It is with great sadness we report the death of Tom Barr on Wednesday 11th August after a long and courageous fight against cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with Marlyn and her family. There will be a service of Thanksgiving for Tom's life at 3.30pm on Monday 23rd August
Peggy Hodgson has moved to Poole in Dorset to be closer to her family. We wish her joy and happiness in her new home. Meryl Cochrane has taken over Peggy's role as our representative of MHA (Methodist Homes for the Aged) and June Edgerton has accepted responsibility for arranging the rota for the distribution of flowers after Sunday sevice.
Pauline Holland has decided that the time has come to retire from the list of Lansdowne's local preachers. Pauline has served with distinction since 1992 and we shall look back with many happy memories of the services she preached and the guidance she offered. We wish her well in her retirement, but look forward to her continued active participation in other roles in the Lansdowne family.
This week we extend a warm welcome to our new Minister, Rev Alison Richards and her husband David, who moved into the Manse on Wednesday 10th August. Alison's ministry will begin on Wednesday 1st September but she will be formally commissioned at the inaugural service for the new South West Worcestershire Circuit at 6pm on Saturday 4th September.
All churches in the circuit will be inviting everyone to visit them on this day
The detailed programme is:
10.00am -11.30 am Droitwich
10.30am -11.30 am St Nicholas, Warndon (just off Jct 6 M5)
11.00am -12.30pm Ombersley Rd
10.00am -12.30pm St Andrews, Pump St
12.00noon -2.00pm Bromyard Rd
2.00pm - 3.30pm Norton
2.00pm - 3.30pm Upper Welland
3.30pm - 5.30pm Somers Park
6.00pm Inaugural service at Lansdowne Crescent (including the commissioning of Rev Alison and our new lay pastoral worker, Miss Ann Rich. The service will be followed by a 'Bring and Share' supper. You are invited to bring your contributions to the church any time after 5.00pm
Rev. Alison will preach at morning service at Somers Park Avenue on Sunday 5th September and at Lansdowne Crescent in the evening.
As
part of
the process of getting to know
each other better, we have started to exchange magazines with the
churches at
present in the Worcester Circuit, and copies of the St. Andrew’s &
Norton
Newsletter and the quarterly Droitwich magazine ‘The Vine’ are now
available at
Lansdowne for you to look at.
Spring-cleaning!
Somewhat behind the times, we are getting round to Spring-cleaning the church in preparation for the new Circuit and new church year. Two working-parties have been arranged. The first (10.00am -4.00 pm Wednesday 25th August) will concentrate on tidying out and cleaning cupboards - If you have anything stored at church, please ensure you are there on the day or have clearly marked it as 'to be retained'! The second (10.00am - 4.00pm Saturday 28th August) will focus on a thorough clean-up of church and grounds. If you can make either of these dates please sign the list on the notice board in the welcome room. There are a few other jobs which can be done at other times, so if neither of these dates is convenient and you still wish to help, please contact Brian Edwards, Philip Wetherall or Tony Vere.
Rev Catherine retires
Over 100 people attended Rev Catherine's retirement service to say farewell to her and to Richard and to express their thanks for the nine years of dedicated service to the church and local community. We wish them good health and long life in their retirement.
Our pictures show Catherine and Richard receiving a 'stained glass window the children had made in Junior church, a general view of the farewell tea before the service and Catherine and Richard with cards from Junior and senior church
Lifepath
From 21st -26th June, Churches
together
in Malvern (CTIM)hosted a week of activities for children from local primary schools. This gave the children the opportunity to explore the Christian faith through the lifepaths of the Benedictine monks who founded Malvern Priory The project, now an annual event, was hosted by the priory vicar John Barr and his wife Mary.
There
were
approximately 100 children each day from 15 local schools coming to the
Priory. Here we show some of the activities they were involved
in. This is one of the local 'outreach' initiatives supported
financially by Lansdowne. Jenny Bull, Jane Newbould and Mary Wetherall
were all actively involved assisting with events.
Left to right, our pictures show prayer leaves being added to the prayer tree, a doctor talking about medieval medicines and medical practices and children practising copying scripture and illuminated letters, as the monks did to preserve the Bible for future generations.
This year's Easter to Harvest collection raised £733.26 for Christian Aid
The pew envelope collection in support of the Methodist Relief and Development Fund raised £366
The Macmillan coffee morning raised £250 for Macmillan Nurses
Mary Laver reports that the Autumn Craft Market raised £1300 for the Bible Society
The collection on World Mission Sunday raised over £400
The Church Anniversary Lunch raised approximately £150 for the new Outreach project (Four Homes of Mercy - Palestine).
The Outreach project total has now reached £605 (4th July 2010)
Monday 30th August (10.00am-12.30pm) Christopher and Maureen Davis are holding a coffee morning at their home in aid of the Outreach Project
The Croquet Club are holding a
Macmilllan World’s Biggest
Coffee Morning
On Friday 24th
September
In the Welcome Room
There will be a cake and produce
stall
For which donations will be
gratefully received
Following an invitation from the Principal, Jane Newbould has arranged for us to visit the new college. The morning will begin with Coffee at 10.00am and will be followed by a conducted tour and the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the staff and students. An optional lunch will be provided at a modest cost of £5. If you wish to go, please let Jane or Tony Vere know.
Sunday Tea Club Project
Jacci Phillips – the manager of Malvern & District Community Action – writes:-
“We now look forward every month to a different church welcoming not only Community Action but lots of people who would have otherwise spent the day alone and very lonely.
“It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with all the different churches involved in the project. You have not only welcomed us with open arms but provided all the refreshments free of charge. You have been on hand with beautiful cakes, tasty sandwiches and cups of tea. More importantly there have been free smiles, a warm welcome and lots of love for those older people in our community that have no one else.
“I pick up some of the people in my car while the minibus is off round other parts of Malvern also picking up others. When I hear them saying things like, ‘I feel so desperately alone on Sundays’ or ‘I sit and cry because I’m so lonely.’ I just can’t express how sad that makes me feel and how grateful I am to all the churches for helping us with this initiative.
“When I am taking those same people home again at the end of the Sunday Tea Club they are reinvigorated, talking ten to the dozen about so and so who they haven’t seen in years or the friend that they used to see every week until they became too isolated to meet up. They talk about how gorgeous the cake was or the salmon that they hadn’t tasted in ages. They talk about how lovely and kind everyone is to do this for them. I always drive slowly when I take them home, conscious that I am leaving them once again alone. But I do leave them much happier than when I picked them up.
“On behalf of everybody
who
attends the Sunday Tea Club I would like to thank you all. It has been
your
generosity that has made those people so happy and for that, I thank
you also.”
The next Tea Club to be
hosted by
Lansdowne will be on November 14th.
Offers of help (nearer the time) will be appreciated.
Please speak to Mary Wetherall if you are
able to offer help on the day and/or can provide sandwiches, scones,
cakes,
etc.
Events of Interest at other venues
Upper Welland
At 7.30pm on Wednesday 25th August we will be holding a Prayer meeting at Upper Welland to give thanks and pray for the work of the new Circuit and for Alison our new Minister.
