Churches and vicarages were opened up for motorists who otherwise faced being trapped in their cars all night as blizzard conditions struck our diocese. Congregation members driving 4x4s were among those who rescued drivers trapped on motorways.

The emergency measures were taken on the evening of January 5, when several inches of snow fell across our diocese in just a few hours.

Three drivers who were stranded on the A32 slept on the floor of St Andrew’s, Meonstoke, on the first night of snow, and another seven slept on a church member’s floor. The vicar, the Rev Stuart Holt, opened up the church when the local pub rang to say they were fully booked. Parishioners rallied round to provide hot drinks and cakes.

Eight people, including a family with children,slept in the church room at St Nicholas, Wickham, and another two stayed in the rectory on January 5. They were among dozens of motorists who couldn’t drive up Hoads Hill just outside the village.

Although farmers were hauling some cars up the hill, some motorists faced a night in their cars. The local hotel and pub were full, so the Rev Elizabeth Groves opened up church room next to the church. Villagers marshalled drivers into the room, where hot drinks, baked beans and duvets were provided. Grateful guests left tidy rooms, and Elizabeth was sent flowers, invited for lunch and received donations for the church.

“I suppose the moment God intervened was in Sainsbury’s, where a fortuitous two-for-one deal on baked beans ensured the rectory was sufficiently stocked for the emergency, which was as yet unknown,” said her husband Adrian.

Worshippers from St George’s Church in Waterlooville were among those helping motorists stranded near the A3(M) that night. Peter Sadler took his Landrover Discovery to help a neighbour and ended up staying out until 12.45am.

“People were stuck on the roundabout at Stakes Hill Road, so we pulled their cars out of the snow and pushed them up the hill,” he said. “There was quite a good sense of community spirit, but it was non-stop for several hours.”

The following morning, he helped a family whose car had gone down an embankment on the A27 between Havant and Chichester. The occupants had been there since 1am.

And fellow St George’s worshipper Dick Handy spent the next few days helping neighbours in his 4x4 Landrover. He ferried some to supermarkets, picked things up so people could work at home, and took his godson to nursery and back.

“The first person was an immediate neighbour who was getting distressed because she had no prospect of getting out of her house,” he said. “It was good how everybody rallied round to help.” 

Clergy from St George’s contacted the elderly and those who live alone to offer assistance. Those on their ‘snow check’ list were being phoned every couple of days until the snow cleared. The congregation there also had a massive snowball fight after their Sunday morning Eucharist.

Back at St Andrew's Church, Meonstoke, the snow was used effectively for a special all-age Sunday service. Adults and children made snowmen in the churchyard and brought them to the font, singing new words to the tune of The Snowman. They remembered God’s gift of water and how water is used in baptism.

On the Isle of Wight, St Mary’s Hospital laid on 4x4 transport so hospital chaplain Rev Gregory Clifton-Smith could lead worship. It happened in the day room on the rehabilitation ward, where one of the patients was celebrating her 96th birthday.

East Meon was effectively cut off for three days, apart from those using tractors and 4x4 cars. Families there offered accommodation to motorists with cars stuck on the A272, and there were countless good deeds of shopping, cooking and offering lifts.

“We had 42 in church on the Sunday, and I’m sure there was an extra effort by some to attend,” said the vicar, Canon Terry Louden. “After-church conversation solved one or two local problems about access and lifts. We said prayers of thanks for many acts of kindness.”

Calbourne and Newtown on the Isle of Wight were virtually inaccessible, so Sunday services were cancelled. Sixteen people walked or drove to the service at Shalfleet. The midweek service was held in someone’s house.

And the Rev John Ryder and his wife Brenda, from All Saints, Godshill, were grateful to worshippers when they found themselves stranded just outside Quarr Abbey after a trip to the mainland. They walked into Ryde and stayed the night with a friend, but Brenda had run out of medication. Alan Philpott fetched them the next day, and Brian Waghorn helped John dig out the car the day after.

For more photos of snow-covered churches, congregations making snowmen and church life in the snow, click here.