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Events, News Releases, Pastoral Care, St John's Church

Hidden in plain sight – find out about modern slavery and human trafficking

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There will be a talk at St John’s on the evening of Wednesday, May 22, to throw light on the pressing problem of modern slavery and human trafficking and to show us what we can do to tackle it.

Suzette Jones, health and wellbeing adviser for the Diocese of Guildford, will give the talk as part of the activities to mark the 175th anniversary of St John’s, in recognition of the church’s links with William Wilberforce who led the campaign to abolish slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries.

More than 200 years after the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 there are still an estimated 40.3 million men, women and children trapped in modern slavery, and up to 136,000 potential victims in the UK alone, according to the Global Slavery Index. Some of these are hidden in plain sight in our communities – as cleaners, in nail bars and car washes.

In this talk, Suzette Jones will show to look out for the signs of modern slavery and what to do if someone seems to be in danger. The talk will take place at 7pm at St John’s Church and will link in with the

Anyone concerned about modern slavery and human trafficking can report their concerns by calling the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 0121700, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. In an emergency call 999.

St John’s was founded in 1844 by Bishop Charles Sumner, Bishop of Winchester and resident of Farnham. He was a cousin of William Wilberforce whose son Samuel became Bishop of Winchester after Charles Sumner retired.

 

Events, St Mark's Church

Favourite jazz for two of Farnham’s favourites: Jean and Ted Parratt

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St Mark’s Church, Hale, was packed earlier this month for an evening of jazz music and memories of two of Farnham’s best-known residents – the late Jean and Ted Parratt.

Jean and Ted’s daughter Wendy Edwards put on Caravan Jazz in memory of her parents and the music which they would listen to in the early years of her life when the family was living in a series of caravans in Lincolnshire.

Wendy was joined by Teddy’s Café Bar Jazzmen and vocalists Melissa Heathcote and Mike Twiddy to sing songs by jazz greats including Django Reinhardt, Gershwin, Glenn Miller, and Rodgers and Hart. In between, she showed pictures of her family and talked about the early years of her life between 1956 and 1962. Ted was away during the week on his National Service, so Jean was often alone caring for the three children in a small caravan in Lincolnshire.  Weekends were precious when Ted came home and played jazz on his guitar. These were what Jean later described as the ‘hungry years’ when there was little money and she often made potato soup with very few potatoes, but she also recalled them as among the happiest years in their lives.

The large audience was grouped around café-style tables, with refreshments, while they listened to the music which Jean and Ted had loved, and looked at family photos projected onto a screen.

Afterwards Wendy Edwards said: “A huge thank-you to everyone who helped in any way to make Caravan Jazz the great success it was. I thoroughly enjoyed singing with the talented Teddy’s Café Bar Jazzmen and vocalists Melissa Heathcote and Mike Twiddy.  I could not have managed this event without the help of so many people who willingly gave their time, talents and money. Many thanks to you all.”

The event raised £900 for the Kitty Milroy Murals appeal to restore and protect a series of important murals painted a century ago.

Frances Whewell

 

Bluebird caravan 1957

 

Top: Jean and Ted Parratt in a field in 1956;
Above: The Bluebird Caravan in which the family lived in 1957 at Mere Road Caravan Site, Waddington, Lincolnshire.
Social Events, St George's Church

Gardening expert John Negus to answer questions at parish fete

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The parish fete (at St George’s, Badshot Lea), will welcome a special guest on the afternoon of Saturday, June 15, when gardening writer and broadcaster John Negus joins the plant stall to answer any gardening questions that visitors may have.

John has been a gardening journalist for some 60 years. He answers questions for Amateur Gardening magazine, gives talks and lectures, and broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio Surrey, again answering listeners’ queries on plants and gardens.

Answering these questions is, he says “a great privilege and an exciting challenge” and enables him to combine his passion for plants with his love of meeting people and making them happy.

“Gardeners are all so different,” he says, which means he has to be ready to answer all sorts of different questions. “The great thing is that no matter what question anyone asks there is always an answer. The fun thing is finding out the answer they approve of!” By this he means that there is always more than one way of dealing with a gardening quest­ion and he can tailor his answers to suit an individual situation.

There are always general questions to answer: on pests and diseases; on how to cope with dry summers – “the challenge is when to start and when to stop watering” – what plants do well in what areas; how to grow good vegetables – “improve the soil – more humus please!” – and so on, but he does love a challenge. “Bring mystery plants to the fete!” he commands. “It adds a frisson of excitement!”

John puts his own advice to good use and has not just his own beautiful garden in south Farnham, but also helps his partner Maureen with hers, and has recently taken up caring for the vicarage garden in Wrecclesham. He gains inspiration from other gardens and advises everyone to “go and see a garden that is open to the public and take photos of plants you like if you are looking for ideas. I do that. And I love to see an interesting garden with neat lawns and something arresting.”

So, to gain inspiration and have your own questions answered, go along to the parish fete at St George’s Church, Badshot Lea, on June 15 from noon onwards. As well as advice from John Negus – and lots of plants to buy of course – there will be stalls; games of skill and chance; a bouncy castle; maypole dancing by children from Badshot Lea Infant School; the Sea Cadets with their band; the Aldershot Karate Club demonstrating their moves; volunteers from Badshot Lea Bloomers and Tice’s Meadow Nature Reserve; a barbecue; a bar; cream teas; cakes; an auction; a raffle with a first prize of £100, and much more.

News Releases, Social Events, St John's Church

Happy 175th birthday – church says it with flowers

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The 175th anniversary celebrations at St John’s Church, Hale, kick off on May 18 and 19 with a flower festival.

Local organisations, artists, schools, churches, charities and other faith groups are all planning their entries to the festival that weekend. Among those preparing displays are the three churches which make up the parish; the Hale Gardening Club; the local Mothers’ Union; the Opportunities Project; the Hale Women’s Institute; the Darby and Joan Club, Farnham Baha’is, Petal & Stem florists, Crown Chain nursery and Rainbow Church (welcoming all who are LGBTI+).

There will be art and craft too and All Hallows School art club are presenting a collage, Badshot Lea Infant School will be displaying floral photography, and there will be contributions from local artists Susie Lidstone, Judith Needham, Penny Fleet and former Surrey Artist of the year Denise Jaques who will bring garden mosaics. Local milliners Mind your Bonce will be providing an elegant touch with hats and flowers.

Among the charities taking part will be Farnham Assist and Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care who will be bringing samples of planting done in the hospice’s Social and Therapeutic Horticulture sessions. Amnesty International will be bringing a display reminding visitors of the plight of political prisoners across the world.

Lesley Crawley said: “St John’s was consecrated in November 1844 and since then has been a much-loved focal point in the village of Hale. We would like everyone to celebrate with us this year, so we are holding a series of events to which all are welcome. One of the first of these is the flower festival in May where, for two days, the church will be overflowing with colourful floral displays and art, and there will be live music and refreshments, including Pimm’s.

“St John’s is everyone’s church and as well as celebrating our anniversary, we are looking forward to the future. We know that our church could be used to serve the community better and we want to know what people would like from us as we look forward to the next stage and discover what God has in store for us all. We have therefore launched a survey for residents and local organisations to complete. You can find it on our website (www.badshotleaandhale.org) or in the church.”

The survey is also available at  https://goo.gl/XQQ8qT.

The flower festival will take place from 10am-4pm on Saturday, May 18, and from noon-4pm on Sunday, May 19. Entry is £1 and everyone is welcome!

 

Pictured above: Spring crocuses by Susie Lidstone
St George's Church, St Mark's Church

Saints, cadets and cake

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St George’s and St Mark’s Churches are both holding celebrations this Sunday (April 28) in honour of the saints they are named after.

April 23 was St George’s Day and April 25 was St Mark’s Day so both churches are holding their patronal festivals that day.

At St Mark’s at 11am, the congregation will learn about the journey that St Mark made from being a young follower of Jesus (perhaps the young man who runs away naked at the end of the Gospel of Mark) to a mature disciple who, tradition has it, founded the church in Alexandria, Egypt, but with all too human problems on the way. After the service there will be cake in celebration of St Mark’s Day.

At St George’s there will be two services which remember England’s patron saint (who was probably born in what is now Turkey). The 10am service will be augmented by a parade by Farnham, Fleet & Aldershot Sea Cadets who meet just up the road from the church. As well as parading they will read the New Testament lesson. The celebrations will then continue at St George’s with Worship for All at 11.30am.

Come and join us at either church on Sunday.

 

Pictured above are Farnham, Fleet & Aldershot Sea Cadets.
News Releases, St Mark's Church

Moon finds resting place in Hale

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A Hale woman who was used as a model for one of the murals in St Mark’s Church has found her final resting place back in the village.

Joyce Helen Taman, née Eglington, whose ashes were interred in Hale Cemetery on April 5, was born in 1926, and was the model for the figure of Moon when one part of the murals was renovated and repainted in 1946.

Joyce was the youngest of three children and grew up in Vicarage Lane in Hale. She was educated at Hale School where she excelled at maths, and on leaving at the age of 14 was employed in the accounts department at Kinghams, a grocery distribution warehouse in Farnham’s West Street. She married Alexander Mitchell, a member of the military police based at the prisoner-of-war camp in Crookham village whom she met at a dance.

It is not clear how she was chosen to be the model for Moon, but she was always very proud of what she jokingly called her ‘muriel’. By the 1940s, some of the murals which had been painted by Kitty Milroy between 1911 and 1920 required renovation. A fundraising appeal was launched after Easter 1946 and among the fundraisers was the well-known soprano Joan Coxon who put on a concert which raised more than £13, around £500 in today’s money.

The paintings which needed restoring were to the left of the altar where damp had affected them and local painter Evelyn Caesar carried out the restoration, choosing Joyce to sit for Moon. Next to Moon is ‘Clouds’, a male figure, and his identity is still a mystery, as are the identities of many of the figures whom Kitty Milroy painted.

Moon was identified by two of Joyce’s daughters, Jeannette and Wendy-Rae, who came into the church last year while on a nostalgic trip around the area where they grew up. Joyce and Alexander (Alec) settled in Folly Lane North and brought up four children who attended St Mark’s and two even sang in the choir, beneath the picture of their mother.

In later life Joyce remarried and moved to the Midlands and in January this year died in Bournedale House care home in Birmingham at the age of 92. The family and friends returned to St Mark’s this month to celebrate Joyce’s life and her ashes were interred in the cemetery close to others in her family. At the service to celebrate her life, her son-in-law Roger stood beneath the picture of Joyce as Moon and played Blue Moon on his saxophone, a fitting tribute to a much-loved Hale lady.

If anyone has any information on who ‘Clouds’ might be, or any of the other figures in the murals please let us know. You can contact us here or email news@badshotleaandhale.org

Pictured top is Joyce Eglington on her 21st birthday, shortly after she was the model for Moon.

 

Moon

Moon, modelled by Joyce Eglington.

Clouds

Who is Clouds?
Easter

A confirmed time of joy

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Easter Eve, the evening of the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is a time of waiting, a time of joyous anticipation of the Sunday that is to come, of the message of hope, love and light that Easter brings.

For two members of our parish this Easter Eve was particularly special. Lymara Procter and Peter Davies were confirmed with 16 others from the Diocese of Guildford at a service in Guildford Cathedral.

It was, as Peter said afterwards, a wonderful evening, when Peter and Lymara affirmed their faith in God, confirming the promises made at their baptisms, and committing themselves to following Jesus Christ.

Both Bishop Jo, Bishop of Dorking, and Bishop Andrew, Bishop of Guildford, led the service and it was Bishop Andrew who confirmed Peter and Lymara, saying to each that God had called them by name and laying his hands on their heads asking God to confirm them with the Holy Spirit. Then all the candidates were greeted with applause and the words, said by the whole congregation: “We welcome you in the fellowship of faith; we are children of the same heavenly Father; we welcome you”.

It was a service of welcome, of joy, of sharing (we all shared communion after the confirmation), and of expectation – expectation of the hope of Easter and of the continuing journey that Peter, Lymara and all of us will take as we seek to follow Jesus Christ.

Anyone who would like to find out about confirmation should contact Alan or Lesley Crawley on 01252 820537 or revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org or revd.alan@badshotleaandhale.org

Pictured above are Alan Crawley, Bishop Andrew, Lymara Procter, Peter Davies and Lesley Crawley.
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When the donkeys came to church

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There were donkeys at St George’s and St Mark’s last Sunday. Twinkle came to St Mark’s, courtesy of Folly Oak Donkeys, while Paddy (pictured above) came to St George’s all the way from the Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon (he’s actually being fostered in Badshot Lea).

It was Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, and in both cases the donkeys led a procession of children and adults around the outside of the church and in doing so recalled the time Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while crowds put cloaks and palm leaves down in front of him and called out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’

It was a triumphal entry, only a king who enters a city should surely be riding something more majestic than a donkey, shouldn’t they? By riding a donkey rather than a horse, Jesus showed he wasn’t the traditional conquering king that perhaps many of his followers wanted, but as a humble king who would upset the world order by being prepared to die and to show us how much God loves us.

Meanwhile, also on Sunday morning, Lesley Crawley could be heard on BBC Radio Surrey talking about Palm Sunday and Holy Week. You can hear her here at 1:49:08.

For details of the services up to and including Easter click here

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Events, News Releases, Social Events, St George's Church

Raise a glass, raise funds, have fun

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St George’s Church is holding a gin night on Tuesday, April 30, where local gin producers Nibbs will be serving their artisan gin while raising money for church funds and giving us an opportunity to have a fun evening with friends and neighbours.

Nibbs is a small family business based in Surrey, producing small batch artisan cocktail gin using freshly picked elderflower from the Surrey and Sussex countryside. It is available at selected pubs, off-licenses, markets and festivals and at special fundraising nights.

Maxine Everitt, who is organizing the gin night, said: “Come and try this wonderful local gin and support both the church and a local small business. This is a great opportunity for people from our community to come in to the church and have fun together.”

The evening starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £5, including a drink on arrival. To book, contact Maxine Everitt on 01252 318135 or maxine.everitt@live.co.uk

 

Easter, News Releases, Services, St George's Church, St John's Church, St Mark's Church

Vigils, solemn services and the message of Easter hope

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The week before Easter is known as Holy Week and will be marked with meditations, vigils and solemn services in the parish.

There will be a series of meditations for Holy Week at St John’s on Monday to Wednesday, April 15-17, at 7.30pm. On April 18, a day known in the Christian calendar as Maundy Thursday, there will be services at 7.30pm both at St John’s and at St George’s, with Holy Communion and a vigil, and the altar will be stripped of all coverings. At St John’s there will also be a ceremony of foot-washing as a reminder of the act of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet at the meal he shared with them on the night before he died.

Lesley Crawley explained why the churches are doing this: “Maundy Thursday derives its name from a Latin word ‘mandatum’ which means command. Jesus was executed at the time of the Jewish Passover celebrations and he and his disciples shared a meal together at which he washed their feet in an act of humility and service. It is reported in the Bible that he told his disciples: ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.’ (The Gospel of John, chapter 13, verse 34).”

The following day is known as ‘Good Friday’ and commemorates the day that Jesus was executed by being nailed to a cross. There will be several services in the parish, starting with a silent vigil at St John’s Church at 8.30am and a service at 9.30am, while at St George’s there will be a Good Friday service at 2-3pm, with 3pm marking the time when it is traditionally thought that Jesus died. At St Mark’s in Upper Hale, there will be Easter activities for children ages five to 11 from 9.30am, followed by a service at 11am and hot cross buns (to book a place on the Easter activities, contact Hannah Moore on 01252 659267 or revd.hannah@badshotleaandhale.org).

Lesley continued: “Good Friday commemorates the darkness of Jesus’ death, but on Easter Sunday we celebrate the joy of his resurrection. Death could not hold him and in rising from the dead he showed that the God of love is stronger than anything that the world can throw at us.”

On Easter Sunday there will be services at St John’s at 9.30am, St George’s at 10am and 11.30am, and at St Mark’s at 11am. Both the 11.30am service at St George’s and the 11am service at St Mark’s will include an Easter egg hunt.

Lesley added: “Everyone is welcome at any or all of our services. Do come and explore with us the message of hope that Easter offers to us all.”