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!

Diamond Wedding at St Mary's

Yesterday, before the 9.30am service Mr and Mrs Harry Kinder were presented with a bouquet and a card from members of St Mary's as a memento of their Diamond Wedding being celebrated this week.

The Rector asked them what was their recipe for such a long and happy marriage and Janet said they both agreed that it was Caring and Sharing.

We wish them both many more happy years together.
The special Evensong at Stanford church to celebrate David Chapman's 60 years as an organ builder, on Sunday, 18th July.

The organ recital also at Stanford Church on 23rd July raised over £1,000.

Please note that there are no regular user groups meeting during the summer, e.g. All the uniformed groups, Local History Group and Dance Groups.

However, there will be some events in the Hall.

• Teatime Sunday will continue but a barbecue is being planned for the August session. Please contact Brenda Knight for details.
• Slimming World continues throughout the year.
• If you visited the Methodist Church on East Leake's Carnival Day, you will have seen Robin Borrett's Coloured Pencil Group's exhibition. He is holding an all day session in the Hall on August 14th for anyone wanting to join the group.

There will also be some Spring Cleaning and maintenance on the Hall and the Church over the summer. We will be very pleased to hear from anyone who would like to help our volunteers. Drinks and light refreshments will be provided. Currently August 21st is the Church Cleaning Day.

No Grand Day Out, but school's out for the summer!

We regret to say that the Grand Day Out has been cancelled due to lack of support. However, another day is being planned for later on this year. It was to be a relaxing, themed, fun day held in the church for those who find it difficult to get away for a holiday. We would like to meet and entertain you for the day and can arrange transport and a lunch out for everyone. All our events are a lot of fun - just ask anyone from St Mary's.

If you have heard about The Grand Day Out and would like to come to the next one, please let us know.

Friday Coffee Mornings, 10am-12noon. St Mary's Coffee Mornings will be continuing throughout the summer, so why not call in and share a cuppa with the growing numbers.

Teddy Bear's Picnic. It's a shame the weather has changed to wet and windy because it dampened the Teddy Bear's Picnic on Tuesday, but I'm sure the little ones still had lots of fun.

School Holidays. This Friday, 16th July is the last day for Leicestershire schools, so please be aware that there will be lots of excited young people around the village more interested in their holidays than anything else. Please note that Nottinghamshire schools finish in one more week.

Planning for our church's mission.

The work of the church doesn't just happen. It takes planning, co-ordination and hard work. The clergy staff and St Mary's PCC (Parochial Church Council), who are ordinary members of the congregation were busy all Saturday at an Away Day at the Convent, discussing the vision for the church. This ranged from how we help each other grow in our faith, to caring for and including others in all our services and events - what we all as Christian should be doing in our lives.

The brainstorming sessions were quite intense but the delicious 'bring and share' lunch proved a welcome break, as well the opportunity to walk in the wonderful gardens in the sunshine for a quiet time. Further work on developing the ideas is continuing and we need everyone to make them happen. Our Mission for the church to grow cannot happen without YOUR help. There will be updates on the outcomes and if you have any questions, PLEASE ask any member of the PCC or the staff team. It is hard to keep everyone up to date with all that's going on, but we'll keep trying!

One of the ways we will be working with those in the community is the Grand Day Out planned for next week on Thursday, 22nd July. Please see our website and the Forthcoming Events column. There is a meeting tomorrow to finalise the plans and LOTS of helpers are needed. Can you help for a part of the day, or with refreshments? Come along to the meeting at 7.30pm and discover what's needed, then join in the fun on the day.

Please check out our website for Dawn and David Curran's latest letter to us all from Pakistan.

Next Sunday, 18th July, 6pm is a special service at Stanford on Soar church to celebrate David Chapman's 60th Anniversary as Organbuilder. There will be a special Choral Evensong with the combined choirs of the East Leake Benefice with David Jackson as organist.

There is also an Evening with Carlo Curley on Friday 23rd July at 7.30pm at Stanford on the magnificent Wills organ. Tickets are £10 adults, £5 for age 16 and under to include light refreshments. Contact Sue on 0787 9861599 or David Chapman.

Need a holiday?

If you haven't seen the posters yet for St Mary's 'A Grand Day Out' based on a day out at the seaside, on Thursday 22nd July 10am-4pm, tickets (£5) are limited so contact Gill on 853278, Pam on 853397, Sue on 820252 or the Rector as soon as possible if you'd like to come along. Morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea are provided. It's a 'holiday at home' for those over 60 who are unable to take a holiday, have no-one to go with or find it difficult to travel too far from home.

Enjoy a relaxed day in good company with 'luvverly grub', and join in the gentle fun exercises, hand massage, quizzes, Guest appearance, Sing-Song and Beach games.

On Tuesday 6th July Community Care will hold its AGM & Cheese and Wine Evening in St Mary's Church at 7.30pm. Everyone from the community is welcome to come along.