The Parish Magazine April 2021

The Parish Magazine - April 2021 1 

The 

Parish 

Magazine 

The John King Trophy and Gold Award 

Best Magazine of the Year 2018 

National Parish Magazine Awards 

Best Overall Magazine 2020 

Best Editor 2019 

Best Print 2018 

Best Content 2016 


Serving the communities of Charvil, Sonning & Sonning Eye since 1869 

April 2021 — Easter 

Church of St Andrew 

Serving Sonning, Charvil & Sonning Eye 

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF 

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY

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2 The Parish Magazine - April 2021 

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Serving the communities of Charvil, Sonning & Sonning Eye since 1869 




The John King Trophy and Gold Award 

Best Magazine of the Year 2018 

National Parish Magazine Awards 


Best Editor 2019 

Best Print 2018 

Best Content 2016 


information — 1 

Contents April 2021 

THE VICAR'S LETTER, 5 

THE PARISH NOTICEBOARD 

— A passion for prayer, 7 

— For your prayers in April, 7 

— On Reflection: Abraham, 9 

— From the editor's desk, 9 

— STAY, 10 

— The Persecuted Church, 11 

— Alpha on Zoom, 13 

features 

— Accidents do happen, 13 

— Easter Queen of Festivals, 15-17 

— Jake takes a step, 19 

— PCC Centenary, 21 

— Easter denominations, 22-23 

around the villages 

— A day out in Windsor Castle, 25 

— Looking familiar, 27 

— Me2 Lockdown Hero Award, 27 

— Sonning Tennis open days, 27 

HEALTH 

— Emily's healthy recipes, 29 

— Dr Simon Ruffle writes, 31 

HOME & GARDEN 

— Recipe of the Month, 33 

— Bible Garden birds, 33 

THE ARTS 

— Blindness to insight, 35 

— Give thanks to the risen Lord, 35 

— Poetry Corner, 37 

the sciences 

— Information, 37 

PUZZLE PAGE, 38-39 

This month's FRONT COVER 

March 2021 — Mothering Sunday and Palm Sunday 

The 

Parish 

Magazine 

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF 

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY 

The Easter Story 

by Anuja Mary Tilj on unsplash.com 

EDITORIAL DEADLINE 

The editorial deadline for every issue 

of The Parish Magazine is 12 noon on 

the sixth day of the month prior to the 

date of publication. 

The deadline for the May 

issue of The Parish Magazine is: 

Tuesday 6 April at 12 noon 

The Parish Magazine online 

This issue can also be viewed online at: 

http://www.theparishmagazine.co.uk 

Earlier issues from 1869 onwards are 

stored in a secure online archive. If you 

wish to view these archives contact the 

editor who will authorise 

access for you: 

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk 


Services at 

St Andrew’s 

IN-PERSON WORSHIP 

As we went to press the ministry 

team and the PCC were discussing the 

resumption of in-person worship. If 

possible it is hoped to start again on 

Palm Sunday 28 March at 10.30am. 

EASTER SERVICES 

It is also hoped that we will be able 

to hold the following services during 

Easter: 

1 April: Maundy Thursday 

Stripping of the Altar at 7.30pm 

2 April: Good Friday 

Last Hour Service with soloist singing 

hymns at 2.00pm 

3 April: Easter Saturday 

The first Communion service of 

Easter outside in The Ark gardens at 

8.00pm 

4 April: Easter Day 

Parish Eucharist service at 10.30am 

For more information about all the 

above services please see the parish 

website, the weekly service sheet, or 

call the parish office — see page 42 

for the full list of contact details. 

WEEKDAY SERVICES 

Morning Prayer in St Andrew's 

Tuesday 20 April a 9.30am 

Tuesday 27 April at 9.30am 

Friday 30 April at 9.30am 

Compline on Zoom 

8.30pm on Monday, each week. 

Contact Rev Kate for details about 

joining her on Zoom. 

Thursday at Eight 

8pm on Zoom every Thursday — see 

page 7 for details. 

children's page, 41 

information 

— Church services, 3 

— From the registers, 3 

— Parish contacts, 42 

— Advertisers index, 42 

From the registers 

Funerals 

— Tuesday 2 March, David Ronald Fillingham, interment of ashes in the churchyard 

— Wednesday 3 March, Denise Edith Bertram, St Andrew's Church followed by burial 

in the churchyard.



THANK YOU FROM SALLY HUGHES 

In the 39 years that The Mill Theatre has been part of the villages of Sonning & Sonning Eye we have 

helped raise tens of thousands of pounds for local & national charities, as well as giving tickets to local 

schools, raffles and fundraising events. It is therefore very unfamiliar territory to accept support for The 

Mill and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. 

Thank you to all our customers who have moved their tickets each time we have changed dates. 

Thank you to our Mill Angels, to The Sonning Fire Brigade Trust, to George & Amal Clooney, 

to Len & Ann Roberts from Wargrave. Thank you to some anonymous Angels from Woodley 

who have been so generous to us and other anonymous donors. 

Your support has meant that the staff have kept their jobs and The Mill is still here to entertain & 

delight. We still need a little more help to get through to full re-opening and we have some fun 

fundraising events coming up, ahead of our 40th anniversary next year. 

AN AFTERNOON WITH DAME JUDI DENCH 

SUNDAY 25 JULY - MATINEE 

TICKETS £500 EACH INC. 3 COURSE A LA CARTE LUNCH & 

A BOTTLE OF WINE 

Dame Judi Dench loves The Mill and she wants to ensure it survives this 

difficult time. On Sunday 25 July, Judi will talk about her life and work to a 

very select (socially-distanced) audience of 100. Simon Williams will host 

this unmissable event which will be a huge help to The Mill’s future. 

THE RAY COONEY AUDITORIUM 

SATURDAY 11 SEPTEMBER - EVENING 

TICKETS £200 EACH INC. A DELICIOUS A LA CARTE DINNER & 

A SIGNED PROGRAMME 

As a huge & heartfelt thank you for helping The Mill survive this pandemic, 

our auditorium will be named The Ray Cooney Auditorium. Ray’s comedies 

have entertained our customers for almost 40 years and laughter is just 

what we need in these difficult times. On 11 September his comedy TWO 

INTO ONE will be playing and Ray, his lovely wife Linda and other celebrity 

friends will be in the audience, do join us to celebrate. 

BECOME A 

MILL ANGEL 

We have designed some special seat plaques with Ray’s trademark Theatre 

of Comedy masks. Your inscription will go in the centre and the plaque will 

be placed on one of The Mill’s theatre seats. You will also receive a lifetime’s 

membership to The Mill Friend’s club, plus a pair of seats to the gala on 11 

September. Email sally.hughes@millatsonning.com to find out more. 

BOX OFFICE 

(0118) 969 8000 

millatsonning.com


The vicar's letter 

Dear friends, 

Living through this uncertain period of Covid pandemic we need signs of 

hope and resurrection. We need the assurance that God is with us always 

and that is the promise we receive on Easter Day. 

A child asks her mother, 'Where is God?' Her mother answers, 'God is 

everywhere.' The child cries out, 'But I want God to be somewhere!' 

So do we! We want God to be here, with us now and forever. This is, 

I think, the greatest significance of our Easter celebration, for Easter is 

the promise we receive that Christ lives, and he is among us even now. 

The resurrection story is the foundation of our hope that Christ lives in 

eternity and that we will live with him now and forever. 

THE ASSURANCE OF THE EMPTY TOMB 

We should never underestimate the strength and the hope that God's 

presence can bring to our lives. The affirmation that 'Christ is risen' 

suggests that God is near to us. It reminds us that there is something 

stable, something permanent in creation that will not be defeated by 

human sin and evil. 

The empty tomb is our assurance that God stands in and behind our 

world, and that God is there to strengthen and uphold anything that is 

good. 

The truth of the matter is that God in his great love and concern for us 

rarely gives us signs or miracles if you want to call them that. God gives 

us signs of his presence and work in the ordinary events of our everyday 

lives. 

Think of the birth of a child; reflect on a Sunday school teacher's 

commitment and enthusiasm for sharing the gospel. What about the joy 

one feels on coming home after leaving for a period of time? Consider 

how one is moved, staying to the end with another human being through 

hours of pain and dying. 

These are the signs, yes, the miracles of God in our everyday lives. In 

each one of them, one senses the presence of hope, and the victory of 

eternal life over death. In these experiences, one really can feel the power 

of resurrection. 

WE ALL NEED EASTER 

As we confront the ultimate question of life and death which we all 

must face as individuals, we need the assurance of Easter. For you see, 

Good Friday and Easter go together because every person has some dark 

moments, some disappointments throughout the course of a lifetime. 

This is why we all need Easter, the day on which we celebrate God's 

greatest miracle. We need Easter as the assurance of a power that is 

beyond ourselves. We need Easter so that we may have hope for the future 

because in the end, all human beings must face their death alone. We 

need Easter, with its hope for better days ahead in this life. We need the 

promise of life eternal which only Jesus Christ can bring us. 

He is risen! 

Warm wishes for a happy and blessed Easter. 

Jamie


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the parish noticeboard — 1 

A passion for prayer 

Rev Kate writes why prayer and praying, although difficult at 

times, is an important two-way communications path with 

God that is necessary to build a strong relationship. 

Part 2 will be published in our May issue. 

I am passionate about prayer but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy! Prayer isn’t 

simply about asking God for what we want, or even for what we need — although 

this can be a part of prayer. Primarily it is about relationship. 

Communication is an important part 

of any relationship and this is the 

same with our relationship with God. 

In order for relationships to 

grow and develop, they need 

communication. Prayer is about 

praising God, sharing our joys with 

him and thanking him. It is about 

bringing before God our needs and the 

needs of the world. 

It is about saying sorry and turning 

from the mistakes we have made and 

asking for God’s forgiveness. 

Prayer is our way of communicating 

with God and therefore something 

that isn’t optional for Christians. 

Throughout history Christians have 

prayed in many ways and many 

contexts. Some through the spoken 

word, through singing, by using their 

bodies to express prayer — such as 

prostrating themselves on the floor or 

raising their arms — or using silence 

or contemplation. 

I could talk for hours on this topic 

and have many books of prayer, but 

this month I want to focus on a couple 

of different approaches to prayer, 

and next month, I will explore some 

different and creative ways to pray, and 

look at some of the difficulties. 

RHYTHM OF PRAYER 

The daily offices, as they are called, 

are something that ordained people 

commit to praying each day, but many 

others also join in this discipline. This 

usually consists of Morning Prayer 

and Evening Prayer, although there 

are various other services for different 

points in the day. This rhythm of 

daily prayer is important to many 

Christians throughout the world. 

The daily offices follow a pattern 

of readings from the Old and New 

Testament, and psalms each day. The 

prayers and readings connect us with 

the wider church, as well as bringing 

us together to pray locally. 

In April we will introduce some 

new services of Morning Prayer in 

St Andrew’s Church, initially each 

Tuesday at 9.30am and on the first 

Friday of each month at 9.30am. 

I will also continue a Zoom service 

of sung compline (night prayer) that 

was introduced three evenings a week 

during Lent. After Easter it will be held 

on Monday at 8.30pm, with the option 

of joining online from 8.10pm to learn 

the music. If you are interested in 

trying this then please email me for 

more details. I hope to start a sung 

service of compline once a month 

in church when we are able to sing 

together again. 

PERSONAL PRAYER 

Our own personal prayer can take 

many forms. Since I was ordained, 

I have had the joy of hearing people 

talk about how they pray. Many talk 

of praying as they walk and enjoying 

praying outdoors. 

Some pray in silence — this can 

be a challenge for some as people 

use words so much of the time, but 

for many others sitting with God in 

silence is how they prefer to pray. 

Some may use set words such as 

the Lord’s Prayer or prayers they learnt 

as a child, whereas others have a much 

more conversational and informal 


approach. Some kneel, some don’t…. 

and so on. There are perhaps as many 

ways to pray as there are people! 

IT'S GOOD TO TALK 

If you would like a conversation 

about prayer please contact me, I 

would love to hear from you. 

revkate@sonningparish.org.uk 

It’s not always easy but prayer 

can be incredibly sustaining as we 

journey through the ups and downs 

of life. If you would like a starting 

point, then there is perhaps nowhere 

better than the words Jesus taught 

us to pray: 

Our Father, who art in heaven, 

hallowed be thy name; 

thy kingdom come; 

thy will be done; 

on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our trespasses, 

as we forgive those who 

trespass against us. 

And lead us not into temptation; 

but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom, 

the power and the glory, 

for ever and ever. Amen. 

For your 

prayers 

in April 

— Her Majesty the Queen as she 

celebrates her 95 th birthday 

on 21 April 

— The staff and patients at the 

Duchess of Kent Hospice 

— All who are feeling isolated 

and the work of St Andrew's 

Shepherds 

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On reflection . . . 

Abraham and taking 

matters into our hands 

By Elizabeth Spiers 

Abraham serving three angels by Rembrandt 

Public domain 

According to the Bible in Genesis 12, Israel is a nation that 

was started by God when he promised Abram, a childless 

but religious man, that he would be the father of a nation so 

numerous that you couldn’t count them. 

He changed Abram’s name to Abraham because that means 

‘father of multitudes’. However, Abraham and his wife Sarah 

had to wait many years to see this promise fulfilled and in 

the waiting period, they took matters into their own hands. 

At Sarah’s prompting, Abraham had a son, Ishmael, with her 

maidservant, Hagar. 

Abraham’s actions didn’t stop God being faithful. 13 years 

after Ishmael was born, God gave Abraham and Sarah a son 

of their own, Isaac. And from Isaac came the Jewish nation. 

But soon after Isaac was born, there was great strife between 

the two mothers, and much to Abraham’s distress, Sarah 

made him send Ishmael and Hagar away. 

CONSEQUENCES 

By taking matters into their own hands they caused 

problems for everyone in the family at the time, and far into 

the future, with serious consequences. Forced to leave his 

father’s house, Ishmael was not part of the family that led to 

the birth of the nation of Israel. Islamic lore says that Hagar 

took Ishmael to Mecca. Certainly, Ishmael is considered a 

patriarch of Islam and many Arabs today can probably trace 

their line back to him. There is still a great deal of strife 

between the descendants of Isaac and those who see Ishmael 

as their father — look at the problems in the Middle East. 

We can often do as Abraham and Sarah did and take 

things into our own hands. We give God a ‘helping hand’ or 

perhaps we doubt that we heard from him or maybe we don’t 

believe that God is still interested in us or our nation or the 

wider world. It’s easy for us to lose confidence when time 

passes, and nothing happens. 

But our God is faithful. If he promises something, he 

means it and will do it. It is in God’s timing, not ours. 

Taking matters into our own hands can have 

consequences beyond anything we can imagine. What might 

the world look like today if Abraham and Sarah had not 

decided to give God a helping hand? 

From the desk 

of the editor 


One event, many 

interpretations 


St George's Day on 23 April always reminds me of the first 

church that I went to, I wonder how many people remember 

their first church? 

St George's Church in Tarpots, Essex, was not then a 

'proper' church as most people would imagine, it was a hall 

in which worship was held for the local people who found it 

difficult attending the 'real', 1,000 year old parish church of 

St Peter's Thundersley. The two churches were only 1½ miles 

apart along a road aptly named, Church Road, where I lived. 

The journey between the two churches meant climbing a 

very steep hill — also aptly named 'Church Hill' — that even 

many cars in the early 1950's had difficulty driving up. As a 

boy, one of the greatest challenges was to try to cycle up it, 

the reward being a dangerously fast but thrilling ride down. 

One of my aunts lived at the bottom of the hill so when we 

crashed there was somewhere to get patched up! 

St George's was one of those small halls that were built by 

churches after the war and although it was used for services, 

worshippers had to face west instead of the traditional east 

— east meant looking towards Jerusalem, the city that was at 

the centre of the Easter events that we celebrate this month. 

The 'proper' services such as baptism, confirmation, marriage 

and funerals, were always celebrated up the hill in St Peter's. 

It was in St George's that I believe I had my first call to serve 

in the church, but that's another long story! 

MEMORABLE 

Nevertheless, St George's was where each month I 

marched with a boy scouts' drum and fife band. I was the 

lead drummer, although secretly I wanted to play the big bass 

drum but that was a man-sized job! On St George's Day we 

all trooped off to Southend-on-Sea for a huge parade when 

scouts from throughout Essex marched along the seafront 

with their bands playing and flags flying for a service in 

the Odeon theatre and cinema. For me, St George's Day has 

always been memorable. 

St George's Church stood in a large field on the edge of 

Tarpots and beyond was a 'green belt' area. The other day I 

googled St George's Church and was pleased to see that 

it still exists, although it is no longer a daughter church 

of St Peter's. It is part of the New Wine evangelical 

movement that grew out of the Church of England as a 

multidenominational group of churches. The old building 

had long gone and now a smart new church stands in a 

more densely-populated area. 

My excuse for writing about my St George's Day memories 

is that it led me to think about how Christians experience 

their faith in so many different ways but all recognise that 

their roots lie in the amazing, life changing, and historychanging 

events that happened in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago 

— albeit in slightly different ways. This, in turn, led to the 

centre page article this month. Happy Easter!



STAY 

St Andrew's Youth 

STAY on Sunday 

During February we continued to enjoy 

the Alpha Youth video series at STAY on 

Sunday, including topics such as: 

— Healing: does God still heal today? 

— Evil: how can I resist evil? 

— Telling others: how and why should I 

tell others? 

— Church: what about the church? 

We had lots of great discussions 

about our faith, we prayed for 

healing for one another and we asked 

questions about how we can make 

church a place where everyone feels 

welcome. 

STAY Pancake Party 

On Shrove Tuesday 16 February we 

celebrated by having a Zoom pancake 

party! There was mess made, pancakes 

flipped and toppings galore! Prizes were 

awarded to: Will for doing 40 flips in 

30 seconds, Jayden for tastiest looking 

pancakes, Amelia and Sophia for nicest 

looking topping and Izzy and Will for 

best score in the pancake party quiz! 

STAY in Schools 

We have been able to continue to provide 

mentoring sessions through team calls 

to 22 students each week. It has been 

a real honour to journey with so many 

amazing students from both Blue Coat 

and Piggott schools! 

We have also continued, over 

this lockdown, to provide all the 

local schools with online assemblies. 

Themes have included: inspiring 

stories, divided kingdoms, Noah’s 

Ark and the parable of the weeds. 

Pictures (top to bottom): 

— Using orbeez and water to illustrate the 

parable of the weeds. It’s hard to separate the 

good from the bad until the harvest is ready, 

teaching us patience! I hope it made sense to 

the 1400 Piggott students watching! 

— The Alpha Body of Christ video at STAY 

on Sunday 

— Checking that everyone has enough eggs 

for our pancakes 

— STAY pancake party recipe 

— Retelling Noah's Ark from the Lego Bible 

at an online school assembly 

For more information, or a chat, 

contact Westy on 

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk 

STAY Detached Project 

Left to right: Sherlon, Westy and Mark 

Our new detached project in Charvil 

and Sonning has enabled us to engage in 

positive conversations with an average of 

18 or so young people each week. It’s so 

encouraging seeing young people from 

the local schools and being able to chat 

and check on their well-being during 

lockdown. 

It’s also an amazing privilege 

working in partnership with Mark 

Brown from Grace Church in 

Caversham and especially Sherlon 

Bartenbach from Reach — a pastoral 

and RE support for schools charity. 

The reason it’s so special working 

with Sherlon is that he used to be one 

of my young people many years ago. 

I met him aged 15 and he caused me 

many headaches in my school lunch 

club. He went onto become one of my 

best youth volunteer leaders and my 

intern. Now he works across Reading 

schools delivering similar work I met 

him through all those years ago. God 

really does work in mysterious ways!


The Persecuted Church 

This month we focus on Myanmar (Burma) where about 

90% of the Burmese population practice Buddhism, with 

Christians forming the second largest religion with about 

8%. Islam is the third-largest. 

Myanmar is in chaos. The country’s biggest city, Yangon, has 

seen the biggest protests against this year’s military coup, 

with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets. At the 

time of writing, 28 February, a Reuters report tells how this 

day has been the bloodiest day in weeks of demonstrations, 

with at least 18 people killed after Myanmar police fired on 

protesters. In Mandalay, earlier in February, live ammunition 

was used to disperse anti-coup protesters, leaving two dead 

and several others injured. 

The February military coup in Myanmar is the latest 

in a series over the years. On this occasion, the military’s 

argument was claims of voter fraud. Those claims were 

rejected by the election commission. The coup declared a oneyear 

emergency, and placed state councillor Aung San Suu Kyi 

under house arrest. 

This is not the first time of house arrest for Ms Suu Kyi. 

The first was in 1989, with others since. She formed her 

party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in 1988. 

In 1990 the NLD won a landslide election victory. Ms Suu 

Kyi has had two terms as state councillor. Her NLD party 

won a landslide victory in the 2015 elections, but she was 

constitutionally barred from becoming prime minister due to 

her husband and sons being British. 

In 2017, there was sectarian violence against the Rohingya 

Muslim population in the Rakhine area. The UN High 

Commissioner for human rights termed it ethnic cleansing. 

In August that year, over 5 million Rohingyas left Myanmar 

to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh. Along with 

the mainly-Muslim Rohingya people (who include a small 

minority of Christians), the Karen and other mainly- 

Christian ethnic people groups including Kachin and Chin 

have been brutally oppressed by the military-controlled 

government for decades. 

Barnabas Fund reports that a Myanmar Army document 

has been discovered, instructing soldiers to 'punish and 

breakdown' ethnic-minority Christians and other civilians 

deemed to be against the military regime, or even appearing 

critical of it in social media posts. At the outset of the 

coup this year, the Myanmar army shelled the Papun and 

Nyaunglebin districts, reports Barnabas. Karen villagers 

were forced to flee into mountainous jungle. Thousands of 

Karen people are now hiding there. 

Barnabas Fund has appealed to raise money for the 

helpless and homeless displaced Karen people in the jungle. 

They were particularly in need of rice, cooking oil, fish and 

tarpaulins or other strong plastic sheeting for roofing. 

Thankfully, gifts totalling £1,500 at the time of writing have 

helped provide makeshift shelters and food. It is still possible 

to contribute to this appeal: https://tinyurl.com/kctx4x6f 


News, features, and links by Colin Bailey: please read for awareness, 

and support by prayer, financial or otherwise. 

Pray for justice, righteousness and equality in Burma 

CONSTITUTIONALLY BARRED 

HIDING IN THE JUNGLE 

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, a Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Burma. It is a 

small pagoda built on the top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaves. 

The Golden Rock is said to precariously perched on a strand of the Buddha's 

hair. 

Paolo Campana, dreamstime.com 

When the NLD won the general election last November, 

it announced it would form a national unity government and 

would be inviting other ethnic minority parties to work with 

it. This offer was also made on their 2015 victory but was not 

fulfilled. Please join with Christian leaders in praying for the 

people of Myanmar and for a change of heart of the army and 

coup leaders, and for the Karen people hiding in the jungle. 

Pray that whoever governs Myanmar will rule with justice 

and righteousness, caring for all citizens equally. 

Sources and further reading 

Myanmar coup timeline in The Independent: https://tinyurl.com/tbycdhp2 

Al Jazeera report on Myanmar protests: https://tinyurl.com/djmx5pd9 

Barnabas Fund : flight of Karen Christians: https://tinyurl.com/3vppc5sx 

Barnabas Fund Facebook: flight of Karen Christian villagers: https://tinyurl. 

com/3vdt4me8 

Barnabas Fund:: Daily Prayer, 13 February, on Myanmar: https://tinyurl. 

com/5a2r89cm 

Barnabas Fund: Myanmar Army document: https://tinyurl.com/282mbbw9 

Barnabas Fund appeal to help displaced Karen villagers: https://tinyurl. 

com/34d6vw62 

Barnabas Fund Facebook update on Karen Christian appeal: https://tinyurl. 

com/87kw6658 

Associated Press: Protest in Mandalay: https://tinyurl.com/2yrkthtm 

Reuters: The bloodiest day of protests https://tinyurl.com/9m3b4nk6



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feature — 1 

Accidents do 

happen! 

By Claude Masters 

Catherine Chernyakova, dreamstime.com 

Alpha course on Zoom starts Thursday 22 April, 8pm 

— Has lockdown helped you reassess what’s important in life or helped you refocus? 

— Have the restrictions given you the space to wonder about life’s big questions? 

— Has some of the dark months of Covid made you wonder what’s the point of it all? 

However you might answer those questions, we would love you to join us for our brand 

new Alpha course on Zoom starting after Easter. It will be a safe space where these 

questions and more will be explored. 

The Alpha course is an amazing and relaxed way to ask questions, share thoughts 

and learn new things in a non judgemental and non threatening environment. It is 

designed for people of no faith, some faith or those just asking questions. 

'Alpha was the best thing I ever did. It helped answer some huge questions 

and to find a simple empowering faith in my life'— Bear Grylls 

The course will run for 12 weeks on Thursday evenings at 8pm for an hour. It starts 

on Thursday 22 April. The videos are only 20 minutes long and we stop for questions 

throughout. Come along for the first week to try it out. If it's not your thing then there 

is no expectation to return. If it does float your boat, then stick around for the course. 

No judgement either way! 

For Zoom details, or to have a chat about coming along, email the parish office on 

office@sonningparish.org.uk 

It is often said that there are only 

two things you can be sure of in this 

life, death and taxes, but there is 

another — accidents! 

From a toddler tearing a nail in the sand 

on a beach to an old man tripping over a 

kerb, something at sometime, is going to 

happen to you. 

The 1974 Health & Safety legislation 

was introduced to make employers 

and employees more responsible and 

careful in work places. Disregard for 

them became a criminal offence. 

Occasionally the legislation is open 

to ridicule as an unfortunate lady 

found out when showing a group of 

building tradesmen at a health and 

safety lecture how to wash their hands. 

It is now common practice to do 

a 'risk assessment' before any work, 

even though the job may have been 

done safely for years. This seems an 

unnecessary requirement as we all 

subconsciously do this all the time. 

Usually, nobody does anything unless 

they know it is safe to do so. 

UNFORTUNATE? 

It is a trait of human nature to 

laugh when seeing some one else’s 

misfortune, however serious the 

incident might be. Such incidents are 

often seen on the internet, though 

some are clearly a set up. 

The Chambers Dictionary defines 

accidents as unexpected occurrences 

that are usually unfortunate. But this 

is not always true — an unexpected 

baby is often referred to as an accident 

but will hopefully bring sheer joy! 

A plumber was called out for an 

overflowing cistern in the ladies staff 

changing room of a London hotel. 

Knowing it would not take long, he 

didn’t put up an ‘Out of Order’ notice, 

and propped the door open to indicate 

that he was around. The cubicle door 

closed behind him but when he opened 

it, he beheld a screaming young lady 

wearing the skimpiest of underwear. 

He shut himself in the cubicle until 

the coast was clear and is now known 

as the man in the toilet by all the 

waitresses! Accidents do happen!



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feature — 2 

'Queen of Festivals' traditions — new and old 

Easter 2015: The Easter Egg and Spoon Race which is now a St Andrew's Church 'tradition' 

Easter often reminds me of a faithful member of St Andrew's once saying that 

she only liked to receive Holy Communion twice a year, on Easter Sunday and 

Christmas Day. This had been a 'tradition' from her younger days that she 

felt made Holy Communion very special. I am sure that for many of us this 

will be true when the Covid restrictions are eased and we can all, once again, 

receive the bread and wine that Jesus invited his followers to remember him 

by shortly before his crucifixion. The good news is that it seems likely that we 

will be able to receive Communion this Easter, writes Bob Peters. 

Other Easter 'traditions' such as 

our Easter Saturday family fun day 

will not be possible, and the special 

services, whose traditions date back 

2,000 years, will be different if they 

are held — see page 7. 

In the May 1876 issue of this 

magazine, Rev Hugh Pearson wrote: 

Easter, according to the Saxon historian, 

the Venerable Bede, is derived from 

Eostre, the name of a goddess worshipped 

of old in Britain. Bede lived sufficiently 

near to pagan times to be able to speak 

with certainty, and no writer has given 

greater diligence to ensure accuracy. The 

word Easter does not represent the Saxon 

word for resurrection, as is sometimes 

supposed. Our Easter therefore may be 

considered to have displaced the British 

Festival of Eostre, on the well-known 

principle of Christian antiquity, whereby 

churches were built on the site, and 

often with the materials of the ancient 

temples, (as for instance in the case of 

St Paul’s Cathedral, built on the site of 

the Temple of Diana, in London), and 

heathen festivals were adapted to the 

Christian calendar. Easter was known 

throughout the ancient church as the 

'Queen of Festivals', and was kept with 

especially joyous and imposing solemnity. 

It is a pleasure to feel that our own church 

services of this year were not unworthy of 

the Great Festival, and in harmony with 

the glad spirit of the universal church. 

Down the years, other 'traditions' 

have emerged for Easter, both 

Christian and secular, such as 

chocolate Easter eggs. Some of them, 

such as receiving Holy Communion 

only twice a year, have been lost in 

time. 

OLD TRADITIONS 

Even so, you can still see reminders 

of lost traditions in some of the 

ancient churches around the country. 

In St Andrew's, for example, there 

is stone arch that Hugh Pearson 

mentioned in The Parish Magazine for 

June 1869: 

The most remarkable feature in 

the interior of the Church, is the richly 

sculptured stone arch on the North side of 

the Sacrarium. Of the history or purpose 

of this beautiful work of medieval art 

we know absolutely nothing. There is no 

notice of it in Ashmole’s account of the 

Church, and in Lyson’s Magna Britannia 

it is only spoken of as 'an elegant pointed 

arch, very richly ornamented with 

figures of saints.' There have been many 

conjectures as to its original purpose. It 

may possibly have been raised over what 

was called an Easter Sepulchre, that is, 

a place for the performance of certain 

solemn rites commemorative of the 

Resurrection of our Lord. 

The Easter Sepulchre was also 

used in some medieval churches to 

Tom Farncombe 

keep the bread and wine used for 

Holy Communion from Good Friday 

until Easter Day 

The Easter traditions, new and 

old, have all developed to illustrate 

and strengthen the significance of 

Easter, which is the most important 

celebration in the Christian calender. 

These include: 

— Burial of the cross from Good 

Friday to Easter Day 

— Stripping the altar on Maundy 

Thursday 

— An Easter vigil between the death 

and resurrection of Christ 

— The Last Hour Service to mark the 

last moments of the life of Christ 

— An Easter play 

— The Easter candle, traditionally lit 

to mark the start of Easter 

— Flowering the cross, on Easter 

morning a cross is decorated with 

flowers 

— Blessing each home in the parish 

— Easter food, particularly lamb 

— Easter eggs, symbolising new life 

and the stone used to seal the tomb 

of Christ 

— An Easter garden 

NEW TRADITIONS 

Making an Easter garden is a recent 

'tradition' and has become more 

popular with children, although 

people of all ages can enjoy it. 

It emerged as a custom in a 

similar way to the Christmas nativity 

scene and is used to remind us of 

the special events that surrounded 

Jesus at the time. Like the nativity, 

it is placed in a prominent place 

throughout the 50 days of Easter. 

turn to page 17



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feature — 3 

Easter 'traditions' old and new 


from page 15 

2013: The 'traditional' Easter egg hunt at St Andrew's Tom Farncombe 

Easter gardens take many forms, 

from small ones created in a dish or 

tray to larger, less portable gardens 

in purpose made containers. Some 

people also make outdoor Easter 

gardens in a quiet corner of their 

garden where they can sit peacefully 

to meditate. 

All have four essential parts — a 

mound on which one or three crosses 

may be placed, a cave cut into the 

mound, a large stone that forms the 

door to the cave and is moved on 

Easter Day, and living plants that 

represent the new life that Jesus 

gives us. 

The site in Jerusalem where 

Jesus was buried is unknown but 

one possible location is a beautiful 

and very peaceful garden owned and 

administered by The Garden Tomb 

(Jerusalem) Association, a Christian 

non-denominational charitable 

trust based in the UK. Set against a 

backdrop of a rocky cliff that appears 

to have a face naturally formed 

in the rocks recalling the Biblical 

location of Golgotha — Skull Hill 

— there is a natural cave below that 

Instructions on how to make an Easter 

garden like the one above can be found on: 

https://amysfreeideas.com/English/Step_ 

by_step_instructions_for_how_to_make_ 

an_Easter_Garden.html 

archaeologists believe was used as 

a burial tomb for a wealthy person 

in the time of Jesus. Whether this 

is the garden or not, it has inspired 

thousands of Christians when 

making their own Easter gardens. 

Why not start a new 'tradition' for 

yourself and make one this Easter? 

If you make an Easter garden, 

send us a picture of it before 12 noon 

on 6 April and we will try to include 

it in our next issue: 


The Golgotha tomb where Jesus is said to have been buried 

Aleksandar Todorovic, dreamstime.com 

Above: Some examples of different types of 

Easter gardens made by St Andrew's Church 

Sunday Club members for Easter last year.


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feature — 4 

Jake takes a 

step up 

Meet Jake (right) who lives in 

Reading. He has just turned six, and 

has a very rare condition known 

as RERE Syndrome, a difficult-todiagnose 

genetic condition currently 

identified as affecting less than 30 

people around the world — RERE 

(Arginine-Glutamic Acid Dipeptide 

Repeats) is a Protein Coding gene. 

Jake's low muscle tone means he can 

crawl but not yet walk. Now that he's 

a big lad —he wears age 10 clothes 

and weighs 30kg (4stone 10lbs) — his 

parents were finding it a real problem 

to help him in and out of the bath. 

But things have now got a little 

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volunteer 'MakeAbility' engineer from 

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bathroom steps. 

VOLUNTEERS 

Remap has 70 county 'MakeAbility' 

groups in England, Wales and Northern 

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about 3,000 people every year. Remap 

volunteers enjoy using their skills to 

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or special needs and who cannot find 

anything suitable to buy. 

The 'MakeAbility' service is entirely 

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of expertise ranging from IT and 

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and 3D-printing. 

Jake's mother, Rachel Green said: 

'Jake cannot get in or out of the bath 

Jake with his specially made steps. 

Remap 

Remap 

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to lift him over the bath-side. Now that 

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both in and out. They have made a real 

difference'. 

Jake's condition was identified 

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Jake gets on well his 2 year old sister. Remap 


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Jake's unique steps were built by 

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feature — 5 

It is 100 years since 'The Parochial 

Church Councils (Powers) Measure 

1921' became law, a law which was 

an important stage in the birth of 

the PCC. 

During the First World War army 

chaplains found that many men who 

thought of themselves as church 

goers were ignorant of the basics of 

religion. This led to a new interest in 

mission for the church. 

There were national days of prayer 

during the war and in 1915 there was 

a National Mission of Repentance and 

Hope. The public were more in the 

mood for victory than repentance. 

After the Armistice there was a desire 

for change in the national church and 

this led to a discussion about the links 

with the state. 

Parliament was often slow to 

enact laws for the church and many 

people felt the national church should 

have more authority to govern itself. 

The setting up of Parochial Church 

Councils was part of that process. 

In the past, much of the local 

secular administration had been the 

responsibility of churchwardens in 

the vestry meetings. Gradually their 

functions were passed to local councils. 

Most of their remaining powers were 

transferred to PCC's by The Parochial 

Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1921. 

The purpose behind these new 

councils was to give the laity a more 

prominent role in parish life and to 

work alongside the deanery, diocesan 

and national councils which became 

the synods. The PCC would have an 

important role in church life. 

Some conservative clerics were 

concerned at this reform and felt that 

congregations would pick and choose 

clergy or object to a new incumbent 

chosen by a patron. 

The process of starting PCCs to 

share in decision making in parishes 

was widely accepted but a few older 

incumbents, and those in more 

rural areas, failed to do either out of 

reluctance or ignorance. 

One difficult issue was what level 

of commitment to church life enabled 

a person to be eligible to serve on a 

church council. It was decided that 

anyone on the electoral role could 

participate — even if they did not 

attended communion regularly. 

The then Bishop of Oxford resigned 

over the issue because he thought 

that councils must only be made up of 

committed regular communicants. 

The next Bishop of Oxford, in 

his monthly diocesan magazine, 

endorsed the principle of democracy 


PCC's celebrate 100 years of service this month 

April 2021 officially marks the centenary of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) in the Church of England although many parish 

churches, such as ours, began establishing and running a PCC during the previous year. Here, Rev Peter Crumpler, a former CofE 

communications director gives the background to this radical change in the management of parish churches that placed them in the 

hands of their church members rather than the vicar and the church wardens. 

PROMINENT ROLE 

and reassured people that it was not 

a negative step and would not limit 

the powers of clergy or wardens. He 

encouraged the congregations to 

consider how to use each other’s gifts. 

In Aylesbury the idea of the new 

PCC's had been discussed as early 

as 1918. It was felt that they would 

support the clergy particularly with 

financial issues. 

It is strange to think that the 

proposal for clergy and congregation 

to work together for the benefit of the 

church could be controversial. 

The birth of the PCC was a major 

step in the life of the church. I wonder 

what the next 100 years will bring? 

William Temple Public domain 

Meanwhile at 

A leading churchman in the reform 

St Andrew's . . . 

movement was William Temple who 

became leader of the Life and Liberty In our parish, Rev Gibbs Payne 

movement which influenced the move Crawfurd was the vicar from 1907- 

towards democratic government in the 1925. He supported the move to place 

Church of England. 

the management of parish churches in 

William Temple was Bishop of the hands of their members. 

Manchester in the 1920's, Archbishop In The Parish Magazine of February 

of York (1929-1942) and Archbishop of 1920 — more than a year before The 

Canterbury (1942-1944). 

Parochial Church Councils (Powers) 

He had been a secretary of the 

Measure 1921— he set out a plan to 

National Mission of Repentance and elect members to create a PCC. 

Hope in 1916 and became chairman 

The first monthly meeting was held 

and joint leader with Dick Sheppard of shortly afterwards and the PCC began 

the Life and Liberty movement. 

to make changes that were welcomed 

'We demand liberty for the Church of by everyone. 

England' he declared at a meeting in 

One of these changes concerned 

July 1917. 

this magazine. Since 1869 when it was 

founded, the magazine had been the 

ANYONE 

sole responsibility of the vicar who not 

only edited it but funded it. 

In 1920, Rev Gibbs Payne Crawfurd 

wrote that he was closing the magazine 

because he could not bear the annual 

deficit of £30 — that's about £1,400 

today! 

The PCC felt that the magazine was 

essential for them to keep the parish 

informed about its work and voted 

to take full responsibility for it. Their 

bold decision has enabled The Parish 

Magazine to continue to be published 

continuously ever since — something 

no other church has achieved!

22 The Parish Magazine - April 20211 

feature — 6 

The most important festival for Christians 

for all denominations around the world 

Most statisticians agree that the world population is about 8 billion of which 2.25 billion are 

Christians, 1.9 billion are Muslim, 1.2 billion are Hindu, with the balance shared between those of other 

religions and none. They also estimate that Christians belong to more than 30,000 different church 

denominations of which 900 million are Protestant and about 1,300 million people Catholic. Despite 

this different approach to the faith, all Christians look to Jesus as their saviour who rose from the dead 

thus making Easter the most important annual celebration around the world. 

The term, 'Christian' is found in the New 

Testament and was first used to described the 

disciples of Jesus in Antioch (Acts 11:26). 

As the early church, whose history is recorded 

in the New Testament, spread around the world 

the gospel message of Christ was clearly relevant 

in different ways to the different people in their 

different situations. This led to different churches 

developing as illustrated in the opening chapters 

of the Book of Revelation which tells us about how 

seven different Christian churches responded to 

the gospel of Christ. 

DIVERSITY 

As time moved on churches began to form 

groups of people who shared similar Christian ideas 

and so, like any family tree, it became increasingly 

diverse, with different styles of worship and different 

emphasis on the doctrines of their faith. 

Yet, despite this diversity, Christians have always 

been united in their central beliefs taught by Jesus, 

and his resurrection. As churches grew they found 

strength in joining with other like-minded churches 

and so the different denominations that exist today 

slowly emerged. 

The 'family tree' diagram below illustrates the 

history of Christianity since the time of Jesus. It 

shows how the churches evolved into nine different, 

yet closely aligned families that theologians like to 

give special names. The Church of England, which is 

c31 Christian Church, Antioch (Acts 20-26) 

1208 Roman Catholic 

1534 Church of England (Anglican) 

1560 Church of Scotland 

1612 Baptist 

1712 Scottish Episcopal 

1832 Congregational Church of England & Wales 

1843 The Free Church of Scotland 

1800’s Quakers 

1865 Salvation Army 

1883 Brethren 

1901 Pentecostal 

1920 The Church in Wales 

1932 Methodist 

1972 United Reformed Church 

1987 Ecumenical Founders Church 

2004 Messy Church 

also the 'parent' of the Anglican branch, is part of the 

'Protestantism family'. 

The table above gives the year that some of the 

different Christian churches in the United Kingdom 

were established. The logos illustrated on the right 

are for some of these denominations — how many 

can you identify? The answers to this 'Easter quiz' 

are on page 39!' 

In more recent times different denominations 

have come together to share common aims and 

worship while maintaining their individual 

identities. Churches Together is one example, of 

commons.wikimedia.org


Romolo Tavani, dreamstime.com 

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the 

tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, 

rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The 

guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, 'Do not be 

afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. 

Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is 

going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ (Matthew 28: 1-7) 

where local churches of different denominations 

meet and work together on ecumenical community 

projects. 

In 1991 the churches in Sonning, Charvil, 

Twyford, Ruscombe, and Wargrave decided to 

establish a local interdenominational Churches 

Together group but because there were very few 

different denominations involved — at the time 

there were five Anglican churches, one Roman 

Catholic, one United Reformed Church and one 

Baptist in the area — it was never well balanced 

from a denominational viewpoint despite there 

being enthusiastic support. 

LOCAL TOGETHERNESS 

In March 1992 The Parish Magazine carried 

this report from Rev Christopher Morgan, vicar 

of Sonning: The 28 January was the AGM of CTTD 

[Churches Together in Twyford District] and marked St 

Andrew's and St Patrick's first full year of membership. 

'What is CTTD?' I am sure many people are still asking. 

CTTD is part of Churches Together in Berkshire which 

in turn is part of Churches Together in England. We are 

therefore part of the nationwide ecumenical movement 

involving all the major denominations. 

The report then gives some details of planned 

combined services, but unfortunately the rather 

limited initial enthusiasm waned because there 

were never enough different denominations — and 

consequently, people — involved to develop the 

activities outside of combined acts of worship that 

were not supported by all the member churches. 

More recently, however, the Twyford and 

Ruscombe churches have joined with the Anglican 

church of St Nicholas Hurst to form a successful 

partnership called THRU-Christ. 'THR' stands for 

the CofE churches in Twyford, Hurst and Ruscombe 

and the U for Twyford's United Reformed Church. 

However, in Reading, a similar attempt to create 

a Churches Together group was very successful and 

it is now contributing to many local initiatives in the 

town, and has played an important role during the 

Covid restrictions. 

At St Andrew's our community focus, both within 

and outside of the parish, has taken a different path 

through the children and youth activities that we 

report about regularly in this magazine. 

NOW IT GETS MESSY! 

There is, of course, another church at St Andrew's 

that crosses the denominational boundaries, namely, 

Messy Church. 

According to its owners, The Bible Reading 

Fellowship: 'Messy Churches are happening across all 

sorts of denominations — Salvation Army, Pentecostal, 

Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Free 

Church, Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal, Seventh 

Day Adventist, Church in Wales, New Frontiers, United 

Reformed Church, Assemblies of God and Uniting Church 

to name the ones we are aware of at the moment.' 

Messy Church, Churches Together in Reading, 

THRU-Christ and our children and youth work in 

this parish, and beyond, are all good examples of 

how Christians work together regardless of the 

denomination of their chosen church. 

The driving force behind these and many other 

similar activities around the world dates back more 

than 2,00o years to the events of Easter when Jesus 

rose from the dead and commissioned his disciples 

to follow his teaching and to go out into the 

world to share God's love for them with everyone, 

everywhere. Happy Easter!



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around the villages — 1 


Before lockdown became such a well used word, The Parish Magazine regularly published stories about interesting places to visit locally, but we have 

not published any in the series for more than year so we thought it was time to continue with a stay-at-home adventure that is still virtually open ... 

Windsor Castle — a great day out at home 

On 21 April, the Queen celebrates her 

95th birthday — her official birthday, 

traditionally held when the weather 

is more congenial for parades, is on 

12 June. Her real birthday will be 

marked with a midday gun salute 

with 41 guns fired in Hyde Park, 62 

at the Tower of London, and 21 in 

Windsor Great Park. Being only 16 

miles away from St Andrew's Church, 

Windsor Castle is the closest of these 

venues, however, the pandemic rules 

are likely to mean that the nearest we 

can get to it will be online! 

You could also make a day of it at home 

by visiting the Royal Collection Trust 

online where there are royal activities 

for all the family — quizzes, virtual 

tours through the castle's state rooms 

and museums, a royal recipe to try, a 

huge collection of photographs taken 

by the royal family, and a gift shop! 

On St George's Day the order of the Garter 

awards are announced at Windsor Castle. 

Wendy Leber, dreamstime.com 

Aerial view of Windsor Castle - Amanda Lewis, dreamstime.com; Ceremonial entrance to St George's Chapel 

- emotionart, dreamstime.com; Canon Pearson cross - Sue Peters; Castle tower - Audrey H, unsplash.com. 

Royal Collection Trust is one of 

five Royal Household departments 

that are responsible for the care of the 

Royal Collection. It also manages the 

public opening of the Queen's official 

residences of Buckingham Palace, 

Windsor Castle and the Palace of 

Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. 

The Queen's church, St George's 

Chapel at Windsor Castle, has 

historical connections with our 

parish, and this magazine! Our first 

editor, Rev Hugh Pearson, served as a 

highly-respected Canon at St George's 

(1876–82) during his incumbency in 

this parish. Next to the chapel steps 

used for ceremonial occasions such as 

royal weddings, you will find a cross 

erected in Canon Pearson's memory. 

The present chapel is one of the 

finest examples of Gothic architecture 

in England and dates from 1475 when 

Edward IV was king. It is the spiritual 

home of the Order of the Garter, 

the senior order of British Chivalry 

established in 1348 by Edward III and 

houses the tombs of 10 monarchs, 

including Henry VIII, his third wife 

Jane Seymour, and Charles I. 

The links below will take you to 

some of the highlights of Windsor 

Castle, a tudor quiz, a virtual tour of 

the Waterloo Chamber, and a royal 

recipe to try! 

https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle/ 

highlights-of-windsor-castle#/#stgeorgechapel 

https://email.rct.uk/p/4SVR-4YU/ 

tudorquiz?dm_i=4SVR,GK9F,U81AY,1Z07S,1 

https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle/ 

highlights-of-windsor-castle?dm_i=4SVR,GK9F, 

U81AY,1YI0B,1#/#stateapartments 

https://www.rct.uk/resources/ 

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And there is a lot more to explore online!

26 The Parish Magazine - April 2021 Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to advertisements 

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around the villages — 2 

Looking familiar? 

Several readers have commented on 

how much they liked last month's front 

cover of The Parish Magazine but where 

was it painted? 

Charvil tree warden, Sarah Swatridge, 

thought at first that it may have been 

an artist's impression of how a new 

fish refuge in Charvil's water meadows 

might look in the future. Her photograph 

(right) shows a close resemblance to 

Jean Hutchinson's pastel picture (below), 

part of which was used for our March 

front cover. However, the answer to the 

whereabouts of Jean's painting is that it 

was inspired by a photograph she took 

at Michelham Priory in East Sussex. On 

the site of a former 

Augustine priory in 

the Cuckmere Valley, 

Michelham Priory is 

owned by the Sussex 

Archaeological Society, 

a charity which, in 

normal times welcomes 

visitors to explore the 

15 acres of grounds and 

buildings. When open, 

there are activities 

for all the family with 

interactive displays 

illustrating its 800 year 

history. 

Me2 wins 

a Berkshire 

Lockdown 

Hero Activity 

Award 

Woodley's Me2 Club has won a Get 

Berkshire Active Hero award for its 

physical activities during lockdown. 

Me2 Club, an inclusion charity for 

children and young people with 

additional needs and disabilities in the 

Wokingham and Reading boroughs, 

was one of 70 nominations for the 9th 

GBA Awards this year. 

The judging panel recognised 29 

organisations and individuals whose 

contribution truly made a difference 

during the pandemic. The Awards not 

only go to people who have excelled 

in sporting achievement over the 

previous year, but more importantly 

to those, such as Me2 Club, who have 

made sport possible for others. 

Tennis open days 

planned for May and 

June in Sonning 

Sonning Tennis Club, which will be 

celebrating its 75th anniversary this 

year, is planning two open days for 

May and June, provided, of course, 

that the Covid-19 relaxation of rules 

continues as hoped. As we went to 

press the dates were being finalised. 

STC always welcomes new family and 

adult members having all standards 

of play to its friendly local club. It 

has three courts on the edge of the 

King George V Field, Sonning. 

As well as coaching junior and 

adult players, the club organises 

tournaments and social events, and 

has men’s, ladies and mixed teams in 

the Berkshire leagues. 

For the latest information and 

details of membership see: 

http://www.sonningtennis.com/ 


Thank you for sharing 

your lockdown art . . . 

You have to admire Sonning Art Group 

who have kept going through the 

lockdowns by meeting online, and we 

thank them for sharing some of their 

great works of art with us. As well as 

'classic' images such as the scene on 

the left that featured last month on 

the front cover, they have been letting 

their artistic imaginations wander. 

Below are some their latest 

'wanderings' — Alan Langdon's 

chocolate dreams; Sue Dobson’s love 

penguins; George Gallocker's carrot 

lady; Sue Eley's nest; Jean Hutchinson's 

tea bag shower; Bernadette Varilone's 

market and George Gallocker’s ram.



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HEALTH — 1 

Ingredients for the ‘pastry’ 

— 400g ground almonds 

— 400g pitted Medjool dates 

— 6 tbsps melted coconut oil 

Ingredients for the filling 

— 200g dried mixed fruit 

— 40g dried cranberries 

— 2 finely chopped apples 

— zest & juice of a lemon and an 

orange 

— ½ tsp ground mixed spice 

— ½ tsp ground cinnamon 

— ¼ tsp ground nutmeg 

— ¼ tsp ground cloves 

— 2 tbsps brandy or orange liqueur 

(optional) 

— 30g coconut oil 

— 4 tbsps water 

— ¼ tsp vanilla extract 

— Pinch of salt 

Method 

Preheat oven to 1800C/Gas Mark 4 

Place 12 cupcake cases on a baking tray. 

Place all the filling ingredients 

into a saucepan and simmer for 

approximately 25 minutes until the 

apples have softened. Stir occasionally 

to avoid sticking. 

While the filling is cooking, make the 

‘pastry’. Place all the base ingredients 

in a food processor and blend for 

around 1-2 minutes until everything is 

mixed together. Roll the mixture out 

onto a board to around ½ cm thick. 

Cut out 12 circles from the pastry 

using a cookie cutter and place one in 

each of the cupcake cases. Bake for 5-7 

minutes. Remove from the oven. 

Once the filling is cooked, place 

approximately 2 tbsps of the filling 

into each case. Return to the oven 

and bake the mince pies for another 7 

minutes. Remove from the oven and 

allow to cool. Enjoy anytime! 

HEALTHY BRAIN SMOOTHIE 

Try incorporating healthy brain 

foods at breakfast; here's a delicious 

smoothie packed with omega-3 and 

antioxidants: 

— 1 cup fresh spinach 

— 1 tbsp ground flaxseed 

— 1 cup frozen blueberries 

— 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 

— ½ medium banana 

— 1 tbsp nut butter 

— tsp cinnamon 

— ¼ tsp ginger 


Emily's healthy food recipes — her favourite collection! 

Some readers have asked why Emily Hylan's healthy eating column, which included some of her favourite recipes, has disappeared from 

the magazine. At the end of last year, Emily left Charvil to take up a new job which meant that she would not have time to continue writing 

for us. Her recipes were obviously popular so we have collected them together to make it easier for her fans to keep handy — and if you 

haven't tried any yet, here's another chance! 

GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE 

MINCE TARTS 

EASTER CARROT CAKE PORRIDGE 

Ingredients 

— 100g porridge oats 

— 250ml almond milk 

— 250ml water 

— 1 carrot peeled and grated 

— 1 tbsp date syrup or maple syrup 

— ¼ tsp each of ground cinnamon 

ground nutmeg and ground ginger 

— 30g raisins. 

Method 

Put oats, almond milk and water 

in a small saucepan and heat over 

a medium heat. Stir in most of the 

carrot along with the syrup, spices 

and raisins. Cook for 5-7 minutes until 

thick and creamy, stirring regularly. 

Sprinkle with the remaining carrot 

and serve. Happy Easter! 

BLACKBERRY OAT BARS 

Ingredients 

— 310g oats 

— 120 g almond flour/ground almonds 

— 1/2 tsp salt 

— 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

— 1 tsp lemon juice 

— 100 g coconut oil, melted 

— 117 g maple syrup 

— 1 tbsp nut butter (or seed butter) 

— 12 oz blackberries 

— 1/2 tbsp corn starch 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 1800C and line an 8 x 

8 inch baking tin with parchment paper. 

Combine the oats, almond flour, salt, 

and cinnamon in a food processor and 

pulse together. 

Melt the coconut oil and stir in the 

maple syrup and nut butter. Pour this 

mixture into the dry ingredients in 

the food processor and pulse until the 

mixture starts to come together. 

Set aside approximately 100g of the oat 

mixture for a crumb topping. 

With the rest of the oat mix, evenly 

distribute in the parchment lined 

baking tin and press down. Prick the 

crust with a fork so steam can escape. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes. 

While the crust is baking, add the 

blackberries, corn starch and lemon 

juice to the food processor and blend 

together until it has reached a desired 

consistency. 

Remove the crust from the oven 

and pour the blackberry puree over 

the crust. Using the reserved oat 

mix, spread evenly on top over the 

blackberry puree. Bake for 20-25 

minutes, until golden brown. 

Remove from oven and cool in the 

pan for about 1 hour. Refrigerate for at 

least 3-4 hours until it completely sets. 

Remove from the pan by gently lifting 

the edges of the parchment paper. Cut 

into bars.



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HEALTH — 2 

Dr Simon Ruffle writes . . . about shaking 

A common presentation to doctors is shaking — or tremors. 

Due to our inbuilt prejudice, our brains snap to the easiest 

conclusion so we can get on with life. If we consciously 

made decisions, all the time, we’d be almost paralysed 

by indecision and certainly couldn’t drive or complete 

complicated tasks. 

We learn these decisions and automate them until we no 

longer make a conscious decision to continue. 

We override these decisions to change outcomes; for 

better or worse. Teenage boy’s brains are wired differently 

and they take more risks by overriding their unconscious 

decisions. In general our learned decisions are correct; 

repeating failure leads to doom! 

So, back to the shakes. Being in Britain our sense of 

humour will make us think ‘take more water with it! 

Certainly an option to ask about but let’s explore this very 

common symptom. 

TEMPUS FUGIT 

Like most conditions that cause a lack of ease or disease 

they occur as we age. Nothing we can do about 'tempus fugit' 

— time flies — and the alternative to this is seen all around 

St Andrew’s. 

ESSENTIAL 

The commonest form of tremor is 'essential tremor'. 

This is a fast tremor that, annoyingly, starts as you go to do 

something. A nice cuppa awaits, you go to pick it up and ‘the 

shakes start.’ Often you can overcome this and I worked with 

a surgeon that shook until the moment of precision and then 

he was steady as a rock. This is a variant known as intention 

tremor. 

There’s little we can do about mild symptoms and very 

few people go on to be disabled by the condition. There 

is a new type of surgery where the brain is stimulated by 

electricity overriding the tremor — alcohol can slow this 

tremor. 

ETHANOL C2H5-OH 

Let’s bite the alcohol bullet. Alcohol doesn’t cause tremor. 

Withdrawing format does. You do not need to be alcoholic 

to get some tremor if you have had one for the road that you 

weren’t going to, you may get a little shaky between 10-12 

hours after your last drink. 

Other normally encountered reasons for tremors are lack 

of sleep, low blood sugar and dehydration — all encountered 

in a hangover too! 

SHAKES ARE NORMAL 

Shaking is a natural reaction to stress. Adrenaline levels 

rise. Your heart rate and blood pressure rise and tremor 

starts — you are warming up to fight or flight. This is great 

when the lions attack but not when you have a presentation 

to make or an interview. 

GREY TUMOUR 

In speaking about adrenaline there is a condition called 

'phaeochromocytom'. This is a benign tumour that causes too 

much adrenaline to be produced. This gives a pseudo — fake 

Ladies dancing 


— fight and flight response. The tumour cells are dusky in 

colour thus the name, 'phaeo' means dusky', 'chromo' means 

colour and 'chroma' is tumour. 

MORNING RITUAL? 

Caffeine and smoking causes shaking but so can many 

prescribed medications, especially asthma inhalers. 

Thyroid disease, especially overactive thyroid can cause 

the symptoms as can lack of B12 and liver disease. 

BRAIN DISORDERS 

Asking people what makes people shake, second to 

alcohol is Parkinson’s Disease. 

Parkinson’s is now known as a range of conditions but 

there are brain conditions that mimic Parkinson’s Disease. 

The tremor of PD is slow, a rigid/releasing tremor or 

cog wheeling. Some patients also experience a ‘pill-rolling 

tremor.’ This is exactly as it sounds. The patient rolls an 

invisible pill in their fingers. 

Medicine and surgery are now used in Parkinson’s disease 

to alleviate the symptoms but the disease is degenerative. 

If you have never watched the film Awakenings with Robin 

Williams and Robert De Niro, do so. It is a fictionalised 

biography about patients and doctors having PD and trying 

to treat it. (Warning: box of Kleenex, other tissues are 

available, required.) 

Multiple Sclerosis patients also present with tremor, 

often in one hand but sometimes both. 

BIAS BE GONE 

I hope that a little knowledge of what makes us shake can 

change our unconscious bias on how we see someone with 

the shakes. 

OH! ONE MORE THING 

Simon Ruffle 

My hobby is photography. There is no way humans can 

control camera shake with low shutter speeds without using 

a tripod. Even then, many cameras compensate for shake so 

brilliantly that you have to turn the mechanism off when 

the camera is stabilised —if only humans could do this! 

However, sometimes, the misnomer, camera shake — it 

should be called operator or human shake — can be an 

advantage. Indulge me!



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HOME & GARDEN 

Rare 

visitor 

from 

Biblical 

times 

Andy Holmes, unsplash.com 

Gazing through the window and thinking of what to do 

first in the Bible garden when the wet, cold weather eases, I 

spotted a rare visitor that took me back to my childhood. It 

was a lone sparrow, writes Bob Peters. 

The sparrow is one of the world's most common birds and 

it has been recorded in every continent except Antarctica. 

They have been around it seems since time began and are 

mentioned several times in the Bible: 'Are not five sparrows 

sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before 

God.' (Luke 12:6). Sparrows are welcome visitors to my Bible 

garden! 

There are 25 species of birds found only in Israel with 

about 400 species in the neighbouring areas. Birds are often 

mentioned in the Bible, both literally and metaphorically. 

In my younger days, sparrows, and starlings (although 

not mentioned in the Bible, starlings are said to be ‘spiritual 

messengers’) were considered pests, they were everywhere, 

although blackbirds, thrushes (Isaiah 38:14), blue tits, 

robins and wrens all managed to find a spot to feed. Then 


Recipe of the month: Easter Story Biscuits for children 

Preparation time: 20 minutes, total time: 1 day! 

Ingredients 

— 110 grams of pecan nuts — 200 grams sugar 

— 5 grams vinegar 

— large plastic bag 

— 3 egg whites 

— wooden spoon 

— a pinch salt 

— tape 

Instructions: Find your Bible then preheat the oven to 1500C 

Place pecans in the plastic bag and let the children beat them with 

the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after 

Jesus was arrested, he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read 

John 19:1-3. 

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put vinegar into mixing bowl. 

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given 

vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30. 

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus 

gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11. 

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and 

brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty 

tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. 

Read Luke 23:27. 

So far the ingredients are not very appetising . . . 

Birds in and above the Bible garden 

Add sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that 

Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to 

him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16. 

Beat with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks are formed. 

Explain that the colour white represents the purity in God's eyes 

of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 

and John 3:1-3. 

Fold in broken nuts. Use a teaspoon to drop the mixture onto a 

non-stick baking parchment-covered baking sheet. Explain that 

each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was 

laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60. 

Put the baking sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the 

oven off. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. 

Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66. 

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave them in the 

oven overnight. Jesus' followers felt despair when the tomb was 

sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22. 

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. 

Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! 

On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb 

open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9. 

in summer the house martins and swallows (Isaiah 38:14) 

arrived and, when the weather was rough, along came the 

seagulls (Leviticus 11:16) — my garden then was near the 

Thames Estuary, only 70 miles downstream as the crow flies 

from Charvil in Berkshire where I live now, so the climates 

were similar. And yet, 60 years later, the smaller birds such 

as sparrows and starlings, have become rare visitors. 

While the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 

points out that bird numbers vary each year according to 

the availability of food and the climate, it also records that 

with many species of birds there has been a worrying steady 

decline in numbers over the past 30 years — sparrows have 

declined by 95% and starlings by 71%. 

LARGER BIRDS IN THE SKIES 

Interestingly, in the 10 years I have lived in Charvil, as 

the smaller birds have declined in numbers, there has been 

an obvious rise of larger birds such as crows (same family 

as the raven (Genesis 8:6-7), red kites (Leviticus 11:14) and 

parakeets, all of which have larger flocks every year. Just 

before Christmas last year a peregrine falcon (Leviticus 11:14) 

appeared and seems to have attracted another one — I saw 

one flying by with twigs in its beak, perhaps they are setting 

up home nearby! 

One bird, however, that has been ever present in my 

Bible garden is the pigeon (Luke 2:24) which can be a problem 

when they attack the young broad bean plants. In the 

Bible, pigeons were used for food and sacrifice. They too 

are declining in numbers — in America it is estimated that 

billions of them have disappeared in recent years. 

Then there is the heron (Leviticus 11:19) that steals fish 

from the Bible garden pond! This is one of the 'unclean' birds 

of the Bible — another 'unclean' bird that I have not heard 

for several years but hope will herald spring one day soon, is 

the cuckoo. (Leviticus 11:14).



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THE ARTS — 1 

From blindness to sight and insight 

Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons 

I like the story of the vestry noticeboard of a church in Hampshire: after a 

Holy Week performance of Stainer’s ‘Crucifixion’, the choirmaster wrote: ‘The 

Crucifixion — well done, everyone!’ Later that day, someone had added, ‘The 

Resurrection — well done, God!’, writes Rev Michael Burgess 

For the two disciples treading the road to Emmaus, there was no such sense of victory 

and celebration. Their minds and hearts were numb with the sense of loss and failure. 

They had seen their Lord tried and crucified. 

As Luke recounts that walk in his Gospel, he shows how it began with 

absence and loss, but journeyed to presence. It was a road that took the 

disciples from blindness and despair to sight and insight. They talked over past 

events with the stranger who joined them. Luke uses 10 different Greek words 

to describe that conversation — all stages in their understanding. And when 

they share a meal with the stranger, who becomes the host, taking the bread 

and giving thanks, then the understanding becomes vision and insight. 

ASTONISHED AND UNDERSTANDING 

That meal is the theme of Caravaggio’s painting of 1601, ‘The Supper at 

Emmaus.’ Caravaggio had a reputation for being a violent, irrational artist, 

given to bouts of anger and forced to spend part of his life in exile in Naples and 

Sicily. His paintings as well as his lifestyle, shocked and provoked, comment. 

This portrayal of Jesus with a plump, youthful face and his depiction of the 

apostles as ordinary labourers upset the church authorities. But by giving Jesus 

a beardless face, Caravaggio was trying to show him in the new likeness of 

Resurrection – an Easter image of our Lord. The light from Jesus fills the scene 

as the two disciples look on, astonished and finally understanding. 

When we read the Gospel, we are drawn into the scene. For Caravaggio the 

movement is the other way: the scene reaches out to us from the canvas. Look 

at the outstretched hand of Jesus, the elbow of one disciple and the left hand of 

the other: they are being projected into our world. And that basket of fruit, full 

of apples and figs and grapes, symbols of the fall and the eucharist: it is about 

to topple off the table and into our laps. It is an Easter encounter 2,000 years 

ago, reaching out to us through light and shade and the skill of the artist. 

The story in Luke is of an ordinary encounter between travellers and a 

stranger. But it is made extraordinary by the transforming power of the risen 

Lord, talking with the disciples in the open air and then going inside for a meal. 

However, the doors are not shut to us. For Caravaggio shows how that special 

moment of encounter for the disciples can reach out to enter our world. He 

shows the hand of the risen Lord beckoning us to step into that Easter world of 

sacrament and new life. 


Alleluia! 

Alleluia! 

Give 

thanks 

to the 

Risen 

Lord! 

Bruno van der Krann, unsplash.com 

Not many university students are 

able to write Christian songs which 

become worldwide hits, but Don 

Emry Fishel managed it with his 

Alleluia No 1. 

Nearly 50 years on, it is loved and 

sung by millions of Christians 

worldwide. 

Fishel wrote it in 1971, while 

he was a student at the University 

of Michigan and also music leader 

of a Roman Catholic charismatic 

community based in Ann Arbor, 

Michigan. 

These were the days of folk songs 

and guitars, and Alleluia No. 1 fitted 

the prevailing mood perfectly. 

Written in E Major, it is ideal for 

guitar accompaniment. 

LIVE FOREVER 

Mr Fishel became a freelance 

flutist, flute instructor and 

composer. He was publications editor 

for the Word of God and Servant 

Music for a number of years, and 

then worked in computers for 25 

years. In 2008 he moved to Nashville 

and returned to music, teaching the 

flute. 

Alleluia No 1 was Fishel’s first 

song, written 'rather quickly, in 

about an hour.' It had four verses to 

begin with, but a fifth verse (which 

became the third verse) was added 

later, as he prepared for baptism. 

As Fishel explained, he wanted 

the line ‘We have been crucified with 

Christ; now we shall live forever’ to 

be the centre of the song. 

Alleluia No 1 was first published 

in the UK in Sound of Living Waters, 

in 1974.



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the ARTS — 2 

Poetry corner 

Promises 

God has not promised 

Skies always blue, 

Flower-strewn pathways 

All our life through; 

God has not promised 

Sun without rain, 

Joy without sorrow, 

Peace without pain. 

But God has promised 

Strength for the day, 

Rest for the labour, 

Light for the way; 

Grace for the trial, 

Help from above, 

Unfailing sympathy, 

Undying love. 

(Anon) 

What would Jesus do? 

By John Winterbourne 

Whenever there’s a problem 

And I don’t know what to do 

I stop right there 

And ask myself 

What would JESUS do? 

Whenever I am feeling low 

And just a little blue 




Whenever my mind goes wandering 

To where it shouldn’t do 




Whenever someone’s unkind to me 

It gets me in a stew 




Whenever days go by 

And I don’t know what to do 




Carmine Savarese, unsplash.com 

the sciences 


Libuxx77, Dreamstime.com 

By Dr Ruth M Bancewicz, church engagement director at the Faraday 

Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge. 

Science tells us how the world works, and technology 

offers applications of that knowledge, but neither can 

tell us what we ought to do. All scientific discoveries 

or new technologies can be used to either help or harm 

others. For example, a smartphone can be used to stay in 

touch but also enables bullying. 

It is important to get past our initial reactions: the ‘yuk!’ or 

‘wow!’ These feelings may well change once we learn more 

about the science and other factors behind a new development. 

Ethical thinking can be divided into three main categories. 

The consequentialist approach is demonstrated in the Biblical 

book of Proverbs when Wisdom calls young men to consider 

the outcome of their actions. Utilitarianism is a form of 

consequentialist ethic that tries to maximise the greatest good 

for the largest number of people affected, but unchecked it 

leaves minorities out in the cold. 

ETHICAL DECISIONS 

Duty or law-based ethics start with intrinsic values, 

asking what is the correct course of action or our duty? These 

values might be God-given, such as the Ten Commandments, 

or worked out by human reason. It is possible, however, to 

do harm while obeying the law, especially if someone asks 

‘What can I get away with?’ Also, what happens when rules 

collide? For example, who should be treated first when 

resources are limited? 

Virtue ethics are about building character, growing 

in wisdom and the fruit of the Spirit. There are plenty of 

Biblical principles to guide virtuous living, such as the idea 

that we are ‘made in the image of God’ which supports 

the value of every human life (Genesis 1:26–27, Genesis 9:6, 

James 3:9–10), but the right decision can vary depending on 

circumstances. 

So how can we make ethical decisions about new 

technologies? The five C's bring together a number of types 

of ethical thinking into a framework for decision-making. 

— Clarify the facts and key questions. 

— Consider our choices: what could we achieve? 

— Constraints: External, what must we do? Internal, how 

should we behave? 

— Compare the pros and cons of each approach. 

— Choose what is best, with all parties in mind. 

Finally, we have to recognise that the information 

available to us will change over time, our knowledge of God 

and his word will keep growing, and we cannot avoid making 

mistakes, so our ethical decisions will need to be revisited 

and revised from time to time.

38 The Parish Magazine - April 20211 

PUZZLE PAGE ANSWERS IN THE 

CROSSWORD 

Across 

1 High-pitched flute (4) 

3 Observing (8) 

9 Single-horned creature (7) 

10 Gardeners sow these (5) 

11 Dictatorial (12) 

13 Flash intermittently (6) 

15 Outline model, plan or theory (6) 

17 Make a guess that is too high (12) 

20 Small marine fish (5) 

21 Tax imposed on ships (7) 

22 Perceived (8) 

23 Transparent camera part (4) 

Down 

1 Fruit sugar (8) 

2 Force upon (5) 

4 Elaborately adorned (6) 

5 Directions (12) 

6 Do repeatedly (7) 

7 Lesion (4) 

8 Fellow plotter (12) 

12 Groundless (8) 

14 Returns to a former state (7) 

16 Insect that transmits sleeping 

sickness (6) 

18 Not asleep (5) 

19 Capital of Norway (4) 

CODEWORD 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

8 

9 10 

11 

13 14 15 

19 

17 18 

16 

20 21 

22 23 

Across 

1 - High-pitched flute (4) 

3 - Observing (8) 

11 - Dictatorial (12) 

15 - Representation of a plan or theory (6) 

17 - Make a guess that is too high (12) 

20 - Small marine fish (5) 

21 - Tax imposed on ships (7) 

22 - Perceived (8) 

23 - Transparent camera part (4) 

Down 

1 - Fruit sugar (8) 

2 - Force upon (5) 

9 - Single-horned creature (7) 

4 - Elaborately adorned (6) 

10 - 2. Gardeners Which sow King these was (5) killed by an arrow while 5 - Directions hunting (12) in the 

6 - Do repeatedly (7) 

13 - 3. Flash Which intermittently English (6) King was named Coeur 7 - de Lesion Lion? (4) 

2 4 12 8 19 18 19 3 2 9 17 2 

4 25 8 21 2 25 9 

10 22 10 8 19 21 22 25 8 8 

6 2 9 23 25 14 25 20 6 16 

8 21 21 22 2 2 8 8 

4 19 14 4 25 20 8 14 

8 22 21 8 4 26 6 

13 22 5 24 21 12 12 6 

25 15 23 26 14 8 2 11 

19 6 14 23 2 20 6 25 4 11 

2 25 14 21 7 22 2 25 9 21 

25 11 2 2 1 4 2 

22 4 19 8 20 18 21 2 23 19 2 19 

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

SOLUTIONS FOR THE MARCH PUZZLES 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 

W 

12 

14 - Returns to a former state (7) 

16 - Insect that transmits sleeping sickness (6) 

SUDOKU 

Each of the nine blocks has to contain all the 

numbers 1-9 within its squares. Each number can 

only appear once in a row, column or box. 

EASTER WORDSEARCH 

QUIZ 

CROSSWORD CODEWORD SUDOKU WORDSEARCH 

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 

C O N N O T A T I O N S T U C C O F L A M E S 

1. St Andrew's X Youth 

2. Islam 

3. Nathan May 

4. More Doggerel Days 

5. For the hedgehogs 

6. Dutch Elm Disease 

7. May 1988 

8. Marsh Lane 

THE APRIL HISTORY QUIZ 

1. What famous battle was fought on Senlac Hill? 

New Forest? 

8 - Fellow plotter (12) 

4. What notable event occurred at Runnymede? 

12 - Groundless (8) 

5. Who was the first Prince of Wales? 

6. What caused the death of supposedly half the English 

population during 1348/9? 

18 - Not asleep (5) 

7. Who in 1474 made history at the sign of the ‘Red Pole’ ? 

19 - Capital of Norway (4) 

8. Which English king married his brother’s widow ? 

I N E E O U F 

N E E X E R T S P A 

T U N E D M E T S 

E E F E M U S I C 

M I S G U I D E I 

P S L A B N 

E T O R T I L L A 

R I O J A W H U T 

A C D N E N N U I 

T E E O R I B I D N 

E A P N S E G 

I N S T I G A T O R S 

A 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

W 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

X 

A 

O N A S I E C 

L O Z E N G E B N R 

E I A N U R T U R E 

L A P E L S A W 

Y P A R A G E S 

E P I T H Y U 

S E D G E I A T 

E C O K A R M A 

Q U I C K E N O D X 

U T I A T A V I S M 

I E S L L N A 

N Y M P H S J A R G O N 

A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

J 

K 

L 

M 

N 

O 

P 

Q 

R 

S 

T 

U 

V 

W 

X 

Y 

Z 

Easter — the crucifixion, death and resurrection 

of Jesus Christ — celebrates the triumphant 

highlight of the Christian year. As St Paul pointed 

out, unless Jesus really did rise again our faith is 

useless, and we may as well forget any hope of 

heaven or eternal life. 

passover 

bread 

wine 

body 

blood 

betrayal 

Jerusalem 

Pilate 

Judas 

Gethsemane 

trial 

crucifixion 

soldiers 

cross 

nails 

vinegar 

temple 

curtain 

tomb 

angel 

stone 

risen 

gardener 

Mary

NEXT ISSUE 

EASTER ANAGRAMS 

1. Airy odd fog - - - - -/- - - - - - 

2. Rags see get - - - - - -/- - - - 

3. Layman spud - - - -/- - - - - - 

4. Coin uric fix - - - - - - - - - - - 

5. Brunch so toss - - -/- - - - -/- - - - 

6. Apples rust - - - -/- - - - - - 

7. Acid air just so - - - - -/- - - - - - - - 

8. Torch frowns on - - - - -/- -/- - - - - - 

9. Hen irises - -/- -/- - - - -! 

BIBLE BASED CROSSWORD 

Church in 

Wales coat 

of arms 


ANSWERS TO THE DENOMINATIONS QUIZ ON PAGE 22 

Baptist Union of 

Great Britain 

United 

Reformed 

Church 

Church of 

England 

Church of 

Ireland 

Across 

1. Relating to the whole universe (6) 

4. The disciple who made the remark in 8 Across (John 20:24) (6) 

8. ‘Unless I see the nail marks — — hands, I will not believe it’ (John 20:25) (2,3) 

9. He urged King Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll containing Jeremiah’s 

message (Jeremiah 36:25) (7) 

10. Baptist minister and controversial founder of America’s Moral Majority, 

Jerry — (7) 

11. ‘Look, here is — . Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’ (Acts 8:36) (5) 

12. Repossessed (Genesis 14:16) (9) 

17. Port from which Paul sailed on his last journey to Rome (Acts 27:3–4) (5) 

19. ‘Moses was not aware that his face was — because he had spoken with 

the Lord’. (Exodus 34:29) (7) 

21. Roonwit, CS Lewis’s half-man, half-horse (7) 

22. Grill (Luke 24:42) (5) 

23. ‘The lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the — apostles’ (Acts 1:26) (6) 

24. ‘I was sick and you looked after me, I was in — and you came to visit me’ 

(Matthew 25:36) (6) 

Down 

1. Coastal rockfaces (Psalm 141:6) (6) 

2. Academic (1 Corinthians 1:20) (7) 

3. Publish (Daniel 6:26) (5) 

5. For example, the Crusades (4,3) 

6. 11 Across is certainly this (5) 

7. He reps (anag) (6) 

9. Liberator (Psalm 18:2) (9) 

13. Man who asked the question in 11 Across was in charge of all her treasury (7) 

14. They must be ‘worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine’ (1 

Timothy 3:8) (7) 

15. The human mind or soul (6) 

16. ‘O Lord, while precious children starve, the tools of war increase; their 

bread is — ’ (Graham Kendrick) (6) 

18. ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not — ’ (Matthew 11:17) (5) 

20. Bared (anag) (5) 

Churches 

Together 

Salvation 

Army 

Church 

of 

Scotland 

Catholic 

Bishop 

Conference 

England 

and Wales 

Methodist Church 

in Britain 

World Council 

of Churches 

Church 

in 

Wales 

Episcopal 

Church 

Brethren


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CHILDREN'S PAGE 

The Parish Magazine - April 2021 41

42 The Parish Magazine - April 2021 Please mention The Parish Magazine when replying to advertisements 

information — 2 

Parish contacts 

Ministry Team 

— The Vicar: Revd Jamie Taylor* 

The Parish Office, Thames Street, Sonning, RG4 6UR 

vicar@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298 

*Day off Friday 

— Associate Vicar: Revd Kate Wakeman-Toogood 

revkate@sonningparish.org.uk / 0746 380 6735 

On duty Tuesday, Friday and Sunday 

— Youth Minister: Chris West (Westy) 

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk / 0794 622 4106 

— Licensed Lay Minister: Bob Peters 

bob@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 377 5887 

Children's Ministry 

— Alison Smyly office@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298 

Churchwardens 

— Perry Mills perry@oaktreeoffice.com / 0786 035 5457 

— Stuart Bowman sdbowman73@aol.com / 0118 978 8414 

Deputy Churchwardens 

— Liz Nelson liz.nelson1@ntlworld.com / 0118 934 4837 

— Simon Darvall sdarvall@businessmoves.com 0793 928 2535 

— Sue Peters mail@susanjpeters.com / 0118 377 5887 

— Molly Woodley (deputy churchwarden emeritus) 

mollywoodley@live.co.uk / 0118 946 3667 

Parish Administrator 

— Hilary Rennie 

office@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298 

Parochial Church Council 

— Secretary: Hilary Rennie 0118 969 3298 

— Treasurer: Richard Moore 0118 969 2588 

Director of Music, organist and choirmaster 

— Chris Goodwin MA (Cantab), ARCO (CHM), ARCM, LRAM 

music@sonningparish.org.uk 

Sacristan 

— Helen Goodwin 0134 462 7697 

Parish Website: http://www.sonningparish.org.uk 

The Parish Magazine: http://www.theparishmagazine.co.uk 

— Editor: Bob Peters 

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0118 377 5887 

— Advertising and Distribution: Gordon Nutbrown 

advertising@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0118 969 3282 

— Treasurer: Pat Livesey 

pat.livesey@yahoo.co.uk / 0118 961 8017 

— The Parish Magazine is produced by St Andrew’s PCC and delivered 

free of charge to every home in Charvil, Sonning and Sonning Eye. 

— The Parish Magazine is printed in the United Kingdom by The Print 

Factory at Sarum Graphics Ltd, Old Sarum, Salisbury SP4 6QX 

— The Parish Magazine is distributed by Abracadabra Leaflet 

Distribution Ltd, Reading RG7 1AW 

— The Parish Magazine template was designed in 2012 by Roger 

Swindale rogerswindale@hotmail.co.uk and David Woodward 

david@designforprint.org 

Advertisers index 

ABD Construction 24 

ACG Services Locksmith 40 

ADD Plumbing 12 

AJH Roofing 40 

All Aerials Sonning 40 

All Waste Clearance 34 

Barn Store Henley 16 

Beechwood Carpentry and Construction 40 

Big Heart Tree Care 40 

Blandy & Blandy Solicitors 14 

Blinds Direct 26 

Blue Moose 8 

Bridge House 43 

Bridges Home Care 14 

Bright and Fresh Cleaning 26 

Bull Inn 8 

Carer Companion 40 

Chimney Sweep, Thames 40 

Chiropody, Linda Frewin 40 

Chris the Plumber 32 

Clark Bicknell 40 

Complete Pest Solutions 16 

Computer Frustrations 40 

Cruz Kitchens 34 

David Shailes Plumbing & Decorating 26 

Design for Print 28 

Freebody Boatbuilders 6 

Fields Pharmacy 32 

French Horn 44 

Gardiners Nursing 8 

Graham Blake Soft Furnishing 6 

Great House Sonning 26 

Handyman, Decorating 40 

Haslams Estate Agents 2 

Hicks Group 16 

Intersmart Electrical Installations 40 

James Autos 40 

Jones & Sheppard Stone Masons 16 

Just Brickwork 20 

Kingfisher Bathrooms 18 

MC Cleaning 40 

Mill at Sonning 4 

M & L Healthcare Solutions 12 

Mortgage Required 18 

Muck & Mulch 28 

Newgate Car Finance 20 

Odd Jobs 40 

Painter and Decorator 40 

Pearson Hall Sonning 30 

Pennymatters Finance Advice 24 

Q1 Care 30 

Reading Blue Coat School 18 

Richfield Flooring 14 

Sabella Interiors 36 

Shiplake College 20 

Signature Cliveden Manor Care Home 28 

Sonning Golf Club 32 

Sonning Scouts Marquees 32 

Smallwood Garden Services 40 

Style by Julie 24 

Sunrise of Sonning Senior Living 34 

Thames Valley Water Softeners 24 

Thames Valley Wills Service 40 

Tomalin Funerals 30 

Velvaere Studio 6 

Village Hamper 20 

Walker Funerals 12 

Water Softener Salt 28 

Window Cleaner 30

Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding this advertisement 


BRIDGE HOUSE 

of TWYFORD 

Because you deserve 

the very best 

Welcome to Bridge House Nursing Home 

Established for 35 years, the elegant Georgian Grade II listed Bridge House has extended its facilities to 

include a beautiful, light-filled and airy purpose built nursing home. 

Our philosophy is built upon helping residents maintain their independence and dignity, whilst ensuring 

their needs and expectations are fully met. We believe that being independent means having the freedom 

of choice and flexibility over how the day is spent. Working closely with families and professionals 

is fundamental in delivering and maintaining the required level of health and wellbeing. 

At Bridge House, our comprehensive facilities and care provision is designed to deliver skilled, 

professional and individually planned care in an unobtrusive manner. 

Call 0800 230 0206 

Visit www.bridgehouseoftwyford.co.uk 

INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • NURSING HOME 

190821 - Bridge House Ad Parish Mag v01.indd 1 21/08/2019 18:06

44 The Parish Magazine - April Please 2021 mention The Parish Magazine when responding this advertisement 

The French Horn, 

Sonning. Quality. 

A continuing commitment to 

wonderful food and wine. 

0118 969 2204 

www.thefrenchhorn.co.uk

The Parish Magazine April 2021

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