Church-from-South-West-2024
previous arrow
next arrow
Shadow

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

    • Time to Turn Around

      What should I do if I find myself driving the wrong way down a one-way street (let’s not ask how I got there)? The first thing would be to stop (so I’m not actually breaking the law), better would be to turn around and drive the right way.

      Do you ever make a wrong turn? And then, rather than turn around and go back, carry on and pretend(!) it is the way you had always intended to go. Why admit you’re wrong when there’s a chance you can convince me you’re not?

      I don’t like being told I’m wrong – I don’t like admitting I’m wrong when I discover it for myself. But sometimes I need to know. The best essay I wrote at college came after my tutor told me what she thought of my first draft – I completely re-wrote the essay.

      So Jesus came preaching “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matt 4:17). He isn’t trying to pull us down or embarrass us in front of everyone. He’s simply saying what is true because he wants us to turn around and become a part of the Kingdom of God – producing “fruit in keeping with repentance” (Mat 3:8).

       

      Raymond