Welcome to All Saints Church, Witley

A Message from our Churchwardens
As we are sure you will know, James, who has been our Vicar for the last six years, has left us to continue his ministry in a religious community in Kent. We are now in the period between Vicars which is known as a Vacancy. For some years now, although the Parish has been led by the Vicar, a small executive team has been fully involved in the general management of the Parish and this team will continue to run things during the Vacancy.

We have started to plan for the appointment of a new Vicar. There are various stages in this that are laid down by Ecclesiastical Law and it can take some time between one Vicar leaving and another arriving in the Parish. However, if everything goes according to plan we hope to be able to welcome our new Vicar in spring next year.

In the meantime, it is business as usual at All Saints and in Witley. We are blessed by the wonderful ministry of Ann and our fantastic team of helpers who will ensure that the services in Church and all the other activities we are involved in will continue as before.

A warm welcome awaits you at All Saints, whether you are regular worshippers or want to visit and explore our lovely thousand year old Church for the first time.

Brenda & Christine, Churchwardens. All Saints, Witley.

All Things Bright and Beautiful - Revd Ann Fraser
At last, we are surrounded by 'all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small'. As I look around, I see gardens looking wonderful, common lands with birds, bees and butterflies, happily flying around in the blue sky. What an idyllic picture of summer! Is it really like that?

Well, yes, I think it is, if we only stop to look and listen. All around us there are things bright and beautiful for us to enjoy. Here in Witley we have our own oasis of peace and beauty, our church and churchyard. Take a walk around the churchyard, stray from the paths and read the names and stories. Find the military graves (they're the ones that are very white), find some graves of people who died in the flu epidemic of 1918, including boys from King Edward's school. Try to match up the families and find old Witley names. How many of the 19th century Chandler family are buried here? It's a history lesson and an experience to walk round the churchyard. Look for the wildflowers, or the stems of the flowers that the deer enjoyed for dinner! See the butterflies and notice the spider's webs on a sunny day. It's a place for exploration, a place full of stories and memories, a place of natural beauty and a reminder of 'the sunset and the morning, that brighten up the sky'. The church building itself reminds us of God, by its sheer age and being. It's a place where people have prayed and sung, cried and rejoiced, given and received help for nearly a thousand years. It's a heritage, it's a haven, it's a hub of activity. Its doors are open all day, every day, for anyone to come in and share the silence. Here is God's wonderful world, past, present and future all at once. It's awesome, and glorious, we should be thankful for it, and encouraged to remember that 'The Lord God made them all.'

There may be a vacancy for the post of Vicar, but there is no gap in our worship, services continue as before, we continue to maintain our church and churchyard, we are a place of welcome for all. This is not a time of waiting, but a time of praying and doing. Please come and join in the life of All Saints as we remember 'how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well.'

Ann Fraser

Safeguarding
Here at All Saints Witley, we take the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults very seriously. We have adopted the national Church of England's robust procedures and guidelines. Details about the national policies and procedures can be found HERE.

Our Safeguarding Officer is Phil Lewis. If you have any safeguarding concerns, Phil can be contacted by email at: safeguarding@allsaintswitley.org.uk. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact the Guildford Diocesan Safeguarding team at safeguarding@cofeguildford.org.uk or on 01483 790379.

If you have reason to think that a child or vulnerable adult is in immediate danger, you should contact the police straight away.

Please click HERE to view our DATA PRIVACY NOTICE.

---

VISITING THE CHURCH

All Saints Church has a huge wooden door, which, while being very old and attractive in its own way can be a physical barrier to those who have never entered All Saints before - don't let it be like that. Turn the handle, push the door and come in, all are welcome. Inside you will find a building that is filled with the prayers of 1000 years, a wall painting that is 900 years old, a 700-year-old Lady Chapel with medieval stained glass, signs of the conflict in the 16th and 17th century with an unfinished memorial tablet in the sanctuary and several other family memorials. The 18th century put in a gallery which was removed by the Victorians who added so much more, including a whole aisle on the North Side. The Victorians with three generations of Chandler Vicars built the organ, the bell tower and the vestry. They refurbished the chancel ceiling, floor and altar and put up memorials to the eminent people of the day as they passed on. The beginning of the 20th century completed the collection of stained glass windows and introduced the pews we have now, instead of the previous box pews. All Saints is full of history reflecting the needs of the generations who have worshipped here before us. There have been many changes in the past few years which help us now to use the church on a daily basis for many different groups. There is a children's trail available with many interesting things to find out and see.

Please do come inside and explore and have time for yourself, the church is open from 9.30am to 4.00pm. Or come and meet with others to worship or chat everyone is welcome.


If anyone would like to speak to Ann, please ring or email and we will endeavour to meet you as soon as we can.

The All Saints Parish Office, is in the grounds of Witley Infant School, opposite the Church.

Wishing you every blessing

       
               Ann Fraser

---

The parish of Witley is made up of the villages of Witley, Brook, Wormley and Sandhills. The Parish Church of All Saints dates from about 1040 and is situated just off the main Petworth Road (A283) in Church Lane, opposite the White Hart public house. Witley CofE Infant School is opposite the church and has close links with it.

Apart from a regular pattern of worship on Sundays and Holy Days, the church serves the whole parish and after recent refurbishment is available every day for a variety of uses. The door is open in daylight hours for anyone who may wish to spend a quiet few moments or longer in the peace and quiet of this ancient building.

The mission of the church in Witley is to bring the love of God to all who live and work there. The church is open to all people, and here to serve the entire parish. Everyone is welcome at all services and other events and anyone is welcome to use the space in church for their own charitable or social events where appropriate. Click here for more information on using the church for your event.

If you are new to the area you are very welcome! There are a wide range of activities going on around the church that may interest you.

A team of Pastoral Assistants visit the housebound, take Communion to those who can't get to church for whatever reason, and generally help the clergy keep an eye on pastoral needs.

Ann would be pleased to talk with and welcome you. Enjoy the web-site!

Please feel free to click on the links above or on the right to find out more about us.

Be sure to visit our Parish News section which is updated weekly.

Our site offers documents in Adobe Acrobat format. If necessary, please click here to download the latest version.