WELCOME
Welcome to St. Michael's Church, Bempton, and to our annual Flower Festival.
I hope you will enjoy taking the time to look round at all the displays, and
also to enjoy the peace of this ancient building.
The theme of the Flower Festival this year is Sports and Pastimes, In our frantic twenty-first century world, it is the time that we can give to sports and pastimes that gives us that most valuable of God's gifts: Sabbath rest. Personally, I do not find rest in activities such as football, rugby, or running, but I appreciate that there are others who are renewed by them! Rest and how we find it is different for each individual. A peaceful afternoon reading or knitting would doubtless frustrate some people as much as it restores my peace of mind. While flower-arranging is perhaps the most obvious pastime displayed here, there are a wealth of different interests represented. Perhaps you will find something new here to pique your interest, or be reminded of something from your past that you have neglected.
After taking time to look round, I recommend wandering over to the village hall where there will be people there who are only too happy to assist you in your quest for relaxation by providing you with hot drinks and excellent cakes, or even a light meal. There are also stalls selling various items.
The finances of this small church depend quite strongly on the donations of visitors to our various social events and we are very grateful for the generosity of all those people who support our work here. Thank you. Our current project is to raise enough to install central heating in the church, to enable the building to be used more frequently in the winter months. If you were here in the bitter cold of January, you would immediately appreciate why this is desirable!
I hope you are inspired by the displays to make the time to enjoy whatever sports and pastimes interest and excite you, and to rediscover the God-given joy of rest and recreation.
Revd Liz Hassall,
Assistant Curate to the Headland Benefice
Click on an image for a larger picture
THANK YOU
Dear Friends,
We would first of all like to start
by thanking everyone who has contributed in any way to this year's Flower Festival.
The displays in church are magnificent, and we do appreciate all the hard work,
talent and inspiration that has made them so interesting and attractive.
A special word of thanks must go to both Judi Triffitt, who has taken over the
organisation of the Flower Festival, and also to Kate Veitch for her untiring
efforts over many years on behalf of St. Michael's. In addition we must also
thank all our kitchen staff, washer uppers, bunting putter—uppers and
taker - downers, stall holders one and all, our welcomers in Church, and all
those who have cooked, baked for us. Neither must we forget to thank all those
who have already made generous financial contributions to our fund - raising.
The Flower Festival is our major fund-raising event of the year, but it is also a chance for us to meet friends and supporters old and new. We are only a very small congregation here at St. Michael's (average attendance 16), and it costs over £500 per week to maintain both the building and also provide for our parish share payments. Our average collection on a Sunday amounts to £42, so you can see the importance to us of events like this weekend's.
As Liz, our Curate has said
in her opening remarks, we desperately need to install central heating in church,
both for all who worship here, but also to protect the fabric of the church.
We are looking to raise £10,000 towards the cost of the heating system,
and we are pleased to say that with some generous donations and our fund-raising
efforts we have already raised over £7,000 towards our target.
St. Michael's is a lovely old church that has stood at the heart of our village
for well over 900 years, and has played a vital role in the life of the community
over this time. We, as present day custodians, must ensure we do our very best
to preserve both the building and our Christian heritage for generations to
come.
So once again, thank you so much for your support this year. We hope to see
you next year, and wish you all a safe journey home, however distant that may
be.
Andrew & Robert Graham: Churchwardens
