GIVING THANKS FOR ALL SAINTS' NEW TOWER ROOF!

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On Sunday November 5th All Saints’ welcomed Rev Paul Thomas, the Archdeacon, to lead the worship at this service of thanksgiving.  All donors and organisations who had generously given to the cause were invited to join in and celebrate.  Due to their generosity and the hard work of members of the church and local community the bells are now safe and dry and the tower is prepared for future generations.  As the Archdeacon recalled in his sermon the fundamental and metaphorical significance of a roof is immense.  We warmly thank him for taking part in this special service.

The service was also a cause for celebrating Angela Price’s contribution to the church over the past 50 years.  As a mere dot of a girl Angela joined All Saint’s choir in the 1960s and has been singing ever since!  She was presented with flowers and gifts in recognition of her service and Emily Madge had made and decorated a delicious chocolate cake that was shared by all!

NEW ROLE FOR RECTOR!

The things a Rector gets asked to do! Blessing a polo field was certainly a new one on Linda.

At the launch and opening of Shropshire’s first Polo club at Moor Farm.  Moor Farm is owned by Hazel our organist and one of their new diversification projects has been the construction of a polo field.  On April 22nd before the start of the first match Linda was asked to bless the pitch!  Although she was not trusted on one of the live ponies Linda did get to sit on one of the wooden ones!

GEORGIA'S WALK

Just a little after 8am on Easter Monday, Georgia, Jackie, Clive, Emily and Mary began their walk around Lake Vyrnwy to raise funds for All Saints’ Church roof.  They were walking round not once but twice - a total of 24 miles!  The first lap was completed in a very creditable 4 hours.  A quick stop for some lunch and then off on the second circuit.   After a couple of miles they were joined by Linda and Lady (Martin was there too but was driving).  At around the 17 mile mark some other friendly faces appeared, Debs, Nigel and Rebecca with some very welcome ice lollies. The miles were ticked off and the welcome sight of the iconic Tower was in view.  Only a couple of miles to go before the dam and the finish.   Georgia, Linda and Emily reached the dam first, shortly follow by Jackie and Mary.  All completed in 8hrs 40mins.

Legs and feet rather sore and tired but well worth the effort as the total raised is nearly £700.  If you would like to donate, please contact Jackie Parker at 4 Millington Close, Baschurch. 

Mary Cox

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ALL SAINTS' TOWER ROOF

It is only a year ago since we pressed the submit button to apply for a grant from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund and now we have a splendid new tower roof.  By July they had awarded us £38,800 and we were then able to move forward with getting Faculty approval from the Diocese of Lichfield, further grants from other charities and many local donations.  Tim Ratcliffe, our architect, produced information for tendering and Phillips & Curry Ltd, building conservation specialists were appointed to commence work at the end of September. 

 

To start, a scaffold tower with a hoist was erected and then the old stone tiles and battens were removed and replaced with temporary tarpaulins to protect the bells.  Then new green underlay and battens were fixed and finally Ladycroft stone tiles from Hexham were fixed to finish the roof.  At the same time the old lead parapet gutter was removed together with the boarding and stonework beneath to enable the gutter to be reformed to current standards with new lead.  The very small dormer door was rebuilt to improve access to the roof to raise the flag.  The cockerel weathervane has been repaired and gilded and in doing so it was interesting to find it had been inscribed: "To commemorate the new vicar G.O. Jones July 1975.  Made, given and erected by Neil Gasser and Gordon Menhinick."  The scaffolding is now removed, the roof finished, and you can see the cockerel glinting in the sunlight.

The stones removed from the parapet gutter were even more interesting.  When the stones were at ground level we noticed a few were marked with hieroglyphics, suggesting they had a previous use, but this had not been visible in the gutter as the stones had all been face downwards.  We therefore had them reassembled to find an engraved foliate cross within a circle, a goblet and possibly a symbolised book or bible.  My initial research suggested that the stone might be a medieval stone coffin lid, and this was confirmed by Peter Reavill from Shrewsbury Museum.  He also confirmed it dates from between 1275 and 1325.  This is new for All Saints' as records do not indicate stone coffins or anything of this type at the church.  We now have a project to decide how to preserve and display it.

Michael Randall

LOVE IS ...... READY, STEADY, STICK!

A happy group of children came along to All Saints' first Ready, Steady, Stick afternoon.  The theme was love and the session began with a game, a chat about what the children loved, favourite foods etc and then a story of love - Zacchaeus - Jesus loves everyone!

The children then literally got stuck in to lots of different crafty activities, making heart shaped key rings, angels, bulb planting, cake decorating, musical shakers were created and lots of stuff was built from junk!  

Refreshments were served halfway through and a fun and successful afternoon was enjoyed by all!  Watch this space for details of the next session!

LINDA'S BIRTHDAY TEA!

In Linda's words 'it is good for us all to get together and celebrate and have fun'!  So that's exactly what the three parishes did!  A marvellous 'bring and share' tea party was put on by the three parishes at Linda's request.  We were entertained with singing by four members of Lighthouse, a poem written and read by Linda's youngest son Dan and a magnificent cake was produced by Dawn Lake.  You can see from the photos below that a good time was had by all!

TREASURE ISLAND

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the 2017 panto!  Written and directed by the multi talented Hugh Jones, this year's panto was even better than last, according to comments from the audience.  Loads of fun was had by everyone who took part whether it be treading the boards or attaching false eye lashes.  Many thanks to those involved a substantial sum was raised for the Shropshire Air Ambulance and All Saints'.

 

INSTANT NATIVITY!

On December 18th, the Sunday before Christmas, the congregation of All Saints took part in an 'Instant Nativity'.  This involved many people narrating and miming the famous scene.  As Reverend Linda (alias Linda the ewe) reminded us nobody actually knows the details of what happened on that night over 2000 years ago, and so the motley crew of All Saints  could easily have been representative!

DEANERY CONFIRMATION SERVICE AT ST MARY'S CHURCH, ELLESMERE

On Sunday 11th December five members of All Saints' were confirmed by Bishop Mark of Shrewsbury.  Following several months of preparation the candidates were ready to continue with their Faith journey.  St Mary's was filled with friends and family of the 23 candidates being confirmed, one of whom was also being baptised.  It was a very special, exciting and memorable day for everyone involved.  

WINTER FAYRE

All Saints' held their second Winter Fayre in November.  It was wonderful to once again have the church filled with people from all areas of our community.  There was a cheerful atmosphere as folk sipped mulled wine and ate mince pies, while browsing all the wonderful goodies that were on offer!

 Many thanks to everyone who supported this event either on the committee or visiting on the day.  

SPUDS & SOIREE

A very entertaining evening  was enjoyed by all who attended the Spuds and Soiree event.  Talent from within our community and from further field was interspersed by chilli and jacket potatoes, followed by delicious puds!  We experienced singing, drama, comedy and recitations to name a few.  Below is photographic evidence of what took place!  Many thanks to all who took part.

WATCH OUT FOR NEWS OF THE NEXT PANTO WHICH WILL BE TAKING PLACE IN JANUARY 2017!

FANTASTIC FLOWERS!

All Saints' hosted the most amazing Flower Festival from 23rd - 25th September.  The event kicked off with a Macmillan Coffee morning and from this moment onwards the church was filled with people enjoying the floral displays.  On the Friday night the Harvest Supper took place in church, with a fantastic atmosphere amidst the beauty.  Saturday night saw the talent of the local choir 'Of One Accord' who gave an excellent performance.  The annual Harvest Festival Service was on Sunday morning and then the festival closed with a glorious Songs of Praise service.  We are truly thankful to all the committee and floral designers who helped to make the weekend such a success.  The photos below are just a taster!  There will soon be a DVD available with a record of the whole festival.

CELEBRATIONS IN THE PARKER FAMILY!

On Sunday 14th August 2016, Jackie and Clive Parker, in our Sunday morning service of Holy Communion, renewed their marriage vows after twenty years of marriage.  They were surrounded by their family and friends, from the community and the church and it was an emotional moment for them and others who were present.

Jackie had chosen all of the hymns and the music and they were pieces that held significant meaning for either herself or Clive. Their children also played a part, choosing to read the poem, ‘Footprints’, which they felt was meaningful to their parents' life together.

Following the service everyone was treated to cake and given little bags with a chocolate and the Lord’s Prayer to take home with them. 

We wish Jackie and Clive well and pray that God will continue to bless their lives together.