Category: Parishioner

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Picnic and Play in the Holidays

Every Summer our amazing local churches and friends get together to offer our community “Picnic and Play” on Wednesdays in the holidays at The Chapel in Ash Vale GU12 5AY. Mark your diaries please! Dates for 2025 are: Wednesday 30 July, 6th Aug, 13th Aug, 20th Aug 11:30-15:00.

Text / Phone / WhatsApp to book, for a free picnic, a warm welcome, and lots of ways to be creative from sandcastles to clay models, from colouring to chess, from disco dancing to rock painting, and there is plenty of planting and watering to do in the Community Garden too. All are welcome, you don;t have tpo be a church go-er! We welcoem everyone of all faihs and none. Booking is essential please so we can be sure to cater 07730 609446. (Please let us know of any food allergies too)

Can you offer to volunteer? This wonderful annual community summer project only happens thanks to our dedicated volunteers and generous donors. Your help and support is hugely appreciated! There are plenty of jobs to choose from – you can pour the drinks, put up the bunting, bake a cake, come early to make the sandwiches, help put up the gazebos, stay late and tidy up at the end, supervise a craft table, teach a child to play chess, sign people in, fill up the paddling pool, dish out picnics, help serve the pancakes, wash up, sit and be a listening ear to chat to our visitors, run a game, keep an eye on the paddling pool, top up the sand pit, set up the sensory table, …there is a lot to do! Each of these important roles is essential, and if we all do our little bit we will all have a lovely time! If you can help with one of these jobs please get in touch 07730 609446. Thank you for your support.

Donations: We never charge an entrance fee for Picnic and Play, so that money is not a barrier and all can join in. We do ask that if you are able to, please chip in to help cover the costs. We also welcome donations of funds from all our friends and neighbours if you would like to help us keep offering worthwhile project. It makes all the difference so that local people have something fun and free to enjoy in the holidays rather than being stuck at home or hungry or both! Huge thanks to all who donate, we cannot do it without you. https://givealittle.co/c/4BYNqSiaQc0wz1KTSgzKPz Thank you!

Best wishes to all, and we can’t wait to welcome you for some super summer fun!

Bookings are now open! 07730 609446
Wednesdays 11:30-15:00. Dates: 30 July, 6th Aug, 13th Aug, 20th Aug

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From the Vow made

(News from Jono Retallick, Artist in Residence at The Chapel Project) 

‘From the Vow Made’ 

Private view today

Open until 5th June

In Exeter Cathedral

1000 people

have made 

1000 beeswax votives

from 

locally sourced Devon beeswax

representing 

1000 expressions of gratefulness

reinterpreting

medieval practice 

Neil and I feel so privileged to have been invited to run this project as it has had such a deep impact on so many people. It is a simple idea that literally recreates the ancient practice that took place in this building prior to the Reformation. Sculpted beeswax objects were brought into the cathedral and suspended as thanks offerings. This idea of pilgrimage has been an element of our work for a long time but is brought into much sharper focus here. 

@exetercathedral @heritagefunduk @neil_musson

#archive #art #research #history #exetercathedral #votive #installation #public #project #sculpture #artinstalation #bees #beeswax #votive #cathedral

#contemporaryart

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Marvellous Music News from The Chapel

Another busy week for our wonderful Musicians in Residence at The Chapel, Matt and Dan Weeks. 

Here are a few fab photos from the Othertones session and also the Paul Oakley recording session. What a wonderful week of worship! 

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Community Fridge safety notice

it’s time for our regular reminder about food safety and the Community Fridge. Please make sure you have a read! Thank you.

Reminder about dates and safety:  

USE BY is a legal safety date. We cannot accept any items that have passed this date. Any item past its use by date must be composted or binned. It is not considered fit for human consumption.

BEST BEFORE is a food quality guideline. We can accept items that are a little past this date as long as the packaging is unopened and clearly labelled.

Allergens and Natasha’s Law: As a result of a rule called Natasha’s Law every packaged food item coming into our community fridge must list all its ingredients on its packaging with any of the 14 major allergens it contains in bold. In order to run the community fridge safely we must only accept food items that are clearly labelled and packaged by the food business or retailer. That includes individual bakery items too. So, if it’s not packaged, or not labelled, we can’t accept it. (Fresh, whole, uncut fruit and veg are ok)

All of us are responsible for health and safety. That includes you too! Our volunteers check the fridges every time they are here. Donors please check dates and labels before you put items in the fridge. Recipients please also check dates and labels when you collect food. If you spot a problem, please let us know so we can put it right asap. Let’s all work together to keep our Community Fridge safe. Thank you. 

#AshValeCommunityFridge is open to all, located in the Community Shed at The Chapel on Wharf Rd, GU12 5AY

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National Lottery Community Fund news!

Please celebrate with us! Our foodbank team are overjoyed today, because the Ash Villages Food Parcels Team has received news that The National Lottery Community Fund will be supporting us this year! Our recent application has just been approved. Pop over and give the National Lottery Community Fund a like on facebook please to show our appreciation, hurrah! Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/TNLCommunityFund

This means a lot. In all seriousness, this funding will help the foodbank to thrive, so we can keep going and keep supporting eveyone who needs us in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham for many months to come. It also means that donations by local people can make an even bigger difference – every tin you send us is a tin we don’t have to use funding for, so the grant can stretch even further and feed even more families for longer. Our hard working and dedicated volunteers are amazing. They tirelessly pack and deliver parcels, clean fridges, collect and sort donations, take referrals and respond to emergencies, check the stock and tidy the shelves, they are super stars! And it is thanks to your generous giving and this National Lottery Community Funding that the shelves are full and we can be here, ready to help. Thank you!

Are you in need? No-one in our community ever needs to go to bed hungry, just contact CAB, social services, DWP, local churches, school or other agencies and you can be referred to us.

Thank you to The National Lottery Community Fund for their amazing support, it will make all the difference to our community. #foodbank #community #ashvillagesfoodparcelsteam

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Can you spare a bottle for our foodbank tombola? 

Our lovely young Foodbank volunteers are a brilliant team. They come and help take in the foodbank stock on Thursday evenings, sort donations, bag up laundry pods and check the fridges.  This week, they spent some of their foodbank time on these beautiful donations boxes for our foyer at St Mary’s and some more for The Chapel. Let’s encourage them and fill them up! 

We have booked a double stall at the Ash Village Fair on the 28th June. Revd Neil will be doing his legendary pancakes and the Foodbank team are planning a bottle tombola. Can you spare a bottle and pop it in one of the donations boxes please? 

Every item donated will go to help the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project, (https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/ ) either in a food parcel, or on the bottle tombola to raise funds for food and toiletries. Thank you for your support!

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A very big Foodbank thank you to Volker Fitzpatrick and J&J Palmer

Good news! This week, the Ash Villages Food Parcels Team are celebrating a lovely donation of items for the local community. Volker Fitzpatrick who have constructed our shiny new Chester Bridge and J&J Palmer who have done a lot of the ground works, sent us a huge shopping delivery of items to put in the food parcels over the coming weeks. The Foodbank team were delighted to meet Alex from Volker Fitzpatrick and we hope you like our celebration photo!

“This is an amazing donation and will go a long way, feeding lots of local families this month.” Said the foodbank Project Manager. ” We cannot thank you enough. We are always working hard to appeal for donations, and raise money to fill the shelves. Your support today makes all the difference. “

If you would like to support the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project you are always welcome to donate items at Ash Manor School, Co-op in Ash Vale, St Mary’s Church (Vale Rd), or The Chapel (Wharf Rd). You can also donate funds online so that we can buy our most urgently needed items in bulk. (How about becoming a regular giver and sending us £5 a month?) Thank you for your support!

Web: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/

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

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What would it feel like to live with Dementia?

There is a virtual dementia experience event happening soon on 19th May 2025 at the Ash Victoria Hall. Come and find out what it might feel like to live with dementia. What a valuable opportunity for us all to build up our understanding for those who live with it already, and to be more prepared if it affects someone close to us.

Contact the Guildford Community Wellbeing team to book. 01483 444150

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Hall Hire available at St Mary’s

Good news! We have recently had a few time slots become available for regular hall hirers and one-off parties here at St Mary’s. Please do feel free to store the hall hire number for your use, so that you have our number to hand for any future booking needs.

The Hall Hire Secretary’s new phone number for 2025 is: 07349 344528. This is manned by our amazing volunteer hallhire secretary Jackie. You can alsoreach her by email on Hallhire@ash-vale.org.uk

We look forward to welcoming you!