Haslemere Parish Contacts

Rector: Rev Chris Bessant 01428 658107 rector@haslemereparish.org

Curate: Rev Justin Manley-Cooper revjustin@haslemereparish.org

Verger: St Bartholomew’s Carol Skeates 01428 642662

Parish Office

The Link, Derby Road

Haslemere GU27 1BS

Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 9am-3pm office@haslemereparish.org www.haslemereparish.org 01428 644578

Parish Administrator, Electoral Roll Officer and Link Bookings:

Older Children’s Worker

Verity Sutherland children@haslemereparish.org

Children & Families Worker

Victoria Martin families@haslemereparish.org

First Steps

Mondays in St Christopher’s 0-5 Year Olds

Sophie Bessant & Victoria Martin families@haslemereparish.org

Treasurer Andrew

Gift

PCC

07889 855239

Facilities for the disabled; Both Churches and The Link at St Bartholomew’s have ramped access and space for wheelchairs. Toilets suitable for use by the disabled are available in The Link and at St Christopher’s.

Facilities for the hard of hearing; Both churches and The Link have Sound amplification and hearing loops.

LLM

Facilities for the visually Impaired; Both churches have good interior lighting and large print weekly notice sheets and service sheets.

Please recycle this magazine when you have read it. Either into paper recycling, or better still, pass it on to a friend

Bell-ringers

Paul Bagshaw 01428 656129

Friends of the Parish

Chris Lemar 01428 651435

Flowers

St Bartholomew’s

Sarah Mulliner 01428 643504

St Christopher’s

Frances Reincke 01428 607206

Church Care Group

Roscelin Rees 01428 651561

Churchyards

Philip Hunt 01428 644120

Pastoral Visitors

Church Office 01428 644578

Pastoral Assistants

Ruth Pattenden 01428 653033

Ros Webb 01428 648916

Bereavement Visitors

Linda Donaldson 01428 644473

Frances Gaiter 01428 648843

Sarah Mulliner 01428 643504

Mothers’Union Treasurer

Sue Davis 01428 661115

BRF Representative

Sarah Mulliner 01428 643504

Magazine Secretary

Jane Slevin 07949 633979 office@haslemereparish.org

Magazine Advertisements Manager: Geoff Martin 01428 641907

Safeguarding Contacts:

Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor is:

Jackie Broadfoot 07918 559387 jackie.broadfoot@cofeguildford.org.uk

Safe Spaces, an independent service supporting survivors of church-related abuse.

Telephone: 0300 303 1056

Email safespaces@victimsupport.org.uk

WebChat via the Safe Spaces website

For all emergencies call 999

The Single Point of Access (SPA) Children and Adult Service social workers. Direct information, advice and guidance about where and how to find appropriate support for children and families:

Surrey 0300 470 9100 (children) cspa@surreycc.gov.uk (adult) acsmash@surreycc.gov.uk

Domestic Abuse

Surrey - YourSanctuary 01483 776822 24hr National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247

Childline 0800 1111

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

NSPCC 0808 800 5000 or help@nspcc.org.uk NSPCC Sign Video link nspcc.org.uk/aboutus/contact-us

Samaritans 116123 or jo@samaritans.org

Modern Day Slavery Helpline 0800 01210700

Mental Health Crisis Helpline

0300 5000 101

Open 5.00pm - 9.00am Monday to Friday 24 hours cover at weekends inc Bank

Holidays

SMS texting facility for people who are deaf or hard of hearing: 07717 989024

Stop it Now! 0808 1000 900 www.stopitnow.org.uk

I’m not a very enthusiastic mower of my lawns, even though I’ve got quite a lot of grass at the Rectory, front and back. All told it will take about three hours to cut it with my machines, much of which sees me plodding backwards and forwards to the compost pile at the end of garden. Laziness quickly sets-in, so I’ll just do one area and leave the rest to another day. Meanwhile, the most recently cut grass just grows again! For this reason, I’ve never actually ‘finished’ cutting my grass.

Finishing anything is never so simple as it sounds. How does an artist decide when a painting is finished? Have you ever finished cleaning your house? Is your golf-swing finished? Perhaps some different language is required – I might stop, but I’ll never finish. Back in my old days of writing software, the team would release the package for customer use full in the knowledge that there were glitches and crashes that remained unsolved. Many times I’ve worked all night and day to fix a particularly difficult ‘last’ problem only to then find another waiting behind it.

In our fevered society we don’t have a nice positive vocabulary for ‘it’s okay’, ‘good enough’ or ‘that will do’. Such phrases always sound a bit defeatist, especially when we are constantly shown public exemplars like high-achievers and perfectionists. Yet, what I see often - oh so very often - is the stress of people trying to do too much, working too hard, committing too far, and with the result that they get caught in a downward circular warp that leads to the deception that more is always better.

Sometimes I get caught up in that mindset myself, but I balance all of the imperfections and failures of my life with the salving thought that only Jesus Christ is perfect. It wasn’t that he was super-human (you can get in a theological tangle on that one), it’s because he was both the Son of Man and Son of God fused together in an eternal and glorious union that we call the incarnation. Don’t worry if you can’t fully understand that - no one else does either. It’s a holy mystery we hold by faith.

Is it any wonder that, in a world where so many do not have a relationship with Christ, they instead set up others as perfect champions, and then try to emulate them? Disappointment follows in every direction, and in some cases with damaging consequence for health.

Summertime (I hope) will provide to you times of rest and reflection, where the place of Christ can rise fully in your hearts and minds. May his peace be found as much in the warmth of the long evening sunshine, as also in the soft rain that brings life into the garden - and makes the grass grow…….which reminds me, I must go and cut the grass again.

God bless you all with rest, hope and love.

Rector Chris

Mary Kirkman’s 102nd Birthday

On Sunday June 18th 2023, the congregation at St Christopher’s celebrated Mary Kirkman’s 102nd Birthday. Mary was presented with a card and a rose bush called ‘Birthday Wishes’ and a rendition of Happy Birthday. In return Mary had made her own delicious birthday cake which, along with the usual prosecco served after the Praying on Sunday service, resulted in a lovely party and was enjoyed by all.