Church volunteers thrown thank-you party

VOLUNTEERS from two churches in the Henley area attended an annual thank you meal.

About 25 people attended the event at the Chantry House in Hart Street on Saturday, who help out at St Mary’s Church in Henley and St Nicholas Church in Remenham.

Other guests included Fr Jeremy Tayler, the rector of Henley with Remenham, who is a trustee for the charity and organised the event.

Guests had wine, soft drinks, mince pies and a selection of buffet food.

Fr Tayler said: “Every year, close to the twelfth night which is the last day of Christmas, we always have a party to say thank you to all the people that help out with the two parish churches. All of the church volunteers get invited. We just have a little party to say thank you. It’s really important because the churches absolutely depend on volunteers.

“What I do is a fraction of what happens and we’re very, very grateful for their time and skills. It’s important we give thanks and it’s nice to get people together to meet each other as well, particularly when you’ve got two parishes. It’s a lovely opportunity for them to mingle.”

Dr Frances Plowman, who volunteers at St Nicholas Church, said: “I live in London and I’ve been coming here for six years. It’s a lovely community and you go to church and you feel safe.

“I do church cleaning but it’s only once a year so it’s not too much. The most important thing is that we feel appreciated for what we do.

“When we came we were early and I asked Fr Jeremy whether he ‘would you like me to help with anything and he said no because it was for him to do as I had helped throughout the year.”

Rosemary Duckett, 79, who also volunteers at St Nicholas Church, said: “This is about thanking us. I organise all the church cleaners at St Nicholas so it’s for all the people who help with doing flowers or cleaning.

“It’s nice to be thanked because we’re there in the background doing it all.”