Farnham Help for Refugees is holding a collection at St George’s Church, Badshot Lea, on Friday, October 8, 2.30-7pm, to support refugees, in particular those who have fled Afghanistan following the take-over of the country by the Taliban.
They are asking for winter clothes for men, women, children and babies, along with shoes, toiletries, baby goods, cleaning supplies, tents, blankets, sleeping bags, mobile phones, laptops, tablets and supermarket vouchers. See below for a full list.
Come and celebrate the fruits of the earth and share with others at our harvest festivals on Sunday, September 26.
The services are at St John’s, Hale, at 9.30am, St George’s, Badshot Lea, at 10am, and St Mark’s, Upper Hale, at 11am. There will also be an online service here on the website and on Facebook available from 10am.
Please bring non-perishable food to church to share with Farnham Foodbank. Currently the Foodbank is in desperate need of tinned hot dog sausages, tinned stewed steak, tinned minced beef and fruit jam.
Rev’d Lesley Crawley says: “Harvest is a time when we not only celebrate the gifts of God’s earth, but think of others who are struggling to feed themselves and their families. This is a growing reality in Britain today, even though we are one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Obviously we want to give to help alleviate this need, but the church is also there to challenge and ask questions about why this should be the case and what we can do about it.”
Jeremy Hunt opened the fayre at St John’s Church, Hale, on Saturday, September 4th. He also led the singing as we wished the Head Girl from Farnham Heath End School a happy birthday. Along with her fellow students she was selling programmes.
Entertainment was provided by the Farnborough U3A Ukulele band, Terry Owens singing songs of the 70s, and our church musicians, singing and playing a medley of songs and pieces. There was brisk trade at the many stalls and all parts of our community took part – Hale WI, Hale Derby and Joan, Parkinson’s UK, Usborne Book, Humblebee Gifts, by aspen crafts, Lizzie Marks and many more. There were plenty of takers for the tea and cakes, the barbecue and the beer.
Among the revellers was Cllr Sally Dickson, Councillor for Hale and Heath End, who drew the raffle, and the total raised by the afternoon was around £3,000.
Lesley Crawley said: “It was a wonderful event for the whole community with all ages taking part and enjoying themselves. The money we raised will go not just to maintain the churches in the parish, but to support community groups such as the toddler group and Connections, our fortnightly get-together for older people who might otherwise find themselves isolated. Our thanks to everyone who came and everyone who worked so hard to make it such a success.”
Come and join us at the Hale Autumn Fayre on September 4th at St John’s, Hale Road, 12-4pm.
There will be stalls, games, food and drink – a barbecue, bar, tea and cakes – a grand raffle with loads of prizes, and music. The fayre will be opened by Jeremy Hunt, MP, at 12pm, and Waverley and Farnham Councillor Sally Dickson will draw the raffle at 3.30pm.
Come and browse the stalls – everything from face creams to a bottle tombola, play games, eat, drink and be merry while listening to music by local musicians including two-thirds of Cajun Boogaloo; the Farnborough U3A Ukulele band; Wendy Edwards; Mary Klymenko; Frances Whewell; and Terry Owens, Football Club Ambassador for Aldershot Town and well known for keeping people going with his singing.
Buy a lucky programme and be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher for Heaven’s Kitchen restaurant; buy a raffle ticket and you could win £100, or a host of other prizes including a £50 voucher for Daniele’s Sicilian Restaurant; browse gifts on the stalls; eat delicious cake or a burger; have a drink, and know that you are helping to raise money to support the church’s work in the community, including the setting up of a new youth hub at St John’s.
The Hale Autumn Fayre will be taking place at St John’s on Saturday, September 4, 12-3pm, and we need your help.
We already have lots of stalls planned, plus a bar, a barbecue and tea stall, and generous donors have given raffle prizes but we need more people to help with running the stalls and donating prizes.
We particularly need items for a bottle tombola – they don’t have just to be drinks but could, for instance, be shampoo or bubble bath – and the regular tombola. We need more raffle prizes and cakes. We also need more people to help on stalls, sell raffle tickets, and generally join in.
If you can help, please get in touch. Contact Stella Wiseman on 07842 761919 or admin@badshotleaandhale.org. You can also bring your donations to the back of St John’s Church or put them in The Ark (the old vestry).
Restoration of the Kitty Milroy murals is complete!
Thanks to the amazing skill of Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede, wall-painting conservationists, the murals in St Mark’s Church have been stabilised and can be seen as they once were when first painted by Kitty Milroy between 1911 and 1920.
The murals were revealed on Friday to a small gathering of people, many of whom had donated to the restoration, and Nick Seversway, a picture restorer whose passion for the murals has driven forward the work, and Rev’d Lesley Crawley gave a joint talk on Kitty and on the content of the murals.
The murals themselves depict Biblical imagery, in particular the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would conceive and give birth to Jesus, and the Benedicite, a song which appears in some versions of the Bible and in which all parts of creation are called upon to praise God, from the heavens to the waters, the sun, moon, stars and elements, the mountains and hills, the cattle, the people, ‘all that are holy and humble in heart’.
We need to look after the murals for the future and are still fundraising to help do so, and to improve the lighting so that they can be better seen. We have set up a crowdfunding page to do so – please do support us. Click here to find out more.
On the evening when the murals were revealed there was also a presentation of a book by the Church Recorders, a group which has been recording everything in St Mark’s along with its provenance and history.
Because of Covid restrictions there are limits on the numbers who can see the murals at any one time but visits can be arranged. Please contact the administrator, Stella Wiseman, for details.
We’re delighted to say that we made our initial crowdfunding target of £4,000 for the new St John’s drop-in Youth Hub.
Thanks to everyone who gave so generously we actually raised £4,580 + an estimated £840 in gift aid from 28 supporters over 42 days.
This will enable us to make the north aisle into a good space for the Youth Hub – we will clear the pews, make the floor level and purchase equipment. You can see more here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/st-johns-project
We are now raising money to fund a community youth worker, so we can provide high quality youth work Monday to Friday each week.
We are crowdfunding to raise money for our new Youth Hub at the St John’s which will be every day after school for 11-16 year olds. Check out www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/st-johns-project to find out what you can get for your money and what we will be doing with it.
The Youth Hub
The hub will be open to all young people and we will be working in partnership with Relational Hub, a national charity which is helping young people thrive. Relational Hub is a proven model of youth and community work, with over a decade of supporting young people.
The Youth Hub will be based on these four principles:
Radical Hospitality – the way you welcome young people;
Everyday Youth Work – daily, consistent drop-in;
Support and Opportunities – developing skills and co-producing projects;
Sustainable Approach – having a long term approach, fundraising and enterprise strategy.
The sun is out and so is the June magazine! This month’s magazine is packed full of news and events about our parish which isn’t confined to the villages we serve locally – lovely though they all are! Being online has allowed us to reach out far further and welcome people who can’t be with us physically.
Take the flower festival for instance. Among the 300+ entries were ones from friends of the parish from around the country. Take a look at some of the entries in the magazine and, of course, online.
There’s news of upcoming events – Father’s Day’s an important one as is the fete on July 3 – new classes, new rooms, a new business, our new youth hub, the new mayor and North Farnham councillor, along with lots more including Kitty Milroy and her media-starring murals, prayer, Jeremy Hunt, appeals for help, schools news, the Church Cat and more.
Following Kitty Milroy’s exposure in the national news, people have been asking us how we can carry on supporting the murals and give Kitty the recognition she deserves.
We need to ensure that they are protected and preserved for generations to come and also spread the news about her and her extraordinary talent. So, we are fundraising for the ongoing conservation and to pay for the roof which has had to be mended to keep the murals safe from the elements.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 