Catharina is to be appointed the next Vicar of the Benefice of St Mark's with St Mary's Island, Gillingham. She will be moving there in September ready for her licensing in the autumn. Please pray for Catharina and Per and their family as they prepare for their move. Her last Sunday at St Mary’s is Sunday 4 September.
If you look at the top of the flagpole above the tower, you will see a golden crown. This represents the strong connection between St Mary’s and the Sovereign, ‘who has long held the Manor of Hampton’. You are invited to join us in the churchyard on 4 June as we celebrate this long-standing connection by coming together as a community and raising a toast to Her Majesty to thank her for her 70 years of service. Starting at 11am you can expect, amongst other things, Live Music, a Traditional English Tea Tent, Barbecue, Bar, Bouncy Castle and Crypt Tours.
In previous years during Lent we have held a frugal Lenten lunch after our 11am Sunday service.
Traditionally this has comprised of a simple meal of soup and bread to help us empathise in a very small way with those who are struggling and have little to eat. There will be a Lenten Lunch on Sunday 20 March after the 11am service with an opportunity for you to donate what you would have spent on Sunday lunch to the Ukraine Appeal. Everyone is welcome but to help us with planning, please book your place HERE.
We were pleased to welcome a good audience to our free concert of solo and choral music on Saturday 26 February in aid of the Bell Appeal Fund. It was great to see members of our congregations and guests from the wider community. The concert was preceded by ringing of the bells and members of the Middlesex Association were there during the interval to talk to the audience about the bells and bell ringing. We raised over £2,000 for the bell appeal which is a great result for the re-launch of our campaign after the pandemic. For more details of the campaign, please visit https://www.hampton-church.org.uk/bells
St Mary’s Church is hosting this year’s Deanery Synod and Jimmy Dale, the Church of England’s National Youth Evangelism Officer, is the guest speaker. The evening is open to everyone, not just members of the synod and Jimmy is a brilliant and engaging speaker so please do come along - it promises to be a great evening. Tuesday 22 Feb at 7.30pm.
Just before the lockdown we were in the throes of launching an appeal to raise £80,000 to keep the bells of St Mary's ringing. This appeal will now be formally launched on Saturday 26 February at 6pm when Jonathan Williams and his Chamber Choir will put on a concert of solo and choral items in church. Jonathan will introduce the music items and also say more about the restoration project. The concert will be free to attend and you may make a donation if you wish. The current set of eight bells is a key part of our local heritage and has been ringing for nearly 200 years. This appeal is therefore not just aimed at members of the congregation but also to the wider community, so please bring some friends as well for an enjoyable evening. Further information about the bells and the appeal, including making a donation, can be found HERE.
For full details of our Christmas services, please see our events section or click HERE for a summary.
Join professional chamber choir Sonoro on 9 December at 8pm to celebrate the festive season with choral favourites and carols for all to sing. In aid of Cancer Research UK. Box office 0333 666 3366 or www.sonoromusic.com
Do you have a love of Jesus and a desire and expectation that young people will encounter the Holy Spirit?
We are looking for a Full Time Youth Pastor to help us deliver a youth ministry that is fun, exciting and creative.
Closing date for applications 14 June 2023.
A full job and person specification can be found HERE.
‘Life is a journey, Long is the road’, says the old song, and there are times when we get tired or worry that we have taken a wrong turn. This course will give you the opportunity to focus on 6 areas that, if functioning well, build your resilience and make the journey easier. The course is 6 sessions, running fortnightly on Tuesday evenings from 15 June - 13 July (online) and then next term 14 September - 12 October which will look at the Wellbeing mindset and physical, emotional, spiritual and relational wellbeing. More details including a self-assessment and an introductory video can be found at http://wellbeingjourney.org/about/
Sign up at hampton-church.org.uk/wellbeing
We raised £867 for Christian Aid this year. An excellent result given the circumstances! Details of the programmes to relieve poverty which are supported by Christian Aid can be found on their website: christianaid.org.uk
Messages of condolence following the death of The Duke of Edinburgh can be left on the Church of England Website HERE.
