St Mary in Window 3 St Mary's, Fairford

St Mary's Church
Fairford

St Mary's, Fairford Angel in Window 1

The Bible in Flowers

A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary
of the King James Bible
26th to 29th August 2011
St Mary’s Church, Fairford

The Bible in Flowers

Once again Heather Gorton and her team excelled themselves with the floral arrangements based on scenes from the King James Bible.

The St Mary's Café team, led by Barbara and Becky, provided scrumptious food.

St Mary's Cafe Team

A big thank you to everyone involved in the fund raising event. Click here for Photos of the floral displays.

Charity of the Month: September
Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI)

 Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution

The Regional Representative is Suzie Paton

RABI was founded in 1860 by John Joseph Mechi. In the mid-1880s a group of Essex Farmers had become concerned about the level of poverty within the farming community and the absence of an official body to represent them.

Through The Times and a rally that followed, pledges were received from Noblemen, Gentlemen Farmers and Implement makers which made it possible to set up a grant structure that entitled the needy to £40 per annum for married couples plus a ton and a half of coal. Children were to be fed, clothed and educated.

In its earliest years the number of applicants outweighed available funds but by the mid 1930s RABI was maintaining 1000 pensioners at a cost of £32,000. In recognition of its work, a Royal Charter was granted by King George V to mark the charity’s 75th anniversary in 1935. In 1999 the Charter was amended to include farm workers and their families. In 2001 RABI was nominated as one of the charities for H M the Queen’s Golden Jubilee year. Many events were staged to mark its 150th anniversary.

Times have changed but there is still hardship, especially for elderly or disabled people who struggle to make a living from the farm or face a crisis such as illness or bereavement, flooding etc.

Literature and Gift Aid envelopes are available in church; for more information contact: RABI, Shaw House, 27 West Way OXFORD OX2 0QH. Tel: 01865 724931. Website www.rabi.org.uk or contact Susie Paton 712440.

New Members of the South Cotswolds Team Ministry

At the end of July we welcomed the new Team Vicar of Lechlade, The Rev’d Andrew Cinnamond and his family.

On September 6th we will welcome as Team Vicar to the Ampney Group of parishes The Rev’d John Swanton and his family.

Then, last but by no means least, The Rev’d Jean Brown, currently Curate at Lechlade, will be licensed as Team Vicar of The Meyseys on October 6th.

All the parishes involved are delighted that, after rather a makeshift period, they will have their own minister in residence.

On Sunday 16 October, 6pm here at St Mary’s, there will be opportunity to welcome all these newcomers. This Team service will be to mark St Luke’s Day, so please make a note of the date.

Summer Lunch

Summer Lunch

It was another great day in St Mary’s community, where a good time was had by all. The net profit for the day, thanks to your terrific generosity, was £958.52!!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped.

Mens Society

Fairford Men's Society is meeting next on Monday 26th September at Fairford Community Centre at 3.45pm. Mr Frank Hall will be our speaker for the meeting. All are welcome to join us.

Thank you to all sixteen Members & Guests who enjoyed our annual Church Crawl in July.

Messy Space, Sat 17th September

Messy Space

2.00 – 4.00 p.m. Fairford Community Centre

We are back for our 4th season!

Adults and Children (recommended 4 years upwards)— £2 per child (max. £5 per family)
Season Tickets available – speak to Joanne Roberts or Maureen Partington
A project of Churches Together Around Fairford.

Fairford WI

At our meeting on August 3rd Barbara Lyne gave us an interesting talk and demonstration into the fascinating world of Quilling, a craft that has gone on for centuries. She was very ably helped by her granddaughter Jessica, who was visiting on holiday. Everyone was then encouraged to have a go and we attempted to make some cards

The competition of a small flower arrangement was won by Liz Hope and the raffle was won by Jean Moulden. Future outings include a visit to the B.B.C. in Bristol; a visit to Vauxhall cars in Cirencester and a possible visit to the theatre in Swindon to see S.A L O S in October.

Our next meeting is on Sept 7th when Pam Clements will be talking about accessories of the past. The competition: an unusual accessory. Visitors welcome - call 01285711373.

Previous Charity Fundraising

Monies collected for the June Charity of the Month, the Bishop of Tewkesbury’s Bangalore Appeal, totalled £12.90, to which the PCC will add further amounts.

News August 2011
News July 2011
News June 2011
News May 2011
News April 2011
News March 2011
News February 2011
News January 2011
News December 2010
News November 2010
News October 2010
News September 2010

Copyright © St Mary's Parochial Church Council 2010-2011