WARGRAVE FESTIVAL 2026

Festival Service

Sunday 28 June – 11:00am - 12:00pm

Celebrating the last weekend of the Festival, the Bishop of Reading, the Right Reverend Mary Gregory, will be the speaker at the Festival Service. Bishop Mary was consecrated as Bishop of Reading in February 2025 and has an interesting and varied background. She joined the Prison Service after university, serving for ten years as an officer and, latterly, as a governor. It was here that Bishop Mary first developed her interest in reconciliation, coming to understand that the first movement of reconciliation is personal: that we are to be each reconciled to ourselves. Seconded to HMP The Maze in the weeks leading up to the Good Friday Agreement, Mary was also exposed to the complexity and urgency of reconciliation between polarised communities. Following her ordination and parish ministry, she became Canon for the Arts and Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral, where she developed an understanding of reconciliation as being borne of 'rich storytelling and courageous listening' and of the place of the imagination and creativity in conflict resolution, kingdom change and spirituality.

A Fun & Faith session will be organised for primary school pupils and this will be held in the Church Centre.

This will also be the first festival for our vicar, David Chislett, who came to St Mary's in August 2025.

Come and join us in celebrating and marking the last weekend of the festival.

Family Braai

Sunday 28th June - 12:30pm - 2.30pm

Tickets: £10 adults, £5 children

After the Festival Service, we are having a lovely Braai to celebrate two whole weeks of fun and friendship. In addition there'll be a delicious spread of salads and yummy puddings to keep you nourished, and to make it even more enjoyable, we'll have some great music playing while you relax on the Green. The bar will be open for you to purchase drinks.

This will also be an opportunity to chat with our new vicar, David, and Mary, the Bishop of Reading.