Services, St George's Church, St John's Church, St Mark's Church

Bring your pets to church!

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If you go down to church this Sunday (October 1st), be prepared for a surprise. Along with the singing there will be barking, maybe a little squawking and squeaking, and even some slithering when we hold a pet service at each of the churches.

Pets of all shapes and sizes will be welcomed to St John’s at 9.30am, St George’s at 10am and St Mark’s at 11am, for a service to celebrate our pets and ask for God’s blessing on them. Anyone who doesn’t want to bring their pet but still wants to celebrate them and have them blessed is encouraged to bring a photo of the pet. Children are welcome to bring toy pets and come dressed as animals too.

We are holding the service on the first Sunday of October as it is close to the feast day of St Francis of Assisi which is on October 4th. St Francis was known for his love of and care for animals and is often depicted with them. Our pets bring us great joy and are part of God’s creation so we want to celebrate them and give thanks for everything they give us. For many people having a pet is an enormous comfort and can help our mental health by reducing stress and anxiety. They can also be great companions especially to people who are on their own.

The services will be chaotic and great fun, so please come along! However, there will also be an earlier communion service at St George’s at 9am for people who prefer their worship without animal accompaniment!

music, Prayer, St Mark's Church

Exploring Prayer

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Join us for a series on different types of prayer on Wednesday evenings at St Mark’s, Upper Hale, at 7.30pm.

Over the next five weeks we will be exploring prayer in the following ways:

September 27th – The Power of Music – led by Lesley Shatwell (see picture below)

October 4th – Centering Prayer – led by Margaret Bowers

October 11th – Labyrinth – led by Michelle Chapman

October 18th – Mindfulness – led by Suzette Jones

October 25th – Daily Prayer – led by Lesley Crawley

All welcome. Contact Rev’d Stella Wiseman for further details.

Apple Day, Harvest, Social Events, St George's Church, St John's Church, St Mark's Church

Come and join the Harvest celebrations

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On September 24th, celebrate the good gifts of the earth at our Harvest Festival services, held at all three churches. You can then also join us at the Harvest Supper, held at St George’s on the evening of September 29th.

There have long been celebrations around the time that crops are harvested each year, but the harvest festival that we know today probably dates from Victorian days. The first one is said have been the brainchild of the Rev’d Robert Hawker, priest of a church at Morwenstow in Cornwall, who in 1843 invited people to a thanksgiving service for the harvest.

The modern harvest festival is a time to give thanks to God for the gifts the earth provides and it is also an opportunity to share food, particularly with people who do not have enough. That is why the parish collects tinned and dried food for Farnham’s Foodbank.

The services will be at 9.30am at St John’s, Hale, 10am at St George’s, Badshot Lea, and at 10am at St Mark’s, Upper Hale, where we will first celebrate Apple Day with apple-y music, apple snacks and apple pressing. The harvest service will be at 11am at St Mark’s.

The Foodbank is currently in need of tinned fruit, UHT puddings, tinned meat and chocolate treats and these can be offered at the altar during the service and will then be passed on to the Foodbank.

Harvest Supper

On September 29th we will celebrate again with a Harvest Supper at St George’s from 6pm. It’s a fun evening for the whole parish with a meal, entertainment and a raffle. Tickets are available at each of the churches; Adults £10, children (under 16) £5, or by calling 07842761919 or emailing news@badshotleaandhale.org. If you can offer to be part of the entertainment, please let Kris know: warden.stgeorges@badshotleaandhale.org.

Entertainment time at last year’s Harvest Supper.

Pictured top – Harvest by Erik-Jan Leusink on Unsplash

Apple Day, gifts, Harvest, Kitty Milroy

It’s Apple Day!

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Everyone is invited to celebrate the fruits of the Hale community orchard on Apple Day, Sunday, September 24, at St Mark’s Church, Alma Lane, Upper Hale, at 10am.

Everyone is encouraged to bring their apples and put them in the apple press for freshly pressed apple juice. There will be apple songs and apple snacks, all followed by a celebratory harvest festival service in the church and a collection for Farnham Foodbank.

Apple Day started because, back in winter 2014, we planted fruit trees next to St Mark’s to create a community orchard, with each tree being adopted by a different community group. The next autumn we decided to have Apple Day to celebrate because the trees were bearing fruit and since then, we have celebrated every year apart from during the Covid pandemic by having apple snacks, apple-themed music and apple pressing.

It is a great atmosphere with children and adults pressing the apples, drinking the juice, eating and listening to the music and chatting. Then we move on to harvest festival in the church and a collection of food for Farnham Foodbank.

The day also complements one of the themes of the Kitty Milroy murals in the church which depict natural scenes including apple trees, as well as people representing seasons and the elements.

Anyone who wants their apples turned into juice is asked to bring apples that are in good condition, picked from the tree and washed, along with clean, two-litre plastic milk cartons, including the lid, to put the juice in.

The Foodbank is currently in need of tinned fruit, UHT puddings, tinned meat and chocolate treats. These can be presented at the altar at St Mark’s during the harvest festival service and will then be passed on to the Foodbank.

Pictured top is an apple tree from the Kitty Milroy murals.

Serving the Villages North of Farnham: Badshot Lea, Hale, Heath End & Weybourne