This is a text-only version of an article first published on Wednesday, 20 May 2015. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
by Anne TemplemanREAL Love - Who Cares? That was the title chosen by Holy Trinity Church Theale for their eight day Mission lead by a team of trainee vicars from Wycliffe Hall Theological College in Oxford with church historian Revd Dr Andrew Atherstone as team leader. It was an inspirational week which had a significant impact on the congregation of Holy Trinity and also on the wider community of Theale.
Posing for a photo at a parish lunch on the final day.
Holy Trinity, Theale.
Members of the team preached, gave their testimonies, led prayers, read the lessons, took the Sunday School at our usual morning Parish Communion and also participated in our afternoon Family Church which included a sketch on the Prodigal Son from one of the team who had been a professional actor. During the week the team lead assemblies every day in Theale Primary and Theale Green.
They also took RE lessons at both schools, answered questions at Theale Green at lunchtime and organised an After School Club for more than 30 children at Theale Primary. Team members also visited Trinity Bunnies, our Mums and Toddlers group, where they led songs and told a Bible story.
They challenged the Confirmation group with an in depth look at the Creed, and visited throughout the parish inviting people to our Easter Services.
They visited the monthly Knitter Knatter met some older citizens at Age Concern and enjoyed several evenings at some of Theale's pubs with members of the gym who were intrigued to meet intelligent capable people in their 30s who had given up promising careers to follow God's call to ordained ministry. On the final evening we held a charity dinner attended by members of the parish council and representatives of the business community in Theale as well as many members of the congregation and their friends in aid of Holy Trinity's access and rejuvenation fund.
Andrew Atherstone spoke on 'What is the Church for? He began with our Grade I listed building and our vision of making it an ever more central part of the community while at the same time reminding us that the Church, the Body of Christ, does not need a building to flourish and grow. The climax of the week was the Guest Service on the final Sunday.
The children acted out the drama of Holy Week in a tableau they had worked on in After School Club.
There was a monologue by the centurion at the foot of the cross and then a testimony from one of the most academic members of the team who described how even his impressive academic successes couldn't provide him with the true happiness he sought.
Andrew's sermon on John 3 v16 pointed us all to the Cross of Christ and the source of Real Love. At Holy Trinity we have all been changed as result of the Real Love week; we have been challenged and inspired and given a much bigger vision about what God might want to do among us.
It was enormously hard work in the planning and exhausting in the execution but infinitely worthwhile. The Revd Anne Templeman is the Rector of Holy Trinity, Theale.