ST GILES FARNBOROUGH - EVENTS, NEWS AND NOTICES

 

 


Sunday Schools

Candlelit Service

Christnas Eve 3:00pm

Our Sunday School Christmas Eve Service will be at 3pm. All of our church children are invited to attend, wearing Nativity costumes. Please get in touch if you need me to supply one. I have plenty.

Free tickets will be available from the Parish Office or from Irene Dancer at the 10am Sunday morning services or from Irene Dancer on  01689 854765 idstgiles@btinternet.com

New Year Party

Sunday 28th Jan  11:30 - 12:45
St. Giles Centre


All children who attend our church are invited to join us.

RSVP to Irene Dancer
idstgiles@btinternet.com

Suggested Gift List for
Children and Young People

We believe every child deserves a new gift at Christmas so we are unable to take used or second hand items for the Christmas Present Appeal.

0-3 years: dolls, teddy bears, cot mobiles, baby clothes, bath toys, CDs of suitable music and nursery rhymes, puzzles

3-5: dolls and action figures, cars, lorries, DVDs and CDs (music and nursery rhymes), colouring sets, pencils, crayons, books, puzzles

5-9: educational games & toys, stationery (colouring sets, pencils, crayons, school sets), CDs & family friendly DVDs, books, puzzles, wordsearch, crosswords

9-12: games and toys, stationery, DVDs, books, t-shirts, hair accessories, gloves, scarves, hats

13-16: books, make-up and toiletries (please try to ensure non-allergic ingredients if possible), gloves, scarves, hats, t-shirts, hair accessories and gift vouchers

Over the years, millions of children and young people have benefited from gifts donated to The Salvation Army. By giving a gift to our Christmas Present Appeal you can make a real difference in someone’s life at Christmas.

Thank you.

Matthew


St. Giles Flower Arrangers

We are pleased to announce that the diary for flower requests for 2024 is now available. If you wish to remember a special person or celebrate a special occasion, why not ask our talented teams to provide a floral arrangement for you? In return for a donation to the Flower Fund, we are happy to provide whatever you require - an arrangement on the Book of Remembrance, a window or windows, pedestal, whole Church - just ask! Flowers can be of your choosing or colour theme, wherever possible, with a mention in the pew sheet if desired.

To avoid any confusion over dates, please contact Lynn Taylor on 01689 861597 or lynn.taylor47@ntlworld.com for more information, suggested donation, or to book a date in the diary.

St. Giles Flower Teams




St Nicholas Christmas Raffle

As in recent years there has not been a St Nicholas Autumn Fair, but there will again be a Christmas Raffle with the draw taking place at St Nicholas after the 10.30 service on Sunday 10 December. We are though intending to repeat the successful Spring Fairs we have held these last two years. It will take place in March/April with the date to be finalised shortly.

Last year, thanks to everyone’s efforts, the Christmas Raffle made just over £800. This time it would be good to think we can do better and go over the £1000 – we could even reach £2000; we have enough tickets! St Nicholas is facing difficult financial times, so it would be good to receive support from across the parish with our latest fund-raising project.

Tickets are just £1 each and are available from me on 01689 860215 or rogerallard@tiscali.co.uk
or email the St Nicholas office at stnicholaschurchorpington@gmail.com
 or contact Carol Fryer at St Giles who has kindly agreed to help us by having tickets to sell to the St Giles congregation.

The first prize is a lovely Christmas hamper and there are lots of other prizes including champagne, wine, and gift vouchers. Good luck in the draw but you have to be in it to win it! Roger Allard St Nicholas Church Treasurer

Community Larder
& Warm Space

Tuesdays from 10:30am

Just a reminder that our Community Larder runs every Tuesday morning at St. Nicholas church.

We are now also opening up our building as a 'Warm Space' from 10.30am - 12.30pm every Tuesday. Anyone can come along and enjoy the Warm Space from 10.30am, and will also be able to access free fresh food and grocery items from the Community Larder from 11.30am onwards, along with a free cup of tea or coffee.

Please do advertise the Community Larder and the Warm Space initiative to anyone you know who may be interested.

Read More

Bereavement Support Groups.

I am currently running two Bereavement Groups to help those who are working through loss and grief.

The first is for widows and widowers and meets every Wednesday between 1.00pm - 2.00pm in the St Giles Centre top of Church Road Farnborough.

The second group is specifically for those who have lost a child of what ever age. This groups seeks to put parents in touch with each other for mutual help and support. The next meeting of this group is on Sunday 12th March 7.00pm - 8.00pm in St Giles church

Although they are run by St Giles these groups are neutral, non religious groups for all people, so they can gain help and support through the painful journey of grief. There is no charge for attending the group meetings.

If you would like more information for yourself, or someone you know, please do get in touch via my email which is; jmath@btinternet.com

Matthew Hughes

ABOUT ST. GILES CHURCH

Charity In Focus Film Night:

Click for Details

Charity in Focus 2024

St Giles Centre Refurbishment

At our PCC meeting held on Monday 13th October 2023 the PCC decided to suspend our charitable giving for the whole of 2024, with the exception of the Parish Fete.  The reason for this is that we hope that work on the St. Giles Centre will begin in earnest in the summer of that year. 

To date we do not have a clear picture of how much this work is going to cost but it will certainly be a substantial amount.  Consequently every month we are going to ask our Church and community to contribute to a particular area of the refurbishment work.  

For example in January the focus will be on raising money to replace the roof in the main hall, a new floor and lighting.   

In February the emphasis will be on the redecoration of the main hall.   

Then in March we will move to the refurbishment of the kitchen and so forth until we have covered every aspect of the work.  

More information on this will be available as the work builds momentum.  

Sunday Evening Services

In today's world having a regular evening service feels like a real privilege, especially with the excellent choir that we have at St. Giles.  I believe that our evening pattern of worship offers something for everyone. 

The first two Sundays are Choral Evensongs, the third and fifth are Holy Communion and the fourth Sunday is our Taize service.  All of these services, in their own ways, help us to feel God's love and presence in our lives.

I know that life is very busy, even for those who are now retired!  But I do hope that you will put aside some time to attend our evening services so that this important part of our Church's life remains viable and alive.