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
- Don’t go thirsty!With the early summer just beginning, this week I read for the first time this year the word ‘heatwave’. Apparently, in some parts of the country, the Met Office thinks the mercury could hit as high as 33C (about 91F) over the bank holiday weekend. So perhaps it is an apt time to be thinking about Jesus’ words ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink’ (John 7:37). Jesus is not, of course, taking about bodily hydration, important though that is. He is talking about far deeper longings within our hearts, desires which nothing finite can satisfy, a restlessness that no material comfort can cure.
Pentecost celebrates the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to satisfy that thirst. His presence in our hearts becomes like a river, flowing within us. (John 7:38) But with the promise comes a challenge; Jesus says that this river of life doesn’t just flow around inside us, it flows out to bring refreshment to those around us as well. We who find our thirst quenched in Jesus, must share him with others who are still thirsty. Will we let the river overflow to those in our lives?