Parishes by the Wall - Living Faith on the Frontier
Nineteen children and numerous adults enjoyed a very busy Messy Church today! There were some great activities such as planting Easter gardens, making chocolate cakes with Easter symbols, making "junk" crosses and colouring tasks. After all the activity, there was a time of worship in Church and then a shared meal.
On February 13th, the Mothers' Union hosted their traditional Shrove Tuesday Lunch at the General Havelock in Haydon Bridge.
This event is always popular and all tickets were sold, thirty eight people attended from across the Benefice.
The meal was very enjoyable in a convivial atmosphere, served efficiently by the helpful staff.
The menu included pancakes which proved very popular and the raffle raised £109.
In a crowded and joyful series of services and celebrations in the run up to Christmas, none was more special than the Crib Service at Henshaw on Christmas Eve, when the children participated in the telling of the Nativity story and placed the crib figures into the crib. Not only were there excellent readings by the children, but also a “first performance” from an embryonic children’s choir. The church was full of parents and grandparents, and all participated lustily in singing some well known and loved carols.
On Thursday January 25th, fifty people gathered in the Village Hall for a Burns Night supper and ceilidh.
John Galbraith welcomed us with a glass of whisky or sherry. The meal was delicious - vegetable soup, haggis (of course) and apple crumble.
Then we needed to dance with enthusiasm to work off some of the calories!
It was a delightful evening, well organised and full of fun. I hope to be there again next year!
The children of Bardon Mill had a wonderful time on Sunday afternoon with their Messy Church Christmas Party. More than thirty children and their parents took part. At one o'clock they tucked into a lunch of pizza, sausage rolls, sandwiches and cheese scones, followed by jelly and ice-cream. After lunch there were activities such as icing and decorating Christmas biscuits, making a Christmas wreath and decorating a lantern. Many of the grown-ups (especially dads!) joined in with enthusiasm! Then there were traditional party games such as "statues" and "corners". As the sun started to set, everyone came together to form a lantern procession and walked along to the Village Green. The wonderful Messy Church Mums brought along flasks of Hot Chocolate which tasted amazing - especially as the temperature around us was below freezing. We sang carols and everyone cheered when the Christmas tree lights were switched on. To end an excellent afternoon, Santa Claus arrived on his wonderful red sleigh with special treats for the children.
