Category: Church blog

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Christmas Foodbank and Toys Appeal 2025

Christmas Food Parcels 2025 – Can you help?

Our local Food Bank for Ash, Ash Vale, Tongham and Ash Green is appealing for Christmas Hamper items, toys and winter warmers for local families this Christmas. #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject

Not everyone will be in a position to help this year, but if you can, we will be very thankful. Donations can be dropped off on or before Sunday 14th December at St Mary’s Church Vale Rd on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays 10:00-12:00 or at The Chapel on Wharf Rd on Mondays and Wednesdays 9:00-1400, or other times by arrangement (please contact 07730609446) THANK YOU!

Ideas for things to donate? Hot water bottles, warm socks, blankets, new or good as new childrens toys (no cuddly toys please), sweets and treats, cranberry sauce, mince pies, biscuits, Christmas cake, crackers, Christmas pudding, custard, chocolates, seasonal fruit and veg, gravy granules, christmas activity books, board games, festive toiletries… think about what makes your Christmas special – let’s share some of that Christmas joy! Thank you for your support.

If you prefer to donate funds towards Christmas Food, this is hugely welcomed towards Christmas meat and veg. https://givealittle.co/c/3ijYS6zC4gbOGqwer2tmdY 

^Donations Link. Thank you for your support for local people in need this Christmas.

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project is a joint project between the Ash Villages Support Circle and St Mary’s Church in Ash Vale, hosted at The Chapel Project, Ash Vale. 

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


Thank you for sharing Christmas joy with local families in need. 

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Christmas Foodbank 2025… Can you help?

The local Food Parcels Project for Ash, Ash Vale, Tongham and Ash Green is appealing for Christmas Hamper items, toys and winter warmers for local families this Christmas.

Not everyone will be in a position to help this year, but if you can, we will be very thankful. Donations can be dropped off on or before Sunday 14th December at St Mary’s Church Vale Rd on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays 9:30-12:30 or at The Chapel Wharf Rd on Wednesdays 9:00-14:00 or at other times by arrangement (please text 07730609446) THANK YOU!

Ideas for things to donate? Hot water bottles, warm socks, fluffy scarves, childrens toys, sweets and treats, cranberry sauce, mince pies, festive biscuits, Christmas cake, crackers, Christmas pudding, custard, evaporated milk, stuffing mix, gravy granules,  chocolates, seasonal fruit and veg, tinned ham, christmas activity books, board games, crisps, festive toiletries… think about what makes your Christmas special – let’s share some of that Christmas joy!

The need is greater than ever this year, and we are likely to need parcels for over 100 families. We need your support please, to be able to help them all, and bring some wonderful festive cheer to every family in need.

If you like, you can download the ‘Bank the food’ App which lists suggestions and shows what items are most urgently needed. It’s a great way to keep in touch. You will find us listed as the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project.

Thank you everyone for your amazing help to make this happen. We can’t do it without you!

Thank you for your support, and may you be wonderfully blessed this Christmas.

More about the project on the foodbank blog here: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/

Download the ‘bank the food’ app here:

https://www.bankthefood.com

Project Manager: 07730609446 projectmanager@ash-vale.org.uk

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HARVEST THANKS

A huge HARVEST THANK YOU to all at St Mary’s Ash Vale, for the wonderful foodbank donations from the Harvest Festival on Sunday.

We collected your gifts on Tuesday and they went out in the food parcels today, with some items left for the parcels on Friday. The Wednesday team fed 22 families with your generous donations today, some large families, some single people in need, food for 61 people in total. And more parcels will go out on Friday to other families too.

Thank you for your support! #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject


Our web page has more info here:
https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/

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Harvest Gifts from Northcamp Methodist Church

What a blessing this morning! The Ash Villages Food Parcels Team were delighted to receive Harvest donations today from Northcamp Methodist church. A lovely array of items, from tins to produce, and all just right for the food parcels that will be going out on Wednesday and Friday this week to local people in need.

Revd Anne personally delivered the donations to The Chapel, our wonderful local ecumenical project, jointly run by St Mary’s Church Ash Vale and the BlackwaterValley Methodist Circuit. The Chapel kindly hosts the Foodbank all year round, and allows us the space for our shelves, fridges and packing parcels. It is a huge blessing to people in urgent need locally in the villages of Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham.

A big harvest THANK YOU to Northcamp Methodist Church, your support is hugely appreciated! https://www.northcampmethodist.co.uk/welcome.htm

Image – Foodbank Team, and Monday Chapel Cafe members, receiving donations for the foodbank from Northcamp Methodist Church, special delivery by Revd Anne.

If you would like to read all about the foodbank… here is our page: https://ash-vale.org.uk/foodparcels-2/ We have been running for over 5 years now, and what started as the local covid support group now runs as a full-blown foodbank in partnership with Ash Villages Support Circle. There are lots of stories on our page, and details of how you can donate, or ask for a referral.

The Chapel Project is here to share Christ’s love with people of all faiths and none through Hospitality, Creativity and Worship. We are home to Monday Chapel Cafe (warm Welcome space), NWCLF church on Sundays, ChapelKids on Wednesdays, as well as the Foodbank mentioned above, also Musicians in Residence Matt and Dan Weeks, Artists in Residence Debi and Jono Retallick, plus seasonal events Picnic and Play, Light Party, Christmas Fair, and of course hall users from the local community. If you want to know more about The Chapel Project please contact Revd Neil Lambert, Revd Anne Day or our Project Manager Alex: projectmanager@ash-vale.org.uk or visit http://www.ashvalechapel.com

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A Super Cleanup Saturday! 

You may have seen us put the word out for helpers, you may have been to lots of these before and given a helping hand. For anyone who doesn’t know, Cleanup Saturdays at St Mary’s here in Ash Vale are a great example of how volunteering your time and talents can help keep the church and community centre looking good, safe for the whole community to enjoy, and it helps keep our costs down too. (We are a registered charity and churches don’t get central funding, so every penny counts and every saving helps us keep the doors open, the tea flowing, and the heating on for all our services, groups, and projects) 

This Saturday, another star team of helpers turned up and tackled lots of jobs from sweeping up leaves in the carpark to trimming hedges, from dusting and vacuuming the church to decluttering the Sundayschool cupboard, and more besides. Vital too was the cuppa and doughnuts team – you can’t have a cleanup day without a chat and a snack! 

Huge thanks to everyone who responded to Nikki’s call for volunteers this time. Make sure you join us for the next one, it’s a lovely opportunity to roll up your sleeves and help out at St Mary’s, with a jolly nice crowd of very lovely people. 

(A few photos of the team in action – sorry to anyone we don’t manage to take a photo of! We will catch you on camera next time) 

Blessings to all! 

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Harvest Festival time – come and join in! (And support the foodbank too!)

Harvest Festival is a wonderful service where we give thanks to God for all our blessings, the wonderful world He created, and the amazing crops harvested at this time of year. Please join us on Sunday 28th September 10:30am and see what it’s all about! All are welcome, whether you’re a regular or a first time church go-er!

One of the things we do to celebrate and give thanks, is to bring donations of food and produce. This year we are once again donating to the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project (local foodbank for Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham), which we run in partnership with the Ash Villages Support Circle and the Chapel Project. Whether you come to our service or not, you can donate for this wonderful cause! We have a box for donations in the foyer, or you can bring donations to the service, or donate funds online using our Give a Little link. https://givealittle.co/c/3ijYS6zC4gbOGqwer2tmdY

What food to donate? Anything in a tin is great, and can be used in the food parcels right away. We use 30-50 tins a week each of things like tomatoes, baked beans, sweetcorn, lentils, tuna, hotdogs, meatballs, chicken curry, soup, rice pudding, fruit, custard, carrots, peas etc. We can also use anything else that has a long shelf life so pasta, rice, cereal, tea, coffee, UHT milk, pasta sauce, even crisps and sweets as a special harvest treat will be appreciated by families. Fresh produce – fruit and veg – is great too, and will go out in the very next round of food parcels (we send parcels out on Wednesdays and Fridays every week.) Or perhaps you might like to put together some “meal packs” pasta and sauce, curry and rice, tinned fruit and custard, noodles and sauce, hotdogs and baked beans  – What’s your go-to storecupboard meal? Local families will really appreciate the thought that goes in to these.

What is most needed? If you would like to see the “live list” of what we most urgently need, we are also on the App called “Bank the Food” and we update this every couple of weeks to let our supporters know what we are most short of. https://www.bankthefood.com/  If you download the app, we should be easy to find (Ash Villages Food Parcels Project).

Before you go! We are decorating the church for Harvest Festival on Saturday 27th September. Would you like to donate flowers and produce for the display? Steph and the team would love to welcome you to come and help make the church look beautiful for Harvest Festival.

And finally – don’t forget Macmillan! Our coffee morning is this Friday 26th Sept 2025 10am-1pm, all welcome! Pop in for a quick cuppa and cake, buy Sue’s delicious array of jams and treats to take away, have a flutter on the raffle, or why not stay all morning and catch up with friends old and new over a slice of cake or stay for a cheese toastie or soup lunch.

See you there!

Thank you for your support.

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Why not come to church this Sunday 10:30am?

If you have never been along to a church service before, or haven’t been for ages, and are interested in getting to know Jesus, you are very welcome to come to St Mary’s and explore. Our Sunday services start at 10:30am, and we welcome everyone. Pop in any Sunday, sit wherever you like (we have lots of chairs, or a sofa at the back). After the service we offer prayer in church of you would like somone to pray with you, and we have tea and coffee in the hall if you would like to have a hot drink and a chat. We look forward to welcoming you!

St Mary’s Church, Vale Road, Ash Vale, GU12 5JE Sunday Service 10:30am

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Uganda News Sept 2025

News hot off the press – have a look and don’t forget to book tickets to the Quiz!

Trees:

  • 1,138,000 trees planted
  • New nursery beds reseeded and growth has started and is doing well
  • Cacao is the favoured tree. It produces a saleable crop in 4 years
  • Other crop trees are grown as well as native species providing shade
  • Working with The South Rwenzori Diocese
  • www.amahaweuganda.org/tree-nurseries

Women’s Groups:

  • The cancelled loans of £10,000 have now been replenished
  • 38 groups of women have reformed after Covid
  • Meeting regularly and saving
  • Some of the women have started receiving loans to build their
    businesses
  • www.amahaweuganda.org/women-s-groups

Street Boys:

  • Jethro meets with the boys on the streets
  • The boys come together fortnightly at All Saints Church
  • Fellowship, food and soap
  • 2 boys have started their own small businesses
  • Many have given their lives to Christ and go to local
    churches
  • Some of the boys are working or volunteering
  • www.amahaweuganda.org/street-boys

Women of Hope:

  • 15 girls have now been trained in hairdressing or
    tailoring
  • They train alongside local vulnerable girls
  • They stay at The Good Samaritan Skills Centre while
    training
  • Training extended to 4 months
  • One girl has gone back to her local village to work
  • A new group of 5 are currently being trained
  • www.amahaweuganda.org/womenofhope

Quiz coming up in Pyrford, dont miss this!

11th October 2025, contact to book: judithvella@gmail.com

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A big Summer Fair Thank You!

Did you come to our Summer Fair on the 6th September? It was great wasnt it! We hope you had as much fun as we did. Thank you to Martin who organised everything, and to all of you who donated, helped, and came to support us on the day. We loved catching up with our lovely communtiy over refreshments, food, stalls and games.

We are delighted to share that the fundraising was a success too! Over £650 was raised overall, with £160 going to the foodbank (Ash Villages Food Parcels Project), and the rest is going towards the cost of our new boiler at St Mary’s, a vital project so we can keep the church and halls open for the whole community every day of the week.

We were also happy to have a Childrens Society stall and a Macmillan stall, and the funds raised on those will go directly to those charities. What a super day, and every penny raised will make a big difference.

Thank you everyone for your support and see you again soon!

PS – As at 10th September we still need to raise another £1,200 to cover the boiler replacement costs. If anyone has not yet donated and would like to do so, or if you can spare a little extra, here is the link for the boiler project. thank you so much!

https://givealittle.co/c/10lFLVW1n8LpT7M6BDtspK

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Prayer Meetings Autumn 2025

At St Mary’s we meet monthly to pray together. All are welcome to pray with us, whether you are a lifelong Christian or very new to prayer.

The first prayer meeting for this term will be on Friday 12th September from 6.30pm till 7,15pm (we will be in Summer Fair prep mode the week before)
The following months we will be back to the usual first Friday in the month:-
3rd October – 6.30pm – 7.15pm
7th November -6.30pm -7.15pm
5th December – 6.30pm – 7.15pm
Meet in church to pray for the work of the church, our wider community, and any prayer requests or prayer prompts we receive.

If you feel in need of prayer and would like to make a request, you can also speak to Karen or anyone in the prayer ministry team at church on Sundays, or pop in when the Cafe is open on Fridays 10:00-13:00 to speak to us, or send us a message to the parish office parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk or send an imessage / whatsapp / text to our team on 07730 609446.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (2. Philippians 4:6-7)