Rev Philip Gray - grayurc@yahoo.com

33, Halton Drive, Wideopen, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 0AA.

CHURCH SECRETARY:
Mr. F. Milligan, 10 The Beeches, Ponteland NE20 9SZ
 

• SUNDAY WORSHIP 10 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.
   
• Saturday 6th September
  Church Open Day
   
• Sunday 7th September Evening Communion 6.30 p.m.
   
• Sunday 14th September Quarterly Communion 10 a.m.
   
• Friday 19th September
  Methodist Church Christian Aid Tea 4 - 5 p.m.
   
• Tuesday 23rd September
  Church Quarterly Meeting 7 p.m.
   
• Thursday 25th September
  Bible Society Lunch - 12 noon.
   
• Saturday 27th September
  Jumble Sale at 10 a.m.
   
• Sunday 5th October Evening Communion 6.30 p.m.
   
• Sunday 12th October
  Harvest Festival
   
• Friday 17th October
  Harvest Supper
  
   

PARABLES OF JESUS
 

The Parable of the lost coin

Or, what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one, will not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, I have found the coin which was lost”. Just so, I tell you, there is a joy in the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Luke 15 v. 8 - 10
 

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
the muttered cry was drowned
by Abel’s life-blood shouting
in silence from the ground.
For no man is an island
divided from the main,
the bell which tolled for Abel
toiled equally for Cain.

After two years a change of direction as we use a verse of a Hymn as a focus for “Thought for the month”.
 

From the Revd Philip Gray
 

Dear Friends

I suppose I should say “How were your Holidays?” or even “Great Summer wasn’t it?”, but that would get me a mixture of replies. I try to be careful when I ask about holidays, for I have enjoyed some really odd ones far better than the more conventional. As an example, I once spent two weeks in Birmingham on holiday and really enjoyed it, got a suntan and was really rested. Then two years ago we went to GOA. The holiday was good, sand, sea and SUNSHINE. The journey home was the bit that spoilt it though. After getting up at 5am in GOA we travelled home, arriving at 4pm the next day shattered. Many people are being put off foreign holidays because of airport congestion, damage to luggage (that is of course if it arrives in the first place), and the high costs of traversing the airport refreshments areas. I think the home holiday may well be on the increase, especially with the fuel surcharges and decreasing value of the pound. Furthermore, just to mention a more down beat note, the rapid rise in utility charges will also ground many folk.

What a lovely opening gambit to the restarting of the news letter, so let’s try and be more positive.

If we are going to start thinking of staying at home more, then perhaps this is a good time to think of church growth and what we might do. High on the agenda could be Alpha courses, or something similar, as well as Café Church. I wonder what knowledge you have about either? The Alpha course is a series of structured sessions that allows people from both inside and outside the church to ask the type of question they may never have had the opportunity to put or discuss. It also allows the Christian message to be put in a way that is logical and easy to understand. By no means is it the full answer, but it is a starting point. An alternative to this is Café Church, where people meet to drink coffee and chat about the gospel. It requires an area that loosely resembles a café, with good coffee or tea, a friendly approach, and some helpful worship to conclude. This will mainly feature the new style of songs and hymns (remember, the old ones were new once), sung in an informal manner. There will be a short bible reading, reflection, and a prayer time. Café church is, in a sense, a half way house to Sunday worship, or an alternative to Sunday worship for those whose lives do not allow them to be present on that day. It’s also a less daunting venture than coming to church for the first time, and allows those who have been hurt by church, to make a small return.

Of course, there are other ways of growing the church, and all of them need the commitment of the congregation to help and not criticise, - it’s as black and white as that! All the good work that the hard working folk of the church achieve can be offset in an instant by the moaners, deriders and gossipers who do more damage than good. So if the church does anything about growth everyone must be behind it 100%, and no less. This does not mean everyone doing something, it’s more about permission. It will need a core group of committed people, who will be supported by everyone else. Help could be in the form of a bag of coffee or a tray of cakes, given for one of the evenings, or, perhaps, taking out invitations and talking positively of the new events at the church.

Have a think and come back to me with suggestions, ideas, or even commitment. Please put your ideas and comments into writing and give to the editor for the Magazine so that we may have a public discussion which will, in turn, help to keep everyone well informed.

Here’s a story I’ve used before, but it’s worth hearing again.

One day Jesus was teaching to a crowd. He was sat under a large veranda, when all of a sudden the tiles above him were quickly removed and a sick man was lowered down by ropes to lie before him. The man’s friends had got together to bring him to Jesus for healing, and so Jesus healed him. That day two miracles happened, one was the supernatural miracle of Jesus healing the man, the second was the natural miracle that occurs when good people get together and work for the common good. It’s called team work. Are we a team? Individually can you be relied upon? We should be able to create miracles in our community by working together for the common good of God’s Kingdom. Let’s see if we are a team!

As a last thought, if anyone would like to explore the meaning of Adult Baptism and renewal of Baptismal vows I am willing to run a short session on this subject during October. Please let me know if you are interested and what is a good time for you.

God Bless,
Philip
 

CHURCH QUARTERLY MEETING 13TH JULY 2008

Our Treasurer, Peter Watson, advised the meeting that for the first 6 months of this year, our expenditure has exceeded our income by about £9,600. Our income has decreased by £1,650 approximately and we have significant increases in several areas of our spending. A letter will be circulated in which we will highlight our problems and seek increased congregational support.

The meeting received a draft Statement of Intent which it is hoped will assist our Mission Partnership in making decisions and enable us to move forwards as a group.

Shona Kerr and Kay Watson have volunteered to restart Junior Church for the youngest age-group and we thank them very much for their recommitment to our children. We still need volunteers to support them and to teach our older children.

The Project Group advised the meeting that the refurbishment of the vestibule has been carried out for about £39,000, compared with our budget figure of £70,000 (estimated in September 2007). We are indebted to Robin Ramsay for overseeing the work and enabling such significant savings to be made. Our balance of funds after completing the vestibule is £66,000 plus ongoing pledges and donations.

We will celebrate our new, light, airy vestibule at an Open Day on Saturday 6th September from 11.00am to 2.00pm. We will invite Church User Groups and the wider community to join us and see the improvements we have made.

Our bid to the Big Lottery Fund has not been successful so we look to the extension of the vestibule to become our Community Meeting Place as the next phase of our project.
 

ELDERS MEETING

We continued discussion of Junior Church and our Church Open Day.

A draft Statement of Intent for the Mission Partnership’s working group was discussed and we agreed to take it to the Church Meeting for consideration with a view to adopting it at a later date.

We talked about a proposal to have “Remembrance Bricks” outside the church. Elders felt that there are many ways to remember and that the church itself is a place of remembrance. We will consult and give further thought to this proposal.

We considered how to deal with our vacant manse; it needs cleaning and some redecoration. We think time-limited rentals of 6 months or a year might be appropriate. Fred will write to Synod seeking confirmation that we manage the manse as appropriate.

Fred Milligan,
Church Secretary
 

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Kay and Shona are reintroducing a Sunday school group for the younger children, i.e. 7 years and under.

We are going to keep it simple and it will be based on the well loved Bible stories. The first session will be on Sunday morning 21st September after the new school term has started. We will try to meet each week to start with and then make a decision about how to proceed. Please pray that families will bring their children to church and attend on a regular basis.

Kay Watson
 

SYNOD NEWS

From the Moderator

Dear friends,

John Bunyan’s hymn begins …..

Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather.
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.

At General Assembly Revd Jane Leach of Wesley House, Cambridge shared her experience of her pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Pilgrimage is a good model for Christian faith.

Christ says ‘Follow me’ along the Way that ‘I am’. Life is a pilgrimage: a journey to a place of religious significance, through death into full life with God. In it we sojourn as strangers in the world, seeking a better country, the kingdom of God.

Christian pilgrimage involves travelling on. It is not about staying still but keeping close to Christ who strides out before us. There is an old blessing ‘May you always be covered with dust from the Master’s feet.’

On the way we meet many people; outsiders and aliens. We experience ourselves as strangers. We may stop a while and share hospitality – a conversation on the way, food, music, thanks and praise or service and care. The stranger becomes the host and, as on the road to Emmaus, Christ is seen amongst us.

The pilgrim way is a way of humility: a word linked with the humanity God takes on in Christ and humus, the soil we walk on and from which we are made. Our pilgrimage is earthed. The blisters and aching muscles, the need for warmth and shelter provoke us into realizing that where we encounter God is in the flesh that Christ shared.

The United Reformed Church is on a pilgrimage, through rough terrains, some feel towards death, but the dry bones of Ezekiel’s valley were brought together and had new life breathed into them. As we journey in the coming years, prompted to stay close to Christ through Vision4Life, may we accept that we are strangers on the earth, sharing hospitality with those we encounter, in celebration that we are part of God’s creative love.

Shalom, Rowena
 

St. George’s Morpeth have decided after much consultation to seek membership of the SE Northumberland Ecumenical Area. If final negotiations are successful this will lead to a welcome strengthening of our Church’s commitment to SENEA, but will of course have a knock-on effect on the Mission Partnership they leave. Not least, the name “Nine Churches” will need some attention.

Celebrate Calvin by changing the world - Geneva 10th July.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches, whose roots go back to the 16th century Protestant Reformation of John Calvin, is urging members to celebrate in 2009 the 500th anniversary of his birth by working for the unity of the church, promoting social justice and respect for creation and by addressing war and violence. He is renowned for his role in the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, a once independent city-state which became part of the Swiss Confederation in 1815.

SYNOD E-NEWS

This is a new cheap and cheerful service for anyone who has email: a (roughly) monthly list of things of interest in and around the synod. At present it is going out to ministers and church secretaries and local church contacts for whom we have an email address – but anyone is more than welcome to receive it. Just send an email to the synod clerk (john.durell@urc-northernsynod.org) asking to be added to the list. And it provides a very easy way for you to advertise your own church and Mission Partnership events that you think may be of wider interest.
 

THE LAST SUPPER

On Sunday 14th September, 2008 we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper. It may be led by someone unfamiliar to us but the “meal” itself is always basically the same – bread and wine. What we know as the Lord’s Supper was also Jesus’ last supper with the disciples and, of course, their Passover feast. For this, not only bread and wine were consumed but also the Passover lamb and bitter herbs, recalling the story of the first Passover, to be found in Exodus chapter 12.

There is a famous painting of the last supper by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. However, if you visit the cathedral of Cuzco in Peru, you will also see a painting of the last supper, done by a local artist, Marcos Zapata. Like Leonardo, he too has the disciples and Jesus seated round a table, about to enjoy the meal. The difference here, is that they are about to eat, not the Passover lamb, but the Peruvian delicacy of guinea pig and instead of wine, glasses of chicha, the local beer, are ready to be drunk.

The story is told that the invading Spaniards conspired with the Roman Catholic Church to suppress the local people, by the use of religion. Using local fare in the painting is thought to be a small way of keeping them in line.

The price of a guinea pig in modern times is equivalent to a week’s wages for most of the population, so it continues to be a delicacy kept for very special occasions. It you travel the local roads and see a red plastic carrier bag blowing from a stick like a flag, you know that the people in that house have brewed some chicha. They have some left over from their own needs and are willing to sell it to a passer by.

Carol Gabriel
 

NEW LANARK

It was interesting to read in the April edition of “Source” Graham Smith’s comprehensive account which detailed the history of New Lanark. We had a different New Lanark experience on our Church coach excursion. The high rainfall prior to our visit was demonstrated by the lush green landscape. What a privilege it was to travel through this unspoilt Scottish countryside. Our courier Raymond ably pointed out interesting facts on the journey and the rain only fell when we were travelling on the coach!

We enjoyed our welcome coffee stop at the magnificent 18th century building, Lockerbie Manor Hotel. We all sadly remembered the tragic evening of December 21st 1988 when a Pan Am flight exploded in mid air after a terrorist bomb was detonated over Lockerbie and all passengers and crew with eleven people on the ground were killed.

Our primary venue was the restored cotton mill village of New Lanark which is now a World Heritage Site. Over 200 years ago the impressive sandstone mills were built by an enterprising Scot, David Dale, in a dramatic gorge close to the famous Falls of Clyde.

The village soon became known worldwide under the enlightened management of Dale’s son-in-law, the social pioneer Robert Owen. In an age of cruel mill managers and “dark satanic mills” he provided decent homes, fair wages, free health care and a new education system which included the first nursery school in the world.

Our passport ticket enabled us to explore the many attractions. We were entertained by a most informative audio visual show of Annie McLeod’s school days in 1820.

The life and work of the villagers became apparent when we saw and heard the working textile machinery, visited the village store and the mill workers’ and Robert Owen’s houses. On the millennium ride we discovered Robert Owen’s inspiring vision for the next millennium. The stunning scenery from the new roof garden and viewing platform was amazing.

A fitting ending to the day was a return visit to Peebles Hydro for a most enjoyable high tea. The first people’s Hydropathic, built in the 19th century, was an establishment where people went to take water cures. Unfortunately, this hotel was destroyed by fire but in 1907 Albert Thiem opened a new hotel costing £37,000. This hotel prospered until World War 1 when it became a convalescent home for naval officers and in the Second World War it was turned into a military hospital for the Edinburgh Territorials.

The Peebles Hydro has always been able to adapt to new circumstances enabling generations of guests to enjoy the hospitality.

Once again we thank Raymond and Margaret for a memorable day, their careful planning and precision timing. We thank them most sincerely and greatly appreciate the time and effort spent arranging these successful days.

Mary Younger
 

HORSLEY VILLAGE CHURCH
 

“Loving one another and bringing hope to all through growing faith in God”

Our first record of Christian worship taking place here is in 1662, when the house adjoining the present church was used as a meeting place for those who no longer wanted to be part of the Church of England.

In that year 2000 clergy were ejected from their churches as they would not adhere to the Act of Uniformity which made the use of the book of Common Prayer compulsory in religious services. The vicar of Ovingham, Thomas Trewent left his parish and went to live in Harlow Hill where he preached in his own house and at his friend's house in Horsley. Today that house is now the Hearth, an arts and music centre and coffee shop. In 1664 it became illegal to hold such meetings so secret services were held at night in the attic of this house. Access was through a small trap door in one of the bedrooms. Once inside the ladder was drawn up and the trap door secured. It is said that members came from great distances and many were shepherds whose dogs had to be taken into the attic so as not to draw attention to their number. It was not an easy time. To be found out would mean a heavy fine, imprisonment and possible transportation.

The first chapel was built in the late 1600's after the Act of Toleration allowed freedom of worship. It was replaced by the present building in 1900. It was established as a Congregationalist Church until 1972, when it became part of the United Reformed Church. Today we are a diverse congregation from all denominations, worshipping and serving God in Horsley village.

As well as being part of the Mission Partnership we are also a member church of the Covenant of the Wylam and District Churches so we share in worship and social events on a regular basis. We share our youth worker who organises the Rock Solid Group which meets weekly.

Over the years we have benefited from and are grateful for the input of other churches, Ponteland being one of those which greatly helped in keeping the church on track through ministry and organisational assistance.

As well as our regular services, we are looking at different ways of being “church” and are intending to hold monthly "Messy Church" sessions for families. Sunday afternoons of fun, crafts, games leading to worship and followed by tea.

Services Sunday at 11am

Prayer meeting Monthly on the first Sunday at 6pm

Women's Guild Monthly on the second Monday at 2.30pm

House group Wednesdays at 7.30pm

Rock Solid Wednesdays at 6pm

In 2004 the former manse, the original meeting place for worship, was renovated after standing empty for a number of years. After exploring various avenues to find a suitable use for this building, the decision was made to transform the rooms into artists' studios and a coffee shop. There are eight studios on the site; two housed in the former Sunday School rooms adjoining the Victorian church hall. Painters, potters, printers and a stringed instrument maker now work on the premises. The ground floor of the manse is a coffee shop. Here you can see examples of the wattle and daub construction of the walls and in one room the stone inglenook fireplace which the renovation revealed.

The Hearth is a popular venue on the annual Network Art Tour when the resident artists are joined by others to give a wider range of arts and crafts on display. Art courses and musical soirees events are part of the yearly calendar of events at the Hearth. Singing Babies, Squeaky Feet and Arty Afternoons provide music, movement and crafts for the under 5's in the locality. See our website www.thehearth.co.uk

Our thanks to Alan and Christine Holmes for contributing this article.
 

EVENTS

The EVENTS Group meeting takes place on October. A representative from all Church Groups is invited as we arrange an active social programme for all members, friends and where possible the Community. A list of those invited will be on the Church Notice Board and we do ask that you let them know in advance of any ideas you would like us to consider. We have had five very successful years and this will continue into 2009.

DAYS AWAY

May 16th to SKIPTON with a three hour voyage on the Canal including lunch followed by time to visit the famous Street Market. 
Time for tea in Harrogate on our return. £35.00 including Coach, Coffee, Lunch and Gratuities. 
Deposit £10.00 as we have already booked the Boat. Balance £25.00 by 30th April 2009. List on Notice Board

MINI HOLIDAY

June 8th - 12th 2009 to IONA and MULL. This has been delayed for three years but in 2009 it looks as though it will happen.

Coach to Oban and Ferry to Craignure on Mull. 
Four nights Dinner, bed and breakfast at the GLENFORSA Hotel by Salen. 
Provisional programme includes visits to Iona, Torosay and Duart Castles and gardens, Miniature railway journey, White sands of Calgary Bay, Dervaig, Tobermory. Optional sailing from Ulva Ferry to Staffa and the Treshnish Islands or from Tobermory to Ardnamurchan.

Immediate booking essential to secure Hotel accommodation. Cost £390 with £100 deposit on booking and balance by 30th April 2009.
 

www.ponteland-urc.org.uk

The Broadband connection will soon be in Church. Emails including copy and photographs will be sent direct to the SOURCE team. These will only be accessed by a limited number of persons who have the necessary passwords.

In recent weeks we know the Church web site has been visited to obtain times of Services, when Communion was being held, dates of activities and times of meetings etc. Two organisations are aiming to target families with information about the activities they provide within our premises.

This is a groundroots facility. We leave the National URC and the Synod web sites to provide information as it were from above whilst we tell what happens at street level in Darras Hall and Ponteland. A revealing comment from a recent viewer confirmed that we are not like other Church sites, we have so much of interest, excellent coloured pictures and a site that is easy to navigate.

Probably few people are aware of this approach and that we have been steadily breaking ground in God’s name from right here on Broadway.

At last we may be in striking distance of our web becoming fully active with local input.
 

BROADWAY NURSERY
 

Thank you from everyone at Broadway Nursery for allowing us to use the North facing sloping wild garden area which is adjacent to the main hall, as our outside learning area.

From September 2008 Ofsted require all pre-school settings to offer daily access to an outside area. We would like our outside area to be a place in which the children can play and learn.

The North facing garden that Penny Hewitt has been developing is perfect. It will be kept in its “wild state” allowing the children to use the natural elements, to observe the change in seasons and for us to deliver a wide range of experiences.

Once the area is secure the children will be allowed daily supervised access. The slope, long grass and damp areas, to which we will add sand and water, will allow the children freedom to play creatively. There will be areas that they will have freedom to change but areas that they will learn to respect and preserve because of the plants that are there and creatures that can be found there.

We are thrilled about this outside area as it allows us to deliver more hands on experiences, as well as delivering a lot of Ofsted’s new requirements.

If any church members have horticultural knowledge and would like to help us develop this area, or talk to the children about insects, seedlings and planting seeds, please get in touch with Sandra Brown or Julie Cowey.

Sandra Brown
 

HARVEST FESTIVAL
 

SUNDAY 12TH OCTOBER

The Harvest Festival will be held on Sunday 12th October. Contributions of goods will be welcome and may be brought to the Church on Saturday 11th October from 10 a.m. to 11a.m.

If anyone would find it more convenient, contributions of dried or tinned goods may be handed in from Sunday 5th October, at times when the Church is open. A box will be available within the Church to receive the goods.

An endorsement has been given to us confirming “Nice ’n’ Clean” treatment of a three piece suite has been highly successful.
 

HEATON SPORTS DAY

We have been given a copy of an article, published in the Heaton Presbyterian Church magazine, we believe, in the early 1930s.

On November 31st Heaton held its Sports Day, the first of what we are sure will be a series of outstanding events. The climatic conditions were not all they might have been; but, although dull, the major part of the afternoon was fine and most of the events had been run off before the proceedings were brought to an end by a thunderstorm.

We understand that the Master of Ceremonies, Mr Robert Sloan, was on the field by 6 a.m. with this loyal band of helpers Mr Clubb, Mr. Ernest Davison, Mr Cook, Miss Adam, Mrs Leach and Mrs Arkley: and, having worked like trojans, the course was all taped out by 2.30 when the crowd began to arrive. At this point Mr Firth conducted the Choir in a sweet rendering of “The Campbells are coming they are, they are”.

The proceedings were opened by Mrs. McAra who wore a blue flounced jumper on a crimson skirt of crepe de chine and a hat of raffia-worked twill. There was some discussion among the ladies as to whether she made it herself or bought it at the Sale of Work.

The first race was the 100 yards sprint for men. There were twenty entrants. The start was somewhat confused because Mr. Sloan began running himself and forgot to fire the pistol until he had almost finished the course. However, in the end, a fine race resulted. Mr. Mitchell, who wore white silk shorts trimmed with Irish lace and singlet of emerald taffeta showed wonderful form and came in by a length and a half ahead of Mr. Bill Harding who had stopped to buy an ice-cream from Mrs. Baird. Mr. Charlton Harding was third.

The next race was the half mile for ladies. Thirty entered, all dressed in bright and alluring colours. It was noticed that Mrs. Bywell had on one of those chic French berets with an ostrich feather to match. She did not run with it however, except to hand it to Miss Scougal who was later seen trying it on behind the Pavilion. The pistol went off, much to Mrs J.G. Johnson’s surprise as she happened to be standing in front of it. The runners ran. It was a wonderful sight. Some of the ladies had evidently been practicing. Mrs. Thirlwell only just managed to touch the tape before Mrs. Hunter, who had cut off a corner and thus outdistanced her opponents, came in second. Miss Sloan, who had stopped to collect a W.M.A. subscription, came in third.

The Egg and Spoon race, which came next was won by Mrs. Mitchell; but this was not surprising as it was known that she had been borrowing every egg in The Drive every day for the fortnight previous to the race. There was one unfortunate incident in this race. One of the eggs was dropped near Mr. Sloan and the Boys Brigade had to be called up to render first aid.

The sack race was won by Mr. Thirlwell, largely through his ingenious method of proceeding by a series of somersaults. Mr Robb came in second, having been delayed because he had tried to sell his sack for 6d.

The Mile Trophy, presented by the Young Worshippers League, was won by Mr. George Smith who cunningly dropped insurance policies whenever anyone threatened to pass him. And the Two Mile Ladies race was won by Mrs. Charlton Harding who had expressed the hope that she might carry off the prize for this race, a synthetic butter maker, and nobody wanted to disappoint her.

The great event of the afternoon, however, was of course the Mixed Obstacle Race. In addition to the large sheet, the barrels and the usual obstacles, the Committee had had constructed an imitation pond and this, with a bunker or two and a large patch of broken glass helped to enliven the proceedings. Fifty people entered but only three finished. Mr. Topping got caught and firmly fixed in a barrel. Mr. Buckie was called off the field by Mr. Scougal about some Repairs Committee business. Mr. Westwater found the going exhausting and stopped to get a drink. Miss Balmbro came to grief at the ladders. Mrs. Topping stopped to pick up the broken glass. Mr. Clubb refused to get his feet wet in the pond, and wanted to know why the Deacons had allowed it to be constructed. Mrs. Montgomery got lost and an advertisement had to be put in the newspaper for her recovery. And so on and so on.

The winners therefore are to be congratulated. They were: 1st Mrs. Mason, who said it was all due to a loving husband. 2nd Mr. Mason who said it was all due to a loving wife: and 3rd Miss Hoy, who said she had no idea what it was due to, and if she had she wouldn’t dare say.

And at that point came the thunderstorm and the Sports Day was brought to a speedy end. Nevertheless, as this summary shows, the whole afternoon was an unqualified success; and it well rewarded those who had worked so hand and so enthusiastically to organise it.

Could our Celebration Day have a similar article written about it, with a similar sense of humour!!
 

WALKING HADRIAN’S WALL

As you may know my friend Jonny and I (we will both be 16 later this year) set off to walk the 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall, camping as we went. Despite the awful weather at times we were determined to finish it and we did - to the plan we made. We were even helped by my Grandma, Betty MacFarlane, who joined us one day to walk a part of it with us.

I would especially like to thank everyone who gave so generously to my sponsorship in memory of my Grandad, Willie MacFarlane.I was both emotional and when we finished at Wallsend to a great champagne reception and I said I did it all for Grandad.

Thank you everyone for your generous support which will be given to Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of my Grandad. My sponsorship will be well over £1000. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

David MacFarlane
 

Contact names ; -

Church Secretary - Mr. F. Milligan, 10 The Beeches, Ponteland. NE20 9SZ Tel. 823489

Hall Bookings - Mrs. J. Childs, 34 Ashdale, Ponteland. NE20 9DR. Tel. 825144

Property Secretary - Mrs. B. Johnston, 2 Bamburgh House, Merton Way, Ponteland. NE20 9PY Tel. 872546

Disclaimer:-
Statements made or views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Newsletter Team.
 

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