Welcome to Wokingham Methodist Church

We are now part of the Blackwater Valley Methodist Circuit, formed by the merger of our previous circuit, the Berkshire Surrey Borders Circuit, with the circuit to the south of us, the Hants-Surrey Border Circuit, effective from 1 September 2025.

Our previous minister, Revd Catherine Bowstead, has retired.  We welcome her replacement Rev Wes Hampton, from 1 September 2025.

Starting on Sunday 21^st September, evening service (with Holy Communion) will resume on the third Sunday of each month at the new time of 6.15 pm (new time chosen so you can park in the Rose Street car park without having to pay both an afternoon fee and an evening fee).

Future worship and recorded services are on this page.

10.30am Morning Worship - Rev Wes Hampton

 6.15pm Holy Communion - Rev Wes Hampton

from Malcolm Ray-Smith

Dear Friends,

Gardening is sometimes very pleasing because seeds respond well to soil conditions and the weather is beneficial and we rejoice at generous harvests and beautiful displays.  The autumn is usually a time of much satisfaction as we count our blessings for bountiful crops.

At other times the weeds flourish while our crops wither and it rains just when we wanted warmth or frosts spoil blossoms and we experience disappointments and frustrations.  Crops which we have found very excellent in previous years are suddenly no longer growing as we hoped and we can feel discouraged.

For me 2026 has been marked by a series of disasters with very poor results for onions, runner beans and courgettes which are normally so productive that I have lots to give away.  For me these failures are disappointing, but we have not starved and I can try again next year.  However the exceptional dryness and heat of the summer has caused major issues for many farmers to whom the financial consequences may be very severe.

As we celebrate the harvest season, we are thankful that supermarket shelves still provide our needs and we are not dependent on the crops that we ourselves produce to survive.  I am mindful that when I first came to live in Wokingham, I worshipped with people who ran farms, tended poultry, grew seeds and were millers.  We are no longer living so close to food production as earlier generations did.

The late John Arlott 1914-1991 the author and cricket commentator wrote:

God, whose farm is all creation, take the gratitude we give,
take the finest of our harvest, crops we grow that all may live.

Take our ploughing, sowing, reaping, hopes and fears of sun and rain,
all our thinking, planning, waiting, ripened in this fruit and grain.

All our labour, all our watching, all our calendar of care,
in the crops of your creation: take, O God, they are our prayer.

StF 122 - © The Trustees of J. Arlott deceased
Used by permission, CCLI Streaming Licence 583214

from Rev Wes Hampton

Dear Friends,

Thanks to the very dry weather we have had, we have been able to witness the normal colours of Autumn for some time now, and the horse chestnuts have been around for those who wish to play conquers for a good while, but in general it is hard to find something about the month of October that inspires or cheers us.  The weather can be miserable, the clocks will have to be put back an hour, and the fallen leaves have the power to bring the railways to a halt.

After the harvest, much of the natural world begins to wind down, and prepare for hibernation.  It is easy for us to feel likewise: we prefer not to go out in the darker evenings, and by the end of the month our supermarkets will be encouraging us to think of Christmas, when we shall have reason to celebrate (and, therefore, spend money) again.  Until then, by implication, we are told that there is nothing to enjoy, and everything closes down.

For at least two reasons, however, we do not have to be so pessimistic.  Firstly, for Christians our faith runs through the way we see the world.  Every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection, and our whole thinking is informed by our experience of the grace of God.  Secondly, we know that the loss of the leaves from the trees is an act of protection and so enables the recovery of springtime.  If we combine these two, even at this time of year we act with purpose which is informed by the hope that is within us.

So bring on the Autumn but let us approach it with confidence.  Even when the weather turns wet and gloomy, and the world around us appears to be ready to sleep, we remain Easter people.

Wes

Some previous Pastoral Letters are available here.