Bisham Together

The Monthly Newsletter from All Saints Bisham - July 2025

Hello everyone,

As we move into July and the holiday season begins for many, we hope this month brings moments of rest, joy, and renewed connection. Whether you're part of our church family, a church friend, connected to our local school, or a neighbour in the community, we’re glad to share this season with you. May it be a time of warmth, reflection, and togetherness for all.

Carol

Interim Team Vicar

🕍 Church Life

Worship & Events:

• Every Sunday: 9.30am Holy Communion at All Saints Bisham

• 8am Book of Common Prayer Service monthly – next services: 6th July and 3rd August.

  
  

🙏 Rector Vacancy

The deadline for applications for the Team Rector role was Tuesday 1st July. The next steps are shortlisting, which will take place on 14th July, followed by interviews taking place on the 27th and 28th July. Please do keep the process in your prayers — asking for God’s wisdom and guidance as we take these next steps.

🎁 Silver Jewellery Party – Go on...treat Yourself! Thursday 17th July 2-5pm

Join us for a relaxed Silver Jewellery Party at the church, featuring handcrafted pieces and a brief talk on the company’s ethical roots. Refreshments will be served and everyone is welcome! Come for some of it or all of it and feel free to pop in and out!

Sundays at All Saints

✨ Called to Make a Difference

We’re in the middle of a short, informal sermon series looking at the unique gifts and callings we all have. So far, we’ve explored the stories of Esther, Moses, and Mary & Martha – ordinary people who discovered how they could make a real difference. Over the next few weeks, we’ll keep thinking about the talents we’ve been given and how we can use them for the good of others, to make our community a kinder, more hopeful place.

And it leaves us with a question to ponder: where might we be called to use our own gifts right now?

Everyone’s very welcome to come along and join the conversation!

☀️ Next month...

...we’ll be exploring some of the short memorable stories (called Parables) Jesus tells us,

that all begin, “the Kingdom of heaven is like...”

Some are quick and simple, and others have more twists and turns. Many use bold, funny, or even shocking images that would have left his listeners surprised, laughing, or wondering what on earth he meant!

Jesus invites us into an ‘upside-down’ kind of world — one where things often look very different to what we’d expect.

They’re a wonderful mix of encouragement and challenge. They give us a taste of God’s amazing love and grace, show us what his kingdom looks like, and help us to grow in our love for God and each other.

Why don’t you come and see what they have to say to us today?

🌻 Remembering Alan

On 11th June, we gathered to give thanks for the life of Alan Randall, a much loved and greatly missed member of our church family. A family funeral at the Crematorium in the morning was followed by a wonderful Thanksgiving Service at All Saints Bisham, where we said our final goodbyes in a very moving service led by Revd John Smith, who had come back from France especially for the occasion.

As we gathered to remember and celebrate Alan’s full and good life — sharing so many happy memories, it was uplifting to see around 300 family and friends who came to support one another, his family, and to honour him.

Alan was a hard-working farmer, well known and respected in the community, who loved his family and his cricket. A true gentleman, he was always ready to help and always had a smile for everyone. His MCC cricket hat was proudly displayed on a pedestal — a lovely reminder of one of his favourite things. We’ll all remember Alan for his generosity, his gentleness, his warm, friendly smile and the twinkle in his eye.

...And in other news this month:

A Quiet Afternoon at Church

On 28th June, we welcomed about a dozen people to the church for our first Quiet Afternoon. With the hot weather outside, the cool and peaceful atmosphere of the church provided a welcome space to sit quietly and take time out.

There was no formal structure for the afternoon, allowing people to come and go, and to use the time in whatever way they found helpful. Several resources were available to

help with reflection or prayer, including a candle to focus the mind, a short piece based on the theme of the river, and a reflection linked to the stained- glass windows in the church.

It was a simple but valuable opportunity to pause and enjoy some stillness in a busy world.

If you missed it this time, we will be doing it again for sure, later in the year!

🚴☕ The Marlow Riders Pedal in for Coffee and Cake!

On a bright and very warm morning on 14th June, All Saints Church was delighted to welcome The Marlow Riders — a super-friendly group of about 64 cyclists who stopped off for a well-earned pit stop on their monthly ride. Bikes were propped up outside as everyone made themselves comfortable by the river, enjoying the lovely sunshine, or in the cool of the church, and a chance to relax.

There was plenty of laughter and chatter as the riders enjoyed their cups of tea, coffee, and our legendary homemade cakes. Thanks to their incredible generosity and big appetites, they raised a whopping £460 in donations — much appreciated by everyone.

A special thank you to Gina, Sheila, Paul, Michael, and Andrew for all their hard work — not only serving up the refreshments but also helping to set up for a church tour later that afternoon. It was a real team effort that made the day run so smoothly.

We look forward to welcoming them again very soon!

🏰☕ History Coffee Morning at All Saints

We had a great turnout at our coffee morning on 13th June, with around 40 people coming along to catch up, enjoy some tasty refreshments, and listen to a fascinating

history talk. The talk, “War at Home and Away”, covered the impact of war on everyday life. Sheila and guest speaker, Simon, painted a vivid picture of those turbulent years — from changes on the home front to the experiences of those who fought overseas.

It was wonderful to see so many people sharing their interest in this important period of history. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we raised about

£85 in donations! A big thank you to Sheila and Simon for making it such a thought- provoking and memorable morning, and to Gina and Sean for serving the refreshments, not to mention all those who baked the amazing cakes too!

Join us for our next History talk and complimentary coffee on Thursday 10th July when we will be looking at The Legacy of War... don’t miss it!

🏫 Bisham CofE Academy

🙌 Respect in Action: Collective Worship at the School

This half term, the children at Bisham Academy have been focusing onthe important theme of Respect, both in their classrooms and duringCollective Worship. They’ve been thinking about what it means torespect others: valuing them, listening carefully, and showing kindnessand consideration in how we treat people around us, and importantly thinking carefully about how they can show respect to others.

I had the pleasure of visiting the school to lead Collective Worship, where we explored this theme through two Bible stories: Elijah and the Widow, and Jesus healing the 10 lepers. In the story of Elijah and the Widow, respect is shown through the widow’s generosity and trust, even when she had very little. In Jesus’ healing of the 10 lepers, we see respect in the gratitude of the one who returned to say thank you, highlighting how respect is about recognizing and honouring kindness. These stories helped the children understand how respect is lived out through faith, kindness, and thankfulness.

🎉 Fun and Friends at the School Fayre

The recent School Fayre was a fantastic afternoon of fun, and community spirit. Families and friends gathered together to enjoy games, stalls, and delicious treats, all in support of the local Primary School.

There was something for everyone— a tombola, guess the name of the cat, lucky dips, water gun shy and of course delicious cakes and a tasty looking barbecue, ably manned by Mr Woest!!

There was some lively entertainment from the Marlow Ukulele Band, and it was wonderful to see the school community come together, making happy memories while raising funds for the school’s projects and activities.

📌 Community Notices

Upcoming Dates:

• 10th July – History Coffee Morning: The Legacy of War 10-12 noon

• 17th July – Jewellery Party 2-5pm

• 18th July – End of Term Leavers Assembly: coffee served from 8.30am

• 25th July – Church Tour with Sheila our local historian.

Contact us:

Parish Office (Marlow) 01628 481806 | parish.office@4u-team.org

Rev Carol Cooper 07774 061944 | carol.cooper@4u-team.org

Mark Garrad (Churchwarden) 07738 029086 | garrad.mark@gmail.com

Bisham Church Friends (Sean) 07808 094777 | www.bishamchurchfriends.org