The series begins on Tuesday 28th February with the new Bishop of Reading Rt Rev’d Andrew Proud speaking about his time with the Anglican Church in Ethiopia under the title “What We Can Learn From Africa”.

Following this on Tuesday 6th March our own Rev’d John Edwards talks about the 350th Anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer that falls this year in a lecture titled “Dearly Beloved – The Book of Common Prayer and the State of England”.

On Tuesday 13th March, Andrew Fellows of the L’Abri Fellowship in Hampshire talks about “Christians, Muslims, Atheists – the Struggle for the Heart of Europe”.

This year on Friday 16th March we are delighted to be able to host a sixth lecture presented by the well known presenter of Channel 4 News Jon Snow. Jon will be speaking on the subject of “The Media: Why the Worst May Be Over, and the Best is Yet to Come”.

On Tuesday 20th March we welcome Martin Cooper of inter-denominational organisation Navigators who is pioneering a new ministry aimed at those in their 50′s and 60′s named ‘Second Half Living’. His lecture is titled “I’ve Started, So I’ll Finish – Living as a Christian Through Middle Age and Beyond”.

The final lecture of the series on Tuesday 27th March is given by our own Martin Hughes, an Oxford Graduate in Ancient History and Theology and former lecturer at Durham University who will be speaking about “Is the Bible True? – The Battle for Ancient Israel”.

All of the lectures will commence at 8pm, with coffee being served from 7:45pm, and will finish by 9:30pm, and will be held in the St James’ Church Centre. For further details please contact the Parish Office on 0118 973 0133, or e-mailoffice@stjames.finchampstead.co.uk

Arrive at 10.45am if you wish to decorate your Christingle.

All monies raised will be sent to The Children’ Society.

The Associate Priest (male or female) will:

• be encouraged by the opportunities to work with families, the local community and other denominations
• have a passion to grow every aspect of church life
• be inspired by the scope for mission and outreach
• be stimulated by a variety of worship styles and churchmanship
• work collaboratively with other members of the team but will have responsibility for specific, negotiable areas of ministry.

Most of all, by joining a newly formed team the post can be adapted to reflect the Associate Priest’s strengths and aspirations.

Application Form | Guidance Notes
Parish Profile
Ministry Description

For further information contact:

The Archdeacon of Berkshire
Foxglove House
Love Lane
Donnington
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 2JG

Tel: 01635 552820 E-mail: archdber@oxford.anglican.org

Applications by: 1 December 2011
Interviews : 14 December 2011

Our services will be a Holy Communion at 9:45am, followed by an Alive@11 at 11am, both led by our new Rector Designate Rev’d Julie Ramsbottom.

The services will be followed by a Barbecue at 12pm on the school field, or if wet, in the school hall.

Family games and activities will begin at 11am, tickets Adults: £3.50, Children (under 17 years): £2

Please bring your own drinks and glasses.

The Archdeacon has made the following statement regarding the appointment:

“The Revd Julie Ramsbottom has been quite exceptional in her leadership of a raft of small village parishes in West Berkshire. Formerly independent parishes are now working together cooperatively without losing their distinctiveness and Mrs Ramsbottom has become a much loved and well respected Rector across the communities she serves. She will bring a wealth of experience to her new role in Finchampstead and California.”

The Parish Representatives were impressed by Julie’s breadth of experience – her existing parishes include a similar cross-section of liturgical styles and traditions to those we have here. Whilst maintaining the liturgical traditions she has also introduced new services and Fresh Expressions to bring in new people. She also has extensive experience of school ministry and work with young families.
She currently leads a ministry team of seven, and is an experienced Training Incumbent currently training one Deacon and three Priests.

Julie is married, and has two daughters.

The actual timings of when Julie and her family will move to Finchampstead and take up the post will be announced in due course, in the meantime we would ask for your continued prayers for Julie and her family over the coming weeks.

We are also issuing the following press release to local news media.

A New Rector for Finchampstead and California