A reminder to everyone that the postponed Harvest Festival and Harvest Lunch will take place on Sunday next, 9th October. 

As we have a concert in the church on Friday evening, can you please bring any produce or other goods that you would like to donate to decorate the church to the church on Saturday morning.  All dry goods (tins,  packets, etc) will be donated to the Faringdon Food Bank and edible produce will go to the Faringdon Baptist Church for the lunches they provide.

If you have already indicated that you are coming to the Harvest Lunch, I will be contacting you in the next day or so to confirm whether you are still coming.  If you were not able to come last time, but would now like to join us, please let me know - 241632 or phemes43@gmail.com.

We hope you will be able to join us to celebrate this milestone of the country year.

Pat
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An evening of Music and Bubbles
 

1. Three Pieces for two violins and piano - Shostakovich - Prelude, Gavotte and Waltz - (Katherine Payne and Anna Nemchuk)
   
   
2.  Divertimento for oboe and bassoon - Argentesi - Chinese Pinball, Habanera,  A Cunning Plan - (Joanna Rhind-Tutt, Glyn Williams)
   
   
3. Legend for violin - Wieniawski - (Anna Nemchuk)
   
   
4. Reeds & Rhythm for oboe and bassoon and bongos - Sharma - Round Rondo,  Blues , Tango - (Joanna Rhind-Tutt, Glyn Williams, Oliver Payne)
   
   
5. Violin Concert in G min, Op 26 - Bruch - Vorspiel – Allegro moderato - (Katherine Payne)
   
   
6. Respectfully Yours, Farewell Patagonia - Scott Eales - (Nick  Warr)

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With thanks to all of the performers!
 
All proceeds will go to St. Giles Church

For those who would like to put an entry into the Book of Condolence for her late majesty the Queen, the Book will remain in the Church until 5pm on Tuesday 20th September.

Come and join us for a magical evening of music in our beautiful old church followed by delicious canapes and bubbles.
 
Friday 7th October 7 o'clock onwards.
 
Tickets £15
 
Available from
Pam 240233
Pauline 243140
 
All proceeds to St Giles Church
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Next Sunday the Harvest Festival will be held at the church at 10.30am.  The service will be followed by our usual Harvest Lunch of Ploughman's and wine in the Reading Room.  All are welcome to join us at either or both events.
If anyone has flowers, fruit or veg which have survived the heat of the summer that they would like to donate to decorate the church, Pat and Pauline would be grateful if you could bring them to the church if possible on Friday (9th September). Any fruit and vegetables will be donated to one of the churches in Faringdon that will use.them for their own charitable activity. Tins and packets of food are also welcome and these will be donated to the Faringdon Food Bank..
If you would like to join us at the Harvest Lunch, please contact Pat Cook (241632) or Jane Holmes (241367).to reserve a place and help us with catering. Donations of approx £7.50 per head are suggested, which can be made on the day.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

I have received the following appeal from Olly Fox, who is the organist at Coleshill and Buscot, and has played here on many occasions and at the Barn Service at Christmas.  If you would like to help, please contact Olly direct on the email address included in the text.

Many thanks

Pat

Churchwarden, St Giles

Dear all,

As many of you know, I help to run a wildlife education and conservation project in The Gambia, West Africa, that has been studying the birdlife of the region including a large number of migratory species which spend their winters in Sub-Saharan Africa after the breeding season in Europe. Throughout this time we have built up a strong team of local conservationists and ornithologists who run the project all year round.

On the many trips I have made to the region since 2005 I have got to know several families in the villages where we work and often stay with them while travelling. Therefore, over the weekend, I was very shocked to hear from one of our team members about a younger member of their family, an 8-year-old boy, who, on Friday, had been involved in a serious accident where he was hit by a speeding car and had incurred a number of life-changing injuries. Unfortunately, the level of healthcare available in that part of Africa is still woefully poor and families have to cover all the treatment costs themselves.

The family cannot even begin to provide the rapidly rising amounts requested by the hospital and have reached out to me for help with the treatment costs. We would like to move the boy, Muhammed Gassama, to a better hospital in the capital Banjul, where they have more experience of orthopaedic surgery required to set the bones that have been fractured in the boy's legs and arms. Clearly, it's crucial that Muhammed receives the best care he can now otherwise there is a real risk that the rest of life will be heavily impacted by what has happened.

As a result of these worrying developments, I am hoping to carry out some fundraising locally so that we can help out my colleague's family with the increasing hospital costs for treating Muhammed. If anyone in our local congregations and church family feels able to donate a small amount then please let me know by email at oliver.jl.fox@gmail.com. I will coordinate the transfer of the money to the hospital and provide regular updates on the progress of Muhammed's recovery. 

Love and best wishes, 

Olly 
_________________________________ 
Dr OJL Fox 
Kartong Bird Observatory 

On Friday (3rd) at 11 am there will be a brief ceremony in the Contemplation Garden when Revd Maureen will dedicate the cherry tree which was planted in March to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee.  We hope that as many of the village as possible will join us to mark this special occasion.  Some new benches which have been given in memory of loved ones will be dedicated too.

There will be tea/coffee and cake in the Vicarage afterwards, to which all are invited.

We hope to see a good number of you there to celebrate this historic occasion.

Palm Sunday, this Sunday, 10th April at 10am

The service for Palm Sunday, when Palm Crosses will be distributed, will begin at the crossroads at 10 o'clock for a procession down to the church for the service to begin at 10.30.

Sadly this year we will not be lead by a donkey.

We will be joined by members of the congregations of the other churches in our benefice.  As always, everyone is welcome to join us for this special service.
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The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) will be held in the Reading Room next Tuesday, 29th March at 7.30pm. 

The agenda will include the following:

Election of the Churchwarden for the coming year. 
Minutes of the previous year's meeting and any matters arising
Presentation of the Annual Report of the PCC
Presentation of the Financial Statement for the year and the Annual Financial Report. 
Report of the Deanery Synod Representative
Election of PCC members
Appointment of auditor
Appointment of sidesmen

Everyone is welcome to come and refreshments will be served.  We hope to see you there.
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