No plans for the Bank Holiday weekend? Come and join us.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who turned up on Saturday to give the church its annual clean. Special thanks to Avril for organising and co-ordinating all the work and to those who provided very welcome refreshments midway through the morning. 

If anyone is available next Saturday, 28th around 10.00am (the Bank Holiday) we would appreciate any help cleaning the Hall ready for the start of term. 

For those not visiting family and having no plans for the Bank Holiday weekend in the community, why not join us and meet our Mission Partners, Sam and Violette Beeton who are working in Madagascar, at the Sunday 10.00am United Parish Service (please note NOT at the usual time of 9.30am). This is an opportunity for everyone from our five parishes to get together socially and to meet Sam and Violette.

Then there is a Bring and Share lunch in the Rectory garden (weather permitting) at 12.30pm.  Bring any plate or dish of food to share with others e.g. filled rolls, a cake/s, fruit or snacks.  We always end up being blessed with a real feast!  In fact, whenever we get together we are truly blessed by God.

St Mary's Church and Hall

St Mary's is the Parish Church for East Leake. The Re-ordering of the interior in 2007 was funded from generous donations and charitable sources. However, a great deal of work goes on 'behind the scenes' throughout the year to keep the church and the hall in good repair. The long overdue repair of the vestry roof (since the 3rd lead theft last year) will begin soon, after having successfully battled to replace the lead with tiles to discourage any further thefts.  Sourcing funding for these repairs is very onerous and time-consuming, so we are very thankful for your donations, some of which are Gift Aided, which are extremely welcome.

Members of the congregation will be working hard on Saturday morning  giving the whole building a good clean and members of the East Leake community are very welcome to join us.

St Mary's Hall is also a community resource for all kinds of groups and events. Basic maintenance and running costs are covered by the charges for hiring the hall, but anything unexpected needs extra funds sourced mainly from charities or donations.  As you might imagine in these straitened times not only are people struggling to manage their finances, the charities are inundated with requests for funds.
The roof of St Mary's hall is suffering from all the heavy rain we've had and unfortunately there are leaks in the Gents and Ladies toilets, but the main hall is unaffected.  We plan to have these repaired before term starts, of course.  Your support is needed to keep these buildings in good repair for your use and we appreciate the way in which all the user groups take care of the building. (See the list of groups using St Mary's Hall on our website and in the hall.  New members are always welcome.)

Please note:

• There is no 8.am service this Sunday, 22nd August at St Mary's.
• Deadline for letting Judith have your deposit for Willersley is this Sunday 22nd August.
• Sunday 19th September - Come Celebrate - 'We are family' at Gotham Church is at 10.30am and NOT 11.00am as previously advertised.

Mothers' Union Wave of Prayer

Tomorrow, Tuesday 17th August is the National Mothers' Union Wave of Prayer and St Mary's group will be in the church praying from 10.00-10.45am.

The Wave of Prayer is an offering of prayer from and for Mothers' Union around the world. It is something that concerns every member as all take part in prayer for Mothers' Union in each diocese of the Anglican Communion in turn. Specific days in the year are therefore allocated to each diocese when prayers are focused on their work and needs.

N.B. This Saturday, 21st August volunteers will be meeting in the church to give it it's Annual Clean.  Please come along in the morning to give us a hand.  The more the merrier. Drinks provided for thirsty work!

Are you observant and are you listening?

If you take Compass magazine - St Mary's and the Benefice magazine, how often do you read the adverts? When you need a job doing?  There is plenty of help in the magazine.  However, have you spotted the advertisement for Heat Restaurant yet?  It is offering Compass Specials Wednesdays.  They offer 2 for 1 main courses on production of the current Compass Magazine, or 15% off Take Away orders. So take your magazine along and take advantage of the saving.

You can't have missed all the televised reporting of the dreadful disasters across the world - floods in Pakistan, mudslides in China and high temperatures, fire and smog in Russia.  It makes us think about what we're doing to our world and how much we exclude God. He isn't just a Sunday God, he's an all the time God.  We need Him every day and we must listen to Him. 

Please pray for all those people who have lost everything, their homes, their families and are struggling to cope. They desperately need our help in Pakistan.  Please use the link http://www.dec.org.uk/  or on our website to make your contribution to the Appeal for aid.

Churches everywhere are now responding to environment challenges within a Christian context, which contribute to their life and mission. Show that we care about God's creation and make a difference!

N.B. Please note that there will be NO 8.00 am Holy Communion on 22nd August.

• On 29th August, during the bank holiday weekend, Holy Communion will be held at 8.00am as usual, followed by a United Parish Communion Service at St Mary's at 10.00am, when we hope to be joined by Mission Partners, Sam and Violette Beeton, working in Madagascar.
• Willersley Castle Weekend 28-30th Jan. 2011 Booking are still open until the end of August when the £20 deposit per person must be in.
• Celebration of Youth 2. The service will be held on Sunday 19th September in St Lawrence Church, Gotham at 11.00am.

Don't forget! Robin Borrett's Coloured Pencil Workshop in St Mary's Hall this Saturday all day.

Things are beginning to happen!

Many of the Vision for St Mary's groups are meeting for the first time and things are moving.

• The young people are having a BBQ on September 5th.
• A Harvest walk for everyone is being planned for Sunday, September 26th followed by tea in the church.

The Communications group has provided an update leaflet, which will be distributed in church on Sunday. 
If you can't make it this Sunday, please look for a leaflet or ask for one. 
We hope to be able to use modern technology and email those who would like an emailed update soon too.

Church Vision for St Mary's needs YOU!

A great deal of prayer, discussion and work has been happening over the past months on the Vision for the future of St Mary's. 

PCC members initially met in small groups to discuss ideas on the following topics:

• Mission and Evangelism: Cora Fryer
• Caring for the Church Family: Avril Bagshaw/Rosemary Barrow
• Spiritual Growth: Jan Lewsey
• Service to the Wider Community: Conrad Oatey
• Communication and Publicity: Pat Brown

The congregation was then invited to a meeting for a presentation of the outcome and was asked for their response.
An Away Day was held for the PCC last month at the Convent to share the results and how they might be put into action.  As a result, those named above, agreed to lead the relevant group for each topic.

Each of the groups are now meeting again to discuss the next plan of action involving those who have agreed to contribute to this important work.

Having reached this far, we hope you understand why it is taking so long and haven't given up hope of actually developing our mission for St Mary's. 
There will be more updates as we proceed but this work can only be done with many hands and prayers.  Therefore, you are invited to participate in any of the groupings, grow our church and grow your faith, so please contact the Rector, Churchwardens or any member of the PCC. 
The mission of the church needs ALL of us, especially YOU!