Leesfield Parish – 11^th February 2018

This Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, and to celebrate this the ladies are making pancakes. If you haven’t been to a 10 am service on Tuesday before, this could be a great time to join them!

Ash Wednesday Communion is at 7.30 pm on the 14^th February, followed by the Ladies of Leesfield AGM.  

    

The Bible Study group will meet on Mondays 12^th & 26^th February at 1.30 pm. Frank and lively discussions about Scripture and our walk with God. Each Study stands alone...so it doesn't matter if you have missed a few weeks. Please do be encouraged to come along.

Lent - don’t give up just give! The boxes at the back of St Thomas’ church are now empty, not because we’ve finished collecting stuff, but to make room for more of your donations. The items collected already were taken to the Booth Centre on Wednesday – the centre was full of homeless people needing food, showers and advice, and your donations were gratefully received. Please be as generous as you can, but if you are unable to donate items you could give a little bit of your time by attending extra services, helping at community events or just sharing a few kind words with a stranger.

The Harvest Queen bookstall is open at the back of St Thomas’ church after the service. Also the Ladies of Leesfield Easter Stall will open on the 25^th February until 18^th March. Donations of good-quality items are welcome.  

Churches Together in Lees and District Lent Meetings start on Tuesday 20^th February, 12 noon at Zion Methodist Church, with a simple lunch of soup and bread served afterwards. 
This year we will focus on the film ‘The Theory of Everything’ using the Lent course book ‘The Mystery of Everything’. It may be helpful if you have watched the film beforehand, or if you want to read the book Beryl has a copy which she will be happy to lend you.

There are still a few tickets available for the Rose Queen and Harvest Queen Dinner Dance at the White Hart on Friday 16^th March. The cost is £35 per ticket for this excellent event, and final payments are now due. Please see Colette or Karen for further details or to purchase your tickets.

Oldham Play Action Group are holding a craft session for children in St Thomas’ Community Room from 1 until 3 pm on Thursday 15^th February. There will be home made soup and sandwiches available. The cost is 50p, and children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.

Also during half-term there are some activities run by the Holts & Lees Community Team – please see posters for details.

The February/March edition of “Voice” magazine is now available. Annual subscriptions are now due, so to be sure of getting your regular copy please pay £5 and add your name to the list. Because we have kept the price of the magazine in line with the cost of professional printing we can’t afford to have many “spare” copies, so it’s helpful to know how many we need before ordering.

There are now vacancies for foundation governors at all three of our church schools, if you would like more information please see Edith or Rebecca.  

St Thomas’ church is open regularly on Tuesday and Saturday mornings, so people can drop in, look around, pray or just sit. For this to happen, we need volunteers to sit in church. Can you spare an hour now and again? See Edith or sign the list please.  

Items for the newsletter, website and facebook pages to Liz (lizzy.dent@googlemail.com) whenever you want to send. Lots of lovely pictures please!

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12-Feb	Bible Study Group St Thomas' 1.30pm
14-Feb	Ash Wednesday Communion 7.30 pm St Thomas'
	followed by Ladies of Leesfield AGM
15-Feb	OPAG at St Thomas' 1-3 pm
19-Feb	Pastoral Team visit to Ashbourne House
20-Feb	Lent meeting at Zion Methodist 12 noon - film discussion & lunch
25-Feb	Ladies Easter stall - until 18th March
26-Feb	Bible Study Group St Thomas' 1.30pm
26-Feb	Standing Committee 7pm
27-Feb	Lent meeting at Zion Methodist 12 noon - film discussion & lunch
02-Mar	Women's World Day of Prayer at St Thomas' - 1 pm
03-Mar	Ladies Coffee Morning 10.30 - 12, 40 Thomas Street
05-Mar	Pastoral Team visit to Avalon Park
05-Mar	St Thomas' DCC 7 pm
06-Mar	Lent meeting at Zion Methodist 12 noon - film discussion & lunch
07-Mar	Schools Choral Speaking event at St Thomas' Church