Category: Parishioner

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Bible Study: Belonging (Isaiah 43:1-5)

By Helen Lambert

Where do you belong? Is it where you are from, the town or country where you were born? Is it your family or your friendship group? Perhaps you belong to a club or a team? Do you sometimes feel you belong to your work?

We talk about having a “sense of belonging”, or “feeling we belong”, as things that make us feel safe and secure. Where we belong gives us a sense of identity and affects how we behave. What aspects of your life (or even your identity) are affected by where you belong?

Conversely, it can be really hard to feel we don’t belong – whether to the “in” group, our community, the prevailing culture, or perhaps life in general.

Where does today’s Bible verse tell us we belong? The narrative of the Bible, from beginning to end, is that the God who created the world, and created us, also chose us to belong to him. Amazingly, the God who created the universe and everything in it, knows us so personally that he calls us by name (v1). He tells us, through the prophet Isaiah, that we are his. 

What are the implications of this deep and personal relationship with our creator God? This verse makes clear to us that belonging to God is a safe place to be. Why do you think this is so? 

Firstly, we are safe because we are known. The One who created us knows us better than we know ourselves, and so we do not need to hide away, or pretend to be someone we are not – as we may have to do to “fit in” with some of other the groups we want to belong to.  Not only are we known, but we are loved (yes – in spite of being known!) Further into this passage it says that we are infinitely precious to God (v4). 

Secondly, we are safe because God promises to look after us through the storms and terrors of life (though note that he does not say he will remove all these challenges). The promise is to be with us when we walk through “deep waters” (v2) so that they do not overwhelm us. What deep waters do you feel threatened by at the moment? Ask God to walk with you so that you are not overwhelmed.

Thirdly, we can feel safe because we have been chosen by God – we have nothing to prove! The Bible tells us that God chose us to belong to him even before the beginning of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and that this is made possible by Jesus Christ. It is not our own doing.

Finally, we can feel safe because our belonging to God gives us an identity and a purpose: “You did not choose me, I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit…” (John 15:16)

So, God’s love, acceptance and choosing does not depend on who we are, what we have done, or even our choosing to follow him.  It is there for us, and has been since “before the world was made” (Ephesians 1:4).  We do, however, have a choice about whether we want to live in that place of safety, to accept the offer of belonging, to choose to explore and discover the relationship that is offered to us.  This in turn leads us to make choices about the way we live.  Earlier, we considered how where we belong affects the way that we live.  If we accept that we belong to God, this will inevitably inform the choices we make about our life, our behaviour and our priorities. How might they change for you?

I write this in the week that COVID restrictions have been lifted. Many are celebrating, but others have great fear.  Whether this is true of you, or whether other fears threaten to overwhelm you, or if you struggle with the fear of being an “outsider” – of not truly feeling you belong – be encouraged by these verses which are “bookended” by, and centred on, the promise of God to save, protect and accompany, all will a deeply personal love. “Do not be afraid – I will save you” (v1); “Do not be afraid – I am with you” (v5); “I am the Lord your God who saves you” (v3);  “I will…save your life, because you are precious to me and because I love you…”(v4). 

Know that you too belong and are welcome in the place of safety that is the Father’s love: 

“I have called you by name – you are mine!”

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
    Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
    and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.

Read online: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+43&version=NIV

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What’s on? Summer and beyond 2021

What’s on this Summer:

Summer at St Mary’s Vale Rd, Ash Vale, GU12 5JE

Church Services on Sundays 10am in the garden (or join on zoom)

Community Café Fridays in August  10:30-12:00 in the Small hall & Astroturf area (just turn up, all welcome, no need to book)

Summer Ball in aid of the Children’s Society  Saturday 21st August  – contact Jan for tickets jan@tompot.co.uk (see page 5 for details)

Prayer Evening Friday 13th August Contact Karen for details via the office parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk

Summer at The Chapel  Wharf Rd, Ash Vale GU12 5AY

Picnic & Play in the Chapel garden. Wednesdays in August  12:00-14:00 text to book 07730 609446 (see inside back cover for details)

Chapel Poetry  Workshop  7:30pm on Friday 13 August on Zoom. Text for the link 07730 609446  (see also page 22&23)

Food Parcel donations accepted at The Chapel on Wednesdays and Fridays 9am-10am thank you. Summer snacks while the children are off school would be a huge help. If you are in need of a crisis parcel please contact Alex 07730 609446 or Carla 07843 489796

Also please watch this space for a community fridge! The project is starting soon — we will keep you updated!

Summer at St Paul’s      Parish Church in Tongham

Churches Together Picnic! 29th August 3pm in the vicarage garden(byo). RSVP via the Church office: 01252 783081

Messy church: August 19th 4pm: details to be confirmed on our facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/stpaulstongham

What’s on in the Autumn Term?

Sundays:

10am –Join St Mary’s for our weekly Church Service. both in person and on Zoom for those shielding or isolating.. Evensong is back too, contact the office for timings. Contact: Parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk

Mondays:

ChapelKids & LittleLambs CoffeeZoom  11am for parents and carers. All welcome, come and have a chat. Contact Alex for the link 07730 609446.

Meet up Mondays 10:30am at ‘The Church on the Green’ in Frimley, just pop in.

St Paul’s Tongham: Mondays 4-4.30pm. Toddler Storytime  – stories, actions and songs Church office: 01252 783081

Tuesdays:

St Mary’s Babies Support Group 10am-11am  A lovely baby group for parents and carers and their little ones from new-born to 12mths old. (Term time only, text to book) Alex: 07730 6094446

St Paul’s Tongham Tuesdays 2.30-4pm Mum Plus— friendship and facilitated discussions. Church office: 01252 783081

Choir Practice at St Mary’s 8-9pm Come and join in making a joyful noise! We currently range in age from 9 to 79, all are welcome, just turn up and sing. Contact: Parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk

Wednesdays:

ChapelKids baby & toddler group at The Chapel  on Wharf Rd (term time only). Call for details and bookings. Alex: 07730609446

St Paul’s Tongham Wednesdays 4-4.30pm. Toddler Storytime. Contact us via the  Church office: 01252 783081

Chapel Craft evenings 8-10pm at The Chapel on Wharf Rd. Join likeminded crafters, bring your latest project and craft while you chat.

Thursdays

Chapel Filmshare: Fortnightly Filmshare evenings at The Chapel—See page 25 for more information

St Pauls Tongham Thursdays 10.30-12noon Baby Plus  – Informal chat session for mums, with some singing and action songs for the little ones. Church office: 01252 783081

Save the date!

  • 16th Sept Messy Church @St Pauls
  • 26th Sept 4pm Messy Church @ St Mary’s
  • 26th Sept Messy Church @St Pauls
  • 2nd Oct Children’s Society Coffee Morning at St Peter’s in Ash 10am
  • 31st Oct Love & Light Event @ St Mary’s
  • Quiz Night in November @St Marys
  • Abbeywood Panto in November 26/27/28
  • 6th Dec St Nicholas Lantern Walk
  • 23rd July 2022 Summer Fair @St Mary’s

Have you enjoyed our Parishioner Magazine, community events and support groups? We would welcome a donation to help us keep everything going. Donations link: https://tinyurl.com/StMAshVale Thank you!

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Chapel Music

News from Matt Weeks, Chapel Musician in Residence

Things in the Ash Vale Chapel Studio have been going well in recent months. Here’s an update of what’s been going on recently…

We’ve had a wonderful variety of different people in:

We had a church choir who came in all the way from Battersea! Due to people moving on, the choir was actually coming to an end, so it was really lovely to be able to capture what they’d been working on so they all had a souvenir of their efforts of the past years.

We had a young rock band in from Wales; XL Live. They are a lovely young group of lads who, by all accounts, haven’t had the easiest of upbringings. So it was amazing to see them enjoy having a day in a studio and to see all their hard work begin to pay off. They loved the space, and were ever so appreciative to have the chance to be using it.

We’ve had some old friends come in to the studio to get their projects mixed. A lovely album which is in progress is a collection of cover versions sung by a father and daughter duo. We’re even bringing the families together!

We also recorded the bass part for a song Brian Doerksen is recording, which has been written about the awful discovery in Canada of 215 bodies of children found buried at an indigenous school.

The Chapel is such a blessing, and we are so pleased to be serving such a wide variety of people.

If you’d like to get in touch you can reach the Chapel Project Team on ashvalechapel@gmail.com on and the website is here: www.ashvalechapel.com

How many ice creams have you spotted in the magazine so far?

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My favourite recipe – Walnut Kisses

One of the joys I had growing up in the late 60’s/early 70’s was coming home from school on a Friday evening to find the kitchen full of wonderful yummy cakes which were being readied for the weekend. My maternal grandmother (Nonna) was from Italian stock; she was born in England but both her parents were Italian, and most of her family still spoke Italian at home. She married an Englishman (Charlie) and had 5 children. My mother was the oldest daughter after her brother, and as my grandfather was ill for much of her teens during the war, my mother became second mum to her younger siblings while Nonna worked, cooking as her mum had, in the Italian style with spaghetti etc. Consequently my brother and I grew up with an accomplished homely cook with a very rich palette of food – not fancy but very tasty.

Obviously our leanings were towards the sweet things. One of the best was a little biscuit called a ‘walnut kiss’ using coffee as the flavouring. Not particularly Italian but it sat right alongside the Victoria Sponge cake or crunchy biscuits which were also favourites. I share it with you as it was written in my mother’s recipe book – some of it you will need to play around with to get it ‘right’!

Walnut Kisses

  • 2oz butter/marg
  • 2oz sugar
  • 1 tsp coffee essence
  • 30z chopped walnuts
  • 3oz SR flour
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon

· Grease a baking tray and preheat the oven to Gas 6 200C, 400F.

· Cream the fat and sugar; beat in the coffee essence.

· Add the lemon rind and nuts.

· Mix in the flour and knead gently with fingertips (Author’s note: it is a dryish mix…if more moisture needed maybe add a drop of lemon juice?)

· Break into small pieces (about walnut size) and form into balls.

· Place on the grease baking tray, wide apart.

· Cook in the oven on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes

· Leave to cool and top with coffee water icing (made with icing sugar and coffee essence).

I have a note that this may be too hot an oven…with the advent of modern ovens the heat can probably be reduced to Gas 5 (190C) for and cooked for 12 minutes.

Guess what I’m going to be cooking this Friday evening!

By Jackie Scott

Would you like to share your favourite recipe? Send it to us at

parishioner@ash-vale.org.uk.

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Friday Night Isonation

The parishioner interviewed Stephen Worsfold, a local DJ who has been busy this year making Friday Nights a lot more fun for us all!

Q.          What is  Isonation?

It’s a bi-weekly live DJ set on a Friday evening from 7pm until 9pm

I love music, and started Isonation as a way of doing my bit while we were in lockdown, so people had something to look forward to on a Friday night.

Q.          Why the name Isonation?

I choose the name as it’s the two words “isolated nation”  – there are also other people using this name so I shorted it into ISONATION – something snappy !

Q.          How do I listen in?

You can either listen in live on a Friday night or you can visit this page to listen to the library of previous sets that are available online. You can also download the mixcloud app and create a free account then follow “isolation-live”.

Q.          What’s been your best experience in the last year running  Isonation?

I did a four and half hour set on New Years Eve 2020 that was my favourite evening.

Q.          How many users do you have listening in?

We have now gone international! We also get an average of 100 people listening in per week.

Q. What are your plans this Summer?

I have a big family, so we are taking a break for the Summer to enjoy time with the children, and will be back with our live sets in the Autumn term, 14th September. If you would like to listen to a sample of what we do, here is a link:

 www.mixcloud.com/isonation-live Enjoy!

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Faith, Hope and Love in Lockdown

News from the Amaha We Uganda team

If lockdown was hard for us here, imagine what it must be like for our friends over in Uganda at the moment. As I write, they are in full lockdown, and our team reports that it is the poorest of the poor who are really struggling to survive. We worry about the poorest in the communities—elderly widows for example—and we pray for the street children, who usually manage to eat each day by labouring in the market places. With the markets shut, they  have no way to make money to get something to eat.

The Amaha We Uganda Team have been instrumental in linking the most vulnerable poor to the local churches, and managing emergency food distribution. This is not the kind of work that they usually do  — after all, Amaha We Uganda is not a relief agency — but they have surrounded the most vulnerable with prayer, in their hour of need, and shown them love. Thank you to all of you in the UK who responded to the emergency appeal. You can  donate online here for this work, which is still ongoing: https://tinyurl.com/AWUcrisis

As if this wasn’t enough to be doing, William and his team are persevering with the unenviable task of planting trees. We have joined Bishop Nasen in his vision to have a tree nursery in each archdeaconry of the South Rwenzori Diocese – 13 in total. Three nurseries have already provided 33,500 saplings and are now in the process of being replanted to grow new saplings. Another five nurseries are under way in the areas of most need. This is a crucial project, since the trees they are planting are the future hope for the region. Reforesting the hills is vital  in maintaining farmable soil, locking away carbon, providing food & shelter and preventing disastrous land slides. The photo below shows some of the very first saplings that were handed out at the women’s conference at Ibanda, and planted on the slopes of The Rwenzori. They have grown beautifully. Can you help us to keep AWU going and plant some more trees please? A Tree nursery costs around £500. Every penny goes a long way in Uganda!  https://tinyurl.com/AWUganda  Thank you for your support!

For more information, blogs and photos: https://www.amahaweuganda.org/

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Neighbourly Reflections

Before lockdown I was very much challenged by a talk at church about how we can love our neighbours; and in fact asking whether we even know any of them. We were asked if we took note of who moved in and if we welcomed people into the street. Jesus was big on telling people to love their neighbour, but I’ve never really looked at it terms of the people in my street – I’ve always seen my neighbour as relating to the people I work with, the parents of my children’s friends etc, because I spend time with those people. We don’t tend to have connections with neighbours other than living next door and sharing a hedge/fence! So the challenge was a good one …. and then lockdown happened!

We have lived in our current house for 24 years and in Ash Vale for 34 years since our marriage. We know our immediate neighbours but have not spoken to many of the others in the street for most of that time – even though there have been comings and goings along the road over the years. I guess the reason I have always used is that our street has only got houses on one side of the road – we can’t look in neighbours’ windows and be nosy! And it makes things a little less easy to connect with those we live side by side with. When we went into lockdown, to my shame I did not dash along to all the neighbours and check that they were all OK – I have followed the isolation rules as was demanded because we have an elderly relative that we have ‘bubbled’ with and so we were not involved with other community initiatives during lockdown. Covid has thrown us all onto a new horizon; giving us new ways of looking at our locality; making us re-evaluate how we work and how we connect with friends and our neighbours. We did become acquainted with one or two via a nod and a ‘Hello!’ as we walked past on our way to pick up shopping from the Village, but that’s about as far as it went.

As the restrictions started to lift in April and May, we started to think outwards again and realised that over lockdown there had been three houses in our little patch alone that had sold and now had new people settling in. Having two sons who also moved during lockdown I appreciate just how difficult a thing it has been for people to move and find out about a locality in these times of restrictions. So things had to change – I no longer wanted to be an ostrich. The best way I know of connecting with people is through food, so we decided to hold a cream tea in the garden which we could do within the restrictions. We hand delivered invitations and invited all the neighbours in the small section of street near our home – about 10 invites in all – and waited. Even though we had left it really late to invite people, we got responses almost straight away and had about 8 families accept the invitation. I was very pleased. The day we chose to host our cream tea was one of the hottest in the late Spring which meant that we could all gather in our shady garden and drink tea, prosecco, wine and eat scones to our hearts content; but more importantly it connected all the households who came together. People were initially hesitant, but by the time the afternoon ended everyone knew who each other was  and which house they lived in. It was the first event of what I hope will be a continuing trend – how can we progress this? How can we really be neighbours to our neighbours?

How have you connected with your neighbours this last 18 months? I would love to know other peoples’ experiences – I want to pick up creative ways to be a good neighbour – to do what Jesus told me to do.

By Jackie Scott

Do you have a story about how you got to know your neighbours, or people being neighbourly? The Parishioner would love to hear from you. parishioner@ash-vale.org.uk

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Summer Ball 21st August 2021

Summer Ball in aid of the Children’s Society

The St Mary’s Ash Vale Children’s Society Support Group have pleasure in inviting you to a Summer Ball in aid of  The Children’s Society. It is the 140th Anniversary of this outstanding Children’s Charity in August and to mark the occasion and raise vital funds for them please come and join us on:

Saturday 21st August from 5.30 – 10pm

Ticket prices:  Adult £10 / Child £3.50

Tickets on sale now from Jan at jan@tompot.co.uk

Ticket price includes:

  • Fish and chip supper*,  from “The Big Fry”
  • Family Disco with DJ Martin
  • Special appearance from some young dancers

* Other alternatives will be available, please enquire

This is a ticket-only event. After costs, all remaining proceeds will go to The Children’s Society.

Message from our sponsor  Apteriors :

“Apteriors are delighted to be able to contribute towards The Children’s Society Summer Ball 2021; we love to create inspiring learning environments for children, and without the hope and happiness that The Children’s Society fights for, the seed of curiosity and inspiration cannot grow.”

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St Mary’s Church Details August 2021

St Mary’s Church, Ash Vale
Roots down… into the Gospel, walls down… into the community

Sunday Morning 10am Services: In the Vicarage Garden this Summer, or on Zoom. You are very welcome to join us in the vicarage garden, or for the zoom option simply email the Parish Administrator to receive the link, or find it on Facebook @StMarysAshVale. In the garden, please maintain social distance for safety. We must not mingle too closely so as to protect all those attending while COVID infection rates are still high. Please stay at home and use Zoom if you have COVID-19 symptoms). We look forward to welcoming you. 

Evensong Wednesdays 8pm: You can Zoom in to Evensong on Wednesday nights . Email the Parish Administrator to join our mailing list and receive the link. Keep in touch as arrangements are always evolving! parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk

Monthly Messy Church:

  •  Sun 26th Sept in church 4pm
  • 31st Oct Love & Light event
  • 6th Dec St Nic Lantern Walk.

Text Alex to book your place at Messy Church: 07730 609446

Vicar: Rev Neil Lambert, 203 Vale Road, Ash Vale, Surrey, GU12 5JE

email: revneil@me.com

Churchwardens: Martin Lindsay and Nikki Glover            

Hon. Treasurer: Patrick Brown

Parish Administrator: Jackie Scott         

E-mail parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk

Office Hours Tues 11am-4pm, Thurs 10am-3pm

Parish Office Mobile: 9am-5pm: 07863 311165

St Mary’s Community Centre

· Large hall & kitchen              

· Small hall & sink / coffee making  area

· Wheelchair accessible toilet

Bookings: Please contact the Parish Administrator for news. We are following latest Government and CofE guidance.

Ash Vale Chapel, Wharf Rd

(Joint project with Hants Surrey Border Methodist Circuit) www.ashvalechapel.com

Project Manager: 07730 609446

Parishioner Magazine Team:

Editors: Alex Sanderson & Neil Lambert

Advertising: Eileen Monds Collation: Alison Shewell   Distribution: Caroline Johnson

Contact the Parishioner team: parishioner@ash-vale.org.uk / Alex: 07730 609446

During the Pandemic we are publishing mainly online, via blog, online PDF, email and social media, with paper copies on request. Please collect your copy at St Mary’s or text us: 077309 609446  www.ash-vale.org.uk

We are hugely grateful to a small army of willing volunteers who contribute, collate, publish, email, print, bundle and deliver The Parishioner to all our readers!