On a beautiful warm Autumn day, a dozen Saintly Striders, led by our Rector the Revd Ruth Howlett-Shipley, joined the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust annual sponsored walk. We set off at 10am, and walked the back road to Bodenham, then on across the fields to St Andrew's, Nunton, followed by St Mary's, Odstock. The Churchwardens had kindly prepared refreshments, which were gratefully received, and showed off their historic churches to us.Half the band continued to have lunch at The Yew Tree Inn at Odstock, and then set off on the longer return section across Charlton Downs back to Charlton All Saints for 4.30pm. We enjoyed some well-earnt tea and apple cake at All Saints'.This is the 40th Anniversary of National Churches Trust's Ride and Stride. Our Wiltshire branch of this charity has raised over £1.6 million in those 40 years, which is returned to our churches in the form of grants for essential repairs and maintenance. We are proud to have received a handsome commemorative plaque for All Saint's Church.A great day out was had by all - some exercise with friends in the glorious English countryside combined with raising money for a worthy cause. Perfect.
We are delighted to announce that this handsome Barn Swallow is just one of the second clutch this year to have been reared successfully in our Church porch.Earlier in the year, the birds raised two young, and this time three or possibly four have been spotted. Barn Swallows are graceful birds with a beautiful swooping flight. They catch flying insects on the wing, particularly in the air above our nearby water meadows.With the aid of the Merlin bird identification app, your intrepid reporter identified the following in the Churchyard this evening, in the space of just four minutes:Robin, Goldfinch, House Martin, Chaffinch, Barn Swallow, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove and Greenfinch.#ecochurch #chalkevalleychurch #charltonallsaints #proudparent
This is an anonymous survey that we’re inviting everyone in our Church to complete, to help us understand ourselves as a Church and shape our prayers and our planning for the year ahead. It can be completed on this website (see link below) or on paper - to suit you.The survey will help us answer three questions:· What should our focus be?Your answers will help us decide about what we could be doing more of or less of as a church.· How do we like to express our faith and grow our faith in this church? Your answers will help us spot our strengths and how we could grow in our faith journey together.· What groups of people do we have in our church? The survey will also ask you for some demographic information, such as your age group and ethnicity. We ask these questions so that we can check how far the makeup of our church mirrors the makeup of the local community. This will help us see which groups we're reaching already and where there are opportunities.What we find out will help us understand where we’re doing well and to help us discern areas where we might need to do something new or different.The more people who complete the survey, the more accurate the information will be, so please complete it if you can.Click here to complete the survey online Church Development Tool - A Church Near You, ask Clare Penny for a paper copy or pick one up from the back of the Church.Please respond by 30 September 2024.Thank you!
The Church of England is celebrating the wealth of glorious English church architecture with the Church Door Challenge. To join in, take a photo of your church door, upload it to your favourite social media site and use the hashtag #ChurchDoorChallenge. There's no limit to how many photos you can upload.This image shows the main door of All Saints' Church, Charlton All Saints, resplendent in the July sunshine and sporting some patriotic bunting. Note the Victorian greeting painted on the arch "Draw Nigh to God, and He will Draw Nigh to You".#ChalkeValleyChurches #CharltonAllSaints
