Author: The Parishioner

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It’s volunteers week…  A great big THANK YOU to you all!

This volunteers week, we want to celebrate everyone who makes St Mary’s, the Chapel and all our local community projects and neighbourly activities so wonderful and welcoming. 

Did you know? Everything at St Mary’s relies on volunteers. With the exception of Revd Neil Lambert and Alex our part-time project manager, everyone else you see at church events and projects is a volunteer.

Thank you to those who help bake, cook, make the coffee and wash up, set up and clear down, wipe tables, stack chairs…. at church, at toddlers, at cafe, at bible study, and at our events like the quiz and summer fair and the light party and Christingle.

Thank you to all those who write articles for the online for the Parishioner magazine, put up posters and support us on social media with likes and shares. Thank you to the website and internet gurus and the technical whizzkids!

Thank you to everyone who volunteers on the PCC to help the church run, keeps us legal, looks after safeguarding and manages the building. Thank you to everyone involved in organising and leading events.

Thank you to everyone who makes the Sunday services so uplifting – flowers, altar linen, readings, prayers, worship, preaching, sound, zoom, service sheets, choir – there are so many ways to serve and we need them all. 

Thank you to the army of helpers who turn up week after week for the  food parcel project – donation collections,  stock management, cleaning, taking calls, packing and deliveries. 

Thank you for looking after the buildings with all the tidying, gardening, mending, polishing, fixing, skip runs, decorating and security.

Thank you for the care and love that goes into making Sundayschool happen, thank you for prayer ministry, thank you for welcoming people as they arrive.

Thank you for answering phones and emails, taking hall bookings, payroll and invoices, hearing aid clinics, chasing grants, managing the accounts, fundraising, stewardship and pastoral care.

thank you for donating raffle prizes, food donations, playing music, being the DJ, running a craft, sharing your talents, offering a hug, being a listening ear, leading a bible study, lifts, cooking for the community, putting up a shed, wiring up the Chapel office…..

….there are so so so many people who are are so kind and generous with their time and skills. Leading, encouraging, helping, visiting… we have probably missed lots off this list but please know that everything you so kindly do is priceless, important and appreciated. 

Some may say that in church we don’t volunteer, we are called to serve. On the other hand, some of our most faithful and dependable community volunteers are not actually church goers at all and we only see you in the week!  Whatever you do, and whatever your beliefs, we treasure you and thank you.   Please know that you are a huge blessing and we love you! THANK YOU ONE AND ALL! 

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Little Lambs Library – you’re invited! 

News from our Tuesday Baby and Toddler group

Can you believe it? Another Half Term has passed and we are looking forward to being back at Little Lambs on Tuesday next week 10:00-11.30. There 7 more sessions and then it will be the summer holidays! If you haven’t been before, do pop in and join us. Whether you come for just 1 session or all 7, you are very welcome and we look forward to welcoming you. (St Mary’s, Vale Road, GU12 5JE)

What do we get up to at Little Lambs Library? 

We start at 10am with the toys out, craft at the table and books in our ‘reading nook’ tent. Everyone enjoys doing whatever takes their fancy. Usually Heather makes the drinks, Nikki catches up with the grownups and Alex is on hand to sign everyone in and help at the craft table. We have a different craft activity each week – paint, magic sand, playdough, cutting and sticking, colouring, collage…

Then at about 10:45 we put up the bouncy castle. It’s a great way to let off steam! While the older ones have a bounce, the babies enjoy a bit of a quieter moment in the main hall.
And then…. Peter arrives with his guitar! We all help to tidy away the toys and gather on the carpet. Alex tells the story and then we enjoy some of singing and music making together, finishing with the Hokey Cokey. (And remember you can borrow books every week and bring them back next time!)

We would love to welcome you soon – see you at St Mary’s! 

Love from Alex, Nikki, Heather and Peter xxxx

Ps – It’s free / no fee so that everyone can join us, but we do ask for donations please if you can, so we can cover our running costs. Donations link: 

https://givealittle.co/campaigns/0e1c078e-06c0-4f64-9d7a-1d452662af80

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Ash Villages Food Parcels Project

By Alex Sanderson 

Did you know? This amazing local team of volunteers have been feeding people in need in our villages since April 2020!

How does St Mary’s fit in? St Mary’s is the local parish church in Ash Vale. As well as Sunday services, we love to serve our amazing community all week long! We host community groups – everything from toddlers to choir to Friday Community Cafe. Nearby, we work with the local Methodist Circuit to run the Chapel Project on Wharf Rd. We offer a Monday Chapel Cafe & warm hub there, host the Chapel Kids toddler group with lunch club, and provide summer picnics, monthly makes and other community, creativity and arts events. In these difficult times our most important project is the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project (and our Community Fridge opening Summer 2023). We work together with Carla Morson and a superb team of volunteers from both the church and the Ash Villages Support Circle, feeding 20-40 families every week. 

What does the project do? The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project serves our neighbours in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. We deliver emergency food and toiletries to local people in crisis, and offer a listening ear. Twice a week teams go out in the evening to collect donations of bread and perishables from the supermarkets and others shop for the best value items to top this up, to make a balanced food parcel. We add these to the food items donated by local people and then pack the parcels the following morning, ready to go out to local people in need. 

How do we help people? Our Food Parcels project helps local people in crisis, by providing emergency food and toiletries. This includes ‘baby bank’ items eg nappies. Referrals come from CAB, Wellbeing Team, Social Services, DWP and local churches too. As well as food, we offer a listening ear, and help to connect people to other sources of help, including Monday Chapel Cafe and local warm hubs. We are passionate about connecting with people to battle against the anxiety, isolation and mental strain that goes hand in hand with food poverty, not just providing a one-off parcel. The lovely thing is, that lots of people who receive a parcel later go on to volunteer or donate to help others once they are back on their feet. This community is truly amazing! 

How can local people help? We can all work together to help our neighbours. Our volunteers are amazing at what they do and we can always use more hands on deck. The other issue is of course funding. Typically we spend around £400 per week on basic essentials for the parcels, to top up what comes in as donated items. Please help us to keep the food parcels filled and keep the Chapel doors open for a warm welcome. Here’s the donations link: 

https://givealittle.co/campaigns/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c

You can donate once or sign up for a regular gift. If 100 people could regularly give £4 a week we could cover the food costs! Will you join us? 

You can also donate items for the parcels direct to us. We use the app called  “Bank the food” to let our supporters know what is most needed each week. You can text or phone us and ask if you’d like more information: 07730609446

Thank you for your support. It makes all the difference to local people in need. Let’s make sure we can proudly say that in our lovely community,  none of our neighbours go hungry. 

Thank you for your support. 

Alex 

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90+ year olds with MP3s

By Wendy Catto

At Catto Homecare we are giving five lucky clients suffering with memory challenges MP3 players with headphones. It is an exciting process just to start with ‘phase one’ – choosing the music. With the help of our fantastic team of carers, our clients were tasked to select 15 different artists with the relevant song. We anticipated requests that would match their era eg Elvis, The Rat Pack (they consisted of six members for anyone who is scratching their head at the moment: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford and Angie Dickinson), Jazz, Vera Lynn ‘We’ll Meet Again’ or similar. How wrong could we be. One person who we never really expected to even be interested in music has requested ‘any music’ from the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. One of our team members has been shown how to dance the Foxtrot and she has also been known in the past to enjoy listening to ‘techno rave music’ on the TV at full volume. This same lady also requested ‘jazz’ and when asked which specific songs, the response was ‘any jazz is good jazz’.

We will provide an update in a couple of weeks with ‘phase two’ when we find out what happens once we help them with their MP3s. We are also excited to find out the results.

The moral of the story is that a day in domiciliary care is never the same and it is a joy to work with older people. They will always surprise you.

Best regards

Wendy

Wendy Catto (Registered Manager)


Catto Homecare: Registered Address: 5 Hamesmoor Way, Mytchett GU16 6JG, UK          
https://www.homecare.co.uk/homecare/agency.cfm/id/65432195397

#CattoHomeCare #MP3Players #Music #LocalNews #Community #Parishioner

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Ash Ranges Update

Peter Corns shares the latest news:

For those of you who have not as yet visited the newly opened ‘corridor’, I would encourage you to do so during the open period this weekend.
Although this corridor, together with the other access areas, does not reflect the loss of amenities we have suffered since April 2020 it does show what can be achieved through active protest and pressure by all of YOU.
Make no mistake – without your commitment we would have gained nothing and all access would have been lost!
We must ensure that we continue to keep the DIO ‘honest’ and press for the missing gate at the bottom of range 1 access road to be installed sooner rather than later.
To help with orientation for those who have yet to use the corridor I would offer the following;
If you stay near the left hand fence (separates ETR from corridor) you will eventually come out on the forbidden area perimeter fence near the disused troop range shelter and toilets and Red brick wall. If you turn left you will eventually arrive at the main exterior RDA plateau where you can go left to Furze Hill flag or right towards Normandy area. This is about 2km from the Swan. If you turn right after emerging through gate you will eventually come to a gate which follows the corridor right hand fence. This is about 1.2km from the Swan.
Please use this area – thanks to everyone who has (and will continue) to fight against the DIO oppression!

Peter

#SaveAshRanges

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The Italian Job (Vivace Chorus)

The Italian Job

Join the Vivace Chorus and the Hennessey Brown Music Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jeremy Backhouse, and betransported to the splendour of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. This early summer programme of Italian treasures includes an array of spectacular choral music including Allegri’s famous Miserere and Handel’s Dixit Dominus. 

Saturday 20 May, 7.30pm

Holy Trinity, Guildford

Tickets: £23, students and U18 £10, plus booking fee

Book online at vivacechorus.org

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A Good Friday Thank You

It’s time to say thank you! We have had lots of lovely comments and feedback about the Churches Together Good Friday event yesterday. Huge thanks to everyone who took part and all who helped to make it such a lovely opportunity for worship and fellowship. 

What happens on Good Friday? 

The walk: We all set off from our churches, in Ash and Ash Vale, walking together and carrying the cross. This reminds us of Jesus carrying his own cross, through the streets of Jerusalem, on the day of his crucifixion. Thank you to everyone who took part in this very special walk of witness. 

The service: We all arrive at Ash Wharf, welcomed by the worship team, and the open air service begins. This is a very special day for us all, as we gather together churches of different denominations and remember our Saviour, Jesus, giving up His life to save all of us. The clergy share the service, taking it in turns to lead, preach, and pray each year, so it is a real team effort. We would like to thank Luke, Natalie and the team for the music and PA system, and also to thank Bridges for powering the sound system for us. We always enjoy welcoming passers by to join in too – all are welcome. 

Hot Cross Buns: After the service… the fellowship! What a joy to have a sunny day for this. Everyone gathers at The Chapel on Wharf Rd for hot cross buns and a cuppa, and a lovely opportunity to chat to friends old and new. We love welcoming the whole community to this, people of all faiths and none, and what a great opportunity to enjoy the Community Garden. Thank you to the hospitality team of volunteers from all the churches, who prepared and served the drinks and hot cross buns – and for doing all the washing up! We would also like to thank Co-op for donating 100 delicious hot cross buns. It’s a great community moment in our Easter calendar. 

As we contemplate the Cross and look forward to the joy of Easter, may God bless you and keep you in His love and peace. We look forward to welcoming you on Easter Sunday for the 10:30 service! 

#GoodFriday #CTAAT #ChurchesTogether #AshValeChapel #StPetersAsh #StMarysAshVale #HolyAngelsAsh #NWCLF #CoOpAsh #ItsWhatWeDo #BridgesAsh #Community #HotCrossBuns #AllWelcome