Parish Jottings

Student Lunches

Sam Brewster and Kryssie Steiger have launched a new initiative reaching out to Henley College students. They began by stopping and talking to random groups of students around the town centre. Now, in November and December, in cooperation with the College they are trialling a series of student lunches in Trinity Church on Thursdays to provide an opportunity to get to know some of the students better and to witness to them in an informal setting. Please pray for the success of this great idea.

Follow the Star 2.0

Follow the Star, Trinity’s enormously successful interactive experience explaining the Christmas story, returns again this year on 9^th and 10^th December. But with a new twist, telling the story from the point of view of the shepherds rather than the wise men. At the time of writing bookings were already filling up fast so, if you’ve got children or grandchildren who would like to see it, book now at trinityatfour.org.uk/christmas

Invite someone along this Christmas

Christmas arrives early this year with a Christingle Service on Sunday 11^th December and there are other services on Sunday 18^th and Christmas Eve ideally suited to inviting friends or relations (details this month's magazine). Pick up some of the Christmas leaflets from church and give them out freely. These services will involve both our 10:00 a.m. fellowship and the Trinity at Four family and will all be in Trinity Church.

John Smith – a Thanksgiving

A thanksgiving for the life of John Smith was held in church on Wednesday 16th November. John and Jean have been indispensable members of our church fellowship for more years than most of us can remember. John was a governor of Trinity School for a decade and was a member of the planning group who managed the reordering of the church interior in the 1980s when the pews were removed, toilets installed, the floor carpeted etc.

Dreaming of a white Christmas?

Not a good chance, I’m afraid. The Express Newspaper ran a story in October predicting an abnormally cold winter this year – “European agencies believe the UK and the rest of the continent could descend into an early cold winter between November and December” – but by mid-November the experts seem to have changed their mind. The Met Office says, “for most parts of the United Kingdom, Christmas is only at the beginning of the period when it's likely to snow. We are more likely to see snow between January and March than in December.” They say the last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010 when, on Christmas Day there was snow on the ground at 83% of weather stations. Does anyone recall snow on the ground in Trinity churchyard at Christmas in 2010?

Christmas tree at Holy Trinity church (2017)