Foodbank team celebrates 5 years! 

This week, we enjoyed a celebration tea party at the Chapel Peroject to celebrate 5 years of the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project. A lovely time was had by all, and thank you to everyone who baked, contributed, set up, served and cleared down. #TeamAwesome, as ever, much love to you all.

Who would have thought that a simple little Covid support project to help struggling families would become a fully fledged foodbank feeding 3331 people in 2024, and growing even more in 2025. Initially it was basic bread and veg – whatever we had donated – and over time we have fundraised and added more items, to make sure our food parcels give a good balance of nutritious items.

We have seen local needs growing and growing due to the cost of living, fuel crisis, cold winters, mental health crisis, unemployment, low incomes and rising rents. We cover Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham, and the population has grown here too, with over 2,000 more homes locally after all the new builds, so our local population has grown and some of our newest neighbours are in need too. We see you, we are here for you. We are proud to say that no-one in our community needs to go to bed hungry. If you have no food, and no money to buy any, call the church, the school, the GP, Citizens Advice, social worker, Guildford wellbeing team, or any other agency, and they can refer you to us asap for an emergency parcel. 

More need in the community,  means we need more help please! It’s hard to ask for donations when everyone is feeling the pinch… but here we are asking! The easiest way to make sure we have enough of each item on our shelves, is if our wonderful supporters donate funds so we can buy in bulk. If you would like to do this please consider a regular monthly donation, so we can budget carefully, and know that our community can always be fed. https://givealittle.co/c/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c (donations link)

Another way to help is to donate the actual food and toiletries.  There are collecting points for tins and packets at Ash Manor School, Ash Vale Co-op, at St Mary’s Church on Vale Road (in the foyer whenever they are open), or at The Chapel (on Wharf Road) on Wednesdays and Fridays 8:30-9:30 while the team are packing parcels. (Or contact us to arrange a time to drop things off 07730609446). If you’d like to know what we need the most, we have an App for that! ‘Bank the food’ is brilliant.  https://www.bankthefood.org/

A huge thank you: We have had so many thank you messages from clients over the years it’s hard to choose the ones to share here. One couple cried with relief and gratitude – they had never needed help before and were so touched by the help they received. Another family said that we have helped them more than we will ever know. An elderly person was overjoyed to receive their parcel, and grateful that we were able to make a referral for other help from the warm hub toget her through the winter. One local mum was delighted to receive Christmas gifts for the children and then amazed to see that she had something for herself under the tree as well, her only present that year. Lots of people said a big thank you for the Easter eggs in their parcels last week, and we are always receiving lovely messages. Please know that every tin, every pack of pasta, every bag of laundry pods, or every pound you donate makes a real difference to a real family, right here in our community. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

We are grateful to everyone who donates, whether your donation is large or small, it makes a valuable difference. We also appreciate local stores and businesses, clubs and schools, churches and groups who support us with their kind donations too, which helps with an element of our parcels. Would you like to join them? Do get in touch. 

And finally a huge thank you to the superstar team of volunteers past and present who make it all possible!  They get up early to pack parcels, and stay up late to collect and sort donations. We have heroes that clean the fridges, dedicated delivery drivers, extra helpers at Christmas, champions who help raise funds, tireless helpers tidying, checking dates, taking phone calls, printing labels, making coffee, youth volunteers helping out, and all those many jobs that make it all work like a well oiled machine. We treasure each and every one of you! Thank you all.

A lovely 5 years of working together for good – here’s to many more! 

Alex, Carla, and Neil 

Foodbank: 5 years Celebration Invitation

Calling all food parcels volunteers past and present! The team is celebrating 5 years of the ash villages food parcels project! Open house for tea and cake at the chapel on Thursday 24th April 2-6pm, we would love to see you! Drop in any time! RSVP so we can cater, and you’re welcome to bring the kids / partners etc

See you soon! #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject

Holy Week at St Mary’s 13th – 20th April 2025

Here’s What’s happening at St Mary’s this week. All Welcome!

Palm Sunday Service 13th April at 10:30am. Following the service, you can receive prayer from the ministry team at the front of the church. Join us after the service for coffee in the Large Hall – everyone is welcome.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting is Sunday Evening on 13th April 2025 at 6pm in Church.

Easter Flowers: If you would like to make a donation for Easter flowers in memory of a loved one please speak to Steph or contact us via the parish office email. parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk

Maundy Thursday Supper: Thursday 17 April 6pm for a 6.30pm start. Join us for a bring and share supper as we remember the Last Supper. Everyone is welcome, bring a friend.

Friday 18 April Good Friday:
9.45am Walk of Witness. We start our walk at 10.00am from St Mary’s and reach Ash Wharf for an open air service with Churches Together at 10.30am, followed by a cuppa and hot cross buns at the Chapel.

Good Friday Prayer and Meditation: The Church will be open in the afternoon for anyone who would like a quiet time for prayer and meditation.

Easter Saturday 19 April
10.00am Decorating the Church for Easter: All are welcome to come and help with flowers – no experience necessary!  There’s plenty to get involved with and anyone can have a go.  Donations of garden blooms or greenery on the day would also be much appreciated.  Speak to Steph Farry for more information, and to join the Flower Team WhatsApp group.

20.00pm Easter Saturday Vigil: In the Vicarage garden. We will share the story of the resurrection of Jesus. Meeting and sharing around the bonfire.

Easter Sunday 20 April 2025
10.30am Sunday Service – come and celebrate, Jesus Christ our Savour is risen indeed,

Easter Collection: This year the collection from the Easter Service will go to Amaha We Uganda in support of their Tree Project and their work with the Women of Hope.

Alpha course coming soon:
We’re starting a new alpha course after Easter. The first introductory session will be on Monday 28th April meeting in the Small Hall from 7.30pm. Then sessions will generally be weekly from 12th May. They will involve a light meal and should last a couple of hours each evening.
What is Alpha? 
A 10 week course using videos and discussion to find out more about our faith, who Jesus is, what he’s done for us and how we respond. 
If you’re interested have a chat with Jackie on Sundays, call for a chat on 07890 471062, or come along to the introductory session to find out more.


Contemplative Prayer These are the upcoming dates for the contemplative prayer meetings. They will be held Sunday evenings once a month in the Church from 18.30pm to 19.30pm on: April 27, May 18, June 22 and July 20

We wish you every blessing this Easter. All are welcome, whether you are a lifelong Christian or just exploring. See you soon at St Mary’s!

St Mary’s Church, Vale Road, Ash Vale, GU12 5AY

Happy Easter from the Food Parcels Project

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project started originally as a covid support project, but is now the local food bank for Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. We are 5 years old this April! The team would all like to wish all our friends and neighbours, clients and supporters a very happy Easter.

With the cost of living a real struggle at the moment, we are busier than ever. Would you like to donate? The team use 30-40 tins a week of tomatoes, beans, soup, sweetcorn, tuna, tinned meat (curry or hotdogs or similar), pasta sauce, tinned fruit and jam. They are also always in need of pasta, rice, tea, coffee, sugar, cereal and UHT milk. Fresh fruit and veg and seasonal treats are always welcomed too.  If donations are given, we also give out toiletries, laundry pods and pet food. If you would like to donate you can pop items into the donations baskets at the Ash Vale Co-op or Ash Manor School, or you can visit the Chapel on Wharf Rd or St Mary’s on Vale Rd whenever they are open, or contact the team to arrange a drop-off on 07762136542. If you prefer to donate funds and let us do the shopping, you can give online here: https://givealittle.co/c/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c  Just imagine – if we had 200 people donating £10 a month we would be fully funded all year round!!

Thank you for your support, it makes a big difference.

Easter Generosity from Ash Manor School

Thank you to all the families, students and staff at Ash Manor School who donated for the #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject this Easter. You are community heroes! 

These amazing donations were sorted by the youth volunteers on Thursday night and most of the items went into Food Parcels this morning, delivered to local doorsteps by our fantastic Foodbank volunteer team. 

Donations included all sorts – from tinned tomatoes to Easter treats – what a wonderful help for our neighbours in need in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. Thank you all for your support. 

 #Community #Foodbank #AshManorSchool

Did you know? The foodbank has an Amazon wishlist here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/X2K6QAR8VM5X?ref_=wl_share

We also use the app “bank the food” to let everyone know what we need the most. 

https://www.bankthefood.org

Donations of store cupboard donations can be dropped off at Ash Manor in the foyer, or in the donations basket at Ash Vale Co-op or at St Mary’s church (Vale Rd)  or The Chapel (Wharf Rd) whenever we are open. Thank you! 


Easter Sunday 10:30am Service 20th April 2025

Join us to celebrate Easter at St Mary’s. We are having a Sunday 10:30am service, all are welcome whether you are a lifelong Christian or just exploring.

Sundayschool is available for families attending the service. Children can join us for fun Easter activities in the small hall during the service. (Under 3’s must be accompanied please)

We wish you every blessing this Easter as we celebration our salvation in Jesus Christ!

Alleluia! Christ our Saviour is risen indeed!

PS – Would you like to help decorate the Church for Easter Sunday? Come and join us on Saturday Morning and pitch in!

GOOD FRIDAY Walk of Witness / Open air service / Hor Cross buns / Prayer and Meditation

On Good Friday we gather at St Mary’s church on Vale Road at 9:45am, start the Walk of Witness at 10am, and reach Ash Wharf for our Churches Together Open Air Service with Churches Together at 10:30am.

After the service everyone is invited to The Chapel (Methodist Church on Wharf Rd) for a cuppa and a hot cross bun!

St Mary’s will be open for prayer and meditation in the afternoon.

You can join us for all or any of these, all are welcome. See you on Good Friday!

(There is no Community Cafe at St Mary’s on Good Friday but you are welcome to join in the activities and/or come to the Chapel from 11:30 onwards for a cuppa and a hot cross bun instead!)

#ChurchesTogether #CTAAT #GoodFriday