roots down walls down
By Steph Farry
Why not make your own ‘stained glass’ paper lantern, to help bring a cosy atmosphere to a winter’s night? You can even bring it with you on the St Nicholas Lantern Walk on the 6th December, to help light the way!
You will need:
Continue reading “St Nicholas Day Lantern Craft”Sunday 31 October 21
4pm-7pm Free Community Fun!
Contact us to book! 07730 609446
Book Today! Our Love & Light trail this year starts at St Mary’s on Vale Rd and finishes at The Chapel on Wharf Rd with music, fairy lights, food, sweets and hot chocolate. (outside if fine, inside if wet) Start times and group sizes will be advised once we know what the covid rules are, but please book now to secure a place. If you complete the trail you will also receive a messy church Love and Light kit to take home, so be sure to get your name on the list and we will have your bag ready for you.
Do you live between The Chapel and St Mary’s? Please fill your windows and gardens with lights and hearts on 31st October! If you’re happy to display a trail clue in your window on the day please get in touch, Alex would love to include you! Thank You xxx
projectmanager@ash-vale.org.uk / 07730 609446 (Alex)
St Mary’s Church, Vale Rd, Ash Vale
(Contact 07730 609446)
26th September 4pm
31st October Love & Light Event
6th December St Nicholas Lantern Walk
Frimley Green Methodist Church
(Contact 01252 517045)
19th September
(3rd Sundays of the month)
St Paul’s Church, Tongham
(Contact 01252 783081)
19th August, 16th Sept
Details online here: https://www.stpaulstongham.org.uk/messy-church
Baby Plus and Toddler Plus at St. Paul’s church, Tongham
Here at St. Paul’s we run multiple groups for families with children of all ages, from babies right through to young adults. Our aim is not only to provide experiences for the children but also to support their parents in every way we can.
As the community worker for St Paul’s church in Tongham, my key role is to support families with children below school age and particularly new parents with babies. I have over 20 years of experience in this area as I worked for the NCT for 12 years, then the local Children’s Centre for another three before moving to work at St. Paul’s church. I also have three adult children of my own but no grand children yet!
We currently run two groups that are totally FREE for mums/dads/grandparents and their children to attend. We are meeting outside, to allow us to accommodate more families and this is likely to remain the case until the end of the summer. We haven’t had to cancel a session yet due to the weather! We are embracing the outside ‘forest school’ nature of the sessions, with messy play an easier option outside and a chance for the little ones to really explore the outside world as well as the parents gaining fresh air and sense of space.
Toddler plus
This group is for those just walking to about 2/2.5ish and is on a Wednesday, 10.30-12. The toddlers can explore and do some messy play, whilst parents chat and support one another. We also do some actions songs and have bubbles to chase.
Baby Plus
Is for the little ones from just days old to once they are toddling around. This is on a Thursday 10.30-12 Again parents can chat and make new friends, whilst the little ones are also learning with some baby sensory experiences, action songs and bubbles.
We meet throughout the year, including the school holidays. We meet in the vicarage garden which is the house right next door to the community centre carpark, so please park there and walk round. The garden is huge, with plenty of lawn for rugs and woodland area to explore.
It is a bit of a DIY experience at the moment, as you need to bring your own picnic rugs and toys (which you are happy to share). Also unfortunately you also need to bring your own and your children’s drinks and snacks.
Both groups are incredibly friendly, supportive and welcoming, so we look forward to seeing you soon. I also run a WhatsApp group for each group which allows you to share questions and organise meet ups throughout the week.
Find us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2574450836214712/
Although we do not charge for our sessions, donations can be made on our website. www.stpaulstongam.org.uk
Contact Claire B for further details on: communityworker@stpaulstongham.org.uk
or you can call the Parish Office on 01252 783081
Children & Families at St Mary’s & The Chapel
At St Mary’s and The Chapel we are fortunate to have some lovely young families who come to church, and some wonderful friends, of all faiths and none, who join us for the various groups, online chats and live zooms.
For those at home we have a Messenger Chat and a weekly coffee zoom for parents and carers Mondays 11am Zoom ID: 520 880 119 Password: Grownups
For the Summer term 2021 We have opened up carefully and slowly, with an indoor Babies Support Group at St Mary’s on Vale Road on Tuesdays 10am-11am for little ones under 12 months, and an outdoor Chapel Kids “Garden Praise” session for all ages 0-4yrs at The Chapel on Wharf Rd on Wednesdays 11:30am—12:30. Our favourite this term has been planting lots of scrummy edibles for here and home!
Monthly Messy Church is back (book early!) with one family / bubble per table in church at St Mary’s, and we are offering doorstep kits for anyone who prefers to stay at home or isn’t able to book due to the restrictions on numbers. Sundays 4pm:
27th Jun, 18th Jul, 26th Sept, 31st Oct
Picnic & Play—we have exciting plans to open up The Chapel again this summer, every Wednesday in August Keep an eye on Facebook! @AshValeChapel
Come and join the fun!
Phone or text Alex on 07730 609446
Projectmanager@ash-vale.org.uk
We had so much fun with the lost sheep trail at Half Term, we are doing another one for Easter!
Please pop an Easter Egg, Easter Scene, Easter Garden, Easter Wreath or even a knitted Easter Egg in your window or front garden in time for Easter Sunday, and leave it up for 2 weeks, so we can all enjoy finding them during the Easter Holidays. We have our Easter Trail web page ready to go, and will add all your trail locations to our list in time for Easter Day.
Trail link: https://ash-vale.org.uk/easter-trail-4th-18th-april-2021/ Click here to see where to start hunting for Easter windows!
Continue reading “The Ash Vale Easter Trail!”We had so much fun with the sheep, we are doing another one for Easter! Can you find them all? Read on to see the full trail list!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the Sheep Trail! We had a lovely time and we hope you did too. 💕🐑 The trail is now closed, but let us know which was your favourite sheep, we have a little prize for them! 🙂 text 07730609446
Can you find all these sheep? Why not see if you can find them all this half term? We have also hidden 17 sheep in the Parishioner Magazine, you can pick up a paper copy of it at St Mary’s.
Keep them coming – If you’ve got a sheep on display, send us it’s name and location and we will add them to the trail. 07730 609446. The more the merrier, we have all half term to enjoy the hunt for the lost sheep!
Share your photos online with the hashtag #AshValeSheepTrail and tell us who’s your favourite, or why not comment here?
Stay safe and have fun everyone!
#AshValeSheepTrail #LostSheepTrail #LoveWhereWeLive #AshVale #Ash #AshGreen #HalfTermFun #SociallyDistancedFun #LoveYourNeighbours #Community
Get ready for the Lost Sheep Trail this Half term!
Put a sheep on display in your window, shop front or garden and let us know, so we can add you to the list, then use the list for a Sheep-spotting walk as part of your daily exercise in half term!
Click here for the list of sheep to find!
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”