CHRISTMAS BEGINS IN EDENFIELD

This weekend saw Edenfield Parish church start the festive season in style with their Christmas tree festival.

The trees and displays are beautiful and demonstrate clearly that Edenfield is a wonderfully close village with lots of

groups and organisations who are active within the village.The festival has had many visitors over the past 2 days who

have all enjoyed the even and there is always tomorrow to go!

Edenfield resident comment:

‘’I have had a wonderful afternoon at the Christmas Tree Festival. Well done to all those who decorated trees,

my favourites were the gnome/plant pot decorated tree by Edenfield Horticultural Society, the Lego

Christmas tree by Jam club and the beautiful and educational display provided by Stubbins School.

Great to see so many friends there and to whomever had made the shortbread biscuit stars, they were delicious!!’’

‘’ If anyone's passing church today, I can highly recommend the bacon butties - £1!!! And, of course, lots of

handmade Christmas decorations for sale.’’

‘’the tree festival was lovely, it is good to see all the village coming together and participating, well done to

everyone for all their hard work as these things don’t just happen on their own’’ G.Ingham (Darwen)

More thoughts from Parents from Stubbins School

S.Stansfield, Edenfield

Took my two daughters yesterday after school and got a very warm welcome, I walked round with one very

proud big sister and her very excited little sister. The displays reminded me of how large our community is.

The girls loved the sparkling beauty of all the trees before enjoying eating their delicious cookies in the

warmth and comfort of the refreshment tent. The perfect start to our Christmas.

The festival has another day to run…..reopening tomorrow at 12 midday until 6.30pm where it closes with

a sung evensong surrounded by the beauty of the trees.

Messy Church comes to the Edenfield and Ramsbottom Team of Churches!

Saturday September 8^th 2012 saw our first Messy Church which was held at St Paul’s Church. A total of just over 100 people – helpers, parents, grandparents and children arrived to share in ‘Messy Joseph’. There were craft activities, story, songs and food for all to enjoy and we had great fun!

The organising group were overjoyed that so many responded to our invitation to join Messy Church – God blessed us abundantly with plenty of enthusiastic helpers and most of all by the young families who came along. The children left with a bag of things that they had made relating to the story of Joseph – including plenty of wooden models of Joseph in his brightly striped coat, decorated Joseph coats, gift boxes for a loved one, paper palm trees, cow masks, Egyptian hieroglyphics, starry sky pictures, paper chain people and probably most popular of all –gingerbread Josephs!

We heard the story of Joseph retold using Lego characters and sang our hearts out before enjoying a meal together – catering for 100 people is no easy task and we were especially thankful for our brave chefs and their helpers!

A big thank you to all those who have been praying for Messy Church over the past few months and for the helpers without whom we couldn’t have offered such a wonderful first experience of Messy Church.

Our next Messy Church is on Saturday October 6^th 2012 when our theme will be Messy Houses, followed by further Messy Church meetings on Saturday November 3^rd and Saturday December 8^th. Please book a place if you wish to join us by emailing to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or ring Messy Sue on 01706 825464. If you are willing to be a helper you can also contact us by either email or phone at the above.

Jubilee Jamboree

Hosted by Edenfield Parish Church 7^th July

I don't know if it was divine intervention or just good luck, but the rain, which had been relentless over recent weeks, stopped for the Jubilee Jamboree.  Prior to this, Noah would have been very much at home.

As we entered the churchyard, which was decked with bunting we enjoyed pre-concert Pimms and Bucks Fizz. Lots of people had adopted the Jubilee theme, so there was plenty of red, white and blue about, one lady in particular really got into the spirit of things by wearing a very fetching Union Flag dress.

Having bought our raffle tickets which there were some lovely prizes, we were called into church as the music was about to begin. Inside church, our M.C. Betty Garvey welcomed us and set the scene in her own inimitable style, in a church festooned with yet more bunting.

Children from Edenfield School got the proceedings off to a lively start with ‘Siyahamba', an African song meaning ‘We are walking in the light of God’, which they accompanied with much enthusiastic hand-clapping and finger-clicking.

Dr. Gordon Stewart, Concert Organist, a conductor of BBC 'Songs of Praise', and former organist of Manchester Cathedral, was next on.  I can only say that he bounded in.  He wore a striking striped blazer and was full of energy and enthusiasm, as was his music. A screen had been rigged up to show the keyboard so that we could watch Dr. Stewart's playing more closely.  He entertained us with some excellent organ music, interspersed with anecdotes from his varied career.  His programme included a variations piece on ‘Ilkla Moor Baht' and ‘Serenade’ a wedding march written by Derek Bourgeosis for his own wedding, which had 11 beats to the bar and must have been very difficult to play, not to mention the difficulty the bride must have had trying to walk up the aisle to it!

The Rose Queens - A Ray of Sunshine on a Wet Windy Day!

This Year's Rose Queen Crowning was held on Saturday June 16th. The Retiring Rose Queen, Miss Shona Campbell, aged 11, crowned Miss Evie Wylie, aged 11 in Edenfield Parish Church. Both were accompanied by their Retinues made up of Church/School friends. The windy, wet day did not deter their enthusiasm or that of the congregation. Pam Thomas led the service and The RETM Puppets provided lively, fun entertainment. The Procession led by the Accrington Pipe Band braved the elements and managed the walk in true British style. Back at Edenfield C.E. School the Ladies of the Church provided a welcome cup of tea and refreshments in the school's brand new kitchen/dining room, a fantastic asset to the School. During the afternoon, money was raised for Church and Evie's Chosen Charity, Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary. Many thanks to all who helped make this event a happy and successful one.

Written by Karen Wylie - Queen Mother.