We continue to be deeply shocked and horrified by the news coming out of Ukraine following the invasion by Russia.
It can be hard to know what to do and how to pray. There are suggested prayers hereand some resources for children and schools.
Many people want to give clothes and other vital items to help refugees. There is a collection by Farnham Help for Refugees at St George’s Church between 2.30 and 6.30pm on Friday but please note that they are collecting for all refugees, not just Ukraine.
If you want to give specifically to help Ukrainian refugees, there are collection points in Farnham between now and Wednesday and the details are in the picture below:
Farnham Help for Refugees are asking for clothing, toiletries, technology (phones, tablets etc) and items such as sleeping bags and tents. See below for further details.
Trusted organisations already operating in Ukraine and among the refugees are:
Spring is here and so is the March magazine, full of news and events across the parish.
This month we head into Lent and there is a chance to sign up for Lent groups which will be held in person and on Zoom. The theme is forgiveness and you can find out more about the subject in Lesley’s ministry letter.
Also prominent this month is the parish’s part in the first Farnham Literary Festival. St Mark’s is the only north Farnham venue and will be hosting several workshops, a rehearsed reading by the Farnham Theatre Association, and the awards ceremonies for both the Farnham Poetry Competition and the Farnham Short Story Competition.
Then there is news from local groups, plans for Easter, prayer, plans for a Barn Dance, words from our MP, a cat or two and much, much more.
This Wednesday (February 22) is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the beginning of the season which leads up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Ash Wednesday has its roots in the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting and many Christians mark the day by going to church and having a mark of ashes placed on their foreheads. Here in the parish there will be a service of ashing at St Mark’s at noon, and at St John’s at 7.30pm.
The ash is made by burning palm crosses, like the ones we use at the Palm Sunday services each year, and you can receive the mark with the words:
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.”
It is a solemn reminder of our calling to follow Christ and be his body here on earth.
This church relies on donations to provide care and support to everyone in this community. Now more than ever, please consider giving generously to support our mission and ministry by clicking the button above. Thank you for your support.
This church relies on donations to provide care and support to everyone in this community. Now more than ever, please consider giving generously to support our mission and ministry by clicking the button above. Thank you for your support.
As we head towards Lent we invite you to be tempted by some pancakes in our Pancakes and Temptation services on February 27 at St George’s, Badshot Lea, at 10am, and St Mark’s, Upper Hale, at 11am.
On the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday – the day before Lent – we like to make pancakes in church and think about the season ahead of us. It’s a sociable occasion but with a message. We celebrate with pancakes, but the Lenten season ahead of us is one when we reflect and prepare for Easter and the service will draw attention to this too.
This Lent we are looking at the theme of forgiveness. Further details are available here.
This year, during Lent, we are going to take a look at the subject of forgiveness and be asking some in-depth questions, such as:
What is forgiveness?
Do others need to repent before we forgive them?
Is resentment a bad thing?
Is forgiveness sometimes impossible?
The course will be run by the clergy, and Michelle Chapman will be running a family course.
We won’t be following a book; instead there will be a booklet with questions and a list of optional resources which you might or might not wish to engage with. It will be quite possible to take part in the course without looking at any of the other resources.
Please let Alan know if you would like to be part of a Lent Course this year, either online or in person, and what days or evenings are good for you. Also, please let him know if you would be willing to host a meeting.
St Mark’s, which was given Grade II listed status by English Heritage in December 2021, was entered for the awards following the restoration of the ‘Kitty Milroy murals’, painted by local artist Eleanor Catherine Wallace Milroy, known as Kitty, between 1911 and 1920.
The Surrey Heritage Awards were established by the Surrey Historic Buildings Trust to recognise ‘Best Practice’ in historic building conservation in Surrey, and the murals have played an important part in the conservation of St Mark’s, a Victorian church built by local people in the 1880s and still a vibrant part of community life. The murals are now recognised as being of both local and national importance, particularly as examples of the development of mural art and the recognition of women’s painting in the 20th century.
Making the announcement, Surrey Historic Buildings Trust described St Mark’s as: “A late-Victorian church … noted for its stunning wall murals painted by local artist Kitty Milroy, a graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art. These murals had deteriorated and faded after a century’s accumulation of dirt, so the local community rallied round to raise the funds for a major project to clean, repair and restore the murals to their former glory.”
Andy Smith, Director of Surrey Historic Buildings Trust, added: “The restoration of Kitty Milroy’s amazing murals at St Mark’s has been one of the most interesting projects the Surrey Historic Buildings Trust has been involved with in recent years, and I was delighted to hear that the project had been shortlisted for the Surrey Heritage Awards 2022. It was also wonderful to learn just a few weeks ago that the church had been given Grade II listed status. Hopefully this will generate greater interest in Kitty Milroy’s work, and in early-twentieth-century artwork of this kind.
“We are fortunate here in Surrey to have a number of churches with beautiful and intriguing wall paintings, including rare survivals from the medieval period, but the Milroy murals, dating from the period just before the First World War, are especially striking and thought-provoking. St Mark’s Church is very fortunate to have these extraordinary paintings and I hope more people will visit the church to view them.”
The murals were restored in 2021 by wall painting conservationists Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede who described them as “stunning” and called Kitty a “major, but unrecognised, artist”.
Lesley Crawley said: “We are utterly delighted that St Mark’s has been shortlisted for an award. It is testament to the love and care that has been poured into the church over many years – from when it was built by the villagers in the 1880s; through the installation of the Edwardian organ, affectionately known as Emily; and the painting of the beautiful Kitty Milroy murals in the early 20th century; and right through to the present day with the restoration of those murals.
“There is not just local history here but a real sense of a warm community building, cherished and used by the village where it has stood for almost 140 years, and where people can come to seek God and find welcome.”
A team of judges will visit St Mark’s on March 3 and the results will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held on March 30 at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge.
St Mark’s is open on Sundays at 11am and Wednesdays at 12pm for services. It is also open on the third Saturday of the month for a craft market, 10am-2pm. The next one is February 19.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 