Please vote for the Food Parcels Project!

Fund our local Food Parcels Projectby giving us your vote at Co-Op! Vote online or via their App. The voting link is here: https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/76829

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project serves local people in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. We deliver emergency food and toiletries to local people in crisis, and offer a listening ear. Your vote will mean we receive more funding. Thank you for your support.

How this cause brings people in the community together: Our Food Parcels project helps local people in crisis, providing emergency food and toiletries. 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 Chapel Cafe and local warm hubs. We are connecting with people to battle against the anxiety, isolation and mental strain that goes hand in hand with food poverty. We can all work together to make sure that none of our neighbours go hungry. Our donors and grant funders are wonderful and the lovely team of volunteers are amazing at what they do.

So please – Vote today, and spread the word to encourage others to help us too!

Thank you. https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/76829

The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project is a joint project between St Mary’s Church in Ash Vale (Revd Neil Lambert) and the Ash Villages Support Circle (Carla Morson), kindly hosted at The Chapel Project on Wharf Rd. If you need to contact us you can contact our Project Manager Alex Sanderson on foodparcels@ash-vale.org.uk  Tel.: 07730 609446

Community Fridge News

The Ash Vale Community Fridge and Ash Villages Food Parcels Project team have some great news this week! We will be receiving short dated items from the 2 local Co-ops on Saturdays going forward, saving even more good food from being wasted. This is in addition to the donations we already receive regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What a great way to stop waste!

If you’d like to visit the Community Fridge and pick up some free food to save it from being wasted, it’s open 24/7 in our Community Shed at The Chapel, Wharf Rd, GU12 5AY. First come first served. (Remember to update the red folder so we can track how much food we are saving from the bin!) please only take what you can definitely use, so everyone can share and nothing is wasted.

Got more than you need? You can also donate your own surplus food, as long as it is sealed in its original packaging, and in date (or fresh from the allotment!) Please update the red folder with date & weight when you donate, so we can track how much food is saved from the bin.

Did you know? From June 2023-December 2023 the Community Fridge alone saved over 1000kg food from being wasted! Thank you to everyone who uses the fridge, and to all our amazing donors and volunteers. 

Questions? Contact us on foodparcels@ash-vale.org.uk

Foodbank referrals: Please call our project manager to make a referral on 07730609446 

#CommunityFridge #AshValeCommunityFridge #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject #EndHunger #StopFoodWaste #CoOpAsh #CoOpAshVale #Hubbub

Ash Wednesday Service 6.30pm

You are warmly invited to come to our Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday 14th February 2024 at 6.30pm. Join us at St Mary’s on Vale Road, GU12 5JE. All are welcome.

The first day of Lent is called Ash Wedensday. This is the time in the year for a special service with the imposition of ashes. If you want to know more about it, why not pop in to St Mary’s and ask? Our cafe is open on Fridays 10:00-13:00 and our Sunday services start at 10:30am. See you soon!

Pancake Day – Youre invited!

Join us on Tuesday 13th Feb 2024 from 10am-12:30 for some pancake day fun! Races, crafts and yummy pancakes for all ages. It’s all by donation, no set fee. Pop along and enjoy a family friendly get together at St Mary’s church, Ash Vale GU12 5JE All are welcome.

PS – We don’t have staff for this, just a lovely team of volunteers, and all help is much appreciated at tidy up time. Thank you for pitching in – many hands make light work!

pic credit https://pixabay.com/users/valshill-12389644/

Little Lambs getting creative – come and join in!

New year, new toddler group?

Our Tuesday baby and toddler group is called Little Lambs Library and we run each week in term time 10:00-11:30 here at St Mary’s on Vale Road in Ash Vale, GU12 5JE. All welcome and it’s free / by donation. We start with a cuppa, craft and play, then the bouncy castle goes up, and we finish with story and songs.

We would love to welcome you!

Thank you – and please keep voting!

This is wonderful news! The local Food Parcels team would like to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for us recently on the Co-op Communtiy page! Your votes have helped us to raise £1,171.07 so far, to help feed local families in crisis.

Please keep voting! Every vote for St Mary’s means more funding for the Ash Villages Food Parcels Project. We need as many votes as possible before 24th October 2024, to secure further funding from the Co-op community fund for winter 2024. Please choose us as your local cause here: https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/76829

Community Forum: Would you like to talk to the community team have your say? Co-op is hosting a community forum on 21st March at the Ash Parish Centre. Local people are welcome to join in and share their views. Book your place and join in to find out more by clicking on this link: Your local Coop Community forum for Ash and the surrounding villages (smartsurvey.co.uk)

Thank you for your support!

Duruflé’s Requiem with Vivace Chorus

Friday 1 March 2024, 19.30

Holy Trinity, High Street, Guildford, GU1 3RR

Tickets £23, students and U18s £10, plus booking fee

www.vivacechorus.org for further information & booking.

Duruflé’s Requiem – where Gregorian chant meets the sumptuous sounds of 20th-century France. The contemplative piece is brought to life by Vivace Chorus at Holy Trinity Church in Guildford – the perfect, intimate venue to convey the wonder and power of this music. 

Meet the Local – The Parishioner interviews Keith Broomfield

Parishioner: Keith, great to meet you – tell us a bit about yourself! Have you been an Ash Vale local for long?

So, until about 13 years ago I had always lived in Farnborough, but since then I’ve moved to Tongham, where I spent most of my years on the roots of my parents and grandparents whilst growing up. Both lived locally, with my mum in Ash and my dad in Tongham, and actually the same street as I live now. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

Parishioner: What do you like about the area, any highlights you would recommend to a newcomer to check out?

As I’ve never permanently moved too far afield, I know the local area very well and like others, have seen a lot of changes. On the surface  there are many visual been and gone’s but underneath all that, it still just about holds itself as a community with the old fashioned spirit that’s few and far between these days. 

Parishioner : As a longstanding local business, what services do you offer?

We have now been operating as a sole trader for 16 years, with an overall full time experience exceeding 23 years within the plumbing and heating industry, inheriting the trade by my dad even further back than that. This longevity has been achieved with thanks to yourselves and the repeat custom you have allowed.

Due to various matters over recent years in my personal world it has become increasingly difficult to keep on top of the ever-growing overheads needed to sustain our small business. With this in mind, we see it more important than ever to close some of those intermittent gaps in our diary that had otherwise been disregarded.

With yourselves and Checkatrade on board we can now reach out to a new and wider clientele, yet maintaining the closer proximity in which we operate.

Parishioner: Your business has survived a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis – what’s the secret, any top tips for fellow entrepreneurs out there?

Our business ethos is to provide a fair and moral service, where our price point reflects the facility we supply and have always aimed to deliver!

Parishioner: Great to meet you today, thanks for talking to us. If people want to get in touch, what are your contact details?

Email:  enquiries@aquifer-plumbing.co.uk

Web: aquifer-plumbing.co.uk

Phone: 07887 687856

My Checkatrade link is: Checkatrade.com/AquiferPlumbingandHeatingSolutions

St Mary’s Flower Team: Can you put flowers in a vase?

Yes? Congratulations! You’re just the sort of person we need to join the St Mary’s Flower Team!
Other characteristics that may be useful:
– an hour or so to spare every few months;
– sense of humour;
– interest in flowers.
Of course, if you’re already a skilled flower arranger and would like to use your expertise to create glorious displays, that would be fantastic too!  If you’re starting out or just fancy having a go, you won’t be on your own – come and help out for a week or two and see how you get on.  It could be the start of something fabulous!  Contact Steph Farry for more info. Or text our Project Manager on 07730609446

Sunday morning servers wanted

We are looking for new people to join the Sunday Morning Team. 
There are various tasks that keep the Sunday service running smoothly and help us to care for each other.
Welcoming: Could you greet people as they arrive at Church, all you need is a friendly face and smile.
Reading and Intersessions: 
Reading: All you need is your voice, God has provided the words.
Intersessions: Share your unique view of the world and help us to pray for the needs of the world. Share God’s blessings with our Church family. Your prayers will help us all grow in faith.
Coffee: Can you make a cup of coffee? Can you do the washing up? These simple acts of kindness are a blessing and valued by us all.
If you would like to join the team please contact Rachel parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk