In the next week or two...

Churches Together In Marple and District requires help with door-to-door collections during Christian Aid Week, from 11 to 17 May. They also require an area co-ordinator for Strines. Contact Elizabeth Paxton phone 0161 427 5515.

Marple Bridge URC is organising a plant sale and coffee morning, 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday 17 May at Marple Bridge URC with proceeds to Christian Aid.

Churches Together are holding a Bring and Share Celebratory Meal, 7:30 pm on Thursday 22 May in All Saints’ Church Hall so that we can understand what Churches Together are doing in and around Marple.

Day trip to Southport, Monday 14 July. Cost £10, with £3 deposit to Pat Buckler to reserve a seat, picking up at Hawk Green (8.50 am), All Saints’ Church (9 am), The Rolling Pin (9.10 am) and the Refuse Centre bus stop, Rose Hill (9.15 am).

Celebrate the Church’s birthday at our Guest Service at All Saints' Church, Marple on Sunday 11 May at 10.30 am. Separate activities for under 14s during the service.

May we pray for you? Healing prayer is offered for all kinds of physical, emotional and spiritual problems after every service at All Saints' Church.

Marple Dale Residential Care Home require a caring person for £5.90 per hour, 8:30 am to 12:00 pm and 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm, preferably with care experience to spend one-to-one time with one of the residents (could be a job share). Contact phone 0161 449 0771 for more information.

Come along and support Mellor Open Gardens event on Sunday 25 May from 11 am to 6 pm raising funds for Cancer Research UK and the Mellor Parish Centre. Volunteers are needed on the day. Contact Vicki Jenner phone 0161 427 1203 if you can help.

Men’s Adventure Network (M.A.N.) meets at 8:15 pm on Monday 19 May in the Navigation with the theme “Jesus - meek and mild?” Contact Bruce Perrin.

Money, debt and life in all its fullness

As a part of Hope 08 we advertised and ran a 6-session Money Management course, The Money Secret, in Toast Deli. The course itself was a great success, and although the numbers who attended it were low, it significantly helped those who were able to do it.

It is clear that debt and money management is going to be a significant issue for a large number of people for many years to come and, as the Church in Marple, it would be great to be able to help these people, showing God’s love in such practical ways.

We have invited a Christian organisation called Stewardship Money who work in this field to come to All Saints’ Church on the 13 May at 7.30 pm to tell us about their work and how we, as the church in Marple and district, might consider getting involved.

If you and anyone else that you know would be interested in finding out more or maybe even getting involved please come along.

If you could let Bruce Perrin phone 07914 211376 know if you are able to come so that we can sort out numbers for catering that would be great, but feel free to just turn up on the day.

Balanced Life Course

“A Life worth Loving - finding the path to creativity and fulfilment”, 9 am to 12 noon on Saturday 17 May, at Marple Golf Club.

Managing stress, using time well, having good relationships and being an effective leader are all fairly useless in themselves unless we have discovered a purpose in life that makes it worth loving. This seminar looks at the psychology and spirituality of happiness and considers some important ways to develop our sense of purpose. It considers how we can unlock more creativity within ourselves and become better stewards of the environment. It looks at our need to move from success to significance and to feel that we are investing in things of ultimate value.

Cost £10 includes breakfast.

Contact Roger Preece phone 0161 427 1680 for further information and to book.

Volunteers’ Fair

On Sunday 1 June All Saints’ Church is inviting a number of local charities and community groups to lunch after church.

There will be opportunity to find out what people are involved with, what the needs of the various groups are, and maybe to volunteer to fulfil some of those needs. Everyone is invited to stay and have a Ploughman’s Lunch, at a cost of £2. This has been prompted by the Million Hours of Kindness for Hope 2008.

If you have any ideas for ‘stalls’ please see Penny Ribbeck, Liz Shercliff or Lis Wilson.

Chadkirk Deanery Quiet Day

Saturday 17 May from 10 am to 4:30 pm at St Martin’s Church, Low Marple led by Father Thomas Seville of the Community of the Resurrection.

Coffee and registration in St Martin’s Hall at 10 am, lunch at 12.30 pm - please bring your own. Tea and coffee will be provided. Registration fee £3 to cover expenses and costs.

Contact Jenny Kidd phone 01663 762063, jennythekidd @ hotmail.com

Supporting the Gibsons

Andrew Smith successfully completed his sponsored walk on Saturday 12 April in support of the Gibsons, see the Gibson's website. This has raised £350 to help build a church in Burkina Faso. If anyone else would like to make a donation this is a good time as Barclays Bank plc will double the money raised in addition to Gift Aid.

Thanks for everyone’s support.

Andrew Smith phone 0161 426 0442 (email: Andrew @ battlepuppy.net)

Charis Fun Day

The Charis Fun Day and Picnic in Marple Memorial Park on the 10 May is one of the main Churches Together events for Hope 08. It would be great for all of us to support it.

It’s not just for families, it’s for everyone.

This is an ideal opportunity for cells, families and individuals to bring their friends. It is raising money for both our local community charity (Charis), and an international aid charity (Turn on the Tap), whilst having fun and enjoying each other's company.

From 10 am onwards why not drop in for a while with friends and family to enjoy the fun?
At 2.30 pm the four mile sponsored walk starts, ideal for young, medium, older people as well as families and groups. Registration and sponsor forms are available from cell leaders or in All Saints’ link corridor.
At 4 pm come back (or just come) for a Picnic in the Park, with a barbecue.

Bring along your friends and neighbours (and some food) and enjoy a picnic together with live music, activities, and a short gospel talk from our very own ‘Martin Makin’.

And to follow on…

The 10.30 am service on Sunday 11 May will be a fun and easy guest service, to celebrate Pentecost, the Church's birthday. So why not bring along your friends for fun with the community on Saturday, and then fun and worship on Sunday? (There may even be birthday cake.)

See Marple-UK or phone 0161 427 5370 for information.

Turn on the Tap is a campaign for safe accessible water for people in the developing world. Through a range of solutions from hand dug wells, water filters and boreholes to health and hygiene education, we are providing safe, clean water and helping to break the grip of poverty on local communities.

12.45 Lunch

Thursday 15 May in All Saints’ Church Hall with guest speaker Marilyn Gregory on Leprosy Mission in Nigeria.

Cost: £3.50 (adult), £1.50 (children, 5 to 11), under 5’s free. Child care is available during the talk.

Please sign the list in All Saints’ Link Corridor before Sunday 11 May.

Multimedia PowerPoint training

The Family Friendly Churches Trust is running an Advanced Multimedia PowerPoint Day at 10:30 am on 31 May at Woodley Methodist Church, Chapel Street.

This is a day designed for people who have experience of using PowerPoint and want to develop their skills in using music, audio and video. The course will teach you how to use video, music and sound seamlessly in PowerPoint and also how to edit video and sound so that you get exactly the clip that you want. There is a fee of £20 for the day and places are limited.

The course is very hands on. The course organisers can provide laptops (sometimes one per two people) or you can bring your own (please check the specification).

You can find out more about the day and book a place at The Family Friendly Churches Trust.

HOPE 2008 events

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Charis Family Fun Day with a sponsored walk and picnic on Saturday 10 May
Hope on the Streets Hours of Kindness during May and June
Redeeming Our Communities prayer event on Tuesday 3 June at Manchester Velodrome
Game of Life on Tuesday 23 September at Manchester Velodrome

Hope 2008 is a national campaign that supports churches across the United Kingdom by facilitating prayer and a year of activities. It aims to communicate the Gospel through words and actions and create a lasting legacy of both physical and spiritual change in the lives of communities and individuals. High points include Fresh HOPE (January), The Big HOPE (Easter), HOPE on the Streets (May Bank Holiday/Pentecost), HOPE explored (September) and The Gift of HOPE (Christmas). hope08 Play

See Hope 2008.

Acts of kindness for HOPE 08

A million acts of kindness for HOPE 08 could include the donation of blood!

If you are a lapsed donor or would like to become one, the next session in Marple is on Sunday 11 May at the Dale Primary School. The sessions run from 10 am until 12 noon and then from 2 pm to 4 pm.

If you would like someone to come with you please see Gill Hale phone 0161 427 1428. There will be other opportunities later in the year.

Mini Great Manchester Run (1.6 km)

Saturday 17 May

A number of 3 to 14 year olds from All Saints’ Church are running in the Mini Great Manchester Run on the day before the main 10 km run.

If your child would like to take part and sponsor Martha, please see Trudi Combey phone 0161 449 8028 who will arrange a running vest and a group photo on the day.

Great Manchester Run (10 km)

Sunday 18 May

Eleven people from All Saints’ have signed up for the main race and we will again be supporting the Martha Mae Stringer Appeal for Kidney Research UK.

See the All Saints’ Just Giving page to sponsor someone.

Contact Brian Platt phone 0161 427 5689.

Christian Aid Envelopes

Christian Aid Week, 11 to 17 May

Can you spare three to four hours to assist with envelope distribution and collection please, either in Marple or Strines? Contact Joan Brown phone 0161 427 8757, Lis Wilson phone 0161 427 1255 or Brian Platt phone 0161 427 5689.

All Saint's Walking Group

The Walking Group will be supporting the Turn on the Tap sponsored walk on Saturday 10 May as a part of Hope 2008. The four-mile walk starts at 2:30 pm from Marple Memorial Park, see Turn on the Tap.

Contact Lis Wilson phone 0161 427 1255.

Marshals and registration help

Turn on the Tap organisers need marshals to be at strategic points on the walk and also some people to help with registration and ‘clocking in’. If you would like to help please contact Lis Wilson phone 0161 427 1255.

Morcambe Bay

The walking group is planning to do a sponsored walk across Morecambe Bay on Saturday 9 August. They need to book places quickly and a £10 registration fee is required.

Contact Shelagh Stokes phone 0161 427 7563 or Brian Beardwood phone 0161 449 9816 by 14 April if you would like to take part.