Thursday 25 December 2014

The real meaning of Christmas

Perhaps during Christmas, more than any other time, we fail to hear God's voice.  Distractions abound, and at a time when our focus should be on our blessings and our Saviour, we're tuned in to other things that seem more pressing.  But on Christmas Day, make the choice to open your heart, mind, and spirit and listen for God's voice.

A very happy, peaceful and blessed Christmas to you all. 

Monday 22 December 2014

December Doodle

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Let's not lose the Doodle - can anyone help take it over?

Carol singing

Thanks to all who came carol singing last week and thanks to all who responded so magnificently!  We received a warm welcome around Manor Court, Main Street, Potterhanworth Road and Parklands Avenue, with several people coming out to listen.  No one threw boots or bricks at us!  The evening started with a session to warm us up at The Cottage Residential Care Home, where the residents joined in with some well known carols.  We finished at the Village Hall and were met with welcome mince pies and delicious mulled wine.  We raised £80.87 which will be divided between the church and a homelessness charity.  Next year we will visit a different section of the village so as to spare the same people having to listen to us every year...

Friday 21 November 2014

Thursday 4 September 2014

Church open

Have you ever wanted to visit our lovely church but not found it open? The church will be open on Friday afternoons between 2 and 4 pm until the end of October. Please drop in and see us!

Harvest Thanksgiving

This year our Harvest Thanksgiving Service will be on 21 September at 4 pm. This will be followed by the ever-popular Harvest Supper – please contact Ann Kennedy 01526 322739 for tickets.

Wildflower study area

From Jane Kania

The study of wildflowers within the sector in the churchyard has been completed for this year.  It created interest with passers-by and the judges in both rounds of the Best Kept Village competition.  So what have been the findings?

Some of the flowers were easily recognised; Dandelions, Daisies, Primroses and later in the year Cow Parsley.  Those perhaps not so well known though still relatively common were Cuckoo Flower, Herb Robert, Purple Dead Nettle, Ground Ivy and Bugle.  These were present in other areas within the graveyard but a number of species were found only in this area.  This was because they were able to grow and flower due to the area not being mowed as usual.  These included Common Persicaria, Creeping Buttercup and Lady's Smock.  Hopefully these will have been able to seed and spread further within the graveyard.

The study will be continued next year using another area within the graveyard.  Meanwhile there has been the offer of some wildflower seed which could be sown in areas within the graveyard where at present little appears to grow.

Tuesday 26 August 2014

For the attention of anyone visiting a grave

Dear friends, it has been brought to my attention that some of the headstones in the churchyard are no longer securely bedded in. Please check your relative's headstone and contact me on 01526 323357 if there is any concern about its stability. Many thanks. Liz Murray, Churchwarden

Sunday 27 July 2014

Fundraiser - thanks to Janet!

Janet Goldsworthy hosted a Body Shop Party on 10th July to raise funds for Nocton Church Restoration Fund. Over 20 people attended the event and £250 was made. Janet would like to thank everyone who attended*, placed an order or bought a raffle ticket. And a big thank you to Kirsty Wilson our local Body Shop rep who ran the event. Much fun was had by all trying various treatments, aromas and potions, drinking wine and eating cupcakes! 


* so would everyone at All Saints!

Sunday 29 June 2014

Nocton Fashion Show

With thanks to Julie Partridge for this report.  We are very grateful to all who contributed, not least to Julie and to Jane Kania, for organising the event.

Something very special happens when you invite 90 fashionistas to a Fashion Show in Nocton Village Hall.

Oh what a night, of glamorous models strutting the catwalk with panache and eager customers wanting their chance to enjoy a beautiful bargain.  Lincs Fashions brought their summer collection of High Street Fashion and tempted us to buy tops, gilets, jackets, jeans and the occasional posh frock.  The atmosphere was good humoured and those who ran to bring the bargain to the customers were fit and very fast!


After the silent raffle winners were declared (silently) and the last drops of wine were polished off by our fun loving ladies, All Saints Church became the benefactors of £522.50.  That is something special and for which the organisers are very grateful for.


Well done to everyone who contributed through buying tickets, giving time and talent as well as the prizes to make this a very enjoyable event. We hope to host another show in Nocton next year but if you can't wait that long take a look at Lincsfashions.com to see when they might be appearing in a village near you.

Village children celebrate St Peter

From Carol Bennett

The 29th of June is the day each year when the life of St Peter is remembered. In the weeks leading up to this time, Rev. Jonnie Parkin and a member of the children’s activity group across the six parishes, in association with luminous, went to Dunston St Peter’s School and worked on a drama with the children about the life of St Peter. They prepared video clips telling the story of Christ calling Peter, and Peter following Christ. The members of the cast threw themselves enthusiastically into the characters, hurling themselves into and out of boats, being astonished by his miracles, then dismayed by his capture and sentencing to death. Peter was a very human saint, who made mistakes. Fearful of capture, he denied knowing Christ three times before Jesus was crucified, yet
it was Peter whom Jesus chose to be the rock upon which to build his church (the name Peter is derived from the Latin word ‘petra’, meaning ‘rock’.)


The children’s activity team and Rev. Jonnie Parkin took the video prepared by the children in Dunston School to the Methodist Chapel in Dunston for a workshop on Saturday, 28 June. Children, including Paddie and Lydia from Nocton, watched the videos, and then responded with a craft response, involving creating a fishing scene on a paper plate, with blue tissue paper for the Sea of Galilee, a clay boat, a net and fish. They made pipe cleaner people which were then fastened together to make a church, standing on a base of rock from the Lincoln Cathedral quarry. There was also a big fish made up of CDs, which overlap and catch the light like fish scales. On the next day, the Sunday of St Peterstide, there was a group service in St Peter’s Church, Dunston, when both the videos and the crafts prepared by the children became essential components in the worship.






June Doodle

Click on the link for the June Doodle!

Thank you Sir James!

Sir James Dyson has generously donated a vacuum cleaner to the church. It will certainly make our job much easier and more efficient.
 
If you are interested in helping to care for our beautiful church, please give me a ring. It is not a big commitment.

Ruth Tel. 322285, ruth@jimeagle.plus.com
 

Sunday 8 June 2014

Children's activity 28 June


Latest Doodle

Rather late in being posted - sorry!

Click here!

Songs for a Summer Evening





Songs for a Summer Evening on Friday 4 July at 7.30 pm
 

Easy listening music with the Banovallum Singers, including the Beatles song, ‘If I Fell in Love with You’, and spirituals such as ‘Pick a Bale of Cotton’ and ‘Down by the Riverside’ as well as the old favourite, ‘Wraggle Taggle Gypsies’
Enjoy the music, with strawberries and cream and a complimentary glass of wine in the interval, all included. In aid of church repairs.
Tickets £7 (£2 for children under 16) from Nocton Post Office, or phone Ann Kennedy (01526 322739)

Sunday 27 April 2014

Ascension Day service


Fashion show 16 June

Back by popular demand, this is the moment, ladies, to refresh your wardrobe!  Even if all you buy is a £20 scarf for £5, you will go home happy, having had an entertaining evening catching up with friends, and also with the latest trends in fashion.  The clothes are from sizes 8 to 24, modelled by real people who have generously given their time to show you how the fashions look on real people.  These are high street labels of the first quality, and there is a changing room to try before you buy.  Entry to the show is £5.   Tickets are now on sale at the Post Office, or contact Jane Kania (lincolntrout@yahoo.com) or Julie Partridge (jpartridge369@btinternet.com), or phone Carol Bennett (01526 322930).  Doors and Private Bar will open from 7 pm.  The fashion show starts at 7.30 pm.


Spring Sunday lunch

Tickets are now available for the Spring Sunday Lunch in aid of repairs to Nocton Church at the Village Hall at 12.30 pm.  We are still trying to raise funds to restore the damaged wall paintings in the chancel, so the continuing support of people living in the village is greatly appreciated.  Aside from cooked meats, there will be home made quiches and salads, and a delectable assortment of puddings!  Tickets are £8 for adults and £4 for children.   There will be a complimentary glass of wine or juice, with a donation bar.  Buy your tickets in the Post Office or phone Ann Kennedy (01526 322739). 


Annual Parochial Church Meeting


The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (the church's AGM) was held on 23 April.  Six members of the congregation attended.  Liz Murray was elected as churchwarden, Ann Kennedy was elected as Deanery Synod representative and Carol Bennett, Nicholas Bennett, Ruth Eagle, Doreen Green and Chris Howard were elected as members of the Parochial Church Council for the coming year.  Ann Kennedy, Ruth Eagle and Richard and Jacky Free were elected as sidespersons.

Monday 21 April 2014

Church clean up

Thank you to the thirteen willing helpers who worked so hard to give our church a thorough spring clean. We were all pleased with the results and had a lot of fun too as you can see by Richard’s feather duster!


Easter

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Sunday 13 April 2014

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

The Annual Parish Meeting (APM) and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) - the church's AGM -  will be held on Wednesday 23 April at 7.30 pm in church.

Why two meetings, you may ask? The APM is to elect the two churchwardens who will serve for the following year.  Anyone on the civil electoral register – anyone entitled to vote in government elections – or on the church electoral roll may attend the meeting.  The APCM immediately follows and is to receive the accounts, the fabric report and the report of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), and to elect the PCC and sidespersons for the following year.  Anyone on the church electoral roll is entitled to attend.  We have six elected members of the PCC.


Please join us on 23 April! We promise not to elect you as PCC member or sidesperson unless you actually volunteer!

Children's event for Good Friday


April Doodle

Please click here for the latest Doodle!

Sunday 23 March 2014

March Doodle

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(sorry this is very late being posted)

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year to all our readers.  Wishing you every blessing in 2014.

Please help us raise funds

Shop online and help All Saints - it's easy, raises funds for us and could save you money!  Just register at

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/allsaintsnocton
 

then shop with over 2000 well known retailers who will give us a donation.  It won't cost you a penny and you can even save money with special offers and vouchers.

Please register today and help us raise funds!

Christmas Eve Crib Service

Our crib service on Christmas Eve was a very special service.  The children participated in the nativity story by bringing up the nativity characters to place them in the stable.  We all held a lit candle to reinforce that Jesus is the Light of the world.  The candlelit church looked beautiful, especially so when the lights were turned off and we all sang" While shepherds watched their flocks by night".  We enjoyed a mince pie before we went home with our families, a welcome pause to stop and think, amongst all the bustle of Christmas.

Banovallum Singers concert

The concert of Christmas Music given by the Banovallum Singers in All Saints Church on 13 December was a very enjoyable event.  The church looked gorgeous with fresh greenery and candle light, and the singers liked the excellent acoustic and the warm response of the audience.  Everyone tucked into the seasonal refreshments and wine or juice at the interval.   Including the raffle and the sale of generous bunches of fresh holly donated by Linda Coxon, the event raised £287 for repairs to the church.