Events and activitiesWhat's happening Evening concert SOUTHLANDS will hold a concert featuring the Soundsfun Choir on Saturday, September 11, starting at 7.00pm. The choir was formed as a community choir for a musical comedy staged at York Theatre Royal in July 2009. Members of the choir enjoyed the experience so much that they decided they wanted to stay together. They invited Southlands member Amanda Crawley to be their musical director. Christmas Festival 2010 The church will be full of angels in the run-up to Christmas. The church has decided that this year’s Christmas Festival, from December 4 to December 12, should focus on angels rather than trees. But the 2010 festival will also include a display of Nativity scenes from around the world – something which has been a popular feature of the first two festivals held in 2008 and 2009. The organising team endorsed the idea of holding the festival as an annual event, but felt it was important to ring the changes to keep it “fresh” and give trees a miss at least for one year. So church groups and individuals, schools and businesses will be asked if they will design, make and display an angel for this year’s festival, instead of sponsoring and decorating a Christmas tree. Alison Waugh, who mooted the idea, said she had been to a Festival of Angels at a church in a different part of the country and had been impressed by what she had seen. She had not come across anything similar in this area. The church she visited played host to 46 angel designs, ranging from The Guardian Angel, made out of newspaper (the Guardian, of course), to Ministering Angel (built in the pulpit), Angel of the Garden, The Swinging Angel, Christmas Angel, and Sing Choirs of Angels. The “angels” theme would also lend itself to worship through drama, and because angels are referred to in many hymns. A series of angel quotations and angel facts could also be displayed around the church and refreshments could include angel cakes and star biscuits. Bob Lawrence said he hoped it would also be possible to arrange some musical events in conjunction with this year’s festival. Easter Festival Organisers are also looking at the possibility of holding a two-day Easter festival next year, reflecting Easter traditions from many different countries. St Crux date Jill Johnson took up a late offer of a day for a fundraising event at St Crux Hall. The date was Easter Tuesday (April 6), and a good number of people turned out to help between 10:00 and 16:00. A total of £852 was raised for church funds. Car boot sales Hilary Himsworth and Alison White took another vehicle to the regular car boot sale at Knavesmire on Saturday, July 31, and found themselves in a far better position close to the entrance than they were on their previous visit on May 15. This was despite the fact that there were far more vehicles there this time. Some of the helpers on that earlier occasion were surprised by the size of the event, both in terms of the number of vehicles and the huge number of people there looking for bargains. A total of £120 was raised for church funds as a result of the first event and the latest yielded £150. Leaflets about the church and its activities were also given out to buyers and other passers-by. Bacon buttie mornings Bacon butties were on sale at one of our Saturday morning coffee drop-ins at Southlands, on June 12. Morning barbecue There was a morning barbecue in front of the Bishopthorpe Road entrance of the church on July 3 together with a cake stall and a book stall. Strawberry tea Following the success of a strawberry tea last summer, a similar event was held in the community centre on Saturday, July 10. The Community Centre was set out in Palm Court style, with tables round the edge and a piano in the middle. Ken Waugh played a number of light music items and was joined by Jill Johnson who sang One Enchanted Evening to the delight of guests. A total of £80 was raised for church funds. Safari meal Members of the congregation are to be sounded out about whether they would like to take part in a safari meal, for which they would go to one house in the area for the soup course, another house for the main meal, a third house for the pudding and a fourth house for tea/coffee and crackers and cheese. The charge would be £8.00 each. Books / DVDs A table for the sale of secondhand books and DVDs will be put outside the Bishopthorpe Road entrance when Saturday coffee drop-ins coincide with fine weather. It was felt this might also attract more people to the drop-ins. A box for books and DVDs for the sales table will be kept in the small room opposite the vestry off the front vestibule of the church. Recipe book Naomi Whittaker has been working on a new Southlands book featuring favourite recipes for cakes and puddings. NOTE: This page checked and updated on September 6, 2010.
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