Contemplative Prayer – Wednesday evenings: Sarah will be starting a regular Wednesday evening session of contemplative prayer in the Church from 22nd June. This will be a weekly event with the lead being shared between Neil and Sarah. More details of timings are available by contacting the church office parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk.
Prayer is central to God moving in our lives and we have several ways in which we gather as a fellowship to pray. Other ways to pray together include the prayer chain, Tuesdays at 11:45am in Church, monthly Friday evening prayer meetings, prayer ministry after the service on Sundays, and in our homegroups. How is God calling you to pray?
God desires us to be in relationship with Him and praying is simply talking to God and including Him in everything that you do. If you don’t feel comfortable praying or feel unsure of how to pray, do talk to Revd Neil or anyone from the Prayer Ministry Team.
Come and join us at St Mary’s for our Summer fair!
Saturday 23rd July, 12-3pm (Save the date in your diary now!)
St. Mary’s Church, Ash Vale, GU12 5JE
Prizes, Refreshments, Music, Competitions and much, much more
Free Entry
If you would like a stall please contact our wonderful Church Warden Martin who is organizing the event. You can contact him on mlindsay500@outlook.com or text our Project Manager with a message to pass on to him: 07730 609446.
Forest Kids is a new project in Ash that gives children and young people a chance to take part in bush-craft and nature activities in a woodland whilst learning about the Christian faith. Taking part in activities outside is proven to improve people’s mental and physical wellbeing and is also likely to cultivate an interest in and care for the natural environment.
The project comes from a long held dream to combine our love of the outdoors and Jesus. We really want to give other people, especially children a chance to explore both. So last summer we found a woodland near Ash and bought a house nearby and we’ve been working hard getting the woodland ready for people to enjoy.
Just before Easter, we were delighted to welcome some families from the Chapel and St Mary’s to come and join us for a picnic, Easter egg hunt, to hear the Easter story and build dens, not forgetting toasting marsh mallows and making s’mores around the fire.
At the end of April some of our lovely friends and family came and got really stuck in to clear some of the large amount of rhododendrons and tree stumps and to create the beginnings of an amazing natural play area.
Our aim is to have small groups of children from the local area coming to weekly sessions, including their families in some of the activities too, so we’re now looking for interested children and adults to come and get involved.
There’s all sorts of ways of being involved, from sending your children along to the regular weekly sessions when they start, to praying for us, supporting us financially, doing practical stuff in the woods to make it super great fun for the children on our Woodland Activity Days, to helping with the weekly sessions or transport.
If you’d like to find out more, come and have a look at our site or get involved in some way, please do get in touch – we’d love to meet you!
The Cover Image this Easter is inspired by a new song “Come to the Table” by Matt Weeks which you can hear most Sunday’s at St Mary’s.
If you use social media, you may enjoy the ‘anniversaries’ that pop up every now and then, reminding you of what happened on this day in previous years. My timeline recently has been full of images from our early lockdown – our first Evensong in the carpark 2 years ago, ringing the bell, pancakes on the astroturf… It makes me realise that the last time we ‘did Easter’ the ‘normal’ way was 3 years ago! We had a few socially distanced people in church in 2021, but finally this year we are allowed to gather in greater numbers and celebrate with a shared feast.
You are warmly invited to join in with local Easter events at St Mary’s on Vale Rd, and at The Chapel on Wharf Rd.
Easter is our major festival of the year when we remember the death of Jesus and celebrate him rising from the dead.
Lent is the period before Easter when Christians remember the events leading up to and including the death of Jesus Christ. Last Sunday Neil spoke again about the opportunities to reflect together during Lent:
For our Easter 2022 issue of The Parishioner we have a poem to share with you, on the theme of the passion. This was written by Joanna Pearson, a talented poet who is also a member of Chapel Poets. We have some news from the Chapel Poetry for you too.
All are welcome to come along and snap up a bargain at the next St Peter’s Tabletop Sale. This takes place in the St Peter’s Centre opposite the church with the spire.
There’s always a lot going on in February and March. Between Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Burns Night, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, St David’s Day, St Patrick’s Day and Mothering Sunday, you might think your calendar is already full—so it might surprise you to hear of some other ‘festivals’ in the next few weeks.
Mondays: Keep fit: HIIT at 7.45pm with Janet Thomas Fitness (St Mary’s, Vale Rd)
Tuesdays: Baby Group 10am—11.30am : A support group for 0-12mth olds and their parents and carers. Tea, coffee, chat, and we have song time at the end. All welcome. Text or call Alex for details 07730 609446 (St Mary’s, Vale Rd) Choir Practise: 8pm on Tuesday evenings, all welcome (St Mary’s, Vale Rd) Keep fit: Fit Steps 7.30pm with Janet Thomas Fitness (St Mary’s, Vale Rd)
Wednesdays: Chapel Kids 11:30am—1.30pm Come and join our Baby & Toddler group with craft, story and songs at The Chapel. All welcome 0-4yrs and their parents and carers. We eat lunch together too. Bring a picnic or enjoy something from the community fridge! (The Chapel, Wharf Rd) Chapel Craft 8pm-10pm Bring along your latest craft project and craft enjoy a sociable cuppa and chat as we craft. (The Chapel, Wharf Rd)
Thursdays : Baby Plus (Tongham) 10.30am Baby group for non-walkers at The Old School, Poyle Rd, Tongham. (St Paul’s, Poyle Rd) ** Lent Special ** Thursday Lent Film nights 6.30pm at The Chapel Every Thursday in lent—Film, food and discussion. Starts on 3rd March, running for 6 weeks, all welcome. Text to book 07730 609446
Fridays: Community Café 10am-12 Noon Please pop in for a cuppa and a chat at the St Mary’s community café. All are welcome, all faiths and none, all ages and stages. It’s free / by donation (St Mary’s, Vale Rd)
Sundays: Sunday Services 10:30am at St Mary’s. All are welcome, whether life long Christians or just exploring. We serve refreshments after the service, join us for cuppa & chat. You can also join us via Zoom online. Sunday School is on too! Join us on Sundays at 10:30 at St Mary’s while your grownups are in church. The sessions are aimed at school age children.
More on Facebook: @StMarysAshVale @TheParishioner @AshValeChapel
Wed 2 Feb—Mothers Union (afternoon group) 2.30pm at St Peter’s Centre (First Wednesday of the month) Guest Speaker this month: Linda Tallon, on teaching children with special needs. All Welcome.
