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Showing posts from November, 2006

Christmas Fair

What a wonderful day we had last Saturday. We had lots of help with the stalls, some really great stalls and lots of people to come and help us raise the money. We had toys and games stalls, a big Christmas stall (thanks to Olive) a scrummy cake stall, tombola, chocolate tombola (a great favourite) a raffle (natch) and various charity Christmas card stalls. We also served teas and coffees with cakes and mince pies. We thought it wasn't really appropriate of a Methodist Church to encourage children to gamble, so any child who had a go on the tombola stalls was given a small prize every time. I think we shall continue to do this. We made a whopping £799.82, which has since risen to over £800, and I think we shall have a bit more to come. The Traidcraft stall took £113.55 and the Christmas cards for Candlelighters took £89.50, which is in addition to the above amount - a really excellent results. Every penny made on the Christmas Fair is going to India, to be taken there by Keith, our

Our Father

We enjoyed a thoughtful service this morning, in which Keith shared with us the next part of his sermon about the Lord's Prayer. We began at "Give us this day Our Daily bread", and thought about how easy it is for us to enjoy not just bread, but wonderful food from all around the world. The notion of forgiveness was also addressed, something which we often find difficult, but God's forgiveness is secured for us through Jesus. "Lead us not into temptation" ended this section of the prayer, and Keith proposed the idea that we would not face "too many trials", which I found reassuring! We also included a two minutes silence for Rememberance Sunday. I particulary appreciated the singing of the responses in the Communion Service, which was new to me. Thank you to all those who participated in leading this worship.

Wednesday Group

The Civic Affairs Manager of the Lord Mayor's Office came to speak to us about her work and that of the Mayor. We were amazed to find that during his/her year of office the Lord Mayor makes about 700 visits to many different organisations, charities and individuals - as long as they have nothing to do with politics!. We heard about the way that the Lord Mayor is chosen , the charities that they choose and the history of the mayoral chains. There are 16 members of staff in the department, engaged in organising events, keeping the diary, replying to all the letters received, driving the Lord Mayor, baking the scones, and cleaning the silver. We heard about all the organising that went into the Queen's visit when she came to distribute the Maundy Money at Bradford Cathedral, and many anecdotes about various Lord Mayors. We were particularly interested in this as one of our former church members was once Bradford's Lord Mayor. Our group meets every other Wednesday and welcomes

A Challenge to the reasonably fit members of our church family

We have been very lucky at Thackley recently in benefitting from grants and corporate volunteering to have many of our rooms redecorated. Waste Recycling paid for the upper hall painting, the Inland Revenue did the corridors outside the coffee lounge, the lounge itself was done by Hallmark Cards, and the other corridors, entance foyer and toilets were done by Yorkshire Water Services. We will get the professionals in to do the stairs (too high for amateurs!) and perhaps some other areas, but some rooms still remain that are reasonably accessable and in desperate need of a lick of paint - for example the resources room and the vestry. So I hereby throw out a challenge to all readers, to join me one Saturday afternoon for a little gentle roller-wielding. It is about time we "did our bit", and who knows, you might even enjoy it! T do either of the rooms I have mentioned would take three or four of us, so who feels like volunteering? Anyone over the age of say 14 could have a go.

Love actually

We had a great service this morning, which everyone seemed to appreciate. Poor Jackie wasn't feeling her best, but she gave a wonderful message and fortunately her voice held out. We wish her a speedy recovery from the cold bug she's got. As always, Lee, Heather and Pat did splendidly with the games and crafts. I still find it hard to believe that it's possible to weave prayer baskets out of a couple of strips of paper! Louise and Gill did great singing "In moments like these" and the congregation picked it up very quickly. It's good to learn new songs from time to time. As Jackie said, it was lovely to see the Boys Brigade colour party, and for them to take part in the service. As for Johnny's reading, all I can say is "Brilliant"; it was so clear and expressive - well done! Keith will be pleased to know we remembered his new birthday spot; we wish Lisa and Polly a really Happy Birthday. We continue to be blessed by our all age worship; the rela