roots down walls down
VE Day 80th anniversary county service
Sunday 11 May, 3pm, Guildford Cathedral, Stag Hill, GU2 7UP The Cathedral will host a special service of Choral Evensong to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. All are welcome. The order of service will shortly be available to download on the Cathedral’s website.
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
The Ash Villages Food Parcels Project started originally as a covid support project, but is now the local food bank for Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. We are 5 years old this April! The team would all like to wish all our friends and neighbours, clients and supporters a very happy Easter.
With the cost of living a real struggle at the moment, we are busier than ever. Would you like to donate? The team use 30-40 tins a week of tomatoes, beans, soup, sweetcorn, tuna, tinned meat (curry or hotdogs or similar), pasta sauce, tinned fruit and jam. They are also always in need of pasta, rice, tea, coffee, sugar, cereal and UHT milk. Fresh fruit and veg and seasonal treats are always welcomed too. If donations are given, we also give out toiletries, laundry pods and pet food. If you would like to donate you can pop items into the donations baskets at the Ash Vale Co-op or Ash Manor School, or you can visit the Chapel on Wharf Rd or St Mary’s on Vale Rd whenever they are open, or contact the team to arrange a drop-off on 07762136542. If you prefer to donate funds and let us do the shopping, you can give online here: https://givealittle.co/c/7a47190c-ad4e-4cf9-8662-da844101a41c Just imagine – if we had 200 people donating £10 a month we would be fully funded all year round!!
Thank you for your support, it makes a big difference.
Thank you to all the families, students and staff at Ash Manor School who donated for the #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject this Easter. You are community heroes!
These amazing donations were sorted by the youth volunteers on Thursday night and most of the items went into Food Parcels this morning, delivered to local doorsteps by our fantastic Foodbank volunteer team.
Donations included all sorts – from tinned tomatoes to Easter treats – what a wonderful help for our neighbours in need in Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. Thank you all for your support.
#Community #Foodbank #AshManorSchool
Did you know? The foodbank has an Amazon wishlist here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/X2K6QAR8VM5X?ref_=wl_share
We also use the app “bank the food” to let everyone know what we need the most.
Donations of store cupboard donations can be dropped off at Ash Manor in the foyer, or in the donations basket at Ash Vale Co-op or at St Mary’s church (Vale Rd) or The Chapel (Wharf Rd) whenever we are open. Thank you!
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!)
Our local Food Parcels Project started during Covid, and has become the local Foodbank for Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. We feed local people in all different situations and difficulties every week.
You can use the app “Bank the food” to see what we need most urgently each week. Download the app, and a quick search for Ash Vale in the App will allow you to choose is from the list of Foodbanks needing donations. We would be very glad of your support. (We are of course grateful for all donations, any tins, pasta, nappies, uht milk etc so you don’t have to use the app, but if you do use it, the advantage is that you can see what we need most urgently. It is entirely up to you how you choose to support us) https://www.bankthefood.org
The last step is getting the donations to us. If you shop in the village you can pop items in the collecting basket at Ash Vale Co-op (tap your membership card while you’re in there and collect point for the community fund please!). Wherever you shop, you can buy items to donate and drop them off at St Mary’s Church on Vale Road or The Chapel on Wharf Road whenever they are open. You can also drop Donations off at Ash Manor School in the donations box in their foyer.
We do the rest, packing parcels and making sure they reach our neighbours in need, in our local community of Ash, Ash Vale, Ash Green and Tongham. #AshVillagesFoodParcelsProject
Thank you for your support, it makes a huge difference to local people in crisis.
Alex, Neil, Carla and all the team.
PS – if you are struggling to afford enough to eat, you can be referred to us for a food parcel by Citizens Advice / Job Centre / local churches / health visitor / social services / schools / Guildford borough wellbeing team and other agencies, or pop in and see us at The Chapel Cafe on Mondays in term time 9:30-12:30.
Shawfield Primary School is having a bingo night fundraiser on Wednesday 7th May. Here are the details from the SSA team:
Save the date and join us for Bingo Night at
Shawfield Primary School’s SSA (PTA Event).
Doors open at 6:30pm. Eyes down at 7:00pm till 8:30pm. Prepare for your luck and have fun with your friends while playing bingo and winning cool prizes.
Pre-book admissions ONLY – £2 per person
Books £ 1 each (Maximum of 6 per person)
Tea and Coffee avalaible through donations to the school’s PTA.
All proceeds to support teaching and learning at Shawfield Primary School
Book via https://forms.office.com/e/9aPRGKzPzD
