Have you ever wanted to read more of the Bible but feel a little daunted? Do you want some fresh insights? Would you like Bible-reading to be…. wait for it…. fun and full of joy?
All of this is possible with the Bible Book Club which meets on Zoom every Wednesday at 7.30pm. Each week we read a book of the Bible – or shortened highlights if we don’t have time for the whole, long book, then talk about it, using questions posed by the Bible Society. The questions give us a vague structure but we often go off on interesting tangents – though I still can’t remember how we ended up talking about husky dog sledding.
We discuss a lot, we learn a lot and we laugh a lot. In fact, Wednesday evenings are now a highlight of my week and I have a pretty busy and interesting life.
Next Wednesday (5th), we will be talking about Proverbs. If you want to know more about the course, click here.
Please join us. Contact me (Stella) for details of the Zoom meeting.
Join us to celebrate Pride on Saturday, August 8, here online from 10am.
August 8 should have been marked by a Surrey Pride march and celebrations on the street but these had to be cancelled because of Covid-19. However, we are celebrating the LGBTI+ community and God’s wonderful, inclusive love with an online service.
There will be music, art, photography, prayers, poetry, Bible readings and reflections from individuals including a former curate of St George’s whom some of you may remember – Rev’d Paul Holt – along with Sara Gillingham, a leading intersex campaigner and great friend of the parish; Jayne Ozanne who runs the Ozanne Foundation which works with religious organisations to eliminate discrimination based on sexuality or gender; and Dr Ash Brockwell, a transgender man and educator who has contributed both a poem and hymn to the service.
There is a moving reflection on growing up as a gay man from James Muller, a Farnham photographer whose work features regularly in Vogue Italia, and who has kindly contributed many of his beautiful photographs; there is art from local people, including paintings by members of Farnham Heath End School’s LGBT+ group, and stones painted with rainbow messages to indicate God’s love for everyone.
Stella Wiseman, who leads inclusion work in the parish, explains the thinking behind the service: “The church as a whole doesn’t have a great track record in welcoming people who do not fit into a heterosexual, cis-gender box, and indeed has caused great harm to many LGBTI+ people. This is something we need to repent of and make amends for. We have no right to limit God’s love and welcome like this and to damage and destroy people in the name of God is appalling.
“Thankfully, things are changing and many churches, such as those in this parish, are more welcoming and inclusive now. Some of us would have been walking under the Christians at Pride banner in Woking on August 8th but Covid-19 has put paid to that. So instead we are organizing this lovely, colourful service online and we are delighted that members of the local church are taking part along with friends from other churches. We are really grateful to them for giving up their time to share with us their experience of God’s love and welcome and grateful too for the art, photography and music.
“Pride in Surrey is taking a Pride-themed vehicle around the county that weekend too and will be live-streaming and the parish has just been asked to send a contribution to the online Pride. The Pride vehicle will be making its way to Farnham on Sunday 9th at 10am so watch out for that too. You can find out more on prideinsurrey.org/ontheroad.”
Everyone is invited to join the service online here on Saturday, August 8 , from 10am and on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/badshotleaandhale
What do you want for Farnham? Have your voice heard! Sign up for the launch of the Farnham Local Liaison Forum which will be held on Zoom next Wednesday evening (August 5) from 6-8pm to discuss plans for spending £250m on infrastructure in the town.
In the first hour of the forum you will hear from local MP Jeremy Hunt; Cllr Tim Oliver, Leader of Surrey County Council; and representatives from Waverley Borough Council (Cllr John Ward) and FarnhamTown Council (Cllr John Neale). They will lay out the objectives for the town. The second hour will be a chance to ask questions about plans for how the money will be spent.
There will be further consultations later this year, with members of the public taking part more directly in the discussions. There will also be opportunities for people who are not online to participate.
Come on in! We are excited to announce that our churches will be open again for services this Sunday, after more than four months of being closed thanks to Covid-19.
There will be simple Communion services at each of the three churches from this Sunday: St John’s at 9.30am, St George’s at 10am and St Mark’s at 11am. We will also hold a service at noon on Wednesday at St Mark’s, replacing the old Friday service.
We are also going to continue to offer online services as we know that not everyone will feel able to come to the church buildings themselves. You can find our online services here.
If you are familiar with the services you will notice some differences, as Lesley Crawley explains: “We are absolutely delighted that we can return to the church buildings to worship together in person. However there will be changes to the services designed to reduce the risk of Covid-19. For instance we cannot have any singing, we cannot sit close to each other and we cannot share the Communion cup of wine. We will, however, be able to receive the Communion bread. Please come along and be a part of our services if you are able to, everyone is welcome.”
We have installed hand sanitizers and put up notices to remind everyone about social distancing and where it is safe to sit. Everyone attending will be asked for contact details so that if someone tests positive for Covid-19 it will be possible to get in touch with others who attended church at the same time. Those coming to church are strongly advised to wear masks but this is not compulsory.
There will be services available online from 9am on Sunday. “Holding services online means that more people can access them,” says Lesley. “Some people may feel particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 and therefore not want to come to church, and there are also others who cannot come to church perhaps because of mobility issues or illness, or because of work or family commitments. We should have thought about online services long ago but Covid concentrated our minds rather and has enabled us to be creative and reach more people.”
We are also very aware that the Covid pandemic has accentuated the divide between those who have access to modern technology and those who do not. Many of those who are not online are also older and have been increasingly isolated during lockdown. The parish, along with other groups in Farnham, has been supporting those who are isolated and is looking at how to increase this support in the future.
We are holding a Pride Service online on Saturday, August 8, in celebration of the LGBTI+ community and God’s love for us all.
We’d like people to paint rocks in rainbow colours, with pictures, designs or messages of love and inclusion on them. We plan to have the painted rocks at St Mark’s like the one in the picture below, painted by Aly Buckle. Or how about some other art to celebrate inclusion, like the ones above which were painted by members of the LGBT+ group at Farnham Heath End School?
We will tell you when to bring your rocks and other art and take a video of people bringing them to the church and include the video in our Pride service. If you can’t come yourself send Stella a photo of the rocks/pictures you have painted.
What has lockdown been like for everyone? Over the past few weeks we have been chatting to members of the community about how they have found these past months.
Isolation
Margaret has felt the full impact of isolation.
When lockdown started, I had already been confined to home for almost a year due to a fall. I was, however, managing to get better movement and with the help of injections and medication my pain was more controlled. Of course, I realised I was probably not going to walk properly or maybe unaided again.
So lockdown started and I thought, not much difference to before. It wasn’t too bad for the first couple of weeks; however after that the realisation that this was going to be much longer, and our world forever changed, really sank in.
No visits from family or friends, the absolute silence, no traffic, no sound of people talking, children laughing, they might have been annoying sometimes but now I longed to hear them. No knock on the door. Only my thoughts and sometimes not good ones.
The telephone and text messages became my companion, keeping in touch now has a different meaning. Some special people have helped so much. Sometimes I have felt so low, it’s very hard being entirely alone, (and I know there is always someone worse off) so much time to think about the past and loved ones no longer here, and I wish I could turn back time. I have watched Sunday services online but missed being able to be there.
I had been looking forward to the VE Day celebrations at St John’s; still maybe next year but not quite the same. I spent it alone.
Great difficulty in getting a grocery delivery, my one piece of independence taken away from me. There is a slight improvement now but not a great deal (I had been using online shopping prior to lockdown).
Thankfully, we started to get better weather and getting in the garden was a real boost. I’ve weeded and trimmed fuschias where I could reach and found someone to cut the grass. Wish I could do more but everything I do is from a sitting position. I’ve been removing buttercups, the trailing kind from the grass, tedious but I’m enjoying the lovely sun, grown dahlias from seed and a few asters. The rest of my seed planting was a disaster as the propagator blew over in the strong winds and my seedlings were scattered beyond hope.
The easing of lockdown: it’s such a mixed emotion. What is safe? We are all so unsure. I have seen my family;,still no hugging but it has been great to have human contact again.
A friend asked me if I’d like to visit the caravan and kindly took me down and home again. I enjoyed the sea air and saw quite a few friends who stopped at a safe distance for a chat. The caravan is self-contained so no worries on close contact with people, as we are still unsure what will happen as people get out and about more.
I still feel apprehensive as to our future, so changed in many ways. Freedom apparently may come at a big price for some. I just hope everyone remains careful and contains the virus.
Dealing with a health condition
Derek and Aly Buckle have enjoyed life in the slow lane as health problems forced them to shield.
Just before lockdown began we took a short break at a holiday resort on Hayling Island. At dinner time on day three we were told the resort would be closing in the morning and all guests would have to leave after breakfast. At this point I don’t think people realised how serious COVID-19 was and how fast it was spreading.
Two days after this, lockdown was officially announced. This meant Derek would have to shield for 12 weeks due to having coronary heart disease. As he is very much an outdoor person this wasn’t something he wanted to hear but knew he had no option.
We welcomed a slower pace of life more time to get through the rather long job list. By the second week most of the jobs were completed, the house spring cleaned and garden tidied. We were happy and content and always found plenty to do. Aly finished the jumper knitting she started in 2012. If you notice all the colour changes in the picture below you’ll understand why it took so long, plus she thought she’d lost the pattern! It was also a good time to get in touch with friends we hadn’t contacted for some time especially those who live alone.
Derek was due to have his pacemaker checked during lockdown at Royal Surrey County Hospital. As the due date got closer and no cancellation letter arrived, we both because rather anxious at the thought of Derek having to enter the hospital. However two days before the appointment a letter arrived. It was not cancellation as we thought, but telling us how to find the pacing department using different approach instead of the usual main entrance. We followed the instructions, fourth entrance, drive round to back of hospital, a few right and left turns and there we were. Not quite what Derek was used too or expecting. He was expecting to arrive at the same department he had visited many times before but using different entrance. Instead it was a mobile unit.
We were told how and where to park the car and to stay in car. We were greeted by two technicians from a window in the portacabin in full PPE who explained in detail what was going to happen without any need for Derek to get out of car. Hand-sanitizer was lowered down to him. Next came a hand-held device also lowered down which he had to hold against his pacemaker whilst adjustments were made on computerised machine. About 10 minutes later all finished and on our way home. We were extremely impressed at the treatment and how a mobile unit such as was set up. Praise God for the NHS.
Derek deals with technology
Towards the end of the 12 weeks we were both getting a little restless and wanted to venture a further than our back garden. We can happily say now our daily exercise is walking around the park and just beginning to meet up with people. Social distancing of course. And really happy that we can attend church again.
Derek & Aly Buckle
How lockdown has updated NHS systems
Olivia and June Jasper (pictured above) both work for the NHS in a GP practice in Farnham Hospital. They work in administration supporting the smooth running of the practice and during Covid have seen a change in the way the practice has worked.
“We have been supporting our colleagues working on the frontline,” says Olivia. “There have been a lot of changes including supporting people to work remotely from home so that there wouldn’t be too many people in the office at anyone time. We had to make sure that we could keep all the medical records secure,” says Olivia who deals with referrals and administration”. “But working this way is for the future and has had its benefits.”
June, who deals with registrations, records, screenings says that one of the most important things to do was to “work out how we could run a good practice where people felt secure and also in touch during this time. We now have telephone consultations first and then if a patient has to come in we arrange social distancing with the clinicians . We have scrubs and other PPE, we have visors which Liz Larkin [DT teacher from Farnborough Hill] made in her workshop amongst others we received. We have had to manage how both patients and staff feel when coming into the practice.”
Both women recall how anxious everyone was at the beginning. People had some days at home and some in the office to ensure that social distancing could take place, while some had to work at home the whole time as they were shielding. “At the beginning we were all frightened of getting a cough or a sniffle,” June recalls. “And then tents started going up in the car park where people would go to be assessed first so that we could protect the frontline staff; Out Patients was closed; a wall went up so that the only entry was through one side of the building; people were queueing round the block to visit the pharmacy. Everyone was amazing getting this all set up, Farnham Town Council lent the tents which are normally used for local events. We had volunteers helping and everyone did a great job.”
They both reflect what a steep learning curve it was for the practice but are grateful for all the new skills, particularly the IT ones which they will continue to develop.
“If you are looking for the silver lining in all this,” says Olivia, “we have seen the way that the system can be more efficient. There were things we were doing just because we had always done them, and we’ve been able to change that. We have learnt a lot.”
Patients have also seen differences in the way they have been accessing the services, from how they see the medical staff to how they pick up their prescribed medicines. “The reception team have done a great job,” says June. “I have been working in a general practice for 26 years and seen changes but more so in the three months!”
It is, of course, uncertain whether or not there will be a ‘second wave’ of Covid-19, but they both reflect: “Some changes are here to stay, helping the NHS provide an improved service for the future”.
Staying safe when health makes you vulnerable
Leaving the house in lockdown has been more problematic for some than others. What if you are older and/or have underlying health conditions?
Chris Fisher tells us what it has been like.
I am the world’s worst worrier and I find the coronavirus scary. I was very worried when lockdown first started and had a few sleepless nights, but I soon learned it was important to get into a routine and this helped tremendously.
Initially one of our big concerns was getting food supplies, but our sons helped us and we were lucky that from the start of lockdown we got supplies from our local farm shop. Because we are both 71 and I have underlying medical conditions, we were able to arrange home deliveries from Sainsbury’s and fortunately, we haven’t had to go shopping at all.
So what have I been doing?
I am not very good at DIY and gardening and I can’t cook, but trying to share all our activities with my wife, Sue, has been brilliant. We have been gardening and clearing cupboards but we had to stop clearing the cupboards because we had so many boxes to go to the charity shops!
I’ve been trying to do something good every day and it’s been important to look after my key relationships, which for me includes keeping in contact with my cousins in USA, Burma and Australia. I’ve been reading books, trying to stay active, doing exercise and enjoying nature which has been especially rewarding.
I have a project of saving all our old photos from the computer to memory sticks. We have over 100 photo albums and about 10,000 photos on the computer, so it is certainly keeping me busy.
I’ve missed going to church, but I am not very techie and don’t feel I can take part in any of our online services, but I enjoy reading Lesley’s e-mails. I have especially missed the church at Easter and was hoping there would be some good services on the telly. I saw the Pope which was good but not sure Justin Welby in his kitchen was what I was expecting at Easter!
Sadly, Sue’s aunt died during lockdown and unfortunately, only 10 people including the vicar could attend the funeral service, which was particularly upsetting for her Uncle Frank.
Our daily exercise walks are brilliant. In March and April we walked a lot down Old Park Lane and nearby country lanes and fields, with established oak trees and birds singing in the bushes. We’ve heard woodpeckers and saw pheasants and partridges, lambs in the fields (Sue sent videos of the lambs to our grandchildren). We’ve seen deer, squirrels, etc. and loads of flowers including bluebells in the spring. As summer came on we changed our route and have had many walks on the Common. We have been able to take the back paths which are often deserted and among the wildlife we have seen has been a snake.
I’m pleased that lockdown is easing and we have been able to see our boys but our new normal is different from the old normal. For instance we have just been into Farnham and rather than wandering around as we would have done in the past, we just went to the one shop we needed to visit and came home. We are still worried about the virus and worried for our granddaughter who is doing GCSEs next year. There’s talk of them not doing the whole syllabus.
I hope people keep up social distancing and I pray we find a vaccine soon.
Chris Fisher
The teacher
Teachers have had their whole way of working turned upside down by Covid-19. How, for instance, do you teach a practical subject? This has been one of the questions that Liz Larkin, a Design and Technology teacher at Farnborough Hill, has had to face. Farnborough Hill is an independent school for girls ages 11-18, so among her pupils are those preparing for GCSE and A-level exams next year, as well as those who should have taken these exams this summer.
Liz in her workshop at Farnborough Hill.
“I had to completely rethink what I was going to teach,” says Liz. “Luckily we were at the beginning of new projects because of the way the timetable rotation works. The year nines were able to finish upcycling aprons out of old jeans at home, though some had to have needle and thread sent to them and then I taught them to knit via video. The year eights should have been learning to solder and do electronics. But I got pupils throughout the school to learn CAD and CAM packages (Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing), making models which we could print on the 3D printer. “
While the year 11 and 13 students have probably had the most frustrating time, not quite being able to finish their projects at school and having to have their final grades estimated for GCSE and A-levels, the year 10 and 12 students who take their exams in 2021 have had to start their coursework at a distance. “They have been able to start design and research for their projects but were not able to be in the workshop refining their skills.”
Year 10 and 12 pupils were able to return to the school in small groups. “We had year 10 in for week and did blended teaching between home and school, and year 12 in for a few lessons and to give them university application support. We also held a socially distanced retreat.”
But since lockdown began all pupils have been following their normal timetable of six lessons per day but doing so from home online and even taking school exams online. “The first week was the most challenging. We were teaching from home and trying to get our head round all the challenges but as we have all got better at it, it improved. We learned so much but it could be frustrating to spend some of the lesson making sure everyone was connected.”
More frustrating though was the lack of real contact: “I missed the girls most, that lovely interaction that we have.”
If you had told me a year ago that our world would be affected by a great pandemic and we would be confined to our homes except for the most essential work, and then asked me what I might struggle with most, I would have guessed a few things:
Fear for my children (I am secretly an insanely protective mother, but I try to hide it!);
The pain of not seeing my grandchild (who I absolutely adore);
Cabin fever and not being able to do the things that stop me feeling stressed;
Not being able to see those I love at church face to face;
Not being able to worship with others, pray together, share the peace, sing together;
Not having Communion, a very sacred and important act for me,
I would have been wrong. There is one thing, and one thing only that has cut me to the core in terms of pain, and that is conducting funerals under the current circumstances. In particular, seeing people sitting on chairs at the crematorium, two meters away from the next person, crying with no-one to put an arm around them and console them. My heart breaks. I am forbidden, like everyone else, from offering a hug, and that is a dreadful cruelty that had never occurred to me before. It is torture to see someone in pain and not be able to offer acts of comfort. Here is a poem written by Stella about the pain of such a funeral.
My understanding is that most bereaved people have opted for something called ‘direct cremation’, a term I hadn’t heard of before, where their loved one is cremated with no ceremony preceding it. The hope is that after the lockdown is over, we will be able to have memorial services and express all that we want to and need to. I don’t know how that feels; I suspect it is like being in limbo.
I look forward to the day when we can have these memorial services, where people can cry and be comforted with hugs and words spoken softly and squeezes of the hand, where friends and relatives can be present and comfort each other in their grief.
Lesley
Note: Church of England churches are available to all people for memorial services – those who attend regular services and those who have never attended.
A poem about funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was no black and yellow tape So they searched the office drawers And found brown Which would seal parcels But not stick to carpet Scuffed, edged with dust, lines To keep us safe, far apart As we control our tears On chairs ranged coldly Ten of them For ten stiff soldiers Alert to the war Around us A war to save lives Tearing us apart in the face of grief and death
As you probably know, the government has announced that church services may resume from this weekend and we have been looking carefully at how this will be possible from the beginning of August which will give us enough time to prepare.
It is not, unfortunately, simply a case of throwing open the doors and welcoming everyone in, much as we would like to. There are all sorts of issues to deal with to ensure that we keep everyone safe.
This week further information has been released by the government, the national Church of England and the Diocese of Guildford to help us plan to reopen the churches for services.
Our plan – subject to PCC approval – is to have a service in each of the three churches on a Sunday and a mid-week service at St Mark’s from the beginning of August.
Because of the dangers of Covid-19 infection, the services will follow a simple format with no singing but with musicians playing instruments. We will not be able to share the Peace but we will be able to take Communion, though in one kind only. The Bread may be distributed in wafer form by the priest (who will have taken all the necessary hygiene precautions) but we cannot share the Wine. Everyone coming forward to receive Communion or a blessing will be guided on where to walk and stand in order to minimise the danger of passing anything on.
Everyone will have to observe strict social distancing measures – though you can sit in your household groups of course – and hygiene regulations, but we have installed hand sanitisers already and have been working hard to ensure that it will all be as safe as possible.
We are also going to continue worship online so anyone who can’t come to church on Sundays or feels unsafe doing so can still join in the worship.
The National Health Service is 72 years old today (July 5) so we are holding an online service to celebrate and give thanks for this life-saving institution.
The service, is a mix of music, prayer, art, videos and stories of how the NHS has helped improve health and save lives. There are contributions from Farnham Heath End School and Post19, which supports young adults with learning difficulties, from a Frimley Park Hospital nurse describing working during the COVID-19 pandemic, from people whose lives have been saved by the NHS; and there is a history of healthcare before the NHS from Father John Evans who remembers its foundation when he was a teenager in 1948.
“The NHS is a wonderful institution which is available for all UK citizens whether they are rich or poor,” says Lesley C.rawley. “It has saved the lives of many of us and made life for all of us better.
“I think that everyone has come to appreciate how special the NHS is during the COVID-19 pandemic and we have seen doctors, nurses and other NHS workers putting their own lives at risk and working round the clock to save lives. We really wanted to give thanks for everyone in the NHS and pray for God’s continued blessing of them.”
Serving the Villages North of Farnham: Badshot Lea, Hale, Heath End & Weybourne
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 