Canon Diane writes on our Weekly Giving A Letter from Cuddesdon I would like to say a very sincere ‘thank you’ to all those of you who In 2014, our ordinand, Simon, along with his wife Charlotte and young give willingly, generously, realistically and regularly towards God's daughter Alice, moved to Oxfordshire so that Simon could begin work in our parish. I know I say this every year, but it's true - St. training for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon. Last March, their Saviour's couldn't survive without your money. second child, Samuel, was born. Here, in the fourth of their letters to This year, we are facing yet another increase in our Parish Share us, Simon looks to the future. taking it to over £61,000. This can only be paid by all of us increasing the amount we give and the best way to do this is by signing a pledge form where we promise to pay a certain amount each week/month. As last year, over the last twelve months we have lost 10 lovely members of our Church Family. Somehow this money has to be found on top of the diocesan increase - this is not going to be easy. I am hoping every one of us will be able to find an extra £1 a week . If you are able to give more then it would be wonderful. I would like to encourage more of you to use standing orders. Envelopes are fine providing you put your money in them every week and bring them when you've been missing. Standing orders allow us to receive your money every month regardless if you are in church or not. In order to pay the diocese each month we need to know if the money is going to be there in the same way we budget in our own homes ~ standing orders generally guarantee this. It is up to each one of us to give as much as we can, even if it means As I write, we're already three weeks into the new year, well into our forgoing some luxury. Look at what we pay for certain everyday things penultimate term here at Cuddesdon, and, as the weeks and months such as a newspaper, a pint of beer, fish & chips or a curry, a cinema seemingly fly by, I'm very aware that the College Leavers' Service at ticket, a meal out & then let us ask ourselves what God is worth. the very beginning of June is fast approaching. Surely more than all those things put together. It doesn't seem like five minutes since we were trying to persuade our God counts what we have left, not what we give! He counts the removals people to haul our piano up six flights of stairs to our flat. amount of sacrifice, not the amount of money. The gift that matters is And, in less than six months, we'll be persuading them to take it back the gift that costs us to give. It’s not the size of the gift that impresses down those stairs again! God, but the sacrifice the giver has to make in order to give the gift. But where will they be taking the piano to? Well, I'm delighted to say We must look at our lives thankfully and give back to God out of sheer that, following ordination in St Albans Cathedral on Sunday 3rd July, gratitude because we've already all been blessed. for the next three years I will be serving my title as Assistant Curate in the Diocese of St Albans as part of the Berkhamsted ministry team, Love Diane mainly based at the Parish Church of St Peter, Berkhamsted. 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 Hertfordshire 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 Diocese of Chester, 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.