A joyful Joint Evensong in Guildford
Following a successful joint evensong at St Thomas' last January, our choirs were delighted to be asked to Holy Trinity Guildford for a 'return match' last Sunday (25th). Just under 100 singers combined to make a truly joyful noise, under the direction of Guildford's Nick Graham and our own Jordan Theis, superbly accompanied by our organist Julian Cooper.
The repertoire included the introit O Radiant Dawn by James MacMillan, responses by Joanna Forbes L'Estrange, canticles by Herbert Howells, and the anthem Blessed City, Heavenly Salem by Edward Bairstow.
The service was streamed on Holy Trinity's channel, and may be found here if you'd like to enjoy it:
Another packed church for Nine Lessons and Carols
St Thomas' was once again filled to capacity for a wonderful service of Nine Lessons and Carols.
We welcomed a talented brass quintet which provided memorable texture and drama to the music
A fantastic result for the Christmas Fayre
It is official that the Christmas Market at St Thomas' raised just over £9500 for the Hospice and the cheque was presented by some of the Market team to Sam West from the Hospice fundraising team today.
A wonderful result; with the Parish earning just over £3400 for the Parish as well, most of which is for the Stained Glass Windows Fund.
St Martin's hosts a Come and Sing Carols
On Sunday evening many parishioners and local residents enjoyed a beautiful Come & Sing Christmas Carols Service at St Martin's.
Members of the St Thomas' Choir performed and helped to enhance the enjoyment of the carols and the team at St Martin's had decorated the church beautifully.
It was an evening enjoyed by all.
Our choir in joint concert with The Waverley Singers
On St Nicholas’ Day, 6th November, a packed church enjoyed a wonderful concert given by the combined forces of the Waverley Singers and St Thomas’ Choir.
The photo shows the joint rehearsal.
The programme aptly included the St Nicholas Cantata, as well as Rejoice in the Lamb, Hymn to the Virgin and the Corpus Christi Carol by Britten, as well as Biebl’s Ave Maria and Seek him who maketh the Seven Stars by Jonathan Dove. This was a great opportunity for our choristers to sing solos as well as to sing as a group, and they sang brilliantly.
In addition, voluntary donations raised £981 in support of Lunch Bags for Children at Brambleton Hall.
Our Christmas Parish Magazine
Our Comms Team have been hard at work creating a beautiful Christmas magazine, which our delivery team will be delivering to every home in the parish over the next few days.
It is packed with information about the parish and has full details of all events and services taking place over the festive period.
Spare copies are available in the Lantern, or if you would like to read a flip-version (with festive music accompaniment from our choir) or if you would like to send an e-link to a friend or family member, here is the link
Volunteers needed for the new Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice
The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice will be opening its doors in the spring of 2026 after a wonderful new Hospice facility has been completed.
They are in need of volunteers in a range of roles: from receptionist duty, to help in the Cafe, to drivers for transporting patients.
If you'd like to learn more, click here.
Tilford's Parish Magazine
The December edition is ready. Click here for the flipbook version
Christmas Market News
We are on countdown, with only 17 days to go before the doors open on the 2025 Christmas Market! We are primarily fundraising for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care as they are motoring towards completing their new Hospice in Menin Way and need every penny, but also we will be contributing some funds towards the Stained Glass Windows Repair fund, nearly at our target!
Lots of hard work goes into getting ready, so please come and support the event, bringing your family and friends. Entry is only £3 each (children free) and this will give you a £1 voucher to redeem in the cafe, where Kath and friends will be providing coffee and super snacks for you to enjoy. The stalls will be amazing: Sue and Yvonne have made the best ever Christmas decorations, so look out for a Christmas wreath of your choice, pick out your favourite table or window decoration or window. Anne will have the hottest selection of Ladies handbags and Louise will be offering beautiful scarves and jewellery to dress the best. Michele needs no introduction if you have enjoyed her jams and preserves; they are legendary and will sell out! Val is managing the cake stall and will be glad of any contributions to her delicious table. 
New gifts, stocking fillers, raffle, a Children's corner with toys, children's books and entertainment add to the colour, an outdoor stall with Angelica where Layla will have plants and flowers for sale, local artists displaying and sellling unusual gifts, and more. Centre stage, the Silent Auction will give you the chance to bid for Dinner for 4 at the prestigious The Third Monkey, a Family ticket for the newly refurbished Birdworld, a Turkey crown at the Downing Street Family Butcher, a beauty treatment with Susanne Saville. Here is a link to the Silent Auction Catalgoue! We look forward to seeing you there; you can meet our MP, our town mayor and our sponsor, Andrew Lodge. It's the place to go and get shopping for Christmas and meet your friends. See you there!
Update on our Community Fridge and Warehouse
Our Community Fridge and Warehouse activities at Brambleton Hall on Friday afternoons are going from strength to strength. The Fridge and Warehouse run from 1.30pm to about 2.20pm when the food tables are usually depleted of stock, but refreshments continue until 3.30. People arrive from 12.30 to join the queue.
If you haven't visited the Fridge, you might want to pop in to see the wonderful work that's happening there. Also the Warehouse is happy to take you donations on Friday mornings (between 10am-noon) if you have good quality, pre-loved household items, children and adult clothing or toys that could be shared with others in the community. It's a quick and easy way to recycle items you no longer need.
A boost to the Stained Glass Window repair fund
The evening on Henri Matisse, 'Making Colours Sing' last Saturday was much enjoyed by everyone who attended.
Thanks to Bishop Chris Herbert for an inspiring talk and thanks to the lovely team who helped set up the room, decorate the tables, prepare and serve the delicious food and clean up at the end. A real team effort to make £2375.32 for the Stained Glass Windows fund. Well done everyone.
St Martin's celebrates Harvest in style
There was a lovely Harvest Service at St Martin's last Sunday.
The church was decorated beautifully.
The harvest decorations are still there, so if you'd like to see it, why not pop in this week and enjoy a time of quiet reflection
A moving Harvest Festival at St Thomas'
There was much to celebrate at our wonderful harvest festival service this Sunday. Two Chrises made their mark. We sang a lovely hymn written by our very own Bishop Chris, the first time it has ever been sung. But especially poignant was the Q&A conversation between vicar Sandy and local farmer Chris. The dedication, sheer hard work and constant battle against the weather and government indifference made all of us wake up to the challenges facing those who provide us with local food to eat and care for the environment.
After this the children, assisted by the choristers, carried up to the altar their harvest gifts of fruit, vegetables, grains, seeds, flowers, grapes and bread.
Click here if you would like to know more about Chris' family farm and farm shop in Moor Park Lane.
After the service, many people stayed on for the Bring and Share lunch in the Cobbett room.
Congratulations to Jordan and Harriet
St Thomas' was packed for the Harvest service on Sunday, which made for a large crowd to raise a toast after the service to our very own music director Jordan and his new bride Harriet who were married last week in Selborne.
We wish them many years of health and happiness as they begin their married life together
Visit from the Cathedral Music Trust
Jonathan Mayes, CEO of the Cathedral Music Trust visited St Thomas on 26 September, which was Day 30 of his Cycle Challenge.
He was cycling from Arundel via The Bourne to Guildford, and was welcomed by Jordan and Sandy, who provided tea and apple cake. The Trust supports high quality musicianship in cathedrals and churches through their programmes, training, advocacy and research. Jonathan heard about the how the grant awarded by the Trust to St. Thomas’ in 2023 has supported our thriving choir.
Read the full report on his visit on the Choir News Page
Success and fun on the Choir Tour to Yorkshire
The Choir has returned from their highly successful and enjoyable annual tour over the August Bank Holiday weekend, mostly in Yorkshire. The tour included a concert in Selby Abbey; Evensong and Eucharist in Ripon Cathedral; Evensong in Bolton Abbey church; and Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, on the journey home.
The Choir comprised more than 40 singers, together with the Director of Music, organists. the Vicar and chaperones. The music ranged from Haydn through Bruckner, Elgar, Stanford and Britten to contemporary composers such as Sarah Quartel, Jonathan Dove and Joanna Forbes-L’Estrange. It included both music familiar to the choir and challenging new music. Click here to read more about the tour and have see a selection of photos of the tour here
An Open Rehearsal with the choir
The Choir will be holding an open rehearsal for boys and girls aged 7 – 18, on Friday 12th September, 5.30-7.30. This is an opportunity to meet our music team, sing with the choir and find out about life as a chorister.
St Thomas’ Choir offers a free high quality music education, the opportunity to perform in concerts, tours to amazing destinations in the UK and Europe - and pocket money! Watch a video to see what it's all about and have a look at the other web pages in this music section. To book a place, please email choir@thebourne.org.uk
George and Will reach Venice in Charity Bike ride!
Chorister George Spencer and his father, Will, completed a mammoth cycle ride over the summer, from Bordon to Venice. Their journey is raising funds for “Lunch bags for children”, an initiative which aims to provide a healthy lunch for disadvantaged local children right through the school holidays.
So far, their incredible efforts have raised over £5,000 towards their revised target of £6,000. Can you help George and Will to reach that target and enable this important work to continue?
If you would like to learn more, or sponsor George and Will click here
Foyer Groups are back, in September!
Whether you have never tried this or are a veteran, we have a new opportunity to meet some amazing people, to tell our own story and to be heard.
Sign up online here, or sign the list in The Lantern or back of church to join.
A Sponsored walk in the sweltering heat
Eight brave walkers defied the heat last Saturday to Walk for the Word, four doing 10km and four doing 5km.
Many thanks to each of them, to all who sponsored us, and special thanks to those who helped Catherine get it organised. So far, we know we have raised at least £200 in the parish for Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Outstanding informal Concert from our Choristers
Congratulations to all the choristers who performed at the informal concert at St Thomas’ last Sunday. It was fantastic that so many volunteered to share their outstanding musical talents with us, playing a variety of instruments and singing in a range of different styles and genres.
A huge thank you to Marjorie for organising the concert, and to Jordan and everyone else who put in time to accompany and rehearse. And special thanks to the wonderful audience, who contributed some £700 to support the Choir Tour Fund; you have helped to ensure that all our choristers can continue to enjoy the benefits that choir tours offer. Click here to see more photos of the concert
Brambleton Fridge is 4 years old!
Brambleton Fridge and Warehouse celebrated its four year anniversary of uninterrupted weekly service on 30th May with a chocolate toast and a fun photograph.
A successful Christian Aid Week
A huge thank you to our amazing Church community - we raised £650 for Christian Aid during Christian Aid Week 2025.
The monies raised this year will go to the Guatemala Fund where Christian Aid are supplying vital tools
and training to farmers to assist their communities escape poverty, hunger and the effects of the climate crisis.
Thank you again for your support.
Sari Smith (Parish Co-ordinator for Christian Aid)