Hornsey, London - Sept 2025

Sun, sea and celebration has been a big part of our church over the last couple of months. The sun made an appearance for us in June when we held our annual Garden Fete. We had a good turnout of church members and locals alike, enjoying the delightful variety of food including the BBQ and very tasty cake stall. We also had the plant stall which sold out very quickly, as usual and the Bric-a-Brac is another popular stall with something for everyone. The ‘Wine or Water’ game returned by popular request after a year off, and the magnetic fishing game was great for the children. Hornsey is lucky enough to have the junior steel band to provide us with live music. A big thank you to everyone involved in the cooking, the preparation, the running of the stalls, and the tidying up afterwards. It was another very successful day, filled with love, laughter and togetherness, whilst raising money for our church funds.

At the end of July there was a church outing to the seaside, Whitstable to be exact. We weren’t quite so lucky with the weather, but this didn’t dampen spirits, and everyone had a wonderful day. As the song goes, ‘Oh I do like to be beside the seaside …’ Once there, everyone was able to go and do their own thing. Whitstable is a small, quirky seaside town with something for everyone. There were boat trips on offer and of course, the opportunity to dip our toes in the sea. Many of us enjoyed fish and chips, and some were daring enough to try the local oysters. It was a lovely day, enjoyed by a coach full of members and friends. Thank you to Sr Patricia and Br Michael for organising the trip. No doubt this will once again become an annual event.

The month of May saw the celebration for Br Michael and Sr Claire of their Silver Wedding Anniversary. At the end of the service, the congregation very kindly presented them with card signed by everyone along with some beautiful gifts, and Sr Patricia said a prayer for them. This was followed by celebratory refreshments. Michael and Claire would like to thank everyone for the generous gifts.

We have also given thanks and our appreciation to Br Tony Calder who has retired from being our church caretaker, a role he has done steadfastly for many years. During one of our morning services, Br Tony was given a gift from the congregation to thank him for his years of hard work, care and dedication. Thank you again, Br Tony from everyone at Hornsey.

Sr Claire Newman