How might you mark Lent in your life this year? This Lent we are using the Church of England’s Lent theme for our daily reflections: it is called Living Hope. There are 40 readings and reflections which explore how we can have hope in times of frustration or uncertainty; the hope found in joining with others; the invitation to notice signs of hope around us; the courage to face reality and pursue a hopeful future; and the ways God transforms death into life at Easter. You can have the daily reflections emailed to you each day or you can have a booklet with all the reflections in it to use each day; some copies will be available to take from church from next Sunday or you can order your own copy. To sign up for the Lent programme, visit the homepage of our website. There is also a series of reflections for children.
Monthly Financial Update: Jessie our Treasurer writes: The jump in expenditure last month is because February’s figures includes a gas charge of £1,537 relating to November, December and January’s usage.The delay is due to a dispute with TotalEnergies who were charging us an incorrect higher rate.Payments were suspended until the problem was resolved to our satisfaction.February’s figures also include a cost of £672 to have the gutters cleaned.We have not started the year well as to date we have only covered our costs by 73%.
The PCC held its bi-monthly meeting last week. The outcomes from the meeting are in the ’documents’ section of our website. Regarding our financial position, the PCC is increasingly concerned about how we balance the books given lowering income from parish giving (less people involved) and increasing costs.discussed ways in which our electoral roll could have more information about the position which will also be explained at our APCM in May.
Renewing the Electoral Roll: Thank you to everyone who has already filled in the form. If you still have to complete the form, please collect one from the back of church, complete it and put it in the red box. Alternatively complete the form online; it’s a quick job! please click this link to complete the form.
Our Monthly Charity Appeals: You will be pleased to hear that we were able to send £175 last week to Lighthouse Burnham; thank you all so much for your generous support. This month, we are supporting Maidenhead Magic Wheelchair Basketball. This is a local non-profit team, based in Maidenhead, that transforms lives by making sport accessible to people with disabilities. This club is a vital community where players build confidence, independence, and essential wheelchair skills. For our congregant, Kristen, who rapidly lost her mobility in 2022, Maidenhead Magic has been life-changing. Our donations will go directly towards the cost of specialised sports wheelchairs and club fees which often prevent disabled people from being able to participate in sport. Please reach out to Kristen for any additional questions.
Spring Fair: On the morning of Saturday, 12th April, we are planning to hold a much-needed fund-raising Spring Fair with a crafts theme including Jim’s Easter woodwork collection. If you are a local maker, using locally sourced materials, or if you know of people locally who have a craft interest and might like a stall, please contact please carole46oliver@gmail.com for further details. This will be a lovely opportunity to support local crafts and find gift ideas and enjoy coffee/tea & cake with old friends and new ones!
Church Cleaning: Could you give an hour or so once a month to join our rota of volunteer cleaners: we work in pairs to vacuum the carpet, mop floors, empty bins, clean the kitchen and toilet etc to make the church welcoming for all to use. It is a chore we share: if you will join our rota, we all benefit! Please do talk to Carole for more information.
Parish Giving Scheme: Our treasurer, Jessie Cooper points out to us that the very best way to contribute to the work of our Parish Church is to use the Parish Giving Scheme. If you do not yet use this way of donating to church and you would like to know more about it or ask any questions, please contact Jessie Cooper (Parish Treasurer) in confidence… by email: jessie.stnicolas@gmail.com or phone: 01628 603187
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