Category: Monthly News Report

June News 2023

Read about our recent activities, preview our next events and see how our funds are helping preserve St Mary’s for future generations.

FOSM Chairman Colin Dixon writes:

Firstly, a big thank you to Debbie Young and all of the people who attended the HULF Festival of Words at St Mary’s Church on Saturday 22nd April. The event raised £500 for the Friends of St Mary’s.

Churchwarden Lisa Overton gave a fascinating talk on the history influence of William Tyndale on the English language

This money and all other funds raised by the Friends goes to support the fabric of St Mary’s Church and nowhere else. That is our raison d’etre.

If you wish to join the friends of St Mary’s Church, your subscription is invaluable in supporting this beautiful church. Join online here.

FOSM AGM (Sunday 25th June)

The Annual General Meeting of the Friends of St Mary’s, Hawkesbury will be held at 5.30pm on Sunday 25th June at St Mary’s, followed by Choral Evensong. Please come along to have your say on which projects we support.

We also need new committee members. The task is not onerous, one meeting every quarter, and of course supporting our projects. It is especially useful if you are good at getting money out of people and companies!

It takes a lot of money to keep a 1,200-year-old building upright and safe.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS

We have two more fundraising events on the near horizon.

St Mary’s Summer Weekend (Saturday 22nd-Sunday 23rd July)

A weekend of interest to all!

There will be church tours and talks on the wonderful history of St Mary’s Church. The church and the tower will be open from 1pm until 5.30pm, and there will be bell demonstrations and the chance to have a go at bell ringing. There will be tea and cakes in the church on Saturday and picnics on the lawn and refreshments at Church Farm House on Sunday, with music provided by The Port of Bristol Sea Shanty Crew.

Photo by Jonathan Hayes via POBSSC Facebook page

This will be followed by a celebration service for the John Banks Jenkinson (2nd Lord Liverpool) Banners at 6pm on the Sunday, in the presence of the current Lord Liverpool and Sir John Jenkinson.

The newly restored John Banks Jenkinson banners look splendid

The FOSM Pimm’s Tents at the Hawkesbury Show (Saturday 26TH AUGUST)

The Friends of St Mary’s annual Pimm’s tent will be in its usual place on the other side of the show ring, with a commanding view of what is going on in the ring.

The perfect place to relax with a glass or two of Pimm’s or maybe a jug to share with family and friends.

We are between the tents of our friends from the community-owned Village Stores and HULF.

June Services

Sunday 4th June 9.30am Parish Communion
Sunday 11th June 6pm Evensong
Sunday 18th June 10am Family Service
Sunday 25th June 6pm Friends of St Mary’s Choral Evensong

April 2023 News

Colin Dixon, Chair of the Friends of St Mary’s, writes:

Our Next Event

The first Friends fundraiser for 2023 will be on Saturday 22nd April and is the all-day Festival of Words.

This is thanks to the amazing kindness of Debbie Young who has organised the event to benefit the Friends of St Mary’s. Thank you Debbie. The full itinerary and the buying link for tickets is on the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival website here. It will be a full day from 10.30am to 5pm with a break for lunch. There will be an optional lunch of quiche, salad and fruit in the Malthouse for £10 per head, bookable only in advance. I shall be giving a talk on the language of bells at the event and there will be a demonstration of bell ringing.

Other Events for 2023

Other Friends’ events for this year will be:

  • An Open Tower Weekend, which was a great success last year – it will be held in the summer and the date will be announced next month.
  • The FOSM AGM will be held this year on Sunday 25th June followed by Evensong.
  • The renowned Friends of St Mary’s Pimm’s Tent which has become established in its new place on the far side of the show ground, on Show Day, Saturday 26th August.
  • We are anticipating a joint event with the Village Hall in the autumn, follow the success of the Gin Jolly last autumn.
  • The Friends of St Mary’s Nine Lessons and Carols will be held on Sunday 17th December.

We are hoping to run other events during the year and suggestions are welcome.

Our famous Pimm’s Tent at Hawkesbury Show on the last Saturday in August

Current Projects

The south side of the churchyard has been cleared by Tom Hodder’s crew and is looking very smart. We are currently debating whether to plant it with shrubs to break up the expanse or to leave it as grass. Any suggestions or help will be very much appreciated.

We have two tonnes of pea gravel ready to go on the paths as soon as the weather permits. We will need to kill off the weeds first to stop them growing up through the new gravel. All offers of help with the raking will be appreciated.

We will soon be restarting the monthly cycle of weeding and clearing up the churchyard and Peter Setterfield has been marshalling his troops to mow the grass during the summer.

The church will be open every day during the summer and we shall need to make sure that the churchyard is tidy as it is always the backdrop to visitors’ photographs. We don’t want the churchyard showing us up.

The discussions about the new eco-toilet for the churchyard are still ongoing. it is a PCC matter and the Friends have an interest but only because we are the fundraising arm of the church and may make a donation towards it in the future.

Please Join Us!

Finally, if there are like-minded people in the parish who are still not members of the Friends of St Mary’s, please join! Our sole purpose is to support St Mary’s Church to stay open and beautiful. You can join online here.

February 2023 News

Colin Dixon, FOSM Chairman, writes:

The new west gate is now in place and, because it is made of oak, it should last many, many years. The old gate was very old and desperately in need of replacement.

Many thanks to Max Bleaken for sourcing and fitting the gate – it is an excellent job and we are very pleased with it.

The new gate is just one of the many things that the Friends of St Mary’s organises and pays for to keep St Mary’s Church looking wonderful.

The Friends of St Mary’s has only one purpose, and that is to support the church by providing the things that the PCC cannot afford or are displaced by other priorities for the money.

There are still many thanks that need to be paid for, so please join The Friends of St Mary’s, and your subscription will help to keep this beautiful church beautiful.

For details of our next fundraising event, a Festival of Words on Saturday 22nd April, click here.

FEBRUARY SERVICES
Sunday 5th – Holy Communion (9.30am)
Sunday 12th – Evensong (5pm)
Sunday 19th – Family Service on theme of Lent (10.30am)
Sunday 26th – Evensong (5pm)