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 [email protected]. 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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It is good to report that plans to develop and revitalise the Contemplation Garden are going well. We have received some generous donations from villagers, including the wooden benches and various hedging and bushes required for this project.

We are also delighted with the response for volunteers to help with the various practical tasks such as:

• Planting additional wildflowers – to attract insects and birds
• Planting up further wildlife friendly species, such as hawthorn, blackthorn, crab apple, and wayfaring trees
• Making nest boxes for birds, bats, and insects
• Installing nest boxes
• Planting a Tree for the Queen’s Jubilee (to be dedicated on Friday 3rd June at 11am).

 
Lindsay is organising the volunteers and they meet for the first time this Saturday 26th March in the Garden at 9.30 am – 12.30. More volunteers are welcome to come along to this or at a future date. Please contact Lindsay if you would like to volunteer.
 
The Committee are happy to receive further donations for the purchase of plants and other items for the garden, including: information boards and nest boxes for birds, bats and bees. Contact Pat if you wish to donate.
 
We would like to thank everyone who has supported this development which will be of benefit to villagers and visitors alike for years to come.
 
Committee Contact Details
Volunteers                            -           Lindsay O’Kelly
[email protected]
 
Donations                             -           Pat Cook
[email protected]
 
Planning                                -           Anne Hamling (formerly Hardcastle)
[email protected]
 
Rev Maureen Turner
[email protected]
​

A monument in St Giles Churchyard is in urgent need of repair. It commemorates George Monk who died May 25th 1910. I am trying to contact any of his heirs or descendants before the work can proceed. If anyone from the village knows the whereabouts of any living family members, please ask them to contact me within the next four weeks.
Thank you,
 
Reverend Maureen Turner,
01367 240875

I attach a pdf file showing the plans to develop and revitalise the Contemplation garden at St Giles Church. Details of committee members are included.


Thanks,
Maureen

The church can receive "free" money from these people.

The arrangements are simple. This is how it works. If you want to buy anything online, you go into easyfundraising.org.uk first, select your good cause, in this case St Giles Great Coxwell PCC, and then you can buy your goods or services. There is a vast range of organisations taking part in this system.

The shops or services pay either a percentage of what you buy or a fixed sum to our cause on each occasion - it's as simple as that! You don't pay any more for what you are buying.
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I hope by advertising this to our villagers we will get some more money added to our cause - beyond the £10.30 seen below. Once we get to £15 or more, they pay us into our account.

Click here for more information and to start.

Best wishes,
Mike Heathcoat