This week, This is Haslemere had the pleasure of chatting to a number of representatives from our churches in and around Haslemere. The This is Haslemere team are certainly aware of the great things that often happen within our churches.

The Methodist Church in Haslemere, for example, is the venue for the free community meal, the food bank and groups such as Connect and the Bereavement group, all of which have featured in our news and events calendars.

St Alban’s Church in Hindhead has also taken centre stage on This is Haslemere with their popular and much-needed Christmas Gift Drive and Second Hand Clothing events. Incidentally the next Clothes Revived event at St Alban’s takes place on Friday 27 March from 9 am until 7 pm during which time their wonderful community café will be open serving refreshments.

Three Counties Vineyard leads regular initiatives such as Cooking What's in Your Cupboard. They are also taking the lead in getting the new Job Club up and running in our community and, from next month, will also be introducing a new wellbeing course - Kintsugi Hope.

And, the This is Haslemere team has seen first hand how Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Haslemere played a key role in helping ensure that writer, Anil, had a roof over his head when he became homeless.

As a result, we were delighted to spend time with these and other church leaders to find out a bit more about what work churches do to support Haslemere residents and the wider community. We apologise in advance for not being able to speak to all the churches within our community directly but hope that this article gives a flavour for the wonderful work they all do locally to support others.

St Bartholomew’s and St Christopher’s, Haslemere

First up are Chris Bessant and Justin Manley-Cooper who are the faces behind the churches of St Bartholomew’s and St Christopher’s in the Church of England Parish of Haslemere. Revd Chris Bessant is the Rector with Revd Justin Manley-Cooper as Assistant Priest. In their words, they see themselves as ‘a prayerful Christian presence in the local community.’ Chris went on to tell us that, ’The ministry of the church is very wide and deep across the town, and for all ages. We are caring people of faith who take inspiration from the Holy Trinity - God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’

First and foremost, we were curious to know what 'prayerful Christian presence in the local community' actually means in practice and what their day-to-day roles involve. Well, perhaps most obviously, the church gathers several times each Sunday to worship. The list of regular Sunday services can be found here. They include a service at 8 o’clock in the morning which lasts around 30 minutes as well as a service at 10 a.m. which is longer and tends to run for about 50 minutes. The afternoon Families@4 activities last about an hour. Everyone is welcome, including children. And for those which disabilities, both churches are fully accessible.

But throughout the week, Chris and Justin are busy working with children, families, the elderly, nursing homes and St Bartholomew’s School. Their work with families keeps them particularly busy. If you are a parent, do take a look at their families page which includes a whole host of groups for mums, dads, carers and children to get involved in. They can be a great way to meet new people.

Of course, they also have a strong ministry of baptisms, weddings and funerals which keeps them busy too. All these are personally arranged with families and individuals.

And another part of their week is spent meeting one on one with individuals who are perhaps interested in finding out more about the Christmas faith. Through these sessions, they aim to provide support for that person on their specific journey and, when appropriate, will signpost them to groups and other courses that may be of value.

You can find out more at their parish website and if you have children, it’s worth also looking at their families page for more information. This is Haslemere also publishes their parish newsletters which include articles about church matters as well as community stories.

If you are perhaps curious, have any questions or would like to find out more, then both Chris and Justin are extremely accessible and can be contacted here.

All Saints Church, Grayswood

At All Saints Church in Grayswood, which is part of the United Benefice with St Bartholomew’s and St Christopher’s, you will find Rev Fiona Gwynn Associate Priest and Rev Elaine Collins Assistant Priest running the Sunday services.

As a School Governor, Fiona takes a weekly assembly at Grayswood C of E Primary School, and the children come into the church 5 times a year for services.

As well as the usual services in Church on Sunday, they also seek to involve the wider community by hosting some services in the Village Hall. These include holding an annual Pet Service and the very popular monthly Coffee and Chat in the village club which started out as a church initiative. This is one of so many examples of community cafes that are either run by local churches or held on church premises – it’s such a great way for people to come together and to have the opportunity to meet others and form new friendships. They also perform a vital role in ensuring we tackle the growing problem of loneliness within our communities.

Finally, All Saints Church also has an active Pastoral Team. They provide additional support to people in the village, regardless of whether they consider themselves church members or not.

St Margaret’s Church. Fernhurst

Meanwhile, the Fernhurst, Lynchmere and Camelsdale parishes have not that long ago welcomed Reverend Liz. She certainly seems to have brought a new enthusiasm and zest for life to the job. She has already set up a new group for mums and toddlers at the popular Fernhurst Hub every Tuesday morning and she has had lots of parishioners asking when she met Rick Astley and how long ago it was since she was a Gladiator! Find out more by taking a look at her monthly newsletter.

St Stephen's Church, Shottermill

At St Stephen’s in Shottermill, they welcome everyone of all backgrounds and stages of life. If you are new to the Church, new to the area or exploring questions of life, faith and meaning, they would love to get to know you and welcome you. Their vicar and lead pastor Tim Radcliffe and his wife Lucy and family joined the church in 2023. They have a real passion for seeing the kingdom of God at work in their community. The church runs a toddler group, Noah’s Ark, each Tuesday in term time, thriving youth and children’s groups, as well as monthly community lunches and excellent events for seniors. These events provide much needed community interaction for those seeking friendship and fellowship. You can find out more about all their services and events on their website.

Many events taking place at St Stephen's don't actually happen under the church roof though. A quick look at their online events calendar showed a huge range of activities happening further afield too. There is plenty to keep children entertained this Easter including a trip to play laser tag in Guildford for those in Years 3 to 6 and a day out at Chessington for those in Year 7 and above. Younger children will be kept busy too at a Family Fun morning. In addition, on the first Thursday of the month, Women's Drinks are held from 6.00 to 7.30 pm at The Mill.

St Alban’s Church, Hindhead

The team at St Alban’s serves Beacon Hill and Hindhead and is headed up by Vicar Richard Bodle. A very forward thinking team which has both in person services as well as services on zoom, including a quiet, short service of Night Prayer every fortnight.

They also have a particularly busy schedule of regular community events. Their village hall sees a number of weekly exercise classes from yoga to tai chi and from karate to ballet. And each Wednesday morning it is home to a popular Babies and Toddler group, giving new parents the chance to meet others and for their children to make friends.

And we have already mentioned the fantastic initiatives to ensure that they are helping those who are struggling financially, including the Christmas Gift Drive and Clothes Revived.

You can find out more about what’s on at the St Alban’s website.

St Luke's Church, Grayshott

In Grayshott, St Luke’s Church similarly brings the community together. Whilst active Christians may attend their regular church services, you will find a diverse range of people attending some of the other activities that take place. There are a number of popular youth groups, parent and toddler groups and even beginners Greek lessons. You can find out what’s on at St Luke’s Grayshott on their website.

Not only that. St Luke’s Church has been particularly active in supporting the local Ukrainian community. They continue to hold a weekly Ukrainian communion service on the second Sunday of each month.

Find out more

The one thing that our conversations with these churches had in common was that everyone we spoke to said they would love you to get in touch to find out more (in whatever way works for you). And all wanted to encourage you to just pop in to any of our local churches for a visit. All churches are open until around 4.30 each day, unless being used for a service or an event.

They also wanted us to stress that if you’re thinking of coming along to church for the first time, then you are especially welcome. They are conscious that visiting anywhere new for the first time can be daunting but they will always have people on hand to make you feel welcome and to help you quickly settle in.

Of course, if you would prefer to meet up before coming in person, then time and again, those we spoke to reiterated that they would happily pop round to meet you beforehand and provide that friendly reassurance you may need. This invitation is extended to any family members or friends that you think would appreciate a visit. And they also aim to ensure that they’re a visible presence in our community too so if you see them out and about, please do feel free just to stop them for a chat!

And, as this article has highlighted, there is so much going on locally, using our churches as venues.

What if you’re not a member of the Church of England or if you’re not baptised or christened?

Quite frankly, they don’t care! Apparently, there are already many people who attend St Bartholomew’s, St Christopher’s and other local churches who would not consider themselves a member of the Church of England. Chris told us, ‘Whether you’re a Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, United Reformed or Salvation Army, you will find God here with us. If you would rather not take Holy Communion, then you can still come up to the altar to receive a blessing, otherwise you can remain seated peacefully.’ Fiona said, ‘You will always receive a warm welcome at All Saints and the church is open every day should you just wish to pop in and enjoy the special peace of the building.’

The same is true if you’re not baptised or christened. They’re well aware that people come to church at all sorts of different stages in their lives and are keen to stress that ‘God accepts people at all times.’ Of course, if you decide that the Christian faith is for you and wanted to take this further, you can ask to be baptised as a commitment to this new part of your life.’ Both Justin and Chris were keen to stress that, 'Baptism is not just for babies!’

A huge thank you to Chris, Justin, Fiona, Liz and others for their time. It’s clear that all our local churches are busy helping many people within Haslemere and creating initiatives to bring our community together.