Cassa’s email: February 2018
Dear All, 
I hope you are bearing up through what has been a dark and dreary month. 
Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10. This is something I would like us to dwell on as we enter Lent this year. It is not a traditional theme for Lent but I think that all the Lent spiritual practices point to this promise of Jesus. This promise might seem easy to understand when life is full of joy and things seem to be going well but it might be harder when things are dark and tough. Spiritually this is when we have to dig into the rich vein of grace that God offers us through faith in him and draw on the support of family and friends. 
Of course, this promise is not just for us, it is for all people and we, as followers of Jesus, are called to bring life to others. Our charity of the month is the Emmaus Homeless Charity and it is striking reading the stories of individuals helped through this charity what life in all its fullness is for them - a safe place to sleep and the opportunity for a new start. 
May I encourage you as we enter once again this holiest season of the Church's year to ponder with me the promise of Jesus, 'life in all its fullness'. 
Special Speaker 18th February 10am:  I have managed to book the Rev Margaret Whipp to come and speak to us on the 18th February at 10 am. Her book The Grace of Waiting is one of my Lent book recommendations this year. Please do come if you can, it is hard to get speakers to come, so it would be a real encouragement to me if we had lots of our church family there, thank you :-)
Lent: Ash Wednesday,14th February: 9.30am Communion at Holy Triniry and 8pm Benefice Communion hosted at Chalfton St Giles
Lent Iona Communion with special Lent reflections 9.30am Wednesdays
Lent Groups - Thursday 15th Feb, 1st March and 15th March 10.30am hosted at Holy Trinity. Evening group 20th Feb, 6th March and 20th March 8 pm at 7 Seer Mead. 
Community Coffee Morning/ T Club:  Our Community Coffee Morning (1st Thursday of the month 9-11am) got off to a New Year bang in February with lots of people of all ages coming to church to enjoy a relaxed hot drink and homemade cakes. We were delighted to welcome lots of mums with babies so it was truly intergenerational. 
Our new T Club (4th Thursday of the month 2.15pm) also had a sparkling start with many people coming to enjoy tea and homemade cakes and time to chat and enjoy one another's company. 
Safeguarding:  I think it is useful for you all to know that this is a very hot topic in the Church at the moment because of some recent scandals. The Church of England has made this one of our top priorities this year. All Clergy and Lay Ministers are required to attend updated training this year. As a caring church family, I think you will agree that we want to make it one of our priorities too. 
I am so grateful to everyone who volunteers with our children and vulnerable adults and I am doubly grateful that they give extra time to filling in DBS forms and are willing to attend regular training. We are very fortunate to have a brilliant Safeguarding Officer in the lovely Bev Bradley who is helping us ensure that our Church reaches the 'gold standard' in this area. If you have any questions about safeguarding please do be in touch with myself or Bev. 

PCC Update: (Full minutes available in the folder at the back of church or via email)
Unfortunately, our PCC was unable to have our away day which will be reconvened. At our PCC meeting in January, we discussed the success of the Christmas services, noting our thanks to the many people who worked so hard to enable them to happen. 
Our treasurers noted that we are going to be very tight on the budget this year and that really we could do with a 10% increase in giving. It was noted that many have already increased their giving through the ministry fund but there may be others who might be asked to consider reviewing their regular giving. There were also fundraising ideas suggested by members of the PCC which will be considered further. 
The PCC discussed the very low numbers of people attending the midweek traditional language service. The PCC decided that a trial change of time to 9.30am and change of style of service during Lent may help to bring new people to this service. 
The PCC looked at designs for a new outside notice board which would be navy blue and smaller than the ones we have at the moment. The PCC also questioned the need for two notice boards when one would serve our purposes very well. 
Women's World Day of Prayer: Over many years our church has joined with other churches to host the Women's World Day of Prayer. This year it is on Friday 3rd March. This event is a lay-led event so it needs people to volunteer to be involved and for someone to lead the event. Unfortunately those I have asked so far to help have been unable to. If you are able to help please let me know otherwise we may have to say we cannot host this year. Thank you. 

May God bless you in your waiting, your longing, your joy and your sadness and may you find life in all its fullness through faith in him,  
Blessings :-)
Cassa