End of February

Electoral Roll. If you have been attending St Mary's and would like to be enrolled on the Electoral Roll, please complete one of the forms from the back of Church before March 14th. Only church members are entitled to stand for election and/or vote at the AGM. St Mary's Annual Parochial Church Meeting (AGM) will be held on April 12th at 7.30pm at St Mary's. For Benefice AGM's see the website on their pages. This Saturday 27th Feb. The Right Reverend Paul Butler will be installed as the new Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham in Southwell Minster. Attendance is by ticket only but there will be a Welcoming service at St Mary's , Nottingham on March 7th at 4pm which is open to all. Want some fun this weekend? The Annual Quiz is being held at West Leake Village Hall on Saturday 27th at 7.00pm (tickets £5 from David Chapman). It's always good for a few laughs and to test your brain cells.

Celebration fun and goodies.

The weather was very kind to us yesterday for the Celebrations Event. Lots of couples came to see the Rector about getting married in church - contrary to what the newspapers would have you believe. The refreshments, with all the home made cakes were enjoyed very much. There were even a few left over, for after the service today - unless you were cutting them out for Lent!

Thank you to all those who had stands at the event with shoes, dresses, cakes, make-up, personalised chocolates, photography, transport, jewellery and stationery. The Mothers' Union had a place with all their stationery too. We mustn't forget the magician and Teddy, the face painting and organ recitals either.

If you were unable to get there, maybe these pictures will give you an idea of what you missed. Of course, there's always next year!

Never mind the weather, just come along.

Tomorrow, Saturday 20th February is the Celebrations and Wedding Fair at St Mary's Church, starting at 10.30am-4.00pm. Come and see what ideas there for any celebration. Enjoy the refreshments and don't forget there will be lots of home-made cakes for sale, but come early before they've all gone! There will be an organ recital at 2.00pm to enjoy, and there will be a magician and face painting for the children.

Ash Wednesday services & Lent meetings

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday at St Marys and there will be two services for the imposition of ashes: 10.00am and 7.30pm. There are a number of options for the Lent meetings throughout the Cluster, in East Leake, Costock, Gotham and Sutton Bonington. Please try and attend some of the meetings. They are as follows: East Leake - Churches Together: Reflective Worship in Lent Tuesdays 23rd Feb - St Mary's Church, 7.30pm 2nd March - EL Baptist Church, 7.30pm 9th March - Our Lady's RC Church, 7.30pm 16th March - EL Methodist Church, 7.45pm 23rd March - St Mary's Church, 7.30pm Costock - Lent Study Groups in S Notts Cluster of Parishes Monday afternoons, 1.30-3.30pm at 10 Holmstead Close, Costock Details from Sue Waterston 0787 9861599

Gotham and Sutton Bonington - The York Course Wednesday evenings - Details from Revd Steve Osman on 0115 9830608 or Revd Glenn Martin on 01509 670757. Friday afternoon group meeting in Gotham also - details from Revd Steve Osman.

Ideas Event for Celebrations & Weddings.

Have you ever wondered how to celebrate a 50th Birthday, a Baptism, a child's themed birthday party, or a birthday for someone who has a hobby? Come along for ideas. Adults and children are welcome. There will also be home baked cakes for sale.

St Mary's is hosting a Celebrations and Weddings Open Day on Saturday, 20th February from 10.30 - 4.00pm. Please note that this is NOT a just a Wedding Fair, but there are ideas for weddings.

It is an opportunity to discover what goodies are available for any and all kinds of celebration. There will be an organ recital and a magician on the day. So come along and check out what's available. See more details on our website.

Next week is also Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Do you have your pancake recipes ready?

There will be special services at St Mary's at 10.00am and 7.30pm on Ash Wednesday.

Fun at Willersley

Some of the photos taken at the Parish Weekend at Willersley Castle last month.

Trainee Reader on Placement. On Sunday, we welcomed Chris Blayney from St Luke's Church, Gamston, who is visiting St Mary's for the next two months until Easter. He will be observing services and ministry work in the Cluster.

This weekend is Valentine's Day and the schools will be breaking up for Half Term.

Hints of Spring and activity for February.

Come along to the Coffee Morning tomorrow at 10.00am at St Mary's and share your memories from last weekend at Willesley, especially the sunny, but cold weather. Have you spotted the first snowdrops? There are a few to be seen in the front of St Mary's near the notice board. For all families this Sunday, 7th Feb is Tea Time Sunday in St Mary's Hall as it's the first Sunday of the month. The shops are full of Valentines for the 14th, but we're planning for Shrove Tuesday on 16th Feb. We'd like everyone to come along this month on 20th Feb. as St Mary's will be having its Celebrations and Weddings Fair. Come along and get involved! We'd love to see you.

Parish Weekend Willersley Castle, Derbys.

About 70 people from St Mary's attending the Parish Weekend at Willersley Castle and had a very busy, but enjoyable weekend from Friday tea time until Sunday afternoon.

The weather was extremely cold (-3C degrees at night) but sunny and clear during the day. Ideal walking weather if you were wrapped up. Many took the chance to catch the train to Whatstandwell and walk back along the canal.

There were puzzles, board games, talks, table tennis and Wii games; crafts for making masks, cards and decorating and varnishing tiles. There was an opportunity to 'have a go' at hand bell ringing too, and time for worship, music and sharing.

If you would like to see some of the crafts from the weekend and find out more, there will be some of the items in church on Sunday.

As usual the staff, the comfort and the food was excellent, and we'd like to thank all at Willersley and those involved in running the weekend for making it a memorable one.