On Saturday 18th April at 7.30pm, St John the Divine Church on Outwood Common Road, played host to a fund-raising Quiz Night involving congregations from across the whole parish of Billericay and Little Burstead. Questions ranged from General Knowledge to Science; History to Music and even had some downright puzzling anagrams and other conundrums thrown in for good measure, thanks to the MC, Rachel and the keeper of the score board, Gary. Teams were arranged on an informal basis, although it has to be said that some took the proceedings a whole lot more seriously than others! In the end, the best team won, although there were only a few points in it. The whole evening had a fun vibe and there was lots of jollity and mirth involved. It must be remembered though, that the main reason was to provide some much-needed money for essential building repairs at St John's and St Mary the Virgin. Many participants commented on how much they’d enjoyed the evening and are looking forward to the next event.You can test your knowledge in preperation for the next one with a random sample of questions from the evening (answers further below):Q1 What is a funambulist? Q2 True or false - slugs don’t have teeth.Q3 Which London tube line has the most stations?Q4 Who shot JR?1. A tightrope walker 2. False - they have around 27,000 3. District Line 4.Kristin Shepard
What three words would you use to describe St Mary's? We asked everyone who was in church over a couple of weeks and we had a range of suggestions. Some of the phrases include: tucked away, my Holy place, full of hope, it gets my here (my heart), my second home, steeped in prayer, and place of love.Adjectives included: prayer, love, loving, lovely, spiritual, welcoming, traditional, ancient, enchanting, friendly, historic, beautiful, faithful, calm, atmospheric, uplifting, transforming, and Godly.Visit us and let us know what three words you would use.
We took part in the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch – both in our church grounds and in our own gardens. Taking part in activities like this helps us to see God’s beauty in creation, gives us time of silence and helps us to steward God’s world. We love it, even though it can be very chilly this time of year.We decided to count at sunset. The weather was sunny. The sun setting made it a challenge to identify the birds, as did the distance and the fact that the Holly Trees hid quite a lot! We saw the same number of species as last year, six, but more birds in total. Listening to the birds in such a beautiful setting is such a pleasure and joy. I hope you are able to come and experience it at some point.
