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Dear Church Family friends,
Happy New Year!
I do hope you have had a good time over the holiday period and a good start to 2026.
We were thrilled with the services and events we hosted over Christmas – so many people, new faces, guests and visitors, wonderful music and beautiful decorations. It felt like we had stepped up a gear in so many ways!
We were able to focus on the work of the Children’s Society and are able to send a gift of over £1500 to support their ministry. We have also almost completely furnished the accommodation for our new Time for God team members, Gabriel and Natalia, who arrive later this month. Thank you so much to all those who have helped to make this happen. All very exciting!
As the new term gets under way:
Sundays at 3pm
We are beginning The Alpha Course, on Sundays in church at 3pm to 4.30pm. There are still spaces if anyone would like to come – even if it’s just for an early session, to see what the course is about.
Tuesday 20 January at 2pm
You are invited to join members of the Pastoral Team for a training session on the challenges of dementia. Please just let the office know if you would like to come.
We have two musical highlights this term
Sat 28 Feb: Lumos bring us the music of Fleetwood Mac, by candlelight
Sat 14: Mar: Farnham Sinfonia bring us a Beethoven overture, his Symphony No 2 and Schumann’s Cello Concerto.
And we are hosting parts of the Farnham Literary Festival
This takes place this year between 5 and 15 Mar. Please check their website for details of what is happening where at St Andrew’s and around the town.
Upcoming Services
Sunday 1 Feb
8am Holy Communion
10am Morning Service for all ages
11.30am Morning Service at St Francis
3pm Alpha
5pm Evening Service
Sunday 8 Feb
10am Morning Service with groups for children 0 to Y6
3pm Alpha
5pm Evening Service
Sunday 15 Feb
8am Holy Communion
10am Morning Service with groups for children 0 to Y6
3pm Alpha
5pm Evening Service
Wednesday 18 Feb
6pm Ash Wednesday Communion Service
Sunday 22 Feb
10am Morning Service with groups for children 0 to Y6
3pm Alpha
5pm Evening Service
And finally … a reflection from J John on William Tyndale, whose anniversary we celebrate this year …
William Tyndale: Faith, Focus and Fearlessness
Celebrating 500 Years of the English New Testament (1526 – 2026)
This year marks the 500th anniversary of one of the most world-changing books ever printed: William Tyndale’s English New Testament. Published in 1526, it was the first printed version of the New Testament translated directly from the original Greek into English. It was banned, burned and branded heresy, yet it ignited a movement that transformed our language, our literature and our faith.
A Man with a Mission
William Tyndale was born in 1494 in Gloucestershire, England. Gifted with languages, he eventually mastered eight and, educated at Oxford and Cambridge, his deepest passion was not scholarship but Scripture.
In an age when the Bible was chained to pulpits and locked in Latin, Tyndale longed for ordinary people to hear and read God’s Word in the language of their hearts. ‘If God spare my life,’ he vowed, ‘I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture than thou dost.’ That single sentence lit the fuse of the English Reformation.
Faith That Would Not Flee
When permission to translate was denied, Tyndale left England and became a fugitive for the faith. From Hamburg to Cologne, Worms to Antwerp, he worked by candlelight, translating in secret and printing under threat of death.
In 1526 his English New Testament began slipping back into England, smuggled in bales of cloth and barrels of grain. The authorities were furious. Copies were seized and burned at St Paul’s Cross in London. Yet the attempt to destroy God’s Word only spread it further. Tyndale’s faith was forged in danger and defined by devotion. ‘I never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience,’ he wrote.
Focus That Never Faltered
For more than a decade Tyndale laboured tirelessly, translating, revising, refining. He gave us not only the New Testament but also the Pentateuch and portions of the Old Testament.
Phrases that still shape our speech flowed from his pen:
‘Let there be light.’
‘The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’
‘Fight the good fight.’
He wrote for clarity, not cleverness; for understanding. His goal was not to impress the scholar but to bless the shepherd, the farmer, the child.
Fearlessness That Faced Fire
Betrayal came in 1535. A false friend, Henry Phillips, led officers to his hiding place in Antwerp. Tyndale was arrested and imprisoned in Vilvoorde, a small town just north of Brussels, Belgium, where he spent eighteen cold, lonely months in a damp cell.
In one letter from prison, he did not beg for release but asked for a warmer coat, a lamp and, most movingly, his Hebrew Bible and grammar books ‘that I might spend my time in that study’.
On 6th October 1536 he was led from his cell to the stake. There, he was strangled and then burned, condemned for giving the Bible to ordinary people in their own language. As the flames rose, his final words rang through the air, a prayer that still reverberates through the centuries: ‘Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!’
Within two years that prayer was answered. King Henry VIII authorised the publication of an English Bible, much of it built upon Tyndale’s translation.
His Legacy Lives On
More than 80 per cent of the King James Version’s New Testament retains Tyndale’s phrasing. His words still shape our prayers, our hymns and our understanding of God. Tyndale’s life reminds us that authentic faith is not about comfort but about courage; not about applause but about obedience. His faith did not shrink, his focus did not shift and his fearlessness did not stop, even at the stake.
A Challenge for Us Today
We live in an age of abundance: dozens of Bible translations at our fingertips, apps on our phones, podcasts in our ears. Yet do we treasure the Word as he did?
Tyndale gave his life so that we might hold God’s Word in our hands. The best way to honour him is to open it, read it, live it and share it.
Let us also pray for Bible translators around the world still labouring so that every tribe and tongue may hear. There remain about 540 languages still waiting for translation work to begin.
And remember this simple truth:
If you want to hear God speak, read the Bible.
If you want to hear God speak audibly, read it out loud.
This year, my wife, Killy, and I are reading through the entire Bible and encourage you to do the same. A wonderful guide is the classic Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan, which takes you through the New Testament and Psalms twice each year and the rest of Scripture once.
Who was M’Cheyne? Born in Edinburgh in 1813, he was a Scottish minister known for holiness, humility and heartfelt preaching. Though he died aged just 29, his devotional reading plan continues to nourish believers worldwide.
The Museum of the Bible
If you ever visit Washington DC, take time to explore the Museum of the Bible, a 430,000-square-foot masterpiece devoted to the story, history and impact of Scripture. From ancient manuscripts to cutting-edge immersive exhibits, it brings the Bible to life with awe-inspiring beauty and imagination.
It stands today as a modern tribute to the same conviction that blazed in Tyndale’s heart: God’s Word changes everything.
‘The Word of God is that which we live by and that which shall judge us.’
(William Tyndale)
May the fire that burned in Tyndale’s heart burn in ours, faith unashamed, focus undistracted, and fearlessness that proclaims Christ to our world.
A Prayer
Lord, thank you for William Tyndale, for his courage, conviction and costly obedience. Thank you for every translator who labours so others may hear and read your Word. Thank you for your Word. May we love it, live it and share it. Give us faith that will not flinch, focus that will not fade, and fearlessness that will not fail.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kathryn joins me in offering our prayers and very best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
David Uffindell
Rector of Farnham
office@standrewsfarnham.org
Our Parish is committed to following the Safeguarding Policies of the Church of England to keep children and vulnerable adults safe from harm.
Concerns of any sort should be reported to The Rector, The Revd. H. David Uffindell (01252 710129), or our Parish Safeguarding Officer, Lizzie Cronin (01252 715412).
The Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor is Jackie Broadfoot (07918 559387)
To view the Church of England Policy Statement ‘Promoting a Safer Church’
click here