Please take care when visiting the church hall after dark as some of the outside lights outside are not working. A solution is in hand and the issue should be fixed in the next few weeks.
Remember to book your breakfast for Easter Sunday, 17 Apr: We are looking forward to having breakfast together on Easter Sunday – sausage and bacon rolls with vegetarian and gluten-free options. Breakfast will be available from after the 6am Dawn Service until 10am. Please sign up now via the website or MyChurchSuite so we have an idea of numbers and when to expect you: Click here to book your Easter Breakfast
Easter postcards and posters are available in church. Please help yourself to pass to friends and neighbours, or put up in your window!
Sharing your Stories about a time in your life when you felt that God was especially close to you are being pinned to the noticeboard being used to enclose our Lady Chapel throughout Lent. Do enjoy the comfortable seats and cushions, arranged to encourage visitors to reflect and don’t forget to add your story to the board.
Homemade Stall: Sun 3 Apr between 9.30 and 11.15. The Homemade Stall has already sent £335 to AMADET this year, to be transferred to the Centre for Urban Mission in Nairobi. Thank you! This is a great start to the year. The money will be spent, as always, on the homework clubs and the apprenticeship schemes in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
Help Required! Our band of helpers has diminished recently and we would love some more people to join our team – we need more folk on the actual stall on the first Sunday of the month and more people donating homemade goods and garden produce to be sold. We can sell just about anything home-grown, or homemade. If you have a skill that you think may work, have a chat with one of the team this Sunday and please get baking, or dividing perennials, or potting up seedlings and bring them on Sunday. If you just don’t have the time to bake, paint, craft, or garden, then do please bring some money and come and take a look this Sunday, between the 9.30 Parish Communion and the 11.15 informal service. See you there and thank you again for your continuing support.
The Community Fridge will not be opening on Bank Holiday Mondays and therefore will be closed on 18th April and 2nd May. We are hoping to trial the idea of a small Coffee Shop running alongside the Community Fridge sometime in May. Please let Julie Partridge know if you are interested in joining the Monday team, julie@stmarysfetcham.org.uk
Golf Day: Thurs 1 Sept – Don’t forget to sign up for our popular annual golf event at The Drift Golf Course from 1pm on Thursday 1 September 2022. Cost £37 with BBQ at the club afterwards. Please sign up to this event via MyChurchSuite so we can gauge interest and also contact you with any information. Any questions please contact Brian Egles on bjegles@googlemail.com
In need of beds for the night of Fri 27 May: The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Football Team are looking forward to playing a friendly match against The Times Staff on Sat 28 May at the Dorking Wanders stadium. There will be 18 visiting team members to the area, the vast majority of which are ordained, who will be looking for somewhere to stay. Could you host 1 or 2 people for the evening of Fri 27 May? The team will be enjoying the evening meal and breakfast together so its just a bed required. If you can help, please contact the Parish Office or use the sign up facility on MyChurchSuite. Thank you!
Notice of APCM: Sunday 1 May, 12noon. Further details to follow.
Electoral Roll: Revised annually and in conjunction with the APCM this is the time to join. If you are already a member of the Electoral Roll you don’t need to do anything. If you wish to join St Mary’s Electoral Roll you must complete and return the attached Electoral Roll application and return it to office@stmarysfetcham.org.uk at your earliest convenience or drop it to the Parish Office. We strongly encourage you to join the Electoral Roll, which is, in effect, a list of church members. If you have any questions regarding the APCM or the Electoral Roll, please contact office@stmarysfetcham.org.uk, one of the Churchwardens Jennie Coles, Janet Clark or our Electoral Roll Officer, Hazel Reid.
Captain Concorde – An evening with Captain Brian Walpole, OBE: Sat 30 April, 7.30pm –Enjoy a very special evening with as Brian Walpole, sharing how he became general manager of Concorde, flying the Royal Family and Prime Ministers across the world and how he ame to know Christ. Trinity School, Leatherhead. Organised by Grace Church, Leatheread
Diocesan Mothers’ Union Quiet Day: Wed 27 April, 10am-3.30pm – You are warmly invited to join the this at the Church of St Thomas on the Bourne, Farnham. It is open to men and women, regardless of whether you are a member of the Mothers’ Union or not. The cost of the day is £20 with a bring and share lunch. The Theme of the day is ‘Welcoming Transformation’ and will be led by The Revd Haydon Wilcox, Chaplain to St Columba’s House, Woking. Please email: haydonwilcox@mac.com for a brochure and booking form to be emailed or posted to you.
Prayers
We continue to pray for those who are unwell: Diana Baechler, Anais Featherstone, Gerry Fleming, John Cooper, Lynn Alsop, Elaine Mead and Don Lamberth.
We also pray for those is residential care: June Williams, Mavis Lake and Tony Day.
The Diocesan calendar of prayer for April is for the deaneries of Epsom and Leatherhead and can be downloaded from their website. St Mary’s is on Friday 22nd where we ask for prayer for:
- The new opportunities for us to serve young families and youth, both inside and outside church, and particularly in our wider community.
- Our wardens, PCC members and Ministry Team as we seek to put into practice our vision statement of ‘Knowing Jesus, Sharing Faith and Loving Service’.
UKRAINE UPDATE
Paul Barker and the Fetcham/Bookham/Cobham Freebay team have worked extraordinarily hard to co-ordinate the local donations of clothes, equipment and much more for Ukraine. Last weekend they dropped off their collection to White Eagle Club / Klub Orła Białego and noted the lack of medical equipment. Indeed their boxes made up most of it! If you would like to add to their collection prioritising medical items from the list below please take to 17a Cannon Grove, between 9am-5pm:
cold/flu remedies, medical gloves/aprons , eyes/ears/nose OTC medications, thermometers, children’s meds (Calpol, Neurofen, Sudocrem), plasters, non-adhesive dressings, bandages, self-adhesive dressings, antiseptic wipes, vitamins, skin creams (Savlon, Germoline), rehydration / laxatives / diarrhoea / indigestion meds, medical masks, pain relief (Paracetamol, Neurofen), whole first aid kits (as in their Amazon wish list )
They also have a Go Fund Me set up to support the costs of this massive logistical challenge.
The DEC Ukraine Humanitarian campaign continues. Should you wish to donate directly go to : https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal
Services
- 8am Communion Sunday Service – said Book of Common Prayer
- 9.30am Communion Service – sung Common Worship
- 11.15am Informal Worship Service – in church and live-streamed on YouTube Channel
- 10am Thursday – Communion service
- Private Prayer in Church : Monday to Saturday 09:00 -16:00. Please adhere to guidelines.
- Saturday Morning Prayer at 9.00-9.30am weekly in church
What’s On at Guildford Cathedral
We have received some flyers for a variety of events taking place at Guildford Cathedral. There are flyers on the noticeboard inside the church hall, but here is the information in summary:
Family Fun Day: Wed 6 April – Aimed at all primary school aged children. Plenty of Easter activities, some of which allow the children to explore the beautiful Cathedral. On the first Wednesday of every month, they also run a Cathedral Tots informal service for babies and pre-schoolers, their parents/carers. Music, craft activities, story time and free play, all take place.
Coffee Concerts: Thurs 7 April – They have a packed programme for their Coffee Concerts running from March to November (not July). They take place in the Cathedral on Thursday mornings, with tea, coffee, and biscuits available from 10.30am, the concerts will start at 11.15am and finish at midday. Freed to attend, although donations welcome. In April thy have the uplifting ‘Motivation by Music’ choir who have a gospel vibe. Throughout the year there are a wide variety of musicians and performers attending the coffee mornings.
Friends of Guildford Cathedral: Mon 9 May – This is a day trip to The Galleries exhibition at Westminster Abbey. Includes two-course lunch at the Cellarium, entrance to the Galleries and attendance at Choral Evensong at 5pm at the Abbey which will be sung by Boys’ voices. Tickets cost £45-50
John Rutter, The Gift of Life at Guildford Cathedral 60th Anniversary Concert: Sat 21 May, 7.30pm – John Rutter will conduct Guildford Cathedral Choir singing his composition, The Gift of Life. The choir will also sing Veni Creator Spiritus by Phillip Moore, conducted by Katherine Dienes-Williams, a specially commissioned piece for the Guildford Cathedral Choir. Tickets from £5, for more information and to book please visit : https://www.guildford-cathedral.org/events/boxoffice/599
Diary Dates:
Check your MyChurchSuite to see what’s going on and to get more details or prebook. Here’s a brief summary:
Sun 3 April – Vision Sunday – Sharing Faith (I am Sending You Like Sheep…)
Sun 3 April – Homemade Stall & Secondhand Books
Tues 5 Apr – Lent Course : Growing Good (week 5)
Wed 6 Apr – Bereavement Café
Fri 8 Apr – Easter Messy Church
Sun 10 Apr – Palm Sunday
Tues 12 Apr – Lent Course : Growing Good (week 6)
Thurs 14 Apr – Maundy Thursday 10am Holy Communion
Thurs 14 Apr – 8pm Communion followed by Readings of the Watch
Fri 15 Apr – Good Friday Lady Chapel Reflection Space
Sun 17 April – Easter Sunday 6am, 8am and 10.30am
(breakfast 6.30-10am)
Sat 23 Apr – Who Let The Dads Out?
Sat 30 Apr – Afternoon Tea (pre-book)
Sun 1 May – APCM
Mon 9 May – Community Café trial begins
Fri 27 May – Beds for 18 CofE Football team members
Thurs 1 Sept – Golf Day at The Drift – bjegles@googlemail.com
Sat 3 Sept – Parish Away Day
Regulars
Mondays – Community Fridge 10-11am (9.30am from 9 May)
Mondays – The Drop-In (ages 11-16) 4-5.30pm
Wednesdays – Youth Night (ages 11-16) 7.30-9pm
Fridays – Footprints Baby & Toddler Group / FM Life (alternating) 10-11.30am
Fridays – The Lighthouse (ages 7-11) (except when Messy Church is on!) 3.30-5pm
Friday – Messy Church (all the family) 2nd of the month 3.30-5.30pm
Sundays – Activ8 for under 11s and Sunday Youth for 11+ during 11.15 service
The vulnerable and disadvantaged need our support
Surrey and North East Hampshire are generally regarded as affluent parts of the country. However, there are many in the diocese who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. As we begin to emerge from the pandemic we can clearly see the damage that it has wreaked in these communities, with many continuing to feel the effects of isolation and food poverty, having difficulty accessing the support they need and now facing sharply rising fuel bills and inflation.
The Bishop of Guildford’s Communities Fund makes grants of around £40,000 a year to parishes and charities which are reaching out to help those in need across the diocese. The range of community projects funded in recent years includes those which support people with disabilities, mental ill-health, the isolated and marginalised, young families and older people. The Fund also supports training and skills programmes to help young people into work.
It is financed by collections at licensing and confirmation services, Lent giving, an annual sponsored walk and contributions from both individuals and parishes. However, the Fund can only give away as much as it raises. With many of the services at which a collection would have been taken cancelled as a result of the pandemic, Lent giving and fund-raising events have become even more important as sources of funds to support those in need.
So, this year, Bishop Andrew is making a LENT APPEAL throughout the Diocese, asking both parishes and individuals to make the Bishop of Guildford’s Communities Fund the focus of your Lent giving in 2022. As the pandemic leaves many vulnerable and facing huge uncertainty, we need your help more than ever before. You can donate online via one of the links below.
You can find out more about the Bishop of Guildford’s Communities fund and the work it supports at www.bgcf.org.uk. To go to the Lent Appeal campaign and donation page on LocalGiving click here.
Our work is only possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. We would be incredibly grateful for your support.
__________________________________________________________________
Rev Pouya Heidari: rector@stmarysfetcham.org.uk 01372 375660 (day off Friday)Parish Office : office@stmarysfetcham.org.uk 01372 375000 (Mon-Fri 9-12)