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
- Labels
What sort of label would you attach to yourself? There are the easy descriptive ones that say male or female and give height and colouring and perhaps your age. And there are preferences – a chocolate lover, a paddleboarder, a railway enthusiast.
But I wonder what labels other people would attach to us? Trustworthy, caring, talkative, joker, unreliable, knowledgeable, know-all – I’ll leave you to add others… But do I care what words other people use of me?
As human beings, we often give people labels to indicate what we think of them.
“She is a sinful woman” Simon says of the lady washing and perfuming Jesus’ feet. “He is a Pharisee” the preacher says of Simon (a description Simon would have been delighted to own because, to him, it means righteous and approved by God – we tend to think the opposite).
Jesus, on the other hand, looks differently. He sees in Simon a sinful man, and he sees the woman at his feet as a forgiven sinner (a description that highlights a new and imputed righteousness).
The woman has transitioned from ‘sinner’ to ‘forgiven’ because of her faith.
“Your faith has saved you, go in peace.” Luke 7:50.
Raymond