Preparations
Before we get into details about what we have been doing in our special 50th
anniversary year, a few words are in order about all the preparations behind the scenes
which have made it such a success. In fact these started way back in 2004, when we
decided the celebrations really should be very special and the date for the Big Weekend
on June 3/4 was pencilled in our diaries. The choice of Pentecost Sunday may not have
been been the main reason for the date but it was a very appropriate one indeed.
By early 2005 a small team had already started to consider the ways we might celebrate during the year, who might be asked to lead our services, and that we would be having a fete on the Saturday to which all would be invited. This soon became an 'Anniversary Committee' meeting at regular intervals. By the summer of 2005 we had a draft timetable for the whole year and Revd. Richard Barley had kindly accepted our invitation to lead morning worship on the Anniversary Sunday. The first drafts of a history book started to take shape. Invitations to our previous ministers were sent out around that time, those to other former members in the late autumn. Before we knew it, 2006 was upon us and our first event!
The 'committee' continued to meet throughout the year. In the approach to the June weekend especially there was a lot of work to be done. Publicity leaflets were prepared and distributed to local libraries, community centres and other public areas. When we distributed Christian Aid envelopes in the local estate in May we added one of our leaflets as well. Food needed organising for the Sunday and we needed to know roughly how many to cater for. Some of our visitors required accommodation. Quite a lot of work needed to be done to make our church look its best, including new front doors, coats of paint in various places, a refurbished name board and general tidying. Other events couldn't be forgotten about either, we had to book The Local Yokels early for our Barn Dance, and preparations for the Bandstand needed permission from the local council
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The fact that everything seems to have gone to plan is a great tribute for all those involved in these preparations. Many letters of appreciation were received after the Big Weekend saying how much it had been enjoyed. We at the church will certainly remember it for a long time, and this page will remain hopefully as a permanent record. |
OK, enough of that, now down to what we actually did...
Saturday January 21st 6.30pm
We kicked the year off with a 50's style quiz and Beetle Drive. There was a selection
of questions and tasks, some quite tasty, and the usual light refreshments. £27 profit
was raised for our Charity of the Year.
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Saturday February 25th 4.30pm Pancake Extravaganza! Not quite on Shrove Tuesday. An excellent pancake meal interspersed with fun and games and a little bit of pancake tossing as well. Special thanks to our cooks Anna and Danny who spent most of the time hid away in the kitchen! |
 Sebastian Gates |
Saturday March 19th 7.30pm Charity Evening - Sebastian's Action Trust As previously mentioned we had chosen Sebastian's Action Trust as our charity of the year. This is a local charity set up by Sebastian Gates shortly before he died in 2001 of Wilms' Tumor, a rare form of childhood cancer. The aim of the charity is to build holiday homes for the parents of sick children. Jane Gates, Sebastian's mother, gave us a presentation on the work of the charity including a DVD which most of us found quite moving. Find out more about the trust on their website. |
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On Palm Sunday our choir members joined up with those from Rose Street Methodist Church in Wokingham to give a selection of Easter music. In the morning we joined them at Rose Street. In the evening was a special circuit service at Bracknell. The photo shows us at Rose Street. |
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While we were at Rose Street some of us had an opportunity to see the work on their new church building, part of a major redevelopment of their church. It was encouraging to see good progress on this development which is finally seeing reality after years of discussion. |
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Saturday May 6th 10am-Noon Coffee Morning In May we held a coffee morning in our church hall, with various stalls selling plants, books and bric-a-brac. A raffle for various donated prizes added to the profits which all went to Sebastian's Action Trust. |
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Saturday June 3rd/Sunday June 4th The Big Weekend! Well at last it was here, our special Anniversary weekend. With a fete on the Saturday afternoon and two special services with lunch on the Sunday quite a lot happened. We have devoted a whole page on this site to do it justice. Read the full story on our Big Weekend page! |
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Saturday July 15th am Bracknell Bandstand The Bandstand is in the centre of Bracknell town centre, and we booked it for the morning to sell a range of items including books, cakes, toys and Traidcraft items. Many of the shoppers stopped for a few minutes to buy items and chat. Of special interest was the photo taken of our Sunday School children in front of the original builder's hut around 1956, however nobody admitted to being in the picture. Over £180 was raised towards Sebastian's Action Trust. More pictures can be found here. |
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Saturday September 16th 7pm Barn Dance After a summer break, we continued our anniversary year with a traditional barn dance. The Local Yokels came and entertained us to an evening of music, song and dance complete with ploughmans supper. Around 70 people gathered in the hall and all agreed it was a night to remember. |
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Saturday October 7th 7pm Harvest Supper In October we had our traditional Harvest Supper where we had a sit down meal followed by light entertainment. Around 80 gathered in the hall for evening including our friends from St. Andrews and £85 was raised for Sebastian's Action trust. On the Sunday we had our Harvest Festival services where we raised over £200 for the Methodist Relief and Development Fund. |
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Saturday November 18th 7pm Organ Recital In November we held an organ recital. Organists from the circuit joined our own organists and put on a magnificant musical evening. Works included: Bach - Air on a G String, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring Schubert - Serenade Mendelssohn - Andante con Moto Les Miserables - I dreamed a Dream Dvorak Slavonic Dance no. 8 Op 46 played as a piano duet and a magnificent rendering of Mendelssohn's Wedding March Light refreshments were served and over £100 was raised for our charity of the year. |
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Saturday December 16th 6.45pm Christmas Soire For the final event of our Anniversary year we held a Christmas soire which was organised by our prayer group. Entertainment was provided by our members, including our Junior Church (pictured), music group, choir and other members. Some came dressed in their favourite outfits, including our host who wore a kilt. We tucked into light refreshments and £55 was raised for our charity of the year. |