A well supported day and those who braved our 3 to 4 mile stroll through reasonably flat terrain in our lovely countryside made it back despite the midge bites a lot of people complained about! The weather was fine, dry and sunny something that did not look hopeful in the morning. Once back having built up an appetite on the walk, Phil was on BBQ duty afterwards, and with tea and coffee being provided all were refreshed in time for the evening service which will be led by Mike Crockett. A lovely day was had by all and we even had the pleasure of our last three ministers in charge all being present under the same roof. Sadly it was the last time we shall see James Pritchard as he moves on to pastures to new and many members were able to wish him well.
Despite the heavy snowfall the morning service was well attended although a few of our collectors failed to make it as well as a few locals who sensibly stayed at home. Peter Tonks gave a lovely service based on choices and even supplied cereals to taste at the start of the service using these to illustrate the choices we make.
Congratulations to our collectors. We welcomed the following new collectors - Ruby, Noah and James We thank the following collectors for their continued support - Frankie, Cameron, Xavier, Ella, Sophie, Kieran and Grace. A special long service certificate for eight years as a supporting collector was made to Ella. We were all very sorry to hear that Mollie Shaw died on the 9th November. Rev. Derek Shaw only retired in August from our Church and it was a great shock to learn of his sad loss. All of us will be praying for Derek, his daughter and son.
Today was the last service Derek conducted as our minister before he retires again! The well attended service was followed by a bring and share lunch which allowed people to say farewell and thanks. A presentation of some theatre ticket tokens, book vouchers as well as a "more tea vicar" mug was made, in recognition of all the work that Derek has patiently and quietly undertaken during his three years of looking after us all so well. It is the first time we have had a minister who was solely responsible for just our church and we have been blessed with his ministry. He will be solely missed by the congregation as well as his future presence being noticably absent at the many events he has always made a consistent effort to attend. A lovely spread was put on as a result of all of us bringing some food and a merry time was had by all.
After 3 years with us, Rev. Derek Shaw is retiring. We shall miss him greatly but hope he will continue to join us sometimes at coffee mornings and Bible Study. In September we welcome Rev. Mike Crockett to be our new minister. Mike and his wife hail from South Africa and also minister at Solihull. We look forward to working with them.
The coffee morning in June for Huntingdons raised £105. On July 5th we shall be collecting for MPD (Rare Blood Cancers), August 2nd it’s the turn of Host UK and then on September 6th it’s the Methodist Relief and Development Fund. To find out more about these charities visit our web site www.whitacre.co.uk You will also find there details of the events that take place weekly in the Church hall. Instead of Keep Fit on Thursday evenings at 6.00pm the class has become Pilates. Gentle exercise can be taken however on Tuesday afternoons at 1.45pm for an hour, with Jo Johnson. Yoga could do with some more members on Monday evenings at 7.00p.m.till 8.30p.m. Use it or lose it, I am told! Despite the recession, our Christian Aid collection throughout Nether Whitacre, OverWhitacre, Marston and Lea Marston was still an improvement over last year. We received £1518, thanks to the generosity of the villagers and the diligence of 30 collectors who visited nearly every household. This money will be put to good use amongst the world’s poorest people. Our Pudding Night will be upon us. This event takes place on Sat. 7thJuly and tickets cost £6. You can sample a variety of delicious desserts from 7.00-9.00 in the Church Hall. Activities such as Bible Study, continue during the Summer holidays. Enjoy yours! An opportunity tonight to meet our new minister who will take over from Derek at the end of August. Rev Mike Crockett came and had tea, biscuits and a chat giving us all time to get to know each other and discuss our church and area. A pleasant evening was passed with a good turnout and we hope that Mike and his wife felt welcomed and wanted.
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