Dear Friends,

Lent’s reflections on sin and brokenness will soon give way to Easter’s season of hope and new life. In keeping with that, after Easter, our home groups (plus an extra open group on Thursday evenings) will be running a 5-week Carbon Literacy Course for Congregations.

Supported by the Diocese the course aims to empower Christians to understand and take action around climate change, recognising the consequences of our actions and directing us towards hope.

Over the weeks we’ll be exploring what carbon literacy means; we’ll measure our own personal carbon footprints and explore what we can do to reduce them. The course will begin with several screenings of a film by David Attenborough in the week commencing 13th April within the Home Groups. I’ll be running an additional screening within the church on Thursday 16th at 7pm. Please do join in!

If you’d like to know more about the course see here: https://carbonliteracy.com/faith/

Language around ‘Net Zero’ threatens to become a political football. In hosting the course, however, we will be seeking to take responsibility for our actions and to rediscover empowering hope. Aren’t those the two themes of Lent and Easter?

Revd Dr Mark Laynesmith
Vicar of St Nicolas, Earley
…

Dear Friends,

I don’t know about you but it feels as if Winter has finally lifted it’s grip and Spring has arrived in all it’s glory. Suddenly the blossoms are blooming, the butterflies and bees are pollinating and the warmth is inviting us to celebrate. Often this transition into spring happens much earlier in Lent, but this year I have been struck by how closely the church season is mirroring the natural world in its celebration of new life and hope.

This week, on Palm Sunday, we will be celebrating the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. I thought you might like to read this poem about Palm Sunday, which some of you might be familiar with. “Palm Sunday” by Malcolm Guite

Now to the gate of my Jerusalem,
The seething holy city of my heart,
The saviour comes. But will I welcome him?
Oh crowds of easy feelings make a start;
They raise their hands, get caught up in the singing,
And think the battle won. Too soon they’ll find
The challenge, the reversal he is bringing
Changes their tune. I know what lies behind
The surface flourish that so quickly fades;
Self-interest, and fearful guardedness,
The hardness of the heart, its barricades,
And at the core, the dreadful emptiness
Of a perverted temple. Jesus come
Break my resistance and make me your home.

This Sunday we will jubilantly sing Hosanna as the crowds did all those years ago. We will be full of the hope of God alive in the world as a “humble king” coming on a donkey to “bring peace and humility”.
And we will know that to be true.
And we will pray that to be true today, in our world.

Then, as we hear The Passion narrative and move into Holy Week, with Jesus in his obedience to the cross and his glorious resurrection, we continue to pray for peace to come on Earth. And so I invite you to pray this prayer which I have prayed at home every day for many years. It is part of my Following Jesus exhibition which will be hung in the art space on Monday until the end of April. I hope it blesses you.

God of light
Be with us in the dark times
When we struggle to see the way
Help us to feel your comfort ever with us
To know our worth in the world
To hear your voice leading us each day
To praise you as we emerge hopefully into safety
Remind us to celebrate your love that knows no end
And to transform that celebration into action for those less blessed than ourselves
Blessed is Jesus who comes in the name of the Lord
Amen

Emma Major, LLM

Dear Friends,

This Sunday we will be sharing a Lent Lunch of soup and bread. I’ve “volunteered” my husband – he does a good lentil and tomato. I’m looking forward to spending time with our St Nicolas family over lunch.

It is estimated that humans first started cooking around 1.8 million years ago. From the start, it was a social enterprise, with people sharing the tasks of hunting, gathering and preparing food, keeping the fire going and so on. There was then time for bonding around the campfire as the food is shared. Studies show that eating together increases our levels of endorphins, our natural feel-good hormones. The World Happiness Report 2025 suggests that sharing a meal is one of the best things we can do for our wellbeing.

Every week, of course, we do share a meal together during Communion. I find it something that is good for my wellbeing. I’ve been following the Church of England’s “Draw Near” Lent resources on the Everyday Faith app. Last week, Jessica Martin, Dean of Chelmsford, talked about Communion. She said, and I paraphrase, in sharing communion we, collectively, become the body of Christ. We are part of a very special family. We are here to share God’s love, with each other and with the community.

So, maybe we’ll share lunch together on Sunday. Or maybe you have other plans. Or maybe it’s really not your thing. And that’s OK. In the words of Sister Sledge, “We Are Family”. And we share the most important meal together.

Yours, giving love in family dose*
Wendy
* “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge, written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.

Dear Friends,

Throughout this past week we have experienced days of sunshine when we have been aware of the gifts of God in and through his creation. Our gardens have exploded with colour and we have responded with wonder and joy.

This Sunday we are invited to respond in wonder and joy to the gifts we receive through our relationships and in particular our relationships within families and the role of mothering. We are invited to thank God for our earthly opportunities for mothering and being mothered and also remember the mothering parenthood of God.

We have examples of different mothering through stories in the scriptures. There is Moses whose mother saves his life by placing him in a reed basket in the river and is discovered by and then mothered by the wife of Pharaoh. There is Samuel conceived after much longing and prayer and then dedicated to God and left at the temple at an early age. There is Mary, mother of Jesus who cares for her child having been told that in his life a sword would pierce her heart.

In all these stories there is no attempt to sentimentalise what mothering involves; the pain and the aching, the bewildered confusion and times of misunderstanding and grief, as well as the joy and affection, shared laughter and the delight in watching a human being develop and mature.

When on the cross Jesus commits his grieving mother into the care of his disciple John, we are seeing a wonderful example of the way we are all given to one another to care for and look after. May we recognise that caring may well involve both times of great joy and deep sorrow as we increasingly bear one another’s burdens and suffering.

Throughout our lifetime many of us who have mothered are then in receipt of mothering, not least through the hard work and dedicated care of those who visit homes as daily ‘Carers’ or those who work in ‘Care’ homes.

So let us all respond with wonder and joy to the gifts we receive in and through our relationships, remembering that all stems from the mothering love of God who is the giver of life.

With love, In Christ

Daphne

Dear Friends,

Trusting Jesus and experiencing God is how we are changed.
Changed for the better. Forever. Faith in Jesus restores us to God, heralding peace and grace and hope.
I’ve been mulling this over and given the news reports, I can’t fathom how humans have managed to deserve such a gift, such a blessing.
The very nature and concept of grace is sometimes beyond my comprehension. And yet evidence of its existence and impact is all around, hiding in plain sight, if we choose to look.
Perhaps we should talk about it, notice or look for evidence of it more than we do.

Whilst the news being piped to us brings wave upon wave of sorrow and anxiety, locally and in our local sphere/pool what I have experienced is quite different. I wonder what you have experienced this week?
What have you seen and felt?
Is it different or the same?
How much (of either) is of our making and doing?

Our hours and encounters give us opportunity to witness God’s goodness and grace. As receivers and instigators both.
This week I have been lucky to see goodness and grace being shared in a myriad of quietly loud ways.
Quiet because on each occasion it was gentle and given without ceremony or fuss, loud because it was impactful, generous and memorable for the person on the receiving end.
Will you think me greedy if I say I want more of this.
I want a chain reaction that moves out from the centre like a pebble being dropped into water.

Be the change you wish to see comes to mind.

So dear reader, whilst I will keep a weather eye out on the horizon (my prayers too) I will also endeavour to notice goodness and grace in my own back yard. I will continue to try to be the change I want to see… that Jesus calls me to be. To create small ripples in the pond, hoping that they travel out. Knowing and trusting that whatever I give, God can use.
In the doing I hope I will experience more of God and will be changed in the process…hang on, I feel an infinity loop vibe coming on again. I wonder if that’s the point.

Love, Julia

Julia Jones, Churchwarden

Dear Friends,

How’s your journey through the ‘wilderness’ of Lent? Of course, not everyone uses Lent to ‘subtract’ something, some instead use Lent to ‘add’. Whatever we do (or don’t do) it’s worth remembering the ‘why’.

The ‘why’ of any such spiritual discipline is to help us get back in touch with God. It may involve clearing an obstruction out of the way (what we broadly call ‘fasting’), or by intentionally leaning further into God’s presence (‘prayer’). In either case the point is that we encounter afresh the liberating love of God.

One of my favourite poems I discovered during a voluntary ‘wilderness’ of a retreat. The American poet Kaylin Haught spends time in conversation with God. I love it silly-seriousness which shows the poet doing some unconventional ‘fasting’. In her case this involves clearing away some unhelpful beliefs about herself so that she can experience God afresh. Effectively her journey follows a question: is it ok to be me? It’s entitled ‘God says yes’

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don’t paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I’m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes
—Kaylin Haught

Revd Dr Mark Laynesmith
Vicar of St Nicolas, Earley

Dear Friends,

Now we are in Lent.

I did indeed have pancakes (with lemon and sugar). Quite a few of them in fact at the wonderful family activity morning held jointly with Oasis church as we “Spread the Love”. Fun, laughter, creativity, pancake races. Good vibes.

I attended the ashing service. A chance to reflect and repent. At the end of the service we were dismissed with promise of God’s love: “God loves us so much, and Christ calls us to love each other. If we love one another, God lives with us.” I am so often taken aback by statements like this, so simple yet encapsulating a great truth. If we love one another, God lives with us.

As we travel forward towards Easter, I’m going to try my best to put time aside to dwell in that love, to ask for forgiveness for all those times I have failed to love my neighbour and to ask for God’s help so that I may go forward to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

Yours, with love,
Wendy
Wendy Neale, Churchwarden

Dear Friends,

I’m back from my travels (India again), trying to come to terms with grey skies after the wonderful blue, and recognising how fortunate I am be able to do this. I’m also slightly surprised that Lent starts next week.

First there’s Pancake Day. I love pancakes, with the traditional topping of lemon and sugar please. Pancake Day brings back memories of my Mom, standing over a hot frying pan, flipping the pancakes, never dropping any, and the squeezy plastic lemon that only ever saw action once a year – no fresh lemons in the industrial West Midlands in them days.

Then Ash Wednesday. The imposition of the ashes and accompanying words, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” So profound.

Then Lent itself. Am I going to give up something, and if so what? And how should I use this special time to reflect and draw closer to God?

St Nicolas is providing two opportunities during Lent. The Lent Course will meet in the Church on Monday evenings at 7:30 from 16 February, using material from the Diocese of Oxford’s “Come and See” course, about how we can meet Jesus in the Eucharist. Many years ago, when Dan Tyndall was our vicar, St Nicolas ran a course called “Faith’s Journey”. The session in the Eucharist was led by our dear David Webster, and I shall always remember how he described the privilege he felt administering the Eucharist, at a moment when Heaven and Earth are so close. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s life has been enriched by David and his ministry.

For personal devotion, we are recommending the Church of England’s “Draw Near: Life Giving Habits for Lent”, which this year explores the theme of the rhythm of life. This is available online or through the CofE’s “Everyday Faith” app. We’ll be sharing the reflections everyday on our social media too.

However we choose to travel through Lent this year, let us remember that if we “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you”, James 4.8.

Yours, this week with pancakes,
Wendy

Wendy Neale, Churchwarden

Dear Friends,

I have returned this afternoon from the stillness and silence of a retreat at Lee Abbey at Lynton in North Devon. A house situated in the beauty of our countryside along with a coastline which looks across to Wales.

If we wished to attend there were talks under the heading of Voices of Hope in Troubled times. The very theme which seems to be spoken about in our readings this weekend. Paul was addressing the sufferings in his time and therefore shares many thoughts on Hope.

The voices of Hope given to illustrate hope in the life of a Christian were firstly St. Patrick, then St. Clare of Assisi. The last three were names I had not encountered previously, they were William J. Seymour, Frederich Buecher, and Phyllis Tickle. Patrick expressed the hope of suffering humanity, Clare the voice of contemplative love, William the voice of agape fire, Frederick the voice of the attentive heart, and Phyllis the voice of the prophetic historian. So those who are curious can see what the internet might further reveal for them.

The wonderful thing for me was these voices were the voices of ordinary men and women like you and me. God used these voices to enable others through their sharing of the love and joy of living in Christ. In our lives which are gift, God is present in every commonplace event, and leaves us to recognise his presence in all our fears.

The snowdrops and daffodils breaking into flower were signs of hope in the journey we now make from the crib to the cross.

In a later chapter in Romans Paul prays that the God of Hope will fill his fellow hearers with all joy and peace as they trust in him, so that they and we as followers of Our Lord may overflow with Hope by the Power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised his followers would be their power and strength on their journey of faith.

Yes we live in troubled times but may we find the power of the Holy Spirit leads and guides us.

In Christ

Daphne

Daphne Cook, LLM

Dear Friends,

Over the last few weeks both at home and at work, my thinking and doing has been dominated by endings.
The passing of friends and acquaintances. Hubby’s looming redundancy, our youngest flying the nest. It’s been a thought-provoking time on many levels. In a season of Epiphany when we look for revelation, it feels poignant.

At work too, my main focus these past weeks has been on our year 6 REinspired session ‘Death funerals and the Christian response’
Sounds like a grim session, right?
Actually, you might be surprised to hear that this is not the case.
Hard yes, but honest, sometimes raw, but also (because of the volunteers in the team) authentic, cathartic and strangely beautiful.
Our teachers this week commented that it felt reassuring and hope filled. That we created a safe space, saying it was a ‘brilliant session’ ‘the children have and will continue to benefit from the activities and discussions today’

I got distracted but continued to muse for a while on which came first, endings or beginnings.
A picture of a circle came to mind ….and before u ask, no, not the buffering wheel icon from old dial up internet connections (remember them?) more of a circle shape that then folded in the middle and became an infinity loop, like a loose and languid number 8.

So dear reader, this little symbol in my mind’s eye is currently giving me comfort and focus.
That endings are, actually, also beginnings.

For me it points to eternal love and connection. Of life and death, beginning and ending, joy and sorrow all being joined up somehow and held and enveloped by hope, and a love that is ancient, eternal, and devine.

Love
Julia
Julia Jones, Churchwarden