could begin ks ks and months ministry team, of their letters to Last March, their stairs to our flat. year, year, well into our eavers' Service at hamsted. harlotte and young n Sunday 3rd July, hem to take it back ing ing to persuade our I'm delighted to say as Assistant Curate in A Letter from Cuddesdon A Letter from daughter Alice, moved to training for Oxfordshire ordination at Ripon College so Cuddesdon. that Simon In 2014, our ordinand, Simon, along with his wife C second child, Samuel, was born. Here, in the fourth us, looks Simon to the future. As I write, we're already three weeks into the new penultimate term here at Cuddesdon, and, as the wee seemingly fly by, I'm very aware that the College L beginning ofthe very June fastis approaching. It doesn't seem like five minutes since we were try removals people to haul our piano up six flights of mainly based at the Parish Church of St Peter, Berk And, in less than six months, we'll be persuading t the of as part of the down down those stairs again! But where will they be taking the piano to? Well, that, following ordination in o for the next three years I bewill serving my title . If ng ng orders. counts the t in our own s s to be found £1 a week ost 10 lovely rders allow us to know if the God is worth. r r Parish Share week/month. ut it's true - St. are in church or ift that matters is them every week in things everyday y y signing a pledge l. l. n, even if it means r r a curry, a cinema to God out of sheer ll ll those of you who all of us increasing extra arly arly towards God's er to give theer to gift. give to be easy. f the gift that impresses money. your Love Diane

Canon Diane writes on our Weekly Giving I would like to say a very sincere ‘thank you’ to a give give willingly, generously, realistically and work in regul our parish. I know without couldn'tSaviour's survive I say this every year, b This year, we are facing yet another increase in ou taking it to over £61,000. This can only be paid by the amount we give and the best way to do this is b form promise we where to apay certain amount each As last year, over the members of our Church Somehow Family. this money ha last twelve months we on top of the diocesan increase this- have notis going l I am hoping every one of us will be able to find an We must look at our thankfullylives and back give gratitude because already all been we've blessed. God, but the sacrifice has the to giver make in ord you areyou able more to thengive beit would wonderfu I would like to Envelopes are fine providing you put encourage your money in more of and bring them you when you've been missing. to Standing o use to receive your money every standimonth regardless if you not. In order to pay the diocese each month we money need is going to be there in the homes standing ~ guaranteeorders generally this. same way we budge It is up to each one of us to give as much as we ca forgoing some luxury. Look at what we pay for certa such as a newspaper, a pint of beer, fish & chips o ticket, a meal out & then moreSurely than all those things put together. let us ask ourselves what God counts what we have amount of sacrifice, not left,the amount of money. The not g what we the gift that costs us give! to give. It’s not the size o He The worship at St Peter's is very traditional, frequently with incense, and accompanied by a fine conducted choir and organist. Therefore, as well as being involved in all the day-to-day administrative and pastoral needs of a busy town centre church, I think St Peter's is going to be a wonderful place for me to learn and practise leading services. It's also well-attended by a broad demographic of people, both from the town and beyond, and so I'm delighted to think that Charlotte and the children will also find much within the life of the church to engage them, and will hopefully make many new friends.

In the meantime, however, there's much to be done. I've still got many theological tomes to read and essays to write here in Cuddesdon before we even begin thinking about packing up our removal boxes. And there's the not insignificant matter of sorting out, in collaboration Berkhamsted is a very pleasant, busy market town on the western with St Peter's, a house in Berkhamsted, and a school for Alice. side of just outside the north-western corner of the M25, with the Grand Union Canal passing right through its centre. In So there are busy times ahead. But, through it all, we know that there addition to its highly-regarded independent school, Berkhamsted is will be the wonderful, constant love and support of family and dear known as being the birthplace of the late 18 th century hymn-writer friends - both those in Great Moor and here in Cuddesdon - and the William Cowper (known for such hymns as 'O for a closer walk with exciting prospect of a future in Berkhamsted walking alongside all God' and 'Jesus, where'er thy people meet'), and of the novelist those pilgrims in the parish journeying in the footsteps of our Lord. Graham Greene of 'Brighton Rock' fame. So, at this time of transition, Charlotte, the children, and I would be St Peter’s was originally built at the beginning of the 13th century, very grateful for your thoughts and prayers, just as we continue to possibly on the site of an even earlier church, and is largely in the keep you all at St Saviour's in our thoughts and prayers. It's always Early English style with clustered columns. The tower above the great to hear from you - either through social media, letters, email or church's cruciform shape houses a ring of eight bells. by phone - and so, as soon as we know our new postal address, we'll let Canon Diane have the details so that you too can get in contact if you wish. But before then, we're looking forward to seeing you all again at St Saviour's on Palm Sunday.

May God abundantly bless you all as you draw closer to Him this Lent. Yours with love

Simon, Charlotte, Alice, and Samuel Within the Christian Church there is a long tradition of fasting during Ash Wednesday 10th February Lent. It's a spiritual discipline that helps us to identify with Christ's 40 days in the wilderness and to focus our prayers on the needs of the 10.30 a.m. Holy Communion poorest people in society. In recent years, many churches have 7.30 p.m. Sung Eucharist adopted a message of simplicity during Lent, encouraging people to live on less. Whether cutting out certain foods or living for a few days on a limited diet, fasting can bring a focus to our prayer lives and Why not use this Lent to draw closer to God by attending one of the encourage us to respond charitably to the needs of others. Lent Groups and also by taking up the Lent challenge. Both groups are using the Lent Course 'Journeying through Lent Ideas for Action in Lent towards Easter'. Over the five weeks the course covers: A heart made The following ideas use food as a central part of the challenge. Here new, a heart of prayer, a heart of truth, a heart of love and a heart are a few guidelines to help you when embarking on any of these sincere. challenges: Venues: • Plan your meals in advance. It is a real challenge to live on a limited budget and you will have to be creative in using your Thursday mornings at 10.30 a.m. at the home of Annette ingredients. 56 Moorland Road - telephone 483 6916 • Stay hydrated – drink plenty of water. Thursday evenings at 7.30 p.m. at the home of Karin & Trevor • Donate the money you save to a foodbank. 4 Lisburne Lane - telephone 456 1418 • The diocese has asked us to reflect on the experience of the Lent challenge by sharing our stories in church or by keeping a diary or blog. If you use social media why not take some Living on Less in Lent photos of your meals and post them on Twitter or Facebook? We would really like to know how you get on, so please share your reflections with us. • Pray for all those suffering hardship and poverty using your experience to inform your prayers. Could you live on £1 for 1 day of each week in Lent (10th Feb to 24th March) in solidarity with millions of people worldwide who live in poverty? You are free to choose a day of the week that is convenient for you, but you commit to spending only £1 on food and drink for the During 2016 across the , a new project called whole day. Alternatively you can opt to live below the poverty line for 5 "Food Matters 2016" will be highlighting our relationship with food and consecutive days, (spending £5 in total) if it is easier for you to shop the importance of living sustainably. and cook this way. As part of the project we want to encourage clergy and members of Please do not embark on this Lent challenge if you have a the congregation to undertake a practical Lent challenge and commit medical condition or you are pregnant. to "living on less" during Lent. Some hints about prayer this Lent On the 24th February the church celebrates: Prayer is instinctive for human beings, even those who don’t regard Matthias the Apostle - the chosen one themselves as religious. You are standing at a bus stop in the wind and the rain, thinking ‘I do hope the bus will come soon’. It’s an inner Have you ever been in the position where someone is yearning. It defies logic: either the bus is coming or it isn’t. But we all desperately needed – and you fit the bill perfectly? It is almost as do it. It’s instinctive and it’s the raw material of prayer. Hoping for if all your miscellaneous qualifications that never made much something better is basic. Like all instincts, it needs to be trained. sense before now make PERFECT sense. And you sense that To whom do we pray? What you pray and the way you do it will be you have been chosen by God for the task…. shaped by your view of God. Christian prayers are fashioned by what If so, then Matthias is definitely the patron saint for you! Matthias we know of Jesus and what He taught about prayer. came into the picture shortly after the suicide of Judas. The early We pray by invitation. Again and again, Jesus encouraged His church was missing an apostle, and so the remaining 11 companions to pray. A couple of His parables on the subject have apostles prayed for guidance on who to choose as a been misinterpreted as instructions to persuade a resistant God to do replacement for this key role. what we want. Have a look at St. Luke 18, verses 1-8, about a widow whose perseverance finally persuaded an unwilling judge to rule in The qualifications for the job were specialised: the person had to her favour. The lesson is that God is not like that! Similarly, an have been a follower of Christ from His Baptism to His unwelcome neighbour who persistently calls for help in the middle of Ascension, and a witness of the Resurrection. There were two the night gets what he wants (St. Luke 11.5-13). The lesson? If possibilities: Joseph Barsabas and Matthias. How to choose? tenacious lobbying can overcome human unwillingness, how much Again, Matthias’ experience may mirror yours: the decision was more our gracious God will heed His children’s cry. out of his hands, and up to others. In this case, the apostles drew Pushing at an open door. Jesus is already praying for us. So when we straws – and the ‘lot’ fell to Matthias. He had been chosen to start to pray, we step on to an already moving staircase. Sometimes replace Judas! The tragedy of Judas’ betrayal had led to an prayer seems tougher than it need be. Jesus invited us to be linked to opportunity for service by Matthias – and he was well prepared Him, in the way an inexperienced bullock is yoked to a mature ox. for the task. Are you prepared for any task that God might Have a look at St. Matthew 11, 28-29, which concludes “for my yoke suddenly open before you? is easy and my burden is light”. When Marion Bartoli unexpectedly won the 2013 Women’s Wimbledon final, she said “I believe if you put Like the other apostles, Matthias had been in Jerusalem and had all your heart and effort into everything you are doing, then God is received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and he went on there to help you.” to do a good job. It is said he preached the Good News first in Is your prayer on the right lines? Try adding “for the sake of Jesus Judea, and then maybe in Cappadocia and by the Caspian Sea. Christ” at the end. “Please let my marrow win the Gardening Club It is thought he was martyred by the axe or halberd, and his relics competition”? No. “Not my will but yours” is the key. So when praying, eventually ended up being taken to Rome by the empress Helen. don’t give God instructions, just report for duty. Matthias is an encouragement to us to be faithful in small things - because you never know what the future might hold! Shhhhhh . . . Ideas for Valentine’s Day Valentine’s Day is named after an early Christian martyr, and was In days gone by we kids were duly trundled off to church, established by Pope Gelasius I in 496, in honour of St Valentine, who it was a bore for some who had not yet begun to search. showed such kindness and love to all who crossed his path. It has become the day when we celebrate the joys of human love. Life's great purpose no interest for our curious little minds. We were, of course, too busy trying other, simpler finds. If you have a romance in your life, how about getting out your best crockery for a romantic candlelit meal? Or go through your photographs together, or write the one you love a love letter? Can you We dutifully did what we were bidden by our betters return to the scene of your first date? - or perhaps plant a shrub but during prayers we giggled and the vicar simply let us. together, to celebrate the day? Some of the Sunday hat brigade, however, showed impatience Even if you do not have a romance in your life, that need not stop you and would insist on shushing, sounding just like railway stations. enjoying Valentine’s Day (after all, the saint had no romance in his life). Instead, why not seek out and show love and kindness to several It's many years now since those days of joyful carefree time people? How about hosting a Valentine’s meal to enjoy each other’s but I recall the feelings of divinity sublime. company and to share God’s love for us all? At the very least, why not be on the ‘look-out’ to do people a random act of kindness this It seems that God did not mind us small children when we laughed. month? Ask God to help you be sensitive to even a stranger who He still poured out His Spirit which we innocently quaffed. needs a helping hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Lord said, "suffer little children to come unto Me". Yes their ways are different but we have to let them be. There is a lesson here for us, one that we need to know. If we approach like children then He'll bless us as we go.

Spencer Rogers ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Children's Society

The proceeds of our Christingle service and the amount raised 2016 brings us a Leap Year. We need to add this extra day every four through the Children's Society boxes which a few of you have, raised years in order to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth’s £561.61. This has now been sent to The Children's Society. Thank revolutions around the Sun. The problem is very simple: our calendar you to all those of you who support this very important charity has 365 days, but it actually takes 365.242199 days (a tropical year) throughout the year, thereby helping families to have a better life . to circle once around the Sun. That means we are ‘out’ by nearly six hours a year. Four times six hours is 24 hours - hence an extra day ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ every four years. Recent report on religion and belief in Britain ‘seriously misguided’

A recent report led by Baroness Butler-Sloss which said that Britain is no longer a Christian country has been criticised by cabinet ministers who said it was ‘seriously misguided’, and by the Church of which claimed it appeared to have been ‘hijacked’ by humanists. The report into religion and belief in Britain, calls for a ‘new settlement’ for religion because the religious landscape has been ‘transformed’ by a growth in non-Christian religions and numbers of people with no religion. In response, a spokesperson for the said: “We welcome the call in this report for greater religious literacy and the highlighting of the scale of social action by the Church – as well as its recommendation that where a religious organisation is best placed to deliver a social good, it should not be disadvantaged. We also welcome the acknowledgement that the establishment of the Church of England has helped the integration of non-Christian perspectives in British society and helped them to make their voices heard in the public sphere. The Church of England, through its , parishes and at national level has been at the forefront of work to increase understanding between the different faiths. We are however disappointed that the report misunderstands the role of Church of England schools in providing a rounded education to more than a million pupils from all backgrounds as part of our commitment to the Sunday 24th April 12.30 p.m. common good. If there is a significant problem with our schools it is that Hot Lunch & Auction of Promises plus table top sale many of them are so popular that they are oversubscribed and not every parent who wants to, can send their children to one. Bishop Libby is coming to visit us on Sunday 15th May The report also misunderstands collective worship in schools. We believe that if the law on collective worship were repealed schools would risk losing this vital element of shaping a community that reflects the full breadth of Archdeacon’s Visitation Monday 16th May 7.30 p.m. human experience. We know, for example, that the response of many at St. George's, Stockport (for wardens & all sidespeople) schools to the horror of the Paris attacks will have been in the context of collective worship. Sunday 12th June Celebrating Her Majesty's 90th Birthday The report is dominated by the old fashioned view that traditional religion is declining in importance and that non-adherence to a religion is the same as humanism or secularism. Saturday 23rd July 2 p.m. Strawberry Teas in the hall After recent “overwhelming public support for the Church of England over Sunday 2nd October 4 p.m. Memorial Service (bereaved) the Lord’s Prayer cinema advert, it is important to remember that most public opinion is strongly opposed to the marginalisation of Christianity." Saturday 19th November 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Christmas Fair In her 2014 Christmas broadcast the Queen said: ‘For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role-model of reconciliation and forgiveness, He stretched out His hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none.’ It is the most recent of many references the Queen has Parish Weekend made to her Christian faith. This year people around the country and throughout the Friday 29th April 6 p.m. - Sunday 1st May 2 p.m. Commonwealth will gather in their communities to celebrate conducted by The Reverend Christine Bull the Queen’s 90th birthday. Her actual birthday on 21 st April will be celebrated with four days of celebrations in Windsor £150 th th 12 - 15 May; a Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Our last Parish Weekend in 2014 proved such a great th Cathedral on Friday 10 June; the Trooping the Colour success that we are having another one! ceremony and the Queen’s birthday parade on Saturday 11 th June on Horse Guards Parade, and a massive street If you would like to come, please let the vicar have your party for 10,000 people on The Mall on Sunday 12 th June. name as soon as possible. We will also be holding an event at St. Saviour's - more There will be time for spiritual reflection, relaxation, details later. fellowship and entertainment! Saturday afternoon is free! The grounds are lovely to walk in.