St Mary's Church
Fairford

Funday Sundays in 2014

If you could help with of these events please talk to one of the LMT members about it or contact Sarah Bottomley( 712074) or Kathleen Hall ( 712583) or email stmaryslmt@gmail.com.

Food Bank Update

Hopefully, Christmas was made a little more cheerful for many, because of all the generous donations put into the food box on the back pew!  At this time of year, we are all asked to dig deeper and deeper and share more and more of what we have with those who 'have not', and it is so warm and comforting to witness so much giving.

Alongside the food box was the Christmas Gifts box, and the bags of toys and other gifts flowed and flowed alongside all the groceries - at times the whole length of the pew was filled with giving!  How heart-warming is that!

We would also like to acknowledge and thank Hatherop Primary School as they now donate to our box. Very many thanks indeed – it makes a difference!!!
Wendy and Eric

Christmas Stockings for Swindon Social Services 2013

A BIG thank you for all those who helped to distribute, collect and fill the Christmas stockings for 2013.

Charity of the Month:
Appeal from the Bishop of Gloucester

Our giving for January is by way of an appeal from the Bishop of Gloucester who is heading up a request for funds towards the building of Brinckman High School in Kasulu, the cathedral city of our partner Diocese of Western Tanganyika. The Bishop’s hope is that the Gloucester Diocese will be a major funder of the new secondary school there, in a place where there is none.

We all know how fortunate we are in this country to have secondary education accessible in every community. In Africa it is very different. When the Brinckman High School is completed it will open up huge opportunities to boys and girls who at present are denied them and education is, of course, the key to raising the people of Africa from poverty that enslaves them. Supporting this Appeal is a way of supporting the church’s mission and the ministry in the Diocese of Western Tanganyika.

So far in 2012 the Gloucester Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) donated £48K from mission reserves towards the project and challenged the Diocese of Western Tanganyika to meet half of the build cost, and our Bishop was also challenged to also match the sum of £48K. It is expected that Episcopal Collections will, by the end of 2013, have raised £25K leaving a further £23K to be raised by other means. This where we are now asked to help.

Whilst fully understanding the financial burdens that Parishes carry the Bishop is approaching parishes to help and would be so grateful, and so will our Tanganyika Partners, with any financial help for this project.

Just a one off collection for this appeal. Please help if you can by putting money in the box by the south wall, using a Gift Aid envelope if you can, or write for more information to The Bishop Michael’s Episcopal Appeal, Finance Department, Church House College Green, GLOUCESTER GL1 2LY. Cheques payable to GDBF. Tel: 01452 410022 Extn 270. Email bshpglos@glosdioc.org.uk.
Website.

Previous Charity Fundraising

Monies collected from the box for the November charity, ABF – The Soldier’s Charity, amounted to £15.99 to which the PCC will add further amounts.

The collection for The British Legion from the packed Church on Remembrance Sunday amounted to £891.08.

Parish News

With the Revd Brian Atkinson’s retirement in 2014 comes my own as editor of the Parish News. I took over the role from Jane and Geoff Hawkes, a hard act to follow, but have had lots of help from others over the years.

A team of editors have put together the magazine from contributed material; in the main, my task has been the easy one - checking it, rearranging it to suit my preferences (!) then printing it. So, all the errors you have spotted have been my fault, not theirs.

As you will appreciate, I have a lot of people to thank. I am going to list them in alphabetical order, some have been involved for much longer than others but everyone has helped. They are: All of the Distributors, Don Cobbett, Barbara Gibbs, Heather Gorton, Pam Nelmes, Sandra Rymer, The Advertisers, Phil & Margaret Trickett and Jo Williams.

After Don’s recent retirement (and thank you again, Don, for your support over the last few years) the current Team is Pam Nelmes and Sandra Rymer, with Phil and Margaret Trickett doing the collating and preparation for distribution. Jo Williams is still handling the subscriptions and liaising with distributors.

So, what happens now? Well, from now on Pam is going to take over my role as well as her own, together with Sandra, Phil, Margaret and Jo. I’m sure you will all give them your support - do let Pam know what you enjoy, what you think could be improved or added. And lots more Reader Contributions, they are so much appreciated by readers and I KNOW there are numerous stories waiting to be told - so tell them!

Finally, my own personal thanks to all of the above named for their help, to the advertisers who give us money to have fun, and to the readers. I really do appreciate the support and hope that you have enjoyed it too.
With very best wishes and thanks,
Kathy Atkinson

Jesus and Me Club, 12th January

10am St Mary’s Church, Fairford
Stories, craft,
fun and food
Every second Sunday

Messy Space, Sat 18th January

2.00 – 4.00 p.m. Fairford Community Centre
Crafts and Coffee Bar for families

Adults and Children (recommended 4 years upwards)
£2 per child (max. £5 per family)
Concessions available

News December 2013
News November 2013
News October 2013
News September 2013
News August 2013
News July 2013
News June 2013
News May 2013
News April 2013
News March 2013
News February 2013
News January 2013
St Mary's News Round-Up 2012
St Mary's News Round-Up 2011