NUTFIELD PARISH CHURCH

The Church of St Peter and St Paul

    News & UPDATES

RESOURCING GOD'S MISSION IN SOUTHWARK DIOCESE 

One of the important things about the Church of England is that it works together. Rather than each church paying for its own vicar and all the other costs of ministry, resources are pooled with richer parishes supporting poorer ones. This means clergy can be put in the places where they are needed most. So a more affluent parish with fewer people in it may have a half-time priest, while a less affluent inner city parish may need a full-time priest. 

Southwark Diocese are implementing a new way of seeking to fund the work of parishes. For more details click here.

BELL RINGING

Have you thought about becoming one of our bell-ringers? Bell ringing is a team activity that stimulates the brain and helps keep you fit... it also makes a glorious sound! Many ringers consider ringing to be their contribution to church or village life, others do it for the pure pleasure it brings. Ringers come from all walks of life and range in age from ten to those in their eighties. New ringers are always welcome. Why not come and see whether it would interest you – we are seeking more ringers now to expand our existing bands to help to maintain this very traditional skill.
You will find our ringers in the church towers every practice evening:
Tuesdays  from 7.30pm until 9.15pm (with a coffee break about 8.15!)
Click here for more information about Bell Ringing at Nutfield

VISTING BISHOPS

We were delighted to welcome Bishop Rosemarie and Bishop Phoebe Roaf (Tennessee, USA) on Sunday 19th January at our Family Matins service.

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Twenty of us enjoyed a lunch at Bletchingley Golf Club in December 2024.

VISIT FROM THE ARCHDEACON

Sunday 1st December 2024will be the start of Advent and for Holy Communion on that day we are honoured to have Moira Astin, our Archdeacon, officiating.  We would encourage as many of you as possible to come to that service and meet her.  

QUIZ

The Quiz Night on 21st October 2024 was such a fun evening and we should like to give huge thanks to Laura and the team plus Fr Paul for organising the evening.  It obviously took a massive amount of time and effort to put together but everyone who attended had a really good time and were incredibly generous. We are delighted that the quiz raised just over £4000. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this marvellous result. 

LUNCHES AT ST PETER AND ST PAUL

Do you know that on the second Saturday of every month (except January) we have a lunch at church? We provide delicious home made soup, bread, cheese, salad and a selection of cold treats like ham, little sausages and pork pies, to mention but a few. These lunches provide a good opportunity to get to know each other better - there is always much chatter and laughter!  

If you would like to come along please advise either Gilly (07919 468208) or Charmaine (01737 823360) by the Thursday before as this helps us to plan the catering. 

If you need a lift please contact Charmaine. Hope you’ll join us!

When:  The first Saturday of the month
Where: In the church
Time:    Between 12.30 - 2pm

HELPING OUT!

Cleaning:

There are lots of people who quietly beaver away looking after our beautiful church. One unsung group is the cleaning team who go in every single Thursday morning. Thank you Gilly, Charmaine, Wendy, Maureen, Tina and Derek for your dedication.    If anyone else would like to volunteer please contact Gilly (07919468208) or Charmaine (01737823360).

Mowing:

Please can you spare about an hour or so every two to three weeks to do some mowing in the churchyard? We need two more volunteers to join the mowing team. The churchyard has been divided into sections and each volunteer is given a section to look after. The mower is provided and there is a strimmer as well, should you wish to use it. If you have any questions or if you’d like to help, please contact Charmaine on 07794 432623.

Flower Arranging:

Could you help us by doing a flower arrangement up to four times a year?

You don’t need to be an expert. Just bring some flowers, collect some greenery from the churchyard and away you go! Others will offer guidance if needed – we’re a supportive bunch. Contact Gilly Powell or one of the churchwardens if you have questions.

EASYFUNDRAISING UPDATE

We have raised over £900 so far since setting up an easyfundraising account. It's absolutely free to our supporters but enables retailers to donate a % of spending to our restoration Fund. To find out how look here.

We're a busy inclusive Church - below are a few things we have organised and been involved in:

BROCKHAM TEA ON THE GREEN

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to our afternoon tea at Brockham. We raised £900 which will be split between Cuthaids (the orphanage we support in Zimbabwe) and church funds. It was an enjoyable afternoon which raised a fabulous amount of money. Thank you all.

HARVEST FESTIVAL

We have our Harvest Festival on 15th September. This is always a very special service and if you can help with decorating on the Friday morning please contact Gilly Powell (07919468208). If this slot is inconvenient and you would like do an arrangement at another time contact Jo (07811462227) to arrange access. 

We will pass non-perishable gifts to the St Matthew’s food bank which is used by Welcare clients, and all fresh food will go to Crawley Open House. Nutfield folk are always generous in providing gifts for those in need and the much needed offerings are always received with gratitude.

LENT LUNCH

Lunches take place every Saturday during Lent. Proceeds go to the Bishop’s Lent Call. 

CANDLEMAS SERVICE

The service of Candlemas on 4th February concluded our three main Christmas services.  It was a truly beautiful candlelit service and may thanks to Charles, the choir and Michael Frith the visiting organist for working extremely hard to make lit so special. We should also like to thank Oliver, in his role of Sacristan, for erecting and dismantling the crib scene and star.  He spends an inordinate amount of time to make the crib look stunning with Janet adding the touches of foliage so many thanks to Oliver and Janet.

We must also thank the families for decorating and taking down the Christmas tree. Christmas is now over and before the blink of an eye we are about to enter Lent so do look out for our Lenten services and activities.

FESTIVAL OF NINE LESSONS AND CAROLS

What a wonderful Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols this year. Huge thanks go to Charles and the choir for this beautifully uplifting service which led us into Christmastide.

CHRISTMAS RAFFLE

Thanks to everyone who donated, wrapped and bought tickets for the Christmas Raffle. We raised a total of £371 which will be split equally between 'I Choose Freedom' (formerly the Women's Refuge) and church funds. Well done everyone and we had many comments on a magnificent looking raffle.

RIDE & STRIDE 

Thanks to everyone who participated in and sponsored the Ride & Stride which took place on 9th September and raised a huge £911! 

BISHOP CHRISTOPHER'S VISIT

It was heart-warming to see so many people on Sunday 19th February, at our Choral Evensong where we welcomed Bishop Christopher, Bishop of Southwark. The service was beautiful, as ever, and thank you Charles for his tireless work in maintaining such high standards in our musical tradition. 

JOINT EVENSONG WITH ST NICOLAS'S CHURCH, GUILDFORD

On Sunday 9th October our choir was invited by our previous curate, Father Neil Roberts, to join the choir at St Nicolas' Church, Guildford for an Evensong celebrating the 150th anniversary of local composer Vaughan Williams. It was a joyful collaboration which many of our congregation travelled across the county to enjoy. We look forward to their choir coming to Nutfield next time to join us in our Evensong worship. 

BISHOP OF CROYDON VISITS

On 3rd May Her Majesty the Queen approved the appointment of the Venerable Rosemarie Mallett as Bishop of Croydon. What did she do on her first day? She came to St Peter and St Paul Nutfield!

Photos by Eve Milner

HENRY SMITH CHARITY

Applications are invited from people in need who have been resident in the parish for at least 12 months. Application forms are available from any of the trustees listed below:

Mr Ken Rolaston, 7 Morris Road, South Nutfield 01737 823348

Mrs Jane Vorster, Low Beck, Kings Cross Lane 01737 823206

Mrs Margaret Young, 9 Shortacres, Nutfield 01737 822363

Written requests will be received by the trustees, in strict confidence, at any time.

CONTACTLESS

As a Church we're delighted we now have contactless donations and easyfundraising to help  support our donations - please see 'What's On' page and our dedicated Restoration Fund page for more details.

CHURCHYARD WORKING PARTY & LUNCH

On the second Saturday of every month (except January) we meet at around 10.30am to do some work in our churchyard. This is often followed by a ploughman's lunch between 12:30 and 2.00 pm. These lunches are most enjoyable and are also popular with non-gardeners. The churchyard is large and there are not many volunteers to carry out the work, so we would always welcome an extra pair of hands. Gardening experience is not required, as we will show you what to do. We don't mind how long you have to spare - even half an hour would be appreciated. Those who tend the churchyard are getting on a bit, so do come and give us a hand if possible - it's quite good fun!

AUDIO CLINIC FOR NHS HEARING AID USERS

This is free and takes place on the 1st Saturday of each month from 11:00am - noon at St Peter & St Paul's Church Nutfield. Click here for Details

The Prayer Group meet at 1 Braes Mead, South Nutfield every second Monday of the month at 2:15pm.  All are most welcome.