page 2 caversham bridge, july 2020 caversham clergy anglican st barnabas rev’d derek chandler, 20 st barnabas road. tel: 947 8239. www.saintbarnabas.org.uk st andrew rev’d nigel jones, st andrew’s vicarage, harrogate road. tel: 947 2788 www.standrewscaversham.org caversham thameside ministry st peter, st margaret, st john rev’d mike smith, the rectory, 20 church road, caversham rg4 7ad tel: 9479505 rector@ctmparish.org.uk rev’d john dudley tel: 9470265 rev’d penny cuthbert tel: 07825 331810 rev’d judith ryder tel: 9473783 rev’d andy storch tel: 07365 555 905 caversham park church (lep) (anglican, methodist, baptist and urc) contact: dr alison johnston tel: 0118 947 5152 www.cpvc.org.uk methodist team ministry rev’d martin beukes, 72 highmoor road. tel:0118 947 2223 rev’d d jenkins tel:0118 327 1592 caversham baptist church pastor colin baker church office tel 0118 954 5353 email: secretary@cavershambaptistchurch.org.uk riverside church (reading) www.riversidechurchreading.co.uk grace church (formerly caversham hill chapel) pastor keith saynor www.gracechurchcaversham.org.uk tel 9474529 roman catholic our lady and st anne mgr patrick daly, the presbytery, 2 south view avenue. tel: 947 1787 st michael fr michael sharkey, st michaels, sonning common tel: 972 3418 new testament church of god rev’d h r gayle tel: 946 3009 a community newspaper produced by caversham christian news ltd editors: dr alison johnston, mrs janet offord, mrs carol moloney, mrs heather gale, phil chatfield email: editors@cavershambridge.org advertisement manager: mr a wright, tel: 0118 947 6958. email: advertising@cavershambridge.org circulation manager: mrs c moloney tel: 0118 947 1370 email: circulation@cavershambridge.org company chair: mr philip chatfield email: chair@cavershambridge.org company secretary: mr tony holland. company treasurer: mrs j belcher. tel: 0118 947 4772 email: treasurer@cavershambridge.org postal subscription manager: mrs j. belcher tel: 0118 947 4772 talking point by father patrick daly our lady and st anne empty churches and communities full of faith since 20 march 2020 all our churches have been empty. they have been empty even when they ought to have been full. the silence has weighed heavily on the hands of those clergy who, to check that the heating was still functioning or that no one had left the lights on, popped their heads around the door. our catholic bishops requested that their priests continue to offer mass in the church every day and, even in holy week and the easter triduum, the liturgy continued to be celebrated at our lady and st anne. some churches have live-streamed their sunday and daily services, others have not. and yet the church was empty, not even the rustle of the legendry church mouse disturbed the silence. a restaurant is a particularly lifeless place without the busy, merry chatter of patrons; a school is an eerie echo-chamber without the animated, excited buzz of children; and a church seems particularly adrift of its moorings when, on the lord’s day, no one but the priest/parson or minister is present. silence is, of course, an integral part of all our religious traditions: monks live largely in silence, trappist monasteries are precisely sought after because they are so quiet and, in the reformed tradition, what catholics call meditation or private prayer is often referred to as ‘quiet time’. and it may well be that soon - even before the july caversham bridge goes to press - our churches may again be allowed to open their doors for private prayer. nonetheless, it is worth reflecting on what our experience of closed church doors has taught us. it is worth remembering that most of our churches are empty most of the time. i occasionally wander into dorchester abbey or malvern priory and love being alone there. and then i realise that i am not alone because, in a unique way, this is god’s house, the prayer of past generations seeps out of the ancient stonework, our forefathers in the faith were baptised, married and buried from here, and they worshipped god here too in prayer and song. the same feeling i have when i wander into our lady and st anne early in the morning or in the night hours. but then i remember that, as far back as the earliest pages of the old testament, god insisted that he was a ‘god of the living’. his house comes alive only when the people are gathered there. ecclesia/church means gathering, assembly. the buildings are important, many of them are structures of immense artistic and architectural beauty and, given they belong primarily to god, they are also houses which belong to us all. the parson, priest or minister may be the custodian, but he/she looks after our house as a caretaker. we do have zoom, we do have facetime, and we have remained in touch through post and telephone. covid-19, were it to arrive in the 1980s, would have had a different impact on our church life. and yet we are a little like the exiled jews in babylon, we find it painful to remember zion let alone sing its songs, and we continue to pray to the lord to deliver us from bondage (ps. 137/125). these psalms can be our prayer, but it is important to recall that, when the exiles returned to jerusalem, the first thing they did was re-build the temple. once we return to our various churches, the re-building project will begin and yet, unlike the jews of old, we have the additional advantage of knowing we are the living stones and that, while the church buildings were closed, we were still the church, we were still the members of the body of christ. the views expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the board. the editors reserve the right to edit contributions. the editors will endeavour to refer back to the submitter of content where possible. readers should note, the inclusion of advertisements in this paper is not an endorsement of the products or services offered. published by caversham christian news ltd, church house, church street, caversham, reading rg4 8ax tel: 0118 947 1703. typeset and layout by rp character graphics tel: 07949 980 982 printed by: mortons print, media centre, morton way, horncastle, lincolnshire ln9 6jr are you a people person? caversham good neighbours is a group formed to offer essential transport to the elderly and disabled in our neighbourhood. if you would like to give to the community by joining us as a volunteer driver or helping in our office, then please do get in touch with us. www.cavershamgoodneighbours.org.uk 0118 948 3466 monday to friday 9.30am –11.30am church house 59 church street caversham rg4 8ax church services at the time of writing, our churches closed as a result of the covid-19 pandemic and normal worship is not possible. however, church communities are very much alive and active in different ways. they have adapted to the new circumstances very rapidly. most churches have a range of on-line services, house groups and social meetings, using youtube, zoom and other web based systems for current information, see the web sites for each of the churches. you will find links to each of these through the churches together in caversham web site at: www.cavershamchurch.org.uk details of some services are listed below. caversham thameside and mapledurham: sunday 09:30 – you tube service - www.youtube.com/channel/ ucymgve_d64enhsm1fufwnta 10:15 – zoom service – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/843668 39832?pwd=m2xjsutfbgkycg1dbefxq1jgywrsqt09 11:15 – zoom service - https://us02web.zoom. us/j/82793512985 wednesday 09:30 – zoom morning prayer - https://us02web.zoom. us/j/786384026 st. barnabas, emmer green: sunday 09.30 - morning service on st. barnabas facebook & website monday 14.00 - busybees - for pre-school children and their carers on youtube details of both can be found on their website - www.saintbarnabas.org.uk st andrew’s: sunday – 18.00 - service on the “st andrew’s caversham” youtube channel tuesday – 20.00 - compline service by zoom. e-mail the vicar to join. www. standrewscaversham.org caversham methodist church sunday – 10.30 – zoom service e-mail the minister for details martin.beukes@methodist.org.uk caversham baptist church: a link is placed on their website each week at: www.cavershambaptistchurch.org.uk and on their youtube channel www.youtube.com/user/cavershambaptist live broadcast starts at 10.30am each sunday caversham park church sunday – 11.00 – livestreaming on youtube details on their web site at: https://cpvc.org.uk:5152/live-stream grace church check their web site for details at: www.gracechurchcaversham.org.uk roman catholic see their web site for father patrick’s weekly homilies and details of opening for private prayer at: www.ourladyandstanne.org.uk parish offices parish of caversham thameside and mapledurham st peter, st margaret, st john church house, 59 church street, caversham rg4 8ax tuesday and friday 9.30am to 2pm tel: 947 1703 email: secretary@ctmparish.org.uk st barnabas st barnabas centre tuesday and thursday 8.30am-10.30am tel: 947 6310 website: www.saintbarnabas.org.uk caversham bridge the caversham bridge is available in caversham at caversham emporium and homecrafts in church street and in emmer green at the true food community co-op in grove road, opposite st barnabas church. the annual subscription price is £5.00 to have the paper delivered to your home monthly. e-mail circulation@ cavershambridge.org with your name and address. future editions: contributions for the august 2020 issue should be submitted by 29 june. the date for the setember edition is 27 july. these should be e-mailed to editors@ cavershambridge.org advertising copy for the august 2020 issue should be sent to advertising@cavershambridge.org by 23 june. the date for the september 2020 issue is 21 july.