For details of this week's services please see the Worship page.
Older items of news can be found here.
Details of the ordination of Revd. Robin Selmes can be found here.
From Friday May 28th the Manse address will be:
12 Beech Glen, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 2DQ Telephone 01344 411417
At BMC on Thursday September 9th 8pm
Each meeting begins with a brief opportunity for people to mention those things that they would like to be included in the prayers.
Tuesday Fellowship will resume on September 7th.
Church Council have now agreed to proceed with an extension of the premises to include an annex for use by Bracknell Children's Centre, improved kitchen and toilets, and improved parking. Work is scheduled to start at the beginning of October with completion of the first stages in Spring 2011. Please pray for our all involved with this development. More information can be found on our Church Redevelopment pages.
At the Circuit Meeting on May 10th there was a presentation of the scheme. The meeting agreed to support the redevelopment and to allocate £40k from the Circuit Advance Fund towards the scheme. Funding of £40k from District and £25k from the Methodist Connexion have also been agreed. Application for grants from other sources have been made.
The pews in the church are to be sold and replaced with chairs as part of the development. Price £25 each or £30 for the longer ones. Further details from Lee Elms.
Over the weekend of September 25th and 26th we are holding a Flower Festival.
Saturday 25th September 2pm-4pm - Exhibitions from the church and user groups
Sunday 26th September 12.30pm-4pm - Exhibitions from the church and user
groups
Prize Giving at 3pm. Flower and Vegetable Auction at 5pm.
Sunday 26th September 4pm - Songs of Praise
Light refreshments available. Ploughman's Lunches from 12.30pm on Sunday
Saturday September 25th 7pm - Tickets are available from Ann Hamilton.
This year our barn dance will be held at St. Andrews church because of the development work. Saturday October 16th 7.30pm-10.30pm. Tickets £6, concessions £4, available from Ann Hamilton or Mandy Selmes.
Dan and Sonja in the Church
On one of the warmest and sunny days of the year so far, April 10th, nearly 100 people gathered at the church for the wedding of Dan Robinson and Sonja Winkenbach. The groom was resplendent in a Cornish kilt and the bride was beautiful in an ivory dress. The service was a mix of English and German and many of Sonja's family and friends came over from Viernheim to celebrate this special occasion. Dan had worshipped with his family at the church for many years before moving away, so it was a joy that they chose the church for their wedding. The service was conducted by the minister the Revd Robin Selmes who began by greeting the German guests in their native language and the bilingual aspect of the service continued with readings and hymns. A unity candle was lit and Robin's message emphasised the unity of two individuals with all their previous lives and experiences being the foundation for their new life together with God.
After the service refreshments were served in the hall. A full reception was held at the Coppid Beech Hotel followed by a Cornish ceilidh, much enjoyed by all.
Thanks are due to Robin for a meaningful service and to friends in the church for their help in so many ways. As the best-man, Dan's brother Tim, said in his speech Dan is a blessed man and we pray that he and the new Mrs Robinson will continue to be blessed throughout a long life together.
Decorated Cross in the Hall
The joy and wonder which we feel at Christmas as we celebrate our Lord's birth, was mirrored in the even greater joy and wonder that we felt on Easter when we celebrated His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Yet it was important to remember that these were not the only emotions that we experienced during the days of Holy week. We experienced the emotion of welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem with a joint service with St Andrews. At a joint service with Crowthorne and Winkfield Row we stepped into His shoes as He washed the disciples feet and shared the bread and wine with them on Maundy Thursday. On Good Friday, however painful we may have found it, we stood at the foot of the cross, and felt the anguish that His family and friends felt, as they watched Jesus Die. Most importantly, as the first light of the morning came upon us, we celebrated His resurrection, as we gathered together for an early morning breakfast. For it is then that we could shout the words "he is risen"
A Scene in the Hall
This years Holiday Club was called 'Showstoppers.' The church hall was transformed into Theatre for a week of singing, games, stories, craft and a variety of performing art workshops. Over 60 children aged 7-11 from 3 Local schools attended, which ran from 9.15am - 3.30pm Monday to Friday during February half term.
Each day we invited a performing artist to run workshops, these included urban street dancing, Circus, drums, puppets and mime. To link in with the theme we ran a craft sessions and a story telling room run by Bracknell Library. It was a fantastic time, with everyone involved having an exciting and action packed week of fun!
During the week we invited the children to respond to what they had seen by raising money for the Bethany Orphanage in Uganda. To make it fun we set them a task which culminated in "Malcolm Muddle" (A.k. Rev Robin Selmes) performing in front of the parents on the Friday wearing an unusual costume.. At the last count the children raised about £140.
"The mission of Bethany Orphanage is to serve the needs of poor orphaned children and to equip them with the skills, knowledge, opportunity and self assertiveness required for them to live independently in society. The essential needs include nutrition, education, parental love, security, religious guidance, and opportunity for a brighter future."
Throughout their time at the club the children had been working with Ali from Pop Connection learning a variety of spiritual and gospel pop songs. They worked extremely hard throughout the week and the culmination of their effort was played out in a pop concert in front of a packed hall of 100 adults.
A big thank you goes out to all the helpers and organisers because without saying the club wouldn't be possible without the dedicated work of those huge team of volunteers.
Many more photos giving a taste of the week can be seen in our photo album and more information can be found on our Holiday Club page.
In the week leading up to Christmas, on an extremely cold evening, a group of people from Bracknell Methodist church and St Andrews COE gathered together outside Morrison's to serenade the people using the supermarket. For two hours we sung carols in aid of Action for Children (formerly NCH), in total we raised about £147. Thank you to those who supported this event by time and donations.
A view of the hall
Bracknell Methodist Church held their annual Christmas Fair on Saturday November 28th. It was an opportunity to buy Christmas presents from a variety of craft stalls, a cake stall, Tombola, and toys. Traditional and modern games were also part of the fair which included a tin-can-alley, lollipop hoopla and various "Wii" games. Great fun was had by all, with all the proceeds going towards the community groups which took part.
David and Sarah after the Service
On Saturday 21st November, the church was delighted to play host to the wedding of two members of our congregation, Sarah Roworth and David Morgan. Both the service and the reception were held at the church, with some 40 family and friends attending the reception and more attending the service. The bride and groom entered the church to the majestic sound of "Zadok the Priest". As the service started the bride looked stunning, the groom looked calm, the bridesmaid looked elegant, the minister looked in control, and the best man looked in his pocket for the hundredth time to check that he still hadn't lost the rings. The service went beautifully, and seemed especially blessed when, despite being an overcast November day, the sun came out and streamed through the windows.
At the Reception
Cutting the Cake
After the service and a coffee break, the guests adjourned to the reception. A buffet meal appeared to be enjoyed by all in a relaxed atmosphere, in the hall which had been spectacularly decked out with balloons and decorations. After the reception the happy couple left for their honeymoon in the vehicle of their choice...which in their case was a camper van! Thanks must go to a number of church members and other friends of the bride and groom who generously gave their time both before and on the day to make the whole happy event possible.
At the Barn Dance
The Harvest Season has once again come upon us, and there were opportunities to be together and be a part of number of events. The Harvest Festival supper took place this year on Saturday, September 26th in our church hall. Like in previous years this was a combined celebration with St Andrews Anglican church and much enjoyed by all. This was followed on the Sunday with a traditional Harvest festival service, with the theme for this year being a "A Harvest of Gifts". We explored the theme through four windows firstly, the giving of produce, then the gathering of people and our talents, thirdly, our stewardship of the Harvest and finally we gave thanks for gift of Christ. All the produce given was distributed to the Homeless centre in Reading. To round off our harvest celebrations we had a Barn dance. We had a live band, and a plentiful spread of Food. Loads of music, loads of dancing and a fantastic time was held by all. All the profit for this event went towards our charity of the year Traidcraft Exchange.
On Saturday 18th July the church held a fund raising event at the tea house cafe in the middle of Bracknell town centre. As well as serving refreshments we also had a cake stall and a tombola. All the profit went to our charity of the year Traidcraft Exchange, who help poor producers to engage in trade and build a better future for themselves and their families.
At the beginning of August the Cub Scouts went off to Phisels woods for their annual camp. Seven days of fun and exciting activities. On the Thursday our minister joined them for two nights under canvas. He not only came to see what they were up to he was also invited to participate in some of the activities abseiling, zip wire and the rolling rock, although he did decline the pot holing! Although it was wet and very muddy great fun was had by all. More photos on their website.
Barbecue - view in Hall
June 21st 2009 marked the 53rd anniversary of Bracknell Methodist Church. The "church" (meaning building) was completed in 1959 while the "church" as a Christian community had formed in 1956. The church was built to serve the growing community of Priestwood and Garth. To mark the event the congregation planned an entire weekend of celebrations. On the Saturday we held a strawberry tea at the Manse, this was an open invitation to all the circuit. This raised £110 towards our charity of the year which is Traidcraft Exchange.
Revd. Richard Bielby talking to members
On the Sunday the church invited the Rev Richard Bielby, who was in pastoral charge of the church between 1986 and 1993. Richard preached on 1 Peter 2: 1-5 with the theme being mission. He also shared with the congregations details of his current church in Yarm, which is the oldest Octagonal Church in current use in Methodism. The weekend was concluded with a faith barbecue in the church grounds.
