Come to our family service on Sunday, December 4th at 4pm at St John’s, and help us create an Advent wreath, and sing Christmas carols.
All ages are welcome at the service – not just families with children – and we need your help to create the wreath. There will be carols and prayers and it will be followed by sandwiches and cakes (see the picture below…)
This Advent, Craig Nobbs, an LLM in the parish, is running a series of Advent Reflections, starting with a Quiet Morning on Saturday, November 26th, from 9am until noon in the Sumner Room at St John’s, and continuing with drop-in sessions at St George’s on Thursdays in Advent from 6.30-8pm.
The Quiet Morning will start with a short act of morning prayer, followed by two or three short readings and reflections, plus time to stop and listen. You can slip in and out quietly if you can’t be there for the whole time.
On the Thursday evenings Craig will be in St George’s Church from 6.30-8pm and will offer an Advent Quiet Time interspersed with prayers and readings every 15 minutes or so. This makes it possible to come even if for a short time, and leave when you wish.
Craig says: “It’s healthy to take time out to stop and think about what Advent might reveal to us as individuals and potentially, as a church. Advent can be about listening and waiting for God to show something of himself to us, however brief. So, how do we wait for God? I’m providing some opportunities to help you take time out and hopefully rediscover how we begin to do so in what are busy times.”
If you want to know more, please email Craig llm.craig@badshotleaandhale.org.
Join us for the Seekers Light Party Service on Sunday, November 6th, at 4pm, at St John’s.
This family service is suitable for all ages and will include stories, songs and crafts, and be followed by sandwiches and cake.
Please join us. More information from Michelle Chapman.
We will be holding All Souls’ services at all three churches over the weekend of November 4-5th as a way of remembering those we love who have died, whether that loss is recent or long ago. The services are for anyone who wants to come, whether or not your loved one had a Church of England-led funeral.
The services are at St John’s on Saturday, November 4th at 4.30pm; at St Mark’s on Sunday, November 5th at 11am and at St George’s on Sunday, November 5th at 6pm. There will be refreshments served after each service.
All Souls’ Day is on Thursday, November 2nd, so the churches are holding their services on the nearest weekend to enable more people to attend.
All Souls’ Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of remembrance of people who have died, and the services are designed to honour them and bring comfort to the bereaved.
Rev’d Stella Wiseman, a minister in the parish, said: “Having a space to remember and honour those who have died is so important in the process that we all go through when we are bereaved. The services are there to bring comfort to those who are grieving and honour the memory of those who have died, and we welcome anyone who wishes to attend, regardless of what individual beliefs they hold.”
Anyone who would like to attend is welcome to do so and anyone who would like support following the death of a loved one is invited to contact Rev’d Lesley Crawley on 01252 820537 or revd.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org
If you would like the name of your loved one read out at a service please let Lesley know and say which church you would like this to be read out at.
Our new Family Service – known as Seekers – will celebrate Harvest this Sunday (October 2nd) at 4pm at St John’s Church.
Come and join a relaxed service all about Harvest and God’s great love for us and our world. This will be followed by sandwiches and cake.
Please bring donations of tins and packets for the Food Bank.
We are continuing our Embodied Worship series over the next few weeks and this week are offering the chance try some Tai Chi, free of charge, at St Mark’s Church, on Wednesday, October 5, at 3pm. Tai Chi is a practice which involves a lot of focusing on the body and is calming and mindful.
The following day, Thursday, October 6, we will be in St George’s Church from 7pm, exploring prayer through a labyrinth. On October 13, we will bake bread together in St George’s (again 7pm) and on October 20 at 7pm, Michelle Chapman will lead us in some journaling.
Embodied worship reminds us that we are physical creatures and that everything we experience is through our bodies. Even our thoughts come through our bodies – our brains are physical parts of us. The rituals we use, our movements, the processes by which we respond to God, are all embodied and we worship an incarnate God, for God took flesh in an entirely radical way and was born in a human body.
For details, contact Stella Wiseman, revd.stella@badshotleaandhale.org, 07842 761919.
Picture by Monica Leonardi on Unsplash.
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.
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.
Join us for a new family service at St John’s at 4pm on the first Sunday of each month, starting on September 4.
There will be a simple service with activities, stories and music, followed by sandwiches, cake and drinks. Everyone welcome!
Join us at our Autumn Fayre at St John’s Church, Hale, on Saturday, September 3rd, from 12-4pm.
There will be stalls, games, food and drink – a barbecue, bar, tea and cakes – a grand raffle with loads of prizes, and music. The fayre will be opened by Cllr Alan Earwaker, Mayor of Farnham, at 12pm.
Come and browse the stalls – everything from crafts to a bottle tombola – play games, eat, drink and be merry while listening to music by local musicians.
Buy a lucky programme and be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher for Heaven’s Kitchen restaurant; buy a raffle ticket and you could win £100, or a host of other prizes; browse gifts on the stalls; eat delicious cake or a burger; have a drink, and know that you are helping to raise money to support the church’s work in the community, including the setting up of a new youth hub at St John’s.
Join us from 12pm, Saturday, September 3rd.
And if any community group, local business or craftsperson would like a stall, please message us here or admin@badshotleaandhale.org
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 