60th Wedding Anniversary!

Two of our favourite members of St Mary's congregation, Gwen and Peter Edwards celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary last week and were presented with a card and a bouquet during yesterday's Harvest Thanksgiving Service. They are wished much happiness by everyone. As usual, the Thanksgiving Service was a crowded, happy event with donations of flowers, fruit and tinned goods for charity. Manor Farm Nursery were also kind enough to bring their collection of donations to the church, for which we thank them. Some donations will be taken to the sick and housebound parishioners and the remainder to the Friary Drop-in Centre for the homeless.

Harvest Thanksgiving Services

This Sunday, 27th Sept. St Mary's will be holding it's Harvest Thanksgiving Service at 9.30am. The flower arranging team will be working very hard on Saturday, 9.00-11.00am to decorate the church, so if you would like to either contribute flowers or go along to help, you will be very welcome. St Giles Church, Costock will also be holding their Harvest Thanksgiving Service at 3.00pm. Their Harvest Supper will be held on Monday evening at 7.00pm in their Village Hall. Bring your friends and neighbours to join in these happy services and thank God for all he has done for us. The sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny summer may have spoiled our holidays but it's provided a bumper harvest after all the farmers' hard work. The footpath to St Mary's has recently been repaired and resurfaced and was completed this morning in beautiful autumn sunshine. The main entrance to the church can now be used again, instead of the entrance on West Leake Rd. Next Monday 28th Sept. is the start of the Emmaus Course in St Mary's at 7.00pm. We've been warned not to have dessert after our meal before we come!

A pat on the back to all young people.

St Michael's Church, Sutton Bonington was packed full for the celebration of the Youth Ministry service yesterday. Approx. a dozen young people took part in the service with drama, dance and testimonies and a large number from the Cluster congregations turned up to support them.

Following the service, balloons were let off in celebration and everyone was treated to 'sausage sizzle' food. Some balloons needed a little encouragement to float up. Maybe we'll find out how far they travelled if you discover any of the cards attached. Keep your eyes peeled!

All those taking part are to be congratulated on their enthusiasm and pleasure at demonstrating what they do and what they've learned. Well done Lydia, the Youth Leader for all her hard work. God has truly blessed them.

This week St Mary's Women's Group will be meeting in the Hall at 8.00pm. The speaker will be Bob Neal and the topic is 'Bits and Bobs'.

Acorns will be in the church at 1.30pm on Tuesday, as the Hall is being used to set up for Stanford Church's Harvest Supper that evening.

Please Note: All classes held on Tuesday i.e. Twinkle Tots and Slimming World will NOT be held in the Hall as it is in use - see above.

On Friday, 25th Sept. a new Craft Class is starting at 9.15 - 11.15 am in the Hall. Come along if you are interested.

Cluster Service at Sutton Bonington

You are invited to St Michael's Church, Sutton Bonington this Sunday at 11.00am to celebrate the Youth Ministry. You will even get sausages for breakfast! There will be an 8.00am service but no 9.30am service at St Mary's that day.

Tomorrow, Saturday they will be decorating Stanford on Soar Church ready for the Harvest Service on Sunday. If you can help, please go along. Their Harvest Supper is being held in St Mary's Hall, East Leake on Tuesday, 22nd Sept.

Please note: We have been warned that lead thefts are once again taking place and to be vigilant. Our churches need you, in more ways than one!

Jo Jingles classes cancelled!

Please note: The Jo Jingles Mother and toddler group meeting on Thursday mornings in St Mary's Hall has been cancelled starting this Thursday, 17th Sept. Hopefully, another group can be set up shortly. Watch the blog for updates.

Winnie the Pooh and YOU!

Who would have thought that Winnie the Pooh would have featured in our Worship Together Service at 9.30am yesterday? Sue Waterston demonstrated, using a Pooh story how we all need friends, and need to be one. She also read a story about a small, mischievous boy who appeared not to be listening to the stories of Jesus, but brought his friend and told him that Jesus was the best friend you could ever have. The Cluster of S Notts churches will be celebrating the Young People's Ministry at a special service in St Michael's Church, Sutton Bonington on 20th Sept. so there will be no 9.30am service at St Mary's that day, please note. There will be sizzling sausages for everyone after the service, so plan to come. Ask for transport if you have difficulty getting there.

There is also a special service on 2nd October celebrating 'Older People's Day' in Southwell Minster at 2.45pm followed by afternoon tea. Contact Revd Claire Goode if you would like to go.

Ruby Wedding Celebrations

There was lots of good music, dancing, good food and laughter last Saturday, 5th Sept at Harry Carlton School's Hall. The event was to celebrate Rector Glynis and her husband, Ron's 40th Wedding Anniversary. Many of the congregation from St Mary's & the Benefice attended and many of their family and friends from the community and beyond. The excellent music was provided by a live band - a member of which is Tim, one of their sons.

We would like to wish Glynis and Ron many more happy years together from us all.

You might like to note that St Mary's will be holding another Wedding Fayre in February 2010 (date to be confirmed). It will feature many of our East Leake businesses again. We hope you will come along, especially if you are planning a wedding. Glynis will be pleased to meet you and provide answers to your questions about getting married in church.

It looks like the weather will be fine and sunny for all the cyclists and walkers planning to take part in the Ride and Stride event. Let's hope they raise lots of money for our churches. Many of our historic churches do not have the funds to keep them maintained, so events like this are essential. Please help support them.

Have you signed up for the Emmaus Course, starting on 28th Sept. on Monday evenings? It's a 10 week course for exploring the Christian faith. There's still time and we'd love to have you join us. See the sign up sheet at the back of church.

Bike Ride and Stride?

What is a Bike Ride and Stride? It is the Notts. Historic Churches Trust Annual Event, which is a sponsored ride (or walk) around the churches in the local area to raise funds for our churches. The event is being held this coming Saturday, 12th Sept., 9.00-5.00pm, so come and join the cyclists and walkers on Saturday.

Some of the funding for our Re-ordering came from the Trust. Please help support those undertaking the challenge. Contact Ian on 852560 for details.

St Mary's is also host to St Peter's Choir, Nottingham who are doing a sponsored walk around country churches on Saturday, 12th Sept. They will be singing for approximately 10 minutes in each church, starting with St Mary's at 10.00am and ending again at St Mary's at 5.50-6.00pm.

We welcome back this week, all our little Acorns on Tuesday, 8th Sept. at 1.30pm in St Mary's Hall and all the Uniformed Organisations now that school has begun.

We have groups for: Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Rangers/Duke of Edinburgh Award meeting in the Hall. There are also the Youth Groups run by Lydia, our Cluster Youth Worker.

If you, or if you know of anyone who would like to join any of these groups, please visit our website under Groups. There could be something for YOU!

IWA National Festival & Boat Show

According to one report, the weekend Festival had approximately 20,000 visitors. Quite a success! St Mary's Mothers' Union provided the 'Baby Place', a Baby Changing tent, appreciated by a number of mothers with babies. They also gave out Mothers' Union bags, magazines and literature to many families with children.

Sunday also saw the Cluster of our churches leading the morning worship in the Food Court in conjunction with the Boaters' Christian Fellowship. This was well attended and enjoyed by all.

September 1st and looking forward to Harvest time

This week we begin a new academic year and there are signs of Autumn already. Exciting times for young people, especially those starting a new school. It's an exciting and satisfying time of year after all the hard work during the Spring and Summer for the rest of us too. Some of the trees are changing colour and there's a coolness in the air in the morning and evening. Many of the fields have been harvested and the hay is being gathered in. Blackberries, plums and damsons are ready for picking - all God's bounty ready for us all to use and enjoy. Watch for reminders to decorate the churches and for the services to celebrate Harvest. Stanford Church will once again be holding their Harvest supper in St Mary's Hall on 22nd Sept. Check out our website for the new webpages for our Benefice churches which are 'under construction', http://www.east-leake.co.uk/stmarys.html. These pages will tell you the services and what's on at each of our Benefice churches in West Leake, Stanford on Soar, Rempstone and Costock. We look forward to hearing about the fun weekend at Redhill Marina and to events coming up this week.

• 'Let's Praise' - a new service starting on Sunday at 11.15am at St Mary's
• 'Tea Time Sunday' - for young families in St Mary's Hall at 4.00pm
• Abbot Club for men - meet on Thursday at 8.00pm at the Nags Head Pub, E Leake.
• All the uniformed groups and Acorns will start again next week, the first full week of school.