Serving Thatcham in Berkshire

Here you will find images and recordings taken during the Parish weekend. Thatcham Team Ministry went with over 80 other people to Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire. Here, we enjoyed a program of talks and activities designed to bring people together and co-operate in various tasks. There was worship, a talk from Bishop Stephen of Reading, games, prayer, walks and fellowship. Oh - and yes, all meals were provided with no washing up to do!
Please look over this page and listen to some of the recordings. You will see that the location was lovely and an enjoyable time was had.
Maybe you might even be encouraged to come with us next time we go!

The accomodation, dining and conference facilities were all on one level, contained in a single complex of interconnected buildings, styled as pine log cabins.

With the ensuite accomodation, tea, coffee and hot chocolate available 24 hours, and all our meals provided, we didn't have to even leave the building.

There were lounges for each group of ensuite rooms, plus two other lounge areas.

Outside, within the grounds, were various outward-bound style activity areas plus basketball court and children's swings. Further afield were good walks, and Ludlow was accessible by car.

Saturday morning

The Bishop of Reading, Stephen Cottrell provided the first talk of the weekend. The topics for the talk were service and community. (You may need to download an MP3 player to hear these files.)
The talk started with a . After the prayer there was a song, and Bishop Stephen and explained what we would do next. Once we were all sat with our pictures the . Bishop Stephen picked out the image that "grabbed him". This was a picture by , called "Christ in the Wilderness" (see right). He then his feelings about this painting.
The Bishop then made on prayer, and evangelism. During this part of the talk, the diagram below was drawn and considered. Then we had a short period of . Note that although the Bishop's responses are clear, the questions from the audience are less so.
We then had a break for tea and coffee with Danish Pastries and biscuits.
The second part of the talk starts with a about another picture by Stanley Spencer, called "Consider the Lillies". After discussing the picture, the talk on the theme of serving your community.
and some questions, Bishop Stephen made more telling comments on serving community. This was followed by on some of the resources that exist to help us to help others, in particular the . Bishop Stephen then the differences between the various available, such as Start, Alpha and Emmaus.
The Bishop then "What are we going to take away as a result of his talk". Then, as he was bringing the talk to a conclusion, he was asked ? Another was about "converting" people - is that not God's responsibility? Bishop Stephen finished by one last picture, again by Stanley Spencer, called 'The Scorpions'.

And where were all the youngsters?

The 0 - 5 years age group enjoyed "Terrytime" with Terry Williams, where they did art activities, and played. The other young people went off and did abseiling, climbed on the "High Ropes ", and archery. There was a tuck shop available and table tennis and a pool table, although the adults also got a chance to have a go on these!

Saturday Afternoon

This was free time, without scheduled activities, so that people could spend some time exploring the centre, or further afield. There are a variety of attractions within the local area, and so some went walking, some went to Ludlow, and some just relaxed and chatted in the lounges. There was a small prayer area set up to give quiet space for anyone to use.

Saturday Evening

Games night! We formed ourselves into eight teams, which then went to different tables, each set up with an activity or task which would earn points. There was then one minute to read the instructions, before two minutes being given to actually do the task.
Tasks set included rearranging the words of the Lord's Prayer, cutting out hand shapes, using a straw to suck up peas and move them between two pots, recognising famous faces, tiddly winks, beetle drive and solving anagrams. The teams had to come up with a name for themselves, and the team rector's team, 10 Downing Street, were eventually the winners. It might be said that they just cheated better than everyone else, however they did share out their prize of a box of chocolates. Some individuals had decided to seek entertainment off-site, in the form of liquid refreshments, and so they missed out on the fun of taking part in the activities. When they returned, they were made to do a forfeit of running a "balloon between the knees" race.
After the main activities ended, people remained in the lounges chatting together, some not going to bed until gone 1.00 am, which was even later than the previous night. There was an lunar eclipse visible from the centre that evening.

Sunday Morning

Despite the late evening before, nearly everyone was up bright and early for a cooked breakfast on the Sunday morning. Revd Pete Jarvis, our Team Vicar, led the morning session. The of his talk appeared to be about football.
The picture in our pack was explained, and this was used in one of the tasks that was set. Other tasks included marking where we live on a map of Thatcham, writing the names of neighbours, listing gifts or talents used at work, home and church and filling in a form about when we started attending our church. Pete the results. The questions and comments from the audience are quite faint in this recording. After a period of quiet reflection, Pete his talk, and indeed the purpose of the weekend.
There was then a break for tea and coffee, served with the delicious Danish pastries and biscuits again. After this break, people gathered again for our service, with worship and communion. to Pete's sermon. There are other talks from and Churches available online.
After lunch we made our way back to Thatcham, having had a most interesting and pleasant weekend together.