October 2012

On the 7th, Jonathan had to leave the harvest festival at Mayfield because he was preaching at our Philadelphia church for their harvest festival in the evening.

On the 9th, we went shopping for the "Five Crops and Choruses" on Thursday.  Wednesday evening was spent at chapel preparing for the next day.
On Thursday 18th, Susannah was speaking on "My Dyslexic Faith" at Pitsmoor Methodist Church Home Fire Girls coffee morning.  In the afternoon, she attended a meeting organised by the Third Sector Assembly.  this was attended by some of the candidates for the office of police commissioner..
On Monday 22nd, Susannah addressed the Hatfield House Lane Methodist Ladies' meeting on the subject of the Lord's Prayer.
On the 25th, we both attended the Sheffield Circuit Local Preachers and Leaders of Worship Fellowship.  Susannah led our thoughts on the use of drama in worship.
On the 26th, Susannah attended the coffee morning at Greenhead Church.  She took the opportunity to retrieve the coat which Jonathan had left there last time he preached!
On the 27th, Susannah represented the church at a meeting of Fulwood Ministry support team at Christ Church, Fulwood.
On Sunday 18th, Susannah and Jonathan travelled by train to Denby Dale church where they had been asked to lead the Harvest Festival celebrations.  Susannah led a family service in the afternoon and Jonathan took a more traditional service in the evening.  Tea was served between the two services.
A great deal had been done to make the church attractive and informative.

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On the 30th, shopping a preparation was done to get ready for the Festival of Light the next day.
Towards the end of the month, Jonathan started printing and assembling the Christmas Cards ready for the distribution round the valley.  Leaflets were also printed to publicise the Christmas Fayre at the end of November, these were then posted to the mailing list.

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September 2012

Although the church had quite a quiet programme, September was a busy month for us.  There were newsletters to write, print and send out;  leaflets to prepare, print and distribute (about 700 copies), as well as the routine of a normal month.
Jonathan preached at Tapton Hill Congregational Church on September 9th.  This was their Harvest Festival.  On the 13th, there was the circuit meeting at our Grimesthorpe Church, which Jonathan chaired in his capacity of circuit president.
Susannah spent the 14th shopping for the celebration meal, which was held on the 15th.  This was a thanksgiving for the generosity and hard work which had made the recent alterations possible.
Susannah preached at our Philadelphia church on the morning of the 16th.
Our church meeting was on the 19th and again Jonathan chaired this meeting;  the outcomes will be available shortly.
Susannah spent the 26th shopping for the supper club, the last in the summer season, and the 28th and 29th organising and running the MacMillan coffee morning on the 29th.
Jonathan preached at Mayfield in the morning and at Coal Aston in the evening of the 30th.

In the bog garden the Helianthus flowered very late this year.  Perhaps it is down to it being split earlier this year.  We will have to see what next year brings.  

August 2012

The early part of the month was spent collecting books and getting them to chapel.  These then had to be displayed ready for the book festival.  Following the festival, the remaining books had to be re-packed.  If anyone has a use for about 20 boxes of second hand books for a charitable purpose, please get in touch.

The bog garden continues to grow well, and some plants which we thought had succumbed to more vigorous competition have been found to return this year.

 Walking home along School Green Lane, we were inspired to take an artistic picture of the view.

 Susannah preached at Mayfield on 5th, and Jonathan on the 12th.
Inspired by a conversation between Wally Batty and Nora Batty (Last of the Summer Wine)  Susannah led our out of doors service on the 19th.

The conversation ran something like:
Nora:  Sometimes I think that you think of me as Just a wife!
Wally:  I've never thought of you as Just a wife.  Your'e about as much wife as any man could be expected to handle!

The theme of the service was "Not just a man!"

The 21st and 22nd were spent shopping a preparing for the supper club on the 23rd.

Susannah preached at Tapton Hill Congregational church on the 26th and 2-45p.m.  and Jonathan was at Greenhead at 11-00a.m.
The sight of the swallows gathering on the telephone line reminded us that Autumn is fast approaching.

 The trees will be changing colour soon.
Mowing the field proved more hazardous than expected when Jonathan got the mower stuck in the bog near the appropriately named Bog Garden.  Unfortunately, this bent the cutter blade when it dug into the ground.  Repairs are ongoing!

July 2012

Jonathan was preaching at Mayfield on Sunday July 1st, and was under instruction not to be long winded as we were setting off to Derbyshire.  After a brief coffee following the service, we set off.

Travelling along an apparently endless track,

 we eventually arrived at what passed for a car park, but which had space for rather fewer cars than had arrived.

 A rather picturesque farmhouse came into view, and we knew that we had arrived at the journey's end.

This was where we were to attend the annual love feast in a barn.  More details and pictures are available on the church blog.
Susannah was preaching at our Greenhead church on the 8th at 11-00a.m.
On Thursday 12th, we went to Hampden View Church for the quarterly Local Preachers and Leaders of Worship Fellowship.  Andy Wilcock led us in considering the use of story telling in the old testament and in worship.

Susannah preached at Mayfield on the 15th.  On the 17th she met with the Ladies meeting leader to discuss future developments.  Later in the week, both of us prepared the afternoon pet and animal service on a theme of Noah, and printed the orders of service.

Susannah preached at our Philadelphia church on 22nd at 10-45.

On the 24th and 25th we had to do the shopping for the supper club and then spent the evening of the 25th  preparing the beginnings of the meal.

Susannah preached at Tapton Hill Congregational Church on the 29th.

June 2012

The preparations for the Teddy Bears' Picnic were extensive, including collecting and displaying the items of jubilee memorabilia for the display.

Before the event, the New testaments and "No ordinary man" books had to be ordered, collected, and the commemorative plates inserted ready for the event.  Quizzes had to be written and duplicated, games equipment bought, and teddy bear biscuits cooked.

The bog garden continues to mature,and some of the plants which we thought had disappeared seem to have prospered this year.

The footpath outside the church, leading to the car park has started to look rather overgrown lately.  Since we were expecting large numbers of visitors to the flower festival, Jonathan spent an afternoon clearing the undergrowth.  Although not perfect, it is distinctly better than before.

Susannah was extremely busy collecting flowers and persuading shops to assist the festival by providing items.  Then she was therefor hours, getting things ready for the flower festival weekend.

Susannah decided to place a bible on the lectern for the flower festival, after the arrangements had been prepared.  She opened it at random, and was rather shocked at where it fell open.  Isaiah 35.

The desert and the parched land will be glad;

    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. 

Like the crocus,  it will burst into bloom;

    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. 

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; 

they will see the glory of the Lord,

    the splendor of our God. 

The month ended with a supper club for which the usual shopping and preparation had to be done.

May 2012

Early in May there was the coffee morning to shop and prepare for, and the grass to mow (again)

On 13th, Susannah and Jonathan were preaching at our Hampden View church on the Connexional plan.  This is the scheme whereby preachers are sent to churches centrally, rather than by the invitation of the churches themselves.

On Sunday 20th, Susannah was preaching at our Coal Aston church and on the 20th, we were both doing the shopping for the supper club.  Thursday 24th, we were both cooking for the meal.

Most of the rest of this week was spent in preparing the leaflets and posters for the coming events and posting them, not to mention hand delivering about 600 leaflets in the surrounding area.  

On Sunday 27thy, Susannah was preaching at Mayfield and Jonathan at our Greenhead Chapel in Chapeltown.

After these services we met with the people of Hampden View for Lunch and then went to Wesley Hall Methodist church for the "Whit Sing.".  This event is the direct descendant of the sings in the parks of former years

The Sunday School Union is now called Sheffield Christian Education Council, and is about to be reinvented again.

April 2012

 April has been a wet month, which has meant that the mowing has taken a back seat.  We are hoping that the ground will dry sufficiently before the grass requires a machete!
Susannah spent part of Monday the 16thshopping for the tea on Tuesday.  The she had to spend Tuesday preparing it. 
Thursday the 19th was the circuit  Local Preachers and Leaders of Worship Fellowship.  This was held at our Hampden View Church at 7-00p.m.  Jonathan Led the meeting on the theme of Sermon Preparation.  The topic was the cleansing of Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19)
Jonathan was preaching at our Grimesthorpe Church in the evening of the 22nd.
On Tuesday 24th, most of the shopping for the supper club wasdone, so that the fresh produce and fish could be bought on Thursday.  Susannah and Jonathan then spent Thursday afternoon preparing the meal for about 30.  
Saturday, susannah took out posters for the coffee morning on May 5th.
On Sunday 29th, Susannah was preaching at our Grimesthorpe Church in the evening.

Easter 2012

Monday 2nd saw Jonathan and Susannah shopping for the meal on Tuesday. Since it was only a small group (about 10), this was not too difficult a task. Susannah still had to spend most of Tuesday cooking at church so that the rest ofus could enjoy: Spring vegetable soup, lamb casserole with new potatoes, and boiled and roast vegetables, followed by rhubarb fool. Tear and share bread was used at the start to remind us Jesus breaking bread and dipping it in the bowl . A jug of fruit juice was used as a palate cleanser after the meal to remind us that he took the cup and shared it after the meal.

Our circuit service on Good Friday morning at St Mary's Wesleyan Reform Church was led by Rev. Alan Hindmarch who challenged us to consider whether there were those who we found it difficult to love. The service was well attended, and 8 of the 12 churches in the circuit were represented.

After the service, Jonathan went to the bakery to collect the hot cross buns for Mayfield.

The coffeemorning on Saturday and services on Sunday passed off without incident. Saturday required Jonathan to be looking for pictures of the resurrection on the internet so that peoplecould be given an Aide-memoire on Sunday morning. there are lot out there!

March 2012

Susannah started the month by speaking at Zion church, Denby Dale,for the "Women's world day of prayer meeting.

Jonathan continued visiting churches in the circuit by going to our Grimesthorpe church. Interestingly, the topic of the speaker was the return of the Ark of the covenant to the people, where the topic at Hampden View the previous week was how the Ark was lost to the Philistines.

Susannah spoke at Hatfield House Lane Methodist Ladies' meeting on March 5th.

On Tuesday 6th, Susannah had to be at Mayfield Chapel early so that the contractors could gain access to lay the new floor in the toilets. Wednesday was spent buying food for the meal which was to be held after a funeral, the following day.

Thursday 8th was a busy day. It was the occasion of the funeral of Barbara who had been a regular attender at our Tuesday bible fellowship, as well as a regular member of the congregation at Grimesthorpe. The funeral was at Grimesthorpe church, and Susannah and Jonathan attended.

In the evening Jonathan chaired the circuit meeting at our Hampden View church.

Susannah preached at Mayfield on March 18th, and at Philadelphia on 25th.

Both of us attended the clean up day on 29th, when we were part of the group which got rid of a selection of items which were no longer useful.

During the month a variety of tasks were completed in the garden, including mowing, planting an apple tree from Barbara's garden, and splitting some plants elsewhere in the garden

February 2012

Susannah was due to preach at our Coal Aston church on Feb. 5th, but this was cancelled due to the bad weather. Coal Aston Chapel is at the top of a steep hill, and access was very tricky.
Jonathan continued visiting the churches in the circuit, getting to Owlerton (5th), Richmond(19th) and Hampden View(26th)
The mens' breakfast was unable to take place at chapel due to the building works, (see church blog for details), but we were unwilling to give up outr meeting, so we went to the "Pudding Ladies" cafe in Rivelin Park.
On Feb. 12th, we went to the evening service at our Grimesthorpe church where a party had been arranged to celebrate Bessie's 90th birthday. This had been due to happen a couple of weeks before, but unfortunately she had not been well, and the event had to be postponed

Bessie has been a stalwart at Grimesthorpe.Of course, other did the work on this occasion. Jonathan Preached at Phildelphia chapel on the 19th Feb., when our Mayfield congregation was joined with them, and again at Mayfield the following week.

Susannah preached at our Grimesthorpe chapel in the evening on 19th Feb.

January 2012

Susannah opened the month by leading the Covenant serice at Mayfield, and Jonathan preached the following Sunday.
On Thursday 12th, the inaugural meeting of the Circuit meeting for preachers and leaders of worship took place at Hampden View Church. Susannah led our thoughts on the subject of Prayer. The group agreed to meet again in the future.
Susannah and Jonathan met with the other church leaders at the Balti King to make plans for the AGM, and the coming year. Susannah did a lot of preparation with our sons for the church party.
Susannah preached at our Philadelphia church on Sunday 22nd in the morning, and Jonathan preached at Grimesthorpe in the evening. On 29th, Jonathan preached at Tapton Hill Congregational church.
As part of him being the circuit president, Jonathan is trying to worship at every church in the circuit. 15th saw him at our Woodseats church in the evening, and the 29th at St. Mary's.

December 2011

On December 8th we went to the circuit meeting at St. Mary's Wesleyan Reform Church where susannah was to complete her two year term of office at the circuit president. Jonathan was inducted as the next president for another two year term. In the previous few days, he had been preparing a calendar with a picture of each church in the circuit. since there are twelve churches this is one per month. The idea is that it will encourage the churches to pray for each other throughout the year. Representatives of each church were given a copy.
The next publishing venture was the service sheets and menu for "Five Courses and Carols"
Susannah spoke at the Carol Service at Hamden View Church on Wednesday 14th. In the evening Jonathan and Jamie were baking in readiness for the "Five Courses and Carols" event whilst Susannah laid the tables.
The menu was: Appetiser; Carollers' Cup: Starter; Fish and Ships: Main Course; Chicken Drumsticks and vegetables: Dessert; Deep and Crisp Apple Snow: Sweet; Silver bells, tea and coffee:
The carol sheets for the carol service had to be printed. Jonathan led the service at 3-00p.m. on the 18th.
On the 19th we went carol singing round the valley as usual and were well received by the people we visited.
The carol singing with the Salvation Army was well attended on Wednesday 21st, as was the morning service at 10-30 on Christmas Day.
Happy New Year!

November 2011

The Local Preachers Fellowship meeting was held in tandem with the Ministers and Pastors meeting at Jump Wesleyan Reform Church, near Barnsley.
Later in the week, we went to Barnsley and we passed Salem Wesleyan Reform Church, one of the oldest churches in the Union.

Our preachers in November were all asked to preach to the theme "Echoes of the Old Testament in the New". Jonathan and Susannah were two of these preachers.

The Union "Half Yearly Meeting" was held in our Philadelphia Church on Saturday 19th and Susannah was part of the team responsible for Lunch. Both of us went to the worship after tea.

Our annual Christmas Fair Trade Fayre was held on the 26th and was a great success.

September and October 2011

Is September we went to the circuit meeting at our Coal Aston Church. Brian Kay, one of our members at Mayfield, was presented with a certificate to commemorate his 40 years service as a local preacher. He spoke briefly on his training and experiences.

Our plum tree had a good year, and quite some time was spent picking, preparing and preserving the fruit. Quantities of jam and chutney were sold in support of Martin House Hospice.

One of our visitors suggested that we might be involved in the restoration of the causeways on David Lane and Mayfield Road. We will be canvassing support for this in early 2012. Please get in touch if you are interested.
On the 8th of September we hosted the pie and pea supper for the Sheffield and District Organists and Choirmasters Society, which involved the usual shopping and baking associated with wuch meals.

Similar work was involved on ther Friday, clearoing up after the meal, and preparing for the Ladies' Quiet Day, "Reflections". The following week, we had to produce songsheets and notes for the Fanny Crosby evening.

Susannah preached at Tapton Hill congregational church twice, and Jonathan preached at Grimersthorpe wesleyan reform church on the occasion of their Harvest Festival. Towards the end of the month we held our Church meeting at Mayfield, the circuit meeting (see above) at Coal Aston, and a coffee morning in aid of MacMillan.

October was a busy month opening with the Harvest Festival, together with coffee morning. The Harvest meal was replaced with "Five Crops and Choruses" this year so there was a substantial couple of days shopping and cooking. This was a good event and will be repeated.

Susannah went to Youlgreave to helpo with leading a quiet day for the union on Saturday 8th Oct. "Mosaics of Peace".

Our preacher on the 9th was provided by the Connexion and Cliff Darby came from our Griffydam Church. Lunch was provided after the service.

On 15th we hosted a concert by the Jubal gospel choir, organised by the Sheffield and District Organists'and Choirmasters Accociation.
Susannah addressed the Hatfield House Lane Methodist Ladies' Meeting and the Dodworth Methodist meeting during the month. Jonathan preached at Denby Dale and Coal Aston Wesleyan Reform Churches and Tapton Hill Congregational Church in October.

On Sunday 30th, the church had to be prepared for the Festival of Light on Monday. During the day on Monday food had to be prepared and the craft activities organised.

July and August 2011

In order to reduce the task of bringing everybody up to date, I am going to miss out all the routine things like shopping, grass cutting and cleaning for the next few months. However, rest assured that they all happened as normal, otherwise most of the other things could not have happened!
In July and August, Jonathan preached at: Tapton Hill Congregational Church, Philadelphia Wesleyan Reform Church, and Mayfield Wesleyan Reform Church; Susannah preached at: Mayfield Wesleyan Reform Church (twice), Grimesthorpe Wesleyan Reform Church and Philadephia Wesleyan Reform Church (twice).
Meetings took place with contractors about the alterations to the kitchen.
Susannah prepared for the annual animal and pet service on the 31st July.
August required some preparation for the coffee morning in aid of Martin House, and the camp weekend.