Christmas at Mayfield.

Christmas is traditionally a busy time for us at Mayfield and this year was no exception! The season started in November with a “Created” Christmas Fayre where fair trade crafts were sold in support of the work of Tear Fund. This was well attended and good sales of craft goods were reported.

Early in December, this was followed by a Fair Trade Christmas Fayre where our friend Muriel Stonehewer sold a variety of fairly traded goods. This also was well attended.
The Advent carol service on December 13th, during which we were encourged to decorate the church as part of the theme of "Preparation" was led by our pastor Susannah and was a great success.
As the month progressed the seasonal but inclement weather started to make life difficult. The “Five courses and Carols” was well attended in spite of the weather, but around 15 people were beaten by the snow.

The rest of us enjoyed the meal and carols.

The carol service, planned for 20th Dec. was snowed out, only one car and one pedestrian managing to make it.

The carols singing scheduled for the next day was reorganised to meet elsewhere, and some of our traditional venues had to be missed, however, we did sing a few carols in front of the Coop in Fulwood.
The weather eased slightly for the Christmas day service which did go ahead. In spite of the disappointments caused by the weather, we have been heartened by the support which our Christmas events have received, and look forward to 2010.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Early November

Our bonfire night and barbecue was a huge success. After initial fears that we wouldn't have anything to burn, a steady stream of rubbish arrived and a fire was built. Crowds braved the cold and damp, and Dave produced a consistent flow of hot food. Everyone enjoyed themselves and then all that remained was to clean the mud off the carpet!
The next day was remembrance Sunday and our preacher Albert Burton reminded us that although the problem, conflict, comes from within us, so can the solution.

Green Pastures

On 17th October 2009 people started arriving at about 9-30a.m. and the weeks of preparation suddenly seemed to be worthwhile. Once all who were expected had arrived, our pastor, Susannah gave the outline of the day and the welcome. Once the housekeeping arrangements were covered, Carole Parkinson led her first session.
Following refreshments we separated into groups for Pastel drawing demonstrations with Anne Turk; card making with Elaine Tucket from “Craftastic”; creative writing or quiet reflection in the especially decorated chapel. Lunch came too quickly, but was a lovely experience, the “bring and share” produced a wonderful spread.
After lunch some of us went on a short walk across the nearby fields. Group work followed again with the addition of pampering with Mary Kay products. Following a second session from Carole, Susannah led the closing devotions. We are looking forward to holding a similar event next year, please get in touch if you would like to receive details.

Harvest and Art Festival

Traditionally the first weekend in October is our Harvest Festival. This year we added to this by having an art exhibition. Hallam Art Group were invited to bring along pictures painted or drawn in the Mayfield Valley.

Earlier in the year they had met and held sketching days based at the chapel, and the results were on show over the weekend.

The exhibition was open over the whole weekend and light refreshments were available. We were very pleased with the number of people who visited us over the weekend.

Harvest celebration services were held on Sunday, in the morning our pastor Susannah led our worship, and in the evening we were pleased to welcome Mrs Muriel Stonehewer, national president ot "Women on Action". The contributions to the Harvest celebration were taken to St Wilfrid's centre to support their work.

The Art festival meant that the back room was not able to be used for the traditional Harvest Supper on the Saturday of the weekend, so it was postponed until the following Saturday. Home made pie and peas was followed by musical entertainment.

Drains; an update.

Regular readers will remember that holes were being dug to ascertain where the drains were leading to. This was in an attempt to intercept the run-off from the field above us to reduce flooding.

David has been working away over the last year digging a trench and installing a pipe which links into the culvert which was discovered from the above excavations. The culmination of all this activity was in the last week of September when a digger was hired to excavate a trench along the top of our field. This was completed and we are now ready for the worst of the weather.

The first water enters the new underground culvert.

The excavated spoil has been used to build a walkway across the boggy bottom of the field with a view to creating a nature observation feature later.

September 2009

September was a bit hectic! We started with a church meeting, which was very productive, and the week after we hosted the circuit meeting of the Sheffield circuit. The Ladies' meeting restarted with our pastor Susannah leading. On September 19th we held a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan and raised over £70-00, but the total is not yet finalised. Jonathan had been making jam and chutney from the bumper plum harvest and this was on sale. It all went!.
The final supper club of the season was held on the 24th, with an ambitious menu: carrot and orange soup, Beef "Leaky Wellington" and vegetables, plum crumble and cream. Mrs Muriel Stonehewer from our Coal Aston church spoke to us about Fair Trade Goods.
On Saturday 26th, we had our church outing to Temple Newsam where a good day was had by all.

August 2009

Our church family camp weekend was a great success with several families meeting and enjoying the overnight stop (despite the midges!) A good mixture of ages and abilities meant that there was never a dull moment. We intend doing this again next year when it will probably be a two night event.

This was the same weekend as the Family Songs of Praise service which was held on the Sunday afternoon outside.

The supper club later in the month was well attended and Mr & Mrs Briddon gave us an interesting presentation on the holy land.

July

July was another busy month. The flower festival (see previous post) was a great success and over £200-00 was given in donations towards the work of Sheffield Domestic Abuse Forum.
Sue Over came to us on June 19th and led our morning worship and then led our discussion service in the afternoon.
On the 23rd June we had our monthly supper club where we ate a starter of summer fruits, Bourgignon style beef and a dessert of sticky toffee pudding. One of our guests was celebrating his birthday and his daughter had prepared a cake for hi, we sang "Happy Birthday" and shared the cake before we heard details of relief work in Romania.
On the 24th June we hosted the Sheffield Circuit youth barbecue where adults were only welcome if accompanied by a child or young person. Our youth worker, Will Partridge-Underwood came and an enjoyable evening was had by all.
Saturday 25th July was our coffee morning which was well attended.
Apologies for the delay in updating the blog and website as we have had computer problems; these have now been solved with a new computer-ma-bob.

Flower Festival 2009

Our annual flower festival was held on 4th and 5th July. The church was open to view the exhibits all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Light refreshments were available, and strawberry teas were served both afternoons.
The theme of the event was "Women of the bible" and displays were inspired by:

Eve:

Ruth;

The widow's oil;

Mary and Martha;

Lydia;

Dorcas;

The widow's offering;

The woman at the well;

June 2009

Oue midweek group continued to study women from the bible and the Ladies group met to hold an event in aid of Martin House hospice. At this event, the 50th birthday of our pastor Susannah was celebrated.
On June 21st we held a family service to celebrate Fathers' Day. Jonathan led the service and everyone went home with a "Book of Fathers" which contained pictures of fathers as diverse as Homer Simpson, Father Ted and Tony Blair.
The Supper club was held on June 25th and was very successful. The menu was; melon medley, home boiled ham salad followed by table cream with poached pears. The speaker was Louise Yaull, a church army captain.

May 2009

Our fellowship bible study meetings have continued tolook at women from the bible, this months' were Dorcas and Mary and Martha. Severalof our members entered the Sheffield Christian Education Council Arts and Crafts competition and achieved high placings. The Hallam Art group held a sketching day in readiness for the art exhibition later in the year, and despite the weather, enjoyed the day. Another such day is planned for later on.
The Pet Service was on Sunday May 17th, an extremely wet day. This meant that the service was held inside. A number of dogs accompanied the ferrets in the church and the horse stood at the door,unfortunately she could not be persuaded to enter.
The supper club met on Thursday May 28th. The speaker was from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Service, and a donation from church funds was added to the collection taken up at the supper. £350-00 was sent in total.

Spring 2009

Following Easter, we have been very busy. Sunday April 19th was the first of our afternoon services. This was a "Cafe Church" on the theme of "Light". Appropriately titled "The Light Bite", a variety of activities were used to focus our attention on the imagery of light in the Scriptures.

Refreshments were available throughout and Susannah, our pastor, brought the afternoon to a conclusion.
Our midweek bible fellowship reverted to twice monthly now lent is over and we resumed our study ofWomen in the Bible.
On Thursday the 23rd of April, the first in our summer season of Supper Clubs took place. The menu was: Mock Crab and melba toast, Chicken Fricassee with seasonable vegetables, followed by Rhubarb sponge and custard. Tea, coffee and after dinner mints followed and then Sam Bown spoke to us.

Easter 2009

Our celebrations of Easter started at 8-00a.m. on Friday April 10th with our circuit service at St.Mary's Wesleyan Reform Church where Carole Parkinson led worship and holy communion for Good Friday.

Laterin the day, our pastor, Jonathan, led worship at 7-30p.m. at Mayfield. His text was the curtain in the temple being torn in two from top to bottom. The service concluded with a celebration of holy communion.

Saturday was oneof our coffee mornings, which was well attended. Jackie had done a lovely job of preparing the room for this event, and providing a table of activities for any children who came.

Easter Sunday started early when our pastor, Susannah, led 8-00 a.m. worship. Her theme was the walk to Emmaus and being recognised by our actions. The service concluded with a celebration of holy communion. Following the service, we ate breakfast in the back room. David and Elaine did a great job of preparing bacon and eggs for us all.

After the breakfast (and the clearing up!) Brian Kay led our morning worship at 10-30 a.m. and spoke on Matthew's account of the resurrection

Approach to Easter 2009

On Saturday April 4th we were visited by the Curbar and District United Churches Choir. They came to provide us with a presentation in words and music entitled "The Story of the Cross". The programme included readings, congregational items, solos and choral items. It was a memorable evening, and thanks are due to all members of the choir for their efforts. The retiring collection raised the sum of £80-00 for W.O.R.K. Ltd on Ringinglow Road.

Early 2009

As might be expected, since Christmas has been a relatively quiet time for us. The new year started with our annual covenant service led by our pastor Susannah.
The first coffee morning of the year was on January 17th and was exceptionally well attended, we ran out of cups!
At our church a.g.m. on January 22nd we decided on a number of activities for the coming year, details are on our website, on the "Events 2009" page. Follow the link on the left of the blog if you are interested. As the year progresses there will be others added.
The church party on January 31st was a great success when we invited the preachers from the previous year to join with us. Our carol quiz where people were invited to identify carols from a line in the text caused some head scratching.
The next coffee morning was on February 21st. Our bible fellowship meeting has started a Lent course. This year we are following a course from the Leprosy Mission "God's upside down world" For details see the website.
On March 1st, Mr Dave Tuckett led our annual Tear Fund Service, where we were encouraged to support and pray for the work of Tear Fund. Our offering was sent to Tear Fund and after the service we met for a simple meal in the back room.
Our heating has been giving us some trouble this month, but we hope that we have sourced the (obsolete) parts which we require and should be back to normal soon.