Dear Friends

It’s Father’s Day this Sunday, and though it’s not a biblical - or Anglican - celebration, we will be showing our appreciation of all Dads and father figures with a little gesture in our services this Sunday!

Last Sunday we launched an appeal to help with the repairs to the Busbridge Church Tower at Godalming Minster Brighton Road. Thanks to everyone who has collected an delivered the Busbridge Tower handouts around Busbridge. We are now out of copies, so if you have any leftovers, or need more please email vic.hicks@godalmingminster.org.

Thanks too to all those who joined the Day of Prayer on Monday 10th June. We asked everyone to pray throughout the day for the tower, the Peace Bell it houses, and what it represents as a symbol in the community. You can still use the prayer programme while the repairs continue.

Sponsor Ben’s Walk! To help with the fundraising Ben Rogers is planning to walk a heroic 37 miles, barefoot, from Brighton back to Busbridge along the Downs Link next week on 19-20 June. We’ll be tracking Ben, and sending support along the way, so please follow godalmingminster on Instagram and Facebook for updates.

Please keep reading for

• Services this Sunday

• Clergy News

• Nexus talk about the Farncombe Community Garden

• Marriage MOT course

• Dates for the diary

This Sunday

Taking on responsibility
Reading: 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10, 14-17

We continue the sermon series: Build on a Rock - based on the life of the disciple Peter. The readings for each week, and a short topic descriptor can be picked up at Minster services this Sunday, and can be printed here.

Services

9am Choral Eucharist
Church Street (St Peter & St Paul’s)

10am Classic Service
Brighton Road (Busbridge)

10am Sunday Service
Franklyn Road (St Mark’s)

10am Morning Worship
Hambledon (St Peter’s)

10.30am Contemporary Service [HC]
Church Street (St Peter & St Paul’s)
Coffee from 10.15am and children’s groups in the Octagon.

6pm Evening Worship
Brighton Road (Busbridge)

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.

Clergy news
Many people have been asking about the plans for John Harkin’s retirement on June 30th 2024.  This week the PCC unanimously agreed to ask the Bishop to extend John’s existing contract (3 days per week) for up to one more year, whilst John and Sue continue to work with the Church of England to find a suitable retirement property. The extension of John’s licence and living is supported by the Archdeacon and the Bishop of Guildford so John will be licensed before the end of June to enable him to continue to serve across the Minster.

Following the successful funding appeal in Hambledon, Godalming Minster is now in a position to advertise for a new Associate Minister to live in Hambledon. Whilst we advertise for this post, John will continue ministry to the Church Street congregations in addition to supporting ministry in Hambledon.  This way, we gain an immediate increase in clergy involvement for Hambledon.

The Hambledon post will be advertised shortly once the Archdeacon has signed off the role specification and related documentation.  The advert will invite ‘expressions of interest’, rather than have a definite interview date, to give us flexibility in how we proceed and will enable us to have conversations with prospective clergy candidates. There will be further announcements on Sunday which support having John with us for a while longer.

Congratulations to David Brockman for being accepted by the Diocese to become a Locally Licensed Minster (LLM). David has been working with Andy Spencer, Simon Taylor and others on hearing a call to develop his God given gifts in preaching and services, discipleship support and small groups. Thanks to Andy Spencer for Andy’s work on discernment with David and several others in the Minster congregations.

Things to celebrate
The tower prayer day was well received by many people, and it seems like hundreds of Minster worshippers were praying throughout last Monday. Ben Rogers has already raised £1,600 for his barefoot tower-walk. Do sponsor him! Several donations have already been given for the tower repairs and the tower leaflet has been well received in the community.

Last Sunday, the monthly 8am BCP 1662 service at Church Street had a record 27 worshippers, followed by an excellent croissant breakfast. On Tuesday evening Ben Barnes hosted a thank you party for more than 30 people who serve in our children’s ministry.

The current Bereavement Journey course is now well underway, with more participants than planned. Please pray for the participants and the pastoral assistants who are leading the course. If you would like to find out about future courses, please register your interest, or consider trying the Bereavement Café which next meets on Tuesday 25th June in the Busbridge Old Rectory from 2.30pm-4pm. Information about Bereavement Support can be found under What’s on.

Coming Up

June

Hambledon Coffee Morning, Weds 19 June, 10.30am-12pm
Come along to St Peter’s Hambledon for coffee and a catch up. NHS Hearing Aid batteries and maintenance also available.

Priors Field Garden Party for Prime Time, Thurs 20 June 3.30-5pm
The Garden Party at Prior's Field School has become one of the highlights of the Prime Time year.  Do come along to this delightful event which is once again being hosted for us by the girls and staff of the school. The girls are already busy planning this year's event and calculating how many scones they will need! They will be your hostesses for the afternoon; which similarly to previous events, which also include musical entertainment. Non-Prime Time members welcome. Please sign up by 14th June. More details and sign up >

Hambledon Village Service on the Green - Sunday 23rd June at 10am.
Next Sunday the Busbridge Classic and Hambledon morning congregations are joining in this special, bi-annual service in the marquee on Hambledon Cricket Green. Come along, meet people, grab a coffee at the village shop afterwards. It’s a chance to support our Hambledon congregation. On Sat 22nd June, pop along to the unique Hambledon Village Fete (afternoon), on the Green. A more quintessential village event you will find hard to beat!

July

Nexus, 8pm on Thursday 4th July
Nexus meets on first Thursdays of the month, and this month’s guest speaker is Dr Martin Brunet, Trustee of Farncombe Community Garden, on the topic of Growing Community Wellbeing. The General Election does clash, but we can vote earlier and get home in time to watch the exit polls on TV!  In the meantime, come and enjoy an hour or so socialising and hearing Martin speak about the development of Farncombe Community Garden, which is our Nexus charity for 2024.   Come along to find out more and discover how we might get involved! More about Nexus and this event >

Saturday 20 July Marriage MOT evening - Make a good thing even better!  Join us for a fantastic opportunity for couples build and enrich their relationship, however long you've been married. More details >

August

Holiday Club 28-30 August
Save the Date for the first ever Godalming Minster Summer Holiday Club! We need an army of leaders and helpers, as well as children so please watch this space, or chat to Ben Barnes for details.

What’s on Where

See the events coming up next and look up dates further ahead in the full Minster Calendar.

Job Vacancies

The job adverts for the posts of Children and Families Pastor (4-11’s) and Yew Tree Café manager can be found on the vacancies page here. Please be praying for the right people to fill these special roles, and share the ads. The closing date for applications is Monday 10th June.

Church Family News

Several members of our church family have been bereaved recently, and we send our love to them all: to Ron and Ann Vickery, whose daughter Wendy died unexpectedly two weekends ago, and to Richard Morris whose mother has died.  Please pray for them all, asking God to surround them and their families with his love and comfort. 

Mission Update

URGENT. The Cellar Camino Cafe was closed the last two Saturdays (when the town was busy) because of lack of staff. A mature and capable volunteer is urgently needed to help between 10 and and 2-30 pm on a Saturday. This is a big ask and could be done on a rota basis. Please contact Debbie or Emma at the Cellar if you can help. The Cellar Camino Café is part of the Warehouse Christian Trust - one of Godalming Minster’s local mission partners. Thanks to everyone who has served the community of Godalming through The Cellar and Skillway over the years, and who are involved today.

Foodbank Update The latest shopping list can be found here. Please take a look and add a few items to your next shop.

Karen, the community centre coordinator, updates the shopping list each month with items most needed. You can find the latest shopping list for March on the Foodbank page.

Elsewhere

Life Issues 2024 - a programme of talks and course run by Godalming Baptist Church.

Next Life Issues: Revd Peter Jackson will lead a Life Issue session on Saturday 22nd June on 'Loneliness' ,such an issue for folk of all ages in our society today. Please do come as Peter will lead the subject of loneliness with great empathy and sensitivity as indeed he did last year when he led a Life Issue on Bereavement. To book a place, please contact Sally Pollard (contact details as above.) There is no charge but donations appreciated towards the work of 'Silverline'

Can we pray for you?

***Please send prayer requests to prayer@godalmingminster.org***

Mid-week Prayer Gatherings

9am Morning Prayer
9am on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays with Rev Sheila Samuels at Godalming Minster Franklyn Road.

Monday Morning Reflections on Zoom
If you would like to start your week in quiet reflection over a passage of scripture do join us at 8.45am on Mondays using the link above - you will be very welcome. For any further information please contact: Gertrud Sollars or Shan Hallam.

Wednesdays at 9am:
Morning Prayer at Godalming Minster Hambledon
Morning Prayer on Zoom via link above.

Community & Fellowship

Nexus meets on the 1st Thursday of the month, with talks and activities for church members and the community. See the 2024 Nexus programme, and updates on Nexus.

Ladies’ Drinks take place every 1st Friday of the month, 7.30PM at the The Pavilion by Howling Owl.

The Men’s Group meets for breakfast at 8.15am on the 1st Saturdays of the month. See the calendar event 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.

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.

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.