Category: Church

By kind permission of Gavin and Fiona McAlpine, the Church Fete will once again take place in the Manor Gardens. The date this year will be Sunday 30th June, from 13:30 – 16:00.

Could you provide a great prize suitable for our Fete Raffle?

Our popular Book, and White Elephant Stalls need lots of stock, so please start sorting out any unwanted useful household equipment and books you can donate to the fete.

Can you sow a few extra veg/flowers seeds or split some of your herbaceous plants so we can sell them on the Plant Stall?

This year’s fete committee are Clare Burgess, Sarah Taylor, Helen Hammond, Clare Howard, Steph Lacey, Chris Keeping, Nicky and Marshall Brooke. We would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to be involved in the preparations or on the day.

Please speak to any of the above, or contact:

All services at Duns Tew, unless stated otherwise

Christmas “Thank You”s!

The newsletter went to press before our Christmas services – but thank you to all those who made the church look so beautiful: tree decorators and flower arrangers. Particular thanks go to everyone who organised and participated in our Carol Service on 23rd December. Thank you to John & Margaret Gordon who kindly donated the Christmas tree, and Martin Fairfax-Cholmeley for brewing up the Christmas punch after the service.

Carol Singing

Thank you to everyone who braved the truly awful weather on 15th December. Over 40 people gathered in the church for some great singing, with lovely accompaniment from Philippa Smethurst & Sarah Taylor on oboe and recorder. We raised £212.80 for The Children’s Society. Thank you to everyone for their support.

Christmas cards

thank you to everyone who bought cards; we raised £110 for the church. News about funds raised at services for other charities will come next month.

Advent Supper

A huge thank you to all those who cooked for, helped at and attended the supper which together with the church collection raised £272.10 for the Romanian Foyer Trust.

Charity of the Quarter

For November/December/January, we are again supporting Ripple Africa whose aims are: To improve the standard of education and healthcare
To preserve and sustainably develop the environment
To create opportunities for local communities in Nkhata Bay District of Malawi.

(For more information, please go to: www.rippleafrica.org).

Please give generously – the charity plate is available for donations at the end of each service. If you wish to donate at any other time, please place money in an envelope marked for RIPPLE Africa, and give to Carol Rigby (Nonesuch, Hill Farm Lane).

Flower arranging

The church is looking for some new people to join the flower rota. You would need to be able to do the flowers for a 3 week block once a year and then to help out with Easter, Harvest and Christmas decorating if available. For more information contact Sarah Taylor, Tel: 340827 or email sarah.taylor27.st@gmail.com

Church cleaning

If you have a bit of time to spare three times a year, the Church would benefit from some extra people on the cleaning rota. You are not expected to clean the whole church each time! For more information contact Sarah Taylor, tel: 340827 or email: sarah.taylor27.st@gmail.com.

Polly

As always please leave in-date food donations in the basket in church. Your donations are very much appreciated. Clare.

Last week Polly told me that a young man she used to help came back to meet her one evening as she was handing out food. He wanted to thank her for helping him get back on track. He now has a job and had got in touch with his mother again after 15 years. He brought her along to meet Polly. Needless to say, Polly was overjoyed.

I’m delighted to be saying my first newsletter “hello”, having just arrived in this beautiful part of the world! Alan and I are very much looking forward to getting to know you all and sharing in the life of the communities here.

The autumn has been a time of farewells and welcomes for us. Farewells to friends back in Suffolk, where we have lived for the past fifteen years, and wonderfully warm welcomes from everyone since our arrival.

The villages here are all new to us, although we can’t quite understand why, having lived not a million miles away in the 90s and early 2000s. Warwick, Stretton on Fosse and Kingham have all been home at one time or another during those years, as well as London and Herefordshire. Not that I originate from any of these places, having grown up on a dairy farm in Somerset!

There are many references in the Bible to the importance of ‘welcoming the stranger in our midst’, and we would like to say a huge thank you for the way in which you have welcomed us. Hospitality is one of the most important gifts any of us can offer, whether to strangers, friends or neighbours. May God continue to use and bless this gift among us, in our homes, our churches and our community.

With very best wishes, Rev’d Jane.

View all of the photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/X5d1YZvtzHhapWYR7

Thank you to everyone who came to the Fete on Sunday.

Despite cooler weather, we hope everyone enjoyed the old favourites as well as the new additions to the fete.

If you have any comments for improvements next year, please let me know: clarebugress@gmail.com

The provisional total profit is £5,406, which is roughly similar to last year, so we are extremely happy with that. The number of visitors was lower than last year, so we did well to maintain the amount of profit.

We are extremely grateful to everyone who made the fete possible, and in particular:

• Fiona and Gavin McAlpine for their generosity and support in providing so much behind-the-scenes help which ensured a fabulous day.
• Clive Tompkins (Cherwell Graphics Ltd) for printing all the banners, signs, leaflets, raffle tickets etc.
• Charles & Caroline Landless for storing the fete equipment for us
• David and Margaret Goundrey for giving up their garage space.
• Steeple Aston School for their support.

and the following companies for their support in donating raffle prizes:

• The White Horse
• Smith & Sons of Bletchington
• Soho Farmhouse
• Nicholson’s Nurseries
• Eagles of Deddington
• Pollocks Catering
• The White Horse Studio

Lost Property

• 2 x bags for life (contact Helen Preston at Midsummer Cottage, tel 01869 347869)
• 2 x plastic cake carriers – will be left in church for collection