It was with a bit of consternation that we realised that Shrove Tuesday landed right in the middle of half term. A few chats with people here and there, and we began to imagine that the whole of Altrincham might be heading off on holiday (a slight over exaggeration, we realise!).So rather than miss anyone, we decided instead to move our pancakes a few days early – a notice in the Service Sheet, an advert on the website and socials, and – ta dah! - Shrove Sunday was born! So church it was in the morning, and then everyone flocked over to the Parish Centre for an update from Dee & Rev Claire, followed by the much anticipated pancakes and scrumptious toppings. Ably made by Alex & Alan, and aided and abetted by the organisational talents of Janet, Hannah & Liv, soon pancakes were being tossed and tummies filled! It was so lovely having such a multi-generational meal with people from all ages and stages treating themselves – the Parish Centre was suitably full, and we suspect that we might repeat the timings again next year. Perhaps ‘Shrove Sunday’ might indeed catch on?!
We started off on Saturday with our Carols by Candlelight. This is our big, traditional service where we pull out all the stops! It started with a church absolutely filled with candles – if there was a windowsill, it had candles in it! Then there were our Christmas Trees full of twinkling fairy lights, alongside the top of the nave (the long bit in the middle) also being covered by strings of fairy lights. Add to that not one, but two choirs – our resident Adult choir, joined for the first time by our new Children’s Choir, Alty Trebles. Our Adult choir sang, amongst other pieces, the new arrangement of The First Nowell which was sublime, whilst our children caused a few tears to flow as they expertly sang Away in a Manger. Add to that a really impressive young musician called Ted Moorhouse. We first met him at our Remembrance Service where he blew us away with the quality of his musicianship, and we quickly booked him for our Carols by Candlelight. He did not disappoint. Two stunning pieces which left everyone really moved: In a carol service it’s traditional not to applaud (we are worshipping, not performing) but it took quite a lot of discipline not to! Then to cap it all, we were joined by Sale Brass Band who also blew us out of the sky with their skills as they led us in some carols, and then performed a piece of their own. To hear their melodies filling the church was deeply moving. To bring it to a close, we then had some mulled wine and mince pies – quite an evening! Then on Saturday it was a Carol Service with a different vibe, but none the less special for it. We teamed up with the wonderful Altrincham Baptist Church (ABC) who for the past nine years have been wowing the community of Altrincham with their Carols in the Park. The concept sounds simple – carols, videos, hats and gloves all in the beautiful surroundings of John Leigh Park. The technicalities struck us as a little bit more challenging, but ABC had clearly done this before, and it was so lovely to be able to slot in to such a professional and experienced crew and be so warmly welcomed by the team. Ashley (lead Minister at Altrincham Baptist) and Rev. Claire led the service, with readers from across the two churches and park communities, a live band providing some stunning music. The whole back team who were in charge of the admin, projection, sound and stewarding were just incredible, and, Rev. Claire felt, impressively unflappable! As we sang carols, watched some awesome videos, the moon was shining, the stars were out and it was just amazing being part of an event that truly pulled the local community together. We can’t wait for next year – Ashley has promised something particularly special for its 10th year, so we will wait and see what the plans are….! (and for those of you who were there, Rev. Claire is beginning her campaign to get Ding Dong Merrily on the playlist…..🤣!)
And what a lovely service it was! A Pop-Up Nativity is a type of Nativity Play/Service where we invite people – young and old – to come dressed up as their favourite Nativity character (or just as themselves!). Then as we g through the story we gradually build up the Nativity Scene ready for the iconic photo at the end. Interspersed with carols, this is one of those wonderful Memory Making moments which proves that Christmas doesn’t have to be just about presents to be incredibly special! There were lots of wonderful moments – from when the children entered the church that had been lit with candles, fairy lights and such huge trees, to grateful thanks to those adults standing in as a few extra Wise Men (shepherds and angels proving to be much more popular this year!). Some members of the congregation had spent months making extra costumes, and they were incredible – totally transforming many children right back into the Bethlehem scene. The donkeys were as appreciated as ever (with thanks to Debbie & Mike Street), with one wonderful boy struggling to contain his excitement that there were in fact not one donkey but TWO! All this was then interspersed with some carols before most of us headed back over to the Parish Centre for the annual Children’s Party. Many thanks to all who put in significant hours to make it happen – St George’s really does have some of the most wonderful people!
Despite the appalling weather, the warm Parish Room was transformed into a twinkling haven as all ages and stages gathered together to dance and chat the gloomy night away! Here at St George’s, we’ve been exploring ways to develop our social life, especially after Covid had shut so much down. We’re aiming for at least one ‘event’ each half term, and it being Christmas, we thought we’d go for a Christmas Ceilidh (aka Barn Dance –but we rather liked the alliteration of Christmas & Ceilidh!). So Dee (our children’s and family lead who also happens to be a dance teacher – very handy!) was duly dispatched to go and learn some Ceilidh dances and she did herself proud! With music blaring, she called with aplomb and soon had the whole room dancing away amidst lots of giggles as we slowly got the hang of it. With lots of little breaks to replenish ourselves with cheese, biscuits, and a glass of wine (or two!), the evening passed by quickly and it was soon time for home. It was the first time we had tried this, so we all felt a little nervous, but it was wonderful and we’re already talking about when the next one will be – we thought we could tie it into a summer BBQ?!
