Mission & Charitable Links

FaB Repair Café

Lots of items get thrown away sometimes with almost nothing wrong with them which could easily be repaired with just a little bit of know-how.  Fetcham and Bookham Repair Café offers teams of volunteers that can share their knowledge and offer you help and advice on how the item can be repaired, reused or recycled.

The repair café meets on the first Saturday of every month at St  Mary’s Church Hall and you are welcome to bring your broken household items and our team of skilled volunteers will do their very best to try to repair them. The repair café is open from 10.00am until 1pm with last repairs being accepted at 12.30pm. More details can be found by visiting : https://fetchamandbookhamrepaircafe.com/

Please contact fabrepaircafe@gmail.com with any questions or call 01372 375000

Community Fridge & Coffee Shop

We are closed on Bank Holiday Mondays

The Community Fridges were set up primarily to prevent food waste.  All the food is surplus and comes mainly from local supermarkets.  Since January 2022 we have been hosting Community Fridge where you can come along and help yourself to surplus bread, fruit and veg and other goodies from local supermarkets.

We also have a Coffee Shop running alongside. We are selling coffee, a selection of teas, biscuits and delicious cake.  There is plenty of parking, an area to sit and relax and children’s toys. The team look forward to welcoming you, whether you are just visiting the coffee shop, or fridge, or both!

Bookham Baptist Church on Lower Road:
     Tuesday from 11.15 to 12.15, Friday from 11.30 to 12.30 and Saturday from 10.30 to 12.00

St Marys Church in Fetcham:
     Monday from 10.00 to 11.00

The Grange Centre , Rectory Lane
Tuesday from 10.30 to 11.30

Mid-Surrey Community Fridge continues to send a van to Space on Dorking Road (next to Chrystie Rec) on Thursday from 1.00 to 2.00

Please support at one or other of the venues if you can’t come along on Mondays.  If you need to contact us please call The Meeting Place on 07425 133431 or email info@themeetingplace.org.uk

Foodbank

We have, for many years, collected food donations for the local Foodbank.  You will no doubt be aware that there is a soaring demand for foodbank. Many are struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis and feel overwhelmed and hopeless about their situation. With the right support, people can be helped to improve their circumstances. To watch a video by the Good Company click here

You can support their mission to create a poverty-free community, by reflecting prayerfully on a quote each week in Lent.  These quotes are taken from stories shared by people who have experienced financial hardship.  You can read the full stories by visiting  goodcompany.org.uk/stories

If you would like to donate please drop off Please ensure donations are well in date, do not contain any alcohol and are sealed. We can’t accept refrigerated or frozen items.

Drop items off in the big green box outside the Church Hall – 10A The Ridgeway, Fetcham, KT22 9AZ and we then take the items to our local Foodbank at the Leatherhead Community Hub. We regularly update our Bulletin with news received from the Epsom & Ewell Foodbank team and share their wish list of foods required to keep their stock levels up and meet the needs of their clients. You can also donate in store at Tesco, Leatherhead.

If you would like to see what’s on the wish list, donate money directly
or find out more please visit the Epsom & Ewell Foodbank

CAP – Free Debt Counselling

Christians Against Poverty is a national debt counselling charity working through a network of centres based in local churches. CAP offers hope and a solution to anyone in debt through its unique, in-depth Debt Help service. CAP aims to show God’s love in action by providing sustainable poverty relief through debt counselling, advice and practical help. CAP’s unique ‘hands on’ approach empowers people to help themselves out of poverty and be released from the fear, oppression and worry generated by overwhelming debts.

The charity is a fast-paced, growing organisation whose vision is to answer the national problem of debt in the UK by having at least one CAP Debt Centre operating in every major town and city.  A number of churches across Mole Valley have partnered with CAP to offer debt counselling in Mole Valley. The service we offer is completely free. Visit the CAP website to find out more about our services. If you are struggling with debt call 0800 328 0006 to book an appointment with Mole Valley Debt Centre.

Prayer is vital to the work of CAP and prayer meetings take place on the second and third Monday evenings of each month in Bookham and Dorking respectively.  This is a good time to find out about what is happening locally and nationally and to pray for Jennie (the Centre Manager), Richard (the debt coach), the volunteers, the clients, the steering group and staff at Head Office in Bradford, who do an amazing job.

The Meeting Room

The Meeting Room is a registered charity operating in the Mole Valley and Epsom areas. Our focus is to provide meaningful support to those with a wide variety of issues including homelessness, poverty, physical or mental health difficulties, breakdown of relationships, social exclusion and loneliness and issues with alcohol or drugs.  They run lunchtime drop-in centres 3 days per week at Leatherhead Football Club, Ashtead Baptist Church and The King’s Church in Epsom.  They also organise activities such as walks and table tennis, as well as our annual Christmas Day lunch in Fetcham Village Hall.  The Meeting Room is strongly supported by and connected to St Mary’s Church in many different ways.  For more information, please visit our website : https://www.themeetingroom.org.uk/

AMADET

Link with the Church Mission Society and Nairobi’s Informal Settlements

St Mary’s has been supporting the Church Mission Society (CMS) for more than 20 years. This was originally supporting mission partners, Colin & Anita Smith for their 14 years of mission work in Nairobi. Colin was working in Nairobi’s slums and Anita predominantly at All Saints Cathedral and with the ex-pat community. Colin and Anita returned to continue their ministries in England in 2013, with Colin now Director of Mission Training at CMS headquarters in Oxford and Anita is vicar of a small church in Banbury.

During the 14 years Colin & Anita were in Nairobi, St Mary’s built up a close relationship with those Colin was working with in the informal settlements, particularly a small parish in the largest slum, Kibera, called St. Jerome. Whilst there, Colin set up and directed Centre for Urban Mission (CUM), which set up training and support for urban ministry, working to set up some formal training for pastors in the slums and also introducing the idea of holistic ministry, trying to improve the lives of those living in the slums, by economic empowerment, supporting HIV sufferers, setting up apprenticeship schemes for teenagers, and homework clubs, where children could have access each evening to school books and electric lighting and teaching support; education is highly valued and seen as the way to escape slum life, so the homework clubs have been a huge success.

Since Colin & Anita left Nairobi, we at St Mary’s have continued to support this absolutely vital ministry at CUM and we are the main financial supporter of CUM’s Samaritan Strategy. We are able to ensure that every single penny raised goes directly to CUM, through an English charity AMADET.

At St Mary’s we run a monthly home-made stall, on the first Sunday of every month, (except for January and August) and for the last two years we have raised £1500; this goes solely towards the homework clubs and the training of apprentices. Additionally, a monthly second-hand book stall raises more money to buy books for the homework clubs. We also run fund raisers from time to time, such as a harvest dinner, or a singsong. Do come along to the hall on the first Sunday morning of the month to see. We will be very glad to receive any home-made contributions, such as cakes, jams, marmalade, greetings cards, garden produce, knitted and embroidered crafts and don’t forget your wallets!

Fairtrade

St Mary’s is a Fairtrade Church. This means that the congregation support the principle of Fairtrade and that we are committed to serve Fairtrade coffee, tea & sugar when refreshments are offered after services or by Church groups.

Although we no longer have a Fairtrade Stall,  there will still be opportunities for buying certain Fairtrade goods, for example, the popular range of Christmas cards will be available to browse and order before Christmas.  We shall still highlight Fairtrade Fortnight at St Marys. 

Thank you for your support over many years.

2024 Christmas Gift Appeal

For several years we have distributed Christmas presents for good local causes. 

Once again we will be delighted to accept any new presents that you might wish to give for some of Surrey’s most needy individuals.

We have confirmation that four local charities and good causes would again love to receive some gifts. If you would like to donate please drop items off at the Church Hall up to Monday 2 December 2024.

Sorry but we are not able to accept nearly-new gifts, or anything containing alcohol.

Thank you so much.