Dear Friends
There are just a few updates to last week’s notices, along with reminders of what’s coming up:
The Minster-wide bank holiday service this Sunday
Looking forward to Holiday Club next week
Sunday 1 September: Holiday Club Finale & Farewell to Patrick and Sheila (All Age service followed by a BBQ) - everyone’s invited! Please sign up.
Independence Day for Ukraine 24 August - fundraising events in Godalming
This Sunday
25 August
Wedding Water: Simply the Best
Readings: John 2:1-12
10am Minster-wide Bank Holiday Service at Church Street
6pm Evening Worship [HC]
Brighton Road (Busbridge)
1 September
9am Choral Eucharist
Church Street (St Peter & St Paul’s)
10am Morning Worship
Hambledon (St Peter’s)
10am Morning Worship
Franklyn Road (St Mark’s)
11am Holiday Club Celebration Service & BBQ
when we will be saying goodbye to the Samuels
at Brighton Road. All welcome at 11am, or to come along for the BBQ at about 12 noon!
9am and 10am services take place at Church Street, Hambledon and Franklyn Road beforehand. Church in the Park (Muddy) and Classic will fuse at the 11am Holiday Club Service.
Look up services for next Sunday and find more information about congregations and service times on ChurchSuite, or the Sundays page on the web site. If you are on a rota, ChurchSuite will ping you a reminder by email, but you can also use the ChurchSuite app to check yourself.
Notices
SAVE THE DATE: 13th October for John & Sue’s farewell and harvest lunch
We are delighted for John and Sue that they have accepted the offer of a clergy retirement property. This has not been an easy period of waiting and John and Sue’s faithfulness is something that we have all witnessed. Our love and prayers go with them as they prepare to move.
This opportunity has come sooner than expected, so there will be a number of chances to say farewell. John and Sue will be at the Classic Service (10am) on 22nd September, at Hambledon (10am) on Sunday 29th September, and at the Choral Eucharist (9am) on 6th October.
John and Sue’s final service will be Sunday 13th October at the Church Street Contemporary, followed by a bring and share farewell and harvest lunch. Please put this date in your diary. All are welcome to the service and lunch. During the lunch, we will be giving John and Sue a gift of love and gratitude. To contribute to this, please see ways to donate.
John and Sue will move to Cornwall soon after 13th October. Please pray for John and Sue as they begin their retirement from parish ministry.
John’s moving soon means that our two clergy posts which are being advertised can progress smoothly.
We are now advertising two exciting Associate Minster roles for Franklyn Road and Mission and Evangelism, and for Hambledon and Discipleship. The jobs are advertised on New Wine, The Church Times, CofE Guilford and Pathways. Please do pray and share the ads with prospective candidates. Please see our vacancies page for details, pray for the right candidates, and help share the ads!
Minster members might like to read the Godalming Minster Parish Profile as it has a helpful description of how far we’ve come as a Minster in just a few short months. The profile has been written with input from many people, including congregational team members in Hambledon and at Franklyn Road, clergy, LLMs, the PCC standing committee and others. It has been a fantastic team effort. Page 6 outlines some of the vision material we’ll be preaching into at the Minster Vision Sunday on Sept 8th 2024. Put this date in your Sunday diary and be at a service!
Coming Up
August
Click the image above to sign up now!
Holiday Club 28-30 August
Please pray for all the children who are coming, for the team leading them and everyone who has volunteered to help. The pirate ship is pretty full but we do have a few spaces left on Wednesday and Thursday for primary age children in school years R-6.
September
Sunday 1 Sep - 2 happy endings: Holiday Club Finale & Farewell to the Samuels
Godalming Minster will host the Holiday Club finale, and say a fond farewell to the Revs Sheila and Patrick Samuels at a special 11am All Age service at Godalming Minster Brighton Road.
This will be followed by a fun filled BBQ in the Busbridge Old Rectory Garden. There’s a suggested donation of £5 per person. Please SIGN UP.
We would like to present the Samuels with a gift of appreciation at the BBQ. To contribute to this, please see ways to donate.
Can you help with the BBQ?
If you would like to
a)bring and share a salad or pudding,
b) help on the day
c) BBQ for the masses
Please contact vic.hicks@godalmingminster.org.
Patrick’s licensing as Priest-in-Charge in The Parishes of St Andrew Wraysbury St Michael Horton & St Thomas Colnbrook will be on Thursday 5th September at 7.30pm at St Andrews’s Church, St Andrew’s Close, Windsor Rd, Wraysbury TW19 5DG. Patrick would be delighted to see any people from the Minster family at the service and for refreshments after. RSVP by 27th August CHWchurches@gmail.com.
Next up at Nexus - Penguins Galore with Frances Shaw, Thu 5 Sep at 8pm
Frances and Peter Shaw were fortunate enough to go on an amazing journey to the southernmost part of our world for an Antarctic adventure. It must have been exhilarating and Frances will share their experiences with us.
We’ll get to see magnificent landscapes and incredible wildlife as we ‘visit’ the islands on route from South America and then in Antarctica itself.
Come along and enjoy this awe-inspiring adventure without needing to don layers of winter clothing!! Guests: £5.00 contribution towards speaker costs,
An end of summer social… Come along and sing favourite hymns and enjoy a glass of Pimm’s afterwards, all being led by Rev Simon Willetts. There will be a box in the church to submit your choice on arrival, with a sentence or two saying why you've chosen the hymn, and we'll try to include as many as possible.
Alpha starting September
Weds evenings 25th Sept – 27th Nov & Thurs lunchtimes 26th Sept – 28th Nov
Rev Lesley Mason is leading the courses this Autumn, and we’d like everyone to consider whether they would like to join in as a participant, or as a member of the team who helps lead, host and cater for the 12 sessions.
A huge thank you to those of you who have already volunteered to help with food and who have signed up to pray for Alpha. We have catering in place for the evening sessions but we still need the following;
Additional catering for lunch time sessions, including the Saturday session (when both groups come together) eg soup, sandwiches or bread & cheese, sausage rolls etc and a traybake, cookies or equivalent
One or two volunteers to help -preferably every week at lunch time or evening – to meet and greet, help set up tables and ensure that the catering group that evening know what to do
Please volunteer via the website, or by email direct to Sandra Wilkin - sandra.wilkin@godalmingminster.org
Look out for invitations, posters and social media posts and please share them and encourage people along.
To find out more or register for a place go to https://godalmingminster.org/alpha
The sign up button takes you to the Wednesday evening course, but gives the option to sign up for Thursday lunchtimes instead.
What’s on Where
See the events coming up next and look up dates further ahead in the full Minster Calendar.
Church Family News
We send our love to several members of our church family who have been bereaved recently.
Please pray for Jane Lambert following the death of her mother last week, and for Arthur ‘Ginge’ Blackman following Sue’s death. (Funeral details to follow.) We send love also to Alan and Janet Harvey whose elder son, Graham, died last month.
Please pray for them all, and for their families, that they may know God's love and comfort.
Mission Update
Saturday, August 24th, The Ukrainian communities from Godalming, Guildford, Haslemere, and Cranleigh united to mark Ukraine's Independence Day. Our goal is to remind everyone that Ukraine is currently fighting for our right to be an independent country and people. We are organizing a Ukrainian charity event (as we did in February) to raise money for the volunteers of Ukraine Mission once again. They directly deliver help where it is needed – to rescue services in cities and towns near the front line, paramedics, struggling people, and more.
Simon Taylor will be there to lead part of the event at Crown Court at 11am and programme of cultural folk arts will continue in the Wilfrid Noyce Community Centre.
Elsewhere
Godalming Bandstand Concerts summer 2024 programme can be found here.
The National Trust Munstead Wood are running Chance to Chat sessions at Godalming Museum from 10-12 noon on the third Saturdays of the month. More details >
Life Issues 2024 - a programme of talks and course run by Godalming Baptist Church.
Can we pray for you?
***Please send prayer requests to prayer@godalmingminster.org***
Mid-week Prayer Gatherings
Restart in September!
Community & Fellowship
The Hub at Franklyn Road provides a free lunch and time to socialise every Tuesday from 12-2.30pm. Open to all in the area, and across the Minster. (Donations of homemade cakes are always welcome.)
Nexus meets on the 1st Thursday of the month, with talks and activities for church members and the community. More about Nexus.
The Men’s Group meets for breakfast at 8.15am on the 1st Saturdays of the month. See the calendar for details.
Hambledon Coffee Morning and Hearing Aid Clinic takes place 3rd Wednesdays of the month at 10.30am.
The 2024 Prime Time programme is now available. For all events and details, see Prime Time.
Get Involved / Join a team
We're passionate about people feeling like they're a part of our church family and one of the best places to do that is as part of a team.
No matter your age or experience, there's a team that you can join, serving alongside others and getting to know people better in the church. You can find out about all our opportunities to serve and offer your time and talents on the Join a Team page.
Don’t forget about…
MyChurchSuite is an app for members of Godalming Minster to check dates, rotas, church emails, look up church members and sign up to events (without having to enter your details again and again!). Contact the Minster Office if you’ve lost your login details or would like to request an account. See more instructions.
Yew Tree Café
at Godalming Minster Brighton Road
The Yew Tree Café at Godalming Minster Brighton Road is open 8.30am-4pm weekdays in term time, and 10am-2pm on Saturdays, and 9.30am-4pm during school holidays. There’s wi-fi and power for those that want to work, and Prime Time hosts a drop in session for anyone who’d like a coffee and a chat every Monday from 10.30-11.30am.
Please note the café will be closed on Saturday 3rd August.
PASTORAL CARE & PRAYER MINISTRY
If you, or someone you know at church, are in need of support and care, please contact Sandra Wilkin via the Minster office, or e: pastoral@godalmingminster.org.
To contact the EMERGENCY prayer chain, email prayer@godalmingminster.org or call 01483 421267.