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Back to Church Sunday It was good to see some new faces in the congregation last Sunday, plus some whom we haven’t seen for a while and of course our newest member Peter David Brant, only three days old! The church had a wonderful warm and welcoming atmosphere, which we hope will encourage people to continue worshipping with us.This is our major fund raising event for 2010. Preparations are well under way as businesses round the village and church organisations decide how they will decorate their trees. There will be a Bazaar in the Church Centre with our usual Ladies Guild Cake Stall, a £1 prize every time stall, Flower Decorators Christmas Decorations stall, Bottle stall and so on. We will also have the usual raffle. Refreshments are planned for all the time the church is open over the weekend.  Christmas Tree Festival This is our major fund raising event for 2010. Preparations are well under way as businesses round the village and church organisations decide how they will decorate their trees. There will be a Bazaar in the Church Centre with our usual Ladies Guild Cake Stall, a £1 prize every time stall, Flower Decorators Christmas Decorations stall, Bottle stall and so on. We will also have the usual raffle. Refreshments are planned for all the time the church is open over the weekend.    Ladies Guild On 27th September a representative from the Neonatal unit of the L.R.I. Elaine Boyle came to tell us about the work of the unit from looking after very tiny premature babies to normal sized ones that are born with problems. Margaret Burnett presented Elaine with a cheque for £1,200 and lots of premature baby clothes which the group and friends had knitted. Elaine thanked everyone for the cheque and clothes and we closed with our usual refreshments. Sheila Borderick  Harvest Festival Weekend Saturday evening we enjoyed a great concert with Mick Smith and the Playford Roadies. The Playford Roadies are Dave Mordecai, Terry Pearce and of course, Mick Smith. Also part of the evening were Charlotte Cooke and Brian Maunder two talented acoustic guitar players and singers. These talented musicians gave a splendid evening of entertainment with all sorts of music including music of the fifties, sixties. seventies and eighties. Refreshments and raffle in the church centre followed. This raised over £180 for the church. Sunday saw a combined service with the 10.00am and eleven30 congregations. Well over 100 people sang the favourite harvest hymns and some new ones and presented gifts which were later donated to The Carpenter’s Arms residential rehabilitation centre in Loughborough. After the service everyone enjoyed a Bring and Share lunch in the church centre.   Knitted teddies A request from the diocese for these knitted teddies was received and Sheila took up the challenge and so far has produced eight! Nearly every day young children come to HMP Leicester to visit a relative. These visits can be daunting and these teddies are given to the children to play with whilst in the Prison Visits Hall and to take home with them, to help them have positive memories of the visit.  Diocesan Assembly-Food for the Journey Several members of the congregation were among the 400 who attended this day led by the Bishop of Leicester at The Samworth Centre. After a breakfast of bacon rolls we heard a keynote speaker who considered the glory of God and how we are called to live out of an ‘ecology of praise’, overflowing with thanksgiving and joy in our God. There was then a wide range of workshops and discussions plus thought provoking displays to look at and a buffet lunch to enjoy before returning to the main hall where we heard an address by Jill Rowe from the Oasis Trust, who reminded us of our calling to be in Jesus’ image and likeness, not least in our compassionate service of others. The afternoon concluded with a Communion Service and a rousing sending out from the Bishop of Leicester.