Shaw Church

Welcome

We are the Church of England parish of St Mary’s Shaw cum Donnington – just to the north and east of Newbury.

Our purpose and focus is Knowing Jesus, Sharing God’s Love, Caring for People.
You can read more about it here.

We meet every Sunday at 10am, as well as at other times during the week.
Everyone is welcome to join us.

Word for the Week

• How are you building?15 May 2025

  We often think of ‘The Wise Man built his house upon the rock’ as a children’s song, with the subtle implication that the story of wise and foolish builders is also for children. But why would that be? The child-builders I know are typically building with Lego on carpet, or empty cardboard boxes held by masking-taped to a flattened cardboard carton, or sandcastles built on sand.

  Real houses are built by real builders – who tend to be experienced, skilled, strong, happy to climb ladders and who are used to solving problems when the inevitable snags crop up.

  So maybe the Wise Man Foolish Man parable is for people who actually build things rather than those who simply play. I have never built a house, but there are other things I build. Concrete on rock is an appropriate foundation for a building, but for a computer program or a business or a marriage or a life, the foundation needs to suit the thing being built.

  So maybe the last verse of the song is really for me: ‘Build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ’.

  “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain.” Ps 127:1

   

  Raymond.