Horton, Yorkshire - Aug 2025

As I write this I’m reminded of a verse from ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’: ‘The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one’. Let’s be thankful for all types of weather, even as we currently ‘melt’ in 30-degree heat, as the last time I wrote an article we had just had six inches of snow and it was freezing cold!

2025 has been a very busy year so far and a big focus has been on family friendly church services led by Sr Claire. An article last month by Br Woolford gave details of the ‘Come alive in 25’ project and we were fortunate that Sr Claire was very involved in this, and we were able to link it to our monthly coffee morning in June with the focus on the under 5s with family friendly activities during the morning. Leaflet drops were arranged prior to the event and visits to schools were made and over 3,000 people were reached. We had new families coming along to the morning and we hope to welcome them in the future. We also hope that more people are aware of who and where we are and that we have planted ‘seeds’ for future growth.

As well as our Sunday services we continue with Bible study meetings, Gin church, Ladies Fellowship, and our annual Sisters Festival. Sr Maureen led a special service for World Day of Prayer and it was lovely to welcome two ladies who were born in the Cook Islands, which was the theme of the service.

We continue with our social events of fashion shows, quizzes, games and lots of refreshments and last month an interesting afternoon tea was held with an auction of Bible related food which raised money towards the MWA projects. We are so grateful for all the support, donations, help, leadership and fellowship on these occasions.

Finally, a huge well done to Sr Claire for taking part in the London Marathon for GOSH. As a congregation we are so proud of her for running, for her faith which kept her going and for raising money for a very worthy cause.

Sr Linda Barraclough