|
United Reformed ChurchNewsletter for December 2006 |
|||
|
Alan Wood Another December magazine, the last for 2006. This must mean that Christmas is approaching. And you only have to look in these pages to see what a full programme there is in these few weeks. There is always so much to do before Christmas already, even without the Carol Concerts and Nativity Plays. Perhaps we need to ask, as Nigel says, not ‘What are you doing for Christmas?’, but ‘What is Christmas doing for you?’ One evening recently, Valerie, Gwyneth and I were last to leave the church after a Drama group meeting (so what else is new!) and we were approached by a youngish chap who said that he was homeless, and, having been caught in very heavy rain earlier, asked whether we had any dry materials that he could start to get dry and warm. We couldn’t think of anything, but seeing some activity at the Ambulance Station, went and asked them if they had any old blankets surplus to requirements. Luckily, they had some and gave this chap two of them. He then settled himself on Arthur’s Seat, hunched up in these two blankets, with a few biscuits and a cup of coffee that we made for him. And that was about all we could do! Wondering about it afterwards, we tried to think of what else could be done for people in his circumstances. Do we have a stock of old clean clothes, or blankets – or would they be a fire hazard! Is there a shelter in Epsom? I think there is one in Leatherhead, but I don’t know where. What would you have done? Showing great devotion to duty, I intend to get some kind of an issue out around New Year. Of course, this is my own fault as I should have given notice in the November issue that the December issue would be for two months, December and January – it’s now too late! So see you again next month. May I finish with wishing all my readers, near and far, paper copy or website, a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Sonia Bentzon , now in a Residential Care Home in Banstead, has her 95th birthday on 27th November. We send our love and best wishes, together with greetings and flowers.Following a lengthy stay in Epsom, St. Helier and The New Cottage Hospitals, Lily Moody is hoping to be home in a few days’ time. We hope she will soon be feeling stronger - we miss your cheery presence in church, Lily. We remember Mary in her extreme bodily weakness despite a most alert mind. Also our love and prayers for Marjorie, Dorothy and Lynne. For Pat, our Minister, it has been an anxious time visiting her parents in Canada. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this time. Our thoughts are with Phil and Sue Castle as Phil has just been told he has to undergo a triple heart by-pass. He is in hospital at the moment waiting for the operation. Karl Allarman, our cleaner for Unity Hall, is unwell and in St Helier Hospital: we wish him a speedy recovery. Len Masters is on the waiting list for a hip replacement, and, for his sake, we hope he gets the operation soon.
 Marjorie's 90th birthday party in Unity Hall
(top) Secretary’s
Letter 
It was really good to see such a good turn-out at the A.G.M. on Wednesday, and a pity that Pat could not be with us. We hope that she will return to us soon and things in Canada will sort themselves out for her and her family. I stressed at the A.G.M. the importance of attending the Lunchtime Carol Service on 20th December. The Mayor will be attending and your presence is needed. Also, on Thursday 14th December at 8 p.m., C.O.T.E. will once again be holding their Carol Concert at St. Joseph’s Church. This year our Moderator, Nigel Uden, will be the compére. It would be great if we had a good number to support him. I have tickets £6 each if you would like to go. I know Alan will be publishing all the other Christmas dates in this Newsletter. We were really thrilled to vote Alfred Lampty on to the Elders and wish him God’s blessing on the task he has undertaken. Also good wishes to those re-elected onto the Eldership, W.C.C. and F & G.P. committees. If you were not at able to attend the meeting I would like to thank you all for your support throughout the year and look forward to the same in 2007. This past year has been a busy one, and I am sure the next one will be the same. There are issues which will need our prayers and thoughts in the coming year. I hope you all enjoy a healthy and joyful Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Love, joy and peace to you at Christmas 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' This saying is commonly used as an argument for maintaining the status quo. Sometimes the saying is used with justification – why waste resources on altering something which is functioning perfectly well as it is? At other times, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' is what we say when feeling complacent or lazy: we'd rather not see the brokenness so that we don't need to go to the trouble of the fixing. Sadly, the world can't ignore its current brokenness. Our generation, as much as any other, is marred by many brokennesses, of which our inhumanity to each other is the most awful, demonstrated in war, poverty and environmental selfishness. A 'fixing it' is needed. Few would deny that the United Reformed Church needs fixing, too. Despite many excitingly good things about us, our numerical decline and seriously unbalanced age profile make it clear that there's a brokenness to be addressed. The Catch the Vision process is our attempt to do so; it's about fixing our brokenness. Its attention to finance and structures is appropriate, but it is not the heart of the matter. We all know that something more profound and fundamental is also required. One contemporary theologian has reflected upon Easter as something that needs to happen to us. 'Let us be Eastered,' prays Walter Brueggemann. 'Easter us in joy and strength. … turn our life toward your life.' The same is surely true of Christmas. We tend to celebrate the incarnation as something that happened two millennia ago to Mary, the Magi and the shepherds. But it has to happen to us. We need Christmassing. In other words, we need not just to have a good time because God once came amongst us, but to be changed by the fact that God is amongst us now – renewing, calling, using us as we receive 'grace upon grace.' The Catch the Vision prayer commits us to make a difference in the name of Christ. Christmas, however, is the unavoidable prerequisite: Christmas is what makes it possible for a difference first to be made to us, in order that we might then become difference makers. Instead of 'doing' Christmas, let it happen to you. May God Christmas us, so that the world (and within it the United Reformed Church), in all its brokenness, might be fixed. And then a bit of Eastering and Pentecosting wouldn't go amiss either. On a personal note, Bethan and Jess join me in expressing immense appreciation for your prayers, friendship and care over the past year; it means a great deal to us.
‘Follow That Star!’ I rather like the dialogue spoken by children in a nativity play: Innkeeper: Can't you see the 'No Vacancy' sign? Joseph: Yes, but can't you see that my wife is expecting a baby any minute? Innkeeper: Well, that's not my fault. Joseph: Well, it's not mine either! Somewhat more apposite, someone once said: ‘Children await Christmas presents like politicians getting election returns.’ Beneath the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem is a basement known as 'The Stables'. It's reputed to be the place where Jesus was born. There being no room at the inn, Jesus was born in a stable. Set within the mosaic of that floor is a star – the Star of Bethlehem – to remind us that wise men followed a star and found the Messiah. The stars have always fascinated people. Somehow, it’s thought, our destiny is linked to the stars. That's why millions read their horoscopes in the newspapers! The RAF has a motto, ‘Per Ardua ad Astra’ –‘through hardships to the stars’. That motto contains a truth: it's often necessary to endure hardship on the way to the highest. For some reason those who reach the top of their profession in show business are called stars. A writer, too, may produce a novel that makes him, or her, a star. This is true of our spiritual pilgrimage. A contemporary writer said of Jesus, 'Son though he was, yet he learned by all that he suffered. We shall never know just how much Jesus suffered. But we do know that only through suffering did he redeem the world. Many are those who have gone through all sorts of troubles, and have experienced the hardships of life and come through to the stars. The Star of Bethlehem heralded the birth of Christ, the Morning Star. Follow that star! COMMITMENT FOR LIFE ANNUAL
COLLECTION The November Newsletter told you how this was organised. The Annual Collection Date is now fixed for the morning of Sunday, 3rd.December.
NOT CORRIE . . . NOT EASTENDERS . . . IT’S THE JOE AND MARY SHOW! WE ALL like to have a moan at Christmas time. The price of things, how commercial it has all become, the hassle of spending days with people you wouldn't normally choose to spend time with (yes, the relatives), and getting pine needles stuck in the DVD player. But this Christmas spare a thought for Mary and Joseph and the events of that very first Christmas, some two thousand years ago. Self-employed entrepreneur and businessman Joseph was off work for weeks because the government made him travel to a distant town to fill in some stupid registration papers. But that was just the start of his problems. Can you imagine how he felt when he discovered that his teenage bride-to-be was expecting a baby? He took the news pretty badly. Just think, here was an upright citizen, a pillar of the community who discovered that his girlfriend was pregnant. His reputation would have been in tatters. You can bet the Nazareth gossips hounded Mary about her pregnancy. She was after all probably just thirteen years old and not married. Can you imagine the whispers and barbed comments behind her back and being called a ‘slut’? Because they'd not slept together, Joseph knew that the baby wasn't his, so he wrongly assumed that Mary must have been cheating on him with another man. It really was the kind of scenario you'd see played out on EastEnders or Coronation Street. Then can you imagine taking a 100 mile, four-day donkey ride to Bethlehem whilst nine months pregnant? Of course, if Mary didn't want to ride, she could always walk—or waddle. The journey would have been horrendous. How about giving birth in a dirty cattle barn? One whiff was all Mary needed to throw up. And then, in the middle of the night after a gruelling labour, there's a smelly shepherd banging on the door wanting to come in with his mates to see their first-born. Even the crowds at Bethlehem that night had no idea that the Son of God was asleep in their little town in the middle of nowhere. Why of all things, did God let His own Son to be born under those conditions? Well maybe, just maybe, God allowed the stable so we could see His glory backlit amongst life's humbling experiences. He came for ordinary people, just like you and me. Life does have its downside, its hassles and annoyances. And where is God when we despair? He was with Mary and Joseph every moment, working out His plan, just as He is with you and me right now. I guess Christmas reminds us to look beyond our aggravations and inconveniences. God is doing something. You know, if we’ll lift our eyes above Bethlehem's shabby old barn, next door to a pub, for just a moment, you might even catch a glimpse of the Christmas star. Steve Legg [Reprinted from THE SON, Winter 2006, with permission] News from Bethan Galliers Ihsan and I married in October 2005 but were not able to have a big celebration as Ihsan's son Syawash was seriously ill in Afghanistan. Syawash who was four at the time was diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia and was in need of a bone-marrow transplant. Ihsan took Syawash and his older sister to India for treatment as there was no treatment available in Afghanistan. Sodaba who was six at the time was found to be a perfect match and donated her bone marrow to Syawash in January of this year. In June Syawash was discharged from the hospital in India and we had successfully applied for visas for the children to come and live with us here in the UK. I have now become not only a wife but also a mother and am enjoying the challenges that it brings. Syawash is recovering well, although still on medication, and they are both settling into school well and chattering away in English.
In October this year we were able to have our wedding celebration here in Manchester and were thrilled to have friends and family from all over the country joining us. Sheila Carpenter These are the opening words of a hymn written by the former Bishop of Thetford, Timothy Dudley-Smith, who now lives in retirement near Salisbury and is due to celebrate his 80th birthday on Boxing Day this year. In a recent interview, he said he would find it hard to explain why it is that some hymns ‘take off’ and become really widely used, like “Lord, for the Years” which was written in 1967 for the centenary of the Scripture Union. “It wasn't sung very much at first, and then when the VE and VJ Day commemorations took place it became quite well-known as a hymn. It proved to say the kinds of things people wanted to say then. A succession of anniversaries, centenaries and so on have used it and that's how it has become well-known.” A very interesting full account of the interview can be found in Church Music Quarterly, September 2006, published by the Royal School of Church Music. We acknowledge with thanks their permission to use this extract in ‘Newsletter, URC’. Pump Aid. I think you should all give yourselves a pat on the back for raising £1000 for Pump Aid so quickly. What an effort!! The Pump Aid Charity organisation has enjoyed a lot of support in the last two years and the amount of good work they can achieve in Zimbabwe has increased and increased. They have just employed an additional Pump Aid organiser, Mary Muchena, who is liaising with us.The Rotary Foundation requires a Rotary Club local to the area where the Pumps are to be installed to oversee the actual work to make sure the monies raised are spent correctly. Pump Aid have asked the Rotary Club of Mutare to undertake this task and have approached the Club President Mr Timothy Chikomo who has agreed to organise this a.s.a.p. Once he has established his committee of three local members and sent us the details we can complete the application forms for the matching grant and send them off to the H.Q. Banstead Rotary Club have started their fund raising activities and I am sure the total of £2000 will be raised in time to meet the deadline. Here in chronological order are advertisements for
We at the Kindergarten would like to say a big thank you for helping us to enjoy the Autumn Fayre, it was great to be able to meet so many of you, and have fun, and start our Christmas shopping.
We would like to invite you all to our Christmas Nativity performance on Thursday 7 December at 11:00, and then join us for coffee and mince pies in the hall afterwards. We would like to wish you a Happy and joyful Christmas .Louise Kirby Toy Service and Church Parade This will be held on 10th December at 10:30 a.m. Please remember that gifts you bring to the tree will be
distributed to the All are welcome! CONCERT WITH Epsom and Ewell Silver Band Leatherhead Pilgrim Singers In aid of C.O.T.E (Christian Outreach Trust for Epsom) Thursday December 14th at 8.00 pm. In St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Compère: The Rev Nigel Uden. Moderator—Southern Province Synod. United Reformed Church Patron: Roy Richmond Tickets: £6.00 each Available from Dovecote Christian Bookshop(next to Epsom Methodist Church) Refreshments available at the conclusion of the Concert
You are invited to ourLunchtime Carol Concert United Reformed Church Wednesday, 20th December at 13:10 In the presence of Councillor David Wood Coffee and Mince Pies will be servedStained Glass Windows In last month's newsletter there was a mention of stained glass windows; this sent me to a book "How to read a church" which gives the history and meaning behind the sybolism in church decoration, for example the use made of numbers and shapes in images and the symbolic use of colour. Describing the colours used in stained glass windows, the author explains the traditional interpretations, for example the figure of Mary, Mother of Jesus, in blue, the colour of the sky and representing heavenly love. Black is used for sickness and the devil. Green is the colour of life and in particular it symbolizes the triumph of life over death just as the green of spring overcomes winter. And so on through the colours. I go into many London churches when I am attending the RSCM Organ Course. Firstly I look to the altar, then to the organ, and then to the stained glass windows, often memorials to famous or loved ones. I look at the shades and tones of the glass, how the figures are fashioned and the bible figures and stories they often portray, and I marvel at the craftsmanship. If you are the sort of person who is open to “thin places” then pausing for reflection in front of a beautiful stained-glass window is . . . . . how can I describe it? More than just looking at a window? SEA ADVENTURE – 25th
October On Wednesday of half-term week, Unity Hall and the Church buzzed with activity from well before 10 am until all our "Adventurers" went home at 3.30 pm. At registration each child was assigned to a group with a leader who would take them on the Sea Adventure. Starting in the church our Minister, Pat welcomed everybody. After that there was an invitation to join a secret society with its own sign of the fish. Everybody wanted to join, just as Jesus' followers had done. Later all the children would make a fish badge which would allow them in to watch a video about the Sign of the Fish. Then they heard the story of the Rainbow Fish which would feature again later in the day when the children put sparkly scales with their names on onto the Big Fish in the Hall.
There were lots of activities and crafts to take part in, all with a sea theme. The children made boats with nets and the fish to go in them. They decorated anchors with fish stickers. Puppets featured significantly and our Adventurers each made a padded sequined, 'fish on a stick' puppet. They made, also, wooden-spoon puppet characters. They then made up scenes to perform in the special puppet theatre. They each wrote their name and a message on a strip of card that became a link in the chain to the anchor in the Jesus scene in church.
In between the activities there were games and races and singing. There were refreshments and times to just talk to new friends. The children helped to make a banner with an ‘under the sea’ scene with seaweed and turtles and fish with button scales. At the end of the day the banner was taken into church and laid on the steps in front of Jesus in His boat.
The day ended with all the parents arriving in church to see the presentation of all the things that happened during our happy, busy Sea Adventure.
We would like to thank everybody who played a part in making this day a success and our friends from Ewell U.R.C. who lent their valuable support, once again. Audio-Visual Equipment Thank you, Alan, for making the screen and lap-top projection system work so successfully and also for the pew-top support for the projector and lap-top. The Harvest Service and the 318th Anniversary Service where we saw all the equipment in good working order were excellent. I liked being able to read the hymns from the screen. How did anyone else find it? Perhaps not everybody knows that we have been able to buy this modern equipment to enhance our services through the generosity of Miss Win Cary and the legacy she left to the church for educational purposes. We remember her with great gratitude. Shortly to be deployed in the foyer is the big red Post Box, in which you can place your Christmas cards for friends within the church. There will be a collecting box placed conspicuously in which you may put your money in lieu of postage—this will be donated to Christian Aid. Don’t forget that postage rates have recently been increased CHURCH IS CROSS OVER £75
CHARGE A church has been told it needs planning permission to put up a wooden cross because it constitutes an advert. Dudley Wood Methodist Church wanted to place a free-standing cross outside as it had just moved to new premises. Dudley Council said that national planning laws classify crosses as adverts and the church must pay £75 for planning permission. Minister Paul Nzacahayo said: "I think this rule is utterly ridiculous. I am very upset such regulations exist." The superintendent of the Overend Methodist Mission told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he could see no confusion. Church demolished "I think they have got the wrong end of the stick really because the cross has always been the oldest and identifiable symbol of the Christian faith," he said. "So I don't see how they can confuse it with adverts". The original church in Dudley Wood has just been demolished to make way for new housing, with services now taking place in its old Sunday school building. But Mr Nzacahayo claimed few people realised the Sunday school building was now being used as a church. Dudley Council spokesman Phil Parker said the council was not being heavy-handed. "All such crosses are defined as advertisements in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It is national legislation which is laid down in law and not a judgment made by Dudley Council," he said. "Local authorities do not set the £75 advertisement cost as it is set by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister." [What a good job we put our crosses in the windows! What they could do—if they’re prepared to wait—is to plant a bush and let a topiary expert cut it to the shape required! Ed]
Remembrance Sunday—12th November
Joe Wilson and the Remembrance Wreath Another Stealth Tax? A free parking concession for churchgoers that was described as "discriminatory to other faiths" has been removed by a Devon city council. Two car parks located near churches in Plymouth were free on Sunday mornings. A £1-an-hour charge has now been brought in as part of an overhaul of parking costs across the city. A council parking representative responding to a protest letter about the charges, said: "Dispensation is not given to other religions." They added: "The basis of your representation was rejected on the grounds that the current free parking on a Sunday morning is discriminatory to other faiths and religious praying days." The Rev Nick McKinnel, rector of one of Plymouth's largest churches, St Andrew's, said: "It does seem extraordinary to invoke other faiths as a reason to charge those who go to church." He said the council introduced the free parking concession in 1998 in recognition of the contribution churches make to the life of the city."For the scrutiny committee now to use other faiths as a way of withdrawing this concession seems pretty shabby. The sort of spurious reasoning given on behalf of the city council betrays a total lack of understanding of the multi-faith agenda and serves only to divide communities." Churchgoer Mary Hooker, 66, said: "It is rather unforgiving. I have been going to church for 50 years and I have never had to pay." A council spokeswoman said the changes had been brought in line with Sunday charges at other car parks around the city. "This was because it was felt that it was inappropriate to single out two particular churches for special treatment which is not given to anyone else," she said. The income from all of the city's Sunday charging revisions has been estimated at approximately £144,000. A Letter from Epsom Methodist Church Christmas Alone 2006. This is YOUR opportunity to help in a practical way to make a person who would otherwise be alone, join in a very special celebration on Christmas Day. As in previous years we are planning to invite about 55 people, who would otherwise be on their own, for lunch on Christmas Day at the Methodist Church Hall in Ashley Road. Our guests, who come from all over the town, really appreciate the opportunity to share this special day with others, and those who have helped in previous years have found it a very rewarding experience.
We really want this very worthwhile venture to continue but we need YOUR help—please give some consideration to how YOU can help - we can certainly guarantee that you will feel that it has been both fun and very satisfying. Last year over 50 people from varying churches were involved in one way or another ensuring that no one feels it too arduous a commitment. Also if you decide to give it a go there is certainly no obligation for another year and we are sure you will enjoy the experience - ring me NOW - my phone number is 01372 728535.However if you can't help please pray for the venture and for the people who will be our guests this year or if you are going to be alone on Christmas Day and would like an invitation please let me know.Carol Stringer (01372 728535) 12th Epsom Brownie Guide
Pack At out first meeting after half term the Brownies completed their First Aid badge and as they had learned so much they also completed their advanced First Aid badge; we are very grateful to Kim Menagh and her assistant, John, who taught the girls the essentials.
Due to a shortage of young children in Junior Church, Gwyneth has asked the Brownies to put on the annual Nativity-based musical at the Toy Service. Gwyneth came to our meeting on 8th November to explain to the girls what was expected of those that take part in the play. The response was very good as most of the Brownies wished to be involved, and they will rehearse for a short time at Brownies each week until the event. 8th November was also World Town Planning Day and so each Six was given a large road map and they had to name and plan their town. Knowing that the Brownies love to eat, at our meeting on 15th November they ate marshmallows and glacé cherries dipped in chocolate, which they all enjoyed. Some of them also wanted to finish their town maps from the previous week. On 22nd November we started our Christmas activities and all the Brownies made Advent calendars. I am pleased to report that Lindsey, who has been doing her D. of E. with us, has decided to become a Young Leader. I have once again been given permission for the Brownies to sing
Christmas carols at Epsom Station for charity. So if you happen to be in the
vicinity on Wednesday, 6th December between 5.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.,
please come and support us.
Monday Club At our meeting at the beginning of November our theme was fireworks, and the children each made a firework picture with a 3D Catherine Wheel made from an old CD. The next meeting we had an evening of puzzles with mazes and dot-to-dots and they were each given a blank jigsaw puzzle to colour for themselves.
As 20th November was International Children’s
Day the theme was ‘Peter Pan’ and the children each made the
characters of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook from cardboard
tubes and paper. All of us at the Monday Club wish you all a very happy Christmas and joy in the New Year. Phemie's Marmalade I am grateful to so many people for giving me jars to make the
marmalade for the Coffee Mornings. Unfortunately, I am now unable to source the
ingredients from Tesco. I have asked friends in Hants. and Bucks., and they have
visited their local Tesco but without success, and Waitrose do ‘fine cut’
only! P.S. by the Editor: Phemie says that her requirement is for Hartley's Mamade, orange thin-cut, orange thick-cut and lemon thin-cut. The tin is 425 ml and usually costs about £1.25 to £1.35, the thick cut usually the most expensive. Please keep your eyes open! An Orderly Retreat? “retreat: n. an orderly withdrawal before an enemy; retirement for a time for religious meditation.” A leaflet I picked up at the Christian Resources Exhibition advertised an Autumn Retreat at Pilgrim Hall, Sussex. That might suit me, I thought. I sent off my application (just a little apprehensive at the unknown, though in the event my fears turned out to be groundless). In the very week before I was due to go I had a ’phone call from a friend in the church telling me that she was concerned about me and suggested I go to Pilgrim Hall for a day or two! Do you believe in coincidences? Pilgrim Hall offers comfort, good food and mind-sizzling bible-teaching. There's a superb bookshop to browse in. The Hall is in beautiful grounds where you can walk, or sit and read, or just 'be'. You can be quiet and alone if you wish or you can be part of a warm, welcoming and talkative fellowship. So - was it a retreat? Let me look in the dictionary for another word to describe the week:- “advance: n. a forward move.” Hmmm!Afternoon Fellowship By the time you read this, the members of the Afternoon Fellowship will be feeling the benefit of the gentle exercises we undertook, thanks to the guidance of our instructor, Lorna Dolan. The real benefit will be felt by continuing the exercises regularly. Barbara and Gwyneth are preparing for our Christmas Celebration on Thursday, 14th December at 2.30p.m. We will be pleased to welcome any friends who would like to join us. The usual break during the winter months will continue and we shall meet again in March 2007. Evening Fellowship
Women’s Church Council The November Coffee Morning for The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund was most generously supported and we were able to send them £140.00, our highest ever total! Now we approach the busy month of December. The church will be decorated on Saturday 16th and we will be pleased to serve coffee and mince-pies after the "Carols by Candlelight" service the next day. Our December Coffee Morning is on Tuesday 12th December 10.30 - 12.00. We always have a Children's charity in December and may we have a really bumper response for "The Shooting Star Hospice for Children’. Thank you for your regular and generous support through the year.
Copy for the next issue should be with the Editor by 26th December for publication on 31st December 2006. And Finally . . . (lots more this month!) Helpful Instructions: On a shower cap: Fits one head. On an M&S pudding Product will be hot after heating. On a Korean kitchen knife Keep out of children. On a baby’s push-chair Remove child before folding. Thought for Today: If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we’d be so simple that we couldn’t.
|
||||
Not every one who has helped in the past is able to do so this
year, so we are appealing for new volunteers - if you can't help on the day
there are preparations prior to the event - tables to be laid - vegetables to be
done - balloons to be blown up and a lot of other tasks to be completed before
the big celebration. We also need help with transport picking up guests from
home at about 12.00 noon and taking them home afterwards at about 3.45pm - if
you can't do both ways one journey would be great. Also we need hosts and
hostesses who sit down to eat with 5 guests to a table, 10 if hosts are a couple,
and generally look after them from the time they arrive at 12.30 pm until they
go home at 4.00 pm.
From
everyone at the 12th Epsom Brownie Guide Pack, we would like to wish
you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
