THE GRAPEVINE – MAY 2025

“O the month of May, the merry month of May ; so frolic, so gay and so green, so green, so green …“, so said the poet Thomas Dekker in his poem ‘The Merry Month of May’.  The blossom came early this year but it still goes on and fills the heart with gladness!  You can enjoy the photograph of cherry blossom at Kew Gardens on the cover and the article about the walled garden at the Bishop’s Palace in Fulham with its stunning wisteria dating back to the 19th century.  We recognise the death of The Pope with a statement and prayers from the United Reformed Church.  We have an item to commemorate 160 years of the founding of the Weybridge congregational Church in May 1865 and we continue that work in our joint church of St Andrew’s Walton and Weybridge today.   Christian Aid Week is 11-17 May and we are holding a pop-up coffee morning at church with the aim of enhancing its already high profile and boosting giving towards the great work worldwide carried out by Christian Aid. We cover the Easter story through our church services, ending with the transformation of the bare Cross of Suffering to a Cross of Beauty, festooned with flowers, on Easter Sunday. We also have an item on a much-enjoyed concert by Stratus, a trio with piano, violin and cello, who first performed in our church in 2019 and have since had a real boost to their future when their arrangement of ‘ Somewhere Only We Know’ was featured in Gavin & Stacey: The Finale which aired on Christmas Day last year.   We hope that you will enjoy this issue.The Grapevine – May 2025