Christmas isn’t over yet! Twelfth Night is coming up and we are celebrating with afternoon tea and entertainment on Saturday, January 3rd, 2-4pm at St John’s Church, Hale. It may be a day or two early but that won’t change the deliciousness of the homemade cake!
We invite anyone to recite poetry, sing, play a musical piece or do whatever you like to entertain us.
There will be a collection to help raise funds for the parish.
Parking is available in the layby just before St John’s when coming from the Six Bells roundabout.
Do you love Christmas? We do. Do you love chocolate? We do. And we love combining the two on Christmas morning in church with the story of Christmas told through chocolate!
So tomorrow – Christmas Day – come to St George’s, Badshot Lea, at 10am where Rev’d Lexi will be telling the story of God’s love for everyone and giving out chocolate as she does so, or to St Mark’s in Upper Hale, at 11am where Rev’d Stella will be doing the same. Maybe she can even hit the treasurer on the head with a chocolate bar again…
What’s going on at St Mark’s Church today that has caused the curate to grow an extra set of ears? Come along and find out at 5pm today (Christmas Eve) when we hold a Crib Service for all ages. This year it’s the story of Jesus’ first best friend…. We have more traditional Nativity costumes available for children.
There’s also Toddler Crib Service at St George’s at 3pm today which is ideal for little ones and an all-age Crib Service at 5.30pm, also at St George’s. Then join us for Midnight Mass at St John’s at 11.30pm.
On Christmas Day there will be an all-age Communion Service at St George’s at 10am and one at St Mark’s at 11am. All welcome.
There’s another chance to sing carols under the stars on Monday, December 22, at 6pm, in the grounds at St George’s Church. Join us to sing your favourite carols. Bring a torch, wrap up warm and don’t worry, we’ll go inside if it is wet!
St George’s was sparkling with both lights and creatity over the first weekend of December when the parish’s inaugural Christmas Tree Festival took place, also raising around £4,000 for charity.
An estimated 2,000 visitors came to see the 48 trees entered by individuals and organisations, most of whom had taken a imaginative approach to the invitation to create a tree reflecting something about them. The results ranged from a tepee to a tutu, from living flowers to cans of soup, copper pipes to industrial bearings and seemingly everything in between.
Visitors voted for their favourite trees and the overall winner was announced at the carol service on Sunday, December 7. when the raffle was also drawn. The winner was the Tice’s Meadow tree which was made entirely of materials found in the nature reserve with decorations created by children from Hawley Woods School.
There was a café all weekend, and on the Saturday there were craft stalls, live music and a visit from Father Christmas. Overall, the festival raised around £4,000 which has been divided between the parish and Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care.
There were many stand-out moments over the weekend. Among the favourites for Kris Lawrence were: “Children dancing in the aisles in the Carol Service. At the end of set up on Thursday when it was just the organisers, we switched off all the church lights and just soaked up the atmosphere. Similarly the choir singing Oh Holy Night at the end of the carol service with all the church lights switched off was a special moment.”
Rev’d Lexi Russell added: ‘In all my years of going to church this has to be the best event hosted by a parish. The community spirit throughout the festival has been amazing, with lots of people coming together to make each tree so individual and unique. It was clear to see the time, effort and creativity that had gone into each tree and it was a reflection of what can happen when a community comes together for a great cause.
“Of course, with a festival of this scale there has been a team of dedicated volunteers, who have been planning this for months, as well as though who came to lend a hand throughout the weekend – from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Without them, none of this would have been possible. And of course, I must thank those who gave their time to provide entertainment throughout the festival too.
“I’m so proud to have been part of such a brilliant event and I’m looking forward to see how what may happen next year!”
Plans are already in place for another festival next year. Meanwhile, here is a glimpse of this year’s one:
Come and sing favourite carols under the stars at Carols in the Chapels in Upper Hale on Friday, December 5th from 6pm. A live band will be on hand to accompany the carols at this annual event in Hale Chapels Garden in the cemetery in Alma Lane. Afterwards there will be hot chocolate and mulled wine in St Mark’s Church, across the road.
Wrap up warm, sing with gusto, enjoy the hot drinks!
Welcome to Advent – the beginning of the Church’s year and the last month of 2025.
And that means Christmas! Inside the magazine you will find news of all our Christmas services and other events, including our Christmas Tree Festival on December 5-7, and of course carol services and outdoor carol singing and Christmas services. It is a most wonderful time of the year, because it celebrates God in human form, God ever with us.
You’ll find other news such as the start of Bubble Church, and our regular contributors too – Hive Helpers, still busy in the winter months; The Badshot Leader with its eclectic and fascinating mix of current events and history; the Church Dog and the Church Cat. There’s prayer, reflection, news and plenty more.
Get lost in a forest of sparkling, colourful trees at the Christmas Tree Festival on December 5-7 at St George’s Church, Badshot Lea.
There will be 50 trees from individuals, charities, schools and other organisations, and not all the trees will be traditional. According to festival organiser Christine Brown, there will be a tree made entirely from copper pipe, and one constructed as a teepee so that children can go inside. Tice’s Meadow has promised a tree which “celebrates the beauty of nature and is crafted from materials gathered on site’”, while John Martin from the Badshot Lea Community Garden is planning one made of flowers. “I’ll have to construct it there on the day,” he said.
Everyone will be able to vote for their favourite tree by making a donation, and half of all the money given will go to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice while the other half will go to support the work of church in the community.
Trees are not the only attractions that weekend. Father Christmas will be flying in for an hour at 10.30am on Saturday and children can tour the trees with him and bring their letters to be taken to the North Pole. His security will bring the Naughty and Nice lists and Father Christmas will review these with the children at the end of his visit.
On Saturday there will also be craft stalls and entertainment from Duke’s Uke’s, Jackstraw Morris Dancing, Brodie Mauluka, Cajun Boogaloo, Vivaldi Singers and the church choir. There will be café all weekend and a raffle with prizes including Christmas hampers.
The festival will close with a carol service at 6pm on Sunday at the end of which the public’s favourite tree will be announced and the raffle drawn.
The festival will run on Friday, 1-6pm; Saturday 10-6pm; Sunday 12-4pm.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas with lots going on in the parish, starting with our fabulous Christmas Tree Festival over the weekend of December 5-7 at St George’s Church, Badshot Lea; carols in the Hale Chapel Gardens (Hale cemetery) on December 5, followed by hot chocolate and mulled wine in St Mark’s Church; and a carol service at St George’s on Sunday, December 7 at 6pm.
The carol service will mark the end of the Christmas Tree Festival and the public’s favourite tree will be announced at the end of the service.
There will be a carol service at St John’s Church, Hale, on Sunday, December 14 at 6pm, and more outdoor carol singing on Monday, December 22, also at 6pm, at St George’s Church (inside if wet).
Crib services
On Christmas Eve there will be crib services at both St George’s and St Mark’s, starting at 3pm with a crib service especially for toddlers at St George’s. This will be followed by an interactive crib service at 5.30pm. At St Mark’s there will be an all-age interactive crib service at 5pm on Christmas Eve.
Midnight Mass and Christmas Day
There will be one Midnight Mass in the parish: at St John’s, starting at 11.30pm and on Christmas morning there will be a family communion at St George’s at 10am and St Mark’s at 11am. Both of these will tell the Christmas story using chocolates and sweets!
Please join us at any or all of these. Everyone is welcome.
Serving the Villages North of Farnham: Badshot Lea, Hale, Heath End & Weybourne
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 