Sadly, we have had to cancel our Barn Dance which was to be held on April 10. Any tickets bought will be refunded.
Get out those dancing shoes and shake off the Covid blues, dancing to the irresistible sounds of the Cajun Boogaloo trio.
There will be a light supper and you can bring your own snacks and drinks.
Tickets: £15 adults / £7 children / £40 family available from warden.stgeorges@badshotleaandhale.org and in church on Sundays.
As we head towards Lent we invite you to be tempted by some pancakes in our Pancakes and Temptation services on February 27 at St George’s, Badshot Lea, at 10am, and St Mark’s, Upper Hale, at 11am.
On the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday – the day before Lent – we like to make pancakes in church and think about the season ahead of us. It’s a sociable occasion but with a message. We celebrate with pancakes, but the Lenten season ahead of us is one when we reflect and prepare for Easter and the service will draw attention to this too.
This Lent we are looking at the theme of forgiveness. Further details are available here.
Picture by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash.
People often ask me why we have a Christingle service now; most people celebrate Christingle as part of the Christmas season. But to me this is the perfect time of year to celebrate.
Christmas is always such a busy time and I worry that the symbolism can be lost in the busyness and the Christingle be reduced to it’s raw elements of orange, ribbon and sweets. But the Christingle means so much more than that. At the end of January/start of February we can take time to be more reflective and ponder the symbolism further – so Candlemas will always be to me the right time to celebrate the Christingle.
And this year at St George’s on January 30, we considered the Christingle in the light of the pandemic.
We considered how lockdowns had an amazing effect on the environment; how the world (represented by the orange) seemed to be given a chance to take a deep breath and restore itself a little. We considered what parts of the natural world we would want to protect from harm and what we could do to help God’s wonderfully creative world.
We thought about how, during lockdown, God’s love (represented by the red ribbon) and the companionship of friends and relations was cherished and appreciate more than ever. We considered those that might need our love and companionship; those that we may have lost contact with over the past couple of years; those that needed God’s loving touch.
We thought about how, during lockdown, a nature of generosity and sharing of our God given gifts (represented by the fruits and sweets) was embraced. We considered how sharing banks and food banks being supported more than ever to help people through the dark days. And we considered what gifts we have that we can use to do God’s work on earth.
We considered how, during lockdown, the dark days so many have suffered, could be lightened by the light of Christ (represented by the candle) and how we are called to share that light in the world (and the tin foil of course represents us reflecting the light of Christ).
We were encouraged not to eat our Christingle before the service had ended, but to take it home, relight the candle and say a prayer.
Lord Jesus,
Light and hope of the World,
as we think about the meaning of Christingle and about your great love for us
help us to take your light out into the world
and to share your love and hope with others,
especially those who need it most.
Amen.
Kris Lawrence
Next Sunday, February 13, is Love Your Church Sunday.
It’s a day to celebrate all the great things about our churches and the people who make church what it is.
Please come along and hear from lots of people about the things that they do at church and why they love their church. The times of the services are:
9:30am St John’s, Hale.
10:00am St George’s, Badshot Lea.
11:00am St Mark’s, Upper Hale.
And here on the website and on Facebook.
Small photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com. Large photo by Nicola Fioravanti on Unsplash.
The latest parish magazine is out now and inside you will find news, events, ideas, reflections, advertisements, pictures, contacts and more, to give you a snapshot of what is going on across our parish.
There’s lots of good news at the moment and lots to look forward to this year. Read on and find out more… And don’t forget to enter our poetry competition – write a Poem for Farnham and you could win £25!
You can download the magazine here:
Come and explore the symbolism of the Christingle in our service at St George’s Church, Badshot Lea, at 10am on Sunday, January 30.
Make a Christingle and find out what the orange, red ribbon, sweets, fruit and candle mean.
Suitable for all ages.
Remembrance Sunday is on November 14th this year and there will be services at each of the churches in the Parish – 9.30am at St John’s, 10am at St George’s and 11.10am at St Mark’s. There will also be an Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial in Badshot Lea following the St George’s service. Anyone wishing to attend that who has not been at the service is asked to arrive for around 10.50am.
The St Mark’s service will follow the Act of Remembrance at the Hale War Memorial at 10.45am, where there will be a two-minute silence at 11am. This will be attended by Farnham Brass Band, the Scouts and Upper Hale councillor Cllr Pat Evans, and Cllr Evans and the Scouts will then continue on to St Mark’s for a service.
Lesley Crawley will also lead an Act of Remembrance at Weybourne Village Hall at 4pm.
Move over elves on shelves, have a gnome at home this Christmas – and a home-made one at that.
There will be a gnome-making workshop at St George’s Church, Badshot Lea, Farnham, on Friday, November 12 at 7pm-9.30pm. Everything needed to make the gnomes will be provided, including instructions. The gnomes are then ideal for Christmas presents or decorations.
Bring drinks and nibbles if you wish. Tickets are £25 from Maxine.everitt@badshotleaandhale.org.
There were barks, there was a lot of laughter, there may have been a couple of small accidents, and there was a lot of celebration and blessing at our three Pet Services on Sunday, October 3rd.
Thank you to everyone who came and brought their dogs, their pictures of pets and their cuddly toys, or even dressed in leopard print with a unicorn horn. There was a noticeable, but eminently sensible, lack of cats, but people brought photos of pets who really wouldn’t have dealt well with the dogs.
There was barking, wagging and a lot of enjoyment of pet treats and all the dogs, pictures and cuddly toys came forward for a blessing.
This was also a celebration of the blessings that pets can bring to us and an acknowledgement that God is the God of all – scaly, furry, smooth, two-, three-, four-, five-, six-, eight, 10-, many- and, yes, one-legged things. Snails are God’s creatures too!
As the hymn we sang says:
“All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on a telephone wire,
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they’ve got now”.
Thanks again to Castle Vets for sponsoring the services.
Woof!
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.
Financial donations are also welcome. To donate, please bring cash on the day or donate via https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/sponsoraboxfh4r
Picture by EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid on flickr.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 