St Andrew's Church
Goldsworth Park
Woking
To know Jesus better
and so to make Him better known
Be Encouraged
Stay positive during the Covid-19 emergency! Please email your own pictures and messages of encouragement to be-encouraged@standrewsgwp.org so we can share them on this page and/or by Facebook/Twitter.
Christina Candey writes:
On VE Day I decided to see my dear friend & neighbour Audrey Saunders who has been very unwell. Ever sense I have known her, she has been a strong, active, cheerful, feisty woman (93 years young)!
This coronavirus time has affected her terribly and I wanted her to know that we, her friends and neighbours, love her, we are rooting for her and wishing and praying for her to get well!
Sally and I went to her window, which was open, and told her how much we loved her and then played and sang “We’ll Meet Again” on our mobile phones!
Through the window we saw Audrey lift her head, smile and wave to us, then start to cry.
When we finished singing, we realised that other neighbours had come out and sang with us.
Audrey … don’t give up, we love you!
Mike Kirtley writes:
Every cloud has a silver lining! Some personal consolations:
1. The after-church coffee (by Zoom) in the comfort of one’s own home is great. I no longer have to remember (on pain of death from the ecogroup) to take my cup to church on Sundays, or lose it somewhere in the church building.
2. Like all others, my team Arsenal is not playing at the moment. This means they are not losing. No one can beat them. They are invincible (football nuts will understand the reference here).
3. I have more time to sit and take in the sights, sounds and smells of nature as Spring unfolds, as recommended by Royer Slater in his excellent News and Mail articles. Or just sit with the vacant sign up and gaze into space. And without lockdown we would not have Chris Packham and his stepdaughter with their live self-isolating bird club at 9am every morning. Here's the link for anyone curious about nature and wildlife.
4. Here's a still life picture taken by Ruth depicting her personal lockdown -
A new page with photos of Prayer Squares
Thanks for the photos of the "prayer squares" some of you have made - so many that we've created a new web page for them: click here to see them.
If you haven't had a go yet, the page also contains details of the size they need to be and some guidance.
Gorgeous camellia
Thanks to Sue Waters for this photo. She says: "This is our garden. The camellia is the best we have ever seen it."
Jo Barnett writes:
Here are some more photos for the "Be encouraged" page. The dog is Ted, my dad's deerhound cross, shown in Chobham Cemetary in early April. The flowers were beautiful. Last Saturday (18 April) Mark and I took Ted for another walk and came across the sleepy bee who clearly has had too much pollen. Every year this beautiful graveyard in Chobham fills with bluebells. The scent is glorious and the bird song is so loud. It really is a place of peace!
Mike Kirtley writes:
One of our sons, PK, lives with his wife and their 3 and 1 year old boys in a small flat overlooking the Thames and the O2. In a walk on Easter Sunday across the small beach adjoining the river, they came across this driftwood cross decorated with painted pebbles depicting bible verses. It was made by London City Mission volunteers and local Christians. We found this very uplifting, as did they, and a massive encouragement in a brief escape from confinement!
... and leaders Sue and Val also joined in, with their own home-made Easter bonnets!
The mums and leaders in our wonderful Bump & Beyond (formerly called Bump To Birthday) group haven't been able to meet up, so they've been sharing experiences and supporting each other via WhatsApp. They also shared photos for a virtual Easter Parade - and here's a selection. Love those Easter bonnets!
Jo Barnett writes:
Just prior to the lock down I was blessed to go to Virginia Water where the magnolia trees, some camelias and rhodedendrons were all in full bloom. It was beautiful and a timely reminder that despite all that humanity is going through, God's beauty is continually being revealed in nature as it gently carries on doing its thing.
On a funny note, whilst clearing out our loft space last week, Mark came across a cardboard cut-out of me! The photo was taken 15 years ago when I worked at the hospice. I think he might prefer it, as it's quiet ;-)
Adrian Johnson emailed this Peanuts cartoon with the wisdom of Charlie Brown:
