The summer heat is really upon us but our magazine is full of cool news and events. Read about Rev’d Lexi, our new rector, meet her dog Bugsy and see what the Church Cat has to say about them. There’s a report on our fete, news of family workshops at the churches courtesy of Farnham Maltings, and yet another dog – Lilli, the Maltese, who is bringing her human, Jenny, to St John’s for a Regency evening of Pugs and Prejudice.
That’s just a brief glance at some of what you can read if you click below. And check out our advertisers too!
Pamela Marsham will be licensed as a Lay Associate Minister at Guildford Cathedral on Saturday, July 5th at 10.30am.
As a Lay Associate Minister, Pamela will continue work alongside Lexi and the rest of the ministry team. Her course has focused on preaching, teaching and discipleship and she has also done the diocese’s Worship Leaders Course.
“That for me is the most important as my focus is on leading worship. and Lexi is keen for me to continue to do that,” says Pamela. “I have been lucky really, in that I have been able to gain experience in this while training.”
During the course, Pamela particularly valued meeting others who were on the same path as she was. She adds: “We were all on a journey and it was exciting as we didn’t really know what it would actually lead us to do. I think there are some in the group who will continue the journey and probably go on to train to either be LLMs or even become ordained. Those roles are definitely not what I will do as obviously age is against me but I can lead worship and that is a great privilege. I hope, too, that I am showing that age is not a barrier to serving God.
“I am also reading more theology and am constantly learning more about what the Scriptures teach us.”
Tickets to the licensing have been allocated but if you would still like to attend you can do so and can have unreserved seating which will be towards the back of the cathedral.
Join us at St John’s Church on Friday 4th July at 7pm as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, with Pugs and Prejudice, an entertaining talk about Austen’s life as well as the dogs and costumes of the Regency period. Admission is free.
The talk will be given by Jenny Colquhoun, a local Jane Austen expert and enthusiast. She will be assisted by her Maltese dog, Lilli (pictured above). The pair will be dressed in matching Regency outfits and there will be a selection of bonnets, top hats, waistcoats and cravats for you to try on, too.
To accompany the event, Margaret Emberson and Lesley and Bob Shatwell will play Regency music, and there will be refreshments, including homemade cakes. You will also have a chance to win some Maltesers from Lilli.
You may have visited Jane Austen’s home in Chawton, but did you know that her family also had a Farnham connection? Jane’s brother, Henry, became a curate in Farnham in 1819. This raises the question, did Jane ever visit her brother in Farnham? Henry has often been described as her favourite brother, so it seems hard to believe that she never travelled here. There is nothing in her letters to suggest that she did but, since some of her letters were burned by her sister, it is fun to imagine that perhaps Jane was familiar with our town too.
Join us on Friday, July 4th, at 7pm, at St John’s, Hale, for an entertaining evening of doggy tales and tails, bonnets and bows. Although admission is free, there will be the opportunity to make a donation towards restoring St John’s tower. Please let us know if you are coming as we need to know how many to cater for and Lilli wants to know how many packs of Maltesers to pop in her Regency reticule. Call 07842761919 or email admin@badshotleaandhale.org.
Pictured: Left: A Reticule bag. (Image from Look and Learn, Rijksmuseum). Right: Jenny and Lilli at a recent Jane Austen event.
Carers Week has just come to an end but the job of unpaid carers goes on… and on… and on.
While many unpaid carers say that they are caring for a family member or friend out of love, it comes at a huge cost. They face a greater risk of poverty, social isolation, poor mental and physical health. They may have to give up careers, or educational opportunities and/or curtail their personal lives. While the image of the carer is a middle-aged woman – far more women than men are unpaid carers – there are still many men who fill the role and some carers are still children and others are old and frail themselves. Some people don’t even think of themselves as carers but still spend hours a week caring for someone.
Carers UK is working to support unpaid carers and there is plenty of useful information on their website, including what support is available. Click on the links for their Looking after someone guides and factsheets. The website also provides sources of practical support. Carers Trust has network of local services providing support to carers and a grants programme for one-off payments for support.
Local councils can tell you what rights you have and what is available to support you and the person you care for.
There’s a new rector in town. After 16 months with no-one in post, the parish has welcomed Rev’d Alexa (Lexi) Russell as its new rector.
Rev’d Lexi was installed as Rector at a service at St George’s Church on Monday, June 2, attended by parish members, visiting clergy, councillors and other community representatives.
Rt Rev’d Paul Davies (Bishop of Dorking) installed Lexi as Rector, while other parts of the ceremony were conducted by Rev’d Robert Jenkins, Assistant Archdeacon of Surrey, and Rev’d Tara Hellings, Assistant Area Dean.
Lexi was Assistant Curate in the Wythenshawe Team in Manchester Diocese. She is in a civil partnership with Johanna, a doctor, and they have a nine-month-old son Leo.
Lexi said: “What a welcome we have had. I am incredibly grateful to all those who took the time to welcome us into the parish. The lead up to this moment has been immense not just for the parish but also for me, and I’m incredibly excited to see what God has planned for us all.”
Monday’s service had its origins far back in the history of the Church of England and involved giving Lexi the ‘cure of souls’ – the spiritual responsibility for the parish – and the ‘temporalities’ of the parish, that is, the physical buildings and their contents. Lexi was also led round the church in a symbolic series of acts which included having her hand placed on the door and receiving the keys, then tolling a bell; being seated in a chair (the ‘stall of the priest’); pouring water into the font; receiving a large Bible; and placing bread and wine on the altar.
The service was followed by a party with a celebration cake.
Lexi will preside at her first service in the parish at St Mark’s, Upper Hale, on Sunday, June 8, at 11am. All are welcome.
Pictured above from left: Churchwarden Pamela Marsham, Rev’d Robert Jenkins, Rev’d Alexa Russell, Rt Rev’d Paul Davies, churchwarden Kris Lawrence
Pictured below: Lexi and Johanna; Lexi cuts the celebration cake,
Welcome to your June magazine and a host of events, articles, news reports, thoughts and comments. Plus the Church Cat’s annual report and the approach of a Church Dog. Click on the link below to download it.
Our Annual Meeting of Parishioners, for anyone living in the parish, takes place on Sunday, May 18th, at 11.15am at St George’s. This is the meeting at which churchwardens are elected. This will be followed immediately by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) which is for those on the parish electoral roll.
Before the Annual Meeting there will be a combined service starting at 10am. The APCM will be followed by a bring-and-share lunch.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 