Come to our family service on Sunday, December 4th at 4pm at St John’s, and help us create an Advent wreath, and sing Christmas carols.
All ages are welcome at the service – not just families with children – and we need your help to create the wreath. There will be carols and prayers and it will be followed by sandwiches and cakes (see the picture below…)
This Advent, Craig Nobbs, an LLM in the parish, is running a series of Advent Reflections, starting with a Quiet Morning on Saturday, November 26th, from 9am until noon in the Sumner Room at St John’s, and continuing with drop-in sessions at St George’s on Thursdays in Advent from 6.30-8pm.
The Quiet Morning will start with a short act of morning prayer, followed by two or three short readings and reflections, plus time to stop and listen. You can slip in and out quietly if you can’t be there for the whole time.
On the Thursday evenings Craig will be in St George’s Church from 6.30-8pm and will offer an Advent Quiet Time interspersed with prayers and readings every 15 minutes or so. This makes it possible to come even if for a short time, and leave when you wish.
Craig says: “It’s healthy to take time out to stop and think about what Advent might reveal to us as individuals and potentially, as a church. Advent can be about listening and waiting for God to show something of himself to us, however brief. So, how do we wait for God? I’m providing some opportunities to help you take time out and hopefully rediscover how we begin to do so in what are busy times.”
If you want to know more, please email Craig llm.craig@badshotleaandhale.org.
Come to our Christmas Craft Market this Saturday, November 19th, 10am-2pm, at St Mark’s.
Lots of amazing handmade gifts and cards for Christmas and a chance for children to meet Father Christmas. Plus there is a lucky dip. Win a prize! Live music, free entry, refreshments, and a lovely atmosphere.
Huge thanks to the lovely Magikats in Farnham for sponsoring us. They provide tutoring for children and teenagers in Farnham and are at St George’s every Tuesday afternoon. Check them out.
See you there!
St George’s in Badshot Lea will be open on Monday afternoons from 7th November from 2-6pm as a Warm Hub – one of a network of Warm Hubs across Surrey. You can pop inside and get warmed up with a cup of tea or coffee, some cake, and stay a while with a book, puzzle, game or magazine.
St George’s is one of a number of Warm Hubs in Surrey supported by Surrey County Council. To see the list, visit surreycc.gov.uk/warmhubs (please note the Surrey list says The Rectory, St George’s Road. It’s in fact in the church hall – entrance next to the Working Men’s Club).
Remembrance Sunday is on November 13th this year and there will be services at each of the churches in the Parish – 9.30am at St John’s and 10am at St George’s. There will be an Act of Remembrance at the Hale War Memorial at 10.45am, where there will be a two-minute silence at 11am. This will be followed by a service at St Mark’s itself.
There will also be an Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial in Badshot Lea following the St George’s service. Anyone wishing to attend that who has not been at the service is asked to arrive for around 10.50am.
There will also be an Act of Remembrance at Weybourne Village Hall at 4pm.
Join us for the Seekers Light Party Service on Sunday, November 6th, at 4pm, at St John’s.
This family service is suitable for all ages and will include stories, songs and crafts, and be followed by sandwiches and cake.
Please join us. More information from Michelle Chapman.
Join us this Thursday (3rd) and the first Thursday of every month for Art at St Mark’s, from 10.30am-12pm.
No artistic experience or ability is required. Just come and do some art, enjoy some tea or coffee and cake, and chat in relaxing surroundings. Suitable for all ages.
If you’d like more details, contact Lesley Shatwell.
Your November magazine is out now, full of information about events in the parish, reports and reflections on what has happened and ideas for the future. There is information on keeping warm – including in our Warm Hub at St George’s – on Remembrance Day, on Advent, and much more.
You can find it here:
Everyone is invited to a celebration of the Kitty Milroy murals and the artist Kitty Milroy herself at St Mark’s Church, on the morning of Sunday, November 6th at 11am, just two days before the anniversary of her birth on November 8th, 1885, and also the anniversary of her death on November 8th, 1966.
There will be a communion service at 11am, followed by a bring-and-share lunch soon after noon, and a talk on the murals by Nick Seversway who has led the campaign to restore the murals, and Stella Wiseman.
Kitty Milroy’s now-famous murals were restored in 2021 and are recognised as being of national importance and a jewel in Surrey’s crown. St Mark’s Church was awarded Grade II listed status by Historic England last year, and in March 2022 was shortlisted for a Surrey Historic Buildings Trust Heritage Award.
Kitty’s murals are stunning works of art, and for years she and the murals were overlooked, probably because she was a woman and women’s art was seen as less important as that of men. She painted the murals between 1911 and 1920 and they depict the Annunciation – the meeting between Mary and the Angel Gabriel when Mary is told she will be the mother of Jesus – as well as scenes from the Benedicite, an ancient hymn of praise to God about the wonders of the natural world, and local views. There are figures depicting the natural elements and seasons, and the models for these figures are known to be local people.
The whole is a stunning creation by a hugely talented artist and we invite everyone to come and enjoy them and find out more about them and Kitty herself.
Come and join us on November 6th. If you can’t bring lunch, please come anyway, there will be plenty to share.
We will be holding All Souls’ services at all three churches over the weekend of November 4-5th as a way of remembering those we love who have died, whether that loss is recent or long ago. The services are for anyone who wants to come, whether or not your loved one had a Church of England-led funeral.
The services are at St John’s on Saturday, November 4th at 4.30pm; at St Mark’s on Sunday, November 5th at 11am and at St George’s on Sunday, November 5th at 6pm. There will be refreshments served after each service.
All Souls’ Day is on Thursday, November 2nd, so the churches are holding their services on the nearest weekend to enable more people to attend.Â
All Souls’ Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of remembrance of people who have died, and the services are designed to honour them and bring comfort to the bereaved.
Rev’d Stella Wiseman, a minister in the parish, said: “Having a space to remember and honour those who have died is so important in the process that we all go through when we are bereaved. The services are there to bring comfort to those who are grieving and honour the memory of those who have died, and we welcome anyone who wishes to attend, regardless of what individual beliefs they hold.”
Anyone who would like to attend is welcome to do so and anyone who would like support following the death of a loved one is invited to contact Rev’d Lesley Crawley on 01252 820537 or revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org
If you would like the name of your loved one read out at a service please let Lesley know and say which church you would like this to be read out at.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 