Category Archives: Services

Come and join the Harvest celebrations

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.

Harvest Supper

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

It’s Apple Day!

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.

Your September Magazine is here

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!