The forecast for Easter Bank holiday Monday in Guildford was for thunderstorms and gusty rain showers. Not really what the Chaplaincy wanted when they planned a fund raising Tea Tent event in the grounds of St Martha-on-the-Hill Church, with its’ spectacular views of the surrounding Surrey Hills. But with prayers and some very dedicated volunteers, we set up our Gazebo and laid out a magnificent display of home made cakes and sweet treats, along with teas, coffees and a selection of cold drinks. We wondered whether anybody would come given the poor forecast but we needn’t have worried because even though we didn’t plan to open until 10am, people were starting to queue by 9.40am. Indeed by 11am most of our popular carrot cake and flapjack had already disappeared.
As well as serving refreshments we took the opportunity to share with visitors what the Chaplaincy is about, with volunteers showing guests what Street Angels carry with them and might encounter on a weekend night. Volunteer chaplains and Community Angels were also covered by having information leaflets available. Visitors were encouraged to make a donation for their snacks and drinks and we were amazed at the generosity of some of the people we met, including the person who gave us £5 for a single lollipop! Encouragingly the weather, as we prayed, stayed dry and sometimes sunny for most of the day, with a few spots of rain at the very end of our planned day.
We were visited by several church groups out on Bank Holiday walks, using the church as their planned destination, to help support the work of the Chaplaincy and the parish of Chilworth and St Martha’s. By the end of the day all the many cakes had gone and over 250 drinks been served. We are so grateful to the many people who stopped and supported us, the volunteers who served through the day and the many others who baked cakes, provided support and assistance or helped in pulling this successful fund raiser together. We’re pleased to say over £1,100 was raised. So now we know for sure that ‘a cup of tea makes everything better’.
