Photo by John Stone
Join us for Sunday Service
10.30am every Sunday, followed by a chat over tea and coffee.
Next service:
19 July – Led by Allan Meakin, with members of the church
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17 West End Road, Mortimer Common, RG7 3TB
Minister: Reverend John Banks
Mortimer Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God’s love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.
It does this through:
Worship The Church exists to increase awareness of God’s presence and to celebrate God’s love.
Learning and Caring The Church exists to help people to grow and learn as Christians, through mutual support and care.
Service The Church exists to be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice.
Each one of us is God’s special work of art. Through us, God teaches and inspires those who view our lives. ———– Joni Eareckson Tada
Love comes out of heaven, unasked and unsought. Pearl S Buck
Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12 vs 23-24)
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Message from David Munns
Dear Friends,
Summer is here (well hopefully, at least the sun is shining) and all of creation is trying to make the most of the long days of warmth. It is a time when we need to slow down and recognise God’s creation is rooted in God’s creative power. At this time of year we can feel that power manifest in nature, evident in young birds and animals learning to explore their environment, in new growth revealing God’s overflow of love at work in the world.
It is little wonder that we feel affronted and upset when people despoil the air, earth and water with pollution, or neglect the climate changing impact of humanity. The world in all its seasons is a gift from God and therefore of great importance to us all. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1) How we each treat that gift reflects deeply on our relationship with the giver.
We do need to be careful of ‘summer malaise’. Just as the sun can be too strong and leave its mark on us, so we can imagine an ideal summer that we can only half remember when the garden was spectacular, the seaside holiday relaxing and England had a stable Cricket Test Team that won everything. We are not called as Christians to inhabit the comfortable past; Jesus leads us forward into God’s created future which is sometimes unsettling and challenging. We, disciples though we are, struggle to cope with this creativity. Humanity all too often tells its leaders we want to stop the change and go back to some idealised past that never existed. “The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron … ‘in the land of Egypt we sat by the meat‑pots and ate our fill of bread, yet you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill us all with hunger’.” (Exodus 16:3) Instead we need to be people of faith and ask God for help and guidance; for it is God who renews us, shaping us to match his purpose and his created future.
Yet God’s creativity goes deeper still into our lives. We are made in the image of God and we are called to be creators and re‑creators by God. “For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) Our creative talents may vary and fluctuate but we are all children of God. We may have creative super‑talents as artists, organisers or musicians, or may be just simple strugglers lending support where it’s needed, writing a caring letter or greeting with a warm smile. Even a child’s first paint‑splodged picture can declare creativity. We create in so many different ways. We can make things for God in our relationships too; we create a welcome, we create forgiveness, we create a new start. We celebrate that nature which we all inherit from God when we come together to create worship together as his church in Mortimer.
Whether this summer you are at home or on holiday take time to let creativity into your life and then praise God for his unique gift made visible in the world and made visible in our humble creative acts.
God bless, David
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Church Service 10.30am every Sunday. Junior Church.
Lectionary
Worship
Ladies Monday Morning Prayers. Ladies Monday evening Bible Study.
Men’s Thursday evening Bible Study. Pastoral care.
Learning and caring
Service to the community
Warm Welcome Faith and friends Who Let the Dads Out Safeguarding
Eco Church Bric-a-Brac
The Philippines Appeal
At the end of the service on 7th December, there was a collection for people in The Philippines who have suffered earthquakes and typhoons in 2025. The total raised was £855 and this was sent to 4Freedom Philippines (4freedomph.com), an organisation co-founded by Peter Clemison, the son of a member of this church family. Thanks so much to all for your generous donations
Citizens Advice Tadley & District
Citizens Advice Tadley & District will continue our presence in Mortimer as part of our Outreach program.
Whether you’re worried about debt and finances, benefits, housing, employment, or something else, our trained advisers can help you understand your options and find a way forward. We’re an independent charity, so everything is free, confidential, and completely impartial — no judgment, just practical support.
The sessions will be held at the Mortimer Methodist Church from 10:00 to 12:30 on every first and third Friday of the month.
To avoid delays, we can make appointments – just contact us using the details below. Alternatively, just pop in, have a chat, and see how we can help. Sometimes a bit of friendly advice can make all the difference. If you do drop in, please be aware that you may have to wait for an adviser to be available.
Contact us Phone: 0808 278 7987 (including a voicemail service)
Online: https://www.catadley.org/email
In person: at Mortimer Methodist Church, 17 W End Rd, Mortimer Common, Reading RG7 3TB.
New Warm Welcome – Bible Study Group
Come along. We meet on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Friday of each month to be held in the lounge area of the church commencing at 10.00am and finishing at 10.45am. Group leader – John Bale
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Warm Welcome report for 2025 to May 2026
We are a drop in from 9.30 to 12.30 every Friday morning meeting in Mortimer Methodist Church and Hall.
Most stay for the morning just enjoining each other’s company chatting to each other or joining in with the many activities that are on offer.
Our weekly meetings consist of the following.
We have various activities on the go every week. Two tables of up to 9/10 people both men and women playing cards mainly Whist. Two puzzles on the go with up to 8 people sitting around the two tables. Recently our Art and Craft tables have had as many as 12 people joining in with painting as well as the many other craft activities that are going on in that area.
We are lucky enough to have a retired Physiotherapist within our group and she takes up to 17 people out and into the Church where they sit in a circle and enjoy a fun hour of chair keep fit. Lots of laughter can be heard coming from that group as they do their exercises.
At least another 30/40 people just enjoy siting and chatting with each other or playing one of the board games that are always on the tables for them to play if they wish. There is always puzzle books, crossword and Sudoku books and adult colouring books that they can collect and take back to their table and sit quietly enjoying their own space. We always have Newbury Weekly News,
Reading Chronicle and a Daily paper are on the tables for our guests to read if they wish.
Tea/Coffee and Biscuits are on offer all morning. Some can drink up to 4 cups throughout the morning. Homemade cake is on offer from 10.30am.
We have a lovely lady and her petting dog pop in on the first Friday of the month. Our guests love petting her dog. On the 1st and 3rd Fridays each month Tadley Citizens Advice Bureau set up in the lounge where they offer advice to all of the villagers of Mortimer including those who visit our group. People can make appointments by phoning their Tadley office or just drop-in and wait for a free slot to speak to them about an issue that they need help with. While waiting people are very welcome to drop in on Warm Welcome for a Cuppa and slice of cake while they wait.
New this term for a trial period 45 min 10.00 to 10.45. Two of our regular helpers, one of which is a lay preacher, have been offering a Bible Study Group to any who wish to go out into the lounge for about 45 mins study and understanding the different stories in the Bible. This is held on the 2rd, 4th and 5th Fridays. This group is open to all and is not denominational. At the moment about 4 people
go out and enjoy learning together.
Last May we run a Coffee Morning with both cakes to eat and also for sale in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. We advertised the morning to other villagers. Every space in the Church was used. While with us all visitors were invited to wonder around and join in with the Warm Welcome activities. This was very successful raising over £800 for Cancer research.
This May we will be holding a Coffee Morning with cakes to eat and for sale in aid of Dementia.
We knitted Rabbits and Chicks covering small cream eggs and donated them to the Alexander Devine Hospice where they were sold for £3 each. This year we knitted some 40 egg covers and filled them all with eggs.
We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Party everyone enjoying lovely food some games and best of all a professional singer/entertainer Mr Derry Pope sang to us for one hour
Just before Christmas Children from St Johns School came and sang to us then came into the hall and played games while chatting to our guests.
We entered Mortimer Scarecrow Trail some of our group enjoyed making Wallace and Gromit. We won second prize.
We are now preparing for World Bee Day in the month of May where we will decorate in and around the Methodist Church and grounds with knitted bees. All knitted by our ladies in the group.
Also new to us this year is the Mortimer and Burghfield Handy Bus. This has been invaluable for some of our group who wouldn’t be able to get out without this very valuable service. I think there is still one space left on the bus.
We have up to 58 people joining us every week with new people still dropping in most weeks.
If you are reading this and think that you might like to join us please just pop in on Friday mornings or know anyone who might enjoy time chatting to others. Or if you would like to help, we do still need helpers to help set up/pack up and also to help serve the tea, coffee cake etc.
Quotes from a few of our guests.
- I would rather come here than go to my therapist. It does me more good.
- This group saved my life after my husband died.
- I wish we could meet every day of the week.
- I have made so many friends here. I have got a life now.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time 12 July
Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23
New International Version – UK
The parable of the sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.’
18 ‘Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’
Prayer: The parable of the sower
Lord, plant my seed in good ground! Help me to grow in faith so my relationship with you is not shallow and weak, but a deep and mature faith. Grant me a faith that can move mountains of doubt and oceans of fear. Teach me to triumph over temptation. Help me to believe in you, even when I do not understand the capricious nature of the weather and the cruelty in some people. Lord, I am yours. Take me as I am. Shape me. Make me. Mold me into the person you would have me to be. Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Commitment (inspired by Matthew 5: 14-16) and other prayers.
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Praying for peace between nations, peace in communities and peace in our hearts.
International Prayer of Peach
Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth; lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust; lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.
The source of this prayer is credited to both Hindu and Buddhist faiths and it was used by Mother Teresa in 1981 at St James Church, London. It is used by people of all faiths and none each day at noon to form a wave of prayer and hope rippling each day around the globe.
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Mortimer Methodist Church has installed a Bench, (made of recycled plastic) at our Cemetery in Drury Lane. So when waking, you may rest in the peace and tranquility of our wonderful village, and give thanks.
A welcome rest when walking in our beautiful countryside.
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Mortimer Methodist Church 