Oct 28th 2020
Dialstone Lane NewsRecent Services at Dialstone Lane:18th October - thank you to Keith Tonge, who led us that day.
25th October - Thank you to Liz Delafield and Stewart Blackledge, who led us in two services on that day.
Thank you to our musicians who played the tunes of all the hymns mentioned. Services for NovemberPlease click here for details of Services during November Loan of Hymn and Methodist Service BooksParticularly for those who find it hard to access worship at Dialstone or through the zoom services we would be happy to loan out hymn books and/or Methodist Service books if you feel they might be useful aids to worshipping at home. Please get in touch with Catriona Stoker as Co-ordinating Steward in the first instance if this would be a help to you, Tel 0161 487 2010. A Message from our TreasurerI have prepared the year end accounts for Dialstone Lane and the good news is that despite the loss in rental income we have made just a small loss for the year. Jane (Treasurer) Poppies United Christian BroadcastersUnited Christian Broadcasters issue a quarterly booklet, “Word for Today”, used by some of us at Church. Sue Judson, Tel 0161 487 2297 Toys and GiftsA reminder that we are collecting new toys and toiletries, selection boxes and chocolates/sweets as well as gifts of money for children in need over the next three Sundays (Nov 1st to15th). They will go to both Wood Street Mission which serves the whole of Greater Manchester and to children known to Stockport Children’s Services in our local area. There will be a table in the lobby available for gifts from November 1st so that all groups will have the opportunity to contribute. If you are unable to come to church for any reason, please let us know and we will arrange to collect any donations from you at home. In addition, Wood Street has the means to make virtual gifts through their website: https://www.woodstreetmission.org.uk/support-us/donate-money/ Gill Ramsbottom - Tel 0161 483 8812 or Catriona Stoker - Tel 0161 487 2010 Lavender BagsSadly, we have no Christmas Fair this year at Dialstone, but the lavender has continued growing and so I plan to make some lavender bags, as have been sold at previous years at the fair. They will be available from Monday November 9th 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 FillersSheila 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 will be available in the foyer after services soon. Please remember to observe social distancing making your selection. There will also be a special guest appearance at the Traidcraft Pop-up Shop outlined below. Alternatively, you could contact Sheila so she can bag some up for you in advance. 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. BooksThe weather is stopping us display our second hand books for anyone to help themselves. If you would like me to bring some books to your doorstep, please just let me know what subjects you like (e.g. crime fiction / sport / cooking) and I will happily drop a few off. Andy Stoker 0161-487-2010 TraidcraftIn the last couple of years, I have run a Traidcraft pop up shop in November at Dialstone Lane Methodist Church. I would like to repeat this slightly differently this year. I can’t serve refreshments and may have to ask people to wait in the lobby if social distancing can’t be ensured in the church. Nice though it is to see items in the catalogue or on-line, it’s often better still to see things “in the flesh” - but probably not touch them this year – sorry. There will be a good range of crafts, cards and foods available, including your Christmas favourites. I also have some craft items from previous catalogues. Opening hours: All welcome with face masks; hand sanitiser available. There will be a one-way system in operation for your safety. Contactless payment available, cheques and cash also accepted. The knitted decorations made by Sheila and friends as outlined above will also be available. St George’s Christmas Tree Festival 2020Thursday 26th - Sunday 29th November (online)
This is the email that came in September with an invitation to decorate a tree for the Festival this year: “In this time of great uncertainty, we are planning this year's Christmas Tree Festival at St. George's. We know it can't be the very busy event that we have had for the past 13 years, but we are hoping to be able to make an event which people will be able to visit for at least one day if not two, with the usual visit of a distanced Father Christmas. We would also like to put the festival online so that people who are still unable to come out, will be able to enjoy the trees in their own home. To make everything safer we will limit the number of trees to 50 which is just over half the number we had last year and so enable social distancing as people go round. As we plan to put the whole event on our web site / facebook page once your tree is up, we will invite you to be videoed and explain the theme or reason behind your tree. This is the moment to showcase your society, organisation or business so that everyone watching will hear about you. Online visitors will be given an opportunity to donate online. Although this year’s Christmas Tree Festival cannot take its usual form, we feel it is very important to continue this much valued community event as best we can”. I’ll publicise the details for booking in or viewing the festival on-line once I know them! Catriona Stoker Acts 435 latest newsIn these complicated times, if it is necessary to replace a washing machine or a microwave the difficulty for us is usually where and how to purchase it or how to get it installed. I imagine the cost incurred is not insurmountable, that we have an emergency fund or a relative who would help us out. The people who Acts 435 help have no way of getting the items we class as essentials. At the moment on their website (acts435.org.uk) there are requests from a family with an unsafe cooker, an asylum seeker who needs a small fridge and a single gentleman who needs a washing machine, among many others. They all only have Acts 435 to turn to for help and this Christian charity needs our help to help them. Along with requests there are messages of thanks. One young mum saying ‘Thank you so much for bringing some joy into their lives’. There is a sense of wonder that they have been helped by strangers who have been motivated by the words of Jesus – ‘the believers shared everything they had, bringing the money to the apostles to be distributed to anyone as had need’- Acts 4:35 At the moment we can only help as individuals but my hope is eventually we as a church can offer help to those in need in our community. If you would like any more information please give me a call on 0161 258 8743 Susan Conlon Food BankNow we are back in church (admittedly on a limited basis) and are becoming very aware of the impact of the tier 3 lockdown on many local families, it seems a good time to ask for donations of goods/cash for Stockport food bank. If you have any gifts please leave them in the usual spot in the church foyer and we will get them to the Hazel Grove centre. From the web site , the following information is available: URGENTLY NEEDED FOOD ITEMS ARE:
Please do not donate any items containing ALCOHOL. Thanks in advance for any contributions you are able to make. Margaret and Dave
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