roots down walls down
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
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
Join us on Maundy Thursday 17th April 2025 for a bring & share supper as we remember the Last Supper. Doors open from 6pm for a 6:30pm start. All are welcome, bring a friend!
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!
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!)
St Mary’s Church, Ash Vale will be holding the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on the 13th April at 6pm in church.
For further details please see the notice in the foyer. If you are on our electoral roll you are entitled to vote at the meeting.
The annual report is an inspiring read! Please contact us if you would like to see a copy, or pop in to St Mary’s to pick one up. parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk
The Ash Wednesday Service at St Mary’s is this Wednesday 5th March 2025 at 18:30. All welcome.
Revd Neil has shared a prayer for Ash Wednesday:
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of
stone, and give me heart of flesh
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee,
for Christ’s sake, Amen
St Ambrose of Milan (AD339-397)
Morning all! Tuesday 4th March is pancake day – join us for the party at st Mary’s 4-6pm for one of Neil’s legendary pancakes plus races, craft, and a cuppa 💕
Also this week – Toddlers is on as usual this week, see you today 10am for Little Lambs Library here at St Mary’s on Vale Road and on Wednesday 11am over at the Chapel on Wharf Rd for Chapelkids.
Did you know? Revd Neil will soon be visiting the Amaha We Uganda team. If you would like to know more, make sure you join us this Sunday 10:30am as Neil will be speaking about the projects on Sunday.
Please continue to pray for William, Job, Benjamin and all the Amaha We Uganda team as they serve the local communities there and lead the projects including tree planting, womens groups, Good Samaritan skills centre, education projects and working with the street children. Your prayers for the team and communities there, and for the UK based trustees too, are much appreciated.
If you would like to join the team in prayer during this years’ mission please contact Revd Neil for the whatsapp link or contact Karen or Alex for prayer times where we will be meeting in person. (you can ask us at church / cafe / toddlers – whenever you see us next!)
Would you like to donate towards this vital work? Here is our “Give a Little” link: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/f49270f1-c70b-46fe-936a-50278274ede6
Thank you for your support
I have been collating all the annual foodbank data today and thought you would be interested to know the headline statistics for the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project for 2024. This is a community project jointly run by St Mary’s Church Ash Vale (Revd Neil Lambert) and the Ash Villages Support Circle (Cllr Carla Morson) for the benefit of all in the local community who are in need.
I am so proud of this team and all the work we do, what a huge difference this makes in our local community. We can say with confidence that no one in our local community need ever go hungry. There is help at hand every week, and the team are always going the extra mile to make sure that everyone has what they need. What a blessing you all are to our community in these difficult times! A big thank you to everyone involved.
Best wishes,
Alex (Project Manager)
PS – This data is for the foodbank alone, and does not include the food distributed via the Community Fridge, so there are even more families out there who have been fed anonymously!)
PPS – would you like to support this project? You can bring food items to St Mary’s or The Chapel, donate at Ash Manor School or in store at the Co-op on Wharf Rd. You can also donate funds online here: https://givealittle.co/c/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c Thank you for your support!
Need to contact us? Referrals number is: 07762 136542