July is here and so is the July and August magazine from the parish. Inside you will find news of what’s on in the parish this month and the next.
There are lots of other community events and news reports, plus adverts from our advertisers without whom we wouldn’t be able to publish the magazine. Please do use their services and support local businesses.
Happy reading!
You can download the magazine here:
Today we are celebrating St George’s Day. St George – the patron saint of England.
I used to have a bit of a problem with St George and couldn’t understand why he was chosen to be England’s patron saint. This was because all I knew about him was that he was a soldier and he killed a dragon. It was the dragon that caused me the problem because it sounded as though St George had been invented and came from a fairy tale.
Of course, once I did some research I discovered quite a lot about him and it turned out that he really existed. He was born in the 3rd century CE, more than 2,000 miles away in Cappadocia (modern day Turkey).
Like many saints, St George was described as a martyr after he died for his Christian faith.
However, it is the dragon bit that I want to concentrate on today. It seems that it was a story that was developed and popularised during the Middle Ages, long after George’s death. One version of the story is that he rescued a Libyan king’s daughter from a dragon and then slayed the monster in return for a promise by the king’s subjects that they would all become Christians and would be baptised. To me the more plausible story is that the story of George’s slaying of the dragon may be a Christian version of the legend of Perseus, who was said to have rescued Andromeda from a sea monster near Lydda. It may also have simply been to illustrate the battle between good and evil.
The battle between good and evil does seem to have a lot of relevance today. We tend to think of dragons as existing only in children’s fairy tales but I think that there are dragons with us all the time. Not the large scaley creature with a tail who breathes fire, but the dragons that we fear in our lives. We often hear of the problems that young children and teenagers have, coping with peer pressure particularly on social media; we hear about bullying and, of course, children may have problems at school and feel under a lot of pressure to succeed in their exams. There are probably many other things about school which cause worry or anxiety among young people.
Then when we look at what is going on in the world today, we can probably think of political leaders who we may fear or distrust, leaders who misuse their power, who want to make the rest of the world fear them and who seem to be threatening us because they want to have power over us all. When we listen to the news we may get the impression that they are trying to manipulate the people of their own countries into thinking that what they tell them is correct,that they are right, they are good and the rest of the world is evil.
Then there are the many dragons in our own personal lives. We all have fears and worries and stresses in our lives. People may be under pressure at work, have monetary worries and wonder how they are going to be able to feed and clothe their children. Older people may wonder how they are going to keep their homes warm. Others may have health issues that cause worry or fear – things that have to be dealt with. Voluntary workers can feel pressured to do all the things that seem to be expected of them; they may worry about trying to fit everything into their lives, worry about making mistakes and worry about letting others down.
But, as GK Chesterton once wrote:-
“Fairy tales are true not because they tell us that dragons exist but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten” .
So how do we deal with our dragons? How do we beat them? How do we slay them?
This I think is where our faith in God comes in. God may not wipe away your fears or your anxieties but I have found that it is the knowledge that God is there with me that helps me. It has always been in the worst moments of my life that I have been most aware of God – most aware of God’s presence. It is where prayer comes in.
Prayer for me is my sort of chat time with God. Yes I give thanks for the good things that have happened, but I also talk about people I know who are ill or going through a difficult time and ask God to help them. In other words I’m asking God to help them deal with their dragons. I talk about things that are going on in the world – the political dragons that I fear. I talk to God about all the things that worry me; I talk about all my dragons, and I do have dragons. I don’t use the sort of formal words that you might find in a book of prayers. I do quite literally pour everything out to God – I talk to God as I would to a trusted friend. There is a great freedom in doing that because I can talk about anything and everything and at any time and anywhere and not be judged or criticized or told that I am silly to worry about these things. And yes, I admit, sometimes I get angry with God because I want everything sorted out to make everything alright. But I don’t think that is God’s way. God gave us all free will. God doesn’t control us.
We have to seek God out, we have to ask for the guidance and the strength that we need and we have to be prepared to listen to that Guidance. If we ask, I believe God will help us to find the strength that we need to beat those dragons that are trying to devour us. God will give us the strength to cope with our fears and our anxieties, the strength to cope with our lives whatever the future holds for us.
So will you ask God to help you to find the strength to deal with your dragons?
Perhaps St George is a good patron saint for us to have for England after all, someone to intercede for us, to offer up more prayers for us, when our dragons need to be slain.
Remember Psalm 46, verse 1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”.
Welcome to the April magazine from the Parish. Inside you will find poetry, an obituary of Rev’d John Innes, news about St George’s Day and St Mark’s Day, St Gertrude, prayer, what’s on, the Church Cat, and much more, including our advertisers without whom it would be hard to publish the magazine. Please do check them out and use their services.
Happy reading!
Who exactly is Jesus? The Christmas season celebrates his birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but who was that Jesus and why is he so important that we remember him 2,000 years after his birth? This is the sort of question which will be raised in ‘Questioning Faith’, a series of five Wednesday evening discussions which will take place in Hale, starting on January 3rd.
Questioning Faith is being run by Lesley Crawley, and anyone who is interested is invited to come to The Rectory, 25 Upper Hale Road, each Wednesday at 7.30pm from January 3-31.
Anyone who has questions about God, the Christian faith, church, or anything about the meaning of life, is invited to join in for 90 minutes of discussion every Wednesday evening. The sort of questions raised on Questioning Faith courses include What about the problem of evil? How should we read the Bible; what kind of literature is it? What is faith? Why go to church? What is the nature of God? Who is Jesus? What is prayer?
No question is too small, too daft, or too controversial to ask, and everyone is welcome whatever their beliefs. After the course there will be the opportunity to be confirmed into the Anglican Church at Easter in Guildford Cathedral, though this is, of course, optional.
For further information about Questioning Faith contact Rev’d Lesley Crawley on 01252 820537.
The season of goodwill isn’t good for everyone. Sometimes it is a struggle, particularly perhaps if we have lost someone, or if it brings back bad memories. Sometimes we are lonely or living in circumstances that mean that it feels hard to celebrate. Sometimes we just want a break from the relentless commercialisation and pressure of Christmas.
Every year we hold a quiet, reflective service for anyone who finds Christmas hard, or just wants to stop for a moment and rest. This year it is on Thursday, December 21st, at 6pm, at St Mark’s Church. All welcome.
Autumn is upon us so it is time for the October magazine.
Inside this month you will find articles on generosity, prayer, Kitty Milroy, our Taize services, verbal self-defence, even a carpet! There are notices about upcoming events, and lovely report on our farewell to Maxine, plus a few words from Maxine herself.
As ever we are supported not just by subscriptions but by our advertisers so please do use their services and encourage your friends and family to do so too.
If you have some news or an opinion, please get in touch with us here.
Enjoy!
Join us for a series on different types of prayer on Wednesday evenings at St Mark’s, Upper Hale, at 7.30pm.
Over the next five weeks we will be exploring prayer in the following ways:
September 27th – The Power of Music – led by Lesley Shatwell (see picture below)
October 4th – Centering Prayer – led by Margaret Bowers
October 11th – Labyrinth – led by Michelle Chapman
October 18th – Mindfulness – led by Suzette Jones
October 25th – Daily Prayer – led by Lesley Crawley
All welcome. Contact Rev’d Stella Wiseman for further details.
The September issue of the parish magazine is out now and you can download it below.
It’s a bumper issue which looks forward to what is going on this autumn. We start with a quiet morning for Creationtide at St John’s on September 2nd when Craig Nobbs will be leading us in reflecting about our care for God’s earth (see page 13). We will look at generosity and gratitude on two Sundays – September 10th and 17th (page 22) – and this month we start a series on exploring prayer, beginning on 20th when we go into Farnham Park to encounter God in nature (also page 22). Then there is our September craft market at St Mark’s on September 16th (page 48); Apple Day and Harvest Festival on 24th (page 12); and the Harvest Supper at St George’s on 29th (page 16).
It’s not all just about what’s on – among the articles you will find ones on home groups, autism, diversity, ordinations, why we hire out our halls, dog training and more, plus we are delighted to have the Badshot Leader right at the heart of the magazine, with information on The Kiln, the Community Garden and Aldershot Model Car Club.
All this plus local businesses who do so much to support our magazine by placing advertisements in it. Please do use their services.
Happy reading!
There will be a Week of Accompanied Prayer at Guildford Cathedral from October 8-13, hosted by the Spiritual Directors Network.
This week is for anyone in whatever place they may be on the spiritual journey. If you sense a longing to deepen your life in God, a desire to make sense of your faith journey or wishing to find different ways to pray then this week may be for you.
Not many of us have the time nor the resources to stay at a retreat house, but this week brings the retreat to you in your everyday life. It starts with a gathering at the cathedral on Sunday, October 8 at 4pm for an initial introduction and then everyone will meet a prayer companion. Everyone will then commit to pray for half an hour a day for the week and to meet daily, at a mutually agreed time and in absolute confidence, with their companion to talk about their experience in the prayer and suggested scriptures.
On Friday, October 13, there is an informal service and refreshments at 7.30pm at a venue to be announced, with the opportunity to hear and share if you wish what the week has been like. If several people in our part of the diocese want to apply, then we can arrange for prayer companions to meet here rather than having to travel to Guildford.
Margaret Bowers, a member of St George’s Church, writes: “I’m very excited to introduce this to you since it was one such accompanied week that opened for me prayer and closeness with God in ways I hadn’t previously experienced nor been taught before. It also led to my training as a Spiritual Director or Companion as someone who journeys alongside others as they too discover a lived experience of God more and more in their everyday lives.
“Certainly, after such a week I felt affirmed in the unconditional love of God, encouraged, supported, surprised, and energised in my spiritual journey and learned a truth that still holds today, which is that when we intentionally set time aside to be with God then God delights in drawing close to us in unexpected and wonderful ways.”
Below you can download an application form to be sent to woapguildford@hotmail.com but if you wish to ask Margaret Bowers anything please contact her at margbowers@aol.com.
Your June magazine is out, packed full of news of our fete, craft market, ordinations, a talk on supporting people with autism, a barn dance to celebrate St Mark’s 140th birthday and much more.
You can pick up a paper copy in the churches or download it here to find out the latest news about upcoming events in the parish, along with reflections on what has already happened, prayer, poetry, situations vacant and adverts from tradespeople in the parish.
You can also have the magazine sent straight to your inbox. Email editor@badshotleaandhale.org to find out more.
We don’t put up a paywall but if you are reading online we would be grateful for payment. You can pay yearly (£10) or whenever you download the magazine (£1). To pay either click here or make a payment to: Badshot Lea & Hale PCC, Sort Code 40-52-40, Account No. 00025717.
Thank you.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 