Our Christingle service will be on Sunday 6th December from 10.00am on our Facebook page.
Every year as part of this service we raise money for the Children’s Society. If you want to donate through our online fundraising page you can do so by following this link https://thyg.uk/CUS047311
Each year we support the charity Samaritans Purse and their project Operation Christmas Child, which sends a shoebox of presents to children who otherwise may receive nothing at Christmas.
However this year, because of the obvious logistical problems that the Coronavirus Pandemic cause, we’re doing things a little differently.
This year we are encouraging everyone to buy a Shoebox for Operation Christmas Child online at: https://shoeboxonline.samaritans-purse.org.uk/ (or just search for “Shoebox Appeal”). By going on-line it means people do not need to make additional shopping trips to obtain gifts and boxes.
However we are aware that many still like to create a physical box for themselves. If you did want to pack an actual Shoebox, you can take it to the ‘Entertainer’ toyshop in Reading Broad Street or to ‘Kingsmen’ in Marcus Close (off Dee Road) which is where we took them last year.
The national collection week is 9th – 16th November.
If you didn’t manage to join us live for our Christian Aid Week Service, you can watch it below …
The order of service can be found here :- https://stcatherinestilehurst.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/christian-aid-week-2020-order-of-service.pdf
To donate to Christian Aid via the Tilehurst Just Giving page, please click here.
All our videos, including other Sunday live-streamed services, can be found here
Please join us at 4pm on Sunday 8th December for our ever popular Christingle Service. As well as making Christingles, we’ll be raising money for the Children’s Society.
A huge thank you to everyone who brought a shoebox to St Catherine’s this morning. Through them, we will be sending Good News and Great Joy to less fortunate children around the world.
We know that a few more are coming later today, so check back tomorrow for a final total.
Update : A total of 110 shoeboxes were taken to the collection depot on Monday morning.
Sunday 17th November is Shoebox Sunday – the last day you can drop off your filled shoebox for Operation Christmas Child.
It is also the day we are holding a special service at St Catherine’s to gather the filled Shoeboxes, and to tell everyone what happens to them. We’ll also show video of the distribution and opening of some of the boxes.
This is a special ‘joint’ service, so it starts at 10.30 am with refreshments from 10.15 am.
Alternatively you can bring your Shoeboxes to St Catherine’s Church or Cornwell 0-5 play group anytime before 17th November.
Cornwell Charity Crafts are selling their handmade jewellery, gifts and crafts at St Catherine’s on both Thursday 14th & Friday 15th November.
They’ll be their during café opening hours (10am to 2pm) both days, and for those at work during the day, they’ll also be there on Thursday evening from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.
They will be raising money for the charity Send a Cow, which sends farming and educational resources to Africa.
Operation Christmas child is a way of bringing some Christmas cheer to a poor, needy or suffering child.
The idea is to fill a shoe box (if you can’t get hold of one, we have a supply) with small gifts, (please read the leaflet carefully about what is acceptable) and add a donation of £5 or more towards transport costs.
We are an official collecting point for filled Shoeboxes.
We are also holding a special service to gather the filled Shoeboxes, when you can hear more about what happens to the filled boxes.
Date – Sunday 17th November
Time – 10.30 am with refreshments from 10.15 am and also after the service which will last about hour.
Place – St Catherine’s Church, Wittenham Avenue, RG31 5LN.
Alternatively you can bring Shoeboxes to St Catherine’s Church or Cornwell 0-5 play group anytime before 17th November.
Please join members of the 11am Service for a ‘Send a Cow’ House Party on Wednesday 21st August. See the image below for details of the location & time.
They will be raising money for the charity Send a Cow, which sends farming and educational resources to Africa.
Tea, Coffee, Cakes & other refreshments will be available. We will collect donations for the charity. Cornwell Charity Crafts will have jewellery and other handmade gifts on sale. All profits go to Send a Cow.
A big thank you to everyone who has contributed a shoebox to Operation Christmas Child.
Through Operation Christmas Child, we send shoeboxes packed with toys and supplies to needy children around the world to bring some joy and love at Christmas to children in the poorest parts of the world who might otherwise get nothing.
We collected 61 boxes this morning, which will be combined with the boxes from Cornwell and delivered to the collection point on Monday.
