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.
Quick links to information on this page
Donate to Westbourne Church
Regular events
Planned future events
Ways to give
Collections for good causes
Fundraising events updates by year
How can I donate 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 in the Ways to Give section.
Do join us for our variety of 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 would like information 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 is currently not taking place due to Covid-precautions.
Normally these events would take place between 10.00am to 12 noon. They are held in the Churchill Room at the Parish Hall. As soon as they resume, come and join us for teas, coffees, cakes or 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. Thank you 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 events 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 were held in aid of a range of charities at home and abroad. Due to the pandemic, these events are currently on hold. They used to 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 were organised through the Home and Overseas Support Group. Please check notices in the pew sheet and the parish magazine for more details.
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.
2022 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.
Read the news and updates from the Fundraising 2022 events on their dedicated page.
Church Open Day: following the successes of the fete, another opportunity to offer something special to our community. On the day of our Patronal Festival, Sunday 28 August 2022, we open the doors of the parish church to visitors from 12 noon to 4pm, for people to visit, enjoy and have their eyes opened to what a treasure lies in their midst. There will be trips up the tower, history details, refreshments, displays and a very warm welcome, quizzes, lights and music; and prayers on the hour.
Stonepillow: food donations wanted. We have for several years collected food for Stonepillow at the back of the church, and currently stocks have fallen low. Can you help Stonepillow? The high need is for instant coffee, sugar, cooking oil, gravy granules, spices, tinned meat (no spam please) tinned vegetables, pre-made custard, and a medium need for pot noodles, super noodles, pasta lunch pots, cereals (no cornflakes or porridge), breakfast/brunch bars, biscuits, chocolates and treats, crisps.
Ride & Stride Event: on Saturday 10 September 2022 across the county people will be sponsored to cycle, walk or horse ride to visit historic churches and to raise money that will be split between their own church and the Sussex Historic Churches Trust. Our Church will be open to visitors, but would any of you like to take part as a cyclist or walker to raise funds? More information is in the welcome area.
Links to fundraising news from previous years
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.
Thanks to everyone who supported the 'Songs for Summer' concert on Saturday 23 July 2022 at 7.00pm.
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.
January 2022 update
The 50/50 Club will run again from the last Sunday each month, beginning 30 January 2022. There's still time to join for the annual stake of £20, with cash prizes of £25, £10 and £5 paid each month. Please speak to Angie Leggett, Carole Wright or Robina Richter to join the Club, or renew your annual stake. 50% of the money is given as prizes with the remaining 50% being donated to the Church.
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.
easyfundraising at no extra cost
St John The Baptist Church, Westbourne is registered with easyfundraising, which means you can raise free donations for us every time you shop online. More than 4,000 shops and sites will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself!
These donations could really mount up and can make a big difference to us, so we would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign-up and support us. It’s completely free and only takes a moment. Thank you so much!
Westbourne Church's easyfundraising page
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 for charities and good causes
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.
The church partners with UK Harvest, which serves the areas of Chichester and West Sussex. It delivers goods to ‘not for profit organisations across the South Coast’. To donate money rather than goods, please donate at its website https://www.ukharvest.org.uk/donate. The contact number for the organisation is 01243 696940 and there is more information at https://www.ukharvest.org.uk/food-rescue/give-food.
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 2022 news
Fundraising 2021 news
Fundraising 2020 News
Fundraising 2019 News
Fundraising 2018 New
Fundraising 2017 News
Fundraising 2016 News
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