Today’s service, led by John Innes:
Join the Lockdown Art Club!
Move over Grayson Perry – there’s a new art club in town. We are launching a Lockdown Art Club to encourage people to have a go at art and enjoy the creative process, whether or not they feel they have artistic skills.
Inspired in part by the joy and creativity evident in the Channel 4 programme Grayson’s Art Club, the Lockdown Art Club is open to everyone and will have a new theme each month. It is being run by Lesley Crawley and Dave Walker who, with his wife Helena before lockdown staged local art exhibitions and organised art activities at St Mark’s.
“The art club is a chance for people to have a go at art and then they can send us some photos of their work which we can display online,” says Lesley. “There will be a new theme each month and for June it is flowers. Maybe you’d like to draw or paint a view of flowers which you can see from your window, or perhaps a flower which represents your feelings about lockdown.
“Send pictures of your art to me (revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org) and we can put them online. We are having a flower festival online at the end of the month and we can include the June pictures in that. Then, after lockdown, Dave will hold an exhibition at St Mark’s of some favourite pieces of work from across the months.”
Everyone is invited to take part, whatever age or background, whether or not they have ever tried to create art, and Dave and Lesley are at pains to stress that the finished pieces do not have to be perfect. “There is a lot of evidence now that art is good for our mental wellbeing, and many of us have struggled with our mental health during lockdown,” says Lesley. “We really want to encourage people just to have a go, and to remember that if a piece doesn’t work out exactly as we think it should, that is OK. The imperfections represent a bit of us in that artwork.”
Anyone wanting to contribute flower art to the flower festival, which will be on the website on June 27-28, should send their pictures to Lesley by Monday, June 22. Otherwise art pictures for the club are welcome at any time.
Favourite Hymns – 10th June
A service featuring members of our community:
Bob Skinner (Foodbank)
Sara Gillingham (Speaker on being Intersex)
Jeremy Hunt (MP)
Cathy Burroughs (Hale Community Centre)
Janet Martin (Foodbank)
Pat Evans (Mayor)
Stella Wiseman (Surrey Inclusive church)
Thanks so much to all involved.
Taizé – 7th June
A beautiful service with chants from Olivia and June Jasper.
Sunday Worship – 7th June
Happy Trinity Sunday! This is the day when we celebrate the doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Below are the resources for this week, the Sunday morning services and four sermons, but first the notices:
Notices
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.
I have updated the Children’s Page with an Adventurer’s Video – The Story of Joseph part 2.
Jean Probert’s funeral will be streamed online on 9th June at 2pm. Please let Lesley know if you would like to be able to watch that and she will give you the details.
Favourite hymns
On 10th June we are having a special service, members of our community including our MP and Mayor will be choosing their favourite hymns and will be saying why they love the hymns.
Then from 14th June we will be including in the services a “Favourite Hymn” slot for anyone who would like to take part – if you have a favourite hymn then please video yourself explaining why it is meaningful to you and send it to Lesley or Alan.
Happy Birthday
It is Glad’s birthday – Happy Birthday!
Resources
Here are the resources for adults at home this week.
Here are the resources for families at home this week.
Services
We now have two Sunday morning services – an all-age one and a more traditional one:
All-Age:
More Traditional:
Sermons
All- Age from Alan:
Lesley’s reflection on Rublev’s icon of the Trinity
John Innes’s Friday Service Sermon
Bishop Andrew’s Sermon:
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.
I have updated the Children’s Page with an Adventurer’s Video – The Story of Joseph part 2.
Jean Probert’s funeral will be streamed online on 9th June at 2pm. Please let Lesley know if you would like to be able to watch that and she will give you the details.
Favourite hymns
On 10th June we are having a special service, members of our community including our MP and Mayor will be choosing their favourite hymns and will be saying why they love the hymns.
Then from 14th June we will be including in the services a “Favourite Hymn” slot for anyone who would like to take part – if you have a favourite hymn then please video yourself explaining why it is meaningful to you and send it to Lesley or Alan.
Happy Birthday
It is Glad’s birthday – Happy Birthday!
Resources
Here are the resources for adults at home this week.
Here are the resources for families at home this week.
Services
We now have two Sunday morning services – an all-age one and a more traditional one:
All-Age:
More Traditional:
Sermons
All- Age from Alan:
Lesley’s reflection on Rublev’s icon of the Trinity
John Innes’s Friday Service Sermon
Bishop Andrew’s Sermon:
The Benefits of Meeting in Person
I have heard a number of people saying how wonderful it is that life has carried on as it has, and how once this is all over (all is a long way away) we don’t need to travel as much as we can do all our meetings by Zoom (other video conferencing apps exist).
I want to challenge this. I believe that we have been able to do it so far because we are living off relationships which already exist. I know there are stories of couples dating on Zoom and then getting together, but I believe that there is a fundamental difference between meeting with someone online who you already know, and forming a new relationship in that way.
This applies to both personal relationships as well as professional ones. The personal ones are perhaps more obvious with the obvious lack of touch, but I believe the professional ones also need physical presence, at least some of the time.
For example, my daughter is returning to work next week after maternity leave, and will be working from home for the foreseeable future. She will be managing staff she has never met before, as well as those she managed before she was off. There is no doubt in her mind that the former will be much harder.
Another issue that I foresee, although one which might now be a fact of life, is the “small stuff”. Twenty years ago the company I then worked for tried out video conferencing, and it did save a significant amount of travelling. However, personally I missed the conversations that took place because I was physically with someone, conversations that weren’t worth making an effort to have, but which when we were face to face cropped up. They were the times I discovered how well our service was working – it might have been well enough not to be complained about – but there were issues which if not addressed would come back to bite us. Similarly, when visiting a site I would speak to lots of different people; video conferencing it would just be the person on the call.
So, yes, when this is over lets look to change things, but please let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater and lose the personal interaction.
Friday Service – 5th June
Today’s service led by John Evans:
MP, Mayor and Intersex advocate choose favourite hymns
Jeremy Hunt, MP; the Mayor of Farnham; a prominent advocate for those born with intersex traits; and other key members of the local community, are all taking part in an online service of their favourite hymns, which will be online here on Wednesday, June 10, from 6pm.
Each person has chosen a hymn and will introduce it online explaining why they like it and what their Christian faith means to them. The hymns are a mix of old and new, and range from the 17th century My Song is Love Unknown, chosen by Janet Martin, one of the key organisers of the Farnham Flash Festival, to the 1980s’ one The Servant King, chosen by Sara Gillingham. Sara, an accountant by profession, also works with the church, universities and the media to raise awareness of people born with intersex traits, which is her own story.
Each speaks about what the hymn and their faith means to them – for Sara Gillingham it is a faith in a God full of grace, in whose image we are made, and Christ there beside us; while Jeremy Hunt speaks of the stillness which his faith gives him and how it is reflected in his choice of hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. Among the other hymns you can hear are Father I Place into Your Hands, chosen by Bob Skinner, whom many will know from Farnham Foodbank, and Faithful One so Unchanging, the choice of Cathy Burroughs, manager of Hale Community Centre. You will also hear the rousing God is our Strength and Refuge, chosen by Pat Evans, the Mayor of Farnham, and sung to The Dam Busters March.
Lesley Crawley explains the thinking behind the service: “Favourite hymns can speak to us on a deep level, through the music and the words, and help us understand more about God and our faith. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to hear the choices of those who have so kindly contributed and understand more about what their faith means to them.”
Join us here on Wednesday, June 10, from 6pm, or on Facebook or on the parish YouTube channel. You may even want to sing along!
The Hygiene Bank
The church is now working with The Hygiene Bank Farnham which is now using St George’s to store and sort products to go out to those in need of support.
The Hygiene Bank Farnham is part of a nationwide network of hygiene banks and its goal is to tackle hygiene poverty in our own community.
Miranda Morey, Farnham Area Project Coordinator for The Hygiene Bank, writes:
“We believe that feeling clean and being able to present our best selves to the world is integral to not only our physical health, but to our self-worth and well-being as individuals, and something everyone in our community deserves whatever their circumstances.
“Sadly, research by In Kind Direct tells us that over a third of people in the UK have had to cut down on buying hygiene products, or go without these altogether, for financial reasons – the number rises to over half in 18-24 year olds.
“Since 2018 The Hygiene Bank has grown to over 100 branches and more than 200 volunteers working across the country – branches collect, sort and redistribute donated hygiene and cleaning products via different local community organisations, to those who need them.
“Our branch has been operating across the Farnham and Aldershot area since early 2019, and in that time we have distributed over 1 tonne of hygiene products via our 12 local partner organisations that include food banks, schools, youth groups, Citizen’s Advice Waverley, Homestart Waverley, and Waverley Family Centre.
“We collect products – everything from toothbrushes and toothpaste, to nappies and soap (these must be new and unopened). We usually do this via public donation points across the community, e.g. in Tesco, but during the pandemic these are closed, meaning we are struggling to collect our usual donations.
“We have been overwhelmed by local community support, with people organising street collections on our behalf, or donating products via our online wishlist at www.easho.co.uk. If you would like to find out more about us or to donate, do email us at thbfarnham@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/thehygienebankfarnham.”
Scrub Update
Yesterday we told you about Liz Larkin and her amazing 700 visors sent as personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Scrub Hub for Frimley Park Hospital and also to doctors’ surgeries.
Today here is a small update from the Scrub Hub for which many of you are busy making scrubs, masks and caps. The Scrub Hub has made more than 2,100 pieces.
Anne Young, who is co-ordinating efforts in the parish, writes:
“I have been asked to pass on truly grateful thanks to all who have contributed to this amazing number of essential items and to also let you know that scrubs and scrub caps are still urgently needed, but at the moment, they have sufficient scrub bags. if you are still sewing or have made some bags, please drop them off at my house, but if you could change from bags to caps or scrubs, it would be most appreciated.
I now have paper patterns here for both the caps and scrubs themselves, so please send me an email if you would like me to reserve one for you. I have plenty of fabric, so please continue to help yourself to as much as you need. (I have at least double the amount still in my garage, so don’t hold back on the quantity you take away).”
Just to prove how important the work is, here is some information from Diane Andrews from Frimley Park:
- Each person will go through about three scrubs a day or more, as each time they change wards or patient they need a new set
- A delivery of 8,000 masks, such as the one they received last week, will last them a day!
- Not only is the hospital still dealing with Covid patents, but because of the opening up of outpatient clinics, every patient will need a mask, and for each change of patient the doctor and nurse will need to change their mask and other PPE.
A huge ‘thank-you’ to everyone. Your donations and your work are saving lives.
Picture by H. Shaw on Unsplash.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 