Pink Sunday
A Service of Thanksgiving and Praise honouring survivors, thanking hospital staff, remembering loved ones and sharing stories was held during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. After the service, for which everyone was asked to wear pink we held a Soup and Pudding lunch and raised money for the Breast Cancer Unit at George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton from sales tables including books, cards, fancy goods, a Christmas stall and a homemade cakes stall.
Just over £500 was raised on the day including donations and has been donated to the Breast Care Unit. Poignantly our of our church members has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy at that Breast Care Unit.
Messy church goes wild on a bear hunt
Following the success of Messy Church Goes Wild during August an October half term special was held and we went wild by Going on a Bear Hunt, with Goldilocks and the three bears, Paddington, Winnie the Pooh and Pudsey. The children made bear masks and of course there was porridge to eat as well as and marmalade sandwiches and a dip into a pot of honey. The children, and the adults, loved it and after the success of acting out Goldilocks and the three bears are going to put on their own pantomime in early January. Does anyone have a child size cow costume or a beanstalk we could borrow? We have already cast our town crier as the giant!
Welcome Space Third Anniversary
Every Friday for the past three years, except in August, we have opened our doors to the community for Welcome Space and serve delicious homemade soup, filled rolls, homemade cakes and fresh fruit to anyone in need. Those needs include loneliness, a warm place to meet and chat, those with family or health issues or in need of prayer, encouragement or entertainment. To mark our third anniversary we held a birthday party and we were entertained with nostalgic songs by local musician Kenny Sinclair and thanked our willing band of volunteers who have served over 4000 light lunches in that time.
Celebrating 300 Years
Old Meeting URC Bedworth 2026 will celebrate our church building’s 300th Anniversary and 340th Anniversary of the founding of the church. Taking the theme of ‘All are Welcome in this Space’ from the hymn ‘Let us build a house’ we are opening our doors to everyone at worship, concerts, exhibitions, events and community involvement. We have made a start by planting 300 crocuses round the edge of the lawn in front of the church, hoping for a mauve and white to make a real statement. A New Year’s Day concert, Vienna style, will start off the celebrations at 12 noon with two or three special events taking place each month throughout the year.
Old Meeting Repair Cafe
We are delighted to announce that in January we will be opening the first ever Repair Café in north Warwickshire. We have been promised funding from various sources and guidance and help from a Repair Café in Rugby. This will be open on one Friday a month and will the service will be available during the same hours as Welcome Space. We still need to recruit some more fixers who will, for a small donation, endeavour to repair your kitchen gadgets including toasters and kettles, or mend your clothing by patching, new zips and buttons. It’s the modern equivalent of Make Do and Mend and aims to save money on replacements and also to reduce landfill wastage.