Joy: the surprise of the Gospel!

If you go to Stokesley Methodist Church during Advent, you may be surprised to see an empty shopping trolley decorated by tinsel in the corner of the church. You may be even more surprised when during the service, the trolley is wheeled around the congregation and people add donations of food including cereals, tins of soup, pasta, rice, pasta sauces, tins of beans, tinned meat, tinned...

It's amazing what you can find out when you start talking to people! Back in the summer, we met together at Great Ayton Methodist Church to share breakfast and ideas for raising funds for projects across the circuit. Val Sonley came to the breakfast and shared with us a bit about her job. Val is a Co-op Member Pioneer. Her role is connecting people in the community; linking needs with...

The memory is a funny thing, I've found. If I don't make a note of something I need to do, I find that I forget to do it. On the other hand, I remember things that I don't need to do anything about. Yet again, I when I do remember things, I sometimes remember them incorrectly.On the weekend of 10-11 November, it was difficult to forget that, as a country, we marked a hundred year...