ACTIVITIES SCRAPBOOK ARCHIVE

Easter Monday Churches Together Walk

Climbing up out of a frozen Gribdale Gate car park, our intrepid group set off full of Easter enthusiasm. Walking at a leisurely pace in bright sunshine we steadily made our way round to Kildale and a well-earned tea shop stop. The temptation of a hot cuppa at Kildale was too much to resist for some of the team, particularly those with short legs, and they decided to take an unofficial short cut to the tea shop, departing with "we'll see you there".

After a bright and gorgeous morning, a few wintry showers blew through, taking us from sunshine to blizzard and back again in only a few minutes. The view from Captain Cook's monument was worth the effort, and made even more enjoyable by knowing that there was only a short walk from here back to the car park.

Good Friday Witness Walk

Weather forecast: bitter north winds with plenty of showers. Not the kind of weather we had in mind when four churches, from the Eston and Normanby area, planned to carry crosses to Eston Square, to give witness to the significance of what we are remembering at this time of the year. It didn't put off over 140 hardy folk who braved early rain and hail and enjoyed a time of fellowship in the middle of Eston.

It was good to see passers-by stop, look and listen. Some joined us in singing a few well-known Easter hymns and listened intently to passages from the gospels being read out. It all seemed to go so well; it even stopped raining once we arrived at Eston Square.

Carols by Candlelight

T'was the night before the night before Christmas and everyone was invited to join in celebrating at our Carols by Candlelight service. There was barely a spare seat to be found as we enjoyed ourselves praising God, listening to angelic voices singing, gifted minstrels playing and well-rehearsed actors portraying the birth of Jesus.

It was a lovely evening. Dancing shadows from flickering candles set the scene. The singing of carols was broken up with a couple of songs from the choir, along with several scenes acted out from the shepherds' experience of hearing the good news and then going in search of the new born Saviour.

If you came along for the first time, we would love to see you again (not just at Christmas). If you wanted to join us in celebrating this special time of the year but didn't make it, there is always next Christmas. But get there early if you want to be sure of a seat.

The Night We Did Something Different!

"Children in Need" challenged folk to "Do Something Different", and we gave it a go.

After weeks of careful planning by the men's fellowship the folk at St. George's, along with some able helpers, put on a Wild West Adventure evening. This followed some classic Wild West themes such as; Faroe Wheel, Medicine Show, Hillbilly Mercantile and a Chuck Wagon for refreshments - as well as not quite as traditional, face painting, splat the rat, and shave the balloon. We even had our very own "native American" producing "Wanted" posters.

There's more - there was also a display of authentic Indian artefacts, as well as opportunities for children to make their own Indian headdress or try their skills at rope spinning, all accompanied by some (nearly) authentic Saloon music. There was even a Gun Fight as four unsavoury characters took on the local Sheriff.

Many thanks go to all who helped, to the folk from the community who supported us, and to the crew of "Martell's Raiders", without whom none of this would have been possible. Together we raised £665 for Children in Need".

Martell's Raiders would also like us to acknowledge that this was their first show since the untimely death of their dear member "Sess Pitt", a.k.a. Mark Sewell.

My Trip To Africa

Joy Brunskill, a member of our congregation, travelled to Ghana and spent some time with the 12 By 12 Serving Africa Team. On her return she has shared details of her adventures with us - the daily challenges, the accommodation, the travelling, the joy in worship, the many blessings that God poured out, and the friends that she has made.

You can read about it too. Download her trip report here in PDF format. If you don't already have Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, the latest version can be downloaded free here.

Oh ! Didn't we have a lovely time... the day we went to Lindisfarne.

As we left from Finnegan's Hall, (on time) the sky was grey and overcast and it had started to rain. As we headed north on the A19, we wondered what sort of day to expect. The traffic was fairly light and we made excellent time, so much so that we had time to make an unscheduled stop for coffee at Heighley on the A697 near Morpeth, the largest Garden Nursery in the North East. The further north we went the weather kept improving, the rain stopped, the sun came out, Alleluia. God is good!

During the journey, Julian gave a short historical resume' on the Saints associated with Holy Island, and this set us all up about what to expect.

Full of enthusiasm, we entered the Church of St Mary where Father Damian, attired in a Monks Habit, welcomed us and gave us a talk about the church, times and dates of it's construction, and highlighting its different styles.

Having been welcomed by Father Damian we moved onto our first service, in which Julian challenged us: "were we visiting Holy Island as tourists or pilgrims?" The service which followed gave us opportunity to come before God and seek His forgiveness, renew our vision and begin to listen to His voice We enjoyed the overwhelming sense of peace and the presence of God.

The church also contained a replica of a Coracle, (pictured) which was similar to what would have been used by the early inhabitants of the island and by the Celtic monks when they had the need to fish, or transport provisions.

After the service, it was decided that we could enjoy two and a half hours of free-time to explore or just to contemplate on the tranquility that abounded. It is difficult to explain fully our feelings, conjured up by the sights and sounds of Holy Island, participating in them, enjoying them. A particular 'God Incident' that occurred made one realise just who was in-charge.

Keith and Melva decided to head off for refreshment, and choosing a café totally at random, upon entering, met Donald Cameron and his wife Monica. The two couples had not seen each for over thirty years, other than meeting Donald fleetingly when he visited the parish for a weekend during the Christ Church Anniversary. Donald was the Vicar of Eston and Normanby from 1973-1982 and it was he who introduced Spiritual Healing and the Power of the Holy Spirit into our parish. Of course, Donald is now retired, but no doubt he did enjoy the meeting at Holy Island, as almost half of those on the trip were known to him as parishioners during his ministry in Eston and Normanby, and he had led at least two of our number to faith in Jesus.

Once again it was time to re-board the coach, say farewell to Lindisfarne and head for our next stop at Bamburgh which lies just down the coast. Here we held a Communion service in which we were given time to reflect on what God had been saying to us before breaking bread and drinking wine together. The service concluded with us praying through the "armour of God" as we prepared to rejoin the world as our pilgrimage drew to an end.

After the service, we wandered through the town of Bamburgh back to the coach park, admiring the view of the regal and imposing castle that rises above the town, its dimensions and magnificence are without equal, and its condition roves that it was "built to last" and so it will.

Our final photograph is a group one, taken at the coach park prior to us making the return journey home. Traveling back we all had time to reflect on our day. We enjoyed good weather, good company, been to the places where the Saints had trod, but more importantly, the blessing we received through God's presence from the start to the finish of our entire day.

A PDF format copy of the services followed during this visit can be downloaded here for use in private and personal study. If you would like to use these services publicly please seek permission from Julian first.

If you don't already have Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, the latest version can be downloaded free here.

Down The Docks

About 20 men from St George's and Christ Church recently enjoyed a visit to Tees Dock (the second busiest port in the country). The men were set off on their way suitably sustained by a fish and chip supper. A guided tour of the docks followed, which brought back many memories for some who had worked at the docks, or served at sea in the royal or Merchant Navies.

The group then returned to 'The Flying Angel' for an informative talk about the work of the 'Mission to Seamen' Our thanks go to Julian for organising the trip and Colin Worswick and Ken Good for their input at the docks and their hospitality.

Action
Almost all sailors today are from the world's poorest nations, working to support their families back home. They work for as long as 9 months at a time away from home. Many are from the Far East and Africa and are totally unprepared for sailing into Teesport on a cold winter's day. One of the ways the Mission to Seamen help is by providing warm clothes for sailors entering Teesport. Donations of warm men's clothes are always welcome. Please contact Julian for more information.

Fair Trade Day

Christ Church and St Georges had a great 'Fair Trade' morning on Saturday 19th May. Free 'Fair Trade' breakfasts, tea, coffee, fruit what more could you want? How about a 'Fair Trade' fashion show, varied brand new clothing - all fairly traded, plus lots of other fair trade produce, ranging from wine glasses to items for the home? All were there, together with an informative speaker. A fabulous morning was enjoyed by many. More importantly, many producers in the third world were given a fair deal.