone to a place where friends or family can discuss their questions and hear some different perspectives of how those questions can be handled.

It might be that you are just coming back to Jesus and want to run through the reasons you believe what you believe.  This is your opportunity.  Come along and enjoy discussing your faith with others and once again, bring up any doubts or confusions you may have.

We keep doing Alpha, because people keep coming and keep meeting Jesus for themselves.  Why don't you join us.

'Find Your Voice' This Saturday!

Here is some more info regarding 'Find Your Voice' this Saturday, 9am-1pm, Church Office

We have been given the great privilege of knowing Jesus.  That comes with great benefits and great responsibility.  It’s not all one way, he has called us to be on His mission and tell as many about Him as possible.  The idea of 'Find Your Voice' is to encourage and help us in carrying out this mission in our families, friendship groups and workplaces.  I’ve designed it to cover three important aspects – handling our personal story of God’s goodness in our lives; being ourselves when it comes to sharing our faith and acknowledging that it is scary and asking the question why. 

This is the plan for the morning (subject to any last minute alterations !)

9:00        Welcome

9:05        First session – What’s Your Story – some brief thoughts around sharing your faith and a way of arranging any story that would help you speak about Jesus

10:00     Break                                                                                               10:15     Second session – Being You – God made you as you are and it’s good to understand what your style is when it comes to sharing your faith so you can be you.

11:15     Break

11:30     Third session – What are we scared of?!  Question and exclamation, a discussion where we can talk about what holds us back and some of the big questions that we fear addressing

1pm       End

I hope that helps in making your decision to come along on Saturday and I look forward to seeing you then.

Zdenko flies in

Today sees Zdenko fly in from Croatia.  Our good friend who is pioneering a church plant in Croatia is here to meet Terry Virgo (preaching both Sunday morning and evening at RFC) and also to be amongst us as a community.  He's a great guy with a huge vision for his nation and what God wants to do there and it's a privilege that we get to walk with Zdenko, Ivana and his team in this.

Unfortunately, Ivana is unable to be around this weekend due to work commitments and i know that she is gutted that she cannot be with us.  As a church we continually work hard at greeting and welcoming and I know that both he and Ivana felt at home last time they came, I have every confidence he'll have the same report when he leaves on Monday.