The Westbourne Church community is involved in a number of fundraising initiatives and community events. These include raising funds for the ongoing running of the church's ministry in the parish, the maintenance of the building, and specific projects. In addition, there are also fundraising events held throughout the year for local, national and international charities.
How can I give to St John the Baptist Church?
Support one of our fundraising events or you can help raise money for this charity through a number of ways. Discover more information on ways to give to the parish church on our Donations page. More details on the Parish Giving Scheme and other collections can be found further down this page too.
Join us for these exciting events and help our fundraising
Contact details for the events can be found in the pew sheets available in the church. If you want to find out more but are unable to collect a pew sheet, in the first instance, please email the Parish Office.
If you are organising a fundraising event on behalf of Westbourne Church and want it to appear on this page, contact the Parish Webmaster or the Churchwardens (details in the Church Directory).
Regular events
The parish holds a number of events throughout the year and annually. Here are just some that are available and you are welcome to come and join.
Some of the events in the parish hall are currently on hold due to the restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic. Some events are taking place online. Please read below in the 'future events' list for more details.
 Coffee Mornings and Parish Hall Drop-in
These are held throughout the year for different causes. Update: the weekly Parish Hall drop-in will re-open again from Monday 6 September 2021, 10.00am to 12 noon. They are held in the Churchill Room at the Parish Hall. Come and join us for teas, coffees, cakes, biscuits and a good chat at the regular drop-in.
Previously these were held on both Mondays and Thursdays (except the first Thursday of the month), and we hope to return to these in the future. Thanks for your understanding.
If you can help with the drop-ins, please contact the Parish Administrator Marjorie Kipling or Deputy Churchwarden Andrew Turner. We are keen to recruit more volunteers to help with these events.
Knit and Natter
These are currently on hold due to the pandemic.
If you are a novice or experienced knitter, come along to the Thursday coffee mornings (except 1st Thursdays in the month) to share your projects and queries about knitting while enjoying cake and coffee.
First Friday lunches
These events are held in aid of a range of charities at home and abroad. These take place in the Parish Hall at 12.30pm. on the first Friday of every month (not including August) and every Friday during Advent and Lent. These events are organised through the Home and Overseas Support Group. Please check notices in the pew sheet and the parish magazine for more details.
2021 Planned events
If you have any ideas or would like to volunteer to help with fundraising for St John the Baptist Church, Woodmancote Church and other charities, do talk to the Rector, Treasurer, Churchwardens or the PCC Secretary (details in the Church Directory). The churches warmly welcome both suggestions and volunteers for our fundraising programme.
Thanks to everyone for their generosity and support of these events and to the organisers for all their efforts.
Last year we gave more than £14,000 to various charities, of which £9,000 came from St John the Baptist Church's general funds. We also paid our Parish Share to the Diocese of Chichester in full to support the broader church's ministry, as we have promised to do this year.
Future events
This is a list of general or fundraising events, being held in the parish. Any events which are raising funds for the church or other charities are listed with the relevant charity's details. As dates are confirmed they will be added below. You can also check our monthly events information in our online calendar (in the menu).
Discussions are taking place on what events will be possible to be in line with public health guidelines during the pandemic. Thank you for your understanding.
Ride & Stride: 11 September 2021
The 2021 Sussex Ride & Stride is taking place on the 11 September and our churches will be registered for participants to visit. The event is organised by Sussex Historic Churches Trust. Ride & Stride encourages walkers and cyclists to get sponsored to visit Churches/Chapels across the county and Hampshire too. Any money raised is split between Sussex historic churches, chapels and meeting houses and your local Church. Would you be interested in riding or walking to explore local churches on Saturday 11 September 2021 or welcome people to Westbourne during the day? Please contact the Churchwardens.
Concerts
Details of new concerts at St John the Baptist Church will be published on this page when confirmed. Bookmark our concerts page to help you find events planned for the church. [These are currently on hold due to the current restrictions related to Covid-19]
Other events run in 2021
Patronal Festival
This took place on 28 & 29 August 2021. The Church Summer Fete was replaced by a village tea on Saturday 28 August 2021. Thanks to everyone who came to support it. The weekly pew sheet has details of the services for the Patronal Festival.
Christian Aid events held in 2021 in Westbourne
Christian Aid envelopes – 10 to 16 May. This year we will recommence the delivery of Christian Aid envelopes around the village. However, it will be delivery only, so please return your donations in the envelope to a central place, such as, The Window Box in the Square, Westbourne.
Quiz Night! 7.30pm on Friday 14 May 2021 - This online fun social evening is a chance to meet old and new friends. All you need is a pen and paper. Just join in for fun and pit your wits. Bring along a glass of wine and nibbles. There is no charge. Please contact Robina by email (details in emailed pew sheet) so then she can invite you to the quiz on Zoom. Everyone is welcome.
Plant Stall! 9.30am - 2.00pm, Saturday 22 May 2021 on the Rectory Lawn. There will be a sale of plants to raise money for Christian Aid. We would welcome any spare plants you can donate for sale to raise funds and of course look forward to you all coming to buy too. Contact Robina R.
A few ways to donate to Christian Aid charity if you wish:
• Use the delivered Christian Aid envelope for cash or cheque gifts.
• Online one-off donation or you can choose to make a monthly gift via online direct debit. There are also arrangements for gift aiding your money. Go to the Christian Aid Website and tick the donate button
• By sending a cheque direct to Christian Aid, 35-41 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL
Easter photographic competition
This really captured the imagination of parishioners, especially while we are all unable to meet in the church.
Easter 2021 competition information - lots of ways to take part [PDF opens in a new window]
Scavenger Hunt
Thanks to everyone who supported this fundraising scavenger hunt on 23 January 2021 from 7pm.
The idea of the game was that participants found the items commonly found in our homes, in the spirit of a treasure hunt. Each round was themed and contestants had to find the items within a set time. Anyone living at each home was able to join a team to take part.
After an hour and half of the game and lots of laughter and chat inbetween, contestants were able to enjoy a much deserved sit down and look forward to putting all the items away. A paper hat competition also took place with some wonderful entries being created during the evening. Due to its popularity, we hope to hold another event like this later in the year. The original poster.
Thanks to everyone who supported the events in 2020 including the alternative fete consisting of a name the teddy, summer quiz, and a plant sale.
News from events held earlier in 2020 and during previous years can be found further down on this page.
Ways to help raise funds for Westbourne Parish Church
There are lots of different ways to give and support the mission of the church. Our Donate page has more details of financial giving.
Donations for church funds can be made on our usual online donation link at CAFOD Donate [opens in a new window] or you can put an envelope with your donation, details and gift aid form through the rectory letterbox.
50/50 Club
- For details of how you can join the 50/50 Club, contact the organisers via the Parish Hall Office. The winning numbers are published on the pew sheet in the churches and on the news page of this website.
Blue Gift Aid Envelopes
 If you are able to Gift Aid your donation to the church, we would be grateful if you can complete with your name and address one of the special blue envelopes in the pews.
If you make a regular donation, either as a tax payer or not, the best way to help the church is to give through the Parish Giving Scheme. This saves a tremendous amount of time for our volunteers. More details below.
The Parish Giving Scheme
 If you wish to make a regular contribution to the Church the preferred method of giving is using the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS). Leaflets are at the back of the church or contact Ali George.
Parish Giving Scheme has moved its office to 76 Kingsholm Road, Gloucester GL1 3BD. Please update your records. Helpline: 0333 002 1260 email: info@parishgiving.org.uk. You can ring PGS if you wish to increase your giving. You will need your 'PGS contact ID' (which is on the letter/email the PGS sent to you) and advise what you would like to give. If you can not find your contact ID or to find out more about using PGS, contact one of the Churchwardens team or the PCC Secretary.
In December 2018, we passed £1/4M donated to our parish via the Parish Giving Scheme. This includes nearly £50k in Gift Aid and more than £15k in inflationary and voluntary increases in giving. Thank you all.
Woodmancote Church Appeal
 Woodmancote Church, earlier known as a Chapel, was erected in October 1892 from a corrugated iron ‘flat pack’ known affectionately as a ‘tin tabernacle’. It is the oldest of only two active Anglican ‘tin tabernacles’ still being used for divine service in Sussex and the fourth oldest in the UK.
It was licensed for worship in 1928. In 2012, it celebrated its 120th anniversary. Updates from the 125th anniversary appeal can be found on the Woodmancote Church building page. There are also two videos which show an update on the renovations and fundraising activities.
If you would like to give to Woodmancote Church, contact the Rector.
Westbourne Church Restoration Trust (WCRT)
The church has stood for centuries at the centre of our village. It is a lovely building, which exists for everybody in the parish whether they attend church or not.
For the church to continue to serve and to be enjoyed by village generations to come, a Trust was created in 1992 to assist financially with its restoration and repair.
More details about the WCRT charity and how you can support it.
Collections
Plastic Milk Bottle Tops
We currently have a Charity outlet for clean, plastic milk bottle tops for recycling. Please do not leave any other types of bottle tops as they are not recyclable in West Sussex.Thank you.
Used postage stamps
 We have a small box in the Welcome Area at St John the Baptist Church for used stamps to help the humanitarian charity, the British Red Cross. You can also take your stamps to its shop in Emsworth or Chichester.
Thanks to Mary S for collecting stamps from the churches for The Bible Society for its 2019 Christmas appeal. Many of the congregation were able to send off used stamps for collections in 2020.
Stonepillow & The Trussell Trust
C ollections take place during the year. Please see notices at the back of church. Details of the Christmas collection will be published on this page too. In previous years, the parish ran a Reverse Advent Calendar to collect items throughout Advent for the charities Stonepillow and The Trussell Trust.
The Stonepillow charity works with homeless and vulnerable people towards inclusion and wellbeing. It was originally known as St Richard of Chichester Christian Care Association and it assist with relief of homelessness and social exclusion in the area covered by Chichester and Arun District Councils.
The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to try to end the need for food banks in the UK.
Harvest collection
Details of the annual collection held at the back of Westbourne Church every year will be published in the autumn.
Fundraising news from previous years
Read about some of the amazing fundraisers to raise money for the churches and other good causes in previous years.
Fundraising 2020 News
Fundraising 2019 News
Fundraising 2018 New
Fundraising 2017 News
Fundraising 2016 News
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