Celebrate harvest with us in all three churches on September 22nd. At St John’s the service is at 9.30am, St George’s 10am and St Mark’s 11am.
St Mark’s we will include our normal Apple Day celebrations in the service and eat apple pie and other apple snacks after the service.
We are collecting tins and packets for Farnham Foodbank. The Foodbank especially wants tinned soup, instant mash, tinned rice pudding and custard, tinned potatoes, UHT juice.
On September 24th, celebrate the good gifts of the earth at our Harvest Festival services, held at all three churches. You can then also join us at the Harvest Supper, held at St George’s on the evening of September 29th.
There have long been celebrations around the time that crops are harvested each year, but the harvest festival that we know today probably dates from Victorian days. The first one is said have been the brainchild of the Rev’d Robert Hawker, priest of a church at Morwenstow in Cornwall, who in 1843 invited people to a thanksgiving service for the harvest.
The modern harvest festival is a time to give thanks to God for the gifts the earth provides and it is also an opportunity to share food, particularly with people who do not have enough. That is why the parish collects tinned and dried food for Farnham’s Foodbank.
The services will be at 9.30am at St John’s, Hale, 10am at St George’s, Badshot Lea, and at 10am at St Mark’s, Upper Hale, where we will first celebrate Apple Day with apple-y music, apple snacks and apple pressing. The harvest service will be at 11am at St Mark’s.
The Foodbank is currently in need of tinned fruit, UHT puddings, tinned meat and chocolate treats and these can be offered at the altar during the service and will then be passed on to the Foodbank.
On September 29th we will celebrate again with a Harvest Supper at St George’s from 6pm. It’s a fun evening for the whole parish with a meal, entertainment and a raffle. Tickets are available at each of the churches; Adults £10, children (under 16) £5, or by calling 07842761919 or emailing news@badshotleaandhale.org. If you can offer to be part of the entertainment, please let Kris know: warden.stgeorges@badshotleaandhale.org.
Entertainment time at last year’s Harvest Supper.
Pictured top – Harvest by Erik-Jan Leusink on Unsplash
Everyone is invited to celebrate the fruits of the Hale community orchard on Apple Day, Sunday, September 24, at St Mark’s Church, Alma Lane, Upper Hale, at 10am.
Everyone is encouraged to bring their apples and put them in the apple press for freshly pressed apple juice. There will be apple songs and apple snacks, all followed by a celebratory harvest festival service in the church and a collection for Farnham Foodbank.
Apple Day started because, back in winter 2014, we planted fruit trees next to St Mark’s to create a community orchard, with each tree being adopted by a different community group. The next autumn we decided to have Apple Day to celebrate because the trees were bearing fruit and since then, we have celebrated every year apart from during the Covid pandemic by having apple snacks, apple-themed music and apple pressing.
It is a great atmosphere with children and adults pressing the apples, drinking the juice, eating and listening to the music and chatting. Then we move on to harvest festival in the church and a collection of food for Farnham Foodbank.
The day also complements one of the themes of the Kitty Milroy murals in the church which depict natural scenes including apple trees, as well as people representing seasons and the elements.
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.
The Foodbank is currently in need of tinned fruit, UHT puddings, tinned meat and chocolate treats. These can be presented at the altar at St Mark’s during the harvest festival service and will then be passed on to the Foodbank.
Pictured top is an apple tree from the Kitty Milroy murals.
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!
Apple Day returns to St Mark’s, Upper Hale, this Sunday (October 9) starting at 10am.
After a lull courtesy of Covid, the annual celebration of all things apple-y is returning 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 and apple pie, all followed by a celebratory harvest festival service in the church with a collection for the Foodbank.
Lesley Crawley explains how the day came 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 apart from during the Covid pandemic by having apple snacks – pie this year – apple-y music and apple pressing. It is a great atmosphere with children and adults pressing the apples, drinking the juice, eating, listening to the music and chatting. Then we move on to harvest festival in the church and a collection of food for Farnham Foodbank.
“And while you are in the church, have a look at the apple trees in Kitty Milroy’s murals near the altar.”
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.
The Foodbank is currently in need of tinned ham or minced beef; tinned carrots or peas; tinned or packet custard; UHT milk and UHT fruit juice.
Because of The Queen’s death we have postponed our Harvest Festival services from Sunday, September 18th to Sunday, October 9th.
On October 9th there will be services at all three churches – 9.30am at St John’s, 10am at St George’s and 10am at St Mark’s where the celebrations will start with Apple Day (apple-pressing, apple snacks, apple juice and apple-y music) followed by the Harvest Service at around 11am.
There will be collections of non-perishable food for the local Foodbank so please think of this when you are shopping.
Here is your September magazine, chock full of news and events for the next month, including a welcome to David and Nabila Camp, who have come to the parish while David is training for ordained ministry. There is news about harvest events – our free Harvest Lunch at the next Craft Market on September 17th, Harvest festival services and Apple Day on 18th, and Harvest Supper on October 1st with entertainment and an auction of some beautiful Nativity sets.
We look wider than the parish too with details of a Rainbow Service in Guildford on September 14th and questions about the new Farnham Infrastructure Programme. Please read and complete the consultation.
And don’t forget the Autumn Fayre on September 3rd!
Happy reading.
We will be celebrating Harvest this Sunday (October 9th) at all three churches (9.30am St John’s, 10am St George’s and 10am St Mark’s, please note the earlier start to include Apple Day) with collections of non-perishable food for Farnham Foodbank and a special Apple Day at St Mark’s too!
At St Mark’s, where there is a community orchard, there will be apple-pressing, apple pie, apple juice and apple-y music.
Harvest is a reminder of all the good things that the earth provides but it also highlights the inequality in the world and this year in particular we know many, many people are facing a financial crisis greater than we have seen for decades.
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.”
The Foodbank is currently in need of tinned ham or minced beef; tinned carrots or peas; tinned or packet custard; UHT milk and UHT fruit juice.
Come and celebrate the fruits of our community orchard at St Mark’s Church from 11am this Sunday (September 29) at St Mark’s.
Bring some apples to be juiced in our juicer. Make sure they are in good condition, washed and picked from the tree, and bring clean two-litre plastic milk cartons including the lid to put the juice in.
We will start with a Harvest service at 11am and then move into juicing, apple tasting and apple-y music (and possibly dance). If that isn’t enough apply-ness, there will be pancakes with apple filling to eat. We are also are asking for donations of food for the Foodbank which is run from St Mark’s on Wednesday mornings from 11am-1pm. Click here for a list of what is needed.
It’s Harvest Festival time, the season when we celebrate the gathering of food from the land and give thanks for what the earth has produced and the hard work of those who have produced it.
Harvest Festival takes place on the Sunday nearest to Harvest Moon (the full moon closest to the autumn equinox), which this year was Sunday, September 22. However, the actual date for celebration is flexible and in the parish we are marking Harvest Festival this coming Sunday, September 29, which also marks the last Sunday in the church season of Creationtide, and then holding the Parish Harvest Supper on Saturday, October 12.
There are Harvest services in all three churches – 9.30am at St John’s and 10am at St George’s, with Apple Day taking place at St Mark’s from 11am, and a special Worship for All service to celebrate Harvest at St George’s at 11.30am. Whichever service you attend, please bring with you items for the Foodbank, particularly the following:
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 