roots down walls down
Remember to book for Picnic and Play at The Chapel (Wharf Rd, Ash Vale) in the summer holidays and why not bring a friend! #PicnicAndPlay
We need volunteers on Wednesdays this summer to set up / serve food and drinks / run the activities/ clear down. If you can help please see Alex! Thank you xxx
Picnic and play donations link: https://givealittle.co/c/4BYNqSiaQc0wz1KTSgzKPz
Calling all flower arrangers! Whether you can just put fresh blooms in a jam jar, or are a skilled artist who can work with pedestals and oasis, we need your help please.
Steph needs some new volunteers to join the St Mary’s flower arranging team. You can volunteer as often as you like, no pressure to ake a weekly commiment – even once a term is a huge help. It’s a lovely job, making the church beautiful for Sunday services and special occasions.
Interested? Text us on 07730 609446 or message us on facebook @stmarysashvale and we will put you in touch with Steph. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.
#Flowers #ChurchFlowers #FlowerArranging #Community #Volunteers #ChurchDecoration #FunWithFlowers #Creativity
Reflections on Memories in Poetry
Many thanks to everyone who entered the poetry competition published in the previous Parishioner Magazine. We had some wonderful entries and were only sad not to be able to include them all in the new collection. We also want to thank everyone who came to the poetry evening, and donated for books, to help fund The Chapel Project. Huge congratulations to our Poetry Competition winners, Kit Vessey and Michael D Rose who won 1st and 2nd prizes. Here are their poems for you to enjoy (published with kind permission, copyright is retained by the authors).
Geography
Palatial
ice giant
a white tongue on the landscape,
you skirr somnolently through hillsides
on a ballet of debris –
a geological pencil-sharpener.
Your blistered surface is a mirror maze,
infested with the hammer-blow entertainments
of a travelling fair,
a cavernous lure, driving sunlight
deep into the churning score
of your battleship-sleep.
By Michael D Rose ©2021
Mirror Mind– 2nd Prize Winner
The Day I Lost My Memory
The day I lost my memory
Was a Wednesday
I think.
I put her down
Absentmindedly
On the kitchen counter,
Turned distractedly from
The kettle
To watch the dust motes
Sparkle in a shaft of daylight.
I did not miss her
Initially.
My mind twinkled with
Images of light darting on
The eiderdown which
Lay over heavy blankets forming
A counterpane land of
My childhood frailty…
Weak legs
Strong mind
Strong legs
Weak mind.
I have heard it said that
Those who lose their memory
Often keep their physical prowess.
A whistle blew.
I turned back
And wondered about the nature of the
Here and Now.
The There and Then.
The pain of loss
Is a burden
I pass on to another being.
I left something,
Someone
Here
Before the daylight struck.
But I can’t remember
Who she was.
By Kit Vessey © 2021
Mirror Mind – 1st prize winner
It’s no too late! If you would like a copy of the Mirror Mind collection, contact Alex our Project Manager on 07730 609446 or ashvalechapel@gmail.com. Suggested donation £5 each, in aid of the Chapel Project, to help us keep everything running.
If you love writing poetry, why not join in? The next Poetry workshop is on Friday 13th August 7:30pm on Zoom. #Hospitality #Creativity #Worship Text 07730 609446 for details.
Chapel Arts Monthly Makes—Debi Retallick
Debi is continuing to run the monthly make on Zoom but hoping to return to face to face sessions at the Chapel from September…..
May’s monthly make was a Bird sculpture; one of the participants has caught the making bug and is now on her 9th Bird sculpture; she’s even teaching her friends to make them!
June Monthly Make: Join Debi for the next monthly make to do some wire work, creating your own dragonfly: 4pm on Tuesday 1st June 2021.
Continue reading “Chapel Project News”
By Alex Sanderson
With so much uncertainty we are being very slick and adaptable (otherwise known as making a new plan every time the rules change!) But we do have a plan and we will be putting the mess into Messy Church for you all to enjoy some family friendly church activities in 2021. So what’s on the list?
Continue reading “Messy Church fun in 2021”
Weekly Events:
Sundays 10am –Join St Mary’s for our weekly Church Service. All are welcome. During lockdown we will be on Zoom only, and once the doors open again we will be both in zoom and in person. Contact us to go on the weekly email list for links and news. Parishoffice@ash-vale.org.uk Wednesday night Evensong is back too, contact the office for the latest timings.
Continue reading “What’s on in Ash Vale? Feb/March 2021”