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Once again a group of our Church family
has spent a wonderful weekend of fun and fellowship together at Whitby. We
had several people with us for the first time and two members who have
shared every one of the 38 family weekends. What a record! The weather was
particularly kind to us this time and we were able to enjoy Whitby at its
best. The food at Moorlands seems to improve year after year and we had
such delicious meals this time that most of us confessed to overeating and
one or two were overheard to be talking of joining a slimming group an
their return home!
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Deacon Anne Eccles, who joined us for the
first time, chose as the theme for the weekend the first eight verses
of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, which begin, "To everything there is a
season.....", with an underlying theme of "Be still and know that I am
God." Anne had done a tremendous amount of preparation and brought
several boxes full of visual aids to stimulate our thoughts. She
prepared a separate table for each season and we were invited to add
our own items connected with each. We didn't break up into discussion
groups, as we have done for the last few years, but instead Anne led
all our thoughts,
encouraging even the most reluctant to join in making seasonal-related
items. Meanwhile Amanda was helping the children to prepare their own
versions of seasonal pictures which they were able to show to us later
in the weekend. |
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During the free time in the afternoon
some of our party did their very best to help the shops of Whitby
recover from the recession while Bob led a group on a 4 mile coastal
walk from the village of Cloughton. They enjoyed some of the best
weather they've had for a Whitby walk and although he brought them all
back safely he suffered much banter and teasing from his walkers.
After dinner we had an hour of games.
(golf, cricket, bowls and dominoes) which, as usual, caused much
laughter and dispute with Brian displaying an admirable range of
cricket skills. This was followed by a grand concert featuring
performances by, among others, Jack and
Bethany
and brought to a close by Gordon's gruesome lullabies which no-one can
believe ever lulled his children to sleep! |
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On Sunday morning
we
went to Sleights Methodist Church where we are always made vey
welcome. We enjoyed a very lively service and were then given
refreshments by their ladies.
After lunch we had our final, very
innovative service led by Anne. Lots of people. in a very moving way,
gave their thoughts on something that had been brought home to them
during our discussions and then we moved into a simple service of
communion (with Samuel providing the "amens"). Anne brought a fresh,
new approach to our weekend and we were very grateful for her efforts
on our behalf. |
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This seemed to be a particularly friendly
and happy weekend, an impression borne out by a lady who happened to
be the only person staying at Moorlands who was not with our party. We
invited her to join
in any
or all of our activities which she did with enthusiasm, even though she
had come for 'a quiet weekend' to recover from a difficult personal
experience. She was overwhelmed by the friendliness and warmth shown
to her and hopes to visit Chester-le-Street in the near future. |
We are always most grateful to Denise and
Lynsey for the great amount of hard work they put in to make the weekend
run so smoothly. We are also grateful to so many others who quietly and
very willingly 'did their bit' in various ways to make the weekend a
success, whether taking an epilogue or just moving chairs around. This is
what makes the weekend a 'family' weekend and makes us all eager to share
another next year.
Sadly, since we returned home, we have
learned that Moorlands was closed down during the week after we left. It
has been the base for many happy weekends and will be remembered fondly.
Efforts will be made to find a new venue for next year - watch this space!
Jean Dobson
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