|
WHEN I was about twelve years old, living in South London, I loved
riding around on the bicycle my parents bought as a reward for passing my
11‑plus exams. It was relatively safe to do that in those days.
I wanted to go somewhere different and chose to follow the No 49 bus route
from St Leonard’s Church in Streatham to Shepherd’s Bush.
After I had been riding for some time I realised that I had only just
enough time to get back home in time for tea. I was a good boy and so
I set off back immediately despite the fact that I had not reached my goal.
I had not realised that I had passed through a one way system – mainly
because on the way out it did not involve any ‘one way’ or diversion signs.
I suddenly found myself at a set of traffic lights I did not recognise.
This bothered me a lot because, even then, I had a very strong memory of
places I had been to before. I was lost. I was very scared and
I was very sorry that I would not be home in time for tea.
The lights seemed to take a long time to change, giving me plenty of
time to look around to see if I recognised anything. There straight
in front of me, on the opposite corner, was a sign reading ‘Follow the No
49 Bus Route’ with a very helpful arrow pointing me in the right direction
to rejoin the ‘two way’ part of my route which I readily recognised.
A massive coincidence – especially as I had never before, and never since,
seen a sign like it. At least that was what I thought at the time.
Some twenty plus years later, Shirley and I started searching for
something, which we found here in Prestbury – our faith. Up until
that time the thought of going to church never entered our heads apart from
baptisms, weddings and funerals, of course. Over the years a number
of remarkable coincidences had led us to being here, which at the time was,
and still is, so right for us. The incident on my bicycle ride kept
haunting me until I came to the stark realisation that it was not a
coincidence at all. It was the hand of God. I tried to put that
thought out of my head until I read a quote from Archbishop Temple to the
effect that the more his faith grew the more coincidences happened to him.
God is with us through the good times and the bad. Everyone has
remarkable things happen to them. Sometimes they get us out of
difficult situations. Sometimes they bring on the kind of feeling of
deep warmth that cannot be explained. Are they just coincidences?
Well, maybe some of them are, but we should not rule out the fact that our
loving God is watching over us at all times and this may just be one of his
helpful interventions. So a quick ‘thank you, God’, will never go
amiss.
 Fr Peter
contents
Harvest at St Mary’s was new this year. For the first time in
several years we celebrated a Eucharist with a Difference, making
the service that so many of us know and love just that little bit more
accessible to those who are new to Church, those who may be returning after
a few years, occasional worshippers and children. This last group
hold a special place of honour within Christian belief. Indeed for
those who have the ears to hear, it is often through the mouths of infants
and children that God speaks most clearly. The keynotes here are
inviting and involving. By making small changes to our
regular service we are practising a very special kind of hospitality.
One thing that was particularly helpful for this first service was the
feedback – both positive and negative – that people shared with the leaders
and wardens afterwards. These thoughts will help us as we plan future
services. You may have realised that there was some indecision about
the name, but after consultation we have decided Eucharist with a
Difference sums it up best (and my apologies to anyone who was confused
by the working name I gave it in the September issue). What we do
want to emphasise, however, is that this is a new start, not a return to
anything we did in the past, and that in each Church the worship is shaped
by the local community: we certainly don’t believe that ‘one shape
fits all’. So if you would like to be involved in helping to make the
service happen, or have ideas about how we can make it work for the groups
mentioned above, please get in touch.
The next Eucharist with a Difference is due to take place on
Sunday 22nd November, the feast of Christ the King. Please start
thinking now about whom you can invite, and encourage everyone, adults and
children, to invite their friends.
 Fr Daniel
contents
Thank you to everyone who helped with the Harvest posies, particularly
Thora Anstee for organising this for us. The posies looked beautiful
around the font in St Mary’s, each one very individual and making a splash
of colour for us to enjoy when entering the church at the Harvest Festival
services. The posies were delivered either Sunday or Monday to the
housebound and sick within the parish. Thank you so much for
everyone’s willingness to deliver them all and give joy to the recipients.
 Doreen Morris
contents
Saturday 3rd October, weather beginning to turn autumnal. Karen
kindly called for me just after 9 o’clock, Janet and Deacon Jennifer
already aboard, and together we made our way to the Marist Centre at
Nympsfield, where we received a warm welcome from the nuns, tea and coffee
at the ready. Together with Father John Mead and other members from
St Mary’s and St Nicolas’, we made a party of ten.
Quiet days are always a joy, times when the cares of the world can slide
from our shoulders, a time to bring us into closer communion with God, time
for reflection. Today’s focus was slightly different from usual.
Father John asked us to consider the works of two highly controversial
artists: Caravaggio and Stanley Spencer. He warned us that we
might not like all of their work, we might be shocked, might even be
offended, but that we should keep an open mind. Both, he told us,
were men who lived less than perfect lives; indeed, Caravaggio was a
murderer, but both men, with their highly original perspectives on Christ,
had great insights to offer.
Pre-lunch we looked at Caravaggio’s work: chiaroscuro, light
emerging from darkness, guiding our eyes. Models were drawn from the
streets, faces worn and lined, feet grimed with filth. We compared
two versions of the Supper at Emmaus and identified with the moment
of revelation as weary travellers recognised the risen Christ. The
Virgin of Loreto with its very real Spanish woman carrying a very real
baby, two peasants kneeling at her feet. We should never forget that
God works with real people, not the ideal and impossibly beautiful.
At noon we paused for prayer in the chapel, each contributing.
Lunch proved a veritable feast as each of our contributions was added.
The focus turned to Stanley Spencer, born and living for most of his
life in the village of Cookham. Spencer too felt that the sacred was
to be found in the fabric of every day; so much so that his great painting,
Resurrection at Cookham shows local people, easily recognisable and
including himself and his wife, rising from their graves in the local
churchyard on Judgment Day. His figures are humorous, almost
cartoon-like, but in their domestic joy they are profoundly moving.
Spencer was an official Second World War artist and has painted huge murals
in the chapel at Sandham. There are no gory depictions of wounds, but
soldiers carrying out every-day tasks of cleaning kit, peeling potatoes,
rolling bandages, making beds, drinking tea and, most of all, offering up
their own multitude of white crosses to the risen Christ in Heaven.
He even included the pack-carrying mules.
Father John concluded by leading us to see how Christ’s life and
suffering touches our own lives, transforming the secular and sometimes
squalid into something sacred and spiritual. We certainly received
something to reflect upon and carry into the future.
The day ended with hymns, prayer and a simple Mass before we went on our
way, refreshed and thoughtful. Many thanks to Father John, the nuns
at Nympsfield and all who contributed to that special day.
Brenda Lawson
contents
A brief update this time, but I am hopeful that one or two of the people
currently experiencing the Alpha course will put pen to paper
themselves. Since the last edition went to print there were several
more responses to the launch supper and now we have fifteen people doing
the course, including leaders. These have divided into two groups,
meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the early feedback I have received
is very positive.
Many thanks to all those who are praying, to the Wyatts and the Lyles
for hosting, to the Joneses, Vanessa, Sarah and Liz for leading, and
everyone – too many to name – who has provided and is providing food.
Organising Alpha is a lot of hard work, but definitely worthwhile,
and we are learning important lessons as we go along. The next step
will be to hear from those doing the course what they would like to do
next. If you have any thoughts about this, or about outreach in
general, do please get in touch.
Fr Daniel
contents
This event has the aim of raising money to pay directly for repairs and
maintenance to the fabric of the county’s ancient churches and was held on
a day when fortunately the weather was kind for outdoor activity.
The amount of support riders received was very generous and it is a
shame that more support is not forthcoming from the wider community.
We are all attempting to assist and support in maintaining our heritage in
the county, which I believe is much valued.
At St Nicolas’ Brian Wood and I were successful in collecting £180.00,
while Matt Bestwick at St Mary’s collected £88.50. Half of the
money goes to GHCT and half to our own churches.
The organisers and participants wish to say a big ‘Thankyou’ to all
those who sponsored and supported their efforts on 12th September this
year.
The event next year will take place on Saturday 11th September 2010… see
you there!
 Nigel Woodcock
contents
I HAVE been getting more organised of late. It is fairly normal to
write things in your diary in advance, like ‘MOT’ and ‘Wedding
Anniversary’, but recently I have found the need to anticipate more so that
I do not have to rely on other people contacting me.
A good example is the Vocations Conference held every year, or so I
thought, at Trinity College in Bristol. Last year the publicity did
not appear in time for our magazine deadline, which meant no one here knew
about it. So I made a note in my diary this year to get the
information well in advance. Imagine my disappointment, therefore, to
find that last year’s conference had to be cancelled due to ‘lack of
interest’, and my concern to hear that it has been the same story three
years in a row. Now this may be because the timing is not quite right
(an experience we had ourselves with the Alpha Course back in May),
but I wonder if there isn’t also a quiet crisis of vocation within the
Church. Do all Christians know that they are called? Do you?
The September and October editions of this magazine carried
advertisements for another vocations conference, this time run by the
Diocese of Gloucester’s Department of Ministry. Did you go? If
the answer is ‘no’, it might be interesting to reflect for a moment about
why that is.
Please do not think that I am trying to induce feelings of guilt or get
anyone to do more. That is not what ‘vocation’ is about. In
fact my experience has been that those who take their vocation seriously
often have to reduce the number of activities they are involved with in
order to take things forward (now THAT should get a few peoples’
attention!). The whole emphasis in vocation is working out how, in
your life, the calling to follow Jesus works out in practice. It is
something that all Christians should be reflecting upon, whether you are at
a very early, exploratory stage of faith or have been a believer for some
time. We should all be going to one of these every few years, even if
it is simply to confirm that we are still on the right track.
If you did go to the Diocesan Vocations Day on 10th October, or have had
a nagging sense of God guiding you in a particular way, please contact one
of the clergy, readers or young people’s workers. We are all people
who have experienced this ourselves and it is always exciting to hear about
how God is moving others. We may even encourage you to write
something for the magazine, as the best stories are the incomplete ones,
the ones where there is still some way to go. This ‘incompleteness’
is not a failing. It is a sign that we are growing, travelling on as
pilgrims in Christ’s way.
Fr Daniel
contents
North Cheltenham Team Ministry Parish Weekend Away
WE ARRIVED early at Sidmouth on the Friday morning as we had travelled
by car. We found Sidholme Hotel and both of us admired its lovely
setting. Later in the day the coach arrived bringing most of the
parishioners. Once everyone had checked in it wasn’t long before we
were all enjoying a delicious evening meal. This was followed by an
‘ice-breaker’ session in the Music Room – a good way of getting to know
everyone. Father David then led Sung Compline at the end of the
evening. We were given a programme of activities and services for the
weekend, but we were free to do as we pleased.
Saturday was warm and sunny. After Morning Prayer and breakfast
Sister Elizabeth (a former schoolfriend of Marion), who was of the
Carmelite Order from the Friars at Aylesford, led two sessions on the theme
God of Compassion. These were well attended. Sister
Elizabeth based her talk on the life of St Thérèse of Lisieux, who became a
nun at the age of fifteen and died when she was only twenty-four.
This was followed by a Said Eucharist led by Father Daniel. Lunch
was then served and the afternoon was free. Many of us walked to the
seafront, some even braved the water!
...some
even braved the water!
Throughout the weekend Andy and Sharon Macauly arranged activities for
the young people, Linda Biggs catered for the younger ones and Dee Graham
ran craft sessions for all ages. There were also sports activities
for anyone within the grounds of the hotel.
After our evening meal we were invited to go to the Music Room for the
‘Entertainment’. A varied programme followed of performers of all
ages, including young magicians, musicians and some of us who made fools of
ourselves! This finished with a selection of old time music hall
songs which was enjoyed by everyone.
On Sunday we attended the Sung Eucharist with Father David presiding.
The music was provided by members of the congregation. Sister
Elizabeth gave the address with the theme ‘God wants you as you are’.
After the service thanks were given to everyone who had helped to make
the weekend so enjoyable. We then had our last meal together with
time to reflect on the friendship and fellowship we had enjoyed. We
would like to thank Marion, all the clergy, the organisers of the
activities and the staff of Sidholme Hotel for a super weekend. This
was our first ‘Parish Weekend’ and we hope that it won’t be our last.
Jenny and Maurice Newman
SIDMOUTH was great! On the journey there I didn’t know what to
expect, but once we arrived I loved it. Our room was comfortable even
though it didn’t have an en-suite bathroom. Marion had kindly
arranged for some sandwiches to be left for us because we were too late for
supper.
After eating, we went to Compline, a service that monks use to close
their day. Father Daniel told me that they would traditionally go to
bed afterwards without speaking to each other. Before the service
Father David taught us how to sing some psalms.
The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, Dad and I went swimming.
It wasn’t big, but the hotel’s pool wasn’t small either.
Steve
Murton (left) organiser of the
tournament
with winner Tim Rudge (right) with the runner up
In the early evening there was a ping-pong tournament! It was very
hard but eventually Tim Rudge won and Sam was the runner-up. After
that we had yet another lovely meal. Next there was a fantastic show
in the evening which a lot of people had put a great deal of effort into
making.
The next day it was time to depart, after a wonderful service. We
all had to say goodbye to this hotel for two more years. We had a
lovely time with our friends.
William B, aged 10
Sidmouth thanks
On behalf of St Mary Magdalene, Elmstone Hardwicke, church group, may we
thank most sincerely all those concerned for a happy and memorable weekend
at ‘Sidholme’. It was enhanced by good weather, good food and
wonderful people we were fortunate to meet.
Marion Wells and Verina Morgan
Thank you to all who joined us at the Sidmouth weekend. I have had
some really nice letters saying how much it was enjoyed. Although it
may seem like light years away, I have rebooked for another weekend from
Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th September 2011, yes 2011. If
you are interested please let me know but there is no need for an immediate
rush!
 Marion Beagley
Photographs by Edward Wyatt
and Brian Wood
see more
pictures
contents
Did you come back to Church on 27th September? This was a special
day set aside for local Churches to invite back two distinct groups of
people: those who used to come to services but, for various reasons,
have not been for a while; and those who would come if only someone would
ask. Surveys show that nationally this may be as many as double the
number of people who presently go to Church!
Some stories from previous years:
- Celia Lawton-Livingstone was invited by a friend to St Luke’s,
Colchester, on Back to Church Sunday last year. Now Celia not only
worships regularly, she has joined the music group, and hopes to be
confirmed later this year. ‘I was surprised when I got to the
church that morning. It was different from what I’d imagined, and
the people were very friendly. I didn’t feel like they were trying
to shove religion down my throat, they let me make up my own mind.
It was a very relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, just like one big family.
I would recommend it: you never know where it could lead you.
My whole life has changed completely.’
- Debbie Hall went back to St George’s, Glasscote, Tamworth on Back to
Church Sunday 2007. Juggling life with young children had got in
the way of regular church attendance, but she remembers her return
fondly: ‘I’d never turned my back on God, but other commitments
were on the forefront on my mind. It was just a normal service, but
everyone was so nice and they made me feel really special. I was
really pleased to be back.’ Debbie is now a regular member of
the congregation and serves as ‘welcomer’ for newcomers… and returners!
Do you have a story about coming back to Church this year? If so
we would love to hear it, whether or not you would like it published in the
magazine. Please contact any of the clergy or send your comments to
Fr Daniel
contents
A QUOTE from David Cameron at this year’s Conservative Party Conference
in Manchester, but perhaps equally applicable to the cycle ride from John
O’ Groats to Land’s End which I have just completed.
Just getting to the start was an undertaking in itself, a train journey
of around fifteen hours to Thurso on the north coast of Scotland, with
changes at Edinburgh and Inverness. Further away from the more
populated areas, place names started to appear in both Gaelic and English (eg
Kingussie = Ceann à Ghiùthsaich), and many of the small stations were
‘request stops’ only. From Thurso YHA (over a fish & chip shop!), my
first day was a ‘warm-up’ ride of forty miles out to John O’Groats and
back, with a detour to Dunnet Head – actually the furthest north point on
the mainland. Having sailed out to the start, I returned into the
teeth of gale force winds, which I later learned had resulted in the
ferries to the Orkneys being cancelled due to the rough seas!!
Getting the cycle speedo up to 10mph was a cause for celebration, and the
ferocious winds were to be a constant feature of my journey during the
coming days.
My route from Thurso took me along the north coast, passing the Dounreay
nuclear power station, as far as Bettyhill, with regular precipitous
descents into picturesque bays and associated small communities, followed
inevitably by equally precipitous ascents the other side. From Bettyhill, I
turned south along a very sparsely populated so-called ‘A’ road – which in
places was single lane with passing places – eventually reaching Inverness
two days later, where preparing a self-catering meal bought from the local
supermarket provided the evening’s entertainment at the YHA. The
following day was a long ride beside Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal to
Fort William; an interesting feature at Fort Augustus, roughly half-way,
was the swing bridge (which halted the traffic as a tall-masted yacht
passed through) and flight of locks from Loch Ness into the Canal.
I unfortunately managed to drop and break my camera on the way into Fort
William and realised that I had no idea what day of the week it was and
whether there would be a camera shop open – or even one at all! – to buy a
new one. On consulting my route plan and timetable I found that it
was Saturday, and there was a camera shop, so all was well –
although Ben Nevis was shrouded in mist, so no photograph to be had.
The next phase of the journey was over to the north end of Loch Lomond,
with its marinas and various watersports facilities, which I then followed
all the way to the western limits of Glasgow before crossing the Erskine
Bridge to skirt the city to the south via the rather unlovely granite
suburbs of Paisley and East Kilbride. Sunday lunch was taken sitting
on a sandbox outside a petrol station shop and consisted of their last
chicken and bacon sandwich, a bag of crisps (cheese and onion, in case you
were wondering), a Kit Kat and a bottle of IrnBru – that quintessentially
Scots drink (apart from whisky, that is) ‘Bru’d in Scotland from girders’
according to the advertising slogan. At the end of another 70-mile
day, I eventually reached my very hospitable B&B in Westoun, near Coalburn
(an aptly named former mining community!) where my hosts very kindly went
out and bought me an Indian takeaway while I had a bath and made myself
presentable. Onion Bhajis the size of which you have never
encountered here in the south!
The following two days to Carlisle and then to Lancaster, although long
(more 70-milers), were not so windy so good progress was made but – as on
the entire ride – I had to keep a sharp lookout for glass, potholes and
other debris in the cycle lanes. On the first day I passed through
Lockerbie, where I visited the Garden of Remembrance for the victims of the
1988 air crash, and also came across the renowned Marriage Room at Gretna
Green on the England-Scotland border where young English couples would
elope to be married because of the different age requirements in Scotland.
Having struggled over Shap Fell, I made a diversion at Kendal to
Windermere and Bowness on Lake Windermere, and regretted the
commercialisation which has taken over, although the lake itself of course
remains very picturesque. After Lancaster, it was impossible to avoid
the Manchester-Liverpool sprawl but at least I didn’t get lost and I did
manage to locate and visit Wigan Pier, immortalised in the George Orwell
novel The Road to Wigan Pier (it is not actually a pier, as in
seaside piers, but a canal wharf – currently undergoing refurbishment).
The whole area was rife with the names of famous Rugby League teams.
My next overnight stop, Ironbridge in Shropshire, has been designated a
World Heritage Site and is a fascinating historical ‘museum’ of various
industrial processes which had their beginnings there: the production
of iron (and the iron bridge itself across the River Severn gorge), clay
pipe-making, Coalport China and Jackfield ceramic tiles being the principal
ones; the Aga/Raeburn factory is also located there. I could have
spent longer there but the schedule was pressing, although I did find time
to visit the Severn Valley Steam Railway in Bridgnorth.
At Cheltenham, after a welcome pitstop at home, I was joined by members
and supporters of Prestbury and Pittville Youth – my chosen charity – and
enjoyed their company for a 23-mile stretch as far as Frampton, before
continuing on to Bristol.
(to be continued next month)
 Stephen Murton
see more
pictures
contents
When Esther’s words were
reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that
because you are in the King’s house you alone of all the Jews will
escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and
deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your
father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come
to royal position for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:12-14 (NIV)
The author of the book of Esther is unknown but it is thought it was
written by a Jew due to his nationalism and accurate knowledge of Persian
ways.
Some have regarded it as fiction and others as a historical novel.
Others again think that the knowledge we have of Persian affairs in the
fifth century BC gives good grounds for treating Esther as history.
It also explains the origin of the Jewish Feast of Purim, celebrating the
deliverance of the Jews.
It is interesting to note that the name of God is not mentioned but a
sense of His care and justice prevails. It is the story of an
ordinary woman who was used in an extraordinary way.
The Jews are in exile under the rule of Persia. Esther, whose
parents had died, had been brought up by her cousin Mordecai, who
encouraged her to change her name and conceal her Jewish identity. We
are told she was very beautiful and was chosen by the King to become Queen.
Herodotus records that the King, Ahasuerus, was a cruel, capricious and
sensual man. A plan is executed by Haman, the Prime Minister, to
destroy the Jews. Mordecai approaches Esther and asks her to plead to
the King for the Jews to be saved. Esther hesitates, knowing that to
approach the King without being summoned would be to risk death.
Mordecai challenges her: ‘And who knows but that you have come to
royal position for such a time as this?’ Esther asks the Jews to join
her in a three-day fast. She has everything to lose but chooses to
step out of her comfort zone. She takes the risk of approaching the
King and a plan is devised to save the Jews.
Esther would have been brought up as a Jew and would have been used to
keeping the Jewish traditions and customs. Maybe she had a strong
faith in God. Could it have been God who challenged her to face up to
her past, so being true to herself? Maybe in doing this, she gained
the freedom she needed to approach the King and change not only her own
situation but also that of the Jews. She had also been well prepared
for her role in the year of training she had been given before becoming
Queen. This would have been a purifying process with possibly the
emphasis on physical beauty but maybe in time she also developed an inner
beauty that shone through. Could it have been the strength and wisdom
displayed in this inner beauty that appealed to the King?
Like Esther, God might want to use our life experience, skills,
personality and our uniqueness in the situations we find ourselves in.
Do we trust God enough to allow Him to use us to our fullest capacity?
‘At such a time as this’, could God be calling us to do something new in
our community and church, bringing about change both in our own lives and
in the lives of others? Maybe God is calling you?
Anne Nicholson
contents |
All Saints Day –
Sunday 1st
November
This is a major festival in our church year and there
will be services at all the normal times in our churches. All Saints’
will be keeping this day as their Patronal Festival and all are very
welcome to join them at 10.30am or 6.30pm.
All Souls Day –
Monday 2nd November
There will be the following services to commemorate our
departed friends and loved ones:
9.30am: Said Eucharist
in St Mary’s. The names of the departed written on the list in St
Mary’s will be read out during this service.
4.30pm: Said Service
of the Word in St Nicolas’. This will be a half hour, non-eucharistic
service during which the names of the departed written on the list in St
Nicolas’ will be read out.
7.30pm: Sung Requiem
in All Saints’. The music will be taken from Fauré’s Requiem
and during the service a full list of the departed will be read, taken from
the names written on the lists in all three churches.
Remembrance Sunday –
8th November
There will be an Act of Remembrance during the Sung
Eucharist at 9.30am in St Nicolas’. There will also be an Act
of Remembrance at 10.45am at Prestbury War Memorial which will be
followed by the Sung Eucharist in St Mary’s.
At 3.30pm in St Mary’s we will be holding our
annual Memorial Service for those who have been bereaved during the past
year. This is a service of readings, prayers and music, during which
all those attending are invited to light a candle as they remember a loved
one. All those who have died during the past year will be
commemorated by name during the service. All are welcome to attend,
even if you have not received an invitation.
There will not be a service at 6.30pm in St Mary’s.
contents
|
We send our love and congratulations to
Father Michael
on the occasion of his
50th Birthday! |
Christian Aid Autumn Fair
On Saturday 7th November, you are invited to the
Cheltenham Christian Aid Autumn Fair at St Andrew’s URC Church,
Montpellier, from 10.00am to 1.30pm. Stalls, delicious ploughman’s
lunches, desserts. Start your Christmas shopping here and benefit
those struggling in the poorest areas of the world.
Anne Nicholson
contents
St Mary’s Bakestall
Our final bakestall for the year falls on Sunday 15th
November. This is the turn of the G-M team, and the
proceeds will be shared between the Alice Glenister Foundation and
the Cambodia Trust. More information about both these
charities can be seen on the church notice board.
Margaret Waker & Linda Matthews
contents
Ceroc Night
Modern Jive Night, a Fusion of Modern Jive/Salsa, at the
Prestbury Hall, Bouncer’s Lane, under the watchful eyes of our Teacher and
Demonstrator, Music from DJ John Baker. Friday 20th November
8.00 - 11.30pm. Bar open from 7.30 pm. £8.00 per ticket with
complimentary drink. £10.00 on door. To order tickets ring
Shirley Brown on 01242 529774 or Linda Dove on 01242 515984. Do come
along for a night of fun.
 Shirley
Brown
contents
Mothers’ Union
Our November meeting will take place on Tuesday 24th
November at 7.30pm at St Nicolas’ Church. Diane Lyle will teach
us Hand Bell Ringing for Christmas. Please join us for this
interesting occasion.
Marion
Beagley
contents
The ‘Real Christmas’
Once again we shall be holding our ‘Real Christmas’ event
in St Mary’s church on Saturday 5th December from 2pm. During the
afternoon Christmas cards and other goods will be on sale and we shall be
decorating the Christmas tree and making the Christingles for the following
day’s service. Seasonal refreshments will be available.
contents
Christingle
This year’s Christingle service will be at St Mary’s on
Sunday 6th December at 4pm. Please see notices in church for further
details.
contents
St Nicolas’ Patronal Festival
All are welcome to the Sung Eucharist at 9.30am on Sunday
6th December, when St Nicolas’ will be celebrating their Patronal Festival.
contents
Rotary Charity Bowl
Two teams from CHADS entered the Rotary Bowl on 6th
October. Both young and old joined in and we were sponsored for the
amount of pins we toppled. Thanks to generous sponsors we were able
to raise a total of £421, half of which goes to Rotary and the other
half into our bank account. This will set us up ready for our next
production, when we shall again raise money for
Let the Children Live!
Marion
Beagley
contents
Children’s
Society at St Mary’s
The boxes have finally been collected, the money counted
and safely banked. This year we collected a record amount of £502.
Thank you to all our box holders.
If anyone else wants a box to collect money throughout
the year, please contact me.
 Ruth Rudge
contents |
