Category Archives: News Releases

Events, News Releases, St George's Church

Beetle drive!

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Join in the fun of a Beetle Drive, beginning at 6:30pm with fish and chips (bring your own drink), at St George’s Church, Badshot Lea, on Saturday, January 19.

Games start promptly at 7.15pm.

A Beetle Drive involves several tables with players, each of whom takes turns to roll a die to try to collect parts of a beetle, which are either pre-drawn or which players draw themselves. To start collecting each player must roll a six which represents the beetle’s body. After that they may start adding parts with each number on the die representing a part of the body. Once a player has a complete beetle they shout ‘beetle’ and the game stops. The person on each table with the most nearly complete beetle moves to a table clockwise round the room while the player who has collected the fewest parts moves anti-clockwise and the game begins again.

Tickets are £8 each and must be bought by Wednesday (January 16). To buy them, contact Carol Le Page 07798 640815.

News Releases

Keep on moving

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If you want to grow in your Christian faith, discover more about following Jesus and find out more about being a committed member of the church, then maybe it’s time for ‘Moving On’.

We are running a series of sessions at the Rectory between now and Easter considering some of the aspects of faith and how we live it out. Each session lasts roughly 90 minutes and involves watching a ‘Moving On’ video, followed by time to talk, listen and ask questions. The sessions are all on Thursday evenings at the Rectory starting at 7.30pm.

The first one is on January 17 when we will consider ‘What does it mean to be a disciple?’, followed by ‘What is the point of church?’ on January 31, and ‘Why do we do the things we do at church?’ on February 7. In subsequent weeks we will look at prayer, the Creed, the Holy Spirit, why bad things happen, giving, and putting God at the centre of our lives.

To find out more, contact Lesley on 01252 820537 or email revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org

 

moving on poster

Top image by Gaelle Marcel, Unsplash.
News Releases, St Mark's Church

‘Emily’ the Organ – one last push!

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We are nearly there! ‘Emily,’ the pipe organ at St Mark’s Church, Upper Hale, is in need of a thorough overhaul – at 106 years old she is showing her age. We need £23,000 to mend her and we are almost there – just £559 to go!

The money has been raised by the generosity of local people, the hard work of fundraisers and those who have put on and taken part in events, as well as funds from grant-giving bodies. Some people have sponsored pipes, others have made donations at concerts, sung, produced art, recited poetry, made cakes, bought cakes, even constructed a model organ and pushed it round two carnivals! Thank you everyone for what you have done.

We are now appealing for the last little bit so that work can begin this year. One easy way is by sponsoring a pipe. Pipes can be sponsored anonymously or not, and if you sponsor a pipe you can dedicate it to a loved one. You will receive a certificate and the church will display all the names and notes that all the sponsors write on a ‘Sponsoring a Pipe’ manuscript. There will be a celebratory concert once ‘Emily’ has been restored to which all those who have sponsored a pipe will be invited.

Rev’d Lesley Crawley from St Mark’s said: “Emily is a beautiful Edwardian pipe organ which is over 100 years old. She is referred to as ‘Emily’ after her benefactor – Emily Mangles. Sadly, she has been used very rarely over the past six years because, after a century of service, she is in need of a complete overhaul. Once she is restored then she will be available for community events such as concerts, and children who are learning the organ will be able to practise on her once again.”

These are the recommended donations:

Choose your level            Donation

Stop                                           £100

16ft pipe                                   £60

8ft pipe                                     £30

4ft pipe                                     £15

If you would like to donate, please contact Lesley on
revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org

Christmas, News Releases, Services, St John's Church

Support when Christmas hurts

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Tonight at St John’s, Hale, we are holding a service especially for people for whom Christmas is a time of pain and grieving.

The Longest Night – when Christmas hurts will take place at 7.30pm, and is a service of prayers, music, readings and lighting candles, for people who want to reconnect with the love of God from the depths of their own pain.

Lesley Crawley explains the thinking behind this: “Christmas is a particularly difficult time to be grieving or feeling pain. Jesus came into our broken world as a helpless baby and through this simple service we pray that you will find hope and comfort in knowing that you are not alone.”

Anyone who would like pastoral support or to talk to someone in the parish about any difficulty is invited to contact Lesley or Alan Crawley on revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org or revd.alan@badshotleaandhale.org or 01252 820537.

 

Environment, News Releases, St John's Church

St John’s receives Eco Church award

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St John’s Church has received a Bronze Eco Church award in recognition of both its commitment to reducing its carbon emissions and of its encouragement of local wildlife.

The church uses renewable gas and electricity and has installed swift boxes on the side of the church to encourage swifts to nest. Swifts have suffered a dramatic decline of 50 per cent in the last 20 years, in large part because of a lack of nesting places, and boxes such as those at St John’s and St George’s in Badshot Lea, are being used to encourage the birds to breed.

Lesley Crawley said: “We are delighted to have received this award for St John’s which means that all three churches in the parish now have the bronze award. The world is in environmental crisis as global temperatures and sea levels continue to rise and species numbers decline. Only this week the Met Office has warned that summers could be five degrees hotter in the UK by 2070, with summer rainfall decreasing and sea levels rising. It is up to all of us to do something if we are to save our planet.”

Eco Church is run by A Rocha UK (ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/), a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world. The Eco Church award scheme encourages churches in England and Wales to look at how they express their care for the world in worship and teaching; in looking after buildings and land; in engaging in both the local community and global campaigns, and in the personal lifestyles of the congregation.

There are three levels of award – bronze, silver and gold – and all three churches in the parish are now working towards a silver one.

 

News Releases, St George's Church, St John's Church

Community Remembrance events

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November 7 and 8
As we approach Remembrance Sunday, we are holding two community remembrance events to which everyone is invited.

On Wednesday (November 7) at 7pm, St John’s will be hosting an community remembrance event which will include performances of songs and poems by William Cobbett School and a combined parish choir.

Then on Thursday (8th) at 3pm, St George’s will be hosting a community remembrance event. This time there will be performances of songs and poems by Badshot Lea Infant School and a combined parish choir.

At both of these, there will be an art exhibition and poetry displayed. Please get involved by submitting poems and art around the theme of Remembrance and by coming along to share hospitality with the community.

 

 

 

Picture by Pierre Best, Unsplash
News Releases, St Mark's Church

The mystery of the artist in the church

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There is a mystery to be solved in Farnham – how did a woman from Hale come to paint a series of rare and important murals in a local church in the early 20th century and who were her subjects?

The murals in question are on the walls of St Mark’s Church and have been found to be of national importance, as an audience at the church discovered when they attended a talk at the church on October 20.

The talk followed a report by the internationally renowned painting conservation practice Rickerby and Shekede which placed the murals at a crucial time in the stylistic and technical development of mural paintings.

“They were painted between 1911 and 1920,” said Lesley Crawley who presented the talk along with Bob Skinner, who has carried out extensive research into Kitty Milroy’s background, and painting restorer Nick Seversway who has studied the paintings. “There are similarities with the work of Mary Watts who designed the Watts Chapel in Compton and we know she visited Hale House. Kitty and others in her family were living in Oast House nearby. There may be some link between her visit and Kitty.”

The paintings blend influences from European Symbolist painting and the Arts and Crafts Movement and represent Biblical scenes such as the Annunciation (when the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus), the Benedicite – a song in which the natural world praises God – and the four writers of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There are also local scenes and views and it is known that the figures are of local people but their identities are now a mystery. “We know they were local but we don’t have any more information as there are no records,” said Lesley. “If anyone does know of anything, please do let us know.”

The murals are in need of restoration and the church is now beginning the process of applying for grants and seeking other sources of funding to help bring out the full glory of these important works of art which should put Hale on the artistic map.

If anyone knows who the figures in the paintings may be, or has any further information about Kitty Milory,  please contact Lesley on 01252 820537 or revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org

Environment, Harvest, News Releases, Social Events, St Mark's Church

Celebrate Apple Day!

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Everyone is invited to celebrate the fruits of the Hale community orchard on Apple Day, Sunday, October 7, at St Mark’s, at 10am.

The celebrations will be held in the orchard, which is next to the church, and inside the church hall, and everyone is encouraged to bring their apples and put them in the apple press for freshly pressed apple juice.There will be apple songs, apple pancakes and apples dipped in chocolate, all followed by a celebratory harvest festival service in the church. The Bishop of Dorking, the Right Rev’d Jo Wells, will join in the celebrations and harvest festival.

Rev’d Lesley Crawley explained how the day has come about: “In December 2014 we planted 11 fruit trees to create a community orchard at St Mark’s. Each tree was adopted by a different community group and all except one have thrived since they were planted.

“Our first Apple Day was in 2015 because we were so delighted that our trees were bearing fruit and so we decided to celebrate! Since then we have celebrated every year by having apple pancakes, apple-y music and apple pressing. It is a great atmosphere with children and adults pressing the apples, drinking the juice, eating pancakes, listening to the music and chatting. This year with have the Bishop of Dorking joining us for the celebrations at 10am and staying on for our harvest festival at 11am. Please come and join in the festivities.”

Anyone who wants their apples turned into juice is asked to bring apples that are in good condition, picked from the tree and washed, along with clean two-litre plastic milk cartons, including the lid, to put the juice in.

Come along and celebrate!

Leadership, News Releases, St George's Church, St John's Church, St Mark's Church

Ministry team grows again

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Wendy Edwards, Bishop Andrew and Craig Nobbs outside St Paul's, Dorking, after the serviceThe ministry team in the parish has grown again. With the licensing of Wendy and Craig as Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs) last Saturday the team has grown to three full-time clergy, three LLMs and two retired clergy who still conduct services, preach and carry out pastoral work in the parish.

Wendy Edwards and Craig Nobbs were both licensed to the parish by the Bishop of Guildford, the Right Rev’d Andrew Watson in a service at St Paul’s, Dorking.

Wendy, the daughter of renowned local journalists Ted Parratt and the late Jean Parratt, started her training in Southwark, but returned to her childhood home of Farnham in 2017, following her mother’s death the previous year, and continued her training with the Diocese of Guildford.

“I returned to the church in 2007 after a very difficult time in my life, and I felt a calling to ministry but it was too early,” she said. “The feeling came again at the end of 2013 and I started exploring it and began my training in 2014. Licensed Lay Ministry is a preaching and teaching ministry in a pastoral context and I will have a particular funeral ministry. In my previous job I worked as a chartered legal executive specialising in wills and probate. I always supported people around the time of deaths in the family through the legal side and felt a call to support them through ministry.”

Wendy will be particularly attached to St John’s, Hale, the church she chose to go to when she returned to Farnham, in part because she had been a bridesmaid there twice in the late 1960s.

Craig Nobbs was already an LLM when he moved to Farnham 18 months ago but was licensed to another parish and wanted to continue his ministry in his new home. He has been relicensed to the Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale and his ministry will mostly be at St George’s, Badshot Lea.

Speaking after the service Craig said: “The service was out of this world and an affirmation of what I am doing in the parish. This parish is one with a big heart. During the licensing service I was conscious of waves of love from both the parish and from God himself. What kept going through my mind was a line ‘Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven’ (from the hymn Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven), as that has been my experience.”

Craig’s ministry will mostly be at the weekend as he works full-time in London as a Whitehall civil servant taking a lead in educational policy.

Lesley Crawley added: “We are delighted and blessed to have both Wendy and Craig with us and look forward to their continuing ministry as the parish grows and seeks to express the love of God in our community”.

News Releases, St Mark's Church

Arts at St Mark’s

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NEWS RELEASE

5th October 2017

 

Arts at St Mark’s as church holds inaugural arts festival

 

St Mark’s Church, Upper Hale, is holding its inaugural arts festival over the weekend of October 20-22.

 

The festival, which will include a concert, a ceilidh, art exhibition, arts, craft and music workshop, and a sung service on Sunday morning, has been organised by a group of artists and musicians in the church who were inspired by the wealth of creativity in the parish.

The festival is open to all at no charge and among the workshops on offer on Saturday will be stone-cutting, working with clay, music and an opportunity to redraw the map of Hale in an art workshop.

There will be a concert on Friday evening at 7pm featuring organ music, a ‘Cajun Boogaloo’, Wildflowers choral group, and the rock-a-billy country band Fingersmith and the Rocking Thumbs, and on Saturday at 7pm there will be a ceilidh and a celebration of work from the daytime workshops.

The Sunday service at 11am will be almost entirely sung (including the sermon) and will take place in a church decorated with artwork from Saturday.

Licensed Lay Minister and musician Lesley Shatwell, one of the organisers, will be leading the Sunday service. She said: “I love all kinds of music, but since I have been licensed as a lay minister, I have been wanting to share the variety of religious songs, gospel music and folk hymns; and maybe to see if I could put them together into a completely musical service.

“Creativity was bubbling up throughout our parish and I am not sure who first thought, ‘We could have a festival to celebrate all of this’, but the idea took hold. People offered time and expertise, musicians looked through their repertoire to select the right pieces and suddenly, it is all taking shape very quickly. Admission to the concert is free but donations may be made in aid of parish funds and the century-old organ, known as ‘Emily’, which is in need of refurbishment.

For further details call 07592 571243 or visit http://www.badshotleaandhale.org