Welcome

St. Helen's Church, set at the heart of the market town of Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, is an historic and attractive 15th century building. It is open daily from 9am until 5pm, giving plenty of opportunity to explore its wonderful history and splendid interior, with a variety of church guides, written and via 'phone app to help you. On Wednesday and Saturday mornings our helpful volunteers will be on hand, and our Heritage Centre will have exhibitions for you to enjoy, and the opportunity for a sit down with a cuppa.
At other times you may wish to sit quietly, to rest and reflect. Or you could join us at one of our weekly services or frequent fellowship and community events. To see a little of what we do, visit our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/St-Helens-Church-Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

On Saturday mornings our St Helen's Community Heritage Centre is open ... and it's interactive! Between 10.30am & 12.30pm it is not only a Heritage Centre with great displays and ever new exhibitions (currently a fascinating one on charitable giving, featuring the story of a true local heroine, Margery Wright) but also a meeting place to chat, play board games, make art, do your own knitting or crochet, add a piece or two to the communal jigsaw, and all with good coffee and yummy cake to help it along.

Coming up:

St Helen's Autumn Concert Series:
MOSAIC
Friday 18^th October at 7.30pm.
We are delighted that MOSAIC are returning to St Helen’s, to bring ‘Moon & Stars’, the second concert in our autumn series. Last year the eight voices of this talented choir wowed us with their superb vocal skill and versatility.
Tickets, priced £10, are now available from St Helen’s Parish Office or from Caroline Essex or on the door.
Profits from the concert will be donated to LOROS.

The third and final concert of this series is:
8ctave on Friday 8^th November

Rubble removing

From 9.30am on Saturday 19^th Oct we will be moving rubble from the Heritage Centre garden into a skip which is located by the church gates. Extra muscle-power very much appreciated – just arrive!

Pilgrim+
Pilgrim+ is the continuation of the Pilgrim course we ran here at St. Helen’s and provides an opportunity to meet in a small group and deepen your faith through discussion with others.
Last year we met to discuss how we might do advent differently, and very interesting it proved to be, leading to the introduction of a posada amongst other things. This year we will be looking at how Christmas could be approached with some different thinking. Although it is a 6 weeks course, each session is stand alone.
The Autumn module will run on
Wednesdays 16^th, 23^rd & 30^th October & 6^th, 13^th and 20^th November.

Autumn Fayre
Roll up, roll up for all the fun of the Autumn Fayre on
Saturday 26^th October at 11am-2pm
with lots of stalls, lots of games, lots of refreshments, and lots of FUN, FUN, FUN!

Brunch on Sunday
Q.What could be nicer than enjoying conviviality and a bacon bap and some good coffee?
A. Enjoying conviviality and a bacon bap and some good coffee at St Helen's!
All of these things are served at 9.15am on the first Sunday of each month. Our next one will be on 3^rd November.

Heritage Talks
Our winter season of Heritage talks is underway. They happen on the first Monday of the month, starting at 7.30pm. (£3 including light refreshments). Next month, November 4^th, we will be viewing the Victorian stained glass windows of St Helen's Church. There is so much Victorian stained glass in our churches that it is all too easy to overlook or underestimate it. Roger Willson's talk will encourage us to take a closer look at it and develop an understanding and appreciation of it.
Future talks are:
December 2^nd - Medieval Pottery, Speaker - David Budge
January 6^th - Medieval Pilgrimage to and from Leicestershire, Speaker - Peter Liddle
February 3^rd - 'Pushing Up the Daisies': The Flora & Fauna of Churchyards, Speaker - Steve Woodward
March 2^nd - 'Hot off the Press', more recent finds from our research team

If you have a safeguarding concern, then please contact our local Safeguarding Co-ordinator, Liz Smith, via the Parish Office. If you wish to speak to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, or to someone outside the church, their contact details are available here.

Mary Gregory, 16/05/2016