Dialstone Lane News
Christmas Greetings
We will be having the usual Christmas Greetings this year, where you will be able to send your greetings to your friends at Church instead of sending Christmas cards, for a donation to Church funds.
It will be different this year, in the form of a card for which Susan Conlon will design a cover, with all the greetings inside.
As we will not be able to have the Post Box distribution system this will be hand delivered to all Church friends in December and this will be your only chance to send greetings to your Church friends through Church.
Greetings should be sent to Pat by email, phone (456 5314), or post, no later than the end of November, and your donation sent by post with your message, or can be collected by Gill, Catriona or Susan C.
Food Bank
I have just received an e-mail from the foodbank asking if our congregation can assist by doing the reverse advent as we have in previous years.
They confirm the great need that exists in our town for support for children living in poverty and households struggling to make ends meet and ask that we have a box/bag at home and each day of advent (or before and after), put into it a long life food item to help those people.
They welcome donations of tinned meats, puddings, vegetables, biscuits, snacks, and toiletries. NO ALCOHOL please! Cheques and cash are also welcome - cheques payable to Stockport Foodbank and sent to Hazel Grove Baptist Church, Station Road, Stockport, SK7 4 EX.
You can deliver directly to the foodbank or to the homes of the Bryants or Stokers or leave at church. Dave will be doing a regular trip to the foodbank.
The food bank is very grateful for all gifts and this week is particularly in need of:
tins of rice pudding, tins of fruit, tins of vegetables and long-life orange juice.
The collection points were set out in the last newsletter and Dave proposes to take goods on a weekly basis.
Thanks.
Margaret
We are Open for Prayer at Church
Attached to this newsletter is a copy (click here to open) of the prayer sheet provided when the Church sanctuary was open for independent prayer on 10th November. We thought that it might be appreciated by some people who were unable to come.
The Church will continue to be opened on Tuesdays 11.00-12.00, and all are welcome for as long or short a time as suits you. Bibles, hymn books and Methodist Worship Books will be available every time as aides to prayer. We hope people will find this a welcome space for quiet and calm in these difficult times.
Andy and Catriona Stoker
Toys and Gifts for Wood Street and Children’s Services
You are again welcome to bring any gifts you may have for our Wood Street Mission/Children’s Services appeal when the Church is open for prayer on Tuesday 17th November. This will be the last opportunity to give to these causes as the organisations will be picking up the collections shortly afterwards.
If you are unable to get to Church with your donation, please phone Gill Ramsbottom (483 8812), Linda Norbury (483 3143) or Catriona Stoker (487 2010) to arrange a collection.
Lavender Bags
Sadly, we have no Christmas Fair this year at Dialstone, but the lavender has continued growing and so I have made some lavender bags, as have been sold at previous years at the fair. They are available for a minimum donation of £1 each. This will be in aid of Church funds. Please let me know if you want to buy any and we can arrange the practicalities.
Catriona Stoker – 0161 487 2010
Knitted Christmas Decorations/Stocking Fillers
Sheila Hulme and her group of knitters have been busy and have knitted angels, clowns, penguins, Father Christmas and choir boys for you to buy at £1 in aid of Church funds. They are available in the foyer at Church when it is open for independent prayer.
Alternatively, you could contact Sheila at home and arrange to pick some up from her there. She would be particularly pleased to hear from you if you have some other outlet you could take them to for sale. Additionally, if you have any clean duvets or pillows that you are disposing of, she would be keen to hear from you as she can use the inner wadding as the stuffing for the knitted items.
Contact Sheila Hulme on 0161 456 7600
St George’s Christmas Tree Festival
Unfortunately, the current lock down means that St George’s have taken the decision not to hold their Christmas Tree Festival this year. While they’d wondered about postponing it by a week, they felt it would allow too little time to set up the infrastructure in the church that is required – wiring everywhere and tables, boards, etc.
However, they are still planning an online version, using photos from previous years’ trees and backed with the St George’s choir singing carols. They might also include some trees which were planned for this year if they can be put up elsewhere and add clips of people talking about their tree and the organisation it represents. So, I am still contemplating a tree to highlight the products of traders who come regularly to the Stockport Fair Trade Group’s Christmas Festival.
Christmas Angels
If time is hanging heavy on your hands, here is a message from St Mary’s in Stockport Market Place:
This year we are doing something a little different.
We will be leaving small handmade knitted, crocheted and felt angels by our church buildings and around Stockport this Christmas time. The angels will be available for anybody to take away - a great blessing and a wonderful gift to the people of Stockport from our parish.
If you have any crafty skills (or know anybody who does) and are able to make some angels please use (and share) the patterns.
Angels can be dropped off at St. Mary’s during the opening times of Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11.30-12.30. If you can’t make it at these times, please contact Marie and where possible we will arrange to collect (07780 964365)
I have messaged St Mary’s and they are happy to take angels made to any pattern so long as they are made robust enough to withstand the weather for a while. So no paper doilies!
Please contact Catriona for patterns
Traidcraft
Catalogues are still available in Church or directly from me (I’m happy to deliver). I’m afraid some things are selling out fast, though I do belong to a Traidcraft Traders Swapshop which sometimes enables me to get what’s no longer available from the warehouse.
I have a wide range of Christmas cards, Advent calendars, special biscuits, chocolate goodies including chocolate coins, as well as tree decorations galore. Amongst the foods, I have nuts, dried fruit including Medjoul dates, rice, marmalade, some sugars and fudge and various teas, coffees and cocoa. In addition, I have some crafts from this year’s and previous years’ catalogues (some good reductions in price for these “older” items), including a fabulous glass drink cooler with ice holder, magazine rack, slate slab, wooden picture frame, and as ever the little “jewelled” boxes, notebooks, gardening gloves and socks. If you want to see anything – or a range of things – so you can make a choice do let me know.
Catriona Stoker Tel 487 2010
Zoom coffee/tea time
By the time you receive this newsletter we will have held the first of our zoom coffee mornings of this lockdown period. As it was such lovely weather this morning when it would have been nice to be outside, we decided to alternate coffee mornings and afternoon teas, hopefully giving more people a chance to join us. The format will be much the same. A few simple quiz questions, a chat all together and in break out rooms with fewer people, come together for more general chat and then a rousing hymn to round it off. All are welcome.
Thursday 19th November 4.00pm
Andy Stoker is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Dialstone Lane Tea Party
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/92964459379 Meeting ID: 929 6445 9379
Bring your own buttered scones and cake for afternoon tea!
Thursday 26th November 11.00am
Andy Stoker is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Dialstone Lane Coffee Morning
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/94727377508 Meeting ID: 947 2737 7508
Bring your own brew!
Race for Life 2020 for Cancer Research
A really big “Thank You” to everyone who supported me in this year’s Race for Life, held at Hadfield on the Longdendale Trail. I raised an amazing £510 thanks to churchgoers, friends and family.
The final total raised by the ladies at The Toning Tables Gym was £738.
It was great to be able to support such a great charity. Many thanks.
Suzie
(Pictures taken at start of race and my medal)
 |
 |
 |