Dialstone Lane News
Thanks
Val and Barry would like to thank everyone for the many good wishes and cards received for their Golden Wedding Anniversary.
Pat & Peter would like to say thank you for the beautiful flowers, brought by Susan, which had been put in Church by Val & Barry for their Golden Anniversary.
Lesley Fennell would like to thank everyone at Dialstone Lane for the lovely flowers delivered by Jane.
Newsletter
My apologies for this newsletter appearing a week later than anticipated. We have been wrestling with whether or not to change the date of the Church AGM and until that was decided there was no point in sending out a newsletter. You will see from the article below that we have decided to put the AGM back by a fortnight.
The next newsletter will be due out in the first or second week of July so we would be grateful for any articles to be sent to Pat or Catriona by Thursday July 1st at the latest.
Many thanks
Catriona Stoker
Reminder
Just a reminder that as a church we have a responsibility to inform the Dept of Health (NHS) if anyone coming to church premises develops Covid 19. The purpose of our track and test sheets is so that people can be informed that they need to self-isolate if any of our attenders is tested positive for Covid within 10 days of attending Church. So, please, if you are tested as positive, whether or not you feel ill, Andy Stoker as our “Responsible Person”, or Catriona Stoker as Co-ordinating Steward need to be told. Tel 0161 487 2010 or email andy.stoker@btinternet.com or cat.stoker@btinternet.com
Church AGM
We have a new date for the church AGM – Saturday July 3rd – arriving from 9.30 for a 10.00 start. It will be held in church.
We hope that by then we will no longer have to be socially distanced, so that anyone who wishes to come to the meeting can be fitted in. But even if the regulations have not been relaxed by then, we still intend to hold the meeting in church, with a limit of 35 people attending. We apologise for the change in plans and hope that this is not too great an inconvenience. It’s very hard trying to outguess Covid and the rules to deal with it!!
This is the meeting at which we elect our stewards for the coming year, as well as Church Council members. Please, whether you have thought about becoming a steward yourself or identified someone else you feel would be able to add experience or energy to our (very small) team, do make yourself known to me, Susan Conlon or Stewart Blackledge, or Rev Cathy. Your Church needs people prepared to help with its leadership.
We hope that we will be able to launch the next Church charity’s year of fundraising at the AGM. As you may be aware, it’s been our custom to alternate fundraising for charities based “at home” and “away”. After what has turned out to be 2 years of raising funds for the Methodist development charity All We Can, it is time for a local charity again. The Church Council has identified Jump Space (https://www.jumpspace.org.uk) a Stockport charity offering fun and therapeutic trampolining activities to adults and children with disabilities and their siblings.
Catriona Stoker, Co-ordinating Steward
Church Eco Group
As a result of our Climate Sunday service, we have planned a working party day for the Church gardens - back and front - on Saturday June 26th 1.00 – 3.00. If the weather is too bad, we will postpone to Sat July 3rd at the same time. This will be a combination of weeding, cutting back brambles, building a new bug hotel and possibly a beetle habitat and planting some seeds and plants in containers. Please feel free to join us – just bring your own gardening gloves and secateurs if you have them! Or just come along and enjoy the outdoor space and cheer us on. And if this is not for you, please add us to your prayers and write to your MP about an environmental issue which has caught your attention. Climate activism comes in all shapes and sizes!
The Circuit Eco Task Group took the circuit Climate Sunday service on 6th June and launched our monthly “eco tips” on the circuit Facebook page and website. We hope to have a tip of something for you to try in each of the categories:
Re-think, Refuse, Reduce, Re-use, Repair, and Recycle.
Please take part and if you have additional ideas to share in these categories, contact your Church Eco Group members: Liz Delafield, Stewart Blackledge, Dave and Margaret Bryant, Sue Judson and Andy and Catriona Stoker – new members always welcome.
Action for Children
Dialstone Lane people are great supporters of this charity in several ways:
- the Lantern Boxes for regular giving during the year,
- the special envelope Sunday, which is the second Sunday in July, and
- Gifts at Christmas Carol Services.
Sadly, giving to AfC funds has decreased sharply during the pandemic with far fewer opportunities for fundraising events. As a result, their Warrington office, the one closest to us, has had to close.
So, please do keep up your support, including collecting in your Lantern Boxes (or even in little plastic bags). If you bring your boxes to church – or empty them out and put the contents in a labelled bag or envelope, Pat Wentworth has kindly agreed to count the money and keep Margaret informed as to who has collected what. It’s helpful to have the money come in now as the end of the Methodist financial year approaches.
Many thanks to everyone.
Margaret Adshead
Traidcraft
Until we have the definite go ahead that the current restrictions are ceasing, I can’t make definite plans for future stalls, but I am keen to have some sort of event during the summer, as well as resuming after church stalls.
In the meantime, I still have plentiful stocks of biscuits, sweets and chocolate (the essentials!), tea, coffee, cocoa, apple juice, nuts, dried fruit, cereal, kitchen and toilet paper (both recycled paper), handwash and washing up and gardening gloves. So please don’t hesitate to phone or email me.
There’s also a new summer catalogue out with a few new craft items in, but unfortunately there are some issues in managing to get them into the UK, so I’m reluctant to share those until I know supplies have arrived.
Catriona Stoker Tel 487 2010; email cat.stoker@btinternet.com
Services
You will find the services and rotas for June and July attached here. As explained previously, we have left attendance at services in groups for the time being as we don’t yet now when we will be able to stop having socially distanced services. However, if you wish to swap “your” service to another date or time please contact Catriona and it will almost certainly be possible.
Catriona Stoker, Co-ordinating Steward (487 2010)
Acts 435
Instead of writing an update on the charity Acts 435 this month, I would like to share Rebecca's story with you.
Rebecca is a young Romanian woman who sells the Big Issue outside Aldi in Offerton. She has worked there for 2 years despite living in Oldham and since the start of the lockdowns she has had long periods of time when, due to restrictions, she has not been allowed to work. She lives with her sister, her one year old son and her 3 year old daughter who has just spent 5 weeks in hospital, so spending time with her meant that again she has had no income. She is now struggling to pay her rent and bills and even afford to buy food. She also needs clothes for her children.
I am hoping that the folk at Dialstone Lane might wish to help her. We can certainly pray for her and her family and those who shop at Aldi can say hello and maybe even buy a copy of The Big Issue.
I would appreciate any ideas of practical ways we can support this young woman and help her get through a very difficult time.
Susan Conlon 0161 258 8743
Zoom Coffee Mornings
We have decided to only have a Coffee Morning on zoom on the third Thursday in the month from July at 11am and discontinue the Afternoon Tea now that most people are getting out and about. Thank you to all who have contributed to the meetings – they have been much appreciated during lockdown.
Dialstone Lane Zoom Coffee Morning
Every 3rd week in the month on Thursday at 11.00am
June 17th & July 15th
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92599444343?pwd=NGlHK0lWbjFRZVkwWGZyVVdtZFBKUT09
Meeting ID: 925 9944 4343 Passcode: 626898
Christian Aid
I would like to thank everyone who helped during Christian Aid week, by bringing or buying plants and including everyone who helped with the running of the stall, especially Catriona & Andy and those who delivered envelopes to houses. The final total is £1834 (with £137.50 extra to be added through Gift Aid). Thank you also to Pat & Peter for counting and paying this in.
Lesley Fennell
Congratulations and thanks to Lesley for organising the Stall and envelope collection and raising this wonderful sum.