Parish News
LETTER FROM THE VICAR
Making a splash at New Year
Come 1st January, much of Britain may be under a blanket of snow... our daughters hope this will include Wirral! But if you were celebrating New Year in Thailand, you would have a different kind of precipitation on your mind.
In Thailand, many towns and villages have an almighty water fight, at the New Year festival of Songkran, which for them takes place in April. In some towns, you can’t venture outside without serious risk of being deluged by water-throwers, standing on street corners or riding on the back of trucks.
It all starts in a very dignified way, at a family gathering, when the children show respect to their elders in a ceremony of pouring water over their grandparents’ hands. In response, the elders make apologies for speaking harshly over the past year, and pronounce blessings. It seems that, over the years, the water pouring has then developed into a glorious, chaotic, and sometimes even dangerous outbreak of splashing and spraying!
Thinking about another country’s traditions makes us look at our own in a new light. It is unlikely that a water fight would become a popular British New Year festival! But the Thai festival is for me a reminder not to be too individualistic in making personal ‘resolutions’. I also like the idea of some kind of family event which symbolises respect for elders and a restoration for past wrongs.
At All Saints’, we have begun a pattern of setting goals at the start of each year, to develop the church in the way that we believe God wants us to. This is something we can all play a part in, and I hope many of you can come to the open meeting in January, which is publicised elsewhere in this magazine.
Grace and peace, Daniel
THORNTON HOUGH WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
Thornton Hough WI enjoyed a good Christmas Party on Tuesday 6th December. Bake and Taste - wonderful food was provided, some good games and lots of chat - an evening enjoyed by everyone.
Our big fund raising event was our Concert held in the Village Hall on Friday the 9th December. There was a good attendance, two excellent choirs and further entertainment - an excellent evening. Thank you for your support.
Support of another kind was when a large group from our WI, together with other supporters, attended a superb lunch at the home of Jackie Phipps. At this event we were supporting Laurel and Nicholas, who in turn are raising funds for their work in a small village in Sierra Leone. This lunch raised over £600. It is good when we can support each other.
To round off 2011 we will have a Coffee Morning on Wednesday 14th December.
There will be no meeting in January but we will have a Winter Walk in New Brighton on Friday 13th January, meeting at Morrisons new store cafe at 10.30 am and on Tuesday 17th January at 10.00 am we will have a social morning with coffee and biscuits.
As always you are very welcome to join us.
Anne McTigue
ASSOCIATION OF CHURCH FELLOWSHIPS
ALL SAINTS AND ST GEORGE’S CHURCHES, THORNTON HOUGH
We ended our year with carols, poems, stories and articles of Christmas and had an enjoyable afternoon finishing with our party tea. Eighteen people were there and twelve had alibis elsewhere.
Our next meeting is the Annual Business Time, so apart from John Wiltshire you can elect a new Deputy Leader, Secretary and Treasurer unless the people in post are re-appointed.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of ACF in the diocese and celebrations are planned.
Thank you for all your support in 2011 and best wishes to everyone for 2012.
Forthcoming Events:
Thur 5th Welcome In 12 Noon Parish Hall
Wed 11th ACF Business Meeting 2.15 pm Parish Hall
Tue 17th Chatterbox Club 2.15 pm Parish Hall
Wed 25th Coffee Morning 10.30 am Parish Hall
Everybody is welcome to all events.
Our cupboards are empty following the Christmas Coffee Morning and we would be grateful for any items for our sales table and raffle.
Mrs Hunnibun’s raised the grand total of £2,018.75 during the 11
Cake and Coffee Shops held in 2011. This money goes straight to
church funds each month. Thank you all for baking, coming, eating,
buying and enjoying it all !!
Mrs Hunnibun’s
Cake and Coffee Shop
Saturday 14th January 2012
in the Parish Hall
FLOWER ROTA 2012
A copy of the new flower rota is on the porch notice board in the church. There are numerous dates throughout the year with no sponsor as yet, so perhaps one of them is special to you. Either add your name to the rota or give me a ring. There is a band of willing volunteers who can arrange flowers for you if you wish.
Jane Wilson 353 8710
Grand Gala Christmas Coffee Morning
Sincere thanks to everyone for helping to raise a MAGNIFICENT
£1748.82
A wonderful T(ogether) E(everyone) A(chieved) M(ore) effort!!
Maureen Thompson
The Empty Chair.
Recently my wife and I arranged to meet a close friend for lunch and chose a restaurant we had enjoyed on a previous visit to the area. We sat down at the table for four and started to chat. Subsequently we panned through the large menu and made our decisions as to what looked the most inviting from quite a large choice.
As we talked about various things I looked at the empty chair opposite to me and thought about the person who would in the past have occupied that place, our friends husband who had sadly passed away just a few weeks previously.
An empty chair is not normally a situation for thought but in this instance it brought to mind so much that had happened over many years of contact and closeness with these particular friends. We had met on a holiday tour of Austria more than twenty years ago and resumed contact with them some years later and this led to many years of meetings together which is not too easy when the distance between our homes is something like 150 miles.
There was a special bond that was evident as conversation took place that wiped away the times we had let slip by without contact. The empty chair took on a new meaning. It was not really empty, as memories would still come to us from that chair as we shared stories of the meetings which we had enjoyed so much. Memories of loved ones are the special times we can still bring out to sustain us through the times when we miss their presence. The expression, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”, does not really fit in with the absence of those who have passed away but it can mean that our thoughts of them are lovingly preserved for us to reclaim at any time in the future.
That empty chair can be in many different places wherever we find ourselves and it will offer us more chances to remember special experiences we have shared with loved ones. A chair is usually regarded as an inanimate object, something like the empty wine bottle, but when we bring to mind the former content, the memory is enhanced and savoured. Everything that has gone is never lost to memory and when the empty chair is looked upon, it’s former content, a loving, vibrant, and independent person, the sadness can be regarded as a token to be used as an open door through which our reconnection can be made. We understand the expression, “The Seat of Learning”. The chair, our chairs, are the “Seats of Memories” and may they always offer us the opportunities to re-connect with those we shared our lives with.
Les Shepherd
All Saints’ Church Goals for 2012
Open Meeting
Saturday 21st January 2012
9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Parish Hall
We are holding an open meeting to discuss the future of All Saints’ Church and consider the goals we should pursue during 2012, and beyond. All members of the church and electoral roll are invited to come along.
This year, it has been encouraging to see the progress of the new children’s groups, Sparklers and Cots2Tots, as well as the Parish Giving Initiative which is currently being followed up. This shows how valuable our goals can be, helping us unite in our prayer and activity.
Please come and be part of the conversation, as we consider what kind of things we should aim for in the coming years. And please pray for this meeting, and for the PCC in taking decisions, so that we will all be guided by God’s Spirit and do what is pleasing to him.
Thank you,
Daniel
Contributions for the February 2012 magazine to the Editor by 18th January 2012 at the very latest please
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