The Venerable Paul Davis, Archdeacon of Surrey, is to become the next Bishop of Dorking. Guildford has been home to the Bishop of Dorking designate and his family since 2017, with Paul serving in his current role as Archdeacon of Surrey, responsible for the pastoral care and wellbeing of over 150 clergy, whilst sitting on the Bishop of Guildford’s leadership team. To watch and interview with Paul click on the image
Paul will be ordained as a bishop in Westminster Abbey on Fri 29 Sept. A service of welcome will be held at Guildford Cathedral on Sun 8 Oct at 6.00pm. More details will be available shortly.
Paul says; “Whilst I am slightly daunted by the responsibility to be entrusted to me, my heart is full of joy at the prospect of continuing to serve a diocese and people I have grown to love. For the past six years, I have been constantly inspired by the faith, hope and love that pours out of our churches, schools and chaplaincies in the work of transforming lives. I feel immensely blessed to have been called to serve alongside Bishop Andrew in leading and caring for this diocese and, with the help of God, will do that to the very best of my ability.”
Reminder that there is NO 11.15 service this Sunday 30 July
Please come to the 8am or 9.30am service, both of which are going ahead as usual.
Afternoon Tea – Sat 29 July, 3-4:30pm: We welcome the older people in the community to come to our church hall to enjoy tea, chat and occasional entertainment on the last Saturday of each month. Please sign up here, contact the Parish Office on email office@stmarysfetcham.org.uk or 01372 375000. Do share with friends and neighbours who you think would benefit from enjoying the afternoon. We look forward to enjoying your company.
Goodbye to the Heidari Family: We said a sad farewell to Pouya, Debo and the boys at their last Sunday with us on 16 July and, thanks to everybody’s generosity, were able to give them £3,000+ and a lovely book of messages and photos from the church family. They are busily settling into their new home in Maryland, USA. We wish them every blessing for the future.
Message from the New Rector Working Group: Those writing the Parish Profile would like to enhance it with some of your quotes. Many thanks to those who have sent in your thoughtful quotes about what you like about Fetcham and St Mary’s. If you haven’t yet had a chance to send in yours and would like to, you still have until Monday 31st July to do so. Please encourage your children or young people to participate too – we would like the voice of our whole church to be represented though of course there won’t be room to include every quote in the parish profile. We are looking for shortish sentences or phrases and believe your responses to the following questions could help to convey something of the character and vibe of life at St Mary’s and help potential candidates to get a feel for our unique community and the wonderful place in which we live:
What makes Fetcham a great place to live?
What do you like about our church? What does St Mary’s mean to you?
Choose and name a specific church activity or wider St Mary’s activity e.g. Worship / Holy Communion / Messy Church / Coffee/Flower Ministry / Home Group / The Drop-In / Afternoon Tea Party / Community Fridge / Bereavement Café / Who Let the Dads Out? / Harvest at the Farm (to name a few) and say why this is inspiring, helpful or enjoyable.
Please email the Parish Office office@stmarysfetcham.org.uk. Alternatively, please write them on paper and hand to a duty warden or drop them in at the office. Thank you for your help!
Prayer Session – Thurs 10 Aug, 7.30pm: Along with the request from the New Rector Working Group there is more you can contribute to the whole process of finding a new Rector. We will hold special times of praise and prayer during the next few months, each of which focusing on one particular task: during the Section 11 meeting, during the interview day, etc. But first of all, we will pray for the small group with the large task of describing our church to potential applicants. Each one of us can pray in the privacy of our own home but there is something very special about getting together as a church family and lifting our prayers to God. So, if you can, please come and join us in church on Thursday 10 August at 7.30pm
St Mary’s Family Fun Day at Manor House School: Despite the inclement weather last Saturday, we had a wonderful afternoon gathered together at Manor House School. The children enjoyed the bouncy castle and games which we set up in the large gym area and there was a lovely buzz of conversation and laughter in the dining areas where much tea and cake was eaten. Huge thanks to all the team that helped organise this event and special thanks to Sharon and Ed for entertaining us with live music throughout the afternoon.
Summer Family Fun – What a great start to the summer holidays it has been. The hall was full of families enjoying time together, playing with others and a space away from their homes on a wet Monday afternoon. We enjoyed welcoming families from Footprints, Messy Church, and across the wider community with a buzzing atmosphere and children able to enjoy the wide range of toys, join in craft activities and much more. We are looking forward to the other summer events with our next one being a Summer Family Fun and Messy Church, BYO Picnic and games on Friday 11 August, all are welcome to come.
Community Fridge & Coffee Shop: Last Monday saw the largest number of people attending the Community Fridge and Coffee Shop. It was wonderful to be able to share out all the fresh food that had been collected so that nothing went to waste. Both the Community Fridge and Coffee Shop will be running throughout the summer holidays (except BH Monday). Why not meet a friend for a cuppa or bring the children down to play in the play area? We continue every Monday during the holidays except 28 Aug bring a Bank Holiday.
Frozen Vegan food giveaway: The Community Fridge has collected quite a lot of vegan food over the past few weeks which is being stored in our freezers. If you know of someone who is vegan, we would love to invite them to pop down to the community fridge on a Monday between 10-11am to pick it up.
Reminder that there is no Activ8 or Sunday Youth throughout August.
Youth Weekend Away – 29 Sept to 1 Oct: We’re super excited to be having a Youth Weekend Away! It’s for any young people in school years 7-13 to come away for a super fun weekend of activities, a chance to unwind and make some great memories! Contact Nathan for more info and booking details: youth@stmarysfetcham.org.uk
Youth summer socials!: We have 4 exciting summer socials on offer to young people in school years 7-13! All are welcome to come and invite friends! Please contact Nathan with how to book your young person on: youth@stmarysfetcham.org.uk
Other news
Coffee Morning and Sale, Sat 29 July, 10:30-12.30: Handmade gifts, leatherworks, jewellery, scarves, batik cards raising money forNepal Leprosy Trust at Eastwick Road Church Eastwick, KT23 4BE.
Dementia Awareness Talk – Tues 5 Sept, 10-11am: Elaine Crutchley will give a helpful short talk in the Foyer @ Eastwick Road Church, KT23 4BE, with time for questions and prayers afterwards if requested, over a cup of tea and cake. Family, friends and neighbours welcome. Please use this opportunity to reach out to someone and to accompany them to this event. Further info: 07939 053315.
Bishop of Guildford Communities Fun Sponsored Walk – Sat 16 Sept: Bishop Andrew is leading a sponsored walk to raise money for the Bishop of Guildford’s Communities Fund, which provides grants for parish outreach projects which help the poorest, the marginalised and vulnerable in our diocese. This year we are walking the Wey towpath with walks of varying length starting from West Byfleet, Send and Guildford – to find out more click on this link where you will find information about the routes, timing and how to sign up.
A Week of Accompanied Prayer Guildford Cathedral, Sun 8–Mon 16 Oct: Organised by The Guildford Diocese Spiritual Director Network. Meeting together at Guildford Cathedral on Sun 8 Oct at 4 pm for an initial gathering, and to meet your prayer guide. For the week you will commit to pray for half an hour a day, sometimes using material provided by the guides. You then meet daily with the guide to talk through what happened in the prayer time. On Fri 13 Oct you will meet for an informal service and refreshments at 7.30, venue TBA. There will be an opportunity to share the outcome of our journey with others. In order to meet some of the expenses of the week you will be asked to contribute £35. Please contact L Scrivener at mailto:woapguildford@hotmail.com if this might be a barrier to participation. More info in church hall foyer.
Assistant Administrator Vacancy: Do you know anyone on a gap year or looking for their first job? They have a 1yr fixed contract starting mid-September in Church House Guildford as Assistant Administrator. There will be opportunities to work with different teams during the year to gain experience in different working practices and an understanding of how the Diocese works. Salary is £21,500. We are looking for an enthusiastic person who can learn quickly, adapt to working with different people, is organised and fairly IT literate. Click here for more info.
Church Growth 2023 – Wed 22 Nov, 10am-4pm at St Paul’s Howell Hill: Nicky Gumbel, Rachel Gardner of Youthscape and Bev Mason, Bishop of Warrington and trustee of Leading your Church into Growth, are among the speakers at this year’s Guildford Diocese Church Growth Conference which will be held at St Paul’s Howell Hill on Wednesday 22 November (10am-4pm). All are welcome, and clergy are encouraged to bring their wider leadership teams and potential leaders.
Nicky will be drawing upon his long experience of church leadership and evangelism to explore how churches can enter into a new season of growth, while Rachel will speak on ‘growing intergenerational churches’ and +Bev will examine how to develop a church growth strategy suited to your context and church tradition.
There will then be two separate afternoon streams – one on community engagement and faith sharing, and the other on growing your ministry to children, families and young people. Both will be highly practical and will draw upon the experience of the fastest-growing churches in the diocese and nationally.
The day will be opened by Bishop Andrew who commented ‘This conference presents a wonderful opportunity for church leaders to bring their lay and ordained teams and those who may have the potential to help lead in the future, to be inspired and equipped. I hope you can join us.
Places can be booked now at ChurchGrowth2023.eventbrite.co.uk. Any questions, contact David Senior.
Diary Dates:
Check your MyChurchSuite to see what’s going on and to get more details or prebook. Here’s a brief summary:
Sat 29 July – Afternoon Tea, 3-4:30pm
Sun 30 July – No Eleven15 today (New Wine)
Mon 31 July – Frozen Vegan Food giveaway at Community Fridge
Wed 2 Aug – Bereavement Café 10-11.30am
Thurs 3 Aug – Youth Summer Car Wash, 1-5pm
Sun 6 Aug – No Homemade Stall and Second-hand Books in August
Thurs 10 Aug – Prayer Session NRWG, 7.30pm
Fri 11 Aug – Messy Church Picnic & Games, 4-5:30pm
Tues 15 Aug – Games @ The Park, Cock Lane, 2-4:30pm
Thurs 17 Aug – Thursday 10am Communion & Coffee Morning/Hear Hear
Thurs 24 Aug – Youth Bookham to Downside, 2-5pm
Sat 26 Aug – Afternoon Tea, 3-4:30pm
Mon 28 Aug – No Community Fridge or Coffee Shop
Wed 30 Aug – Youth Board Games & Pizza, 3-6pm
Fri 1 Sept – Family Drop In, 10am-12pm
Sun 3 Sept – Homemade Stall and Second-hand Books
Sat 9 Sept – Ride and Stride Bike Ride
Sat 16 Sept – Heritage Open Day
Sat 16 Sept – Who Let The Dads Out, 9:30-11:30am
Sat 30 Sept – Afternoon Tea, 3-4:30pm
29 Sept-1 Oct – Youth Weekend Away
Sun 8 Oct – Harvest Celebration, 10:30am
Sun 8 Oct – Welcome Ven Paul Davies Archdeacon, Guildford Cathedral, 6pm
Weekly Regulars
Monday – Community Fridge 10-11am (not open on Bank Holidays)
Monday – Community Coffee Shop 10-11.30am (not open on Bank Holidays)
Running in Term Time
Monday – The Drop-In (School Yrs 7-13) 4-5.30pm
Tuesday – Youth Night (School Yrs 7-13) 7.30-9pm
Thursday – Coffee Stop @ Fetcham Village Hall 9-10:30am
Friday – Footprints Baby & Toddlers 10-11.30am
Friday – Messy Church (all the family) 2nd of the month 3.30-5.30pm
Sunday – Activ8 for under 11s and Sunday Youth for 11+ during 11.15 service
Sunday Services
8am Communion Service : said Book of Common Prayer
9:30am Communion Service : sung Common Worship
11:15am Worship Service : informal with worship band (no service Sun 30 July)
Also, 10am Thursday : Communion Service (monthly 3rd Thursday)
Prayers
We welcome you to join us at St Mary’s for:
Monday Morning Prayers : 8:00-8:30am
Private Prayer in Church : Monday to Saturday 09:00 -16:00
We pray for the young people who are waiting for exam results and their future studies and for those attending New Wine this week.
Diocesan Calendar of Prayer for August. This month we pray for the deaneries of Guildford and Surrey Heath.
We continue to pray for those who are unwell: Lynn Alsop, Fay Burroughs, Anais Featherstone, Gill Hanson, John Cooper, Elaine Mead, Vera Cameron and Matthew Aldrich.
And those in residential care: June Williams, Sheila Bramwell and Ena Seward
UHT Milks (full fat and semi skimmed), Sponge puddings – URGENT, Cooking sauce, Pulses – tinned and dry, Instant Mash, Long-life juice, Honey, Sugar (small bags), Small chocolate bars / treats, Men’s deodorant, Shampoo / Conditioner, Nappies sizes 5+ and 6+