The church fete has become a popular date on many people’s calendars but, for a church, they also serve as fundraising events, to encourage local gatherings, and opportunities to connect and strengthen bonds with the wider community. Here’s some examples from churches around our diocese.
Tadley Fete on The Green
What started as a small church garden fete by St. Paul’s Church in Tadley many years ago, has become a major event in the town’s calendar. The annual free event in Tadley began life as a missional opportunity but started to grow when the fete moved beyond the church garden to the local green, which sits at the heart of the community.
Rector, Revd Steve McKay, who leads the event recalls, “We made the decision a few years ago to hold an event to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee instead of our usual church fete which proved very popular. This was followed by the Coronation Party on the Green where we provided free entertainment and free cream teas and suddenly, we were attracting 1000’s of people. We rebranded the event ‘Tadley Fete on The Green’ and each year it continues to go from strength to strength.”
This year’s event had around 60 stalls, live music, free crafts and attracted more than 3000 people. Amongst the stalls were local crafts people, many charities and local community organisations such as the local primary school, Tadley Men’s Shed, the Lions and Royal British Legion.
This annual event has borne fruit as some of the current congregation of St. Paul’s joined as a result of attending previous ‘Fetes on The Green’, meanwhile the organisation of the event has allowed those on the fringes of church, who perhaps just attend Messy Church or coffee mornings once a month, to join in and take a lead in the community.
The event has led to stronger ties with Tadley Town Council who allow the church to use the Green, many local business, schools and organisations as well as the 11 churches around Tadley.
Revd Steve added, “Many of our local churches don’t have the facilities or helpers to put on their own fete, so this is another opportunity to work ecumenically by providing a space for them to come along and raise money for their church family. It was fantastic to see 1000’s of people of all ages having fun and enjoying being together. The bedrock of our church is hospitality, generosity and family, this event allows us to live this mission in our community and to demonstrate the love of God in our town.”
St Thomas, Lymington Mid-Summer Fayre
It was a special celebration at the mid-summer fayre at St Thomas in Lymington as this year marks 775 years at the heart of the town. It was one of several events to commemorate the anniversary year.
There was a craft market, morris dancers, Friends of St Thomas sales tables, plant sale, bouncy castle children’s crafts, tombola, refreshments and more.
Hundreds of local people attended the event and enjoyed the sunny weather.
The church has also held an evening reception and a flower show, illustrating the continued theme of worship in St Thomas and a specially commissioned Christus Sculpture, by Peter Eugene Ball, will be dedicated by the Bishop of Southampton on Sunday 6th July.
Joan Horton-Fawkes from the Friends of St Thomas said, “We had the most wonderful time, and the church looked tremendous. It was worth the huge amount of effort. It’s so important that people see that churches are alive and vibrant. We are part of the community and events such as this brings people into church who perhaps wouldn’t normally walk through the doors. They can see what a beautiful building it is and that it’s welcome to everyone. It’s a place of tranquillity and we are open for people to just come and be.”
St Paul’s Community Day in Winchester
St Paul’s Church in Winchester welcomed over 1,300 people for a community day. They enjoyed live music and dance, food and drink, a children’s farm, face painting, bouncy castle and dog show.
The Bishop of Winchester joined the day along with local MP Danny Chambers.
It brought together the community with performances from the local dance school, musicians and St Paul’s Preschool who delighted everyone with action songs and nursery rhymes, from The Wheels on the Bus to The Teddy Bear’s Picnic.
There were all the traditional activities including a cake stall, raffle and tombola, fairground rides and games such as hook a duck and beat the goalie.
Over 100 volunteers from both the parish’s churches, St Paul’s and St Matthew’s, worked hard on the day and in the weeks beforehand to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Bill Lucas, churchwarden and co-organiser, said, “This is a highlight of our year. There is such an atmosphere of joy and community spirit. Apart from it being immense fun for us, it’s also a way to do something for the parish and the wider community. I’m so grateful to the 100 plus volunteers from both churches who worked so hard to make this possible.”
Rector Jonathan Rowe added, “I’ve been at St Paul’s for three years now and this was the best Community Day yet. More people visited than ever before, and the atmosphere was great. I personally really enjoyed getting the chance to chat to many local people I hadn’t met before, and I’m really hoping we’ll see some of them again at our regular weekly events such as Coffee Pot, our supper club, toddler group, bumps and babies and so on.”
St Peter’s Yateley
St Peter’s in Yateley hosted a second community barbecue after the success of the first one last year.
Taking place in the grounds of a local school, there was a petting zoo, inflatables, games, face painting and ice cream.
450 people came along and around three quarters of those were non churchgoers from the local community.
The barbecue was free and funded by a church initiative which saw church members become a BBQ buddy. It was estimated the cost of the food would be around £2 per person so the congregation was asked, if they could, to donate £20 to enable 10 people to attend. All the costs were covered by the donations.
Revd Tim Storey said, “It was an amazing time. It was a real gift to be able to say we are here, and we care. It provided a platform for wonderful conversations and to make great contacts within our community.”
St Mark’s Church, Ampfield
The fete at St Mark’s Church in Ampfield appealed to two legged and four legged friends, with the event in the church grounds also including a dog show as well as the usual games, cream teas, raffle and BBQ.
Parish Administrator Sally Kerson said, “Our summer fete is growing every year, with visitors from the village and much further afield. It’s a fantastic opportunity to build relationships with villagers who might not come to church but who are very willing to support us by running stalls and helping set up. There’s a wonderful atmosphere created by our live ukulele band and arguably the best bit of the day is the ‘dog who looks most like their owner’ class in the dog show – see photos!”
Steam and Vintage Event, St Mary’s Yateley
St Mary’s in Yateley ran their first ‘Steam and Vintage’ event in 2018 and the annual gathering attracts hundreds of visitors. It includes everything from model railways and vintage Meccano, through to miniature and full-size steam vehicles in the church grounds.
Revd Rachel Hartland writes, “Our ‘Steam and Vintage’ event is not your average church fete, but interest is growing year on year. Among the rides and attractions there are the classic ingredients of many church events, namely cakes and hot drinks, and in the sizzling heat this year, sales of ice-creams and burgers were also a big attraction.
“The core organisers of the event, particularly the Clark family and our Tower Captain, Alan Barsby, are highly skilled and knowledgeable vintage and steam enthusiasts, making their own vehicles available for rides and drawing in others from the local community and further afield who have similar interests. It is fabulous to see a huge diversity of people welcomed to the church, sharing in the fun and hospitality of the event and giving opportunities for a wide range of conversations. This year we were also indebted to local landowner, businessman and racing driver, Rob Collard and his grazing tenants for the use of part of his adjacent field for parking. This enhanced the safety and flexibility of the event hugely.”
One visitor later wrote to the church and said, “I have just returned from St Mary’s tired but happy after a thoroughly enjoyable day, looking around the various displays and steam locomotives and talking to some very knowledgeable people. I do hope this continues to be an annual event, as I would love to come back again next year.”
The event was followed up in church on Sunday with a talk on ‘technology and faith, friend or foe’ and the chance to discuss the topic after the service.
Photo credits: Graham Hartland
St Margaret’s Church, Wellow
‘Help! Florence’s Owl is Missing’ was the title of a community engagement project at St Margaret’s Church in Wellow which is part of Thorngate & Blackwater Benefice. Florence Nightingale is buried at St Margaret’s and there is a memorial to her in the churchyard.
Revd Sara-Jane Stevens writes, “This idea came from a newly formed PCC sub-committee for ‘Community Engagement and Fundraising. It was decided early on that the first project would not be fundraising, as this was something we always did, and we wanted to show the residents of Wellow that the church was not always looking for their money, that we could give too! So, was born, ‘Help! Florence’s Owl is Missing!’, a free village trail for all ages with prizes. The premise was to encourage people to engage with some local businesses and engage with the building of St Margaret’s Church that is some way outside the village, off the beaten track.”
The trail could be started from any of 10 businesses or church locations around the village, each marked with a colourful owl disk. At each location there was also an information sheet, giving facts about the business and posing a quiz question about that business which encouraged conversation. The information sheet also listed a letter of the alphabet, which when rearranged would spell out ‘St. Margarets’ and lead people to the parish church, where the missing owl could be located alongside the Florence Nightingale memorial. Correct quizzes were entered into a draw with donated prizes including tickets to Paulton’s Park, meals and vouchers from local pubs and cafes.
Revd Sara-Jane Stevens continued, “We had over 40 entries in the end and gave away all the prizes. Local businesses reported that many trail participants did come in and say hi, ask their quiz questions, and on several occasions, they stayed for a refreshment, made a booking or bought something while they were there. This is a huge win for us; the local parish church encouraging local people to patronise local businesses during a time of financial uncertainty. Community in action!
“The Owl Trail was a big undertaking, a great idea that snowballed into a community event, but it was a big success, and we now have a blueprint for doing something similar anywhere in the benefice in the future.”
