Fundraising

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.

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.

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.

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.
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 - these are held throughout the year for different causes. 

On Mondays and Thursdays from 10am to 12pm 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. There is no coffee drop-in held on the first Thursday of the month.

If you can help with the drop-ins, particularly on Thursday, please contact Marjorie Kipling or Andrew Turner.

Knit and Natter - 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 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

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 Treasurer or PCC Secretary. 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.

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.

Scavenger Hunt

Come and join our fundraising scavenger hunt on Saturday 23 January 2021 from 7pm. The idea of the game (co-ordinated by Abha) is that participants find the items commonly found in our homes. The rounds will be themed and each have a set time. Anyone who would like to have help to find items can involve others in their home. The game will last about an hour and a half with a short break between each round. It will be easy for everyone to take part. You can book your place by emailing the Rector.

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.

You can help us promote this by displaying a poster (PDF will open in a new window) or sending it on to those who may be interested in joining.

Everybody is welcome, near and far, so gladly spread the word.

Thanks to everyone who supported the alternative fete in 2020 which included a name the teddy, summer quiz, and a plant sale.

Volunteers needed [the drop-in is currently on hold due to the pandemic]

Parish Hall Drop-in. We are keen to recruit more volunteers to help and especially on a Thursday for when these events restart. If you join the team it tends to work out as twice in a three month period that you would be on duty. Please help us to keep this valuable service going. If you would like to know more please speak to Marjorie or Andrew T. Many thanks.

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.

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

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

News and updates from the 125th anniversary appeal can be found on the Woodmancote Church building page. We have two videos on this page about the renovations and fundraising available to watch. 

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.

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.

Stonepillow & The Trussell Trust

Collections 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 has had a Reverse Advent Calendar collecting throughout Advent for 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. It will hold its annual Big Sleep Out on 19 October 2019.

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.

Previous events and fundraising projects

Fundraising 2020 news

Online quiz night, name the teddy and a plants sale were held in July 2020 on the church fete weekend.

Christian Aid fundraiser, 11 May 2020

People 'zoomed' together to play the “Make Christian Aid a Millionaire Quiz”.
Andrew Doye had set the questions with Jane Stuttgart with the prizes multiple choice answers and four brave individuals took the hot seat to do their best to answer the challenges. Jane acted as score keeper, counting mini chocolate eggs into a champagne flute as the clever contestants answered each question.

There was audience participation when a contestant requested, everyone holding up an A, B, C or D to give their opinion of the correct multiple choice answer - 100% agreement each time! Contestants could also choose another participant to help them with a question, or go 50:50 where the four answers were reduced to two.

The two contestants who were not local to Westbourne struggled with the questions about Westbourne’s tree avenue and the date of original publication of the Westbourne Magazine, despite this two competitors achieved full marks - 100 eggs each!

It was a fun evening and participants were requested to make a donation to Christian Aid to help raise a million pounds to support those around the world who are in great need.
Jane Stuttgart

Lent Lunches 
On Fridays during Lent there were lunches with short talks, soup with bread and cheese as usual in the Parish Hall.  The first lunch on 28 February 2020 raised £180 for ‘Final Straw Solent’. This local charity highlights the impact of plastic pollution on our environment and tries to minimise the amount of plastic entering our local seas and wider oceans.

Marmalade Festival 2020, 15 Feb. Thank you to everyone who made marmalade, and all those you joined us for breakfast yesterday and purchased jars to take home. There are still some jars of marmalade for sale – come to the Hall after the 9.30am service and help us increase our current total of £472.

Fundraising 2019 News

> Could you write a short piece to be featured in our 2019 event highlights? Read about the amazing fundraisers that took place last year.

Fundraising 2018 News

> Read about the wonderful events held in the Westbourne Parish last year

Fundraising 2017 News

> Discover the news on events held in 2017 to raise money for the church and other good causes

Fundraising 2016 News

> Find out about fundraising events held in 2016 in Westbourne Parish