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Thought for the Week :

7th February 2010

Last Monday was apparently the day of the year when most people take unofficial time off work, hardly surprising with the dark, wet mornings and colds around at this time of year. The Church is often so preoccupied with what happens on a Sunday that we overlook the fact that in between Sundays, most people spent most of their time at work of some kind -except when they’re on a “sickie” that is! Today’s readings make it clear that God is very much concerned with our working lives. Isaiah tells us that God will succeed in accomplishing his purposes, just as we see food growing in the earth. St. Paul, in Corinthians encourages us to see that our labour is not “in vain” when it is done for God. In our Gospel today, Jesus uses the analogy of a fruit tree to tell us that what we do or produce in our work will reflect the person we are within. We’ve all sung the song about the house built on the rock, but on what values or understanding of God is your attitude to work built? Bring your work to God on Sundays, and God will be with you at work on Monday.

Fr. Patrick

Children Blossom at St. Alphege's Outstanding Pre-school

‘Children benefit from exemplary levels of supervision and individual attention, and they blossom at [St Alphege] Pre-school’ says the St Alphege Pre-school Ofsted report, following a recent unannounced inspection in December 2009. St Alphege Pre-school received the highest possible grade: Grade 1, or Outstanding in all categories.

The Pre-school's Ofsted report states that ‘children are provided with exceptional levels of care and make significant progress in their learning and development. Practitioners offer a fully inclusive, warm and welcoming service, supporting all children's active participation in activities which wholeheartedly meet their individual interests and development needs. Children are confident, independent and unmistakably enjoy their time at the Preschool’.

The report praises the Pre-school staff, commenting that the Pre-school is led by a ‘highly motivated and extremely enthusiastic’ Manager, Mrs Meryl Homer, and praises all the Pre-school staff for ‘working successfully together as they share a commitment to offering the best possible experiences to [the Pre-school] children and their families’.

This is truly a fantastic achievement and is a testimony to the professionalism and dedication of the Pre-school staff: Meryl Homer, Margaret Moss, Amanda Beck, Viv Collins, Jackie Jenns and Prem Patel, whose hard work and commitment make St Alphege Pre-school the very special place that it is. The Pre-school parents and Management Committee would like to congratulate the Pre-school team on this exceptional achievement and thank them for their hard work and devotion.

A copy of the Ofsted report is available on the Pre-school website:

www.stalphege-preschool.org.uk

Solihull Parish is part of the Church of England, committed to serving the whole of the people of Solihull, not just those who attend church. The parish is here for YOU.

The parish is made up of four churches - not just buildings, but living communities of ordinary people who worship God together, support and encourage one another and serve the world in which they live. They are made up of people of all ages, from 0 to 100, and from all walks of life.These churches are part of the life of our town: they are places where people come to give thanks, to celebrate, to mourn and to mark the important stages on the journey of life. They are places where anybody and everybody is welcome, at any time.Christians believe that God's love is for everyone and that he wants to share that love with all people.The churches in Solihull Parish - St Alphege - St Catherine - St Helen - St Michael - are a small part of God's work in the world. In our life and work we aim to show God's love to all people, regardless of their beliefs or background.