We gathered to sing some socially distanced carols on the grass in front of the church, beside the nativity scene. Two different groups of singers were distanced from each other for this and the singing was accompanied by Jill, our choir conductor. Quite a number of different people came to join in with the choir from the pavement. £47 was raised for Alzheimer’s society; mental health being at the forefront of people’s minds this year. Eight teams each comprising of six people battled it out at the fish and chips quiz. The food was cooked and delivered by Atlanta fish shop at Kingsbury. Sausages and pies were an alternative but most enjoyed the fish deal. Tea, coffee and bread with butter was provided by Val and Colin, Susan and Malcolm and Christine. Vincent gave us a thought provoking quiz, too clever by half for some of us, but great fun! Many thanks to him and all the workers. Congratulations to the Pointers (friends and family) who were the victorious team and thanks to all who helped raise a profit of £138.
Really lovely evening. Everybody joining in with singing and Brian’s humour creating laughs. He sang a tribute to Mavis, who loved these evenings and ended the event with Christmas carols and festive songs. A total of £195 was made for church funds.
Playing once again to a near full church Switched on Swing entertained with a range of songs from Uptown Funk to some Beatles songs. Interval tea and cakes were enjoyed with the chocolate being demolished. Many helped washing up afterwards including our young reporter. Ours thanks to the band for supporting the Methodist Chapel once again raising £272 in total.
A group of about thirty enjoyed the sunny afternoon ramble around the village footpaths travelling down through Teals Wood and along the reservoir returning via Hayfields and through Bakehouse lane. We returned to find Phil and the ladies had prepared the BBQ and after a hearty supper we celebrated the creation of the new red district with a service lead by Rev Neil Johnson the district superintendent. Around 300 people visited the gardens in Whitacre. Saturday made £644.50 and Sunday raised nearly triple that amount raising £1780.50. The grand total of £2425 will be split between Air Ambulance and our local Methodist Church.
Thanks are due to our gardeners, our cake makers, and stewards who all contributed to the grand result. We could not have asked for better weather. A lovely sunny weekend allowed many to enjoy the twelve or more gardens open to view. Refreshments sold well with a wide range of cakes. Did you buy a plant to take home? We thank all those who opened their gardens and helps their visitors. Can you spot the houses these flowers were seen in? Brian came and sang for us and the concert was a big success raising a total of £180 to church funds. Thank you to all who attended enjoying a splendid evening and especially to Brian for entertaining us again.
Our chapel was full as we met together to be part of the World Day of Prayer service 2019 which was this year prepared by the women of Slovenia. We were joined by our Romanian friends and their families who use our chapel for their worship every Friday, and it was lovely that they could be involved in this celebratory service with us. Indeed our Romanian friends introduced our service by laying a table of food and drink items typical of Slovenia.
Will Southall led us in our reflections, encouraging us to remember that God provides everything for us - ‘Come, everything is ready’ - and the readings from the women of Slovenia, and from Luke’s Gospel, continued the theme that God’s invitation is for all, whatever their religion, race, gender, sexuality, age or handicap. God turns no-one away. Will and her team had decorated the church beautifully with food, flowers and pictures of Slovenian wildlife; the Whitacre choir made a joyful noise and led our singing with gusto. Red carnations, signifying celebration in Slovenia, were given out as the offering was taken. After the service, hot drinks and home made Slovenian honey biscuits, were on offer to all. The World Day of Prayer takes place in over 120 countries. Starting in Samoa, it travels the world through Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas....thank you to all those who were involved in our celebration and helped us here in Whitacre to play our part. Many thanks to Brian for entertaining us so amusingly. People who came enjoyed the evening greatly and £155 was raised for the Chapel funds. Brian is a well known local singer from Tamworth and played a variety of classic musical hits on his guitar. Brian has been friends with Vincent Coggins for years and came to support the chapel. Thanks also to the Coggins family for the refreshments provided in the interval.
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