August, September and Early October 2013

The main event in August, was the family camp.  This was held over the weekend of 16th to 18th August.  The event was a great success, with several family groups sharing in the events of the weekend.

 Saturday evening was a barbecue which was shared with other members of the congregation.

 Sunday morning dawned bright and clear, and members of the congregation shared breakfast with the campers.

 Following breakfast, the campers led the morning worship for the rest of the congregation.

Over the months, all our regular activities continued unabated.  The Bible fellowship, supper clubs, Ladies' fellowship, Sunday worship all happened regularly.  The church meeting took place on the 9th of September,and many decisions about our future and ministry took place.  There will be a planning meeting in November to decide our programme for 2014.

On the 14th November we held our first quiz night which was a great success, this will probably be repeated in the future.

The 21st November was our annual McMillan coffee morning.  Because Susannah was elsewhere on the actual McMillan weekend, this was actually a week early.

Our annual Harvest festival was held on the 6th October.  Our visiting speaker brought us information on the work or Tear Fund in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Our harvest donations were taken to help the work of St Wilfrid's project in the city centre.  They had specifically asked for dried and tinned foods.

Flower Festival 2013

Our annual flower festival took place on 6th and 7th July.  The church wasopen from 10-30a.m. to 4-30p.m. on Saturday and 12-00noon to 6-00p.m. on Sunday.  Refreshments were available whenever the church was open, and a good number of visitors came.  The theme of the displays was "Men of the Bible."  Grateful thanks are due to all who did anything to make the event such a success.

Moses

Adam

David

Jesus

John the Baptist

Lot

Luke

Paul

Solomon

More pictures will be available on our website, as soon as they can be published.  Please follow the link to the side and look for the "Flower Festival 2013" page.

June and July 2013

Through out the months, the regular activities took place.  The bible fellowship met twice a month to continue our study of the book of Daniel.  The Ladies' Fellowship met in June to hear a speaker update them on Martin House, a hospice which they have supported for some years, and in July, Steve Drinkell spoke on the theme "Forever wild".
Worship continued every Sunday, and we are grateful to those who come to lead our thoughts week by week.

The plants in the bog garden have become established and are now showing off their glory as the seasons progress.  In the way of these things, some were not suited to the surroundings, and so we have less than we planted, but the ones which have survived are quite impressive.
The big event of these time was the flower festival, please see separate post, and website for details.

March, April and May 2013

Sorry for the lack of posting, but it has been a hectic three months, both at church and in our family lives.  Susannah and Jonathan have finished one business ("Bright and Beautiful", a pet supplies shop on Fulwood Road) and opened another, ("S and J's Pantry", a stall in the Sheffield Market, selling Traditional, local, Artisan and Fairly-Traded produce.)  If you would like details of the new venture, look at http://s-and-j-s.blogspot.co.uk
An "edited highlights" of the church's activities will have to do for these three months, or I could never get back up to date.
We struggled with some extremely unseasonal weather,

looked for problems with the drainage in the field,

and started to mow (after the mower had come back from being serviced!)

All the regular activities have continued;

the bible fellowship, the ladies' meeting, Sunday worship, the men's breakfast.

 The supper club started in April, and met in May.  Two church meetings happened, and a coffee morning was held.  A needlework day was organised, a coffee morning and carwash took place on Easter Saturday,

We organised a pie and peas supper in support of St. Luke's Hospice and held a Garden Party on the Bank holiday Monday.

February 2013

February started with the Christening of Jasper, younger brother of Barnaby who was Christened about 18 months ago.  Our pastor Susannah led the service, which was well attended.

 The Bible fellowship met on February 5th when we continued our studies of Amos.  The men's breakfast on the 11th was again poorly attended due to the weather.

Even the crows were grounded!
On the 19th we started out Lent study course.  We are following the CTBI course "This is Our Story"  Journeys of Faith.
The second session was on the 26th.

January 2013

The new year started with our annual Covenant Service on January 6th.  This is where we renew our covenant with God.  This service was led by our pastor, Jonathan.  

The weather was against us later in the month, and only three people were able to attend the men's breakfast  on the 14th, but we were very well fed!  The bible fellowship on the 15th was cancelled as a number of our people were unwilling to risk falling on the icy surfaces.  The Ladies' fellowship on the 15th was also cancelled for the same reason.  The church party on the 19th did go ahead, but the attendance was well below what we had originally expected.  In spite of the low numbers, those who braved the conditions had a good time.  

December 2012

December started with Advent Sunday, when we lit the first candle on our Advent crown.  Andrew has been following a course to prepare for church membership with Susannah, and at the service, he was received into full membership.

The bible fellowship met on Tuesday 4th, when we continued the study of Amos.  Because the rest of the month is busy, we will next meet in January.

Men's breakfast met on Monday 10th as usual.

The annual "Five courses and Carols" took place on the 13th, when we dined on:  Oxtail soup, mackerel paté, ham baked on hay, fig pudding, cake and cheese, tea and coffee, with carols between each course.

The chapel was re-arranged for the Advent Carol service on the 16th.

The theme was "Prepare ye the way of the Lord."  

On Monday the 17th we gathered in the car park at 6-30 p.m. for our annual carol sing round the valley.
Wednesday 19th was the Ladies' meeting carol sing with the Salvation Army band.  The chapel had to be put back to normal for this event.
Brian led our Christmas carol service on the 23rd.
Susannah led the Christmas day service.  The completed Advent crown is visible in this picture.

 Susannah then unwrapped parcels to complete her display, this is shown below.

Jonathan led the last service of 2012 on Dec. 30th.

November 2012

November started out with our annual bonfire and barbecue on Saturday the 3rd.  The event was well attended and enjoyed by all.  Although the ground was rather wet, following the wet summer, the night was fine.  The bonfire went up well.

 Susannah worked extremely hard in the kitchen, preparing the food for the barbecue.

David also worked hard putting the finishing touches outside.

 The queue seemed to go on for ever, but eventually everybody was fed.

 And people settled down to enjoy the evening.

Later on in the month, after all the debris had been cleared, the grass square was put back.  David had worked extremely hard, numbering the turves so that they went back in the right place.

Our bible fellowship met on November 6th and 20th, studying the book of Amos.  Apart from some slightly dated illustrations, the theme of justice and fairness could have been written this year.

Our series of sermons on Ephesians continued through the month, with Jonathan finishing up on Ephesians 6 on the 25th.

The men's breakfast met on the 12th,

The annual planning meeting was held on the 14th when we examined the events held so far this year and discussed ideas for next year.  The outcome of the meeting will be discussed at the church meeting in January and will then be added to the website (see link on the left).  If you would like a copy of the newsletter with the details enclosed, please get in touch.

Our annual Christmas Fayre was held on 24th, when opportunities to purchase fairly traded goods and crafts were available.  The event was well attended.