Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
All are welcome in this place.
Marty Haugen, Singing the Faith 409
What a fabulous birthday weekend! We have welcomed numerous visitors from near and far; some were married in our church, some baptised here, most had links of one sort or another. One lady brought her Sunday School Prize from 1939 to show us - how fantastic is that?
On Saturday we held an open day with a rolling display of photos projected on the screen, and table displays of old documents, bibles and photos from church members and from some of many of the organisations that regularly meet in our premises, including Jigsaw, See & Know, Men’s Forum and Boys Brigade. We had a wall display of photos, letters and articles from our past ministers, and a local history table showing old photos and memorabilia. One of our members had diligently researched all the names on our War Memorial tablet, and displayed fascinating facts about their history, war service and medals. In our corridors we had displays of photos of past weddings, baptisms and social events, some stretching back 50 years. Being a Methodist event we naturally had refreshments, including bacon butties, soup and home-made cakes. And, to top it all we had two sessions of live music performed by our Take a Second group, featuring some lovely voices, several guitars, recorders, saxophone, a piano and two tambourines. Their repertoire included 6 Hymns and 3 Taize songs, and it was a treat to see how well the group worked together, with ages ranging from 9 to 75. Luckily the weather co-operated and we had a large turnout of visitors from near and far to see our display and join in our celebrations.
On Sunday the church was full for an anniversary service led by Rev Albert Gayle, who was our minister for 11 years. It was wonderful to see Albert, Ruth and two of his three children back at Thackley, and Albert was obviously pleased to see many old friends again. Take A Second performed again before and during the service, and afterwards we had a Faith Lunch - a TMC speciality! Our oldest church family member is 98, and the youngest present was 6, so the event catered for all ages, and as always the food was excellent.
In his anniversary message Albert reminded us that Jesus came to a world of religion with strict rules and traditions; He turned those rules and traditions upside down, and gave the invitation to follow Him. As we respond to that invitation we feel truly blessed at Thackley by the strength and depth of our church family, and by the love, friendship and mutual support that we share. This is now evidenced by Team TMC tee shirts and sweat shirts that many of us were proudly sporting during the weekend with a logo designed by our very own Verity. We can now relax back at home with a nice cuppa from our Team TMC coffee mugs. The weekend included our annual Gift Day appeal, and was financially a great success, raising around £1,200 but more importantly it re-affirmed our commitment to the church and its Christian Mission.
Hallelujah!