News

Supporting Cobham Area Foodbank

We are delighted to be making Cobham Area Foodbank, one of our Mission Partners, the focus for our Harvest Collections again this year.

Our local foodbank, like many throughout the country, is desperately short of food donations. Please bring along donations to the Harvest Service at 10am on Sunday 1 October. The items below are particularly short, so please read the list, or take one from the vestibule with you and bring in any of the items listed; it will be gratefully received.

Harvest items will be collected on Tuesday 3 October.

Items urgently needed:

  • pasta sauce
  • UHT fruit juice
  • tins of meat, vegetables, fish, soup, spaghetti hoops and custard
  • UHT semi-skimmed milk
  • chocolate spread
  • tomato ketchup
  • hot chocolate
  • sponge puddings
  • sweet snacks & biscuits
  • bleach
  • toothpaste for adults
  • sanitary towels
  • shampoo & conditioner
  • shaving foam & razors

Thank you.

Visit from Qaiser & Rahila

We were delighted this week to welcome Qaiser and Rahila from OTS, our Mission Partners in Pakistan.

Qasier, as many will know, is the Executive Director of OTS (The Open Theological Seminary) in Pakistan, whose motto is “Equipping God’s people for the work of His service”. His powerful preaching as a servant of Christ from Philippians set the bar high for all of us as we study this letter from Paul. Qaiser we found to be a special humble man and it was easy to see how he leads this amazing  ministry.

OTS is a non-denominational Seminary and currently provides this Christian teaching to some 1000 students a year.

Rahila, we have known, founded and runs an incredible Christian Charity called “Help for the Helpless”. This charity reaches out to poor and marginalised Christian women mothers in both the rural areas as well as in the city. They help them by teaching sewing skills and after a year’s training, at their graduation provide them with a sewing machine and the tools to run their own small business. They have opened 10 of these centres in the past 6 years.

Watch this video to find out more about her work.

 

Rahila, when she was interviewed on Sunday, mentioned that they can buy new machines for the equivalent of £40 and several of you generously contributed on Sunday. Those who would still like to contribute, donations can be made by Bank transfer to St Andrews Church, Oxshott. Sort Code 20-90-56 Account number 80374598 Reference OTS/HTH

During their few days with us, Qaiser and Rahila met with many in our congregation at events such as Soul Space, an Open lunch, ABC, Craft Club, a Life Group and finally a visit to B@titude, where they encountered numerous similarities.

Many thanks are due to so many of you for kind and generous hosting, wonderful lunches and dinners that made this visit so special and helped us build a deeper and more fruitful relationship. How poignant for us all that Qaiser should preach from Chapter 1 of Philippians where the main themes are “Love, thankfulness and joy”

BYC – August update

Preparatory work continues apace!  Recent weeks have seen considerable activity involving the redesign of the kitchen and toilets, and the necessary cabling for audio visual equipment and Wi-Fi connectivity (initially to temporary units, and subsequently to their final locations), as well as core heating and electrical works.

We are now at an advanced stage with our technical drawings, which form the basis of the cost proposals we will seek from potential main contractors; this is a crucial step, as we will then be able to confirm whether the funds we have raised are sufficient.

The investigation work with our Project Managers unearthed a significant problem with the roofing over the north corridor (which covers the toilets, kitchen, offices and storage rooms). This was not supposed to be part of the project, so finding the best way forward has set us back. We have now engaged a roofing contractor by competitive tender, and work will start during September.

Over the next two to three weeks, we will procure a temporary office, toilets and cabin to help us maintain as many of our church ministries as we can; but there will inevitably be some disruption, and so we ask for everyone’s patience and forbearance in the coming months, along with your ongoing prayers, as work begins for real to deliver improved buildings that bring glory to God.

For more information about the project see Building Your Church

Licensing of Revd Patrick Davies

On Monday 21 August, Archdeacon Martin Breadmore conducted a Licensing Service for Patrick. This service commissioned Patrick to serve as Associate Minister in our parish with particular focus on Families and Children.

Please continue to pray for Patrick and his family as he begins this next exciting stage in his ministry here at St Andrew’s.

Jasper’s Big BYC Bike Ride – Update

On Saturday 29 July, Jasper successfully completed his 20 mile bike ride for BYC – raising an amazing total of just over £2000, by cycling from Bramley to Rudgwick, and back! Setting off at 10am from the old Bramley and Wonersh Station, using the Downs Link path (an old railway track) and arriving back around 5.30pm – amazingly avoiding all the rain showers! Snack and lunch stops along the way, in Cranleigh and at The Milk Churn near Rudgwick, helped keep us going, as well as taking time to admire the view and watch the wildlife, including deer and a sparrowhawk.

Jasper is so proud to have completed his challenge, and raised such a good amount in support of BYC.  Thank you to all who have sponsored and encouraged Jasper in his efforts!

Watch Jasper being interviewed and congratulated in church.

Support our ‘Your Fund Surrey’ application

We have completed stage one of the Your Fund Surrey application for funding on the (BYC) Building Your Church project. As a result we are now invited to complete a full application. As we prepare the documentation to do that, we need to ask for your help in supporting and offering comments of support on the YFS website.

The last day for submitting comments is Wed 28 June.

The link is yourfundsurreyproposals.commonplace.is where you will see all the live projects listed and in particular the one for St Andrew’s Church Oxshott. Please click on this, where you will be given a description of the project and you will be asked:

  • “How do you feel about this project proposal?” There is a choice of five icons from sad face to happy face.
  • “Why do you feel this way?” Please add a brief description in the box provided.
  • “Is there anything like this project in the area already?” Click yes or no option.
  • “Add any other comments about this project.” Please include any comments as to why this project is important to the community.
  • Finally you will be asked to provide your email address. You will be sent an email for verification. It is important to respond to this by clicking the ‘Confirm comment’ button otherwise your comments will not be published.

We need each of you, your friends and neighbours, to support this to help make this application successful. The more comments of support, the more chance we have of being successful.

Many thanks in advance for your help and support with this.

The BYC team

Antiques Valuation Day – Fundraising Event

Saturday, 8 July 10am – 4pm

Bring your favourite items for a valuation, learn more about them and help support BYC!  The list above may give you some ideas.

Ewbank’s Auction House will provide expert valuers (at £5 for the first item, £2 per additional item), and will discount the commission if your items go to auction, and waive all commission if you donate all the money to BYC, our building development project.  There is no need to pre-book, and on the day there will be refreshments available, and a raffle with exciting prizes.

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come (TKC) is a global ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray from Ascension to Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus.

This year for the 11 days of Thy Kingdom Come at St Andrew’s, we are focusing on reminding ourselves to ‘Pray for Five’ – five people known to us who we would love to come to faith in Jesus Christ. Please do pick up a TKC prayer bookmark from the vestibule and pray every day for your five!

You may also like to walk and pray for your neighbours and our wider community. Join us for one, or both!, of our prayer walks:

  • For local shops and businesses, led by Patrick Fleming (including a stop at Munch and Wiggles!) on Monday 22 May, 10.30am to 11.30am.
  • For local schools and community groups, led by Patrick Davies on Thursday 25 May, 12 noon to 1pm.

The TKC website is full of great ideas and free resources for prayer.

‘Christ’s Call to His Church’

We’re currently spending a lot of time thinking about the importance of building our church here in Oxshott. From 8 January until Lent, our new series of Sunday sermons and Life Group studies considers the question of what Jesus Christ might think of our church.

Based on the early chapters of the Book of Revelation, we’ll spend 7 weeks studying 7 letters addressed to 7 ancient churches, under the pastoral care of the Apostle John, and thinking about how this teaching applies to St Andrew’s Church in Oxshott today.

The series title is ‘Christ’s Call to His Church’ and the week-by-week titles are:

  • 8 January   ‘Called to Love’
  • 15 January ‘Called to Suffer’
  • 22 January ‘Called to Truth’
  • 29 January ‘Called to Holiness’
  • 5 February ‘Called to Sincerity’
  • 12 February ‘Called to Mission’
  • 19 February ‘Called to Wholeheartedness’

Study guides are available via Life Group leaders or from the Church Office. If you would like to join a Life Group, please fill in the form and Patrick Fleming will help you find a group that best suits you.

BYC Update – Plans approved!

We are delighted to announce that our Planning Application in respect of the major refurbishment of the ancillary buildings at St Andrew’s has been approved by Elmbridge planners.

The BYC steering group are now working with our advisors to determine our next steps.

We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the present redesign, which many viewed in the vestibule of the church.

We still need to raise around £100,000 of funding to meet our appeal target, and we are very appreciative of all donations to make these facilities a reality, and provide a welcoming space at the centre of our village. If you have any great ideas for helping raise funds to fill this gap, please do email  and we will get back to you.

There continues to be much work to do, and the Steering Group are busy working with our advisors on the final designs for the toilets and kitchen; harmonisation of our heating system, which will be enhanced by solar panels; structural checks where we are removing walls and widening doors, and much more.

We continue to be greatly encouraged! Although we still need to raise £100,000 to be able to deliver the new plan in full, we feel that we are well on our way – THANK YOU to those who have responded so far.

Donate to the fund