St Mary's Church
Fairford

The Bible in Flowers

A Celebration of the 400th Anniversary
of the King James Bible
26th to 29th August 2011
St Mary’s Church, Fairford

Floral arrangements will be based on scenes from the King James Bible.

Entrance free with programme but donations gratefully received for the upkeep of St. Mary’s Church.

Friday 10am to 5pm
Saturday 10am to 5.00pm
Sunday 11.30 am to 5pm
Monday 10am to 5pm

Morning coffee, lunches and teas with homemade cakes etc. will be served all day in the Community Centre and there will be a Grand Raffle.

Fairford WI

The story behind a cup of tea was the subject of Pam Slater’s talk at our Summer outdoor luncheon held at the Centre. Although we were able to eat outside, we chose to eat indoors which was just as well as it rained whilst Pam was speaking.

The tea story started in China, and some of the early Tea families came from Gloucestershire like the Twinings. She illustrated her talk with photos of her trip to the tea plantations in Kerala in India.

The competition of a cup and saucer was won by Gretchen, and the raffle won by May. An ex. member and guest, Margaret Wilby drew the ticket for the Denman Dip Bursary which was won by Liz Hope.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday August 3rd at 7.30pm. in the Palmer Hall when the speaker will give a talk and demonstration on Quilling. Hopefully we shall all be able to take part. The competition will be for a small flower arrangement. Visitors and new members are always welcome. Phone 01285 711373.

Charity of the Month: August
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation are concerned with the early detection and alleviation of type 1 diabetes in young people and also support research into the causes and eventual cure of this crippling condition.

Money can be left in the Charity box by the south door. If you are feeling energetic, why not get sponsorship and join the JDRF Family Walk in Bristol on Sunday September 4? - if you feel even more energetic, why not be sponsored to run in the Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday September 11? Details can be obtained from the Regional Fundraising Co-ordinator, Chris Andrews, at the regional office: JDRF, 2 Berkeley Square, Bristol BS8 1HL. Alternatively, email at: southwest@jdrf.org.uk or phone on 0117 945 2491. Website.

Fairford Holiday Club

23rd & 24th August 10:00-3:00
25th August 10:00-1:30
The United Church, Milton Street, Fairford

Be a secret agent and find out about God’s Rescue Plan.

£5 per child. To register contact Joanne Roberts 01285 711386 e-mail: joanneesw@hotmail.co.uk.

Café Church

Café Church is taking a break in August, but will be back the first Sunday in September.

St Mary’s Under the Microscope

Visitors to St.Mary’s this year may have noticed a group of people armed with cameras, tape measures, notebooks, weighing machines and binoculars, closely examining the contents of our church and making copious notes. They are members of the Northleach Church Recorders Group who, at the invitation of our churchwardens, are compiling a record of all the contents.

The group are part of Northleach NADFAS, and acronym for National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies, a national organisation with branches spread across the country. Some thirty years ago a number of organisations were becoming increasingly concerned about the deteriorating state of some of the precious artefacts contained within our parish churches either from age, neglect or sadly and more often from theft. NADFAS was then approached by the Victoria and Albert Museum to find out whether as a National Organisation with a focus on the Arts they would be prepared to undertake the quite massive task of recording the contents of the Nation’s parish churches, which they willingly agreed to.

A NADFAS recording contains a detailed description of each item; a photo or a drawing, a description of the article together with a translation of any inscription, the date, the measurements, the material from which it is made, the artist or sculptor, the history and the donor. Woodwork, metalwork, glass, stonework, memorials, paintings, textiles, library (including the records held at Gloucester), and miscellaneous items are all included.

So far some 1,600 churches (of about 15,000) have been recorded; at the end of the process the record is printed, bound and a copy presented to the church. Other churches recorded in the area by the Northleach recorders include Bibury, Quenington, and Chedworth.

I have been asked whether we have identified anything of particular interest at St. Mary’s but it is early days yet. There is still a great deal of recording to do which may well take us another couple of years. Fairford has so many fine things – particularly the woodwork and the windows. A copy of the record will be presented to the church when all is complete and I hope to be able to comment then on anything we have found of special interest.

John Shapley, NADFAS